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The text we pray the Lord be pleased

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to speak to us from here this evening.

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It's from Psalm 16 verse 8.

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Psalm 16 verse 8.

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I want to speak tonight on the theme

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cultivating the presence of God.

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Cultivating the presence of God.

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Psalm 16 verse 8.

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This is a psalm of David and he,

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the psalmist David writes, I have set the

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Lord always before me because he is at

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my right hand.

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I shall not be moved.

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This is one of the most important verses

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that you'll ever find in your Bible.

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It's most important because it deals at the

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very heart of what Christianity is really all

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about.

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A relationship with Jesus Christ.

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As I travel abroad and domestically I come

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across increasingly pastor after pastor after pastor who

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has to confess to me I don't know

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how to maintain fellowship with God.

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I don't know what you mean when you

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talk about experiencing the presence of God.

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And one of the things that grieves my

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heart is that the Reformed movement ought to

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be the most experiential aspect or part of

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Christianity there is but it seems that we

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have become the least experiential.

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Do you know what I mean by experiential?

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The experiencing of the doctrine that we had

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told to adhere.

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Martin Lloyd-Jones said he spent half of

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his time stressing the importance of doctrine the

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other half the time telling them that the

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doctrine isn't everything.

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It's only part of it.

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And it's true.

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There is another aspect of the Christian life

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rather than just the doctrine but also the

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experience, the reality of that doctrine, those truths

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that we learn from the Word of God.

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God didn't give you a Bible in order

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to make theologians out of you and scholars.

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He gave you a Bible that you might

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study God, theologian, and that you might know

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God personally in relationship and experience.

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And here we have before us David the

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psalmist, the man after God's own heart who

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knew how to walk with his God.

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And he gives you an insight to his

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heart and to his practice of walking with

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God and cultivating the presence of God.

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And so tonight I want to be more

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practical than I was this morning.

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I want to be able to do teaching

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as well as preaching on this subject.

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How do I cultivate?

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How do I walk with my God?

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How do I fellowship with him?

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And of course this will not be exhaustive.

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I can't do that in just a few

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minutes this evening.

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But I hope to give you enough that

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you'll be able to begin practicing as soon

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as you leave this place from this blessed

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psalm that has been such a blessing to

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me.

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The importance, oh the importance of being aware

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of God's presence.

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I cannot emphasize this enough.

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You cannot live the Christian life as Jesus

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intended you to do so without being conscious

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and aware of his abiding presence.

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The doctrine of the omniscience of God, the

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doctrine of the eminence, immanency of God, God's

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nearness, is not just to be something that

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you can impress your friends with.

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That you can say, listen I know about

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God's eminence and I know about his omniscience

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and his omnipresence and all of these wonderful

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attributes.

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But they are truths by which you can

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experience him.

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Now why is it so important that you

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just not know that God dwells with you

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but that you experience his presence?

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Well I would say number one it's the

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antidote to fear.

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It's an antidote to fear.

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David said in Psalm 23 in verse 4,

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yea though I walk through the valley of

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the shadow of death I will fear no

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evil.

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Why?

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Why would he fear no evil?

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For thou art with me.

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Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

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It was the abiding conscious presence of God

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that drove the fear away from this servant

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of the Lord when he was in dangerous

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places in the very shadow of death.

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To Joshua the Lord said have I not

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commanded thee be strong and of a good

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courage.

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Be not afraid neither be thou dismayed for

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the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever

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thou goest.

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It is the conscious awareness of the presence

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of God that drives away the fear.

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The tendency of our heart to be afraid

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when we're faced with challenges that we cannot

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overcome.

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But not only is it an antidote to

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fear it's an antidote to materialism.

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If you do not want to be covetous,

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if you do not want to follow the

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stem and tide of most Americans even in

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churches like this, materialism grip your heart then

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you need to know how to cultivate the

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conscious awareness of his presence.

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Listen to what Hebrews chapter 13 and verse

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5 says Hebrews 13 5.

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Let your conversation, that is your lifestyle, your

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conduct be without covetousness and be content with

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such things as he hath for he hath

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said I will never leave thee nor forsake

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thee.

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It's his presence with us that is the

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provision we need for he is our provider.

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When I know that God is with me

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and that he's promised to meet my every

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need the Lord is my shepherd I shall

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not want.

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Well then my heart is curbed in its

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appetites and there's a restraint self-imposed because

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I know my God will meet all of

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my needs according to his riches and glory.

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It's a great antidote to materialism.

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A covetous person is a person who's not

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aware and conscious of God's nearness.

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Number three, it's so important because it's the

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manifested presence of our God that is the

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provision of power and strength we need to

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do the Lord's will.

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There's a verse that I always recite to

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myself and believe before I step to a

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pulpit.

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You know what that verse is?

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I've told you before.

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This is homework.

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I want to see how well you pass.

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Anybody remember Isaiah chapter 41 and verse 10?

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Fear thou not for I am with thee.

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Be not dismayed for I am thy God.

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I will strengthen thee.

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Yea, I will help thee.

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Yea, I will uphold thee with my righteous

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right hand.

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I recite that before I move to the

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pulpit.

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Why?

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Because he's the power and the strength that

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I need to do what I'm doing now.

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Do you think that I think I have

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the gifts and the abilities by natural giftedness

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to move you to God?

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To tinker with your heart and to apply

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the application that you need to solve the

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issues of the heart.

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Well, no I don't.

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I know better than that.

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I've been doing this way too long.

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I know that human power, human giftedness and

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all of these things are not sufficient to

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touch a person where they need the power

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of God the most.

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The soul, the spirit of a man.

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Only God can touch that area of your

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life.

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And so as I come to do what

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I am not sufficient to do, I call

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upon the presence of God who promised I'll

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never leave you.

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I'll never forsake you.

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I'll be with you.

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I'll uphold you with my righteous right hand.

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And so as David said in the Psalms,

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I have set the Lord always before me.

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Asaph said something that I really like in

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Psalm 73 verse 28.

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But it is good for me to draw

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near to God.

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I exceptionally love the Holman Christian Standard Bible,

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now known as the Christian Standard Bible's translation

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of this verse.

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You know what it goes?

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How it goes?

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Here it is.

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But as for me, God's presence is my

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good.

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Isn't that wonderful?

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As for me, God's presence is my good.

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Yes, sir.

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You need the conscious awareness of his presence.

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He didn't save you just so you could

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get the ticket into heaven.

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He saved you to fellowship, to walk with

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you, to know you, to interact with you,

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to have relationship with you.

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But you say, yes, I know that God

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is with me.

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God is everywhere.

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He's omnipresent.

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Well, this is not a study on the

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attribute of God's omnipresence.

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What David is talking about here in our

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text is the manifested presence of God.

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It is to be consciously aware, to sense,

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to feel, if you please, for a lack

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of a better word, to be able to

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feel the presence of God.

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And when I use that word feel, I

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don't want you to think necessarily emotions, but

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there is a reality that grips you, that

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abides with you, that gives you comfort, that

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you are not alone ever.

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That's what we're here to talk about.

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It's exactly what Jesus promised his own disciples

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and to those who loved him in John

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chapter 14 verse 21.

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He that hath my commandments and keepeth them

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is he that loveth me, and he that

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loveth me my father shall love him.

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He shall be loved of my father, and

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I will love him, and I will manifest

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myself to him.

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That's the promise of God.

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Christ has promised to make himself known to

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you.

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Yes, we know God is omnipresent, but the

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fact of his omnipresence has little impact on

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most of our lives.

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We hardly ever think about it.

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Well, so you know the doctrine.

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You know, well, you could explain it to

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someone else.

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Yes, but are you aware of his presence,

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my friend?

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I'd rather experience the presence of God than

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to be able to define omnipresence.

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This is a case where I often say

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that the number one problem among Christian is

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what?

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They don't know what they know.

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I read of a well-known Christian leader

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who underwent a severe loss and as a

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result learned something about himself that he didn't

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previously know.

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His discovery led him to pray.

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Here's what he prayed.

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I know you're all I have, but I

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don't know you well enough for you to

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be all that I need.

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This is a man that if I mentioned

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his name, you'd know it, most of you.

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I know you're all I have, but I

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don't know you well enough for you to

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be all that I need.

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And that's what we need to cultivate, beloved.

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We need to cultivate the knowledge of God

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so that we do know him so intimately,

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so well, that he's all that we will

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00:11:45,910 --> 00:11:47,830
ever need and ever want.

276
00:11:49,030 --> 00:11:49,470
A.

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W.

278
00:11:49,750 --> 00:11:51,770
Tozer said, the world is perishing for a

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00:11:51,770 --> 00:11:54,090
lack of the knowledge of God, and the

280
00:11:54,090 --> 00:11:56,470
church is famishing for the want of his

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00:11:56,470 --> 00:11:57,110
presence.

282
00:11:58,790 --> 00:12:00,610
What made today so special?

283
00:12:00,790 --> 00:12:01,570
Because I was here?

284
00:12:01,770 --> 00:12:02,810
Absolutely not.

285
00:12:02,870 --> 00:12:05,150
I will take offense if anybody thinks that.

286
00:12:05,910 --> 00:12:07,730
I tell you what made this day special.

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00:12:08,410 --> 00:12:11,550
God's presence was manifested in our midst.

288
00:12:11,870 --> 00:12:13,850
He was here when I got here.

289
00:12:16,330 --> 00:12:19,850
Duncan Campbell, the great revivalist Presbyterian of the

290
00:12:19,850 --> 00:12:22,310
Hebrides revival of 1949 to 53.

291
00:12:22,610 --> 00:12:24,710
After that event, people have invited them to

292
00:12:24,710 --> 00:12:26,670
his church thinking that he carried revival in

293
00:12:26,670 --> 00:12:28,190
his hip pocket and he had to tell

294
00:12:28,190 --> 00:12:28,970
him, I don't.

295
00:12:30,610 --> 00:12:33,050
No, it's not the presence of an evangelist

296
00:12:33,050 --> 00:12:34,130
or a preacher that we need.

297
00:12:34,390 --> 00:12:37,030
No, it's the abiding presence of almighty God.

298
00:12:37,190 --> 00:12:38,390
And you need to cultivate that.

299
00:12:38,450 --> 00:12:39,430
You need to know that you need to

300
00:12:39,430 --> 00:12:40,390
be aware of that.

301
00:12:40,650 --> 00:12:42,670
And you need to know how to cultivate

302
00:12:42,670 --> 00:12:43,130
that.

303
00:12:44,870 --> 00:12:46,830
But one question before we get into the

304
00:12:46,830 --> 00:12:48,790
text, this is all introduction.

305
00:12:50,930 --> 00:12:51,930
Thank you, Donnie.

306
00:12:52,010 --> 00:12:52,690
I heard you laugh.

307
00:12:57,790 --> 00:13:01,490
How does invisibility become manifest in a visible

308
00:13:01,490 --> 00:13:02,070
world?

309
00:13:03,470 --> 00:13:08,830
God is spirit, the immortal, the invisible God.

310
00:13:09,670 --> 00:13:12,110
How does the invisible become manifest in a

311
00:13:12,110 --> 00:13:12,630
visible world?

312
00:13:12,710 --> 00:13:15,290
How does an immaterial being manifest himself in

313
00:13:15,290 --> 00:13:17,730
a material world to a material being you

314
00:13:17,730 --> 00:13:18,110
and me?

315
00:13:19,270 --> 00:13:22,110
Well, you've got to learn how to discern

316
00:13:22,110 --> 00:13:24,050
his real but invisible presence.

317
00:13:24,530 --> 00:13:26,830
It said of Moses that he endured as

318
00:13:26,830 --> 00:13:28,850
seeing him who is invisible.

319
00:13:30,550 --> 00:13:32,450
Paul said, while we look not at things

320
00:13:32,450 --> 00:13:34,610
which are seen, but at the things which

321
00:13:34,610 --> 00:13:36,490
are not seen.

322
00:13:37,530 --> 00:13:39,610
He also said, we don't walk by sight,

323
00:13:39,690 --> 00:13:40,410
but by faith.

324
00:13:40,450 --> 00:13:43,710
You see, faith is the organ of sight

325
00:13:43,710 --> 00:13:47,590
and hearing and taste and touch for the

326
00:13:47,590 --> 00:13:48,550
spiritual man.

327
00:13:49,130 --> 00:13:51,950
When a Christian is behaving carnally, I know

328
00:13:51,950 --> 00:13:53,530
for what it's for one reason.

329
00:13:53,970 --> 00:13:56,410
It's because he or she has resorted back

330
00:13:56,410 --> 00:13:59,290
to the physical sense of seeing to the

331
00:13:59,290 --> 00:14:00,470
physical senses.

332
00:14:00,790 --> 00:14:03,170
That's how they're living by their own senses.

333
00:14:03,170 --> 00:14:06,210
And they refuse the spiritual site of faith.

334
00:14:07,830 --> 00:14:09,970
Therefore, we've got to learn how to develop

335
00:14:09,970 --> 00:14:12,890
the vision of faith so we can see

336
00:14:12,890 --> 00:14:15,610
and experience the manifested presence of Christ.

337
00:14:15,730 --> 00:14:17,190
This is not mystical.

338
00:14:17,810 --> 00:14:19,930
This is not something out in left field.

339
00:14:20,630 --> 00:14:23,330
This is biblical spirituality that I want to

340
00:14:23,330 --> 00:14:24,450
communicate to you.

341
00:14:25,410 --> 00:14:29,050
Well, you say yes, but why must we

342
00:14:29,050 --> 00:14:29,390
learn?

343
00:14:30,090 --> 00:14:32,850
Why must we learn to act or do

344
00:14:32,850 --> 00:14:35,110
something in order to experience his presence?

345
00:14:35,230 --> 00:14:38,230
Why can't the Lord just make himself manifested

346
00:14:38,230 --> 00:14:38,830
to us?

347
00:14:39,390 --> 00:14:40,770
Why do we have to do something?

348
00:14:41,210 --> 00:14:43,990
Cultivate his presence, learn how to be aware

349
00:14:43,990 --> 00:14:45,490
of his conscious presence.

350
00:14:45,850 --> 00:14:46,730
Well, there's two reasons.

351
00:14:47,450 --> 00:14:50,290
Now, my introduction is a little lengthy, even

352
00:14:50,290 --> 00:14:53,230
more than normal, but you see the necessity,

353
00:14:53,430 --> 00:14:53,970
do you not?

354
00:14:55,530 --> 00:15:00,390
The first reason why God just doesn't make

355
00:15:00,390 --> 00:15:01,250
himself known.

356
00:15:02,610 --> 00:15:05,090
If the Lord made himself overwhelmingly present with

357
00:15:05,090 --> 00:15:06,750
you, you couldn't live and function as you

358
00:15:06,750 --> 00:15:07,530
ought in this world.

359
00:15:09,990 --> 00:15:11,470
I'm sure that all of us have had

360
00:15:11,470 --> 00:15:13,770
those times when the Lord forcibly made himself

361
00:15:13,770 --> 00:15:16,530
aware to you when you're praying in your

362
00:15:16,530 --> 00:15:18,690
closet or even maybe in a church service

363
00:15:18,690 --> 00:15:19,630
like this today.

364
00:15:19,850 --> 00:15:22,390
And you just knew that you knew God

365
00:15:22,390 --> 00:15:23,230
was right there.

366
00:15:23,350 --> 00:15:26,150
You could, the air was so electrified.

367
00:15:26,270 --> 00:15:28,950
You could almost taste, yes, literally taste and

368
00:15:28,950 --> 00:15:30,670
see that the Lord was good.

369
00:15:30,890 --> 00:15:33,010
And those are blessed memories, are they not?

370
00:15:34,210 --> 00:15:35,830
Seasons of great ecstasy.

371
00:15:36,530 --> 00:15:38,630
But just like the blessed experience that Peter,

372
00:15:38,850 --> 00:15:40,470
James, and John had on the Mount of

373
00:15:40,470 --> 00:15:45,650
Transfiguration, they could not nor can you perpetually

374
00:15:45,650 --> 00:15:47,950
live in that kind of environment or atmosphere.

375
00:15:50,300 --> 00:15:52,540
But we can live in a climate where

376
00:15:52,540 --> 00:15:55,400
we are continually aware of his presence.

377
00:15:55,620 --> 00:15:58,600
And it is the perpetual awareness that David

378
00:15:58,600 --> 00:15:59,620
is speaking of.

379
00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:02,700
I have set the Lord always before me

380
00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:04,640
because he's at my right hand.

381
00:16:04,980 --> 00:16:06,440
I shall not be moved.

382
00:16:06,780 --> 00:16:08,500
But there's a second reason why God just

383
00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:11,020
doesn't pop out and make himself known to

384
00:16:11,020 --> 00:16:11,500
you.

385
00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:15,480
The Lord, if I can say this reverently,

386
00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:20,820
with all seriousness and sobriety, the Lord wants

387
00:16:20,820 --> 00:16:21,520
to be wanted.

388
00:16:23,260 --> 00:16:24,720
He doesn't need it.

389
00:16:25,340 --> 00:16:28,880
He's self-sufficient, but he wants to be

390
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:29,340
wanted.

391
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:36,820
Personal relationships develop not because someone forces themselves

392
00:16:36,820 --> 00:16:37,840
upon another.

393
00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,580
Those relationships won't ever work.

394
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,460
But because both parties move towards each other,

395
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,400
you can have as much of the Lord

396
00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:51,360
Jesus as you want.

397
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,260
And he's done everything to show you that

398
00:16:54,260 --> 00:16:56,460
he wants a relationship with you.

399
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:58,680
And he has done everything to make it

400
00:16:58,680 --> 00:16:59,380
possible.

401
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:00,400
Now it's up to you.

402
00:17:01,300 --> 00:17:04,160
You have your responsibility in this relationship.

403
00:17:04,380 --> 00:17:06,500
And that's to seek him, to desire him,

404
00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:09,940
to want to be aware and interact with

405
00:17:09,940 --> 00:17:10,619
his presence.

406
00:17:11,339 --> 00:17:12,000
All right.

407
00:17:13,099 --> 00:17:14,720
Let us move now to the text.

408
00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:16,859
Here, I want to give you just a

409
00:17:16,859 --> 00:17:20,720
brief outline of how you can develop and

410
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,160
cultivate a conscious awareness of the presence of

411
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:24,540
God.

412
00:17:24,540 --> 00:17:29,000
Number one, a determined will must be in

413
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:29,400
place.

414
00:17:29,460 --> 00:17:30,520
A determined will.

415
00:17:30,820 --> 00:17:34,840
Notice the words, I have set the Lord

416
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:35,400
before me.

417
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,420
I, he was determined to live in the

418
00:17:38,420 --> 00:17:40,640
conscious awareness of the presence of God.

419
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,360
David, this man after God's own heart would

420
00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:47,260
not be satisfied with anything less.

421
00:17:47,980 --> 00:17:51,240
My heart pants after thee, as the heart

422
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:52,860
pants after the water brooks.

423
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:55,720
When shall I come and appear before my

424
00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:56,460
God?

425
00:17:57,440 --> 00:17:59,340
You hear this kind of language from David

426
00:17:59,340 --> 00:18:00,120
all the time.

427
00:18:00,740 --> 00:18:06,680
Early will I seek thee, as my soul

428
00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:08,000
longeth after thee.

429
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:12,540
My flesh desires you as in a dry

430
00:18:12,540 --> 00:18:13,360
place.

431
00:18:14,660 --> 00:18:17,240
This is the language of a lover, a

432
00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,040
man who's in love with his God, who's

433
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:20,820
not just satisfied to know that he's right

434
00:18:20,820 --> 00:18:22,500
with his God, but that he wanted to

435
00:18:22,500 --> 00:18:23,760
experience this God.

436
00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:27,300
He wants to have communion and fellowship with

437
00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:27,940
this God.

438
00:18:28,220 --> 00:18:30,100
And so his will was determined.

439
00:18:30,300 --> 00:18:33,260
Is your will determined that you will know

440
00:18:33,260 --> 00:18:36,580
God and you will experience his presence, that

441
00:18:36,580 --> 00:18:37,860
you will not leave it up to the

442
00:18:37,860 --> 00:18:41,120
preachers of this fine church to stimulate and

443
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:43,240
stir your soul so you have some kind

444
00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,420
of sense of God's presence when they preach,

445
00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,220
but that you will carry that with you

446
00:18:48,220 --> 00:18:50,180
into your own prayer closet, to your own

447
00:18:50,180 --> 00:18:53,100
times of being alone with God, where you

448
00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:55,880
meet with him who is in secret, and

449
00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:57,940
he who is in secret will reward you.

450
00:18:58,160 --> 00:18:58,600
How?

451
00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:01,380
With the manifestation of his presence.

452
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,300
Hebrews 11, 6 says that those that come

453
00:19:06,300 --> 00:19:07,680
to God must believe that he is and

454
00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,040
that he is a rewarder of them that

455
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:11,860
diligently seek him.

456
00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:14,580
What is the reward if their diligent seeking

457
00:19:14,580 --> 00:19:16,780
him can be none other than him himself,

458
00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:17,860
God?

459
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:20,780
Is this the determination of your will?

460
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:22,200
I want to know my God.

461
00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,380
I know him, but I know him only

462
00:19:24,380 --> 00:19:25,000
so little.

463
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:26,660
Do you not mourn?

464
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,060
Is there no grief about you that you

465
00:19:29,060 --> 00:19:30,940
should be further along than you are?

466
00:19:31,260 --> 00:19:32,820
I feel that way all the time.

467
00:19:33,340 --> 00:19:35,260
The older I get, the more I read

468
00:19:35,260 --> 00:19:37,160
and learn about my God, the more I

469
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:38,080
experience him.

470
00:19:38,300 --> 00:19:40,720
I moan the fact that I've wasted so

471
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:41,400
much time.

472
00:19:42,500 --> 00:19:43,520
Oh, God.

473
00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:45,600
Why was David like this?

474
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:47,840
And if you look at David, you see

475
00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:49,500
that he's simply a type of the Lord

476
00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:50,480
Jesus Christ here.

477
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,140
This is what God, our Lord Jesus, did.

478
00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:56,420
Why was he up late at night praying?

479
00:19:56,540 --> 00:19:58,600
Why would he spend the entire night in

480
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:00,940
prayer, get away before the dawn and before

481
00:20:00,940 --> 00:20:03,500
the disciples were awake, and get alone and

482
00:20:03,500 --> 00:20:03,740
pray?

483
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:04,520
Why was this?

484
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:04,840
Why?

485
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:06,840
Because he loved his father, and he loved

486
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:07,860
his father's presence.

487
00:20:08,140 --> 00:20:12,040
He enjoyed being consciously aware of the fellowship

488
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:13,040
of God.

489
00:20:13,820 --> 00:20:16,280
He just didn't get alone and memorize scripture

490
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:17,800
and just say, well, there, I've got that

491
00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:18,500
scripture memorized.

492
00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:19,320
Now it's done.

493
00:20:19,420 --> 00:20:20,480
That's all I needed to do.

494
00:20:20,580 --> 00:20:23,780
No, he let the scripture and the wind

495
00:20:23,780 --> 00:20:26,220
of the Spirit make the presence of God

496
00:20:26,220 --> 00:20:27,260
real to him.

497
00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:29,360
And so must you and I.

498
00:20:29,460 --> 00:20:31,920
There must be a determined will to do

499
00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:33,980
this, to live in this kind of awareness,

500
00:20:33,980 --> 00:20:36,120
because it is possible.

501
00:20:37,020 --> 00:20:39,620
One of the toughest jobs I've got tonight

502
00:20:39,620 --> 00:20:43,440
is to make you believe that such as

503
00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:43,920
possible.

504
00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:46,360
Some of you have been Christians for many

505
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:49,220
years, and there are rare moments where you

506
00:20:49,220 --> 00:20:50,920
experience the presence of God.

507
00:20:51,300 --> 00:20:53,960
Some of them are almost a fog, foggy

508
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:54,280
memory.

509
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:56,840
Now, my dear friends, it shouldn't be a

510
00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:58,860
foggy memory should be something you can recall

511
00:20:58,860 --> 00:21:01,180
just recently, maybe like this morning.

512
00:21:03,940 --> 00:21:06,160
I experienced the presence of God, and I'm

513
00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:06,800
not boasting.

514
00:21:07,100 --> 00:21:08,620
I'm just trying to convince you this is

515
00:21:08,620 --> 00:21:10,700
a reality that's not just for preachers.

516
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:12,180
It's for any one of you.

517
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:14,060
God doesn't love us anymore.

518
00:21:14,140 --> 00:21:14,780
He loves you.

519
00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,000
We're just a member of the body of

520
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,020
Christ like you are.

521
00:21:19,140 --> 00:21:21,020
We're a sinner saved by grace, just like

522
00:21:21,020 --> 00:21:21,400
you are.

523
00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:23,580
We have a function in the body, just

524
00:21:23,580 --> 00:21:24,780
like you have a function.

525
00:21:24,900 --> 00:21:25,960
It's different, of course.

526
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,240
It's certainly crucial to the body, but it's

527
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,360
not more special.

528
00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:34,780
Yesterday morning, I experienced the presence of God

529
00:21:34,780 --> 00:21:36,200
early in the morning.

530
00:21:36,780 --> 00:21:40,680
So real that my body literally basked in

531
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:45,760
the physical pleasure and joy of being in

532
00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:47,000
the presence of God.

533
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,000
I could feel it.

534
00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:55,520
It's nothing like it to know that you're

535
00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,620
in God's presence and he's right there and

536
00:21:58,620 --> 00:22:00,240
his smile is upon you.

537
00:22:01,180 --> 00:22:04,180
You talk about making a man ready to

538
00:22:04,180 --> 00:22:06,520
run through a troop and leap over a

539
00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:06,840
wall.

540
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,300
When you know the presence of God is

541
00:22:12,300 --> 00:22:15,080
abiding with you at my right hand, my

542
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:15,680
friend, why?

543
00:22:16,340 --> 00:22:18,160
Who should I be afraid of?

544
00:22:19,340 --> 00:22:20,840
A determined will.

545
00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:25,640
Secondly, a determined method.

546
00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:28,100
Look at the word set here.

547
00:22:28,140 --> 00:22:32,640
I have set the Lord before me.

548
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:34,140
David did something.

549
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:36,260
You could use another word.

550
00:22:36,340 --> 00:22:40,100
I have established the Lord's presence before me.

551
00:22:41,180 --> 00:22:44,080
This word set is used in other places

552
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:44,760
in the Bible.

553
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,480
Do you remember one key place where the

554
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,320
word set is recorded?

555
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,060
It's in the New Testament, Colossians chapter three,

556
00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,900
set your affection on things above, not on

557
00:22:56,900 --> 00:22:58,080
the earth below.

558
00:22:58,860 --> 00:23:00,980
And here David is exactly saying the same

559
00:23:00,980 --> 00:23:01,380
thing.

560
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:03,820
I have set, I've taken my heart and

561
00:23:03,820 --> 00:23:06,420
its affections and I'm focused upon God.

562
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:08,400
And I've made it as if God is

563
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:09,820
right here before me.

564
00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:13,220
He sets the Lord, perhaps a crude illustration.

565
00:23:14,620 --> 00:23:16,080
What do you do when you determine you

566
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:17,180
want to get up at a certain hour

567
00:23:17,180 --> 00:23:17,680
in the morning?

568
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:18,200
What do you do?

569
00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,920
You set your alarm clock.

570
00:23:21,700 --> 00:23:24,160
The setting of the alarm is a determined

571
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,800
method of waking at the desired hour.

572
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,540
My dear friends, we must have a determined

573
00:23:29,540 --> 00:23:30,080
method.

574
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:32,400
There must be a method by which you

575
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,060
cultivate the presence of God.

576
00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:38,920
David said, I have set the Lord before

577
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:39,100
me.

578
00:23:39,140 --> 00:23:41,540
What is that determined method?

579
00:23:42,420 --> 00:23:44,060
And I have studied the scriptures.

580
00:23:44,300 --> 00:23:46,000
I have sought the Lord for many years

581
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:47,860
to come to this understanding.

582
00:23:47,860 --> 00:23:49,240
And there's only one thing.

583
00:23:49,460 --> 00:23:55,120
It is a deliberate meditation on the word

584
00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:56,160
of God.

585
00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,420
So this is not mystical after all.

586
00:24:00,500 --> 00:24:04,400
And yet it's just as real and experiential

587
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,520
as anything you could ever experience.

588
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:12,180
A deliberate meditation on the word of God,

589
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,640
specifically on the promise of God's presence.

590
00:24:17,180 --> 00:24:19,360
This is how you set the Lord before

591
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:19,640
you.

592
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,020
You meditate on the promise of God's presence.

593
00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:29,560
What did Jesus say as he ascended back

594
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:30,140
to the father?

595
00:24:31,220 --> 00:24:34,740
I am with you all the way, even

596
00:24:34,740 --> 00:24:36,960
until the end of the age.

597
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:38,540
What a blessed thing to think about.

598
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,360
Before you do your devotions, before you open

599
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:43,060
your Bible in the morning to pray or

600
00:24:43,060 --> 00:24:45,060
whenever it is, you read your Bibles.

601
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:46,320
Stop.

602
00:24:46,580 --> 00:24:47,840
Don't read your Bibles.

603
00:24:49,780 --> 00:24:52,080
You'll never hear another preacher say that probably.

604
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:53,820
Maybe Kyle because he's heard me say it.

605
00:24:57,260 --> 00:24:58,480
Don't read your Bibles.

606
00:24:58,660 --> 00:24:59,680
Quit reading Bibles.

607
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:02,440
Writing Bibles is not what the Bible told

608
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:03,000
you to do.

609
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:04,560
Some of you are looking like me.

610
00:25:04,620 --> 00:25:06,360
I knew there was something wrong about you.

611
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,780
You'll never find, all you want, Genesis and

612
00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:13,240
Revelation.

613
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,060
There's not one command that tells you to

614
00:25:15,060 --> 00:25:15,440
read.

615
00:25:15,820 --> 00:25:18,820
But there's numerous ones that tells you to

616
00:25:18,820 --> 00:25:21,380
study and to meditate on the word of

617
00:25:21,380 --> 00:25:21,780
God.

618
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:24,080
Quit reading your Bible to get through the

619
00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,560
chapter a day or exchange reading plan or

620
00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:27,820
whatever program you're using.

621
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:32,540
Read your Bible to experience God.

622
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,700
Read your Bible to experience the reality of

623
00:25:36,700 --> 00:25:38,320
His presence and His promises.

624
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,180
Read this book as if it's God's personal

625
00:25:42,180 --> 00:25:44,500
word to you and meditate.

626
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:46,760
And God has made you a promise, I

627
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,500
will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

628
00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:52,520
And so before you read this book, in

629
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,200
order to experience His presence, you need to

630
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,160
stop and believe that His presence is with

631
00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:57,440
you.

632
00:26:00,060 --> 00:26:00,580
Meditate.

633
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,320
You set the Lord before me.

634
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:03,340
How do you do that?

635
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,680
You simply take the promises, God you're with

636
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:08,760
me, you're in this room right now, I'm

637
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:09,440
not alone.

638
00:26:09,780 --> 00:26:10,780
And you believe it.

639
00:26:12,060 --> 00:26:13,060
You believe it.

640
00:26:13,860 --> 00:26:17,620
It's not having that scripture memorized that's going

641
00:26:17,620 --> 00:26:19,280
to give you the awareness of His presence.

642
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,580
It's believing that promise.

643
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,320
You're in this room with me.

644
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:27,200
Why?

645
00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:28,660
God is in this room right now.

646
00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:34,320
The Almighty Lord, the one who walked on

647
00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,800
the Sea of Galilee, the one who stopped

648
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:42,760
the bear, the funeral bear at Nain and

649
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:44,900
raised that boy back to life.

650
00:26:45,220 --> 00:26:45,900
He's here.

651
00:26:46,460 --> 00:26:48,940
The one who broke the bread and fed

652
00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:49,760
the 5,000.

653
00:26:50,100 --> 00:26:50,860
He's in this room.

654
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,520
The one who by the blast of His

655
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,080
nostrils caused the Red Sea to heap up

656
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:58,020
like walls.

657
00:26:58,420 --> 00:26:59,300
He's here.

658
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:00,860
He's in this room.

659
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:03,040
We're not alone dear friends.

660
00:27:04,780 --> 00:27:08,960
And the more you believe that promise, I

661
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:10,740
have set the Lord always before me.

662
00:27:10,740 --> 00:27:12,940
You begin to sense.

663
00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,300
Because it's faith that sees the invisible.

664
00:27:18,380 --> 00:27:21,560
It's by faith, taking God's word, believing what

665
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,660
it says, that you get the sense of

666
00:27:23,660 --> 00:27:24,020
reality.

667
00:27:24,180 --> 00:27:27,100
Now please, please be careful with me and

668
00:27:27,100 --> 00:27:29,580
listen intently and purposely.

669
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,260
I'm not after you getting a bunch of

670
00:27:32,260 --> 00:27:35,700
emotions or feelings, even though I use these

671
00:27:35,700 --> 00:27:36,100
words.

672
00:27:36,620 --> 00:27:37,740
I'm not after that.

673
00:27:37,780 --> 00:27:39,300
That's not really what I'm after.

674
00:27:39,300 --> 00:27:41,740
I don't think that's what God would be

675
00:27:41,740 --> 00:27:43,380
pleased for you to pursue.

676
00:27:44,180 --> 00:27:46,280
Because the devil can give you any feeling

677
00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:47,520
or experience you want.

678
00:27:49,260 --> 00:27:52,460
What we're after is the sense of reality.

679
00:27:54,380 --> 00:27:57,200
There are times when I know that God

680
00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:57,900
is with me.

681
00:27:58,040 --> 00:27:59,760
I, by faith, believe it.

682
00:28:00,060 --> 00:28:03,480
I don't necessarily feel anything tingly or warm

683
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:04,480
or wonderful.

684
00:28:05,260 --> 00:28:07,960
But there's something in my heart that stands

685
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:08,500
at attention.

686
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:10,840
Something in my heart that's aware that He

687
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:12,200
is there in that room with me.

688
00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:13,340
That I am not alone.

689
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,240
And it's with that awareness that I enter

690
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,660
into the word of God and begin to

691
00:28:18,660 --> 00:28:18,960
read.

692
00:28:19,180 --> 00:28:21,740
Knowing that God is speaking to me through

693
00:28:21,740 --> 00:28:22,740
this book.

694
00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:25,260
And my prayers are nothing more than my

695
00:28:25,260 --> 00:28:27,980
response to what He has said in this

696
00:28:27,980 --> 00:28:28,340
book.

697
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:30,580
That's the deliberate method.

698
00:28:30,580 --> 00:28:34,640
That's the determined method of cultivating the presence

699
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:35,320
of God.

700
00:28:35,540 --> 00:28:36,800
Well, number three.

701
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:40,720
There is a determined routine.

702
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:43,360
A determined routine.

703
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,880
I have set the Lord always before me.

704
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:49,620
Notice the word always.

705
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,820
This is something you continually do.

706
00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:56,180
You do this whether you feel it or

707
00:28:56,180 --> 00:28:56,560
not.

708
00:28:57,380 --> 00:28:59,820
Now, I was sharing this with a group

709
00:28:59,820 --> 00:29:00,960
of young men the other day.

710
00:29:01,620 --> 00:29:03,660
And I said to them, sometimes when I

711
00:29:03,660 --> 00:29:04,260
do this.

712
00:29:05,140 --> 00:29:07,720
Before I open my Bible and begin to

713
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:07,980
pray.

714
00:29:08,140 --> 00:29:10,000
As I meditate upon the presence of God.

715
00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:11,060
That He is there with me.

716
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:13,920
I don't sense anything.

717
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:15,620
I don't have no sense of reality.

718
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:17,620
That may go on for five minutes.

719
00:29:17,700 --> 00:29:19,020
It may go on for 30 minutes.

720
00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:21,100
But I don't open this book and start

721
00:29:21,100 --> 00:29:21,580
reading.

722
00:29:21,580 --> 00:29:26,740
Until I am, by faith, seeing and experiencing

723
00:29:26,740 --> 00:29:28,680
the presence of His person.

724
00:29:29,860 --> 00:29:31,400
Because why read this?

725
00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:33,500
This holy word of God.

726
00:29:33,740 --> 00:29:36,740
You will not have understanding apart from His

727
00:29:36,740 --> 00:29:37,060
help.

728
00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,300
All you're going to do is read for

729
00:29:41,300 --> 00:29:41,940
information.

730
00:29:42,100 --> 00:29:43,520
Because that's what you've been trained to do

731
00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:45,040
all of your church lives.

732
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,760
You're going to read and hopefully you'll find

733
00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:49,360
a verse that might give you some comfort.

734
00:29:49,420 --> 00:29:50,720
Or some peace or some joy.

735
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:51,980
But you're going to read.

736
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:53,700
And after you've done so, you'll close your

737
00:29:53,700 --> 00:29:53,980
Bible.

738
00:29:54,100 --> 00:29:55,960
And you probably can't remember by 10 o

739
00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,140
'clock what you read at 7 a.m.

740
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:00,060
No, no.

741
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,220
Don't waste the word of God like that.

742
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:04,860
Get your heart ready.

743
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:05,840
Get it warm.

744
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:08,320
To the presence of God.

745
00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:10,500
And then when you begin to read.

746
00:30:10,740 --> 00:30:12,400
You will find you'll have to reach for

747
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:13,300
a Kleenex box.

748
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:16,240
Because you'll see your eyes will begin to

749
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:16,860
be moistened.

750
00:30:16,860 --> 00:30:19,220
Because you know God is speaking to you

751
00:30:19,220 --> 00:30:20,680
through the word of God.

752
00:30:21,100 --> 00:30:22,700
But it's something you always do.

753
00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,080
When I don't feel, cannot be consciously aware

754
00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:27,720
of His presence.

755
00:30:27,980 --> 00:30:30,080
I don't say, well, tomorrow morning we'll give

756
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:30,840
it another try.

757
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:31,600
No, sir.

758
00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,220
I've learned I can't wait till tomorrow morning.

759
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:35,900
Because if I wait till tomorrow morning.

760
00:30:36,260 --> 00:30:38,240
Something's going to come up to deter my

761
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:38,540
heart.

762
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:40,760
And my heart will be even duller.

763
00:30:41,660 --> 00:30:43,420
And I'll want to do it even less.

764
00:30:43,540 --> 00:30:43,780
No.

765
00:30:44,020 --> 00:30:45,940
That moment is the moment you do business.

766
00:30:45,940 --> 00:30:48,240
That's the moment you don't leave until you

767
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:50,420
get the conscious awareness of His presence.

768
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:54,080
Otherwise, you're on a downward spiral, my friend.

769
00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:56,120
Deal with it immediately.

770
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:57,720
A determined routine.

771
00:30:58,120 --> 00:30:59,680
If you please, you can just simply say,

772
00:30:59,820 --> 00:31:01,540
practicing the presence of God.

773
00:31:02,060 --> 00:31:03,160
This is what we're talking about.

774
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,080
This is what David is teaching us here.

775
00:31:05,460 --> 00:31:09,480
He consistently practiced throughout his day the presence

776
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:10,780
of God.

777
00:31:10,940 --> 00:31:13,160
A determined routine.

778
00:31:13,540 --> 00:31:14,760
Oh, how we need God.

779
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:17,760
You say, but I know.

780
00:31:17,940 --> 00:31:18,620
I'm saved.

781
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:19,400
I have God.

782
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:19,860
Oh, yes.

783
00:31:20,460 --> 00:31:22,620
But we're not talking about the knowledge of

784
00:31:22,620 --> 00:31:23,240
your salvation.

785
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:26,680
We're talking about the knowing that He is

786
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:27,280
with you.

787
00:31:27,780 --> 00:31:31,100
And His abiding presence is with you.

788
00:31:31,700 --> 00:31:32,200
Number four.

789
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:35,080
A determined focus.

790
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:37,240
A determined focus.

791
00:31:37,660 --> 00:31:40,360
I have set the Lord always before me.

792
00:31:41,060 --> 00:31:41,840
Before me.

793
00:31:42,180 --> 00:31:43,760
He says, I put the Lord right there

794
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:44,300
before me.

795
00:31:44,300 --> 00:31:46,380
I act as if God's right there in

796
00:31:46,380 --> 00:31:46,980
front of me.

797
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:49,460
What does He mean by that?

798
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:50,820
Well, I think He means this.

799
00:31:51,180 --> 00:31:53,320
A mind fixed upon the Lord.

800
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,100
He has set His mind.

801
00:31:55,260 --> 00:31:58,740
He has fixed, focused His mind upon the

802
00:31:58,740 --> 00:31:58,980
Lord.

803
00:31:59,100 --> 00:32:03,420
Isaiah 26.3 You will keep Him in

804
00:32:03,420 --> 00:32:09,000
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee

805
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,660
because He trusts in You.

806
00:32:13,740 --> 00:32:16,600
So what is your mind fixed upon mostly?

807
00:32:17,820 --> 00:32:19,540
You answer the question right now.

808
00:32:19,740 --> 00:32:21,880
Please, answer it to your own self.

809
00:32:22,220 --> 00:32:25,140
What is your mind mostly fixed upon?

810
00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:29,260
If you don't fix your mind, the world

811
00:32:29,260 --> 00:32:30,280
will fix it for you.

812
00:32:30,500 --> 00:32:32,020
It will focus it for you.

813
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:38,740
The world, life, trials, living, work, relationships, children,

814
00:32:38,980 --> 00:32:39,460
spouses.

815
00:32:39,460 --> 00:32:42,280
All of these things will begin to determine

816
00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:44,440
the focus and the attention of the mind.

817
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,500
No sir, you've got to be determined here.

818
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,700
There has to be a determined will, a

819
00:32:48,700 --> 00:32:49,660
focused mind.

820
00:32:49,900 --> 00:32:52,100
I'm going to set my mind on the

821
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:54,400
Lord and His presence, that He's with me

822
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:54,980
always.

823
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,860
Friends, I'm not speaking to the elders in

824
00:33:00,860 --> 00:33:01,740
this church only.

825
00:33:02,700 --> 00:33:04,700
I'm speaking to all of us.

826
00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:09,980
This is your God called responsibility.

827
00:33:10,900 --> 00:33:14,120
You are as responsible as I am to

828
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,780
exercise this kind of determination.

829
00:33:18,380 --> 00:33:21,040
No wonder most of us are weak.

830
00:33:22,060 --> 00:33:25,040
No wonder the enemy has his sway and

831
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:26,140
power over us.

832
00:33:26,620 --> 00:33:28,840
We're not doing the very essence of what

833
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:29,680
Christianity is.

834
00:33:29,700 --> 00:33:32,520
We're not practicing relationship with God.

835
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:35,380
We have a relationship and therewith we're happy.

836
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,660
But friends, what kind of marriage would work

837
00:33:38,660 --> 00:33:39,140
that way?

838
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:42,260
I've got the license, we live together under

839
00:33:42,260 --> 00:33:44,220
the same roof, we're married, we're related.

840
00:33:46,220 --> 00:33:47,320
No, no, no.

841
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,640
No, that relationship has to be continually cultivated.

842
00:33:51,980 --> 00:33:53,460
We've already heard what happens.

843
00:33:53,740 --> 00:33:55,920
It can happen over a space of time

844
00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:56,920
and over the years.

845
00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,840
You drift apart if you don't actively, determinedly

846
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,020
fix your mind upon one another and cultivate

847
00:34:04,020 --> 00:34:05,020
the relationship.

848
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,719
Oh, I see it among Christians all these

849
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:09,000
years.

850
00:34:09,179 --> 00:34:11,800
I've grieved as I've watched Christian couples grow

851
00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,520
apart because they don't cultivate the relationship.

852
00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:16,780
How in the world do you believe you

853
00:34:16,780 --> 00:34:19,679
can know God and walk with God if

854
00:34:19,679 --> 00:34:21,239
you don't cultivate this?

855
00:34:22,179 --> 00:34:23,460
It's impossible.

856
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:25,679
Herein is our problem.

857
00:34:26,500 --> 00:34:27,739
Well, we're reformed.

858
00:34:27,820 --> 00:34:29,340
We believe in the sovereignty of God.

859
00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:31,219
God takes the initiative.

860
00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:33,179
Yes, He does.

861
00:34:34,380 --> 00:34:35,580
He is the pursuer.

862
00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:36,500
He's the suitor.

863
00:34:37,540 --> 00:34:39,780
But as the bride, we have a reciprocal

864
00:34:39,780 --> 00:34:41,600
responsibility as well.

865
00:34:44,020 --> 00:34:46,400
The sovereignty of God does not eliminate my

866
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:47,000
responsibility.

867
00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:50,880
And according to my effort in this relationship,

868
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,260
to that degree I will experience the conscious

869
00:34:53,260 --> 00:34:54,639
presence of God.

870
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:58,140
It's not the blame of the Lord.

871
00:34:58,220 --> 00:35:00,300
It's not His fault that our relationship is

872
00:35:00,300 --> 00:35:01,960
weak and we know Him so little and

873
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,600
we experience His power so, so little.

874
00:35:06,100 --> 00:35:08,640
No, it's because we've not done what we

875
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:09,800
should do in the relationship.

876
00:35:10,300 --> 00:35:12,100
What is your fine mind fixed upon?

877
00:35:13,140 --> 00:35:15,100
This is where the Word of God is

878
00:35:15,100 --> 00:35:16,600
absolutely essential.

879
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:19,700
You've got to fix your word upon the

880
00:35:19,700 --> 00:35:20,280
truth.

881
00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:22,920
How do you think of God?

882
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,140
How do you think when you think about

883
00:35:25,140 --> 00:35:25,500
God?

884
00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:28,000
It's been said that what comes into your

885
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:29,640
mind when you think about God is the

886
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:31,140
most important thing about you.

887
00:35:33,140 --> 00:35:35,000
The most important thing about you is what

888
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:36,640
you think when you think about God.

889
00:35:38,220 --> 00:35:40,000
When God comes to your mind, does He

890
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,340
come to you as a being very present,

891
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:43,140
very near?

892
00:35:43,700 --> 00:35:45,720
A being at your right hand, as David

893
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:46,000
said?

894
00:35:46,060 --> 00:35:47,140
Or do you think of Him in heaven,

895
00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:48,480
wherever that is?

896
00:35:50,220 --> 00:35:51,420
Tell me, what do you think?

897
00:35:52,260 --> 00:35:54,340
When you think of the Lord God, do

898
00:35:54,340 --> 00:35:55,360
you sense His nearness?

899
00:35:55,780 --> 00:35:57,240
Do you believe He's right here at your

900
00:35:57,240 --> 00:35:57,760
right hand?

901
00:35:58,040 --> 00:35:59,940
Or do you see Him with the pastor?

902
00:36:02,020 --> 00:36:04,280
Or the place where the saints gather?

903
00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:06,580
Or do you feel as if He's some

904
00:36:06,580 --> 00:36:08,920
million miles away?

905
00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:12,280
What do you think about God when you

906
00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:12,880
think about Him?

907
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,540
The Puritan Thomas Watson wrote, The first fruit

908
00:36:16,540 --> 00:36:17,260
of love.

909
00:36:17,500 --> 00:36:19,180
The first fruit of love.

910
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,060
If you really love Jesus, here is the

911
00:36:22,060 --> 00:36:24,120
first fruit of that love.

912
00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,880
It is the musing of the mind upon

913
00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:28,420
God.

914
00:36:29,420 --> 00:36:33,880
In common modern vernacular, the first evidence of

915
00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:35,760
a true love for God is that the

916
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:44,020
mind meditates, contemplates, studies, thinks about, daydreams about

917
00:36:44,020 --> 00:36:44,660
God.

918
00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:46,440
That's what He's saying.

919
00:36:47,660 --> 00:36:50,840
He who is in love, his thoughts are

920
00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:52,640
ever upon the object.

921
00:36:53,220 --> 00:36:56,160
He who loves God is ravished and transported

922
00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,120
with the contemplation of God.

923
00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,680
When I awake, says David, I am still

924
00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:01,200
with thee.

925
00:37:01,740 --> 00:37:04,540
God said to the psalmist, when I am

926
00:37:04,540 --> 00:37:06,100
awake, I am still with thee.

927
00:37:08,490 --> 00:37:10,390
God is the treasure and where the treasure

928
00:37:10,390 --> 00:37:12,950
is, there is the heart.

929
00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:14,810
And by this way we may test our

930
00:37:14,810 --> 00:37:15,470
love to God.

931
00:37:15,850 --> 00:37:18,150
What are our thoughts most upon?

932
00:37:18,290 --> 00:37:20,630
Can we say we're ravished with delight when

933
00:37:20,630 --> 00:37:21,830
we think about Jesus?

934
00:37:23,670 --> 00:37:25,250
Have your thoughts got wings?

935
00:37:25,450 --> 00:37:29,570
Do they fly away and get distracted onto

936
00:37:29,570 --> 00:37:30,510
something else?

937
00:37:30,510 --> 00:37:33,350
Do you contemplate Christ in His glory?

938
00:37:33,970 --> 00:37:36,610
A sinner crowds God out of his thoughts.

939
00:37:37,410 --> 00:37:39,390
He never thinks of God unless with horror

940
00:37:39,390 --> 00:37:41,350
as a prisoner thinks of the judge.

941
00:37:41,850 --> 00:37:43,930
Oh, my friend, how do you think of

942
00:37:43,930 --> 00:37:44,330
God?

943
00:37:45,070 --> 00:37:45,930
And do you?

944
00:37:46,810 --> 00:37:47,510
Do you?

945
00:37:47,950 --> 00:37:49,570
Well, there's a determined result here.

946
00:37:50,910 --> 00:37:52,670
It's the last half of this verse.

947
00:37:52,850 --> 00:37:54,890
Because He's at my right hand, I shall

948
00:37:54,890 --> 00:37:56,330
not be moved.

949
00:37:56,330 --> 00:38:00,350
An unshakable spirit is the result of a

950
00:38:00,350 --> 00:38:03,110
person who's cultivated the practice of the presence

951
00:38:03,110 --> 00:38:04,350
of God in their lives.

952
00:38:04,870 --> 00:38:06,310
An unshakable spirit.

953
00:38:06,850 --> 00:38:08,650
We don't know what may happen to us.

954
00:38:08,770 --> 00:38:10,450
Not even before this night is over.

955
00:38:11,230 --> 00:38:13,130
And we certainly can't predict tomorrow.

956
00:38:13,830 --> 00:38:16,770
Your calendar may be full, your schedule is

957
00:38:16,770 --> 00:38:17,170
brimming.

958
00:38:17,730 --> 00:38:19,610
But you still can't predict what's going to

959
00:38:19,610 --> 00:38:20,450
happen tomorrow.

960
00:38:20,450 --> 00:38:22,830
But the Christian who's learned to cultivate the

961
00:38:22,830 --> 00:38:25,330
presence of God doesn't need to know.

962
00:38:26,330 --> 00:38:28,130
Doesn't need to know at all.

963
00:38:28,370 --> 00:38:30,130
He or she has this firm and resolute

964
00:38:30,130 --> 00:38:30,590
spirit.

965
00:38:30,930 --> 00:38:33,870
They're unshakable because He's at my right hand.

966
00:38:34,110 --> 00:38:35,270
I shall not be moved.

967
00:38:35,850 --> 00:38:37,490
And he or she can face whatever tomorrow

968
00:38:37,490 --> 00:38:38,150
brings.

969
00:38:38,690 --> 00:38:38,810
Why?

970
00:38:38,890 --> 00:38:41,110
Because they know God will be with them.

971
00:38:42,730 --> 00:38:43,950
An unshakable spirit.

972
00:38:44,030 --> 00:38:45,010
How are you, my friend?

973
00:38:46,570 --> 00:38:50,790
Any least bit of troubling news causes your

974
00:38:50,790 --> 00:38:51,690
heart to tremor?

975
00:38:54,020 --> 00:38:56,800
Are you easily disquieted when things don't go

976
00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:57,700
your way at all?

977
00:38:58,700 --> 00:38:59,720
It proves one thing.

978
00:38:59,820 --> 00:39:01,880
You have not a mind who's set on

979
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:04,140
God and you're not practicing His presence.

980
00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,000
Not only is there an unshakable spirit, but

981
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:08,260
an unquenchable power.

982
00:39:08,900 --> 00:39:11,480
There's a power when you're conscious of the

983
00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:12,400
presence of God.

984
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:14,520
I need Thee every hour.

985
00:39:14,860 --> 00:39:15,800
Stay Thou nearby.

986
00:39:17,060 --> 00:39:21,820
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

987
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:26,640
It's kind of hard to sin, to give

988
00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:28,120
in to temptation when you know God's right

989
00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:29,000
there at your right hand.

990
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:31,680
And you're really conscious of that.

991
00:39:33,740 --> 00:39:36,020
Now there are some signs of not cultivating

992
00:39:36,020 --> 00:39:37,120
the presence of God.

993
00:39:38,660 --> 00:39:40,100
What are they, number one?

994
00:39:40,100 --> 00:39:42,440
Just the opposite of everything I've said.

995
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:44,560
Anxiety, worry, and doubt.

996
00:39:46,140 --> 00:39:48,580
Are you a person given to anxiety, worry?

997
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:53,240
Then, my friend, you're not practicing the presence

998
00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:53,760
of God.

999
00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:57,700
The person who is practicing the presence of

1000
00:39:57,700 --> 00:39:59,700
God, the news may be terrible, but they

1001
00:39:59,700 --> 00:40:02,800
immediately go to God because God is their

1002
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:03,400
environment.

1003
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:06,020
They live and breathe in His presence.

1004
00:40:09,060 --> 00:40:11,400
Another evidence that you're not practicing the presence

1005
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:14,760
of God is that there's dryness in your

1006
00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:15,960
service to God.

1007
00:40:16,540 --> 00:40:19,640
You do what you're supposed to do because

1008
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:20,300
you know better.

1009
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:22,480
You know you need to do so.

1010
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:23,940
But there's no life in it.

1011
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:24,660
It's dry.

1012
00:40:25,180 --> 00:40:25,900
It's dull.

1013
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:27,700
You're going through the motions.

1014
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,280
I told you about the pastor this morning

1015
00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:32,360
who said his ministry had just turned into

1016
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:33,460
going through the motions.

1017
00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:34,880
And what was the reason?

1018
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:36,600
And the reason was that in his time

1019
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,040
on the loan, he was just going through

1020
00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:39,460
the motions there as well.

1021
00:40:40,220 --> 00:40:41,560
There was nothing vital.

1022
00:40:41,700 --> 00:40:42,640
There was nothing vibrant.

1023
00:40:42,740 --> 00:40:43,460
Nothing alive.

1024
00:40:43,740 --> 00:40:46,520
No sense of God in that closet of

1025
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:47,000
prayer.

1026
00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:49,600
Dryness in our service.

1027
00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,220
Another evidence that you're not cultivating the presence

1028
00:40:53,220 --> 00:40:54,580
of God is you only turn to the

1029
00:40:54,580 --> 00:40:55,540
Lord when you're in trouble.

1030
00:40:57,260 --> 00:40:59,940
It's the only time you get really serious

1031
00:40:59,940 --> 00:41:02,660
with God is when the heat's turned up.

1032
00:41:04,100 --> 00:41:05,540
But brother, I want to say to you,

1033
00:41:05,620 --> 00:41:06,620
if you want to find the Lord in

1034
00:41:06,620 --> 00:41:08,220
the time of trouble, and don't we all,

1035
00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:10,360
we need Him.

1036
00:41:12,900 --> 00:41:14,140
If you want to find Him in that

1037
00:41:14,140 --> 00:41:15,920
hour of trouble, set Him before you when

1038
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:16,740
you're not in trouble.

1039
00:41:16,940 --> 00:41:18,460
Because if you wait until you're in trouble,

1040
00:41:18,580 --> 00:41:19,360
you'll not do it.

1041
00:41:20,860 --> 00:41:21,540
You're just not doing it.

1042
00:41:21,540 --> 00:41:22,160
I've watched this.

1043
00:41:22,220 --> 00:41:23,480
I've seen this in my own life as

1044
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:24,420
well as others' lives.

1045
00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:26,080
It's been confirmed over and over.

1046
00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:28,920
When you do not practice the presence of

1047
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:31,300
God and not walking in His presence, conscious

1048
00:41:31,300 --> 00:41:36,180
of Him, well, when trouble comes, you then

1049
00:41:36,180 --> 00:41:38,680
are immediately beset with a hundred doubts.

1050
00:41:39,100 --> 00:41:40,880
I can't call upon God now.

1051
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:42,280
You haven't been walking with Him.

1052
00:41:42,300 --> 00:41:43,900
You're just playing the role of a hypocrite.

1053
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:45,480
Why would He listen to you now?

1054
00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:46,940
And you're further depressed.

1055
00:41:49,940 --> 00:41:52,220
I can't depend upon the Lord because He

1056
00:41:52,220 --> 00:41:53,420
can't depend upon me.

1057
00:41:54,340 --> 00:41:56,660
And Satan will do everything he can to

1058
00:41:56,660 --> 00:41:59,300
keep you from acknowledging the presence and the

1059
00:41:59,300 --> 00:42:00,140
help of God.

1060
00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:02,740
No, no, that's not the time to do

1061
00:42:02,740 --> 00:42:02,940
it.

1062
00:42:04,020 --> 00:42:06,760
Beforehand, practice it, learn to do so now,

1063
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:08,960
so that when the hour of trial comes

1064
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:11,480
your way, oh, you will not be cast

1065
00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:13,860
out, but you will know that God's help

1066
00:42:13,860 --> 00:42:15,400
is immediate and certain.

1067
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:19,200
Well, there's one great objection to all of

1068
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:21,540
this that I always hear when I talk

1069
00:42:21,540 --> 00:42:23,540
to people about practicing the presence of God.

1070
00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:24,800
Do you know what that objection is?

1071
00:42:25,820 --> 00:42:27,620
How can I focus my mind on the

1072
00:42:27,620 --> 00:42:29,280
Lord when I must be focused on my

1073
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:31,620
work, my job, my task at hand?

1074
00:42:31,860 --> 00:42:34,420
It takes all my powers of concentration to

1075
00:42:34,420 --> 00:42:35,320
do my work.

1076
00:42:35,860 --> 00:42:38,120
How can I practice the presence of God?

1077
00:42:39,060 --> 00:42:40,440
Well, David answers the objection.

1078
00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:41,800
It's right there in your text.

1079
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:44,840
He knew what you were going to object

1080
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:45,280
and say.

1081
00:42:46,380 --> 00:42:48,400
Therefore, he has the argument ready.

1082
00:42:49,060 --> 00:42:53,120
David answers the objection by saying, because he's

1083
00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:55,420
at my right hand, I shall not be

1084
00:42:55,420 --> 00:42:56,440
moved.

1085
00:42:56,500 --> 00:43:01,900
In other words, I live as if God

1086
00:43:01,900 --> 00:43:04,220
is bodily right here at my right hand.

1087
00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:07,880
Therefore, I engage him in all that I

1088
00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:08,280
do.

1089
00:43:09,780 --> 00:43:13,840
Whether I'm at work, I acknowledge his presence

1090
00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:16,400
and say, Lord, what do you think we

1091
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:17,120
ought to do here?

1092
00:43:18,620 --> 00:43:21,600
When I'm confronted with a difficult situation, a

1093
00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:23,640
terrible phone call, I've got to give an

1094
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:24,040
answer.

1095
00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:26,120
Lord, you're right here.

1096
00:43:26,380 --> 00:43:27,120
What do I do?

1097
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:28,080
What do I say?

1098
00:43:28,340 --> 00:43:29,280
You promise wisdom.

1099
00:43:32,700 --> 00:43:35,200
David is saying, no matter what I'm doing,

1100
00:43:35,580 --> 00:43:38,280
I work and labor and function as if

1101
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:39,420
God's right there with me.

1102
00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:40,720
I engage him.

1103
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,800
What if Brother Kyle or Brother Brian went

1104
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:45,940
to work with you tomorrow?

1105
00:43:47,020 --> 00:43:49,240
They had gained the permission of your employer.

1106
00:43:49,500 --> 00:43:51,260
And so they hang around just to watch

1107
00:43:51,260 --> 00:43:52,720
you, just to observe you.

1108
00:43:52,740 --> 00:43:55,080
Because they want to get better acquainted with

1109
00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:56,260
you and see what you do.

1110
00:43:56,340 --> 00:43:58,020
Because you spend eight hours at least a

1111
00:43:58,020 --> 00:44:00,040
day, every day at work.

1112
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:01,260
And so they want to get a better

1113
00:44:01,260 --> 00:44:03,120
idea of what you have to face.

1114
00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:04,440
And so there they are with you.

1115
00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:05,740
Do you think you'd never say a word

1116
00:44:05,740 --> 00:44:06,820
to them all day long?

1117
00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:09,360
Do you think you'd never engage them in

1118
00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:10,460
conversation at all?

1119
00:44:11,060 --> 00:44:12,580
Do you think you'd never look at them

1120
00:44:12,580 --> 00:44:15,180
and say something or even wink at them?

1121
00:44:15,180 --> 00:44:16,680
Acknowledge them at all?

1122
00:44:17,300 --> 00:44:18,440
Of course not.

1123
00:44:19,460 --> 00:44:21,280
You would converse.

1124
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:22,560
You would acknowledge them.

1125
00:44:22,660 --> 00:44:23,360
You would talk.

1126
00:44:23,460 --> 00:44:25,020
You would engage one another.

1127
00:44:25,380 --> 00:44:28,540
Well, my dear friends, greater is He who's

1128
00:44:28,540 --> 00:44:31,920
with you every single moment of the hour

1129
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:32,980
than any of us.

1130
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:34,420
He abides with you.

1131
00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:36,660
He promised, I'll never leave thee, nor forsake

1132
00:44:36,660 --> 00:44:36,820
thee.

1133
00:44:36,940 --> 00:44:38,280
I am with you always.

1134
00:44:38,660 --> 00:44:40,060
He is there.

1135
00:44:40,340 --> 00:44:41,420
And He's watching you.

1136
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:44,020
He covers you as a shield and a

1137
00:44:44,020 --> 00:44:44,440
buckler.

1138
00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:47,040
He spreads His wings, and under His wings

1139
00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:48,540
you do abide and dwell.

1140
00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:50,440
Can you not acknowledge that?

1141
00:44:50,500 --> 00:44:51,720
Will you not speak to Him?

1142
00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:53,980
Will you not engage Him in your daily

1143
00:44:53,980 --> 00:44:54,640
activities?

1144
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:56,440
Because He wants to be.

1145
00:44:57,420 --> 00:44:58,900
He wants to be your partner.

1146
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:01,880
He wants to be your co-laborer.

1147
00:45:05,020 --> 00:45:07,000
Come unto me, ye who are heavy laden,

1148
00:45:07,900 --> 00:45:08,940
burdened and heavy laden.

1149
00:45:09,060 --> 00:45:10,040
I will give you rest.

1150
00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:13,220
Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke

1151
00:45:13,220 --> 00:45:15,580
is easy and my burden is light.

1152
00:45:15,580 --> 00:45:18,260
He wants to be there.

1153
00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:20,420
Because He loves you.

1154
00:45:21,620 --> 00:45:23,260
This is the most incredible thing.

1155
00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:26,400
That the God of the universe, this wise,

1156
00:45:26,500 --> 00:45:34,880
omnipotent, omniscient God, would delight that He'd want

1157
00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:35,640
to be with me.

1158
00:45:38,490 --> 00:45:39,990
I know He loves me.

1159
00:45:41,070 --> 00:45:43,070
But you know, I also know He likes

1160
00:45:43,070 --> 00:45:43,430
me.

1161
00:45:44,550 --> 00:45:47,530
Because you never like to be around somebody

1162
00:45:47,530 --> 00:45:48,490
you don't like.

1163
00:45:49,770 --> 00:45:51,810
You can love them, but you don't necessarily

1164
00:45:51,810 --> 00:45:52,450
like them.

1165
00:45:54,670 --> 00:45:58,290
But God loves you, and He likes you,

1166
00:45:58,950 --> 00:46:01,770
because He wants to fellowship with you.

1167
00:46:02,810 --> 00:46:04,350
My dear friend, what I have talked about

1168
00:46:04,350 --> 00:46:05,250
is not a dream.

1169
00:46:05,410 --> 00:46:08,230
It's not for the spiritually elite.

1170
00:46:08,350 --> 00:46:09,470
It is your potential.

1171
00:46:10,150 --> 00:46:11,250
It's your promise.

1172
00:46:11,410 --> 00:46:12,450
It's your birthright.

1173
00:46:12,450 --> 00:46:13,450
It's your inheritance.

1174
00:46:13,670 --> 00:46:14,210
Live it.

1175
00:46:14,530 --> 00:46:15,250
Enjoy it.

1176
00:46:15,390 --> 00:46:16,450
Experience it.

1177
00:46:16,790 --> 00:46:18,650
God has saved you to walk with you,

1178
00:46:18,790 --> 00:46:19,830
to talk with you.

1179
00:46:20,770 --> 00:46:23,910
That you might know Him in intimacy and

1180
00:46:23,910 --> 00:46:24,490
in love.

1181
00:46:26,370 --> 00:46:27,950
Cultivate the presence of God.

1182
00:46:28,090 --> 00:46:30,450
I have set the Lord always before me.

1183
00:46:30,510 --> 00:46:32,970
Because He's at my right hand, I shall

1184
00:46:32,970 --> 00:46:34,650
not be moved.

1185
00:46:36,470 --> 00:46:36,890
Amen.

1186
00:46:38,110 --> 00:46:39,970
Our Father and our God, we are grateful

1187
00:46:39,970 --> 00:46:41,990
to you tonight for your help.

1188
00:46:43,550 --> 00:46:47,210
And I pray that we will not forget

1189
00:46:47,210 --> 00:46:47,950
this message.

1190
00:46:50,830 --> 00:46:53,770
Take this mere introduction into this wonderful subject.

1191
00:46:53,910 --> 00:46:56,590
And may the days to come develop it,

1192
00:46:56,750 --> 00:46:57,610
Lord, in their hearts.

1193
00:46:59,290 --> 00:47:04,130
Make this a church that comes together and

1194
00:47:04,130 --> 00:47:08,090
experiences the overflow of everyone else's personal relationship

1195
00:47:08,090 --> 00:47:08,690
with you.

1196
00:47:10,410 --> 00:47:14,370
Lord, these worship services are not designed, it

1197
00:47:14,370 --> 00:47:17,450
seems to me, to pump us up, to

1198
00:47:17,450 --> 00:47:20,910
encourage us, to lift us up, and enthuse

1199
00:47:20,910 --> 00:47:22,010
us so that we can go out and

1200
00:47:22,010 --> 00:47:22,890
live the Christian life.

1201
00:47:22,890 --> 00:47:26,610
That they should be more or less places

1202
00:47:26,610 --> 00:47:29,470
where we overflow and spill out of our

1203
00:47:29,470 --> 00:47:32,450
personal walk with you of this week.

1204
00:47:34,050 --> 00:47:36,250
And thereby we are encouraged.

1205
00:47:38,150 --> 00:47:43,070
Oh, help us, Lord, to experience what you

1206
00:47:43,070 --> 00:47:43,790
died for.

1207
00:47:45,250 --> 00:47:46,730
Reconciliation with you.

1208
00:47:47,510 --> 00:47:50,390
You, the same God that would come in

1209
00:47:50,390 --> 00:47:53,550
the cool of the evening and commune with

1210
00:47:53,550 --> 00:47:54,450
Adam and Eve.

1211
00:47:55,710 --> 00:47:58,390
The same God who walked with Enoch.

1212
00:47:59,010 --> 00:48:01,050
Called Abraham friend.

1213
00:48:01,290 --> 00:48:04,050
Talked to Moses face to face as a

1214
00:48:04,050 --> 00:48:04,330
friend.

1215
00:48:05,590 --> 00:48:08,150
Oh, Lord, we delight in you.

1216
00:48:08,230 --> 00:48:09,970
We want to know you more intimately.

1217
00:48:09,970 --> 00:48:12,950
We pray, Lord, that whatever the barriers are

1218
00:48:12,950 --> 00:48:17,850
that keeps us dull-witted and cool-hearted

1219
00:48:17,850 --> 00:48:20,590
towards you, you'd help us to remove them.

1220
00:48:21,390 --> 00:48:23,850
The veil, Lord, has been torn in Christ.

1221
00:48:25,030 --> 00:48:27,450
Access has been made by faith into this

1222
00:48:27,450 --> 00:48:28,690
grace wherein we stand.

1223
00:48:28,830 --> 00:48:30,510
Oh, set us at liberty, Lord.

1224
00:48:30,650 --> 00:48:32,890
Let us know the privilege that is ours.

1225
00:48:33,810 --> 00:48:36,390
Starting even this night, I pray in Jesus'

1226
00:48:36,610 --> 00:48:36,870
name.

1227
00:48:36,870 --> 00:48:38,270
Amen.