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This Is The Way Pt 1 - Pursue His Presence | Dave Snyder · Reach Church Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Hey everyone, welcome to the Reach Church Podcast. This is
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  Speaker 1: Dave Snyder, pastor here at Reach Church. Each week we
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  Speaker 1: share messages from our Sunday gatherings to help you discover
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  Speaker 1: the love of God, be empowered for purpose, and impact
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  Speaker 1: your world. We pray this message encourages you and helps
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  Speaker 1: you grow in your walk with Jesus. Let's get into
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  Speaker 1: today's message. His ways are higher than your ways, right?
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  Speaker 1: And so I want us to understand the way here
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  Speaker 1: and what I'm talking about for the next few weeks.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not sharing with you my opinion. My opinion is
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  Speaker 1: not worth much. What I'm sharing to you is the
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  Speaker 1: word of God. What I want you to catch is
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  Speaker 1: what God says in his word about how we're supposed
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  Speaker 1: to live. And we have this thing that we've been
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  Speaker 1: developing and working so hard at in our church called
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  Speaker 1: and it's called core values. Our core values, and you've
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  Speaker 1: heard that term before, and all it really means is
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  Speaker 1: what are some of the things that are so important
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  Speaker 1: to us.
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  Speaker 2: As a church that these are non-negotiable.
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  Speaker 1: And we've come up with five non-negotiable things, and I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to share them with you in a sermon format
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  Speaker 1: over the next few weeks because I feel like they're
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  Speaker 1: so important. It doesn't need to be just something we
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  Speaker 1: hang on a wall. It needs to be something we live.
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  Speaker 1: Understand me. See, We can put up nice decorations in
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  Speaker 1: the church, but does it change your life? And I
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  Speaker 1: want this, I believe these five things, if you'll put
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  Speaker 1: them into your life, it'll change your life. I want
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  Speaker 1: you to see what he says in Ephesians chapter, I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to actually go to Ephesians 5, skip that one.
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  Speaker 1: Ephesians 5 verse 15, he says, pay careful attention to
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  Speaker 1: how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise,
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  Speaker 1: making the most of the time because the days are evil.
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  Speaker 1: But here's what I want you to catch. He says,
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  Speaker 1: be careful how you walk. But what's that mean? We
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  Speaker 1: all know what it means to walk and be careful
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  Speaker 1: so you don't trip over something. But he's talking about
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  Speaker 1: the way you live your life. Be careful because in
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  Speaker 1: your life, there will be things that will try to
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  Speaker 1: trip you up. There will be things that will get
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  Speaker 1: in the way, and you've got to learn how to
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  Speaker 1: navigate around those things. You've got to learn how to
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  Speaker 1: live this life in the right way. And so what
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about, what is the way? Over the next
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  Speaker 1: few weeks, we're going to talk about the way God's
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  Speaker 1: called us to live. But he says, pay attention because
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  Speaker 1: the days are evil. Now, this was written a long
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  Speaker 1: time ago. Do you think if the days were evil then,
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  Speaker 1: they're any better now? It might be worse. You could argue.
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  Speaker 1: It could be worse. But here's the point. If the
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  Speaker 1: days are evil, how you live in this time matters.
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  Speaker 1: It matters to God. It matters to your eternity. And
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  Speaker 1: I'm not talking about if you're saved or not saved.
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  Speaker 1: I'm just talking about when you get to heaven, how
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  Speaker 1: many of you want to hear, well done, good and
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  Speaker 1: faithful servant? Not you made it by the skin of
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  Speaker 1: your teeth, right? Congratulations, you're in, but you smell like smoke. No,
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  Speaker 1: I want to get in hearing, well done, good and
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  Speaker 1: faithful servant. And it matters to the world around us
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  Speaker 1: how we live. Because if the world around us doesn't
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  Speaker 1: see Jesus in us, how are they going to find him? See,
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  Speaker 1: how we live matters. And so for the next few weeks,
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  Speaker 1: I want to talk about these values. And as I
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  Speaker 1: share this first one, I want to take a story
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  Speaker 1: from the Old Testament. and share this with you. It
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  Speaker 1: takes place right after Israel has come out of Egypt, right?
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  Speaker 1: So they've come out of Egypt. It's just been a
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  Speaker 1: couple months have gone by. I mean, they came out
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  Speaker 1: of Egypt, and they saw the miracles, right? They saw
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  Speaker 1: God do incredible miracles in the 10 plagues, and they
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  Speaker 1: got to the Red Sea, and they saw the Red
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  Speaker 1: Sea part, and they walked through on dry ground. All
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  Speaker 1: these incredible things happen, and now it's three months later,
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  Speaker 1: and Moses is goes up on top of Mount Sinai, right?
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  Speaker 1: God gives him the Ten Commandments, and you might know
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  Speaker 1: the story while he's up there. The people are down
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  Speaker 1: at the bottom of the mountain, and they say, where
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  Speaker 1: is this guy? It doesn't look like he's ever coming back.
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  Speaker 1: Let's make a god to lead us. And they tell Aaron,
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  Speaker 1: make us a god that's in the shape of a golden,
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  Speaker 1: out of gold, make it a calf, right?
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  Speaker 2: A small cow. And we'll worship that.
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  Speaker 1: And so while Moses is up on the mountain with God,
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  Speaker 1: in the presence of God on Mount Sinai, here's the
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  Speaker 1: people worshiping the golden calf. It only took them 40
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  Speaker 1: days to turn their backs on God. Imagine seeing what
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  Speaker 1: they saw. And here's maybe a side point, just because
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  Speaker 1: you see things, you see manifestations, you see God moving,
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  Speaker 1: that doesn't necessarily change you.
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  Speaker 2: The presence of God changes you.
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  Speaker 1: So for 40 days, they're watching the mountain. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: there's smoke and there's fire and there's earthquakes, all these
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  Speaker 1: incredible manifestations on the mountain. But down below, they're saying,
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  Speaker 1: make us a golden calf to worship. Moses came down.
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  Speaker 2: You know the story.
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  Speaker 1: He came down from the mountain. He's so mad. He
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  Speaker 1: smashes the Ten Commandments. He takes the golden calf.
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  Speaker 2: He grinds it up.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, he's angry, right? And the next chapter is
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  Speaker 1: really where I want to go. God has a conversation
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  Speaker 1: with Moses. And I want you to see this because
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  Speaker 1: I think this is the heart of what I'm talking
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  Speaker 1: about with this first value. Look at what it says
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  Speaker 1: in Exodus 33, starting at verse 1. The Lord said
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  Speaker 1: to Moses, go up from here. You and the people
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  Speaker 1: you brought up out of the land. He's blaming Moses.
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  Speaker 1: These are your people. I don't know where you got
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  Speaker 1: them from, right? It's like when you look at your wife.
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  Speaker 1: These are your kids. It came out of you. He says,
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  Speaker 1: go up, you and the people, to the land I
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  Speaker 1: promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I'll.
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  Speaker 2: Give it to your offspring. I'll send an angel ahead
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  Speaker 2: of you.
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  Speaker 1: I'll drive out these different people who are there. You
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  Speaker 1: go up to the land flowing with milk and honey,
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  Speaker 1: but I'm not going. I won't go up with you
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  Speaker 1: because you are a stiff-necked people, and otherwise I might
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  Speaker 1: destroy you on the way. And when the people heard
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  Speaker 1: this bad news, they mourned and didn't put on their jewelry.
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  Speaker 1: And the jewelry was just because God told them not
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  Speaker 1: to and all this, but they're mourning. And here's what
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  Speaker 1: I want you to catch is this conversation. God tells Moses, look,
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  Speaker 1: I can't help but be faithful. I'm going to take
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  Speaker 1: you all up to the promised land because I made
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  Speaker 1: a promise to Abraham and I'm faithful. So I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to keep that promise, but I'm not going with you.
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  Speaker 1: I'm staying right here. And he's telling them, you can
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  Speaker 1: have the promise without my presence. You can have the
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  Speaker 1: promise without the presence. I want you to catch that.
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  Speaker 1: They could have had the land, right? They could have
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  Speaker 1: still had victory over their enemies. They could have still
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  Speaker 1: had the blessing of God on their lives, but they
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  Speaker 1: would have it all without his presence. And Moses said,
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  Speaker 1: As we keep reading, Moses isn't satisfied with just the blessing.
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  Speaker 1: Moses isn't just satisfied with going ahead and getting victory
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  Speaker 1: and going into the promised land. He wasn't satisfied with
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  Speaker 1: the blessing. He wanted God. And see, here's the thing.
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  Speaker 1: In life, sometimes we can get so caught up in
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  Speaker 1: trying to be successful. And that's not a bad thing.
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  Speaker 1: But success without him isn't enough. Your business can go well.
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  Speaker 1: Your family can go well. Your marriage can go well.
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  Speaker 1: Everything in life can be great and you don't have
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  Speaker 1: the presence of God.
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  Speaker 2: Is that enough?
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  Speaker 1: And I want to stop and clarify this because I
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  Speaker 1: know there's some of you scratching your heads. Because we have,
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  Speaker 1: and I understand, I'm using this story as an illustration.
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  Speaker 1: I understand that we have a different relationship with God.
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  Speaker 2: Right? We're not in the Old Testament anymore.
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  Speaker 1: God doesn't just send us off and we don't have him.
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  Speaker 1: We have his Holy Spirit in us. He said, I'd
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  Speaker 1: never leave you. I'll never forsake you. So I'm not
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  Speaker 1: talking about us physically putting distance between ourselves and God,
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  Speaker 1: but what I'm talking about is the relationship with God, right?
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  Speaker 1: I'm talking about the relationship. I'm talking about pursuing his presence.
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  Speaker 1: Let's express it this way. If you've ever had a
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  Speaker 1: roommate that lived with you, I had a roommate in college,
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  Speaker 1: a couple roommates. I didn't want to know any more
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  Speaker 1: about them than I knew.
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  Speaker 2: I knew plenty. I didn't want to get to know them.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's fine.
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  Speaker 1: I'll spend time with you. Hey, I don't mind hanging
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  Speaker 1: out with you. But it's not like I wanted to
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  Speaker 1: have a deep relationship with them. Tell me all your
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  Speaker 1: deep secrets and thoughts. But then I got married. And
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  Speaker 1: now that's a different relationship. Now I want to know
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  Speaker 1: you more than I wanted to know that knucklehead I
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  Speaker 1: lived with in college. He was a knucklehead. I'll just
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  Speaker 1: be honest with you. And I want to know my
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  Speaker 1: wife more than I knew that guy. Do you understand
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  Speaker 1: what I'm saying? See, you can have the Holy Spirit
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  Speaker 1: living in you. Is he your roommate?
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  Speaker 2: I know enough about him. I went to church on Sunday.
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  Speaker 2: That's enough, right?
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  Speaker 1: I saw manifestations. It's kind of where Israel was. They said,
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  Speaker 1: we saw the manifestations.
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  Speaker 2: That was good enough. Let's go have lunch.
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  Speaker 1: We saw, hey, there was fire and there was smoke
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  Speaker 1: and there was earthquakes and it was wonderful.
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  Speaker 2: Praise God. Let's go have some lunch. You know what?
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  Speaker 2: Let's make a golden calf.
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  Speaker 1: But they had this kind of relationship with God where
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  Speaker 1: it was just very fickle. It was like a divided heart.
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  Speaker 1: And what God is saying, when God comes into your life,
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  Speaker 1: he's not a roommate. He calls you his bride. See,
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  Speaker 1: you're the bride of Christ. So we're talking about, really,
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  Speaker 1: when we're talking about the presence of God, we're talking
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  Speaker 1: about a hunger to know him more. We could go
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  Speaker 1: back to what I preached a few weeks ago about,
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  Speaker 1: I want to know Christ. Paul said, I want to
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  Speaker 1: know Christ. If anybody already knew Christ, it was Paul.
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  Speaker 1: But Paul said, I want to know him. See, there's more.
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  Speaker 1: He was saying there's more to his presence. There's more
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  Speaker 1: to what he has for my life. And I don't
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  Speaker 1: want to be satisfied with where I am. I want
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  Speaker 1: to keep going deeper. I want to be hungry for more.
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  Speaker 1: And what I'm talking about today is a hunger for God.
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  Speaker 1: I'm talking about a hunger for his presence in your life.
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  Speaker 1: And just so you understand what I'm saying, here's some
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  Speaker 1: New Testament scriptures. James 4, 8, draw close to God
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  Speaker 1: and he'll draw close to you. Well, I thought he
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  Speaker 1: was already in me. Yeah, but it's talking about the
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  Speaker 1: depth of the relationship. The relationship, there's more, right? Hebrews 11, 6,
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  Speaker 1: he rewards those who seek him. Well, how do I
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  Speaker 1: seek him if he's already in me?
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  Speaker 2: No, because you're seeking to know him more. You're seeking
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  Speaker 2: to hear from him. You're seeking to be in his presence.
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  Speaker 1: Matthew 6, 33, Jesus says, seek first the kingdom of God.
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  Speaker 1: It means you can seek all the other things, but
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  Speaker 1: what you need to do is seek the kingdom of God. See,
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  Speaker 1: what I'm getting at today is that we, and this
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  Speaker 1: is the core value, we are people who pursue the
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  Speaker 1: presence of God. We are people who are passionately pursuing
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  Speaker 1: the presence of God. To me, it's just such an
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  Speaker 1: interesting contrast in this story because you've got Moses on
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  Speaker 1: one hand who wants to know God, and you've got
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  Speaker 1: the people on the other hand who have a divided heart,
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  Speaker 1: who say, we've seen it, we know it, we've experienced it,
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  Speaker 1: it's fine, we just... We just have that kind of
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  Speaker 1: relationship with God. And what I believe God's calling us
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  Speaker 1: to is to have that kind of heart like Moses
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  Speaker 1: that says, Lord, I want more. I want to know
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  Speaker 1: you more. I want to be in your presence. I
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  Speaker 1: want to hear from you.
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  Speaker 2: I want more. Church, there's more. Are you with me
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  Speaker 2: this morning or is it just me? Come on.
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  Speaker 1: See, we're a people who pursue the presence of God.
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  Speaker 1: Moses chose God's presence over the blessings. He wanted God
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  Speaker 1: more than he wanted the promised land. And so we
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  Speaker 1: say presence, his presence is over performance. And what I
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  Speaker 1: mean by that is church isn't about a performance. What
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  Speaker 1: we experienced this morning in worship, it's not performance. If
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  Speaker 1: it just becomes performance, we don't want it. It's about
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  Speaker 1: his presence. That doesn't mean we don't work hard. It
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  Speaker 1: doesn't mean we don't practice. It doesn't mean we don't
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  Speaker 1: prepare and do things. But what it means is his
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  Speaker 1: presence is greater because if his presence isn't in it,
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  Speaker 1: then we are not going any further. We're going to stop.
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  Speaker 1: Like Moses said, I'm not going, Lord, if you're not
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  Speaker 1: going with me. That's the kind of attitude we have
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  Speaker 1: to have. See, I think in some churches, we can
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  Speaker 1: run after full rooms. and say, well, that's good enough.
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  Speaker 2: No, it's not.
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  Speaker 1: Without the presence of God, a full room isn't good enough.
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  Speaker 1: Great music. I'm so thankful for our worship team that
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  Speaker 1: do things that I can't, and a lot of us can't.
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  Speaker 1: Praise God for them. But listen, music without the presence
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  Speaker 1: isn't enough. You with me? Programs and ministries and all
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  Speaker 1: these wonderful things we're so thankful for, but without the presence.
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  Speaker 2: Of God, it's not enough.
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  Speaker 1: We're people who pursue his presence above all else. We
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  Speaker 1: seek first the kingdom of God. of God and his righteousness.
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  Speaker 1: We choose his presence over our plans, right? Over our schedules,
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  Speaker 1: over his blessings, we choose his presence, right? But again,
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  Speaker 1: so this isn't just something we're gonna hang on the wall.
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  Speaker 1: We probably will hang it on the wall, but it's
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  Speaker 1: gotta be more. This has to be something for your
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  Speaker 1: life that you say, in my life, I want to be,
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  Speaker 1: I go to this church and that church is the
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  Speaker 1: people that pursue the presence. But in my life, I
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  Speaker 1: want to live like that. I want to be a
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  Speaker 1: person who pursues the presence of God.
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  Speaker 2: Right? So what's the question is, what are you pursuing?
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  Speaker 1: Right? What are you pursuing? We pursue different things. You know,
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  Speaker 1: some people want a promotion at work. That's not a
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  Speaker 1: bad thing. We pray for that. Lord, give me the promotion.
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  Speaker 1: Praise God for that. But if that's the end of
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  Speaker 1: my pursuit, I'm missing something. I don't want the promotion
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  Speaker 1: without his presence. Take me back a step if I
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  Speaker 1: need to be taken back a step because I want
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  Speaker 1: to get to a place where I want your presence
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  Speaker 1: more than I want a promotion, right?
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  Speaker 2: Financial security, a relationship.
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  Speaker 1: Some young people say, well, I'm just looking for a
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  Speaker 1: boyfriend or a girlfriend. No, you better first learn how
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  Speaker 1: to pursue the presence of God, young people and old
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  Speaker 1: people too. Learn how to put the presence of God
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  Speaker 1: first in your life.
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  Speaker 2: Amen?
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  Speaker 1: This week, before you ask God for something you need,
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  Speaker 1: let me encourage you, just spend some time with him.
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  Speaker 2: Pursue him. Pursue the giver over the gift.
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  Speaker 1: Right? Okay, Exodus 33. So I want you to look
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  Speaker 1: how Moses responds here. He says, if your presence does
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  Speaker 1: not go, don't make us go up from here.
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  Speaker 2: Again, God's offering the promised land. It's a good thing.
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  Speaker 2: He's offering him good things, but it's not enough without him.
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  Speaker 1: And Moses refuses to go without the presence, right? They
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  Speaker 1: could have had something good, but they would have had
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  Speaker 1: it without God. Is it good if God's not in it?
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  Speaker 1: Is it good if God's not there? No, I want
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  Speaker 1: him more than I want the thing, right? And here's
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  Speaker 1: another point. They could have had the direction, but he
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  Speaker 1: wasn't the one leading them. Stop and think about that, right?
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  Speaker 1: They could have had the direction. He said, I'll send
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  Speaker 1: an angel. He'll take you there.
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  Speaker 2: They would have had direction without God being the one
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  Speaker 2: leading them. In our lives, listen, are we sometimes satisfied
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  Speaker 2: with direction without him being the one leading us? Right?
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  Speaker 1: See, up until that point, they had, God had been
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  Speaker 1: the one leading them. They had the pillar of Cloud
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  Speaker 1: by day, the fire by night, it led them through.
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  Speaker 1: And they had God personally leading them. And now God says,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not doing it anymore.
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  Speaker 2: Right?
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  Speaker 1: And Moses said, we'd rather stay in the wilderness than
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  Speaker 1: move without you. And here's what I want you to catch.
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  Speaker 1: God wants to be the one leading you. He wants
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  Speaker 1: to be the one guiding your footsteps. And sometimes pursuing
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  Speaker 1: his presence means we have to learn how to wait
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  Speaker 1: on him.
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  Speaker 2: That's tough. Waiting is tough. I've learned this in my life.
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  Speaker 2: Waiting is tough. I'm not always good at it, but
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  Speaker 2: waiting is tough.
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  Speaker 1: I remember a time when Tara and I had just
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  Speaker 1: accepted a position in Nebraska and of all places, there's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of corn and there was very few people
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  Speaker 1: where we were going. There was about a thousand people
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  Speaker 1: in this town where we were moving to. And if
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  Speaker 1: you live in a town of a thousand people, there's
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  Speaker 1: not many places to rent. And so we struggled, and
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  Speaker 1: I started panicking a little bit.
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  Speaker 2: I've got to find a place.
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  Speaker 1: And I had to get up there because I'm living
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: with my in-laws. Thank God for my in-laws. But they
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: want me out, and I like to get out. And
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: so I'm trying to hurry and find a place. And
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: in the process, I made a bad decision because I
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: got ahead of God.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: And there was a man who had a place, and
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: I said, I want it. I'll take it.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: And it was a little expensive. for my salary, which
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: was not much of anything. And it was very expensive.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: And I was just about to sign the papers. I
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: was going to sign the papers that day when the
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: pastor called me. He said, I found you a place.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: It's a third of the price of what you're about
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: to do. And I said, oh, thank God. And I
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: had to call that man and cancel. He was so
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: mad at me. And I'm afraid it left a bad
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: taste in his mouth about the church because I said, look,
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: I found something else. He said, well, you should have,
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: you know, and it created some friction there. But the
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: problem was I was getting ahead of God. Instead of
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: letting God lead me, I was being led by, ooh,
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: I'm in a hurry. Ooh, I got to do this.
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: I don't need God.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: I know I'm supposed to go here. I think I'm
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: supposed to go here.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Let me just go ahead and get something without waiting
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: on God and saying, God, would you be the one
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: to lead me? Because I know you've got something in
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: store for me, right? I don't know if that makes
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: sense to anybody, but that's something that God's had to
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: teach me over time. Faith doesn't mean I get to
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: run around and do whatever I want, right? Faith means
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: I do what God says. That means I've got to
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: ask him for direction. I've got to ask him to
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: lead me so I can follow him. And so here's
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: the point I want you to think about. Don't ask
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: him to bless it before you ask him to lead it.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: You know, because sometimes we do that, don't we? We
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: go ahead and jump into a decision and say, well, Lord,
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: just bless my mess. That's not how God wants us
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: to live, blessing your mess. Well, thank God he can
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: bless your mess because sometimes we make messes because we're
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: messy people.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Right? Right?
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: Anybody else or is it just me? We're messy people,
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: but thank God he can bless it, but he doesn't
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: want you to continue to live that way. He wants
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: you to learn how to live his way.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: We're people who pursue his presence. I think of this
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: acknowledge him in all your ways. And I think that's
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: sometimes where we falter. We don't always acknowledge him in
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: all the ways. We acknowledge him in some of the
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: big ways. He said all the ways. Right?
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: So look what Moses says next. Let me continue.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: In verse 16, Moses says, How will it be known
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: that I and your people have found favor with you
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: unless you go with us? I and your people will
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: be distinguished by this from all the other people on
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: the face of the earth. Right?
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: He says, how will people know?
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: How are people going to know we're different unless you're
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: with us? How are people going to know you love
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: us unless you're with us, right? Unless God's with us,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: we're just like everybody else. Listen, I don't want to
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: be like everybody else. I don't want to be like
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: some church that has become a museum because God wasn't
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: in it. And there's churches all over Europe that are
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: a bunch of museums. And you can go visit them.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: And there's huge, amazing cathedrals with a few little seats
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: in there because nobody comes to church there. Because God
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: left there a long time ago because he wasn't welcome
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: in the church. Listen, I don't want to be a
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: church like that. I don't want that in my life.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: I don't want everything in my life to go well
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: and it looks so great on the outside like some
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: big cathedral. It looks so wonderful, but on the inside
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: it's empty and it's hollow and it echoes because there's
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: no presence. Listen, I want the presence of God in
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: my life. Up there in the balcony, are you with
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: me this morning?
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: Come on.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: We're different because he's with us. The more we spend
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: time with Jesus, the more our lives should look like Jesus, right?
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: The thing that makes us different is his presence in
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: our lives. Because he's with us, we should act different.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: That means when somebody hurts me, I don't get to
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: act like everybody else. I can't act like everybody because
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: his presence is in my life. I've got to act
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: like he.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Wants me to.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: That means when someone hurts me, I've got to forgive them.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: instead of hurting them back. It means when things don't
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: go right, I still have peace because he gave me
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: his peace. It means I can love somebody that isn't
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: very lovable to other people, but I can.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: Love them because his presence compels me. You with me today?
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: See, the evidence that God's with us isn't the way
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: I felt during worship. Praise God for good feelings during worship, man.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: I love it. You got the goosebumps. I love it. Wonderful.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: I wish we could have it every week, but that's
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: not evidence of his presence. The evidence of his presence
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: in your life is the way you live. The evidence
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: that you've been with Jesus. Remember the book of Acts?
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: They said they took note that they had been with Jesus.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: They were unschooled, ordinary men who were doing extraordinary things.
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: And they said, these guys have been with Jesus.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: The way you live your life is evidence of the
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: presence of God in your life. See, people should be
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: able to tell you've been with Jesus. Can they tell
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: you've been with Jesus? I want you to look what
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: happens next. In verse 17, the Lord answers Moses, I'll
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: do this very thing. You know, I don't think God
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: changes his mind. This isn't an opinion. God does not
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: change his mind. So why did he have this conversation
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: if he intended... to go with the people the whole time.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: What he was looking for was someone to stand up
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: and say, God, I want you. God, I want you
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: in my country. God, I want you to lead this people.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: And we could be people who stand up and say, God,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: I want you in my family. I want you in
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: my church. I want you in my city, Lord. See,
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: there's got to be people who stand up and invite
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: the presence of God in. And the Lord says, I'll
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: do what you've asked for. You found favor with me
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: and I know you by name. And I want you
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: to hear that one more time again today. He knows
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: your name. God knows your name. I don't know where
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: you've been. I don't know what you feel like. You
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: feel like you feel like people have kind of forgotten
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: about you. You feel like people have kind of abused
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: you or whatever. But I want you to know today
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: that God knows your name. He's not forgotten about you.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: And then Moses makes this great statement in verse 18.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: He says, please let me see your glory. Show me
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: your glory.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: And again, I'm using this as a comparison of what
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: I believe God wants, the kind of heart that God
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: wants in us. Because Moses had just spent 40 days
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: in the presence of God up on a mountain.
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: He's talking to God. It says he talks to him
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: face to face like a man talks to his friend.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: Right? He's in the presence of God for 40 days
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: and 40 nights and yet his attitude is, God, I
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: want more.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: God, can I have more? Can I have more of you?
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: I want to know you more.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: I know 40 days was great. You know, most of
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: us after 40 days would say, that's fantastic. I'm going
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: to lunch and we'll go back to church next month. No,
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: but Moses says, I want more. I want more of you, God. See,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: the manifestation wasn't enough. I saw the lightning. I heard
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: the thunder.
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: It wasn't enough. I've been fasting 40 days up on
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: the mountain.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: I'm ready. No, it wasn't enough. He says, I want
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: more of you. And I want you to remember who
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: Moses was. Moses wasn't a perfect man, was he? He
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: was flawed. He was flawed, but yet he was hungry
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: for God. He was flawed, but yet he wanted to
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: be in God's presence. It didn't keep him from pursuing
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: his presence. And some of you are letting your past
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: keep you from the presence of God. You're letting what
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: you've been through, you're letting something you did 20 years
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: ago keep you from pursuing God because you say, He
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: wouldn't want me. He doesn't want me like that. No, listen,
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: I want you to hear that today. God wants you.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: He loves you. He's inviting you into His presence to
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: know Him more than you knew Him yesterday. So Moses says,
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: I want to see your glory. And God tells him,
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: you can't see my face. That would be too much
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: for you. It would kill you, but there's this place
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: in the rock. And what I'll do, Moses, I'll take
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: you and I'll put you in this place in the
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: rock and I'll put my hand in front of you.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: And when I pass by, you won't be able to
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: see me until I go past and then I'll remove
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: my hand and you can see the backside of my glory.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: And so God does that for him. He puts him
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: there in the rock. He passes by and he begins
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: to declare his name, who he is. And I love
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: that because his glory is reflected in who he is.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: He begins to speak his name. I am the Lord.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: I'm faithful. I'm the Lord. I'm just. I'm the Lord.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: He begins to declare all these things about who he
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: is over Moses. And so the end result is Moses says,
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: I want to know your glory. And God says, I'll
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: let you know me more. Listen, church, if you want
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: to experience the glory, you've got to learn how to
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: get in his presence.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: You've got to know him more.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: There's more to the presence of God than you've experienced
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: so far.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: Don't be satisfied.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: And what I'm trying to do this morning is to
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: stir up a hunger in you to say, I'm not satisfied.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Because listen, I know some of you have had incredible
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: experiences with God. I have too. I remember being at
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: camps over Christmas. It's hard to say over 30-something years ago,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: being at youth camps and experiencing the presence of God.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: But listen, if I haven't experienced the presence of God
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: in 35 years, something's wrong. I need to get in
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: the presence of God today because yesterday's anointing, yesterday's encounter
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: isn't enough. You know, I can tell you about missions
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: trips I've been on where I've seen incredible moves of
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: God and I've just felt so close to the presence
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: of God. But if I haven't experienced the presence of
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: God since I was on a missions trip, there's something
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: wrong with me because God's not on the missions trip.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: He's in me.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: And I've got to learn how to get in his
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: presence where I am today. Who am I talking to
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: this morning? It comes through spending time with him. You know,
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: so many people talk about the revivals of the past.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Thank God for those. I'm so thankful. I think we
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: should study those. I think we should talk about those.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: But if all we can do is talk about a
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: revival that happened over 100 years ago, God help us.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: We can't live on that generation's revival. We can't live
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: on what God did for that generation.
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: We need our own.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: Encounter with with God today in this generation. Listen, your
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: children need to have an encounter with God. Your children
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: should be talking about, man, my dad, my mom. Listen,
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: I want to tell you what God, but then they
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: need their own encounter too or it's going to die.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: They can't live on your encounter. They've got to learn
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: how to get in the presence of God for themselves.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: You know, I think about it this way. If you
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: had a stove in your house in the winter, it'll
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: keep you warm if you got wood in there. But
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: you can't get up in the morning and say, well,
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: I had a big fire yesterday. I should be okay today.
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: That's not how it works. Am I right?
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: You got to put some wood in that thing today
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: or you're going to get cold and it's going to die.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: Listen, don't let the fire.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: And I'm talking about like when I say fire, I
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: mean like the the passion to know him more, the
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: passion to be in his presence. You know, the love,
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: he says in Revelation, return to the love you had
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: at first. They had gotten away from the love and
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: they started running after things. Maybe they started running after
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: programs or they started running after full rooms or they
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: started running after this event or that event. And he said, no,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: you got to get back to the first love because
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: you've made it about things it's not about. Listen, church,
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: it's about him and it's about knowing him. Return to
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: your first love. Don't let the fire go out. I
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: think sometimes we get so familiar with the presence of
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: God as far as what it looks like in a
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: church service or even just in our own daily lives,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: you know, spending time in the word of God, spending
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: time in prayer. We become so, so like routine. It
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: becomes so routine that we miss the fact that this
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: is encounter with him. This is spending time with him.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: It becomes just something that we do. We've got to
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: check a box. We've got to make sure we've done our, okay,
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: I read my however many chapters you read today. I
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: read through the whole Bible this year. Well, good for you,
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: but did you encounter the presence of God while you
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: were doing it? I'd rather you read one verse a
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: day and apply it than read that whole Bible this year.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: And I mean that.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: I'd rather you learn how to put this word into practice.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: I'd rather us learn how to be in his presence
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: than just be satisfied with doing a bunch of religion routines.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: Because the danger is this can become religion. Coming to
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: church can become religion. Well, we come to church and
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: we sing our three songs. For this church, it's more
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: like four and a half songs or something. We sing
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: our songs and we take our communion once a month
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: and we do this.
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: We do that.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: And it's just something we do, it becomes religion. But
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: God's calling us to go deeper. He's calling us into relationships. Yes,
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: he's calling us into a relationship. So here's what it
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: means to be part of this church. We are people
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: who pursue the presence of God, not just in here,
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: but out there. We pursue the presence of God in
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: our homes. We pursue the presence of God in our
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: family time. If we're at work, we're pursuing the presence
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: of God, not that we're taking time in the corner
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: to go pray and meditate on the word of God.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: But what I mean is we're pursuing what God wants.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: Maybe we pause in our workday and we say, Lord,
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: direct my steps because I don't want to go without
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: your direction. I can make choices. I can make decisions,
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: but I need you. That's pursuing the presence of God
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: in our families.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: In our homes. I want you to do this.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: Would you stand up with me this morning as I
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: get ready to close? And I want to ask you,
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: This morning, are you hungry for his presence? Are you
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: hungry for the presence of God in your life? Because
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: you can come to church and not be hungry. You
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: can know all the words to all the songs better
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: than the worship team and not be hungry. Maybe you've
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: experienced God in the past. And you know what I'm
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: talking about with the camps and the retreats and the,
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: Things like that, but have you lost your hunger?
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: You say like Moses, show me your glory. Lord, I
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: want more.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: Lord, I want to know you. I just want you
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: to bow your heads for a moment. Lord, I want
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: to know you. Lord, I want to know you. I
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: want to have the kind of relationship with God like
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: Moses had where I say, Lord, I want your presence.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: I want to know your glory. Lord, I'm not satisfied
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: with yesterday's encounter. I'm not satisfied with hearing about what
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: somebody experienced 100 years ago. Lord, I want you today
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: in my life. I want your will. I want your desires.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: I want to be led by your Holy Spirit in
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: my life today.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: Before I go any further, I want to say this
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: and be clear.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: I'm not talking about earning the presence of God. By
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: doing religious stuff. See, God made a way for you
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: to come to him through his son, Jesus Christ. Because
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: apart from Jesus, we're in sin. Every one of us
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: without Jesus is not worthy. And this message today isn't
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: that you need to work harder to get into his
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: presence or work your way back to God. The gospel
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: message is that Jesus came looking for you. You're like
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: that sheep that was lost. And maybe you're here today
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: and you're away from God. Jesus tells a story about
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: a sheep that was lost and he said the shepherd
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: left all the other sheep. And he went and found
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: that one sheep that was lost and he brought it
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: back and rejoiced because he found his lost sheep. And
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: I want you to know that's the gospel today. If
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: you're here and you're away from God, the gospel is
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: the shepherd Jesus He left his home in heaven and
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  Speaker 1: he came to this earth and he did it for you.
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  Speaker 1: And he died on the cross for our sins and
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  Speaker 1: for your sins. And he rose again so we can
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  Speaker 1: be forgiven. And then here's what he said. He said,
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  Speaker 1: I am the way. I am the truth and I'm
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  Speaker 1: the life. Nobody comes to the father except through me.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to today's message from Reach Church.
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  Speaker 1: If this encouraged you, We'd love for you to share
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: this podcast and leave a review. It helps more people
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: hear the good news. For more information about Reach Church,
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: our ministries, or how to get involved, visit us at reachchurch.world.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: We love you, we're praying for you, and we'll see
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: you next time right here on the Reach Church podcast.