I want to speak to us this morning about the presence of God. There is nothing like it when the Lord is near. Exodus 33:12-15, Then Moses said to the Lord, "See, you say to me ?bring up this people' but you have not let me know who you will send with me. Yet you have said, ?I know you by name, and you have also found grace in my sight'. "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way that I may know you and that I might find grace in your sight. And consider that this nation is your people. And he said, "My presence will go with you and I will give you rest". Then he said to him, "If your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here".
Father, we thank you today that you are in this place with us. We thank you for your presence. Lord, this morning may we decrease and may you increase. May your word be alive inside of us. In Jesus name, amen.
I love this portion of scripture. God has called Moses to lead the nation of Israel out. I think every Christian is familiar with this portion of scripture. The nation of Israel had been in slavery for many, many generations and God said to Moses, "I've got a plan for you". God appeared to him in the burning bush and talked to him. He said, "I'm going to use you and I'm going to do a work through you that will amaze you. I'm going to use you to lead this people out of bondage and into the wonderful plan that not only do I have for your life, Moses, but also the plan that I have for them. And Moses comes back to God and says, "You have yet to tell me who's going with me and God, I want you to know this, "If you're not going with me then I don't want to do this thing".
How many of you have found out that the longer you live, that when God says there's something he wants to do in your life, the more you recognize that if God isn't with me then I don't want to do this.
Two of my three children are very adventurous. They'll rush into just about anything. A couple years ago we were at Kennywood, which is the amusement park in Pittsburgh, an old, wonderful, historic amusement park. I love to go there. It's a smaller park but it has some of the greatest roller coasters in all the world. As my boys were just about getting of age, there was this one roller coaster I wanted them to experience. How many of you have things from your past that you'd love for your kids to experience with you? So here we are in Kennywood Park and I'm wanting to ride the ?Jackrabbit'. The Jackrabbit is one of those great rollercoasters and about halfway through the ride you're coming out of your seat like a jackrabbit, it's wonderful. Two of my kids, Brittney and Chris wanted to go, and I said, "Wesley, I really want you to come with me". Finally we got Wesley talked into going on his first adult rollercoaster. He said, "Alright, Dad, I'm going to ride this thing, but not unless I get to sit with you". How many know, that was ok with Dad? It was a wonderful thing and after we enjoyed that experience together we rode the Jackrabbit 5 times in a row. It was marvelous, but after 5 times Dad was done with the experience, you know what I'm saying.
That really is what its like with God's presence. "God, I'll do anything, you just go with me". God, whatever it is that you want from me, whatever it is in this life that you have for me, I just need your presence". I want to tell you as your Pastor that every Sunday morning and Wednesday night, "God, I'll get up and I'll preach for you but Lord, I won't do it if you won't go with me". Because I know that there's a difference between a meeting and when God is in the house. The presence of God makes all the difference. It makes the difference between a house and a home. The presence of God makes a wedding a holy moment and not just another formal, legal ceremony and commitment.
The presence of God makes the church a sanctuary and makes the worship a place where we can come and we know that we're not just singing about somebody but to somebody who is present with us. It makes the sanctuary a hospital and a place where we can receive healing. His presence makes our quiet time with the Lord a refuge. His presence gives us confidence in life's hardest moments, to know that no matter what we face that God indeed is with us. There is something about the presence of God.
This is what Moses was doing back in that day. He said, "Listen, God, I'll do anything, I'll do whatever you say, I'll even undertake this amazing thing that you have for my life but here's what I need to know, that you will go with me". Jesus made a promise to Moses. He said, "Moses, I'm going to be with you. I'm going to equip you, and empower you, and I'm never going to let you go". You know, God made that same kind of a promise to us when we gave our life to Jesus. Sometimes we look at people like Moses, and we say, "Of course God had to be with Moses".
But how many know God has given us some assignments. God has some things for us to do and at the end of the great commission, Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 28:20, "You go out and teach everyone to observe all that I have commanded you and Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age". How many know this morning that God is with us right now? Jesus is here with us, he made that promise to us. He said, "I will be with you wherever you go, even to the end of the age". What he said is this, even when you start to feel like things are coming to the end, even when you can sense that things aren't quite right in this world, even when you start looking around and realize that it is getting to be that time, I want to remind you, I am with you, I haven't ever left you, I'm not going anywhere. "Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age".
I don't know about you but over the last week and thank you so much for your prayers for this pastor. It was encouraging, I could feel the prayers. Those of you who called and prayed as I was sick, what a blessing that was to my heart. I've got to tell you though I never watched that much tv at one sitting throughout a week. How many of you recognize that we are not living in a good world? Next week I want to talk about that Holy life that we're supposed to live as believers and the things that God has but there are times when you can look around and I've had people ask me, "Where is God in the middle of this?" You know what I want to tell them? "He's right here with me, God hasn't gone anywhere". Pastor, do you think God has left this world, do you think God has left us to ourselves? Listen, not a chance. God said, "I will be with you even to the end of the age". I want to tell you church, he hasn't just left us to do a small thing. He has come with us to do a great work for his glory.
I think many of us have our idea of what the presence of God really should be like. One of the greatest things is knowing that God is with us every moment. To me, how God chooses to show up really doesn't bother me. If God wants to show up in all his glory and power with thunder and lightning and all of that flashing then that's great. If God wants to show up where we sense his tangible presence and we can barely stand then that's marvelous but if there is also just the gentle assurance that God is standing there with me and I recognize that he is there, I am just as happy to know that my God is there, whether he shows himself in all his glory and splendor or whether he just says, "I am with you" and you recognize his presence.
Like Moses, I believe this, I don't want to do anything in my life unless you're there with me. I think sometimes when we think of the presence of God we're longing for those moments where we are overwhelmed as God moves in splendor and majestic power. Like in Psalms 97:5 where it says, "The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, of the whole earth. I think sometimes when we think of his glory and his presence, that glory in the old testament, the ?Kabad' of God, the actual tangible presence of the Lord, we think of how his presence filled the temple. Even to the point where the priests and those who came to minister at Solomon's time as they dedicated the temple, where they couldn't even stand because his presence was so strong. I wonder how many of you have ever been in the presence of God like that before? The ?Kabad' of God.
The truth is this, when he comes in that particular way and he reveals himself in that splendor, what a wonderful thing it is as the glory of God begins to fill the house and he's there with us. I love it when God shows up like that. I love it when God touches hearts in powerful ways and I want to tell you as your pastor, when we come and we gather at church, i expect Him to show up. I expect him to reveal himself, not in the fleshly sense but in the sense that we recognize and experience that he is there with us.
I remember times when we were in that little church up there in Haltsdale, we would come together on Thursday nights to pray. Just a few of us would gather, people's hearts were for God. We would as a group pray for every request, we would pray for the church and we would ask for revival. There would be a point where we would just seek his face. "Jesus, more than anything else, what we want is you in this place". I want to tell you sometimes on those Thursday nights, I thought we would show up for about an hour of prayer and go home. There were times when his presence would descend so powerfully you couldn't move, you didn't dare. His holiness was in that place. That little church that we were in was in the middle of nowhere, I didn't want to show up there sometimes. We were in coal mining country. "Jesus, I think you forgot about me in the middle of Pennsylvania, where am I, where are you God?" And God would say, "I"m right here".
This Friday night we're going to gather for first Friday prayer. As we come and gather, so many times we come with an agenda and we need to but I want to encourage you to come. Our hearts cry is going to be, "Lord, come and fill Harvest Community Church. Fill this church with your presence". "God, if you show up and we can't stand? I pray that there are times when God would shake this church like that. I pray that the Lord would show up in such a tangible way. Listen, It's a marvelous thing, it will shake your whole theology. "Lord, I'm here to do the church thing" and all of a sudden the Lord shows up and nothing else matters. Whether he shows up in all his glory or whether he just comes and says, "I am with you".
Sometimes we need to remember that God is always with us. Do you realize he is here this morning? He is with us right now. The presence of God really isn't a mystical experience like when it happens it's rare. God is here. We used to sing a song when I was growing up, "He is here, Hallelujah, he is here, Amen. He is here, Holy, Holy, I will bless his name again, he is here". The thing that makes church special is that jesus is there. The thing that makes our life special is that he is there.
Jesus promised in his word, in James 4:8, "Draw near to me and I will draw near to you". Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. His presence is a marvelous thing. When people say many times that they want his presence, what we are saying is, "Lord, I want to know that you are close to me". The truth is this, that it is hard to stay close from a distance. It really is. The reason long distance relationships don't work is as much as you call on the phone, nothing replaces being there. God says, "Draw near to me". Sometimes you can be in the same room with someone and feel far away but God says to draw close. I want us to remember this morning about the presence of God, the closeness of God, is about a heart thing.
In Matthew 15:8 it says, "These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me". The truth is that sometimes you can act one way in the presence of somebody and act another way when they're not around. You know what I found keeps me safe as a husband? That I'm the same with my wife as when I'm away from her. In August my wife and I will celebrate 19 years of marriage. What has kept us? Closeness. I received Jesus as my savior when I was 5 years old.
What has kept us close? "Draw near to Him and he'll draw near to us".
The mistake that we make many times is that we forget that he is there. Closeness is a heart thing. I want to say this again, you can be in the same room with somebody and be miles away. Closeness is a heart thing. The mistake that we make is we forget that he is always, always, always, there.
Just draw close.
Right now the Holy Spirit is in this place. My prayer is that he's not a stranger in his presence. Familiarity of when he is near, when he is there is so recognizable. The nearness of God, the nearness of the Holy Spirit is as familiar to me as when my wife walks in the room. Listen, If you've been married for a long time, you can be asleep but you know when your spouse is there. The presence of God is not something that comes and goes, and ebbs and flows. The truth is if you've been married for a long time you're not walking around in this romantic bliss at every moment. There are times that you feel that and it is so passionate and strong but there are other times with the day in and day out of knowing the relationship that is even more precious because you know they are there and they're not going anywhere.
Sometimes we act like the Holy Spirit is out of the room, like we can hit the mute button thinking he can't hear this or he doesn't see that. The truth is he's there all the time. That isn't a curse, that's a blessing. The fact that the spirit of God is present to help and to keep you. The presence of God is wonderful. Listen, the presence of God means allowing God to have his way at all times. In the presence of God, human agendas begin to fade away. That's why he's able to comfort and heal when we come before him. That's why when we're in his presence that fear begins to fade. That's why in his presence that healing happens. That's why in his presence that worries are wiped away. How many of you have ever come into the house of God and even though you know the Lord has been with you all week, as you begin to worship, pretty soon as you begin to worship, all those things that have been a burden begin to just fade. In his presence there is forgiveness, disputes are calmed. I love it when we recognize we're in his presence, it's amazing how a husband and wife can come in fighting but when they recognize they're in the presence of God those things begin to fade away.
When God is present, he doesn't come to sit idley by. When God is there, he's there to take over. How many know that it's ok to let the Lord take over? God, have your way in every part of us. That's why some people want to know where God is. That's why some churches seem lifeless. They want the presence of God near but they don't want him to take over. I want to tell you that God is only interested in taking over. He wants every part, he wants everything. I believe this, that the mantra of a church should never be to come as you are and leave as you came. The heart's cry should be "Lord, have your way".
I don't know if you've noticed but every time that we open the service, part of my prayer is always the same, "Jesus, have your way, we are here for you". Each day of my life as I come to the Lord in prayer, if you want to feel close to God, if you want to know his presence, if you want to know his nearness, make that the heart's cry of your life everyday, "Jesus, here am I, have your way". We sang this morning, "Here am I, all of me, take my life", every bit of it Jesus, everything that I am, there's nothing that I'm holding back. Jesus, here it is, take over. Something happens when that begins to take place in the heart of a life of a believer, "Lord, have your way". Listen, Jesus is in this church this morning, he's right here. "Jesus, have your way with us". I want that to be so personal.
It's kind of one of those awkward things, when I get up to preach I want you to understand how I view things. As the preacher, here I am opening up the word of God. Jesus is right here and the fact that he would even choose to use a man like me to speak his word and to convey his life. The guest of honor is in this place and he's doing the work, the partnership is what happens when the word is being brought forth. Listen, It isn't just the partnership with the pastor preaching the word and the holy spirit working through my life, it's everyone of us in cooperation saying "Jesus, you're in this place, that word is being spoken. I thank you for your presence. What is it that you want to do with me?" It's ok to say, Jesus, I'm here today and I'm hurting. Mark wrote a prayer request that his mom was diagnosed with cancer and I know this morning that you felt the presence of the Lord doing a work inside of you. You can see it, there's a difference on your face from when you came in to even now as the Holy Spirit is doing a calling work. "Lord, every bit, I give it all to you". What an encouraging God we have in his presence.
The Bible says in Matthew 18:20, "For where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name I am there in the midst of them". What a marvelous thing. Do you realize as we walked on the beach last week, as we sat in that picnic pavilion and as we ate and then we crossed the street, the Holy Spirit was with us. That beach went from being a party zone where people were out in bikinis getting sun and where a lot of thoughts were going through people's minds and then here we come as a church, "where 2 or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them". It got the attention. It was interesting because I looked out at the beach as Pastor Rick and I and Mike got in the water and began to baptize, everything on the beach stopped. There were people that had skipped church that day to go the beach. There are people that skipped church today to go the beach, I know that for a fact. Hallelujah. There are people who hadn't been with God for a long time along that beach. There were people who didn't know the Lord on that beach. I was excited about it, it was fun. You could sense his presence in that place.
I wondered because I had never baptized in the ocean before. What is it going to be like? Are people going to just look and say it's a nice thing? It was powerful. I got to baptize my boy last week and it was just as meaningful. I baptized my other two in baptismals in a church. I wondered, "Lord, when my son comes up out of the water, is it going to be just like any other time I've picked him up and thrown him in the water? As he came up, something happened in that moment, it wasn't just another dad and son hanging at the beach. The spirit of God was there. Want to tell you, his presence makes all the difference.
The presence of God will undo sinners and saints alike. For one there will be conviction and for another a renewed humility and devotion to the Lord. The truth is that in a relationship if we do not come and get rid of offenses, if we do not come and draw close to each other then we won't know that we are near to each other. In Psalms 51:11, David cried out to God, "Do not cast me away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me". David got to a place where he recognized that he was so close to this life of being away from God and David said, "Lord, more than anything else I need you".
Listen, In the presence of the Lord, it's there that our life has perfect order.
His presence keeps us grounded. It helps keep our life in perspective. It's there that we understand what really matters. How many have found that life can be really hard to navigate, that life can be very confusing. You can be sitting there at one point and life could feel absolutely peachy and within a matter of an hour life can feel like it hit a stride where you don't understand why in the world things feel like they do. The wonderful thing is that you can call a friend, you could get on the phone, but the Holy Spirit is right there and in his presence he begins to help speak his wisdom and help into our life. It's one thing to have good friends but it is quite another to have the understanding of God quite near.
In Jeremiah 9:23-24, "Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord exercising lovingkindness, judgement and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, says the Lord".
Knowing and understanding God comes from spending time and recognizing in his presence. The presence of the Lord brings freedom. One of the things that I have found when you see people who really walk and talk with God, who recognize that their Lord is with them wherever they go is that there is a freedom about their life. In 2nd Corinthians 3:17 it says, "Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty". There is a freedom in Jesus. You want to see a church that is alive in God, that's where you'll know the presence of the Lord is. Do you want to see people who have hands outstretched with the healing of God? They are those who live and walk in the presence of God.
It's in his presence that we find that freedom and that peace. It's in his presence that we find freedom from sin. It's in his presence that we find freedom from the effects of sin. Listen, some of you have been struggling so hard with certain things that hold you back, certain temptations that get a grip on your heart. You've given your life to Jesus but you say, "I don't understand why I can't break this grip". How many know that grip of sin is a bondage and not a freedom? Those who walk in the presence of God are set free by the power of God, no matter what holds you back. If you recognize that he is with you and will never leave you and will never forsake you, he's not a friend that is standing there saying, "I see what you're doing and I'm going to tell dad".
When you find yourself in that place and saying, "I am so bound by this", Jesus is saying, "You don't have to be anymore and I'm going to make sure that you're not". When you find yourself stepping into that thing and you know that you shouldn't be doing it, you don't have the power in yourself to do it and you don't have to have the power in yourself to do it. What you've got is the power of the Holy Spirit right there and there is freedom from those things. There is freedom from that depression when it begins to come and slip in and wants to grip you. There is freedom when that panic comes and begins to set in because in the presence of God, remember the Holy spirit came to take over, not just to sit idley by. But when we as Christians say, "Lord, take over every part of my life". It isn't just saying, Lord, have all those things that I wish I could be doing but i can't be doing because you're here. It's the Holy Spirit saying, "Listen, I am with you, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. You think you're in bondage to that thing. I will never let that thing take so hold of you that it drags you down because I am here with you. I will not let that cloud of darkness and that depression begin to sit, the Holy Spirit is there. In his presence there is freedom. When the pressures of the finances come, "What am I going to do? He is right there with you and says, "Listen, I am never going to let you go".
There is freedom from fear. In Isaiah 41:10, it says "Fear not for I a with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. You don't need to fear". In the presence of God all fear begins to go away. It's a marvelous thing. When I was sick during this week and this preacher doesn't get sick often. There was a point where I couldn't sleep or rest and it just about drives you crazy. I tried to sleep hanging off the side of the bed. I tried to sleep on the chair. I tried to sleep half on the chair and half on the floor, I didn't care. Finally the Holy Spirit said, "What are you doing"? Holy Spirit, you are here with me right now and I understand that my body is sick but you promised you'd help me and I need your help. I fell asleep sitting up on my bed sideways. The Holy Spirit said, "Right now, I am there". It was the best sleep I ever had. I didn't need a pillow, didn't wake up with a dead arm, because I was in a position that was just wild. "Holy Spirit, you have got to do something, you're my help". He did.
You don't need to be afraid. From the time you're in the car when someone is trying to run you off the road, I don't fear that anymore. He's with me. Just like my boy when he grabbed my hand and said, "Dad, I'm going to hop on the Jackrabbit with you". Next thing I know we're going on 5 times.
The truth is this, when you recognize in the spirit that he is with you, he will lead you. Once Moses was assured that God was with him and he said ok, a desert with no water, no food and a million people, let's go for it God. I
will fear no evil, you are with me and God took him out into that place.
In his presence there is fulness and I want you to hear me now. If you want to see a church that is on fire for God and filled with all the things of God, it is a church that recognizes the presence of God. If you want a house that is peaceful, that knows the help of God, it is the home that will recognize the presence of God. The life that knows the fulness of success, of accomplishing all that it can is the person that says, "God, you are here, I need you in my life and I give everything to you".
Watch this, In Psalms 16:11 it says, "For you will show me the path of life and in your presence is fulness of joy". For the believer it is his presence that brings joy that helps us to be productive and purposeful. It's in his presence that we can depend and have lasting fruit. It is in his presence that where he is we know he will guide us. It is in his presence that the believer recognizes Psalms 139 that says, "Where can I go from you God? If I go to the heights you are there, If I go to the valleys you are there. Where is it than I can go from you?" God say, "Nowhere". Why? Because we're in his presence.
Some people think that we have to wait for heaven to dwell in his presence but Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age". His presence is so practical, so powerful. Sometimes he'll come in all the glory of God. Other times, like when I'm with my wife, we'll just sit and be together and it's ok, in his presence.
When I lie down, he is there. When I'm awake, he is there. When I praise, he is there. When I'm in his word, he is there. When I'm work and i don't feel like I'm accomplishing much, he is there. When I'm in the store and just picking up groceries, he is there. When we come to church and we pray purposefully, he is there. When we come to a prayer meeting and we seek him over the life of our church for the month, he is there. His presence, he is here.
Jesus, I thank you for being here with us today. We used to sing a song, "He's as close as the mention of his name". Some people I've heard them yell out to Jesus like he's a million miles away on the other side of the universe. I want to encourage you church. He will never leave you, he will never forsake you. He is there. The presence of the Holy Spirit is in this place this morning, he is here. My prayer is this, just like Moses, "God, I know the things you have for me". God has so many things for you. Just say like Moses, "God, I'll do whatever you want as long as you are there"and he'll see you through it. Some of you are going through some stuff. Listen, he is here. He's not just going to be there when you start to freak out. He's there right now. My prayer is this, I pray that we will know his presence in all the fulness. In this church, come ready to meet. It's a formal time, Lord, I'm going to meet with you. I know you're with me everyday but I'm setting up a date. Have your way, take over everything Jesus. Have your will and your purpose in my life. How many know we will never, ever be disappointed? Amen.
