The Rereward of Israel | Evangelist Adrian Sanford

He can't be hid. He's too good not to believe.

I love you Jesus. Whether it be miracle or healing

or experience, the magnitude of his mercy and grace, He's too

good not to believe. That day in which Jesus walked

in his earthly ministry healed a blind man.

Religious rulers came asking to speak to the man.

Actually they went to his parents 1st and they said, well

you ask him, he says whether he be Sinner.

Speaking of Christ, he said whether it be Sinner or not I

know not. But one thing I do know I once

was blind but now I see says whatever it is, it's just too

good to not testify of the goodness that I've experienced

first hand in my life. Undeniable.

Religious leaders bring Peter and John because a lame man's no

longer lame sitting at the city gate, they say.

You know what? There's one thing undeniable

that we're dealing with here right now.

This man used to be lame every day at the gate, but he's not

that anymore. That's irrefutable.

Too good for there not to be something about that.

Amen. He's a good dog.

You can stand with me here tonight.

It's been our steam privilege over the past fives now 5

services to have Brother Sanford with us from Walnut, Ms.

ministering the Word of the Lord.

Brother Sanford has, for the past 11 years, I think it is,

has crisscrossed our country in ministering the word of the

Lord, holding revival services. And in all the time that I've

known him, he's always been a a person of humility.

Never, never have I've ever picked up on any fanfare or any

of this type of attitude or anything such in him.

He's the same as he preached here as he does in every other

church conference or camp meeting that I've ever heard him

preach. He's the same, Amen, And I think

that's to be commended, Amen, here tonight.

We have been blessed over just the past few services by the

ministry of the Word of the Lord.

And I know we will tonight because God's faithful Amen.

God's faithful Hallelujah. And so can we again, Amen.

Receive Brother Sam for tonight as he comes to minister the Word

of the Lord. Amen of this place this evening.

Amen. Let's one more time give the

Lord that praise. If you know He's worthy of your

praise, why don't you give Him praise right now?

It is. The goodness of God leadeth men

to repentance. Aren't you thankful you're

serving a good God? Oh, that men would praise the

Lord for He's good and His mercy endures forever.

That's the only two reasons I need to give God praise.

He's been good to me, and He's been merciful to me.

Anybody know what it's like to receive goodness when you didn't

deserve it? Anybody know what it's like to

receive mercy when you didn't deserve it?

If that's you, you have a reason.

You have two reasons to give God praise every day you live.

Amen. Because that's the basis of

praise. I can give him praise every day.

No matter what I've gone through, no matter what I'm

facing, He's still a good God and he's still a merciful God.

Aren't you thankful you serve that kind of God this evening?

Amen. What a great presence of the

Lord that is in this house. And thank you again to the

singers and musicians for leading us into worship.

And atmospheres like this don't just happen, but I believe God

honors faithfulness and practice and dedication and doing all of

those things decently in an order to to create an atmosphere

for the Lord to move in. And I'm thankful for the

atmosphere that I feel in this room tonight.

I know you're standing, so I'll quickly go to Isaiah chapter

#52, Isaiah chapter #52, and I will begin at verse #9.

And as you're finding that, would like to say one more time

that it's been an honor of mine to be here with you these last

few days and give honor to all of you for being in the House of

the Lord and for your faithfulness to revival.

And give honor to your great leadership that you have here,

your Bishop and his wife, and also to your pastor and his wife

and family. And don't you just love the

McGee family? And I give them honor to not and

give honor to this great ministry team.

And it just, it takes a lot of things to make a church go,

takes a lot of ministries and a lot of people that make church

go. And I give all of you honor to

not and thank you for the hospitality and for the food and

the fellowship in the room and my toy cars that I'm taking

home. And my kids may find them, they

may not. I don't know.

I may just keep them for myself. But it's been an honor to be

here and thank you again. And it doesn't have to stop just

because a series of services come to an end.

You got prayer meeting tomorrow night, we got Pentecost Sunday,

Sunday, you can have Pentecost Sunday the next Sunday, and

Pentecost Sunday the Sunday after that.

That's just the thing about Pentecost.

You can have it anytime, Amen. And I'm just excited about what

the Lord is doing. Isaiah chapter #52 verse #9 The

prophet says, Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste

places of Jerusalem. For the Lord hath comforted his

people. This is why you break forth into

joy. This is why you sing together.

Because the Lord has comforted his people.

He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bear His holy

arm in the eyes of all the nations.

All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Depart ye, depart ye. Go out, or go ye out from fence.

Touch no unclean thing. Go ye out of the midst of her.

Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

For ye shall not go out with haste, nor by flight.

For the Lord. Will go before you, and the God

of Israel will be your re reward.

In the King James it is re reward as you see on the screen,

it's sometimes rearward. But the Lord.

Tells Israel, don't go out with haste, don't go out by flight

because I'm going to go before you.

The God of Israel will be your re reward.

I want to preach to you tonight for a few moments on this last

night of revival about the re reward of Israel.

The re reward of Israel. Why don't we one more time lift

our hands all over this house? And as our hands are lifted, why

don't we just continue to magnify the Lord and give Him

praise even without a song? And as we give him praise, why

don't we ask the Lord to speak His word in this house?

In Jesus name, why don't you give him another great handclap

of praise and you may be seated tonight.

Thank you for standing. Isaiah chapter #52 is a very

fascinating chapter concerning the people, the nation of

Israel. We find God speaking to His

people through his prophet, telling them, in fact even

encouraging them to get intentional about their

transition from Babylon back to their sacred homeland of

Jerusalem. We remember that years prior,

Nebuchadnezzar had breached the walls of that very sacred city

and systematically destroyed its buildings and monuments.

It was such a devastating event that a many theologians call it

the sack or the destruction of Jerusalem.

The Temple of Solomon, one of the city's most important and

sacred structures, was burned to the ground.

But not only did Nebuchadnezzar burn the Temple of Solomon to

the ground, but he also removed all of the treasures from the

Temple. Of the Lord.

The city walls were torn down, many people were killed and

others were taken captive. And for the next 70 years, of

those who were taken captive lived in captivity in that

foreign land called Babylon. But it's in our text where we

found the Lord speaking to those same Israelites, speaking to

those same Jews, and tells them that it's time to leave this

captivity and return back to their homeland of Jerusalem.

And this is where we find the Lord telling them to break forth

into joy and sing together. You waste places of Jerusalem.

He goes on to tell them that the Lord has comforted his people,

He has redeemed Jerusalem. He says that the Lord has made

bear his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the

ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

But it's them that the Lord commands them.

That while you're getting ready to go back to Jerusalem, I want

you to leave everything in Babylon that's unclean.

Anything to remind you of idol worship.

You are, Amanda, to leave that in Babylon.

But when you get ready to go back to Jerusalem, there is

something that I do want you to take with you.

I want you to take all of the treasures Nebuchadnezzar taken

from the temple of Solomon and take them back with you to

Jerusalem, because those treasures were going to be

needful as Israel began the restored relationship with the

Lord. But it's in the midst of this

great prophecy. It's in the midst of this great

command that the Lord then tells them that when you get ready to

leave Babylon and go back to Jerusalem, you're not going to

go out with haste and you're not going to go out by flight.

That word haste gives you the understanding that God was

telling them that you're not going to have to leave in a

hurry. And when He tells them that

you're not going to go out by flight, He's telling them that

you're not going to have to look over your shoulder and feel like

a fugitive. Because understand the Lord is

telling His people, people that when it's time to leave Babylon,

when it's time to leave your oppressors, when it's time to go

back to Jerusalem, you don't have to be in a hurry and you

don't have to feel like a fugitive.

Those words are a stark contrast when it was time for Israel to

leave Egypt. It is back in Exodus chapter 12,

Exodus 12:39

verse 39. But the Bible says when Israel

got ready to leave Egypt that they baked unleavened cakes of

the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt.

For it was not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt

and could not tarry, neither have they prepared for

themselves any victual. Understand, when it was time for

Israel to leave Egypt, it had to happen immediately.

There could be no time wasted. There could be no tearing.

This is why the Bible says the bread was not leavened and they

were thrust out and they did not even prepare food for the

journey because when it was time for them to leave in Egypt, it

had to happen immediately. But now when it's time to leave

Babylon, God tells them the exact opposite.

He said you're not going to go out with haste and you're not

going to go out by flight. The Lord is commanding Israel

that your exodus from Babylon will not be like your exodus out

of Egypt. Israel, I understand that you've

been living in captivity for 70 years.

In fact, the writer of Psalm 137 speaks of a time when they sat

by the rivers of Babylon and they wept when they remembered

Zion. They even hung their hearts upon

the willows because they didn't think they could sing the Lord's

song in a strange land. Israel, I understand it's been

decade after decade of fear and oppression, but there's no need

to hurry this delivery. There's no need to get anxious.

There's no need to overthink this.

There's no need to make rash decisions.

Israel, I just need you to get off from where you are and start

walking back to Jerusalem. Why did God give them this

command? He answers it in the same verse.

He said you're not going to have to go out with haste and you

don't have to go out by flight for your Lord.

We'll go before you understand God was telling Israel, you

don't have to rush this and you don't have to look over your

shoulder, because the same God who's with you right now is the

same God who's already gone before you.

You just start walking back to Jerusalem, and if there's an

enemy between you and where you're going, by the time you

get there, it's going to be removed.

Because I am a God who goes before my people.

He's not just with us, but he goes before us.

Can I remind us that God is with us?

I'm preaching a simple principle right now, but somebody needs to

be reminded that God said that when you pass through the

waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not overflow.

And when you walk through the fire, it will not burn you,

because God is with us. Yeah, though I walk through the

valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because thou

art with me. You see, there's a boldness and

a confidence that comes to my heart when I've got the

revelation. God's with me.

And I've come to tell this congregation, you don't have to

be afraid, and you don't have to be fearful because God is with

you. But he's not just with us.

God tells Israel, I'm already going before you.

This is exactly what Israel needs to hear in Deuteronomy 31.

They stand on the brink of the Jordan River, and just across

Jordan is Canaan, a land that flows with milk and honey.

There's vineyards that they didn't plant, cities they didn't

build. It's a land that flows with milk

and honey. It's a promise 400 years in the

making, and they're on the threshold of walking in its

fulfillment. But instead of celebration,

there's trepidation and uncertainty.

Why is Israel fearful to cross Jordan and walk into Canaan?

You've got to go back even further from Deuteronomy 31

because remember when the Lord told Moses to speak to the rock?

Israel's frustration bled over to Moses.

And now Moses becomes frustrated and instead of speaking to the

rock, he strikes it a second time.

And the Lord in his mercy allows water to begin to flow from that

rock. But God tells Moses, because of

your disobedience, you're going to see the Promised Land, but

you'll never walk in the Promised Land.

And Israel understands Moses cannot cross over with us.

The same man that brought us out of Egypt and the same man that

led us through the wilderness is the same man that cannot take us

in to our promised land. And it's in this moment when

Moses understands I'm about to die.

But before I die, I've got to give Israel some encouragement.

And This is why Moses tells him in Deuteronomy 31 that the Lord

thy God, he will go over before thee and destroy the nations

from before thy face. He it is that doth go with thee,

He will not fail thee, and he will not forsake thee.

But then he looks at Joshua, the man that's going to take up the

mantle, and said, Joshua, you need to get this in your spirit

as well. The Lord is with thee, but he's

also going to go before thee. He will not fail thee, and he

will not forsake thee. Fear not, neither be dismayed.

Moses tells Israel and Moses tells Joshua that the same God

that's been with us up until where we stand is also the same

God that's with us right now. But he's already across the

Jordan taking care of our enemy. This is exactly what the Lord

told Cyrus when he said, I will go before thee and make the

crooked places straight. I will break into pieces the

gates of brass and cut in some of the bars of iron, and I will

give thee the treasures of darkness, and I'll also give you

the hidden riches of secret places.

God says, Cyrus, there's no need to be afraid, because I'm going

to go before you. Another translation says I will

level every mountain and I will remove every obstacle.

He said I will break into pieces the gates of brass.

There were 100 gates of brass around Babylon, 25 on each side.

But God said you just keep walking and by the time you get

there, the gates of brass are going to be broken.

And I'll also cut and sunder the bars of iron, those very things

that held the city gates together.

I've come to tell this congregation, we don't have to

worry and we don't have to fear, and we don't have to be dismayed

about what tomorrow may bring, because God is already in our

tomorrow. Israel, you just keep walking

back toward the Promised Land. And if there's anything between

you and the fulfillment of your promise, I'm going to take care

of it. And I'll tell everybody in this

room. That's why I don't have to worry

about what tomorrow may bring, and I don't have to worry about

what challenges may come my way. And I don't have to worry about

what enemy may try to fight me. Because the same God who's with

me has already gone before me. He's already in June 2026.

And the Lord says Israel, you don't have to rush this because

I'm already in front of you, but you don't have to go out by

flight. You don't have to look over your

shoulder because the God of Israel is going to be your re

reward. It is a word that is only used

six times in the King James Version of the Bible.

In fact, I think I'm safe in saying that re reward is a word

that nobody used in this room today.

Probably a word that most of us has never used in our life.

It's a rare word when it comes to scripture because it's only

used six times. It is a picturesque old English

term that is sometimes written rear ward like we saw on the

screen, but it means the rear guard or the troops in the rear

of a marching army. And to bring more understanding

to what this word actually means, this is exactly what the

tribe of Dan was for Israel Numbers chapter 10 verse 25

Numbers 10:25

tells us. And the standard of the camp of

the children of dance set forward, which was the re reward

of all the camps. Everybody wants to be the

leader. Everybody wants to go first or

be first. I don't know anybody that lifts

their hands and says, I want to be in the back of the line.

I don't know anybody that lifts their hands and says, I'll go

last. Everybody wants to go first.

Everybody wants to be as close as they can to the front.

But can I tell you, God strategically looked over his

people. He strategically looked down at

the nation of Israel and looked at the tribe of Dan and said,

Dan, I've got a responsibility I need you to fulfill.

I don't need you in the front of the nation and I don't even need

you in the middle. I need you to be the re reward.

I need you, Dan, to be all the way in the back.

See, many times when we read about Israel in the Old

Testament, the tribe of Judah would lead the people.

I'm reminded of the story of Jehoshaphat, who finds himself

surrounded by the enemy, the Ammonites, and he doesn't know

what to do. And so he has a prayer meeting

and he says, Lord, you've got to tell me, what are we going to do

tomorrow? And the Lord says, I'll tell you

what we're going to do. We're going to do things a

little bit differently. Instead of sending the soldiers

in first, I want you to send the praisers.

I want you to send the worshippers in.

And can I tell you? Because Judah went first,

Because praise led the nation, God sent an ambush and destroyed

every enemy of the Israelites. Because something powerful

happens when praise goes first. Something supernatural shifts

when I walk into any battle with praise in my heart.

But there's other times when the tribe of Levi would lead, the

priest would lead the people. In fact, when they stepped in

the Jordan, it was the priest that carry the ark on their

shoulders. They were the ones that stepped

in the River Jordan. First, understand there were

times when praise led the people, and there were other

times when the priest led the people.

But God understood it's not enough to have a tribe but leave

my people. If I don't have somebody

protecting my people, what good is it to lead my people if

they're exposed and vulnerable? And so God understands I've got

Judah leading, I've got Levi leading.

But then he looks at Dan, says, Dan, you're not going to get a

lot of pat on the backs. You're not going to get

recognition on Facebook, but I need you all the way in the

back. See Dan wasn't distinguished

among the 12 tribes of Israel. In fact they were the last ones

to receive their portion, which was the smallest of the 12.

But God looked at Dan, probably the most insignificant if you

want to use that word, tribe out of all 12.

And God says Dan, I need you to do something.

I need you to be the re reward of Israel.

See, they were also called the collectors or the gatherers of

all the camps. They gathered up everything that

was left behind as the people begin to March forward.

You see, it was their responsibility to make sure all

the women and children were accounted for.

They had to make sure that those who are weak and feeble were not

left behind. Dan collected and Dan gathered

everything and everybody, but they also secured Israel from

enemies who pursued them from behind.

It's amazing that in that same verse of Numbers 1025, you and I

are introduced to the commander of the rear guard.

His name is a He'ser. Son of Amish should die.

And when you put those two men's names together, you see the

beautiful picture God was painting through scripture

because the rearguard chief of Dan was a man named Dahezer.

His name means helper, but his father is Amish Shadaya, which

means people of the Almighty. You see when you put those two

names together, the re reward of Israel literally meant the

helper of the people of the Almighty.

You see, they help the people by collecting and they help the

people by God, but they also helped Israel by protecting them

from enemies they had no idea. See, the tribe of Dan, the re

reward could see things in the back that nobody could see in

the front. Oh, it's great in the front

because praise is leading the way.

It's great in the front because the priesthood is leading the

nation. But can I tell you Dan had a

vantage point that praise did not have, and Dan had a vantage

point that Levi could not have. They were aware of enemies

nobody else saw coming. They had an insight to dangers

that lurked in the shadow. And God understood it's not

enough to have praise and priesthood leading.

I've got to have somebody in the back who's going to fight and

guard and protect my people because praise by itself will

not get you to where you're going and the priesthood will

not get you to where you're going.

I need somebody to be the re reward.

See, it's amazing that the tribe of Judah LED out of the 12

tribes with men 20 years and older who could fight. 74,600

men 20 years and older, they're leading Israel.

The coming in at #2 out of the 12 was Dan. 62,700 men 20 years

and older. Because praise would lead the

nation but the re reward would protect the nation.

The priesthood would guide the nation, but the re reward would

look over the nation. This is why Psalm 121 is so

powerful when you understand the context in which it was written.

It is what they call the second song of ascent because Israel

would begin to sing it as they approach the heels of Jerusalem.

This is why the writer said, I will lift up my eyes until the

heels from which cometh my help, my help coming from the Lord,

which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to

be moved. He that keepeth thee will not

slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel

shall neither slumber nor sleep. He said, the Lord is my keeper.

The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun will not smite me by day, nor the moon by night.

He said the Lord will preserve me from all evil.

He will preserve my soul. The Lord is going to preserve

thy going out and not coming in from this time forth, even

forevermore. They begin to sing that song as

they walked up the hills to Jerusalem.

I'll tell you why they sang it. I'll tell you why they got

excited about it. It's because they understood

their safety in Jerusalem. There's protection in Jerusalem,

they said. The Lord is my keeper and the

Lord is going to preserve me. It's 2 words in the English, but

it's one in Hebrew. Keeper and preserve both mean to

hedge about, to guard and protect.

And that's why they sing it. It's because God taught them a

valuable lesson by giving Dan the responsibility of the re

reward. I'll tell you.

That's why they could sleep in a wilderness and not be afraid.

That's why they can lay their head down and nod and not be

afraid. It's because the Lord is keeping

me. The Lord is preserving me.

The Lord has guarded and put a hedge.

Around me. That's why they could lay down

at night and get sleep. Think about it.

They're in a wilderness. The elements alone are dangerous

enough to kill you. Now you've got animals to deal

with. Then you've got enemies to deal

with, laying their kids down at night, surrounded by an

environment that could kill you, surrounded by animals and

enemies that could take your life.

When I read Psalm 121, I get the understanding that they can lay

down at night in peace because they understood Brother McGee.

Somewhere throughout those mountains, there's 63,000 men

watching over me. I can't see Dan, but Dan can see

me. I don't.

I don't know where Dan is, but Dan knows where I am and he

knows where my family is, and he's watching over my children.

That's why they can lay down, man.

I feel my Holy Ghost to tell you.

That's why we can lay down at night and get a good night's

rest. It's because I understand God's

watching over me. God is protecting me.

Can I tell somebody right now you ought to make up your mind?

I'm going to lay down the not cut the lights off, turn off the

phone and I'm going to get rest because God is my keeper.

God is going to preserve me because the same language that

was used to describe Dan is the same language Isaiah uses to

describe our God. Because what Dan done for

Israel, here's what God does for us.

Dan fought battles nobody else knew we're being fought.

And how many times has God fought battles for us?

And we'll never know about it. How many times did Dan protect

Israel from things that they didn't even know were that

close? And how many times has God

protected us from things that were about to take us out?

I'm preaching about a God who we may not see everything he does

for us on this side of heaven, but I can lift my hands and

celebrate because I know if it had not been for God who was on

my side, I wouldn't be where I am tonight.

It's because God has become my re reward.

How many lives were spared because of Dan?

How many attacks were avoided because of the RE reward?

How many tragedies were bypassed because Dan saw things?

Oh, everything's great in the front, man.

We're moving, we're progressing, but all hell is breaking loose

in the back because Dan understands.

I got to protect them. I've got to cover their blind

spots. They can't see in every

direction. So I'm going to strategically

place 63,000 men on the parameters in the backside of my

people. See.

It's usually not the things we see coming that affect us the

most. I don't know about you, but if I

know it's coming, I can prepare for it now.

It may be terrible, but at least I know it's coming.

But it's those things that we don't see coming.

The blind side us, those unexpected trials that we didn't

see coming, those unexpected attacks from the enemy we had no

idea about. Those unexpected heartaches and

situations. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm

thankful that I have a God that's with me, and I'm thankful

that I have a God that goes before me, but I'm also thankful

that I have a God who walks behind me.

And so I say that it's it's time to not only give God thanks for

everything he's LED us through, I say that it's time that we

give him thanks for everything that he's kept us from.

I'm preaching to people in this room.

You've got testimony after testimony because you knew it

was coming, but God LED you through it.

But I'm of the persuasion that we've got just as many

testimonies that we'll never know about.

I'm talking about a car wreck that was just a moment away, but

God spares you. I'm talking about a diagnosis

that God didn't let take over your body.

I thank God for everything I know about, but I'm also

thankful for everything I'll never know about.

And I say we ought to praise Him for that.

We ought to thank Him for that because He's kept us, because

He's preserved us. How many unseen victories do we

have in this room that we'll never know about until we

crossover? How many tragedies did God let

us avoid? How many battles has God kept us

out of? I'm preaching to people in this

room who should even be here. I'm preaching to people you

shouldn't even be alive but the only reason you're here and the

only reason I'm here is because the re reward had in my back.

The only reason I'm in the House of God tonight is because he was

fighting battles I never saw him fight.

He was holding back. He was holding back an enemy

that I don't know is about to take over my family.

I thank God for everything He brought me through, but I thank

Him for everything He kept me out of.

Come on. There ought to be somebody else

that rejoices. I'm talking about unknown

miracles, unseen victories. I'm talking about a God that's

preserved us. I'm talking about a God that's

kept us. And you may never know

everything that He done for you on this side of heaven.

But when we crossover and everything's revealed, David put

it this way. Thy rod and thy staff, they

comfort me. Thy rod and thy staff got to

understand that the language David uses is that of a

shepherd. He said that staff leads me.

It leads me through things that I know about, but it's the rod

that protects me from things that I may not know about.

And David said because you lead me and protect me, it comforts

me. That word comfort in the Hebrew

means I sigh with relief when I understand God's going to lead

me through everything I can see, but He's going to protect me

from those things that I cannot see.

How many times have we gone through seasons of life and it

felt like man, everything's great, couldn't get better?

Have we gone through seasons of life and it felt like man,

everything's great, couldn't get better?

I'm going to tell you it's not an accident, but it's fighting

on your behalf because I'm preaching about a God who

doesn't just guide us, He guards us.

I've come to tell this congregation you ought to take

consolation in the fact that God is going to be with you and he's

going to go before you, but He's also going to walk behind you.

Why do you think Isaiah went on to say that?

Thy righteousness will go before me, but the glory of the Lord

will be my re reward? I've heard a lot of preaching

about glory the last few years, but I've come to learn through

the Word of God. Glory has a divine location.

It stands behind every man and woman.

It's walking in the right direction.

That's why Exodus 13 and 14, so powerful.

Israel has been brought out of Egypt, but now in front of them

is a Red Sea. In front of them is a Red Sea.

They cannot pass, and closing in behind them is an enemy they

cannot fight. Talk about being stuck between a

rock and a hard place, and it's in this moment.

But the Bible says that when Israel sees a Red Sea in front

of them and 600 Chariots closing in behind them and all the

Chariots of Egypt, he goes on to say.

And all the. Captains, they say, did God

bring us out of Egypt to let us die in the wilderness?

Wherefore has he dealt thus with us?

And Moses responds and says 5 powerful words, Fear you not

stand still, get rid of fear and just stand still and do nothing.

Sometimes the two hardest things that we have to confront our

fears and doing nothing, because a lot of times the hardest thing

to do is to do nothing at all. But God says if you can get rid

of the fear and you can just stand still, you're going to see

my salvation, which I will show you this day.

For the Egyptians who you see today, you're going to see them

no more. God says just stand still, slow

down because if you go into the Red Sea before I do, you'll

drowned. And if you try to fight Pharaoh

by yourself, he'll kill you because the worst place to be.

Is to be on the outside of the cloud.

Why do you think when they got in the wilderness that cloud

started moving? Usually understood, it's time to

pack up and start moving. But when the cloud stayed, they

begin to unpack and they count because the safest place to be

is under the cloud. But the most vulnerable,

dangerous place to be is to be outside the cloud.

And that's why the Lord says you just stand still, and what's in

front of you I'll take care of it.

And what's behind you I'll take care of it.

And that's why the Bible says that the Angel of the Lord,

which had gone before the camp of Israel, removed himself and

stood behind them. And the pillar of cloud I went

before their face, stood behind them.

I think God was teaching Israel valuable lesson.

Before you ever get in the wilderness, I want you to

understand that I'm going to go before you and remove every

obstacle, but I'm also going to stand behind you and protect

you. Can I tell you?

I think that's why there's a pillar of cloud by day.

He's going to guide you, but there's a pillar of fire by not.

He's going to guard you. And I've come to tell this

congregation, we don't have to be afraid of what tomorrow

brings, but we don't have to be afraid of what the enemy may try

to do in the shadows, because he's the vanguard and the

rearguard. Our prayers have changed

recently. It's not a day that goes by

where I don't pray for me and my family.

I pray for God to be with us. I can't tell you the times I

prayed the prayer that God gave Cyrus.

Lord, go before us. Make every crooked place

straight. I've prayed at numerous Times

Now. I've added a little something to

it. Don't just be with us and don't

just go before us. Lord, I need you to walk behind

me because I can't see everything.

I need you to cover my blind spots.

I need you to protect me and my family from things.

I don't see that that's approaching.

Can I tell somebody in this room?

I think that's why the psalmist said you ought to just focus on

two things that are behind you. Surely goodness and mercy will

follow me all the days of my life.

I think that's why he went on to say that you beset yourself

behind me and before me, and you've laid your hand on me.

You know what I pray now? I say, God, I want your hand on

my family and I want you to be in front of me, but I also want

your glory to stand behind me. They that trust in the Lord will

be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abides forever as

mountains around about Jerusalem.

So the Lord is round about his people forever.

What's the psalmist teaching us? He's saying that just as sure as

the mountain surrounds Jerusalem, God surrounds his

people. He's with us, He's in front of

us, but he's also behind us. He's the re reward O magnify the

Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together.

Now that preaches good and we have no context of why we preach

it. It sounds good during the

worship service, Magnify the Lord with me.

I don't know why. What?

Let's just do it. Let's exalt.

Is that why? I don't know, let's just do it.

I'll tell you why the Bible says we can magnify the Lord

together. And while we can exalt his name

together, it's because 4 verses later he says I'll tell you why

you can magnify and exalt the Lord.

Because the Angel of the Lord encamps around about them that

fear him and delivereth them all.

And I tell everybody in this room, every morning we wake up,

you ought to give him praise because he surrounds us and He's

not just going to lead us through the things we do see

coming. He'll protect us from the things

we don't see coming. That's why verse #12 of our text

is so interesting, because the language is different.

He says don't go out with haste. Don't go out by flat for the

Lord. All caps will go before you.

Now you're well enough taught here that you know any time the

word Lord is capitalized, that's the covenant name of God speaks

of all of his promises. Jova Jarrah, Jovanese.

It's all the covenant of promises God made with Israel.

And so the Lord is saying all of your promises are still in front

of you. Just keep walking toward them.

But then he changes the language because he doesn't say the Lord

will be your reward. He said the God of Israel, the

Lord is going to go before you. Your promises are in front of

you. But the Elohim of Israel,

Elohim, God is power, my strength.

It's the attributes of God. It's who God is.

God is telling Israel you just keep walking toward your

promise, and if there's anything between you and your promise,

I'll take care of it by the time you get there.

But if there's an enemy that tries to sneak up behind you in

the process of walking, my power, my might, and my strength

will protect you from those things you cannot.

I've simply come to tell this church on the last night of

revival. Just keep moving forward and

keep pursuing every promise God's made you, because he's not

a man that he should lie, nor the Son of Man that he should

repent. Hath he said, shall he not do

it? Hath He spoken, shall he not

make it good? I've come to tell you every

promise and every word and every declaration and every prophecy

that God has spoken over this church and individuals in this

church. God didn't lie to you and God

didn't get your hopes up. Every promise is still in front

of us. We just have to keep moving

forward. But I've got good news to tell

you that there's a re reward that's standing at your back.

There's a God that's called the re reward that's going to

protect us. They make their way to the

keyboard this evening. We don't have to go out by haste

and we don't have to look over our shoulders because there's a

God who stands at our back. That's why I love that Jesus

looks at his disciples that day. He says it's expedient that I

leave you. In other words, it's better that

I leave you then stay with you. They've been with him 3 1/2

years. They've seen miracles, signs and

wonders what's better than walking with him?

The Lord said if I don't leave, I cannot send back the comforter

in my name, which is the Holy Ghost.

The only thing better than walking with Jesus is having

Jesus living inside of you. And he said, if I don't leave, I

cannot send back the comforter. We talked about it Monday night.

It's rest. But that word comforter in the

Greek is the word paraclete. And Jesus is using warfare

battlefield terminology, because when you've got to understand

that the word Paraclete means in the Greek that no soldier would

go to battle by himself, but they would always go out two by

two. Some suggest that's why Jesus

sent them out two by two, because 2 is better than one.

No soldier ever faced an enemy by himself.

No soldier faced a battle by himself.

They were always paired up, but they never stood shoulder to

shoulder and fought in One Direction.

They would always stand back-to-back.

They were each other's empirically.

Because if you're standing in my back, you can see things I can't

see. But if I'm standing at your

back, I can see things you can't see.

And the Lord said, when the Holy Ghost comes, it will be rest, it

will be a comforter, it'll be peace.

In those troubled times, Lord was telling them that you'll

never face a battle by yourself again.

You'll never have to face an enemy by yourself again.

Because His glory will be our re reward.

There's fear in this house that God wants to take care of.

That just came to me. I'm telling you, God's perfect

love cast out all fear. Lord wants people to understand

you ain't got to look over your shoulder figuratively or

literally. What's going to happen next?

What God says my glory stands at your back.

Protect you from things that you'll never know?

I wonder. If we can lift our hands right

now all over the. House,

I'm just going to tell somebody what the Lord told Israel that

day. Fear you not stand still.

We can get rid of the fear and get rid of trying to figure it

out by ourselves. Just let the Lord take it.

The Lord says you'll see my salvation this day.

That Red Sea will part and the enemy will be taken care of

because I'm the vanguard and the rear guard.

I wonder, we could stand right now all over this house and our

hands are still lived. We're about to transition, but

that fear needs to leave because God has not given us a spirit of

fear, of power, love, and a sound mind.

I would say sometimes the best thing you can do is just quote

Bible verses on what you're dealing with.

I'm telling somebody right now, whatever you're dealing with, if

you're dealing with fear, you ought to find every verse in the

Bible that combats and attacks fear and start praying it every

day that you wake up. Because if you're fearful, it

did not come from God because God has not given us a spirit of

fear, power loving, a sound mind, and perfect love.

Cast out all fear. You ought to start waking up

every morning and saying, Lord, I want you to be with me.

I want you to go before me. I need you to walk behind me and

protect me. I wonder right now they're about

to play, sing, whatever they feel to do.

But I wonder right now if you could grab somebody by the hand,

if it's your family, if you want to do it, say, Lord, I want you

to be our vanguard, but I also want you to be our rear guard.

I want you to be that Paraclete that stands at my back and

protects me from things. Well, I wonder if we can step

out of our pews and come stand around this front right now as

we individually and as a church collectively move forward.

Simply come to remind you that God stands at your back.

I feel a peace in this house right now.

Well, why don't we lift our hands right now?

They're about to play, say whatever they feel to do.

There ought to be a confidence that comes in this room that God

has not left his people exposed or by themselves.

He's my re reward. If he's kept me to this point,

he's going to keep me going forward.

Well, I'm telling somebody, if God's gotten you to where you

are, he's not going to walk away now.

He's not going to. He's not going to forsake you

now. Come on, let that word resonate

in your spirit right now. He's not going to abandon me.

You may feel alone, but you'll never be abandoned because God

is the re reward.