WEBVTT 00:00:01.419 --> 00:00:04.440 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:10.699 Elation Church. Our series is entitled, Hello, 00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:13.980 My Name is God. We've been talking about names. 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:18.660 What's in a name? Names, first of all, signify 00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:23.359 identity. Everybody say identity. Because that's 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:25.760 how we differentiate between each other, is by 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:29.399 our names, right? There's a curious thing about 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:32.109 me that... Hey, we got a lot of neighbors today 00:00:32.109 --> 00:00:35.049 from Citrus Ridge. If you're from Citrus Ridge, 00:00:35.170 --> 00:00:37.450 wave at me. Got a big neighborhood group over 00:00:37.450 --> 00:00:42.369 here. And then we have another visitor with us 00:00:42.369 --> 00:00:46.850 today. But names signify identity. Many of you 00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:50.189 probably don't know this, but my real name is 00:00:50.189 --> 00:00:54.570 No Name Forrest. And you're like, how could your 00:00:54.570 --> 00:00:58.469 name be No Name Forrest? Well, my parents didn't 00:00:58.469 --> 00:01:04.829 name me. Before we left the hospital. And we 00:01:04.829 --> 00:01:07.030 didn't even figure it out until I was like 13 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:09.549 years old. I want to play junior high football. 00:01:10.750 --> 00:01:15.230 I have to have a state birth certificate. It 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:17.390 comes in. We order it. Get a copy of my state 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:20.090 birth certificate in South Carolina. And it said 00:01:20.090 --> 00:01:23.609 no name for us. Guess what? I still couldn't 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:27.000 play football. Because... They weren't going 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:28.939 to let no -name Forrest play on the team. So 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:31.980 I had to get my name changed. And even to this 00:01:31.980 --> 00:01:35.439 day, my birth certificate has an asterisk on 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:39.159 it where my name was changed to the name I had 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:43.500 gone by my whole life. I guess a day or two after 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:46.420 we got home from the hospital, I got a name, 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:50.420 and my name is Jeffrey Dean Forrest. Most people 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:52.200 just call me Dean. Everybody say, hey, Dean. 00:01:52.780 --> 00:01:55.340 Most people just call me Dean. I have another 00:01:55.340 --> 00:02:00.359 name that is my identity. And that name is I 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:03.299 am a Christian. That means I'm a Christ follower. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:07.579 It's not just something I do. It's who I am. 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:13.819 It's my identity. So those names signify identity. 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.439 Names also signify relationship. Now you might 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:21.979 not recognize how many names you have, but you 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:25.139 probably have a lot of names. Just like I have 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:28.379 a lot of names. A lot of my names are relationship 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:32.939 names. My mom always called me baby. Even when 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:35.759 I'm 50 years old, she's introducing me to someone 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:37.979 that I don't know. She'll say, this is my baby. 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:43.620 Baby Huey, maybe. But for those of you who know 00:02:43.620 --> 00:02:49.259 Baby Huey. But I was the youngest of four. So 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:53.319 I was always the baby. Any other people, the 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:55.219 youngest sibling and you were always the baby? 00:02:55.379 --> 00:02:59.240 Always the baby. My dad didn't call me baby, 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:03.219 my dad called me son. So that's a relationship 00:03:03.219 --> 00:03:08.840 name. Got married in 1984 to Gayna and I am her 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:12.479 husband. That's a relationship name. But she 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:15.379 doesn't say, oh husband, would you like to go 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:18.219 shopping? Or oh husband, would you like to go 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:20.159 to the beach? We had a beach getaway on Thursday. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.319 She doesn't say, oh, husband. Most of the time 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:32.680 she calls me honey. If I've been good. Sometimes 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:34.599 people look at me strange and they're like, you're 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:38.939 the preacher, you're always good. No. I wish 00:03:38.939 --> 00:03:43.539 that was true. But she calls me honey. I'm also 00:03:43.539 --> 00:03:48.699 Jeffrey's father. 1992, he was born. But he doesn't 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:51.759 say, oh, father, can I have $20? He never said 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:54.280 that growing up. He called me daddy, and then 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:57.819 that changed to dad. So all of these are my relationship 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:02.740 names. I'm also an uncle. I'm a cousin. All of 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:06.240 those are relationship names. But names also 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:11.979 signify activity. Everybody say identity, relationship, 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:18.259 activity. Names signify activity, what a person 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:24.279 does. I've done a lot of things. Like most of 00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:25.839 you, I've been a student. I've probably been 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:27.899 a student more years than you've been a student. 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:34.899 So I took that on with a mission. I was actually 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:38.639 a cook. I mean, I was a junior in high school, 00:04:38.740 --> 00:04:41.339 and that was my summer job. I worked for Quincy's 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:45.060 Family Steakhouse. They're out of business now, 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:47.360 but they were still in business when I left that 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:53.079 summer. I've been a salesman at a lumberyard, 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:57.759 at a recording supply and audio equipment place. 00:04:58.060 --> 00:05:01.040 I've been a salesman at a Nissan dealership. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:05.899 I've been a salesman at a recording studio. I've 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:07.839 been a sound man. I've actually been paid money 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:11.399 to run sound. I had a job for a while over at 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:14.699 Epcot where I was a custodian. and I was a trainer 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:17.839 and a coordinator, a relief coordinator there. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:23.620 I've been a janitor because it took more jobs 00:05:23.620 --> 00:05:29.100 than one or two to pay the bills. Gina and I 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:32.839 got a cleaning contract at an office. So when 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:35.319 we would leave our 40 -hour -a -week job, we 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:38.600 would go clean offices three nights a week for 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:41.399 a while. I was a screen printer. I had my own 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:43.139 screen printing business, all my own equipment, 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:46.620 printed T -shirts for all the recording groups 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:48.779 that came up in my later jobs that are listed. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:52.500 I was an A &R director for Mark V Records, Heartlook 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:54.920 Records, Evidence Records. I was a vice president. 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:58.060 One day they came in and gave me a business card 00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:02.079 that had that I was the vice president of Heartlook 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:07.220 Records. I didn't get a raise, but I got a business 00:06:07.220 --> 00:06:11.199 card. I've been the music director of state and 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:13.980 national organizations. I've been an event planner, 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:17.800 planned events, rented space, all over the place, 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:23.920 as far as Phoenix, Arizona, to all up and down 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:28.180 the East and Midwest. So I've been an event planner, 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:31.899 been a crusade director, been the president of 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:36.579 state and national organizations, nonprofit corporation. 00:06:37.550 --> 00:06:39.970 Been a worship leader. Sometimes I didn't preach. 00:06:40.189 --> 00:06:44.089 Me and my family just led worship many times. 00:06:44.550 --> 00:06:48.189 I was a conference director. We started a conference 00:06:48.189 --> 00:06:50.829 for teenagers over New Year's called the Big 00:06:50.829 --> 00:06:54.310 God Conference. There were several years that 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:57.490 we were running like 1 ,900 students over New 00:06:57.490 --> 00:07:02.310 Year's. I was an evangelist on the road for 20 00:07:02.310 --> 00:07:05.970 years. That's why we have the bus that you know 00:07:05.970 --> 00:07:09.019 that I live in. Went around the United States 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:14.160 in that bus telling people about Jesus. I've 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.680 been a chaplain at Lakewood Camper Resort. I'm 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:22.279 also the chaplain at Giovanni's. The team chaplain 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:24.819 at Giovanni's right here at the corner if you're 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:29.819 looking for some good local Italian food. I'm 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:32.899 a preacher. Some people call me preacher. Some 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:35.480 people call me pastor. Most people just call 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:40.819 me dean. I was a youth pastor. I was J .T.'s 00:07:40.819 --> 00:07:44.839 youth pastor when he was in middle school for 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:49.439 a season. Different than pastor. It is definitely 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:53.600 different than a pastor. So I've got a lot of 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.180 names. I think now I've told you about 33, 34 00:07:57.180 --> 00:08:02.819 names. But I'm just one person. And God has told 00:08:02.819 --> 00:08:08.040 us in His Word. A lot of different names for 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:11.040 Himself. I don't know if you realize that or 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:15.540 not. But just because we have a lot of different 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:19.500 names for God, it doesn't mean that there's more 00:08:19.500 --> 00:08:24.439 than one God. Okay? Just like I have 30 -something 00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:29.180 names, I'm still one person. God tells us His 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:32.799 names, listen, God tells us His names so that 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:37.279 we can know who He is. So we can know the relationship 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:41.179 that He wants to have with us. And so we can 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:44.379 know what He wants to do or who He wants to be 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:49.179 for us. Somebody say amen right there, please. 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:54.500 Somebody say amen. Alright. So in names we find 00:08:54.500 --> 00:08:57.500 identity, relationship, and activity. Psalm 9 00:08:57.500 --> 00:09:00.179 .10 says this, and those who know your name, 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:03.120 everybody say God's name. Those who know God's 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:09.429 name. will put their trust in Him. Here's the 00:09:09.429 --> 00:09:12.889 deal. If you don't know who God is and what He 00:09:12.889 --> 00:09:15.470 wants to do for you and what kind of relationship 00:09:15.470 --> 00:09:19.710 He wants to be in with you, then you can't put 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.389 your confidence in Him that that's who He's going 00:09:22.389 --> 00:09:27.450 to be. You've got to know before you can apply. 00:09:29.210 --> 00:09:31.470 You've got to know before you can have hope. 00:09:31.789 --> 00:09:33.610 You've got to know before you can have confidence. 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:35.730 You've got to know before you can have faith 00:09:35.730 --> 00:09:40.690 in who He is to see His activity and His relationship 00:09:40.690 --> 00:09:43.289 manifest in your life. You've got to know who 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:48.110 He is. Those who know your name will put their 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:52.649 trust in you. That Hebrew word there can easily 00:09:52.649 --> 00:09:55.070 be translated confidence. Everybody say confidence. 00:09:56.590 --> 00:10:02.799 For you, Lord, have not forsaken. Those who seek 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:11.379 you. Hello? When you seek God based on who He 00:10:11.379 --> 00:10:16.460 is, He's not going to turn His back on you. Never 00:10:16.460 --> 00:10:21.080 has, never will. If you think He has, maybe you 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:23.860 were trying to seek Him in some area that you 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:25.519 don't even know that that's who He is and what 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:27.919 He wants to do for you. Maybe it's some imagination 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:32.639 that you've come up with. Because when you seek 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:35.399 Him based on who He is with complete confidence, 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:39.000 somebody say confidence, with complete confidence 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:44.279 in who He is, you know that He's going to hear 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:48.139 you. And you're going to see Him at work in your 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:53.480 life. Hello, my name is God. Today we're looking 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:55.639 at a name of God that is connected to one of 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:59.679 His divine attributes. Divine attributes, that's 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:03.000 just... That's who God is. That's how theology 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.860 has looked at the Word of God and God's interaction 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:10.019 with mankind. And theologians have come up with, 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:13.799 well, this is what God is like. That's His divine 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:16.659 attributes. And the one that's connected to what 00:11:16.659 --> 00:11:19.039 we're talking about today is God is omnipresent. 00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:24.240 God is omnipresent. Now, most people say when 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:29.360 they hear me preach that it's just simple. Everybody 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:32.159 say simple. I don't know if they're trying to 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:36.779 talk down to me or if they're saying it as a 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:40.940 compliment. I normally take it as a compliment. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:45.159 Now, the reason why I said that is because I'm 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:48.299 about to read just some segments, some sentences 00:11:48.299 --> 00:11:54.919 from a paper that I wrote in seminary. So it's 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:56.659 going to sound real intellectual. And when you 00:11:56.659 --> 00:11:58.500 hear it, you might say, I wonder where he got 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:03.100 that from. It was from one of my papers where 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:07.059 I'm trying to be intellectual. But when I preach 00:12:07.059 --> 00:12:10.000 on Sunday, I don't want to be intellectual. Because 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.539 I want you to get it. I want you to get it. Here 00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:17.399 we go. A divine attribute of God that can be 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:21.220 comforting to those who love God and terrifying 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:25.059 for those who embrace sin is his omnipresence. 00:12:26.420 --> 00:12:29.120 Proverbs 15 .3 said, The Lord is watching everywhere, 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:32.159 keeping His eye on both the good and the evil. 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:38.720 The evil and the good. So, there's nowhere you 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:42.679 can go to hide from God. He's everywhere all 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:49.240 the time. And for people who want to be embracing 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:52.019 sin and doing things that they know that are 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:56.029 connected to evil, It should be terrifying that 00:12:56.029 --> 00:13:01.929 God is watching, right? But for those of us who 00:13:01.929 --> 00:13:04.210 are embracing the kingdom of God, embracing His 00:13:04.210 --> 00:13:07.769 love, embracing His life, oh, it should be encouraging 00:13:07.769 --> 00:13:12.090 to us. It is impossible for humanity to be purposefully 00:13:12.090 --> 00:13:15.509 or accidentally separated from God's presence. 00:13:16.490 --> 00:13:19.570 God's omnipresence reveals that He is ever -present 00:13:19.570 --> 00:13:23.779 within His created world. that He is transcendent 00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:29.019 over it, that He remains distinct from it. An 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:31.259 understanding of God's omnipresence in light 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:34.360 of Scripture also discloses the idea that God 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.080 can be present in different places within His 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:41.379 creation in different degrees or manners. God's 00:13:41.379 --> 00:13:44.659 Word declares that He indwells every believer. 00:13:45.059 --> 00:13:48.379 1 Corinthians 6 .19 says, Don't you realize your 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:51.639 body is the temple? of the Holy Spirit who lives 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:55.899 in you and was given to you by God. The fact 00:13:55.899 --> 00:13:59.419 that the presence of God dwells more in the believer 00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:02.600 than the unbeliever reinforces the principle 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:06.659 that God manifests himself in some places more 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:10.000 than others, yet the presence of God is everywhere 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:15.159 present. When we speak of God's omnipresence, 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.590 we mean that God is not conditioned, are limited 00:14:18.590 --> 00:14:24.669 by space in His power of acting and is able to 00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:28.250 put forth His entire power of action anywhere, 00:14:28.389 --> 00:14:32.730 at any time, without any need that He move from 00:14:32.730 --> 00:14:35.370 place to place to reach the scene of action. 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:46.009 Did you get that? God's not limited in space. 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:51.700 And where He is. If you need a touch from God, 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:53.940 He doesn't have to come all the way from heaven. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.299 It doesn't take Him days and months to journey 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:09.360 to get to you. He's here. And His entire power 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:14.000 is available all the time, right where you are. 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:21.360 He doesn't have to move to reach you where you 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:27.559 are. Now, it's been so long since I've written 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.940 like that, I can't really read it to make sense. 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:36.220 But today's name of God comes out of Ezekiel 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:42.779 48, verse 35. The distance around the entire 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:46.129 city will be six miles. He's talking about Jerusalem 00:15:46.129 --> 00:15:48.929 when they're coming back from captivity. The 00:15:48.929 --> 00:15:50.970 walls around Jerusalem. The distance around the 00:15:50.970 --> 00:15:54.850 entire city will be six miles. And from that 00:15:54.850 --> 00:16:00.429 day, the name of the city will be, the Lord is 00:16:00.429 --> 00:16:06.830 there. The Lord is there. Now, Ezekiel is prophetically 00:16:06.830 --> 00:16:10.149 talking about God's people coming out of captivity 00:16:10.149 --> 00:16:14.129 and going back to Jerusalem. He's prophesying 00:16:14.129 --> 00:16:17.330 that God's people are going to return from their 00:16:17.330 --> 00:16:19.370 time in captivity in Babylon. They're going to 00:16:19.370 --> 00:16:24.470 come back. And where are they going? They're 00:16:24.470 --> 00:16:29.870 going to the place of Yahweh Shammah. Everybody 00:16:29.870 --> 00:16:36.470 say Yahweh Shammah. Now, most people know some 00:16:36.470 --> 00:16:42.059 names of God like Jireh. And different things 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:45.639 like that. I don't know. I had to study to find 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:50.539 out that one of God's names is Yahweh Shammah. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.700 Yahweh Shammah. Now in week number one, we talked 00:16:55.700 --> 00:16:58.500 about God's name being Elohim, the Most High 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:02.220 God. And God's name, His personal name given 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:08.160 to Moses is that He is Yahweh. I am that I am. 00:17:08.910 --> 00:17:11.569 Today we're looking at the compound name Yahweh 00:17:11.569 --> 00:17:18.509 Shammah. Yahweh Shammah is translated, I am there. 00:17:19.569 --> 00:17:27.430 Everybody say, I am there. I am there. And we 00:17:27.430 --> 00:17:29.589 talk about God being omnipresent. He's everywhere 00:17:29.589 --> 00:17:34.269 all the time. But why through this prophecy would 00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:38.269 Ezekiel say, oh, this place where you're going? 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.980 That's where God is. Well, if God's everywhere 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:46.019 all the time, why are they saying, well, God's 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:50.599 in Jerusalem in the six -mile gated city? Why? 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:56.400 What does that tell us? I mean, we know that 00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:59.180 God is everywhere all the time. We can't go anywhere 00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:03.059 to escape from His presence. But there are some 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:08.559 places and sometimes, listen, When God is more 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:13.099 there. Now you and I, we're either there or we're 00:18:13.099 --> 00:18:17.440 not there. But God can be there and more there. 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:23.779 Because He's God. It's like either I'm here or 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:27.140 I'm not here. Well, sometimes I'm here and I 00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:29.640 don't feel like I'm here mentally. I mean, you've 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:31.460 probably been there, right? Sometimes you're 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.220 in a place, but you don't really feel like you're 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:36.559 there. Like today, I'm driving down the road. 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.819 I'm late already. And I get in my head so deep 00:18:40.819 --> 00:18:43.759 that I come almost all the way to Sand Mine Road 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.180 before I realize I didn't have the trailer with 00:18:46.180 --> 00:18:49.019 all the equipment for church in it. So even though 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:51.319 I was driving my vehicle, I wasn't all there 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:54.640 at the moment like I should have been. So I had 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:56.859 to U -turn back around, go all the way back down 00:18:56.859 --> 00:18:58.700 to Ronald Reagan, get the trailer, come back. 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:01.039 That made me even more late than I was going 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:05.660 to be. I should have been more there. When I 00:19:05.660 --> 00:19:12.380 got to Ronald Reagan. Yahweh, I am. Shom, the 00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:17.079 first part of that, means there. God is there. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:21.180 And sometimes God is more there or more here. 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:24.640 I want to draw your attention to some stories. 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:26.200 We're not going to read all the stories in the 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:27.720 Old Testament because you don't want to sit here 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:31.799 that long. But we find some times in the Old 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:35.809 Testament where... God was more here at that 00:19:35.809 --> 00:19:38.589 moment. The burning bush. Would you say that 00:19:38.589 --> 00:19:43.690 God was more there? The pillars of cloud and 00:19:43.690 --> 00:19:47.769 fire where God led His people across the wilderness 00:19:47.769 --> 00:19:50.410 to go to the promised land. Would you say that 00:19:50.410 --> 00:19:52.470 when that cloud was there, when that column of 00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:56.390 fire was there, that God was more there specifically? 00:19:56.970 --> 00:19:59.990 Mount Sinai. When God's people got to Mount Sinai 00:19:59.990 --> 00:20:03.609 and all of a sudden a cloud. descended on the 00:20:03.609 --> 00:20:06.490 mountain. Moses went up and spent time with God, 00:20:06.549 --> 00:20:10.250 face to face with God. Would you say that God 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:13.990 was more there? What about in the tabernacle 00:20:13.990 --> 00:20:17.710 and in the temple? There are multiple times recorded 00:20:17.710 --> 00:20:22.309 in Scripture where God was so much there that 00:20:22.309 --> 00:20:25.309 you could almost see that He was there. It was 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:32.599 like a cloud. A cloud. 2 Chronicles 5 .14 Here's 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:35.539 one example. The priests could not continue their 00:20:35.539 --> 00:20:41.480 service because of the cloud. For the glorious 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:46.359 presence of the Lord filled the temple of God. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:55.259 Could you imagine being in a place that all of 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:59.259 a sudden it just became cloudy and it's like 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:05.019 a fog rolled in? And it's just cloudy. And the 00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:11.720 glory of God is so present. God is so much here, 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:17.160 more here, that you can see His presence with 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:22.720 your eyes. That's what happened that day. And 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:26.180 these guys were so overwhelmed by the glory and 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:28.819 the manifested presence of God that they couldn't 00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:31.900 even continue. their religious duty at that time. 00:21:34.059 --> 00:21:40.000 The glory of the Lord. Now in our Bibles, in 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:42.099 the Old Testament, it talks about the glory of 00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:46.279 the Lord being there. That word glory is a Hebrew 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:53.960 word that means weight. Like a heaviness. See, 00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:55.960 most of the time when we think about heaviness, 00:21:56.039 --> 00:22:01.670 we think that that's bad. Has anyone ever experienced 00:22:01.670 --> 00:22:04.670 a heaviness before that was really bad and dark? 00:22:04.789 --> 00:22:09.250 Anybody? Come on, be honest, people. We experience 00:22:09.250 --> 00:22:13.410 that. But this is a good heaviness. This isn't 00:22:13.410 --> 00:22:17.710 a bad heaviness. This is a good heaviness. Where 00:22:17.710 --> 00:22:20.769 you sense the manifested presence of God. Has 00:22:20.769 --> 00:22:23.730 anyone ever heard the word Shekinah? Who's heard 00:22:23.730 --> 00:22:26.849 the word Shekinah? Now, Jewish literature, this 00:22:26.849 --> 00:22:29.960 word Shekinah is not in the Old Testament. But 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:33.539 Jewish literature uses the word Shekinah, and 00:22:33.539 --> 00:22:36.460 it's derived from the Hebrew word Shekan, which 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:44.079 means to dwell or to reside. So when the glory 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:49.940 of the Lord is here, it means that God's manifested 00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:53.440 presence is here, that He is residing here, He 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:58.670 is dwelling here. In a greater way. Everybody 00:22:58.670 --> 00:23:01.509 say a greater way. In a greater way than His 00:23:01.509 --> 00:23:10.589 omnipresence. Matthew 18, 20 tells us today that 00:23:10.589 --> 00:23:15.289 if we understand it and if we acknowledge it, 00:23:15.349 --> 00:23:20.430 even today, right here, for where two or three 00:23:20.430 --> 00:23:25.309 gather together as my followers, I am there. 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:32.140 among them. So when we sing songs about God being 00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:34.799 here or His presence being here, you know what? 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:39.279 He really is. The sad thing is, I can't tell 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:42.039 you how many times I went into a worship service 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:45.119 with other believers and I didn't even expect 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:48.339 the manifested presence of God or the glory of 00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:52.119 God. I didn't expect Him to be there. It was 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:54.700 more like I was just going through some kind 00:23:54.700 --> 00:24:00.180 of religious duty. Now you may have never done 00:24:00.180 --> 00:24:08.660 that in your life. You may have never done that. 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:12.200 It's amazing how spiritual people get when they're 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:14.380 in church and they're thinking about how spiritual 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:17.019 they are. They've never gone to a worship service 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:20.880 without expecting to meet the living God. That 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:23.059 He is here in His manifested presence in His 00:24:23.059 --> 00:24:31.279 power. He promises to be. So if we miss out on 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:34.839 it, listen, if we miss out on it, is it the preacher's 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:38.559 fault because he didn't bring it? Is it the singer's 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.779 fault, the singers up front, is it their fault 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:44.460 because they didn't bring it? If you miss out 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:51.420 on it, whose fault is it? Individually. It's 00:24:51.420 --> 00:24:56.599 our fault if we miss out. Because we didn't expect. 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:03.640 We didn't have a confident expectation that we 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:06.900 were going to meet with God. Sham means there. 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:12.420 The last part of that, shama, ma indicates direction 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:19.920 and purpose. So God is Yahweh, shama. I am is 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:29.329 there with direction and purpose. I got excited 00:25:29.329 --> 00:25:35.029 studying this. I'm excited now. Yahweh Shammah 00:25:35.029 --> 00:25:37.369 lets us know that the Lord is not only there, 00:25:37.410 --> 00:25:40.529 that the Lord is not only here, He is here with 00:25:40.529 --> 00:25:46.289 directed or targeted purpose. Sometimes we're 00:25:46.289 --> 00:25:50.630 not here with directed or targeted purpose, but 00:25:50.630 --> 00:25:53.730 God is always here with directed and targeted 00:25:53.730 --> 00:26:02.250 purpose. Got another name that goes right along 00:26:02.250 --> 00:26:05.690 with Yahweh's Shema. Matthew 1 verse 23. Look, 00:26:05.869 --> 00:26:09.630 the virgin will conceive a child. She will give 00:26:09.630 --> 00:26:12.829 birth to a son. And they will call him Emmanuel. 00:26:13.789 --> 00:26:18.009 Everybody say Emmanuel. What does Emmanuel mean? 00:26:18.950 --> 00:26:21.470 You've never been to church at Christmas if you 00:26:21.470 --> 00:26:24.529 don't know what Emmanuel means. It means God 00:26:24.529 --> 00:26:30.779 is with us. God is with us. Look to the person 00:26:30.779 --> 00:26:35.779 beside you and tell them he's really here. His 00:26:35.779 --> 00:26:38.480 name is Yahweh Shammah. His name is Emmanuel. 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:44.420 The Lord is not only here or there or here. His 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:48.740 targeted purpose, listen, is to live with his 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:51.880 children, to dwell with his children, to reside 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:55.119 with his children, to abide with his children. 00:26:56.599 --> 00:27:02.890 That's his targeted purpose. It's that intimate 00:27:02.890 --> 00:27:07.470 fellowship that he wants to have with his children. 00:27:07.529 --> 00:27:15.089 He wants to be with us. I guess this was the 00:27:15.089 --> 00:27:19.970 last name we looked at was pater and abba. What 00:27:19.970 --> 00:27:26.130 difference does it make when our loving father 00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:38.160 is here? I want you to think of a child. A child 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:43.000 that is in danger and they recognize that they're 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:49.980 in danger. What does it take for them to be comforted? 00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:57.400 Come on, use your brain. What does it take for 00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:00.059 that child that realizes they're in trouble, 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:06.380 what does it take for them to be comforted? A 00:28:06.380 --> 00:28:14.019 loving parent. Wouldn't you think so? I remember 00:28:14.019 --> 00:28:16.299 times when Jeffrey was in trouble. Most of the 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:18.200 time when he was in trouble, he didn't even realize 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:21.180 the danger that he was in. Like climbing on the 00:28:21.180 --> 00:28:23.220 roof of the church on Wednesday night when he 00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:29.299 was hiding in the ditch right beside the road 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:34.019 on a road that had about as much, well, not as 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:37.660 much traffic as 27. But for our little country 00:28:37.660 --> 00:28:41.880 town that only had a yellow light, flashing yellow 00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:45.099 light, there were a lot of transfer trucks that 00:28:45.099 --> 00:28:52.980 cut through to get on 85. So there was like transfer 00:28:52.980 --> 00:28:55.079 trucks just flying. I mean, they're running 60 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:57.039 miles an hour down this little two -lane road. 00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:59.519 And Jeffrey and his friends are like playing 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:10.569 right beside the road. When he got afraid. What 00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:15.109 did he do when he got afraid? He either ran to 00:29:15.109 --> 00:29:20.829 mama or ran to daddy. I want you to think about 00:29:20.829 --> 00:29:23.529 that and I want you to think about you being 00:29:23.529 --> 00:29:27.210 a child of God. I want you to think about the 00:29:27.210 --> 00:29:30.210 situations that you face and the trouble and 00:29:30.210 --> 00:29:35.309 pressure that you face. And I want you to come 00:29:35.309 --> 00:29:41.670 to the... understanding that if you can experience 00:29:41.670 --> 00:29:46.390 Yahweh Shammah, if you can experience Emmanuel 00:29:46.390 --> 00:29:50.569 during those difficult times, His manifested 00:29:50.569 --> 00:29:57.549 presence, that all the things of this world will 00:29:57.549 --> 00:30:04.750 just melt away. And you might say, I don't believe 00:30:04.750 --> 00:30:07.309 it. Well, if you don't believe it, you're not 00:30:07.309 --> 00:30:10.509 going to experience it. I believe it because 00:30:10.509 --> 00:30:19.029 I have experienced it. Listen to the benefits. 00:30:20.390 --> 00:30:25.049 Sometimes when we read Scripture, we look at 00:30:25.049 --> 00:30:27.369 it different ways. But I want you to consider 00:30:27.369 --> 00:30:30.430 these verses that I'm about to read with the 00:30:30.430 --> 00:30:33.569 benefits that come along with it. Is that okay? 00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:40.859 1 Chronicles 28 .20 Don't be afraid or discouraged. 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:50.140 Why? For the Lord God, my God, is with you and 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:55.700 He will not fail you or forsake you. So what's 00:30:55.700 --> 00:30:59.359 the benefit? When we realize that God is with 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:01.980 us, that He's not going to fail us, He's not 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:05.279 going to forsake us, what can we do? Can you 00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:12.559 see it? We cannot be afraid or discouraged. Deuteronomy 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:14.980 31 .8, in case you just think I'm just cherry 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:17.000 -picking some verses, I'm going to cherry -pick 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:20.740 some verses. Deuteronomy 31 .8. Do not be afraid 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:26.099 or discouraged. Why? For the Lord will personally, 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:30.059 everybody say personally, personally go ahead 00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:33.079 of you. He will be with you. He will neither 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:38.700 fail you nor abandon you. You want some more? 00:31:39.420 --> 00:31:45.960 Psalm 46, 1 and 2. God is our refuge and strength. 00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:52.339 He's always ready to help. King James puts it 00:31:52.339 --> 00:31:55.059 like this, a very present help. Everybody say 00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:59.559 God is here. A very present help in times of 00:31:59.559 --> 00:32:06.210 trouble. And what's the result? We will not fear. 00:32:07.809 --> 00:32:11.369 Hello? Somebody smile. Mike's the only one smiling 00:32:11.369 --> 00:32:16.569 at me. He's the only one I saw. Because when 00:32:16.569 --> 00:32:18.269 I said that, I looked and I saw some other smiles. 00:32:18.910 --> 00:32:24.609 Isaiah 43, 2 through 3. Listen to this. This 00:32:24.609 --> 00:32:32.180 is God's Word. Hello? This is... The Holy Spirit 00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:36.859 talking to you and to me. When you go through 00:32:36.859 --> 00:32:41.519 deep waters, has anybody ever been in a situation 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:45.200 where you thought you were about to drown? I'm 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:48.140 talking about metaphorically, not just in water. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:53.940 When you go through deep waters, when you feel 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:57.440 like you're going under for the last time, listen, 00:32:57.700 --> 00:33:01.970 I will be with you is what God said. When you 00:33:01.970 --> 00:33:05.410 go through rivers of difficulty... Has anybody 00:33:05.410 --> 00:33:07.349 ever gone through any difficulty in the house? 00:33:09.390 --> 00:33:12.049 Like a river with rapids in it. Has anybody ever 00:33:12.049 --> 00:33:14.210 gone on a whitewater rafting trip? That's what 00:33:14.210 --> 00:33:17.250 I imagined when I saw this. Whitewater rafting 00:33:17.250 --> 00:33:20.430 trip. It's just like... Has anybody ever felt 00:33:20.430 --> 00:33:26.569 like that in life before? When you go through 00:33:26.569 --> 00:33:36.539 rivers of difficulty... You will not drown. When 00:33:36.539 --> 00:33:39.420 you walk through the fire, has anybody ever felt 00:33:39.420 --> 00:33:42.799 like you were walking through the fire? At work? 00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:48.339 At home? Just life? Come on, somebody. When you 00:33:48.339 --> 00:33:53.220 walk through the fire of oppression, you will 00:33:53.220 --> 00:34:01.319 not be burned up. The flames will not consume 00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:10.619 you. Why? For I am the Lord your God, the Holy 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:19.920 One of Israel, your rescue, your Savior. Joshua 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:22.500 1 .9. You might have even memorized this one. 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:26.500 Be strong. Look to the person beside you and 00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:31.659 tell them, be strong. Be strong. Be courageous. 00:34:31.699 --> 00:34:33.940 Tell them to be courageous too. Be courageous. 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:43.800 Do not be afraid or discouraged. Why? For the 00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:53.960 Lord your God is with you wherever you go. He 00:34:53.960 --> 00:35:01.889 is there. He is here. He is with you. He's a 00:35:01.889 --> 00:35:09.530 good God. He's for you. So I ask you a question. 00:35:09.630 --> 00:35:13.670 When does fear, discouragement, trouble, oppression, 00:35:14.110 --> 00:35:18.090 worry, and thoughts of failure, when do those 00:35:18.090 --> 00:35:26.489 things overwhelm you? I'm just letting you think 00:35:26.489 --> 00:35:32.590 about it. When do they overwhelm you? Has anyone 00:35:32.590 --> 00:35:35.690 ever been overwhelmed with fear? Has anyone ever 00:35:35.690 --> 00:35:39.250 been overwhelmed with discouragement? Overwhelmed 00:35:39.250 --> 00:35:40.929 with trouble? You can just leave your hand up 00:35:40.929 --> 00:35:44.010 like I'm going to leave mine up. Overwhelmed 00:35:44.010 --> 00:35:47.469 with oppression? Overwhelmed with worry? Overwhelmed 00:35:47.469 --> 00:35:51.289 with thoughts of failure? Anybody? If not, you're 00:35:51.289 --> 00:35:57.019 probably not alive. But when does that happen? 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:05.500 When does that happen? It happens when we don't 00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:09.019 have confidence. When we don't have trust. When 00:36:09.019 --> 00:36:13.860 we don't have faith that God is with us. When 00:36:13.860 --> 00:36:16.119 we don't have confidence, trust, and faith that 00:36:16.119 --> 00:36:19.920 God will never leave us. When we don't have confidence, 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:22.500 trust, and faith that God will never turn His 00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:30.639 back on us. That's when we're overwhelmed. We've 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:35.440 lost confidence in God, in His faithfulness, 00:36:35.539 --> 00:36:38.980 in His goodness. That's when we're overwhelmed. 00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:52.340 So what do you have to do to not be overwhelmed? 00:37:00.139 --> 00:37:04.340 You've got to know Yahweh Shammah. You've got 00:37:04.340 --> 00:37:08.599 to know it. It's got to be His name, who He is, 00:37:08.679 --> 00:37:10.699 who He wants to be for you, what He wants to 00:37:10.699 --> 00:37:14.219 do for you has to be established in your heart 00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:19.159 to the point that when you face those opportunities, 00:37:19.300 --> 00:37:21.280 listen, we're all going to have opportunities 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:25.699 to be overwhelmed with fear and failure. We're 00:37:25.699 --> 00:37:29.619 all going to have those opportunities. You may 00:37:29.619 --> 00:37:31.280 think you're the only one with an opportunity. 00:37:32.559 --> 00:37:35.039 Every single person in this room has the same 00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:43.920 opportunities to be overwhelmed. Everyone. But 00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:50.039 when you know that you're not alone, when you 00:37:50.039 --> 00:38:00.480 know that God is there, when you know. It can't 00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:06.940 overtake you. It won't overtake you. I know I've 00:38:06.940 --> 00:38:10.960 shared this story. And guess what? I'll share 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:13.380 it again after today. Just going to go ahead 00:38:13.380 --> 00:38:20.159 and let you know. I'll share it again. But I 00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:23.559 can't talk about God being there without telling 00:38:23.559 --> 00:38:26.079 you again this. It's probably one of the top 00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:29.599 five stories of me encountering God. in my entire 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:36.280 life. I tell you, I was overwhelmed with worry. 00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:42.719 I was overwhelmed with fear. And listen, I'm 00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:46.400 a preacher. At this time, I've been preaching 00:38:46.400 --> 00:38:54.639 for 10, 15 years. But I was overwhelmed. It was 00:38:54.639 --> 00:38:56.880 like I was in the deep water thinking that this 00:38:56.880 --> 00:39:03.070 was my last breath. Before I was done. I told 00:39:03.070 --> 00:39:05.170 you in everything that I did, we started a youth 00:39:05.170 --> 00:39:09.150 conference. I know that God laid it on my heart 00:39:09.150 --> 00:39:14.909 to do it. I prayed and talked to God about who 00:39:14.909 --> 00:39:16.949 we're going to invite and who's going to be there 00:39:16.949 --> 00:39:21.510 on the program. All those things. I spent a lot 00:39:21.510 --> 00:39:24.869 of time in prayer. I wouldn't have even started 00:39:24.869 --> 00:39:28.119 it except one day we were in the motorhome. up 00:39:28.119 --> 00:39:30.480 in Hickory, North Carolina. Gayna went in to 00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:33.820 see her mom and dad. She came back. I said, guess 00:39:33.820 --> 00:39:36.880 what? I just had an experience talking with God, 00:39:37.019 --> 00:39:38.860 and we're going to start a youth conference. 00:39:40.059 --> 00:39:44.000 And I said, and here's the theme song. Because 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:46.099 I got the song right at the same time that we 00:39:46.099 --> 00:39:49.480 sang. We Serve a Big God was the name of the 00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:53.900 song. She said, how are we going to do that? 00:39:54.159 --> 00:39:58.929 I didn't know. But I felt like that's what God 00:39:58.929 --> 00:40:02.590 wanted me to do. So we rented the Myrtle Beach 00:40:02.590 --> 00:40:09.769 Auditorium, Convention Center Auditorium. We 00:40:09.769 --> 00:40:15.449 rented it. So many things. Had to rent a stage. 00:40:15.710 --> 00:40:19.170 Had to rent lights. Had to rent sound equipment 00:40:19.170 --> 00:40:23.610 for 2 ,500 people. Look to the person beside 00:40:23.610 --> 00:40:26.070 you and say, that's not cheap. It's not cheap. 00:40:26.730 --> 00:40:29.269 It was right when all these intelligent lights 00:40:29.269 --> 00:40:32.829 came out. It was like moving around. So that 00:40:32.829 --> 00:40:34.849 was like the most expensive thing you could get 00:40:34.849 --> 00:40:40.809 at the time. I booked Rebecca St. James. Most 00:40:40.809 --> 00:40:42.989 people don't even know who that is anymore. If 00:40:42.989 --> 00:40:46.030 you've heard of For King and Country, that's 00:40:46.030 --> 00:40:51.730 their sister. Nobody would know For King and 00:40:51.730 --> 00:40:55.460 Country if it wasn't for their sister. So we 00:40:55.460 --> 00:40:57.559 had the power team, we had Rebecca St. James, 00:40:57.659 --> 00:41:00.800 we had Audio Adrenaline, which was the youth 00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:06.559 group singers. Everybody had motions for come 00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:09.920 and go with me to my father's house. Every youth 00:41:09.920 --> 00:41:13.199 group was doing that. So I booked in. It was 00:41:13.199 --> 00:41:16.300 amazing. We'd been on the road for all these 00:41:16.300 --> 00:41:18.900 years. I just knew all my pastor friends, all 00:41:18.900 --> 00:41:21.059 their students, they would bring their youth 00:41:21.059 --> 00:41:23.119 groups and come. It was going to be a wonderful 00:41:23.119 --> 00:41:33.769 time. I think we had 2 ,300 seats. All we had 00:41:33.769 --> 00:41:36.469 to have was about 1 ,300, 1 ,400 people to pay 00:41:36.469 --> 00:41:42.889 for it. We got 900 extra seats. That was going 00:41:42.889 --> 00:41:49.090 to help us do it again next year, right? Only 00:41:49.090 --> 00:41:51.929 problem is, my friends didn't show up. Most people 00:41:51.929 --> 00:41:55.500 in the room were strangers. And there wasn't 00:41:55.500 --> 00:41:58.699 very many of them. I wish I could remember the 00:41:58.699 --> 00:42:01.380 exact number. Between two and three hundred. 00:42:02.179 --> 00:42:04.400 How many of you know if it takes thirteen hundred 00:42:04.400 --> 00:42:06.320 to pay the bills that when you have two or three 00:42:06.320 --> 00:42:08.079 hundred people there, you're probably not going 00:42:08.079 --> 00:42:11.500 to be able to pay the bills? It was a bad day. 00:42:13.380 --> 00:42:15.719 All these groups were there. All these people 00:42:15.719 --> 00:42:20.019 were there. All this equipment. I did a terrible 00:42:20.019 --> 00:42:23.639 thing. I don't recommend anyone in the room. 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:28.000 ever doing what I did because I did something 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:33.139 terrible. I just wrote everybody a check for 00:42:33.139 --> 00:42:39.159 what the contract was. Some people call those 00:42:39.159 --> 00:42:45.340 faith checks where you don't have the money and 00:42:45.340 --> 00:42:48.920 you write the checks. It's not a good deal. You 00:42:48.920 --> 00:42:50.539 can write a faith check, but keep it in your 00:42:50.539 --> 00:42:53.380 hand until the money's there. That's all. Because 00:42:53.380 --> 00:42:55.320 it's kind of illegal to do it the other way. 00:42:56.360 --> 00:42:58.980 It's not kind of illegal. It's definitely illegal. 00:43:02.820 --> 00:43:05.500 But I just knew, because I had a great relationship 00:43:05.500 --> 00:43:08.639 with the bank, I just knew that I'd be able to 00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:15.960 call the bank and borrow the money. Well, I called 00:43:15.960 --> 00:43:24.099 them. And he said, Dean. He said, I think you're 00:43:24.099 --> 00:43:27.780 good for the money. But if I let you borrow that 00:43:27.780 --> 00:43:32.019 much money, you've got to understand something. 00:43:32.199 --> 00:43:37.219 I need my job. And if I let you borrow this money 00:43:37.219 --> 00:43:40.579 and you don't pay it back, how am I even going 00:43:40.579 --> 00:43:49.739 to find you? You live in a motorhome. And at 00:43:49.739 --> 00:43:52.909 that point I said, well, Let me see if I can 00:43:52.909 --> 00:43:56.070 get some people to co -sign. Let me see if I 00:43:56.070 --> 00:43:57.690 can get some family and friends to co -sign. 00:43:59.190 --> 00:44:03.150 And I said, whatever you do, please don't return 00:44:03.150 --> 00:44:11.449 the checks. Call me when you get them. I called 00:44:11.449 --> 00:44:14.789 some friends. I called family. Boy, I had some 00:44:14.789 --> 00:44:17.789 great friends and family. After talking with 00:44:17.789 --> 00:44:20.760 several people, I got up to the point where they 00:44:20.760 --> 00:44:26.159 were willing to co -sign for $5 ,000. The only 00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:28.800 problem is I owed more than 10 times that much. 00:44:32.639 --> 00:44:37.440 So it was a bad day. We were in Myrtle Beach. 00:44:37.619 --> 00:44:40.579 We were parked. Our motorhome was parked right 00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:43.539 there where the dune goes over to the beach. 00:44:43.579 --> 00:44:46.159 That time of year, first, second week of January, 00:44:46.440 --> 00:44:51.150 nobody's there. It's just completely empty. We 00:44:51.150 --> 00:44:55.570 were there, and several days went by, and the 00:44:55.570 --> 00:44:59.630 banker's first name was Forrest. Forrest called. 00:44:59.710 --> 00:45:08.989 He said, I think I have all your checks. What 00:45:08.989 --> 00:45:14.510 was I going to do? Gannon and I, well, I pulled 00:45:14.510 --> 00:45:16.750 out the atlas. Anybody know what an atlas is? 00:45:18.889 --> 00:45:22.690 It's those paper maps. It's a book of all 50 00:45:22.690 --> 00:45:29.309 states. Pulled out that atlas. I mean, we're 00:45:29.309 --> 00:45:33.510 laughing now. It wasn't funny then. Pulled out 00:45:33.510 --> 00:45:35.769 the atlas and we looked at it and we said, okay, 00:45:35.869 --> 00:45:44.949 is it quicker to get to Canada or Mexico? Because 00:45:44.949 --> 00:45:49.219 our ministry is about to change. We're either 00:45:49.219 --> 00:45:51.480 going to be Forest Ministries International, 00:45:51.739 --> 00:45:57.000 or I'm going to have a really good prison ministry. 00:46:00.719 --> 00:46:05.579 I'm serious. We've looked at the maps, figuring 00:46:05.579 --> 00:46:10.960 out where to go, what to do. I've been praying 00:46:10.960 --> 00:46:13.840 the whole time. See, I prayed before I did it, 00:46:13.900 --> 00:46:17.420 and I just knew that God was walking with me, 00:46:17.460 --> 00:46:19.420 and we were... talking about it, and I was trying 00:46:19.420 --> 00:46:22.699 to follow what he was leading me to do. He didn't 00:46:22.699 --> 00:46:29.300 lead me to write those bad checks. But I was 00:46:29.300 --> 00:46:34.699 asking him, God, where'd you go? Here I am. I'm 00:46:34.699 --> 00:46:39.800 in trouble. I'm about to go to jail for doing 00:46:39.800 --> 00:46:46.619 ministry. I'm about to go to Mexico or Canada. 00:46:48.559 --> 00:46:53.900 Where did you go? The banker said, we've got 00:46:53.900 --> 00:47:00.079 to do something about this in the morning. So 00:47:00.079 --> 00:47:03.039 we went to bed that night. I'm rolling, I'm tossing, 00:47:03.039 --> 00:47:05.840 I'm turning. We're in bed, but I can't sleep. 00:47:06.960 --> 00:47:12.139 I was so overwhelmed with fear. So overwhelmed 00:47:12.139 --> 00:47:17.260 with worry. So overwhelmed that I was a failure. 00:47:18.349 --> 00:47:23.730 So overwhelmed. It's probably the lowest day 00:47:23.730 --> 00:47:30.070 of my life on this earth. So I'm rolling, tossing, 00:47:30.070 --> 00:47:36.429 turning. And all of a sudden, people think I'm 00:47:36.429 --> 00:47:40.630 crazy when I say that God talks to me, but God 00:47:40.630 --> 00:47:43.849 was talking to me. Still small voice. Inside. 00:47:44.730 --> 00:47:47.429 Holy Spirit. We're supposed to follow Him. We're 00:47:47.429 --> 00:47:54.389 supposed to know His voice. Right? I want you 00:47:54.389 --> 00:47:59.570 to go to the beach. It's about 3 o 'clock in 00:47:59.570 --> 00:48:04.570 the morning. It's cold outside. It had to be 00:48:04.570 --> 00:48:08.010 at least in the 40s. It's cold. At least I'm 00:48:08.010 --> 00:48:10.829 warm. I'm not sleeping, but at least I'm warm. 00:48:12.269 --> 00:48:16.840 I want you to go to the beach. I had the audacity 00:48:16.840 --> 00:48:20.440 to start arguing with God. I mean, I've been 00:48:20.440 --> 00:48:22.099 asking where He was and why He wasn't speaking. 00:48:22.179 --> 00:48:25.840 Now He's speaking and I'm like, why would I need 00:48:25.840 --> 00:48:31.659 to go to the beach? Finally, because I'm thick 00:48:31.659 --> 00:48:37.340 -headed, I'm glad somebody didn't say amen right 00:48:37.340 --> 00:48:43.440 there. Finally, I got up, got dressed, walked 00:48:43.440 --> 00:48:48.559 out of the motorhome. The thickest fog that I've 00:48:48.559 --> 00:48:52.880 ever seen in my life. I stepped down off the 00:48:52.880 --> 00:48:55.400 steps of the motorhome and I did this. I held 00:48:55.400 --> 00:48:58.780 up my hand in front of my face this close. I 00:48:58.780 --> 00:49:02.139 could not see my hand. That's how thick the fog 00:49:02.139 --> 00:49:04.840 was and how dark it was. No moon that night. 00:49:05.139 --> 00:49:09.659 Just thick fog. All I can see is a little white 00:49:09.659 --> 00:49:14.289 speck. That was a street light that went over 00:49:14.289 --> 00:49:17.909 the dune to the beach. So I knew the direction 00:49:17.909 --> 00:49:22.590 to head in. So I walk over to that little bridge 00:49:22.590 --> 00:49:25.150 over the dune. I walk up the steps. I get in 00:49:25.150 --> 00:49:28.070 the middle of it. And then all of a sudden, God 00:49:28.070 --> 00:49:32.590 says, stop. And then He asked me a question. 00:49:35.210 --> 00:49:43.630 He says, where is the ocean? So I'm out there. 00:49:44.789 --> 00:49:46.929 You might think I'm crazy, but now I'm talking 00:49:46.929 --> 00:49:51.769 to God out loud. I said, it's right there. I'm 00:49:51.769 --> 00:49:58.110 pointing. I'm talking. It's right there. He says, 00:49:58.190 --> 00:50:03.269 you can't see it. How do you know it's there? 00:50:03.730 --> 00:50:07.409 Because you can't see it. I said, it's there 00:50:07.409 --> 00:50:09.929 because I've been here before. It's there because 00:50:09.929 --> 00:50:17.079 I can hear. The waves. I've been here before. 00:50:22.420 --> 00:50:27.920 And then God said in the loudest and audible 00:50:27.920 --> 00:50:37.320 voice that I've ever heard, I'm here. I've been 00:50:37.320 --> 00:50:40.559 asking Him, God, where'd you go? I'm drowning 00:50:40.559 --> 00:50:44.889 here. Where did you go? Have you turned your 00:50:44.889 --> 00:50:46.690 back on me or are you going to let me go under? 00:50:46.769 --> 00:50:48.510 I mean, that's basically what I was saying to 00:50:48.510 --> 00:51:00.230 God. But he reminded me. I'm here. Listen, the 00:51:00.230 --> 00:51:05.989 peace of God, when he said I'm here, the peace 00:51:05.989 --> 00:51:10.260 of God just flooded me. It flooded my mind. I'd 00:51:10.260 --> 00:51:14.760 been so overwhelmed. But at that point, I walked 00:51:14.760 --> 00:51:18.420 back to the RV, I walked in, I got back in bed, 00:51:18.599 --> 00:51:21.300 and listen, as soon as my head hit the pillow, 00:51:21.400 --> 00:51:27.679 I fell asleep. I want to ask you a question. 00:51:28.159 --> 00:51:34.579 Had anything changed? It's not a trick question. 00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:40.059 Did I find a... Did I find a treasure chest on 00:51:40.059 --> 00:51:47.059 the beach? Did I trip over a bag full of cash? 00:51:49.219 --> 00:51:53.019 Drug deal gone bad. Now I got $50 ,000 worth 00:51:53.019 --> 00:51:59.119 of cash. Had anything changed? Was I still facing 00:51:59.119 --> 00:52:02.619 the exact same thing that I was facing when I 00:52:02.619 --> 00:52:04.519 was rolling and tossing and turning in the bed? 00:52:06.360 --> 00:52:11.760 Nothing had changed. Besides God telling me that 00:52:11.760 --> 00:52:18.760 He was there. Here's what changed. My confidence, 00:52:19.059 --> 00:52:27.059 my trust, my faith in Yahweh Shammah had changed. 00:52:30.639 --> 00:52:35.519 So I went fast asleep. You want to hear the rest 00:52:35.519 --> 00:52:38.940 of the story? Next thing I heard was a telephone 00:52:38.940 --> 00:52:44.400 ringing. Somebody called and said, Dean, God 00:52:44.400 --> 00:52:48.039 told me to call you this morning and ask you 00:52:48.039 --> 00:52:58.840 if you needed anything. I said, I hem -hauled 00:52:58.840 --> 00:53:06.139 around. You know why I hem -hauled around? Because 00:53:06.139 --> 00:53:10.400 I didn't think any one person could help me. 00:53:12.519 --> 00:53:14.679 And then this person on the phone said, well, 00:53:14.739 --> 00:53:17.119 if you're too proud to tell me what you need, 00:53:17.260 --> 00:53:20.980 I'm going to hang up and don't call me back. 00:53:22.139 --> 00:53:27.260 About that point, I swallowed a lot of pride. 00:53:29.960 --> 00:53:34.699 And I told them the number. Within one hour. 00:53:36.960 --> 00:53:42.460 Everybody say one hour. Within one hour. Everything 00:53:42.460 --> 00:53:48.880 I needed plus another $1 ,000 was wired into 00:53:48.880 --> 00:53:56.239 our ministry bank account. Why did I go through 00:53:56.239 --> 00:53:59.860 all that? Maybe since I called the conference 00:53:59.860 --> 00:54:02.719 the Big God Conference, maybe God was wanting 00:54:02.719 --> 00:54:06.739 to let me know just how big He is. That's the 00:54:06.739 --> 00:54:17.280 way I look back on it. So, what I have experienced... 00:54:17.280 --> 00:54:23.820 Hey, you can't convince me that God has left 00:54:23.820 --> 00:54:30.400 me anymore. I'm established in that now. You 00:54:30.400 --> 00:54:33.820 can't convince me that He's not here with intended 00:54:33.820 --> 00:54:37.619 purpose, directed purpose. You can't tell me 00:54:37.619 --> 00:54:45.460 He's not. The reason why I shared that wasn't 00:54:45.460 --> 00:54:48.739 so that you can be impressed by my faith because 00:54:48.739 --> 00:54:53.260 I showed you how little faith I had through multiple 00:54:53.260 --> 00:54:57.400 steps of that. I don't want you to be impressed 00:54:57.400 --> 00:55:02.039 by me. I want you to be impressed by God. No 00:55:02.039 --> 00:55:15.719 matter what you face. No matter what you face, 00:55:15.860 --> 00:55:27.840 He's there. But you've got to believe that He's 00:55:27.840 --> 00:55:33.300 there. He is there, but if you don't acknowledge 00:55:33.300 --> 00:55:38.980 Him being there, you're not going to see the 00:55:38.980 --> 00:55:40.800 deliverance. You're not going to see the victory. 00:55:42.989 --> 00:55:46.570 You've got to acknowledge Him. In your darkest 00:55:46.570 --> 00:55:49.710 days, in your darkest hours, you've got to acknowledge 00:55:49.710 --> 00:55:54.030 Him. You've got to know that He is Yahweh Shammah. 00:55:54.070 --> 00:55:57.130 He told you that in the Bible, that He is here 00:55:57.130 --> 00:56:00.650 with a directed purpose to abide with you, to 00:56:00.650 --> 00:56:04.010 live with you, to reside with you. You've got 00:56:04.010 --> 00:56:11.110 to know it. You've got to know that when you're 00:56:11.110 --> 00:56:15.059 in deep waters, you're not going to drown. When 00:56:15.059 --> 00:56:17.719 you're in troubled waters, you're not going under 00:56:17.719 --> 00:56:20.400 it. When you walk through the fire, you're not 00:56:20.400 --> 00:56:23.639 going to be burnt up. You've got to know it. 00:56:25.659 --> 00:56:29.039 Because that's who He is. And that's what He 00:56:29.039 --> 00:56:36.880 does. Hebrews 13 .5 God has said over and over 00:56:36.880 --> 00:56:40.210 and over and over again, I will never fail you. 00:56:40.289 --> 00:56:45.570 I will never abandon you. But it's up to you. 00:56:46.010 --> 00:56:52.650 It's up to me to walk by faith and not by sight. 00:56:58.349 --> 00:57:01.449 It's up to you. It's up to me to walk by faith 00:57:01.449 --> 00:57:04.630 and not by sight. It's up to us to live by believing 00:57:04.630 --> 00:57:10.030 and not by seeing. Back to Peter stepping out 00:57:10.030 --> 00:57:15.369 of the boat. When he was focused on Jesus, he 00:57:15.369 --> 00:57:19.650 was walking on water. But when he focused on 00:57:19.650 --> 00:57:25.230 the waves and the storm and the wind, he began 00:57:25.230 --> 00:57:32.170 to sink. It's up to us to focus on Yahweh Shammah. 00:57:32.190 --> 00:57:35.670 For us to focus. on Emmanuel, that God is with 00:57:35.670 --> 00:57:38.510 us. Because when we know who God is, when we 00:57:38.510 --> 00:57:41.110 know His name, we can put our trust, we can put 00:57:41.110 --> 00:57:43.570 our confidence in Him, and we know that He will 00:57:43.570 --> 00:57:47.389 not forsake us when we seek Him. His name is 00:57:47.389 --> 00:57:51.929 Yahweh Shammah. His name is Emmanuel. I want 00:57:51.929 --> 00:57:56.369 you to stand and say this with me. We need to 00:57:56.369 --> 00:57:58.949 put our words in agreement with God's words. 00:58:01.900 --> 00:58:04.579 Say this with me. Repeat it after me. God's targeted 00:58:04.579 --> 00:58:12.559 purpose is to live, dwell, and abide with me. 00:58:13.860 --> 00:58:21.539 I do not live by what I see or feel. I live by 00:58:21.539 --> 00:58:27.260 God's established truth. I will not be afraid. 00:58:28.340 --> 00:58:34.059 I will not be discouraged. I am strong and courageous. 00:58:34.840 --> 00:58:38.860 God is always with me. He will never leave me 00:58:38.860 --> 00:58:44.760 or fail me. Do you believe it? Do you believe 00:58:44.760 --> 00:58:50.719 it? God, I thank you for your word. I thank you 00:58:50.719 --> 00:58:53.239 for your truth. I thank you for who you are. 00:58:54.599 --> 00:58:59.449 Thank you for showing us this. God, I pray that 00:58:59.449 --> 00:59:04.989 we can be established in this truth. Not just 00:59:04.989 --> 00:59:09.170 visit it this week and forget it when we visit 00:59:09.170 --> 00:59:12.409 some more truth next week, but help us to be 00:59:12.409 --> 00:59:17.650 established in this truth that you are with us. 00:59:19.170 --> 00:59:24.269 That's your targeted purpose, is to be with us. 00:59:24.530 --> 00:59:29.239 Help us to acknowledge that. In Jesus' name I 00:59:29.239 --> 00:59:34.079 pray, amen. This online worship experience was 00:59:34.079 --> 00:59:36.500 brought to you by the friends and partners of 00:59:36.500 --> 00:59:37.219 Elation Church.