WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Faith is more than a feeling or a theory. It's 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:06.059 a decision that moves your feet, opens your hands, 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:09.019 and activates God's promises. In our brand new 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.820 book, Faith Act, Jeffrey and I take you on a 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:13.839 powerful journey through some of Scripture's 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.800 most transforming moments, where ordinary people 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.699 dared to obey and saw heaven move on their behalf. 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:24.179 Order your copy of Faith Act today on Amazon. 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:29.089 This is week number five in our series. We've 00:00:29.089 --> 00:00:31.149 come a long way, but we're going to start out 00:00:31.149 --> 00:00:33.109 in the same place where we started in week number 00:00:33.109 --> 00:00:38.030 one with Moses at Mount Sinai. And our text is 00:00:38.030 --> 00:00:41.229 Exodus 33 when we're talking about Moses. I know 00:00:41.229 --> 00:00:44.289 there's a lot in there about this story, but 00:00:44.289 --> 00:00:48.189 it was the time in chapter 33. It was a time 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:53.590 when they were about to leave Mount Sinai and 00:00:53.590 --> 00:00:58.170 go to the promised land. They had built the tabernacle, 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:02.390 the tent of meeting. They had built the Ark of 00:01:02.390 --> 00:01:06.890 the Covenant. And God told them that he would 00:01:06.890 --> 00:01:12.670 meet with them over the mercy seat, which was 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:17.209 between the two golden cherubim on top of the 00:01:17.209 --> 00:01:20.129 Ark of the Covenant. And God said, that's where 00:01:20.129 --> 00:01:24.450 I'll meet with you. So we can look at that as 00:01:24.450 --> 00:01:29.730 it was. an earthly throne for God. And in the 00:01:29.730 --> 00:01:34.129 Old Testament, God's presence could always be 00:01:34.129 --> 00:01:40.390 found in the Holy of Holies by above the Ark 00:01:40.390 --> 00:01:44.269 of the Covenant. It was a pillar of cloud. Every 00:01:44.269 --> 00:01:48.150 time Moses would go into the tabernacle to meet 00:01:48.150 --> 00:01:53.310 with God, a big pillar of cloud would form over 00:01:53.310 --> 00:01:56.739 the entrance of the tabernacle. That represented 00:01:56.739 --> 00:02:00.200 the manifest presence of God. When the people 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:05.280 saw it, they knew that God was there meeting 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.560 with Moses. It was something visible, something 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:12.020 we could say tangible. They knew it. And then 00:02:12.020 --> 00:02:15.620 when Moses would come out, they could know that 00:02:15.620 --> 00:02:17.479 Moses had met with God. Do you remember how? 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:24.810 His face. His face would shine. Because he had 00:02:24.810 --> 00:02:27.229 been in the glory. Everybody say the glory. He 00:02:27.229 --> 00:02:29.030 had been in the manifest presence of God, and 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:33.569 his face would shine to such a point where they 00:02:33.569 --> 00:02:38.849 wanted him to put a veil over his face. The tangible 00:02:38.849 --> 00:02:43.189 presence of God. The glory of God had been imprinted. 00:02:44.870 --> 00:02:46.870 Jeffrey alluded to this, but we used to have 00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:51.530 a burgundy couch that had... little, Gayna's 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:53.509 dad made it for us. He worked at a furniture 00:02:53.509 --> 00:02:57.069 company. So it was one of a kind, but the cloth 00:02:57.069 --> 00:03:01.110 on it was almost like a velvet, but it had little 00:03:01.110 --> 00:03:05.150 holes in it, like a pattern, like a, wasn't a 00:03:05.150 --> 00:03:08.229 dominant polka dot, but you could picture the 00:03:08.229 --> 00:03:10.729 pattern that way. And anytime I would lay on 00:03:10.729 --> 00:03:14.409 that couch and fall asleep and spend time there, 00:03:14.550 --> 00:03:18.069 I would get up and I looked like I had the chicken 00:03:18.069 --> 00:03:25.110 pox. Because the couch had imprinted on my face. 00:03:26.729 --> 00:03:30.969 So you can think about that. With Moses, the 00:03:30.969 --> 00:03:35.050 glory of God, he had spent time in the glory 00:03:35.050 --> 00:03:38.090 where the glory of God was imprinted on his face. 00:03:40.169 --> 00:03:42.289 And right after he met with God, I mean, it was 00:03:42.289 --> 00:03:47.030 just shining brightly. So he put on a veil and 00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:50.900 then... As he went not being in the manifest 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:57.099 presence of God, it would begin to fade. So, 00:03:57.099 --> 00:04:02.080 what are some things out of chapter 33, what 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.939 are some things that we need to always remember? 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:07.819 You don't need to just remember this for the 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:10.879 five weeks of the series. You need to remember 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:15.819 in your walk with God. Because God had said, 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:19.569 these people are rebellious. They didn't want 00:04:19.569 --> 00:04:21.850 the presence of God. They didn't want God to 00:04:21.850 --> 00:04:24.769 talk to them. They wanted Moses to talk to God 00:04:24.769 --> 00:04:29.589 and then tell them what God said. At Mount Sinai, 00:04:29.670 --> 00:04:32.550 it was like, because when God showed up there, 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:36.089 he talked to all of them. And they're like, whoa, 00:04:36.170 --> 00:04:40.610 this is too much. Moses, we just want you to 00:04:40.610 --> 00:04:46.389 talk to God. Listen, they gave up something. 00:04:49.449 --> 00:04:51.529 They gave up something that was available to 00:04:51.529 --> 00:04:56.910 them to be a kingdom of priests to their God. 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:03.589 That was going to be all of them. Just like it's 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:10.069 supposed to be all of us. Chosen generation, 00:05:10.329 --> 00:05:19.959 royal priesthood, that we should... Show something. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.100 Show forth the praises of God who's called us 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:31.319 out of darkness into his marvelous light. But 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:33.959 this was available to them, but they said no. 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:39.160 And I'm afraid that in most of modern Christianity, 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:42.959 it's kind of fallen back into that pattern where 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:46.180 everybody wants a preacher to spend time with 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:54.189 God. And then tell them what God said. I don't 00:05:54.189 --> 00:05:55.970 know why I'm going here, but I'm liking it, so 00:05:55.970 --> 00:05:59.509 I'm going to stay here a minute. It's almost 00:05:59.509 --> 00:06:03.670 the same thing, right? Oh, we want the preacher 00:06:03.670 --> 00:06:05.670 to seek God and get a word from God and then 00:06:05.670 --> 00:06:08.670 bring that word to us when God's saying, I want 00:06:08.670 --> 00:06:16.569 to speak to all of you. So let's don't fall back 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:24.019 to old covenant. And God said, you know, Moses, 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:25.899 I'm going to send an angel with you. I'm going 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:28.879 to send an angel with you to help you to fight 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:34.439 to get there to the promised land. Because God 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.980 basically said, if you read chapter 33, He basically 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:41.600 said, look, these people don't want me to be 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:44.079 around them in my manifest presence all the time. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:52.810 The way they're living, It's not going to work 00:06:52.810 --> 00:06:58.689 out too good. But Moses said this. He said, God, 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:04.689 if you don't personally go with us, don't make 00:07:04.689 --> 00:07:14.129 us leave this place. Moses had encountered the 00:07:14.129 --> 00:07:16.569 presence of God so much, he didn't want to do 00:07:16.569 --> 00:07:19.889 life without the presence of God, without God 00:07:19.889 --> 00:07:23.939 being with him. If you don't personally go with 00:07:23.939 --> 00:07:27.139 us, God, don't let us leave. Because we don't 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:29.439 want to go anywhere or do anything without you. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.959 And then he says, how will anyone know that you 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:39.439 look favorably on me, on me and your people, 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:46.720 if you don't go with us? And then the next verse. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:52.000 Stood out to me. I mean it never stood out to 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.720 me like it did. Until I was preparing this series. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:00.339 Where Moses says to God. Your presence God. Your 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:04.420 presence among us. Your people and me. Is your 00:08:04.420 --> 00:08:10.879 presence. Sets us apart. From all the other people 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:15.800 in the earth. Everybody say the presence of God. 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:23.019 Separates me. From everybody else in the world. 00:08:26.500 --> 00:08:30.399 Now, the New Testament tells us that the world 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.159 will recognize and know that we are Christians 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:41.080 by our love. And I've known that one. I've preached 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.480 that one. I've talked about that one a lot, right? 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:50.610 But it's not only by us walking in love. It should 00:08:50.610 --> 00:08:54.409 also be that the presence of God is among us. 00:08:59.470 --> 00:09:04.149 A few verses later, Moses says, show me your 00:09:04.149 --> 00:09:08.309 glory. He had been on the mountain with God. 00:09:09.250 --> 00:09:12.649 He had seen the glory of God. He had been in 00:09:12.649 --> 00:09:14.669 the manifest presence of God. He had been talking 00:09:14.669 --> 00:09:24.950 to God. Listen. The glory of God is not a, should 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:34.009 not be a one -time thing. We shouldn't meet together 00:09:34.009 --> 00:09:38.789 and say, well, you know what? About 37 years 00:09:38.789 --> 00:09:45.789 ago, boy, I was at a, well, it wouldn't have 00:09:45.789 --> 00:09:48.049 been 37. It had been, I mean, I've shared some 00:09:48.049 --> 00:09:53.440 stories with you, but about 35, What is it? 34. 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:58.480 Is that what you're turning? About 34 years ago, 00:09:58.539 --> 00:10:03.179 I was at a worship conference with Lamar Boshman. 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.860 Man, the glory of God. I mean, it just got amazing. 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:13.799 To the point that Gana was healed. Just in the 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:22.379 glory of God. I mean, I can look back at different 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:24.259 times when I've encountered the glory of God, 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.580 and I can say, well, it happened here, and I 00:10:26.580 --> 00:10:29.399 recognize it here, and I experienced it here, 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:35.740 but it's not supposed to be like that. Every 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:37.659 week when we get together, somebody should have 00:10:37.659 --> 00:10:43.500 a glory story of, I was in, I experienced the 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:46.580 glory of God, and here's what he said, and here's 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:53.720 what he did. I mean, something pretty amazing 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:55.740 happened to me this past week. Anybody else? 00:10:56.740 --> 00:10:59.080 Because we asked God last week, we were saying, 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:03.700 God, use me. You know, flow through me, use me. 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.460 I mean, I'm at Valvoline getting oil changed 00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:13.519 in my car. And it almost turned into a church 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:17.039 service with two of the guys. I was really hoping 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:21.059 to see them walk through the door today. But 00:11:21.059 --> 00:11:27.659 it was a pretty amazing time. And I wish that 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:30.039 would happen all the time, but it just happened 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:35.440 this week. And I believe it was a result of me 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:40.700 saying, God, use me as a vessel of your presence. 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:43.080 I want to carry your presence. I want to carry 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:53.779 your glory. God, use me. I'm available. And he 00:11:53.779 --> 00:11:58.980 didn't use me because I was a preacher. That's 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:04.120 not why he used me. He could use you just as 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:06.740 much as he could use me. He could use you more 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:12.659 than he could use me if you're in the flow. I 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:17.720 think we talked about the flow last week. Moses 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:21.659 said, God, show me your glory. Show me your glorious 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:27.809 presence. He'd experienced it. And God said, 00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:33.289 okay, Moses, because Moses couldn't see the face 00:12:33.289 --> 00:12:39.590 of God because he was not clothed in the righteousness 00:12:39.590 --> 00:12:46.470 of Jesus like we are today. You can see the face 00:12:46.470 --> 00:12:51.389 of God and still live. He couldn't. Think about 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:54.779 that a second. Anyway, God said, my goodness 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:58.720 is going to pass before you, and then you can 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:03.019 see my goodness. God's so good, when you encounter 00:13:03.019 --> 00:13:07.500 him, you can see his goodness. You can see it. 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:16.559 So Moses saw the glory. That word glory in the 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:23.029 Old Testament is translated weight. weight, like 00:13:23.029 --> 00:13:27.330 a heaviness. There's two kinds of heaviness we 00:13:27.330 --> 00:13:32.149 can feel. One is a heaviness that's negative. 00:13:32.289 --> 00:13:34.549 Has anybody ever had a negative heaviness on 00:13:34.549 --> 00:13:36.950 them before? You know what I'm talking about. 00:13:38.330 --> 00:13:42.250 But that's not God. God's not a negative weight. 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:47.889 This word, weight, that's translated glory in 00:13:47.889 --> 00:13:52.269 the Old Testament, it's weight and it's and it's 00:13:52.269 --> 00:13:54.750 always used in a good sense. Everybody say a 00:13:54.750 --> 00:14:00.509 good sense. You can't be confused. It's translated 00:14:00.509 --> 00:14:05.490 in English, translation is glory, splendor, honor. 00:14:07.629 --> 00:14:12.710 And when I've encountered the glory of God, I 00:14:12.710 --> 00:14:17.409 have always sensed it. And we can't go by our 00:14:17.409 --> 00:14:20.970 feelings all the time. But I've always sensed 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:25.610 it. It was a good heaviness. It was a good weight 00:14:25.610 --> 00:14:34.350 in the room I've encountered. And let's remember 00:14:34.350 --> 00:14:36.950 this. Moses wasn't hungry for better circumstances. 00:14:38.490 --> 00:14:41.269 He wasn't crying out to God to fix his problem 00:14:41.269 --> 00:14:47.610 that he was in and experiencing. Like we do most 00:14:47.610 --> 00:14:52.470 of the time. Don't shout amen right then, but 00:14:52.470 --> 00:14:55.490 you got to at least say, oh, me, or something 00:14:55.490 --> 00:14:58.210 like that. Most of the time when we talk to God, 00:14:58.269 --> 00:15:01.669 we're asking him to fix it. Whatever it is, we 00:15:01.669 --> 00:15:07.570 want you to fix it, right? And Moses cried out 00:15:07.570 --> 00:15:09.490 to God and asked him to fix it a few times, but 00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:12.970 this time, I believe he got it right. He's like, 00:15:13.129 --> 00:15:19.669 God, I just want you. I just want you. Because 00:15:19.669 --> 00:15:23.129 if I have you, Like that first song that we sang, 00:15:23.190 --> 00:15:26.690 if I'm standing in your presence, I have everything 00:15:26.690 --> 00:15:33.529 I need. You're all I need. You're all I need. 00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:37.409 Has anybody ever sang that before? Jesus, you're 00:15:37.409 --> 00:15:41.769 all I need. You're all I need. You're all we 00:15:41.769 --> 00:15:46.549 need. All we need is your manifest presence. 00:15:48.590 --> 00:15:53.379 All we need to do is to seek you. And when we 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:58.659 seek you, all these other things, the Bible says, 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.720 Jesus said, when we seek you, all these other 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:06.340 things, they'll just happen because we're seeking 00:16:06.340 --> 00:16:10.559 you, right? All those other things will be added 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:17.059 to us. So Moses was hungry for God's presence. 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:23.110 Now let's go with David. He's in a parched and 00:16:23.110 --> 00:16:27.690 weary land. Has anyone ever felt like you were 00:16:27.690 --> 00:16:32.929 in a parched and weary land sometimes? He was 00:16:32.929 --> 00:16:37.009 physically in a parched and weary land. Right? 00:16:38.049 --> 00:16:44.169 Sometimes we find ourselves emotionally and mentally 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:47.029 in a parched and weary land, and that's where 00:16:47.029 --> 00:16:50.080 David found himself. And this is why he said, 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:57.519 oh God, you are my God. I earnestly, wholeheartedly 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:06.119 search for you. My soul thirsts for you. My whole 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:11.099 body longs for you in this parched and weary 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:15.720 land where there's no water. Listen, he's not 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:20.789 saying. God, can you give me some shade? God, 00:17:20.930 --> 00:17:24.710 can you give me some water? God, can you make 00:17:24.710 --> 00:17:27.470 it easier for me? That's not what he's saying, 00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:34.529 right? He says, I search for you, God. My soul 00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:38.509 is thirsting for you. My whole body is longing 00:17:38.509 --> 00:17:44.549 for you. You are what I need. And in the very 00:17:44.549 --> 00:17:49.569 next verse, He reminds himself in his talking 00:17:49.569 --> 00:17:53.730 to God, God, I've seen you in your sanctuary. 00:17:54.289 --> 00:17:58.809 I've gazed upon your power and glory. So I know 00:17:58.809 --> 00:18:02.170 if I can encounter you, your goodness is going 00:18:02.170 --> 00:18:04.789 to come with you because you can't be separated 00:18:04.789 --> 00:18:07.910 from your goodness. You can't be separated from 00:18:07.910 --> 00:18:10.150 your power. You can't be separated from your 00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:17.819 glory. So wholeheartedly. Search for you, God. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:22.319 David was hungry because he had seen something. 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:27.480 He had seen something. He had experienced the 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:31.740 glory of God. And he knew whatever circumstance 00:18:31.740 --> 00:18:35.180 he was in, if he could just be with God, then 00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:38.099 everything else is going to work itself out. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.000 So what is the glory? The glory is the manifest 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:47.130 presence of God. It's the weight. of who He is. 00:18:47.250 --> 00:18:51.269 It's His goodness revealed. It's His reality 00:18:51.269 --> 00:19:01.910 made known in the earth among His people. So 00:19:01.910 --> 00:19:04.349 where is the glory? Old covenant, we talked about 00:19:04.349 --> 00:19:08.269 it. God's glory on earth was manifest with the 00:19:08.269 --> 00:19:11.309 Ark of the Covenant. This Ark, if it ever had 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:13.349 to be moved, it had to be carried by priests. 00:19:14.109 --> 00:19:18.210 and it had to be kept in the inner part of the 00:19:18.210 --> 00:19:21.130 tabernacle or the sanctuary, kept in the Holy 00:19:21.130 --> 00:19:25.950 of Holies. And it got to a point where, you know, 00:19:25.950 --> 00:19:28.289 there wasn't somebody regularly going to talk 00:19:28.289 --> 00:19:30.869 to God because you couldn't even go in there. 00:19:32.470 --> 00:19:37.349 And they would sew bells on the garment of the 00:19:37.349 --> 00:19:41.150 priest that went in there one time a year. The 00:19:41.150 --> 00:19:43.960 high priest could go in. For a short time, they 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.519 put bells on him and they tied a rope around 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:51.960 his ankle. And if the bells quit ringing, they 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:55.940 would drag him out. Because he didn't do something 00:19:55.940 --> 00:20:05.980 right. Who's glad to be washed in the blood and 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:10.480 redeemed by Jesus? Not the blood of bulls and 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:18.680 goats. But forever, once and for all. So we can 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.240 come boldly before the throne. Not timidly, hoping 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:25.660 that we got everything right. We can come boldly 00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:31.779 before the throne. That was the old covenant. 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:37.299 The new covenant, things have changed. You are 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:40.440 now the temple of God. Don't you know that your 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:45.619 body, Is the temple of the Lord? Don't you know? 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:52.099 We are the temple. So a new covenant, God's glory 00:20:52.099 --> 00:20:57.799 manifests in and through his people. God's presence 00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:02.680 can be carried everywhere. Even to the Omni. 00:21:04.740 --> 00:21:11.359 Even to the airport. The office. Your house. 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:17.180 Your school. Glory can be carried everywhere 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:19.619 that God's people go. We can carry his glory. 00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:25.559 Because his power isn't just accessed by the 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:29.420 priest or the preacher. His power can be accessed 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:33.400 by all of his children. That's the new covenant. 00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:42.269 Colossians 1 .27. To them. Talking about us. 00:21:42.690 --> 00:21:45.329 Everybody say, this is talking about me. To them, 00:21:45.529 --> 00:21:54.410 God willed, He desired to make known something. 00:21:55.789 --> 00:21:57.609 He wants you to know something. Look at the person 00:21:57.609 --> 00:22:00.549 beside you and say, God wills for you to know 00:22:00.549 --> 00:22:09.059 something. To us, God willed to make known what 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:12.640 are the riches of his glory, riches of the glory 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:22.599 of this mystery. It was hidden. God willed to 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:26.660 make known what are the riches of the glory of 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:31.480 this mystery among the Gentiles. Here it is. 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:37.799 Christ in you. You're in Christ. Christ is in 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:46.500 you. Christ in you is the hope of glory. New 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:48.640 Testament word for glory is a little bit different. 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:53.000 It's the word doxa. That verse tells us Christ 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:55.900 is in us is the hope of glory. Here's what hope 00:22:55.900 --> 00:23:01.400 means. Hope is a confident expectation. It's 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:03.400 not a hope so hope in the New Testament. It's 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:06.470 a confident. I hope you always remember this. 00:23:07.190 --> 00:23:10.450 I confidently expect that you will remember this. 00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:18.690 Confident expectation. It's what God wants to 00:23:18.690 --> 00:23:21.349 know. We can have a confident expectation of 00:23:21.349 --> 00:23:25.549 experiencing His manifest presence and His goodness. 00:23:27.109 --> 00:23:32.029 Because Christ is in us. And we're in Him. Somebody 00:23:32.029 --> 00:23:35.269 smile. That ought to put a smile on your face. 00:23:36.349 --> 00:23:39.289 Under the new covenant, God pours out His glory 00:23:39.289 --> 00:23:43.930 among His people and displays His glory through 00:23:43.930 --> 00:23:50.470 His people. Somebody say, that's me. That's me. 00:23:52.509 --> 00:23:58.890 Ephesians 5, 25. Christ loved the church. That 00:23:58.890 --> 00:24:00.970 word church, again, is not a building, it's not 00:24:00.970 --> 00:24:05.279 an organization. It's a compound Greek word that 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:15.339 means called out ones. Called out ones. Not called 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:22.160 out one. Called out ones. That means that it's 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:26.460 not talking about Lone Ranger people. They feel 00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:30.160 like they don't need the church. They don't need 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.779 to get together with other called out ones. They 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:35.339 just look at themselves as a called out one. 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:37.299 But the word doesn't mean called out one. It 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:42.420 means called out ones. To correct some people 00:24:42.420 --> 00:24:44.339 that you don't even know who I'm correcting that 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:47.960 seem to post like they know everything about 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:53.299 everything. Christ loved the called out ones. 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:58.339 He gave up His life for her to make her holy. 00:24:58.740 --> 00:25:04.299 Everybody say set apart. To set her apart. To 00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:10.759 make her clean. To wash her by the cleansing 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:17.039 of his word. And he did all this. Why did he 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:20.259 do all this? He did all this to present her, 00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:24.599 to present the called out ones to himself as 00:25:24.599 --> 00:25:33.730 a glorious church. Glorious church. Have you 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:36.430 ever been to a service with other believers and 00:25:36.430 --> 00:25:45.369 you left saying, boy, that was glorious. Glorious 00:25:45.369 --> 00:25:51.829 is in doxos. It means in glory. A church that 00:25:51.829 --> 00:25:56.210 is in glory. Caught out ones who are in glory. 00:25:58.130 --> 00:26:04.799 Experiencing glory. Doxa is the root for endoxos. 00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:07.980 It means glory, splendor, and honor. That sounds 00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:11.299 a lot like the Old Testament word that we look 00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:14.000 at. As a matter of fact, in studying the words, 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:18.099 I just copied and pasted this. It corresponds 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:22.160 to the Old Testament word kabo, which means to 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:25.180 be heavy. And both terms, everybody say both 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:29.539 terms. Both terms convey God's infinite, intrinsic 00:26:29.539 --> 00:26:38.019 worth. His substance and his essence. His essence. 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:43.359 His substance. Jesus defines the church he's 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:45.400 returning for. He's returning for a glorious 00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:49.480 church. He's not returning for a barely surviving 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:52.720 church. He's not returning for a fearful church. 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:56.059 He's not returning for a powerless church. He's 00:26:56.059 --> 00:27:00.269 returning for a glorious church. The church is 00:27:00.269 --> 00:27:04.230 in glory, experiencing the manifest presence 00:27:04.230 --> 00:27:14.609 of God. I think I just said that. So, here's 00:27:14.609 --> 00:27:16.529 what we've got to realize. God's vision for the 00:27:16.529 --> 00:27:20.309 church is higher than our imaginations at this 00:27:20.309 --> 00:27:27.849 point. I mean, we go back and read some of the 00:27:27.849 --> 00:27:32.170 things that happened in Acts, and then we look 00:27:32.170 --> 00:27:36.230 at what's going on today, and we're like, we're 00:27:36.230 --> 00:27:39.849 a long way from that. Well, it's a long time 00:27:39.849 --> 00:27:48.869 in time, in chronology. But listen, that should 00:27:48.869 --> 00:27:50.829 have just been the beginning of something that's 00:27:50.829 --> 00:27:55.430 bigger and greater than it was. Shouldn't be 00:27:55.430 --> 00:28:00.289 looking back to it and say, wow, what if God 00:28:00.289 --> 00:28:05.170 still did that? What if God could, wait a minute, 00:28:05.250 --> 00:28:08.269 we might put the word could in it. What if God 00:28:08.269 --> 00:28:18.269 could still do that? Hello? That's the wrong 00:28:18.269 --> 00:28:24.690 way of thinking. We look at what Jesus did. And 00:28:24.690 --> 00:28:28.849 we say, wow, what if Jesus was still here and 00:28:28.849 --> 00:28:37.710 doing that? And Jesus said, even greater. What 00:28:37.710 --> 00:28:39.509 you read about me, it should be greater than 00:28:39.509 --> 00:28:56.710 that today. Help us. A glorious church is a church 00:28:56.710 --> 00:29:01.630 that is weighty with presence, weighty with the 00:29:01.630 --> 00:29:04.670 glory of God, weighty with God's manifest presence. 00:29:04.910 --> 00:29:09.509 It's filled with his reality, and it's marked 00:29:09.509 --> 00:29:14.210 by his divine activity. That's a glorious church. 00:29:15.269 --> 00:29:18.089 Anything short of that is not a glorious church. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:25.460 Let's go to Habakkuk. You might have to rub the 00:29:25.460 --> 00:29:29.480 pages in your Bible to get that one open. Habakkuk 00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:35.259 2 .14. For as the waters fill the sea, there's 00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:37.799 a lot of water in the ocean. Look to the person 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:39.180 beside you and say, there's a lot of water in 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:47.200 the ocean. As the waters fill the sea, the earth 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:53.789 will be filled. with an awareness of the glory 00:29:53.789 --> 00:30:02.130 of the Lord. Just like the sea is filled with 00:30:02.130 --> 00:30:05.809 water, the earth is supposed to be filled with 00:30:05.809 --> 00:30:20.440 glory. And it will be filled with glory. But 00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:22.380 it's not through clouds. It's not through buildings. 00:30:22.420 --> 00:30:25.119 It's not through sermons. Even though sermons 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:30.539 can help. Not through sermons alone. But it's 00:30:30.539 --> 00:30:33.119 through believers. That's how the earth is going 00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:35.240 to be filled with the glory of God. It's going 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:38.180 to be through believers. This is a prophetic 00:30:38.180 --> 00:30:43.839 verse. Unless you have walked outside and just 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:46.359 saw the manifest presence of God and felt the 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:48.619 manifested presence of God everywhere you've 00:30:48.619 --> 00:30:54.589 went. It's not full yet. Can anybody look at 00:30:54.589 --> 00:30:57.630 this world and say it's not really? I mean, God's 00:30:57.630 --> 00:30:59.970 omnipresent, so He's everywhere all the time, 00:31:00.049 --> 00:31:03.529 but I don't see the whole world filled with His 00:31:03.529 --> 00:31:08.650 glory. I haven't seen it. Have you seen it? Where 00:31:08.650 --> 00:31:11.609 the whole world is filled with the manifest presence 00:31:11.609 --> 00:31:17.569 of God? The way that's going to happen is through 00:31:17.569 --> 00:31:19.990 believers carrying the glory everywhere they 00:31:19.990 --> 00:31:27.329 go. A glorious church is people who are carriers 00:31:27.329 --> 00:31:33.009 of the presence of God. Have you ever encountered 00:31:33.009 --> 00:31:36.490 somebody that when they just walked up to you 00:31:36.490 --> 00:31:38.190 and started talking to you, you could just sense 00:31:38.190 --> 00:31:41.109 the presence of God? Because they've spent so 00:31:41.109 --> 00:31:42.789 much time with God and they're just carrying 00:31:42.789 --> 00:31:49.279 the presence of God. If you haven't, look at 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:52.240 the person on the right and say, I'm waiting 00:31:52.240 --> 00:32:00.640 on you. Acts 2, 1 through 4, this is the time 00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:02.819 when the glory of God was manifest in the room, 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:05.579 right? On the day of Pentecost, all the believers 00:32:05.579 --> 00:32:09.819 were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, 00:32:10.099 --> 00:32:14.660 there was a sound from heaven. Like the roaring 00:32:14.660 --> 00:32:18.880 of a mighty windstorm. And it filled the house 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:21.819 where they were sitting. I mean, we've talked 00:32:21.819 --> 00:32:27.099 about the cloud in this series. We've talked 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:33.759 about the doorpost being shook. The prison being 00:32:33.759 --> 00:32:40.339 shook. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven. 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:43.519 Like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, it filled 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:47.400 the house where they were sitting. Then what 00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:49.680 looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:54.500 and settled on each of them. And everyone present, 00:32:54.680 --> 00:32:58.059 everybody say everyone present. Not just Peter. 00:32:59.880 --> 00:33:02.119 Everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit, 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:05.440 began speaking in other languages as the Holy 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:10.720 Spirit gave them this ability. So when they were 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:16.079 together, everybody say together. Wasn't they 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:20.619 called out one experience? It was 120. Called 00:33:20.619 --> 00:33:24.519 out ones seeking God. When they were all together 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:30.940 in one place, suddenly, there came a sound. Suddenly. 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:36.799 Because they were unified. They were all seeking 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.779 God. They were all waiting. on the promise of 00:33:39.779 --> 00:33:43.140 God. They weren't going to do anything else until 00:33:43.140 --> 00:33:45.279 they experienced the promise of Jesus. They're 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:47.140 just waiting. They've been waiting for a long 00:33:47.140 --> 00:33:54.299 time, every day for a long time. The Spirit came 00:33:54.299 --> 00:33:58.019 upon all. I'm going to go ahead and say the glory 00:33:58.019 --> 00:34:00.859 of God filled the room. The Spirit came upon 00:34:00.859 --> 00:34:05.160 all and He flowed through each. The glory flowed 00:34:05.160 --> 00:34:14.820 through all of them. God has positioned his church 00:34:14.820 --> 00:34:19.940 in the world for such a time as this. God has 00:34:19.940 --> 00:34:24.880 positioned you for such a time as this because 00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:30.199 the world is shaking, but the church must be 00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:36.659 steady. Culture is really confused, and truth 00:34:36.659 --> 00:34:43.210 must be bold. People are broken. And God's presence 00:34:43.210 --> 00:34:48.590 must be real. I'm just rubbing a little Jesus 00:34:48.590 --> 00:34:52.369 on it, but the manifest presence of God must 00:34:52.369 --> 00:34:59.269 be real. So broken people can be restored and 00:34:59.269 --> 00:35:06.590 healed and set free. And that's just not going 00:35:06.590 --> 00:35:08.730 to happen in some kind of flash. That's going 00:35:08.730 --> 00:35:14.530 to happen. As we become carriers of the presence 00:35:14.530 --> 00:35:20.090 of God and allow His glory to flow through us. 00:35:24.530 --> 00:35:26.429 I just want to want you to remember, when we 00:35:26.429 --> 00:35:32.530 gather together like today, your worship, I mean 00:35:32.530 --> 00:35:35.170 your real worship, if you're really worshiping, 00:35:35.170 --> 00:35:38.650 if it's coming from your heart and not just... 00:35:39.559 --> 00:35:41.760 you know, just going along with whatever's taking 00:35:41.760 --> 00:35:45.860 place, but real worship beginning out of your 00:35:45.860 --> 00:35:50.960 thanksgiving and your love to God and lifting 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:53.599 Him up. When that's really taking place, your 00:35:53.599 --> 00:35:56.920 worship joins my worship. My worship joins your 00:35:56.920 --> 00:36:00.019 worship. Your worship joins your worship. I can't 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:05.760 point to everybody in the room, but our worship 00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:10.099 joins together. Wherever two or more are gathered 00:36:10.099 --> 00:36:11.840 in his name, he's there in the midst of them. 00:36:12.440 --> 00:36:15.019 When we lift up the name of Jesus, we can experience 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:18.079 his manifested presence. But it happens in greater 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:24.880 degree when we're doing it together than it could 00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:27.480 possibly happen with just me in the car on I 00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:33.920 -4. It can happen, but it's greater. Everybody 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:38.190 say greater. Your worship joins my worship. Your 00:36:38.190 --> 00:36:43.050 hunger for God. When you come in expectation 00:36:43.050 --> 00:36:48.230 and hungry for God, our hunger joins with each 00:36:48.230 --> 00:36:55.010 other. It brings amplification. Your expectation 00:36:55.010 --> 00:37:00.110 joins my expectation. Your faith joins my faith. 00:37:02.750 --> 00:37:07.360 For us to encounter. The manifest presence of 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:09.139 God in such a way that when we leave, we'll never 00:37:09.139 --> 00:37:23.260 be the same. And when that happens, as that happens 00:37:23.260 --> 00:37:25.679 in greater and greater measure, as it's amplified 00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:29.420 and added together and multiplied, then suddenly 00:37:29.420 --> 00:37:36.460 the flow Because out of your belly, rivers of 00:37:36.460 --> 00:37:38.300 living water are supposed to be flowing. And 00:37:38.300 --> 00:37:41.820 as we flow, as you flow and I flow and you flow 00:37:41.820 --> 00:37:44.300 and you flow, you know what? Then all of a sudden 00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:50.500 the flow becomes a flood. And the river becomes 00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:56.840 an outpouring. As we come together as the glorious 00:37:56.840 --> 00:38:02.440 church, the called out ones, as you are in. his 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:05.079 glory, as I'm in his glory, as you are in his 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:11.300 glory. See, it amplifies. That's what a glorious 00:38:11.300 --> 00:38:15.460 church looks like. The glorious church is defined 00:38:15.460 --> 00:38:19.019 by some things. It's defined by hosting the presence 00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:22.619 of God. And just like Moses said, God, if you're 00:38:22.619 --> 00:38:26.340 not among us, you know, don't even take us up 00:38:26.340 --> 00:38:28.980 from here if you're not here. Because if God 00:38:28.980 --> 00:38:31.219 is not among us, if his manifested presence is 00:38:31.219 --> 00:38:33.539 not here, It doesn't matter what else is happening. 00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:43.699 It doesn't matter how the program is. Because 00:38:43.699 --> 00:38:46.260 the last thing anybody needs is just a religious 00:38:46.260 --> 00:38:50.420 experience. Because that's not going to change 00:38:50.420 --> 00:38:56.059 anything. If God's not among us, it doesn't matter 00:38:56.059 --> 00:38:58.619 what else is happening. But when His presence 00:38:58.619 --> 00:39:11.250 is among us, Everything changes. Close with a 00:39:11.250 --> 00:39:17.250 story. I don't normally do this. There's a famous 00:39:17.250 --> 00:39:22.210 architect traveling across Europe studying the 00:39:22.210 --> 00:39:26.309 old cathedrals. He was just amazed by the architecture. 00:39:27.250 --> 00:39:32.579 And one evening, He visited a massive stone cathedral 00:39:32.579 --> 00:39:38.320 in France. The sun was setting, and the building 00:39:38.320 --> 00:39:42.380 looked gray. Has anybody seen a big stone church? 00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:51.960 Just all dark gray stone, you know. The building 00:39:51.960 --> 00:39:55.340 looked gray, looked lifeless from the outside, 00:39:55.539 --> 00:40:02.719 but inside. Inside, a different story unfolded 00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:04.539 because he looked at it on the outside, and I 00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:06.039 mean, he's looking at the architecture, but there's 00:40:06.039 --> 00:40:08.440 nothing much different than any other place he 00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:12.139 went. He went inside, and something happened 00:40:12.139 --> 00:40:16.019 when he was inside. In a spectacular moment, 00:40:16.219 --> 00:40:19.099 the setting sun hit one of the stained glass 00:40:19.099 --> 00:40:25.059 windows just right, and the entire interior of 00:40:25.059 --> 00:40:30.559 the cathedral just exploded with color. When 00:40:30.559 --> 00:40:32.860 he first walked in, it was still kind of lifeless 00:40:32.860 --> 00:40:35.400 on the inside, but then the sun just hit that 00:40:35.400 --> 00:40:39.340 stained glass window just right. And now there 00:40:39.340 --> 00:40:42.159 are reds and blues and golds and greens all dancing 00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:45.659 across the pillars inside the cathedral on the 00:40:45.659 --> 00:40:48.159 floor. You could see all that color just came 00:40:48.159 --> 00:40:55.019 alive. And there was a tourist standing nearby, 00:40:55.099 --> 00:40:59.820 and the tourist reached over. And whispered something. 00:41:00.920 --> 00:41:06.159 She said. It looked ordinary. Until the light 00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:12.500 touched it. And then it became glorious. Just 00:41:12.500 --> 00:41:29.659 looked ordinary. Till the light touched it. If 00:41:29.659 --> 00:41:33.260 you look around the room, we don't look much 00:41:33.260 --> 00:41:38.539 different than anybody else. If we go over to 00:41:38.539 --> 00:41:40.659 Publix and walk around, we don't look any different 00:41:40.659 --> 00:41:44.280 than anybody else. Go to the restaurant and eat. 00:41:45.539 --> 00:41:56.400 Just blend right in. This is an example of what 00:41:56.400 --> 00:42:01.989 God intends for His church to be. I mean, we 00:42:01.989 --> 00:42:05.050 want to build that building, and I think it's 00:42:05.050 --> 00:42:06.929 a beautiful building, even though it's a 60 by 00:42:06.929 --> 00:42:10.110 90 metal building. And I see it, and we're going 00:42:10.110 --> 00:42:16.670 to have it one day. But God intends for His church 00:42:16.670 --> 00:42:22.250 to not just be a beautiful building. He intends 00:42:22.250 --> 00:42:24.590 for His church not to just be a polished program. 00:42:24.809 --> 00:42:31.400 I mean, polished programs are okay, but... He 00:42:31.400 --> 00:42:35.820 definitely doesn't see or intend for his church 00:42:35.820 --> 00:42:37.760 to be a gathering of just people who think they're 00:42:37.760 --> 00:42:43.679 perfect, self -righteous, perfect people. But 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:49.539 he's coming for a glorious church. He's coming 00:42:49.539 --> 00:42:57.360 for a people that have the glory of God. The 00:42:57.360 --> 00:43:00.360 manifest presence of God, carriers of the presence 00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:03.000 of God, the glory of God flowing through them. 00:43:07.480 --> 00:43:09.639 And when the glory of God begins to flow through 00:43:09.639 --> 00:43:13.480 us, when we walk in the public, we're not just 00:43:13.480 --> 00:43:16.559 going to look like everybody else. When we go 00:43:16.559 --> 00:43:17.840 to the restaurant, we're not just going to look 00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:19.480 like everybody else. When we go to work, we're 00:43:19.480 --> 00:43:24.219 not going to look like everybody else. Because 00:43:24.219 --> 00:43:31.659 the glory of God. It's surrounding us. We're 00:43:31.659 --> 00:43:38.519 imprinted with the glory of God to such a point, 00:43:38.539 --> 00:43:41.099 listen, to such a point that even people who 00:43:41.099 --> 00:43:43.360 don't know God begin to recognize that there's 00:43:43.360 --> 00:43:50.539 something different about us. God, without your 00:43:50.539 --> 00:43:57.190 presence, we won't be a set -apart people. That's 00:43:57.190 --> 00:44:01.309 what Moses said. Without your presence, it's 00:44:01.309 --> 00:44:07.150 your presence that sets us apart. It's your presence. 00:44:09.769 --> 00:44:15.070 Let's pray. God, thank you for your word. Thank 00:44:15.070 --> 00:44:17.590 you for your truth. Thank you for what you're 00:44:17.590 --> 00:44:21.289 speaking to our hearts. Help us to receive it, 00:44:21.369 --> 00:44:27.130 not just be emotionally stirred. but be spiritually 00:44:27.130 --> 00:44:33.670 challenged to seek you more than anything this 00:44:33.670 --> 00:44:36.769 world has to offer. God, help us to seek you 00:44:36.769 --> 00:44:43.530 wholeheartedly. Help us to come to a point where 00:44:43.530 --> 00:44:45.469 we don't even want to go through our day without 00:44:45.469 --> 00:44:49.349 you, God. I need you today more than I need anything 00:44:49.349 --> 00:45:05.170 else. Use us, fill us. Help us to represent you 00:45:05.170 --> 00:45:14.630 well. Help us to be carriers of your glory. In 00:45:14.630 --> 00:45:20.769 Jesus' name, amen. This online worship experience 00:45:20.769 --> 00:45:23.269 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:45:23.269 --> 00:45:24.329 of Eulation Church.