1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,240 Thank you Lord, you're bringing your church back to the center where you are the focus, 2 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:17,280 where you are all in all. 3 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:21,360 And all we know, you say if we lift you up, you will do all the drawing, you'll draw all 4 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,280 men unto yourself. 5 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,260 So we would ask that you would grant us the great grace, the ability to lift you up in 6 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:35,760 our conversation, in our lives, that we would be lifters of Jesus. 7 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:42,960 People would see your life in my life, your life in our lives Lord, and that in this season 8 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,000 Lord, I know Lord, you're going to draw millions to yourself. 9 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,760 So we bless you, we praise you, we say this is your church Lord, have your way in this 10 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:56,640 house Lord, have your way, Jesus be the center here, Jesus be the center here. 11 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:01,960 And all the people said, Amen, Amen. 12 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:07,560 Good morning church, thank you, what a wonderful time of worship. 13 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:12,200 I really believe God is bringing the church back to a simple place where Jesus is really 14 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:14,200 the center. 15 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,520 And it's just tremendous to see what he's doing. 16 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,520 I'll just give a quick report before I preach today, we're heading off again. 17 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:26,760 You know it's because the evangelization of the world is so important to God. 18 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:32,040 He was speaking to me when I was in South Sudan that the Western church has often made 19 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:40,400 it too much about us, but we are called to mission, and it's not as though the church 20 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:47,360 has a mission, the mission has a church, that's the truth. 21 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:53,200 Jesus left heaven on a mission to save us, and then he said to the early church, go into 22 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,800 all the world. 23 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:01,240 Christ is all about the mission, and the mission has a church to support it. 24 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:08,440 So going into all the world and bringing in this harvest is so central to God's heart. 25 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:14,360 And I just went on a trip with a brother from South America and I met Pastor Akram who some 26 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:21,760 of us know in South Sudan, and the Bible says go to the ends of the earth. 27 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:27,880 I think like it was the, it's the last stop, South Sudan. 28 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:33,440 If you Google poorest nations in the world, this one often comes up number one. 29 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:39,240 It is a nation that's had 21 years of war, it's devastated, there's nothing there. 30 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,080 No infrastructure, children don't go to school, 90% of them. 31 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,200 It's nations, 7% of the nation has electricity. 32 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:54,480 So you know, and God had us arrange to go out into these remote villages, and I want 33 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,000 to tell you, people think the gospel's gone everywhere. 34 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,480 There are plenty of places who've never heard the gospel. 35 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,720 There are plenty of bishops who've never heard the gospel. 36 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,920 I was being hosted by these bishops, none of them had a Bible. 37 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:10,920 None of them had a Bible. 38 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:14,160 The Bible over there is $100, no one's got a Bible. 39 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,760 So I'm going to speak to the Bible Society and make them do a project over there because 40 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,160 it's, how can you not have a Bible? 41 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:28,480 But they don't have Bibles, they're so poor that half the children die in childbirth and 42 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,200 there's no hospitals, no medicine, it's just awful. 43 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,080 But you know what God was showing me over there? 44 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,080 Jesus said the poor you will always have with you. 45 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,760 And I thought why is that? 46 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:42,000 Why will we always have the poor? 47 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:48,960 And I believe, my wife was saying that it's because the heart of man is so corrupt that 48 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,560 corruption keeps these people poor in Africa. 49 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,880 That's what keeps them poor. 50 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:56,360 And that's what's going on there. 51 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:02,840 So it's, but you know, before there, and I believe this, we could give lots of money, 52 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:08,040 we could build hospitals and schools, but before there can be real change, I believe 53 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:09,480 that's to be spiritual change. 54 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:15,800 There has to be change in the heart, human heart and only the gospel can bring that. 55 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,160 Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can change the human heart. 56 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:24,480 So I was preaching and praise God, you know I had seasons, times there where entire villages 57 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,760 were saved. 58 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:32,080 Twice these two chiefs got saved at these big villages and one chief stood up and he 59 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:36,200 was, they're really hard people, the South Sudanese, but this guy was emotional and said 60 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,160 this morning I was going to sacrifice five chickens to my ancestral demons. 61 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:45,960 That's not what he called them, but that's what they were, but he said today I know this 62 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:48,560 man is speaking about the one true God. 63 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:49,760 And he said we will serve him. 64 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:55,160 And that means that village of 1500 people would now serve Jesus. 65 00:04:55,160 --> 00:05:08,200 So you know, so in spite of all the difficulty sleeping in huts with 40 degrees, they're 66 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,720 still killing each other over there by the way. 67 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,120 That's how wild it is. 68 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:19,760 There are people who are displaced because another problem over there was the Ethiopians 69 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:24,480 built this dam and it's flooding parts of South Sudan, the Nile runs through South Sudan. 70 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,240 So there's 1.7 million people displaced and they've moved them on to other lands and the 71 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,520 people who don't want them there are killing them. 72 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,720 And there's no law, there's no government, there's no, so boy oh boy it's a difficult 73 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,480 place but you know I know God opened a door and if anyone wants to be a missionary I'll 74 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,800 support you. 75 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:51,120 It was just, think twice about that. 76 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,160 It was incredibly hard but incredibly fruitful. 77 00:05:54,160 --> 00:06:03,200 I really believe God started something there and once, just one highlight, you know God 78 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:04,440 is sending you there. 79 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:10,040 I preach this message on darkness because a lot of the people there are still worshipping 80 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:11,040 ancestral spirits. 81 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,920 They're still in witchcraft. 82 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,080 And I preach this message that Jesus said I'm the light of the world. 83 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:22,440 He who follows me will never abide or walk in darkness but have the light of life. 84 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,000 That's his presence. 85 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:30,560 And I preach that, as I was preaching that, one of the bishops who was hosting me fell 86 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,520 on the ground and started to writhe like a snake. 87 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:36,440 This is the bishop. 88 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:43,040 So the bishop needed great deliverance but many of those bishops heard the gospel, became 89 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,120 so joyful and then were filled with the spirit. 90 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,840 And so I believe a great seed has been sown. 91 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:51,440 A great seed has been sown. 92 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,480 And I think God sent me there for the bishops. 93 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:57,320 I think that, I do. 94 00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:59,520 I think he sent me there for the bishops. 95 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,200 So I do ask you to pray for me. 96 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:02,200 I want to ask you to pray. 97 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:03,200 I want to go to Pakistan now. 98 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,360 I'm believing, this is a nation God's called us for. 99 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:12,120 I'm believing for tens of thousands of salvations on this trip. 100 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:13,120 Tens of thousands. 101 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,320 I think the meetings are going to be amazing. 102 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:23,200 But I want you to pray for me that the Word from heaven is given to me in every meeting. 103 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:27,960 That the Word that God wants will be whispered into my spiritual and I'll have the right 104 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:29,160 Word every meeting. 105 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:30,960 Please pray for me that because that's important. 106 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:36,400 It's important that God just speaks that Word to you for every meeting. 107 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:42,720 If you have a Bible you can open to Psalm 68 today. 108 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:48,400 Father I ask today that we would not leave here unchanged. 109 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:56,400 That your Word would inform us and it would transform us to the glory of Jesus Christ. 110 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:58,760 Amen. 111 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,560 Psalm 68, when you're there, you're there. 112 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:03,560 Okay. 113 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:04,560 Let God arise. 114 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,680 Let his enemies be scattered. 115 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,240 Let those also who hate him flee before him. 116 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:17,920 The smoke is driven away so drive them away as wax melts before the fire. 117 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,560 So let the wicked perish at the presence of God. 118 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,000 Sorry, I forgot. 119 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,640 I'm out of practice but you can sit. 120 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:28,640 I'm done. 121 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,520 I should have asked you to stand for the Word of God. 122 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:36,520 It's just if you're new to this church, I think it's great to honor the Word of God 123 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:41,120 and have a high version of the Word so we stand for the reading. 124 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:47,600 As smoke is driven away so drive them away as wax melts before the fire so let the wicked 125 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,640 perish at the presence of God. 126 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:59,380 I believe that this psalm speaks about powers, spiritual powers of wickedness that are always 127 00:08:59,380 --> 00:09:02,920 fighting against God's people. 128 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:09,640 You'll always have, when you become a Christian, you'll always have spiritual powers that Satan 129 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,480 assigns against your life. 130 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,560 And when you get promoted, I always say new level, new devil. 131 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:22,400 God has promotions and then in the spiritual realm, the devil sees that and says, well 132 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:23,400 that one didn't work. 133 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,480 He assigns a more senior prince to oppose you. 134 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:34,760 So we have spiritual enemies and our battle is not against flesh and blood but it's against 135 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:39,240 spiritual powers in high places and demons. 136 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:47,720 And this passage speaks about in the midst of that battle, God arising, the enemies being 137 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:53,640 scattered as smoke is driven away, melting before the fire. 138 00:09:53,640 --> 00:10:00,800 And the reason these enemies are being driven away, these spiritual powers of wickedness, 139 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:07,160 they are perishing, it says, at the presence of God. 140 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:15,160 And I believe at the moment that the spiritual powers of wickedness, they're rising. 141 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:21,160 You can feel in all the, particularly the Western world, you know, all this LGBT stuff, 142 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,760 there are demons behind that agenda. 143 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:28,480 All the, you know, aborting, there are demons behind all of that. 144 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,640 And all the things that are trying to destroy children with this transgender nonsense and 145 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,900 all this stuff, there are demonic powers behind all that. 146 00:10:36,900 --> 00:10:41,360 And these demonic powers are trying to destroy the family, they're just trying to destroy 147 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:46,320 you corporately, they're also trying, they're opposed to you individually. 148 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:53,720 And what we need in the midst of this battle that we're constantly in, more than anything 149 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,040 else, is the presence of God in our life. 150 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:01,200 The abiding of presence of God in our life. 151 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:05,000 Now when I say that, not every Christian even understands the abiding presence of God. 152 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,800 The abiding presence of God is what the Old Testament used to call it, the shekinah glory. 153 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,800 It's tangible. 154 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:17,640 When you know the presence of God, it's an experiential knowledge that I am not alone, 155 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,800 that God is with me. 156 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,680 And it's, the manifest presence of God manifests in the form of the Holy Spirit. 157 00:11:24,680 --> 00:11:31,400 And in this time, what is most needed for every believer is to know the manifest presence 158 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:32,400 of God. 159 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:38,840 So let the wicked presence, let the wicked perish at the presence of God. 160 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,120 And I often see, you know, people when they're actually, they know they're under attack or 161 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,480 they know there are powers of darkness attacking them, they'll say, you know, my words are 162 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:47,480 powerful. 163 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:48,480 I've just got to speak my words. 164 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:52,840 And if I speak it in faith, I want to tell you, if you haven't got the presence of God 165 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:57,280 in your life, your words mean nothing. 166 00:11:57,280 --> 00:11:59,560 God is sovereign, not your tongue. 167 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:03,840 What you need in your words are only powerful when combined with the presence of God in 168 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:04,840 your life. 169 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:09,680 And if you don't have the presence of God in your life, the enemy is not concerned with 170 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:11,360 you. 171 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:18,960 But we really need to understand the importance of hosting and carrying the presence, the 172 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,120 manifest presence of God in your life. 173 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:25,800 Whenever God had called a man in the past in the Old Testament and guaranteed that he 174 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,760 would be victorious, the guarantee was this. 175 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:30,440 He said, I'll be with you. 176 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:31,440 That's my presence. 177 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,440 He said to Joshua, you don't have to worry about it. 178 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:35,440 I'll be with you. 179 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,680 Moses, you don't have to worry. 180 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:40,960 You're going to win because I'll be with you. 181 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:49,640 And so we have to be zealous in this hour to host and to carry and to have the abiding 182 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:56,560 presence of God in and upon my life because that is what, when I have that, the wicked 183 00:12:56,560 --> 00:13:02,120 will be, they will perish simply because the presence of God is abiding in me. 184 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,080 I don't have to worry about the enemy. 185 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,340 I don't have to worry about what I'm saying. 186 00:13:06,340 --> 00:13:13,640 If I am a carrier of the presence of God, every demon will just perish. 187 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:18,520 I hope you get an understanding of this because there are many people don't. 188 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,720 And let the wicked perish at the presence of God. 189 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:22,920 And you see this all through the scriptures. 190 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,360 You see people like the apostle Paul. 191 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:32,040 And you see he was so, he met Jesus and he was a man of prayer and he was so pressed 192 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:38,000 and he spent so much time in prayer and the presence of God was so real in him that you 193 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,880 could see people saw the abiding presence of Christ in him. 194 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:44,640 That's what God wants for your life. 195 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:46,520 He wants people to see Christ in you. 196 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,740 The only way they do that is if you're a host of the presence of God. 197 00:13:49,740 --> 00:13:50,740 And Paul was a host. 198 00:13:50,740 --> 00:13:53,120 He carried the presence of God. 199 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:58,440 And because he carried the presence of God, his ministry was very much like the ministry 200 00:13:58,440 --> 00:13:59,440 of Jesus. 201 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:02,520 There was a girl once who came to him, she had a spirit of divination. 202 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:08,080 People who do fortune telling, that's a demon of divination that's enabling them to do that. 203 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,160 Athena the star woman and all that sort of stuff. 204 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:12,480 That's a spirit of divination. 205 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:17,080 She was following him and she had one of these demons working through her. 206 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:21,080 And these demons knew who Paul was. 207 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,560 And they're actually following her and following Paul and they're actually saying to everybody, 208 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:27,400 this guy's the great power of God. 209 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:32,480 And Paul gets tired of it and just says in one word he just says, in the name of Jesus 210 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,480 out. 211 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,680 And this demon just left this girl. 212 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:38,680 Just like that. 213 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:43,840 This strong power that was in her just left her like that. 214 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:50,880 And that happened, that enemy perished simply because Paul carried the presence of God in 215 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:51,880 his life. 216 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:57,400 And it's significant because Paul carried the presence of God. 217 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,640 But there was another character as you read a couple of chapters after this in Acts 19 218 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,120 called the sons of Sceva. 219 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:10,920 And they had seen Paul work, they'd seen their disciples work and they were copying their 220 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:11,920 formula. 221 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,520 They were chanting the mantra and they knew all the words and they said in the name of 222 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,920 Jesus every demon come out. 223 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:28,040 But these demons looked at these sons of Sceva and said Paul we know and Jesus we know. 224 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,880 But who are you with all your babbling? 225 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,880 And they beat them up and they left bloodied. 226 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:34,880 Why? 227 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:38,800 Because they had the mantra, they had the words but they didn't have the presence of 228 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:40,720 Jesus in their life. 229 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:47,320 They didn't carry the manifest presence of God over their lives and the demons knew it. 230 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:53,280 But when you carry the presence of God, see Peter also says Peter was with Jesus all the 231 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:59,680 time and he would walk down the street and they would lay the sick and the tormented 232 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,960 and Peter's shadow would pass by them and heal them. 233 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:03,960 What is all that about? 234 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:09,000 There's no power in a shadow but it's about the manifest presence of God that was in and 235 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,240 over his life. 236 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:15,880 That sickness and torment was simply destroyed. 237 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:21,440 The enemy was perishing, wicked powers were perishing because of what he carried, the 238 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,240 presence of God that was over his life. 239 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:31,040 And this is what we need to know, we actually need to know and be hungry, not just for theological 240 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:39,340 knowledge and to know the mantras, we actually have to know the value of hosting the presence 241 00:16:39,340 --> 00:16:41,440 of God on our life. 242 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:48,680 See David failed with Bathsheba and he had an adulterous affair with her and then he 243 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:49,860 killed her husband. 244 00:16:49,860 --> 00:16:56,480 But when he repented in Psalm 51, he didn't cry out to God and say, don't let me be an 245 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,120 adulterer anymore, take this spirit of lust from me. 246 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:05,000 He actually said, he said, because he understood the source, he said, no matter what happens, 247 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:11,160 no matter what you do, no matter how you chase me, take not the Holy Spirit from me. 248 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,320 In other words, whatever happens, don't take your presence from me. 249 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,560 And the reason he said that is he saw King Saul start well. 250 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:25,480 King Saul was, he was winning battles, he was chosen by God to be the king. 251 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:33,880 But then because he didn't value what he carried and he didn't want to obey God, he ended up 252 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:38,440 losing the presence of God. 253 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:43,440 And Samuel came and said, God's left you. 254 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,320 And then Saul said, I don't hear the voice of God anymore. 255 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:51,160 And before you know it, he was going to a witch. 256 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:52,240 And this is what's important. 257 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:57,600 David saw this and he realized that once you lose the presence of God over your life, the 258 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,340 enemy can come in. 259 00:18:00,340 --> 00:18:03,520 If you don't have the presence of God in your life, the enemy can just come in. 260 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:09,040 As soon as the presence left Saul, this demon, this spirit came into him. 261 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:14,200 And then he used to run around the palace like a madman, shouting about David and throwing 262 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,000 spears at him, completely tormented. 263 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,120 And then David realized who had the presence of God now in his life. 264 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:26,280 When he walked into Saul's presence, that all those demons quietened down. 265 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:31,240 That he changed the atmosphere because of the presence of God that was on his life. 266 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,600 And he said, this is the key to spiritual victory. 267 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:40,240 So when he failed, he said, I don't care what I've got to go through, but do not take the 268 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:46,640 presence of God away from my life. 269 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:50,960 I want to ask you, do you value the presence of God? 270 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,560 Do you value the presence of God like David valued the presence of God? 271 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,800 I'll say personally, it's the most important thing I do. 272 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:03,480 And you know, the presence of God will become so real to you. 273 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:10,880 I don't like to just talk about myself, but I'll do it now. 274 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:17,800 In the morning, I'll get up and when I say I spend time with God, I spend time in the 275 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,340 presence of God. 276 00:19:20,340 --> 00:19:26,920 And it's so real and it's so sweet in his presence, his fullness of joy. 277 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:31,040 He says, you have made me glad in your presence. 278 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:38,320 But sometimes I'm in that place and it's so real that I'll get up and I'll say I've got 279 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:42,400 things to do and the Lord will say to me, not yet. 280 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:43,400 Not yet. 281 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,400 I'm not finished with you. 282 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:46,400 It's like having a little chuckle. 283 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:52,920 You go back in and you just spend time with him in his presence. 284 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:57,760 Now that should be the priority of every believer. 285 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:06,000 It should be the priority to love being in because when you're in that secret place, 286 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,400 this is how you become a host of the presence, a carrier of the presence. 287 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,680 You know, osmosis or what do you call it, marinating. 288 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:20,000 When you sit in the presence of God like that, the presence of God gets in you. 289 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,860 It gets upon you. 290 00:20:21,860 --> 00:20:25,760 Your nature marinates in the presence of God. 291 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:30,120 And when you come out, my wife knows when I'll be in the presence of God. 292 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,680 Your character is different. 293 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,880 Devils can't defeat you. 294 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:44,000 Zechariah chapter 2 says this, then I raised my eyes, verse 1, and looked and behold a 295 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,840 man was a measuring line in his hand. 296 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:46,840 So I said, where are you going? 297 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:51,600 And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem to see what its width and what its length. 298 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:56,680 And there was the angel who talked to me going out and another angel was coming out to meet 299 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,160 him who said to him, run, speak to this young man saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as 300 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:06,360 towns without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. 301 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:14,040 For I, says the Lord, will be a wall of fire around her and I will be the glory in her 302 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,040 midst. 303 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,080 This is speaking about spiritual Jerusalem, not physical Jerusalem. 304 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:25,400 And what it's saying is that when we have the presence of God in our life, just look 305 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:29,200 at spiritual Jerusalem, that's you. 306 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:36,560 When we have the presence of God, the presence of God functions as a wall of fire around 307 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,680 your life. 308 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,240 A wall of fire. 309 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:47,480 And when you have a wall of fire around your life from the presence of God, you don't have 310 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,280 to depend upon a physical wall. 311 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,400 You don't have to worry about physical things. 312 00:21:54,400 --> 00:22:04,000 When you may come under attack, God's presence manifests as a wall of fire around you. 313 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:08,040 That's why, you know, maybe people think we're going to a place, Pakistan might be tricky. 314 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:14,160 I want to tell you, there is a wall of fire around people who carry the presence of God 315 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,400 and it's real. 316 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:22,040 A wall of fire and I will be the glory in her midst. 317 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:27,160 This is speaking about the Shekinah glory, the manifest presence of God that surrounds 318 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:33,240 you like a wall and the devil cannot get under it and he cannot get over it. 319 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:38,960 You are secure when you carry the glory, the presence of God. 320 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,040 It is a wall around you. 321 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:47,840 And Jesus said this in John chapter 14 verse 21. 322 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:58,400 He said, He who has my commandments and keep them, it is He who loves me and He who loves 323 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:05,800 me will be loved by my Father and I will love Him and listen to this, and I will manifest 324 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,880 myself to Him. 325 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:22,000 So what that means is that if you love Him and you obey Christ, the time that is needed, 326 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:28,920 Christ comes in the form of the Shekinah presence and the glory and He manifests Himself as 327 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:34,400 this wall of protection around your life. 328 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:43,240 And you may not feel anything but His presence, it's like a flash of lightning comes or something 329 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:48,240 just manifests, a burst of light comes when you need it. 330 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:53,640 And you can see this a time where many times in the scripture, but for instance these three 331 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:59,680 Hebrew boys Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they are men who are sold out to God in the 332 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,160 midst of a wicked and corrupt generation and people are compromising but they won't compromise 333 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:09,400 and they're told to bow down to this demonic idol that the king has made and everyone else 334 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:14,480 is bowing down but these boys say, we are not going to bow and they just, you know, 335 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:19,820 the music is played and the pressure is ramped up and they're trying to put fear and intimidation 336 00:24:19,820 --> 00:24:25,140 on them and they say like, we are going to stay loyal to our God no matter the cost, 337 00:24:25,140 --> 00:24:28,840 we will not disobey the Word of God that says no idols. 338 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:34,360 And so they get put into the fire and what happens at the exact right time, Christ is 339 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:40,480 true, Christ is favourable, there's a burst in that fire, there's a burst of light in 340 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:46,220 that furnace where Christ manifests His presence. 341 00:24:46,220 --> 00:24:51,760 He manifests it because they love Him and they obey Him and nothing can touch their 342 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:52,760 lives. 343 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,920 No fire, there's not even a smell and this is what happens. 344 00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:03,320 This is what the presence of God does in our life and the king was amazed. 345 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:08,920 He said, I see that light in there, I put three people in there but now the fourth is 346 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:15,400 the presence of God, the presence of Jesus Christ came at the exact right time and this 347 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:24,080 is all we need in this season is to know, know if we obey Him at the exact right time 348 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:32,320 that Shekinah glory will come and manifest in every trial, in every test, in every situation 349 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:36,560 that we need Him. 350 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:43,960 It will make our enemies perish and it will put a wall around us. 351 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:53,440 You may think you've got a lot of problems and Moses had a lot of problems as well. 352 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:57,800 Moses was trying to lead these rebellious people into the promised land and when he 353 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:02,080 got to the promised land, right at the cusp of it, he said, well, how am I going to get 354 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:03,080 in there? 355 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:05,800 Who are you going to send with me? 356 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:12,200 And God answered him in this, He said, listen, He says, you're going to go in there because 357 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:25,480 in the wrong chapter, Exodus 23, He said, my presence will go with you and I will give 358 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:30,520 you rest and Moses had come to know the value of God's presence so much that he said, if 359 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:36,320 your presence do not go with me, don't bring me out from here. 360 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:45,000 So the presence of God is protection, it is also the source of God's peace and His rest. 361 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:50,040 You can't know God's peace and His rest if you don't know the presence of God, just a 362 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:51,400 theory. 363 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,200 You can't know the joy of the Lord unless you've got the presence of God in your life 364 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:59,080 because the Word said, in your presence is fullness of joy, Psalm 16 verse 9. 365 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:05,360 So you can't have peace, you can't have rest apart from the presence of God. 366 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:08,520 Even if you just got a head full of Scripture, that's not going to help you without the presence 367 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:09,520 of God. 368 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:17,680 Now I'm for Scripture, I'm all for it but it will never surpass or supplant Him, Christ 369 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,160 in His presence. 370 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:27,760 So Moses goes, that's okay, if your presence goes with me, I will have rest, I will know 371 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:28,760 peace. 372 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:32,280 David said, in your presence is fullness of joy. 373 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:37,240 Now some of us have lots of challenges, this is my favourite Scripture, I know I've got 374 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,080 a lot but in all of the Bible this is my favourite verse. 375 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:51,880 And it's in Psalm 73 and it's about a Psalm of Asaph who I believe saw the tabernacle 376 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:56,360 in its peak under David and now he's actually seeing things change, maybe under Solomon 377 00:27:56,360 --> 00:28:01,760 it was, this was written but he's seeing things change and he's seeing corrupt men come in 378 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:06,000 and he's seeing men who are compromises and they've just not got the same heart that David 379 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,520 had and he's starting to get really troubled because these people seem to be, they seem 380 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:15,640 to be doing well, they seem to be prospering and they're not godly and so he's watching 381 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:22,800 these men and the Psalm starts by saying, you know, these people, they're boastful and 382 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:28,840 I started to, my foot nearly slipped when I became envious, verse 3, of their prosperity 383 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:34,000 of the wicked and he says these people, their pride serves as a necklace, their violence 384 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,760 covers their garment, their eyes bold with abundance, these people coming into the temple, 385 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:46,000 they have more heart and he says, they're ungodly, verse 12, they're always at ease, 386 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,960 they increase in riches, surely I've cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence, 387 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:55,760 all day long I've been plagued and he's saying, I'm a godly man and my life's hard and then 388 00:28:55,760 --> 00:29:00,000 he says, you know, I'm godly, I'm doing it well, I'm walking with God, I'm having a hard 389 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:05,360 time and he says in verse 15, if I had said I will speak thus, I would have been untrue 390 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:10,360 to the generation of your children, when I thought how to understand this, it was too 391 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:18,280 painful for me. So he's trying to figure this out in his head, how come living righteously 392 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:24,200 and my life's hard and how come they're cheating, they're murdering, they're doing all these 393 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:31,520 things and their life seems easy and he said, when I thought how to figure it out just with 394 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:41,920 my brain, it was painful but the whole Psalm turns on Psalm 17, it says, until I went into 395 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:52,200 the sanctuary, what's in the sanctuary? Presence of God, then I understood and the second part 396 00:29:52,200 --> 00:30:01,040 of the Psalm after verse 17, it's all about how he gets this fresh perspective, he says, 397 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:07,080 oh surely you set them in separately places, they're going down to destruction and he goes, 398 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:11,640 you know, my heart was bereaved, I was vexed but nevertheless I'm continually with me, 399 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:16,320 you hold me by my right hand and afterwards you'll receive me in glory but not these people, 400 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,960 these people are going to be here like that and they're not going to make heaven and he 401 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:27,200 says, now I understand, now I'm at peace again but he said, what happened, what changed me 402 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:34,080 from being, you know, vexed and being troubled by what I saw to actually gaining perspective, 403 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:42,000 eternal perspective on my problem was when I went into the sanctuary and encountered 404 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:47,600 the presence of God, you know why? Because when you sit in the presence of God, you receive 405 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:54,360 the mind of Christ, you have problems, you can't figure them out but when you're in the 406 00:30:54,360 --> 00:31:01,680 presence of God, he imparts his mind to you and when he imparts your mind, his mind, then 407 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:10,240 you understand, see there's a peace that transcends understanding, it's beyond the mind but you 408 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:22,680 receive that in the presence of God, presence of God. If you're going to have the presence 409 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:29,880 of God in your life, if you're going to know the presence of God in your life, I want to 410 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:39,600 tell you conditions because there's conditions, everything, you know, some Christians today 411 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:45,840 they got like a Father Christmas faith, it's this greasy grace thing, they've convinced 412 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:52,000 themselves that you can have all the blessings of God, all the riches of God without any 413 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:57,200 effort, without any sacrifice, without having to do anything that, you know, God's just 414 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:05,600 like Santa Claus, it's not like that and in Zechariah 2, I just said God's presence will 415 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:10,800 be a wall around her and then in verse 6 he speaks about this, he's up, up, flee from 416 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:16,080 the land of the north, verse 7, up, Zeon, escape you who dwell with the daughter of 417 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:21,880 Babylon. What does that mean, what is Babylon? Babylon is the world, Babylon is always a 418 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:26,880 spirit of the world and if you want to have the presence of God as he says here, he says, 419 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:31,560 up, escape from Babylon, you have to have made the decision to come out of the world, 420 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:38,240 to be separate from the world, to be removed yourself from the values of this worldly system, 421 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:44,040 to value the presence of God and consider yourself a citizen of heaven but not to be 422 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:52,880 part of this world system. Touch no unclean thing, come out and your Father will receive 423 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:59,040 you, the Word says. So we are going to be people who if we're going to have the presence 424 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:06,000 of God we actually have to be separated from the things and the values of the world and 425 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:12,280 sometimes you know I get troubled when I hear, I was speaking about one Christian really 426 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:18,720 and I was speaking about the Kardashians and I was sort of like, you know that Kardashian 427 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:23,840 show, I've only ever watched it when I've been on holidays, it's just so ridiculous 428 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:31,520 but Christians are sort of like, when they're worried about their physical appearance and 429 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:37,600 all those things those people are worried about, that's not our game. We're not part 430 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:43,360 of this worldly system, we're part of another system, we have eternal values. So there has 431 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,560 to be a, if you're going to host the presence of God you've actually got to see this world 432 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:55,640 is not my home. I'm a sojourner, I live in it to affect it but it's not my home. I don't 433 00:33:55,640 --> 00:34:03,960 embrace its values, they're not my values. Christ's values are my values. So we've got 434 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:13,000 to come out of Babylon. And then in chapter 3 Zechariah goes on to say, it's about Joshua 435 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,680 the high priest and we're all priests and kings and he's a brand plucked from the fire. 436 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:21,600 And so this is a picture of someone who's being saved, plucked from the fire but Joshua 437 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:25,440 was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel in verse 3, then he answered 438 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:29,620 and spoke to me who stood before him saying, take away the filthy garments from him, see 439 00:34:29,620 --> 00:34:34,240 I have removed your iniquity from you and I'll clothe you with rich robes. What are 440 00:34:34,240 --> 00:34:40,360 the rich robes you're going to be clothed with? It's the presence of God. But in order 441 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:46,800 to be clothed for Joshua the high priest to be clothed with the presence of God, in order 442 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:52,920 for him to be clothed the filthy garments have to be removed. So this means that, that's 443 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:58,400 why Paul speaks about put off the old man. What are the filthy garments? For me, filthy 444 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:03,480 garments was pride. You've got to put off your pride. Whatever it is, whatever the Holy 445 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:08,880 Spirit is saying is an issue in your life, you've got to put it off so that God will 446 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,880 clothe you with the rich garments which is the presence of God, the power of God, the 447 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:19,040 anointing of the Holy Spirit. So in order to host the presence of God, you've got to 448 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:24,840 come out of the world and you've got to put off, you've got to get rid of the habits, 449 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:30,720 the unclean things, the dirty things in your life that God is telling you to get rid of. 450 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:40,560 Take away the filthy garments from him and I will clothe you with the rich rags. There's 451 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:44,560 one other thing that will stop you from hosting the presence of God and I've preached on 452 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:54,480 this many times but I have to make mention of it because it's just, it's so serious in 453 00:35:54,480 --> 00:36:06,120 our day and age. Ezekiel 44 speaks about two types of priests. That's a vision and you 454 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:16,200 and I are called priests and kings under the Lord. What a beautiful description and this 455 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:22,040 passage speaks about two types of priests and he said, the Levites who are the priests 456 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:27,080 who went far from me when Israel went astray, who strayed after their idols, they shall 457 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:31,840 bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary as gatekeepers of the house 458 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:35,500 and ministers of the house and they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice 459 00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:39,880 for the people as they shall stand before them to minister to them. Because they ministered 460 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:46,040 them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore 461 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:50,880 I have raised my hand in an oath against them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their 462 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:58,060 iniquity and they shall not come near to me to minister as a priest, nor come near any 463 00:36:58,060 --> 00:37:04,240 of my holy things, nor into the most holy place, but they shall bear their shame and 464 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:08,760 their abominations which they have committed. Nevertheless I'll make them keep charge of 465 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:14,040 the temple for all its work and for all that has to be done. But the priests, the sons 466 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:21,440 of Zadok who kept charge of my sanctuary and of Israel, when the children of Israel went 467 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:30,360 astray, they shall come near to me to minister to me and they shall stand before me to offer 468 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:35,720 me the fat of the blood. What's he speaking about? He's speaking about idols and he's 469 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:45,480 saying those priests who when the nation went after idolatry, they went after the same idols. 470 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:50,200 He said they can still minister and carry on their priestly function but they can't 471 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:56,840 come near my presence, they can't know my presence, I will hide my presence from them 472 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:05,680 because they kept their idols. But he said the priests that remove the idols, they can 473 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:12,240 come near me. See God will draw near a man or a woman but he won't draw near a man or 474 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:20,360 a woman and their idol. So what are the idols we have today that keep the manifest presence 475 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:26,320 of God from being a reality in our life? There's many things, the idol can be anything that 476 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:32,680 you place before God, that you find that's a greater priority in your life than God. 477 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:38,080 Can be a job, can be sex, can be money. I think the biggest idol in this generation 478 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:46,080 is self. People are worshipping themselves. They're just in love with themselves. They 479 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:59,320 love self more than they love God. Click. So it's so important in this generation because 480 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:07,080 the enemies of God's people, they're multiplying spiritually because Satan knows the time is 481 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:18,480 short. But God says the enemies God will arise, he will scatter his enemies. How? The wicked 482 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:27,480 will perish at the presence of God. You don't need a million things, theological knowledges, 483 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:34,920 concordances, memorize a million scriptures to be spiritually victorious. What you need 484 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:41,040 is the manifest presence of God in your life. When you carry the manifest presence of God, 485 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:45,520 every power of wickedness that comes against you, the presence of God takes care of it. 486 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:52,200 The presence of God becomes a wall around you so you're not afraid. Demons can't get 487 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:58,660 under and over it. That's what happens when we host and carry the presence of God. Presence 488 00:39:58,660 --> 00:40:05,440 of God gives you rest, gives you peace in his presence, his fullness of joy. Because 489 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:15,160 I know God is with me not just as a theory, but I know his presence. I enjoy his presence. 490 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:19,360 And it saddens me that there are many Christians I know today, they don't even know what the 491 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:23,320 presence of God is. When I speak about it, they don't know what it is. And if that's 492 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:28,640 you, I want to say examine yourself. Could it be, one, because you've never become zealous 493 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:42,080 for the presence of God? Or two, could it be that you're worldly, that you still hold 494 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:49,260 to the values of this world? Could it be because you have something that you need to get rid 495 00:40:49,260 --> 00:40:58,280 of in your life? Some garment, unclean garment you've got to get rid of. Pride, gossip, something 496 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:04,440 the Holy Spirit's been putting his finger on so that God can close you with the true 497 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:13,280 riches. Or could it be that you have an idol, something more important to you than God? 498 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:21,040 This is a season where God wants us to really know what it is to say, God is with me. I 499 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:27,160 fear nothing. His presence will deal with every spirit of wickedness. His presence will 500 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:34,800 surround me like a wall. If I get in trouble, his presence will manifest like a flash, like 501 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:40,840 it did for Shaddach, Midrach and Abednego. His presence will turn up when I need it. 502 00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:47,880 Totally, always deliver me. That's what it is to know that God really is with you. So 503 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:55,880 I want us to pray, I believe in this hour, the glory, the Shekinah glory, the presence 504 00:41:55,880 --> 00:42:04,360 of God which David knew, if I have the presence of God, I may lose everything else, but I'm 505 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:12,480 still good. I'm still good. That's why I said, take not your Holy Spirit from me. So I want 506 00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:19,520 to pray today before I go that we as a body will be zealous for the presence of God. We'll 507 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:24,880 understand the presence of God. We'll experience the presence of God. We'll receive peace from 508 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:29,000 the presence of God. We'll receive joy from the presence of God. We'll have a place where 509 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:36,440 we know we go and not just do a devotional, but actually we go and sup and meet with the 510 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:43,360 very manifest presence of the Shekinah glory of God. Father, I pray for every person here 511 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:55,200 today that they will know your presence, that they Lord will host your presence. And Father, 512 00:42:55,200 --> 00:43:04,360 if there are things that we have in our life which prevent you from clothing us with the 513 00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:12,880 riches of your anointing, your glory, your presence, if there are things that are stopping 514 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:18,960 us receiving the true riches, Lord, I don't need to convict them, but you need to convict 515 00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:27,240 them. I ask that you Holy Spirit will just put your finger on the thing that displeases 516 00:43:27,240 --> 00:43:36,560 you, that we may turn from it and you may come. You may come right in. You may come 517 00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:49,920 right in with the glory. Surround us. Lead us. Enthroll us. It's you that we want, Lord. 518 00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:57,760 It's you that we want. Let there be testimonies, Lord. Great change that's come in this house. 519 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:15,280 In the mighty name of Jesus. And all the people said, Amen.