Activate Your Ability to Hear God's Voice - Bill Johnson Sermon | Bethel Church

you want to activate your hearing meditate on what you remember of the works of God I don't care if you have to go back to the days of Moses or you have to go back to your parents and grandparents or you have to go back to last week show me what kind of father you are because I'm afraid I could just see the surface and never tap into the heartbeat of a father who loves people like you do let this memory activate my hearing because I want to hear better beautiful well good morning good to

see you glad you showed up how many of you uh were a part of the uh Randy Clark healing school and conference this week how many of you made it to that we had such an outrageous time I'm still a little bit rocked from the week and um I was talking to Randy last night there was somewhere H there's over a thousand healings uh this week with a number not notable Miracles yeah and uh my goodness it just I got I got whacked we need to have a new dictionary so the people know what we

mean whacked blasted hit hard those are all very positive terms yeah wrecked ruined those are all very positive words so anyway it was just that kind of a week for me and I know for quite a few others um I uh I have a uh something I read a year or so ago that I found in my little file here on my iPad something that one of my grandsons wrote about his mother and a Mother's Day card that he wrote and it's uh Cruz Cruz is is a fascinating child he's just a fascinating child he

um he has an imagination and I'm not sure if he knows when it's reality or when it's imagination I'm not sure if he knows where that line is yet we're trying to help him but in the meantime we're wonderfully entertained by this child and uh I think it was a year or so ago uh Leah came to pick him up at school at the Christian School here and uh teacher uh sa Leah said oh I'm so sorry to hear what happened said uh what do you mean what happened he said well Cruz told us that

your house burned down and she said oh he did and so U they're walking into the car and Leah turns to my daughter Leah turns to Cruz and said uh Hey Cruz did you tell your teacher that our house burned down he said yeah I mean no no hesitancy at all oh yeah yeah I did son why did you do that he says oh Mom she loves a good story [Applause] [Laughter] now his dad Gabe says he's lying I I am saying he's just creative and his thinking so in fact at Christmas time we had

our whole family together and Brian Brian asked him hey Cruz are those stories real cuz we're all so fascinated by what he comes up with are those stories real he looks at briy says the real in my head I don't know if they are in yours but they are in mine so here is his Mother's Day card from I think two years ago my mom is as pretty as a dancing princess she is as sweet as a horse is imagery needs a little bit of work here she is as sweet as a horse she is

as smart as God so we'll have to work on his theology as well but most of all she's special like a dragon a dragon that is nice and can shoot water out of its mouth so I know that's the goal of every woman in this room to be recognized as a dragon that can shoot water out of its mouth so that's quite a child there all right we're going to read a couple portions of scripture we'll start with Exodus 33 and uh we're actually today we're going to focus on two portions of scripture that in

some ways have had uh I hate to say the most influence but certainly at the top uh influence in my life in my thinking over the last 20 years these last few weeks have been very very tender for me I uh many times throughout the day whether I'm at home whe whether I'm in the corporate Gathering here or conference or in Korea or the Randy Clark event this last week I feel like I'm about this far away from tears almost all the time but it's never sadness it's just the unexplainable kind that I'm just I'm

overwhelmed by what I see God doing I'm over overwhelmed uh for example again this last week we saw the beautiful testimony of PTSD healed and uh Randy has a guy on his team now that has personally LED 10,000 people into healing of PTSD it's it's one of the most extraordinary things I mean it is it is literally it's just off the charts they're now bringing him to military bases and places where it's it's it's running so rampant that they need help and there's no way answers but Jesus is the answer and he and and we

watch people in fact I I'll uh I'll try to remember the next couple weeks if I remember to to show you just a a testimony of one of the Miracles that actually happened here in reading and was towards the beginning of this launch uh for them and seeing this this horrible Affliction of the heart um healed and uh so you watch this happen you know you watch you know the gall they showed the video of the gall that has this metal uh bar put in her arm and you see the picture of how this thing

stood out and they prayed and it literally just went in just just dissolved and you you you know your mind cannot commute What God compute what God is doing but he just literally just reduces that and just completely heals and restores it the stories go on and on and on I mean they're just extraordinary extraordinary things but it's all symbolic in a sense of not the season we're in because that's been going on for years but there's a there's a a presence there was this week was filled I don't know if everybody experienced this but

I I know the ones that I interacted with about this there was such there was such a sense of God's presence in the building that it just felt like anything was possible at any time and I just became mindful of of something that I wanted to share with you today and all of this uh actually I'm going to probably combine like three different concepts or three different uh teachings or messages that I that I run with and put them into one and basically boil it down to this we are stewards of the Divine we are

stewards we're stewards of the testimony of God we're stewards of the ways of God we're stewards of the presence of God it's those three things any probably could ask we could add a hundred things to the list but to me those three things represent the bulk of why we are on planet Earth and what we have the privilege doing with our lives stewards of the testimony stewards of the knowledge of his ways and stewards of his presence you know the great Revelation that Jesus provided in coming to Earth to putting on flesh was he was

revealed as Emmanuel God With Us Emanuel God With Us the whole the whole point of Jesus coming to Earth was was so that Humanity so that people could actually discover that God is with us he is so for us that he is with us and it it's uh it's tragic to me to watch people day after day week after week year after year of their lives live this far from the answer and be clueless to God has brought that within Arm's Reach the Lord Jesus gives us a gift and repent it's the gift of repentance

uh repentance is not something that we uh just randomly choose whatever we want it's literally a gift the Bible calls repentance a gift that God gives and it's a part of what he does in wooing us to himself repentance isn't just the a Mourning over our past it includes that it's but it's the sorrow of our sin that is so deep in its impact that it launches us into a shift and how we think about life how we think about Sin how we think about our present our future all of that is contained in this

one wonderful gifted word called repentance and so Jesus gives us access to Steward these three parts or aspects of God's person his nature it's the testimony it's the ways of God it's the presence of God the Bible is filled with uh uh I don't want to call them list but they're principles that come in sequence for example I will enter his gates with Thanksgiving in my heart I will enter his courts so it's deeper into the presence with praise so throughout scripture there there are these processes that he takes us through where there's there's deliberate

shifts in priorities in activities and actions in the way we think how we apply truth there's these these places that we come to where there's there's this shift where we say you know what I'm not just interested in the works of God I want to know what he's like I want to know know his ways and the scripture says Israel was acquainted with the acts of God but Moses was acquainted with his ways that's a huge shift there because Israel missed out on what Moses had but the implication of scripture was they all had access

to it they all had access but Israel was acquainted with man on the ground every morning they they were acquainted they were satisfied with water out of the rock they they never made it past the act of God on their behalf into discovering the nature of God and here's the saddest part of that equation whenever God reveals something about his nature whenever he reveals he unveils here is something about his nature whenever he unveils that part of his nature it always comes with the invitation to know him in that way never does the understanding of

his nature never does it come to us just make it just to make us more theologically sound that's important but it is secondary what's important is to know him in that way to encounter him so when he says I'm your provider I don't want to walk away from that Revelation without provision you know when he when he says I am your Holiness I I don't you know I don't want to walk away the same that I came in I I want to leave change because I have encountered him and now relationally I come to know

him in that way so his ways you know let's say he healed your body this week uh his way so he heals your body but what happens is we become this this thing that God is doing in US is so provoking and stirring us that we no longer become satisfied with just the act of God God show me what you're like and so now instead of me just being satisfied with a healing I want to discover the Healer so the healing points to his nature the Healer so now there's this relationship with the God who

is my health see he heals not as an act so to speak follow my train of thought here it's who he is he cannot not be the healer he cannot not be the provider he can't is he cannot choose to not be that because it's it's his person it's his nature it's his makeup he provides because of his nature it's out of who he is that does all these things and so here he invites us constantly into being exposed to the works of God we we we see these extraordinary works of God in our life

we hear of the miracle of provision we hear of the promotion that somebody got sometimes it's such the simplest thing and sometimes it's the most crazy bizarre thing but we see these things that God does and we become unsettled with just standing back and giving a golf clap for a miracle that God has just done Our Testimony this given we become provoked inside I must know this one who does this on behalf of humanity he does this in people's hearts I must know this father who took this guy we saw the video this week if

you were there who was locked up in PTSD absolutely unable to function normally in life and in literally in moments completely transform his life to where he's never been able to play with his children he's never been able to you know take on the pressures of Life of work and all these things and now suddenly overnight he's completely different and changed it was no magic wand it was a person called Jesus who stepped into his life and just sorted things out so we see this and we go you know I don't have PTSD but I

got stuff and I got to know this one who settles these issues and so we look at the sign as an invitation to know the one who is like that and to make him known yeah okay here's the verse that I want us to read it's here in Exodus 33 it's verse 13 He says uh now therefore I pray if I have found Grace or favor in your sight show me now your way that I may know you that I may find Grace in your sight consider that this nation is your people go back to

at least what for me uh is the heart of this verse show me your way that I might know you say that with me show me your ways that I might know you say it again show me your ways that I might know you what's the point the point is the testimony reveals the nature the nature is the invitation to an encounter but in the encounter we come to know the one who works wonders once you see what the sign points to you're never satisfied with only a sign again so good you hear about this

wonderful restaurant and you drive looking for it and you see the sign you don't turn around and go home you go where the sign is pointing the PO the sign points to something greater than itself it's like the exit sign over the door it's real but it points to something more real that's the exit so you see the miracle of healing or Deliverance whatever it may be the healing of a marriage the prospering of a b business that's a sign but it takes you to a person and the whole purpose of this journey is to

know him Israel stopped short they were satisfied with Miracles miracles do become boring look at Israel Mana every day after a while what else is on the menu I'm in the creation of food before them every day after a while Bo we' sure like some meat which I understand that one just between you and me meat is vital part of life I'll leave that let me know your ways that I might know you turn with me to the um Book of Mark and we'll read where we're going to uh land today uh Mark chapter 8

is a uh a portion of scripture I don't know maybe I I have taught on this here more than any other portion I it wouldn't surprise me if that was true and the reason for that is um it it takes me a long time to learn things and I I I will open to the story on somewhat of a regular basis and review the story and specifically one particular verse because I need I need to face the questions that Jesus asks he asks certain questions you you've heard it before but whenever God is asking you

a question it's never because he's lacking information he's just trying to dial something up in you that you don't know is there or he's trying to lead you into understanding something and so he asks these questions and they're they're they're provoking questions we'll get to them in a moment but if you you picture this with me that Jesus uh the disciples have a three and 1/2 year relational Journey with Jesus and during this time they've watched things happen uh that that just changed their their thinking about life in general they they all uh you know

were pretty insignificant people from politicians to fishermen to whatever and they they just they just suddenly caught a vision for their life and were willing to die for something uh previous to that they just wanted to catch fish but now suddenly they're wanting to change the world and they did they they caught that by being with this Jesus and Jesus would use them he would he would Empower them to do the same things he did it had to be absolutely frightening and glorious all at the same time it's kind of funny because Jesus would use

them so powerfully that they actually began to think they were important outside of their role they they began to think of their own significance in a in a strange way you know like they' argue as to who is the the greatest you know we we're too smart to argue with each other I'm greater than you no I'm better than you we we're way too religious to do that we just do that by pointing to somebody else's [Applause] flaws it's it's the more subtle way of saying I'm better than you anyway let's stop meddling and move

on here but the disciples what did Jesus do he immersed them in this atmosphere of presence and power Ed them in significance in a glorious way the way he had designed for them to live but in doing so it dialed up stuff in their hearts that they didn't know was there Peter was shocked to find out he would deny the Lord he was absolutely convinced he would last when everybody else fell and yet he was the one who denied Jesus what happens in these moments where where there's pressure pressure isn't always negative pressure isn't always

added because of problems sometimes pressure is added because of the miraculous of the way God uses us because of the understanding we receive there's there's just this stuff that comes on our life and the weightiness of God's work in US reveals fractures it doesn't cause fractures it reveals fractures why the Lord never does that to shame us he never does that as punishment he always does it so that we can see what he sees CU if I can see what he sees then I can confess and confession basically means to agree with God so the

weightiness of God's work in my life reveals a fraction maybe it's a fraction in my thinking every time I get in this precious situation I just start criticizing myself or every time I get in this pressure situation I want to withdraw from people or every time I get in this pressure situation I blame other people around me instead of taking responsibility whatever it might be that weightiness of whether it's blessing or whether it's responsibility it reveals fractions why it's so that I can come into agreement with God I see that Lord I see that I

have that tendency to beat myself up when this pressure comes please forgive me because I believe things about me you don't believe about me and it's got to change what is he doing he's in his Mercy he's revealing fractures so that we can come into agreement because once we see it and we come into agreement the confession releases the capacity to forsake it's that was really good news right there the confession I see it oh God I beat myself up every time this pressure comes I'm tired of it I I I know you revealed that

so that I confess it I agree with you there's a fracture in my makeup that blames me for everything and I know it's not right and I'm confessing my self-centeredness because don't think it's anything other than you blame you every time something is wrong it's still it's a it's a reverse arrogance and pride face it call it for what it is because I'm still the focus of my attention God please forgive me for this subtle Pride that has robbed me of so many things in my life I'm through with it I'm finished with it and

by your grace I step into thinking differently about me now because of what you said over me so there's that that confession we forsake he actually releases in the confession the Divine capacity to forsake to leave what has trailed behind you all this time that's the reason for the weightiness of God so the disciples in this journey had two occasions where they were privileged to see food multiply and feed thousands of people one time they they fed 5,000 men besides women and children another time 4,000 men besides women and children I think it's important to

know to recognize even though it's not the subject of the message today it's important to recognize that before the death and resurrection of Christ before the day of Pentecost only the men were counted counted in a crowd a crowd was measured by how many men were there the women were there they were fed in these Miracles but they weren't in they weren't counted after the day of Pentecost men women and children were counted the outpouring of the Holy Spirit creates a Level Playing Field and it's it's vital that we recognize that great Grace that is

released over the church where we find every race we find every uh economic uh level we find every age all it's a Level Playing Field read in Joel 2 about the outpouring of the spirit it becomes a Level Playing Field through the outpouring of the spirit but back to the story here the disciples are with Jesus on two occasions where they see food multiply and they were used in the miracle and uh they would distribute the food and it literally would would increase as they pass it out Jesus didn't throw the boys's lunch in the

air and go Shazam and create aoll food instead he he he divided into 12 sections and the disciples took it out and fed the multitudes extraordinary Miracle we're going to we're going to look at the disciples the day after all right so they got major Miracle 4,000 men besides women and children extraordinary time they get in a boat they're going on a journey they get some RNR time with Jesus and they're in the boat all right with me longest introduction ever but we're there all right verse 14 the disciples had forgotten to take bread actually

let start with 13 he left them getting into the boat left them meaning the crowd getting in the boat again departed to the other side the disciples had forgotten to take bread they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat then he charged them saying take heed Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod and they reasoned among themselves saying it's because we have no bread but Jesus being aware of it said to them why do you reason because you have no bread do you not yet perceive

nor understand is your heart still hardened I will actually turn to verse 17 just randomly on my own because those questions are piercing to me and they expose my my leaning into thinking differently than Jesus and to me the prize of all prizes for us right now is the mind of Christ it is the great prize it is the reward of repentance it is the fruit or the result of repentance the mind of Christ the mind of Christ is the great prize I mean we celebrate the presence obviously there's no greater gift in the presence

of God Emanuel god with us we celebrate the anointings that manifestation of presence that brings Miracles and healing Deliverance all this stuff we celebrate one another we celebrate so many things that God has given us but there is one thing that is more transformational than any other and that is the mind of Christ it's seeing and thinking the way he sees and the way he thinks there's something different about Jesus who can look at a boy's lunch fearlessly knowing that there's going to be leftovers there's going to be more than enough this is going to

be such a wonderful moment that we will have more at the end than what we started with but that was the thinking he we we know there's an oak tree in an acorn well in circumstances that would come up he would see the possibility of the potential of a moment that Divine reasoning you know I get there eventually I don't always start there in fact just between you and me don't tell anyone this it seems like I hardly ever start there I get there but starting with his perception is a gift that I long for

you know I know that biblically we have the mind of Christ by the way it says we have it doesn't say I have yeah yeah it's collectively we our father we have the mind of Christ but [Applause] anyway I know that we have the mind of Christ but I I want I want what's in my account to be in my possession in other words I I wanted to influence my my initial reaction I I get there but I want my IAL reaction to be mind of Christ and I do believe that that's the the great

U the great prize so he says take heed verse 15 Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees the leaven of Herod he's not warning them about bad bread you know he's not saying don't go to herod's Bakery because it's bad don't go to the Pharisees you know stay away from their bread he's warning them about w ways of thinking P the way you perceive reality can be shaped by these two themes these two grps groups and these two actually um clarify the two primary movements in the earth apart from the kingdom of God there's the

11av of the Kingdom there's the 11av of Herod there's the 11av of the Pharisees those are three different perceptions of reality and so Jesus you know imagine yourself sitting in the boat you you've been you've just had the most incredible day of your life life yesterday you're in the boat going to the other side you have a little interaction time with Jesus and just kind of enjoying the journey and Jesus says Hey guys let me have your attention and you look towards him you're waiting to hear another more Pearls of Wisdom and he says be

careful of the leaven of Herod and the leaven of the Pharisees and they all go did you bring the bread cuz they thought he was actually rebuking them because they forgot somebody dropped their responsibility and they look around the boat and they don't have any bread and Jesus of course is not talking about herod's bakery or the Pharisees Bakery he's he's talking about perception of reality that becomes shaped by a value system that is other than the kingdom of God it's it's it's counterfeit perception it's it's anchoring our hearts into the inferior instead of living

from the reality of God's rule his Dominion towards the circumstances of life and every believer has the amazing privilege of living from Heaven towards Earth that's the call that's the privilege of God that's what it is to abide in Christ so here we have this warning be careful of the leaven of Herod and the leaven of the Pharisees Herod represents the political system it's humanistic in nature it does not mind you believing in God just don't bring that into the everyday Affairs of life in other words it's okay that you confess to be a Christian

it's all right just don't bring him into the political office don't bring him into the classroom it's the humanistic it's man at the center of everything and man as God is a real letdown the Pharisees leaven is not any better because while it believes in God he's impersonal and Powerless it's in form it's in shape it's in ritual it's in routine it's not in relationship it's not anchored in knowing it's not anchored in encountering it's just this routine that we follow and so Jesus says don't fall into either of these two ditches this ditch here

will kill you it's called humanism and this ditch will kill you it's called religious routine and form without relationship both of these things are dangerous and they're both cancers to your soul be careful of these things and he's warning them and they completely miss it he asked them these questions and this is what I review on a somewhat of a regular basis verse 17 why do you reason because you have no bread why does your reasoning start with what you don't have why does your reasoning start with what you don't have why why why are

you doing that you can just see I I feel like I'm in the boat to be honest with you often I feel like yeah I I need you to ask me those questions again you know why do you reason that you have no bread um is it because we have no bread somehow I know that's the wrong answer so I'm not going to say anything and he says how is it that you don't perceive or understand I don't know he says is your heart still hardened that's the third question is your heart still hardened I

didn't know it was but apparently it is he just takes them through these questions and all he's trying to do is expose the fracture so that we can make agreement and see things healed and changed on so good yeah so good see when you've experienced Supernatural Supply I'll ask you the question how many of you have had God provide for you in an absolute Supernatural way all of us have how many of you after you experienced that Supernatural provision you had another financial problem how many of you were at as afraid and as nervous the

second time as you were the first time that's the point is that I learned nothing it was it was like it was like I know he I know he provided he's so good he took care of me last time but the problem that I'm facing right now I don't know if he's going to do it again you know it's just that Russian Roulette thing I just happened to hit the right cylinder and I got the answer of God but you know he just doesn't always work like that and I don't know I may be on

my own could be that I earned this mess and and and and I I proove my devotion by just sucking it up and bear up under the pressure of this financial thing and he's he's he's looking at us like don't you don't understand what forgiveness is huh so so he asked this series of questions he says so why do you reason that you have no bread because once you've experienced the miracle of God's provision you've lost the right to begin any thought process with what you don't have on that is not brought into the equation

it fascinates me that in these two stories that Jesus didn't create food out of nothing I mean he could have but that wasn't the miracle the miracle was that he took well there was and he multiplied it yeah let's look at the rest of the story here Verse 18 having eyes do you not see having ears do you not hear and do you not remember that verse has helped me so much let me tell you why he's asking the questions again and I need the questions of Jesus so he says having eyes do you not

see and there you know I'll be really honest there I'm in a whole bunch of situations throughout my average week or month where no I'm I'm totally clueless I don't see at all what you're doing I'm I'm I don't know it's not working it's just not working so follows up with the second question he says well can you hear well the reality is I do hear better than I see so he follows the second question he says can you hear and there I'm in situation where I go nope I hate to say it but I

don't see and I don't hear and so he follows with the next one and I'm so thankful for it he says well do you remember yeah you want to activate your hearing meditate on what you remember of the works of God review the activities of God I don't care if you have to go back to the days of Moses you have to go back to your parents and grandparents or you have to go back to last week go back to something that you watch God do don't just take it at surface level God show me

the nature of a father would cause that metal bar in the arm to dissolve that would take a son that was so tormented by combat uh uh fatigue on his heart his mind mind that you would heal him in moments where he thinks clearly and he now contributes to the well-being of his family show me what kind of father you are because I'm afraid I could just see the surface and never tap into the heartbeat of a father who loves people like you do God take me beyond the obvious take me beyond the obvious let

let this memory activate my hearing because I want to hear better and what I've notice is that remembering activates my hearing and hearing activates my seeing and so he asked some more questions he says verse 19 when I broke the Five Loaves for the 5,000 how many baskets full of fragments did you take up and they said him 12 also when I broke the seven for the 4,000 how many large baskets full of fragments did you take out he said seven and he said how is it you don't understand I don't know look what he

just did he just he he asked him about the numbers of people they fed so 5,000 and 4,000 what did they start with they started with Five Loaves and another time seven loaves so when they fed the larger group 5,000 people they started with fewer loaves Five Loaves instead of seven and they had more leftovers 12 wow when they started with more the seven loaves they fed a smaller crowd and had fewer leftovers seven baskets wow is divine math why did God choose Israel he said because they were the least don't be surprised that he

chooses to work in a way where he receives the most glory and when you start thinking you're pretty cool because God chose you just remember I love a statement sha BS made I don't know when he made it but I read it last year sometime and it goes something like this he said the Lord makes sure that all of our friends our closest friends sees our idio idios syres and our broken areas of life and the things that don't always work well in us and make sure that our closest friends see that so that when

God uses us all they all know it's by the grace of God so they all know it's by the grace of God and that's the reason many people will not come close in relationship because they don't want anyone to know that and when they do it they withhold Glory from God because people never really discover how much that work was by the grace of God wow you see these Miracles that they were exposed to was supposed to have a greater effect on them this this won't sound right probably but give me a moment it was

to have a greater effect on them than merely inspiring them to give God praise now I buy into that completely I I love us responding to God's works and giving him the honor giving him the credit he was looking for more he was looking for their history with him feeding 5,000 feeding 4,000 he was he was looking for their history with him to become the lenses through which they see their present situation wow he was looking for them to be so impacted by the multiplying of food that when he starts talking to them about leaven

they don't go into a fear mode about what they don't have their initial response is instead I serve the god of the impossible He Did It Before He'll Do It Again I mentioned all of that this morning CU I I felt so strongly in in getting ready for today that the the reminder perhaps of what we Steward what we actually give oversight to what we take charge of in our own lives that we Steward the testimony of the lord we Steward we we we remember we we've been trying harder and harder as a staff to

write these things down to we've hired someone to record them we now have a team that does background uh research to get medical verification and and we've got a great story we're going to show you Beth media is working on right now that we'll be able to show you in a couple weeks of one of the most extraordinary Miracles that we've ever seen and medical evidence medical proof of of this of this miracle so we we we want this we want to be accurate we want to collect things that really truly bring God glory but

they have to be more than the moments in our life together where we just simply applaud and give God thanks for what he's done but we actually see to where the sign's pointing yeah come to know a father who treats a son that's been so destroyed through combat in moments he makes it as though he was never in a war yeah where there's such peace on his mind his heart is that kind of a father it's going Beyond just the testimony so we can cheer it's it's coming to know this one who knows no limitation

no restriction no restraint he is absolutely fullon in demonstrating his love for us so we Steward the testimony and it's important that we hold to it as a treasure we Steward the knowledge of his ways what is he like because there's a lot of people out there you know let's be honest we're the ones who taught the insurance companies to call hurricanes and floods acts of God they got their theology from the church let's teach him something new this next season of what he's likeing as a father that he's the one who heals he's the

one who restores he's the one who protects he's the one who delivers not just as a point of theology but out of her own Rich experience with a father who loves us so tenderly and so carefully so I Steward testimony and I Steward the knowledge of his ways but the greatest gift of all is I Steward his presence he who has chosen to identify himself with me I close with this thought Moses asked the Lord At the beginning of his call God called him to deliver Israel out of Egypt and Moses asked this great question

he said who am I God said I'll be with you I don't I don't if I'm Moses I'm going that's awesome but you skip my question who am I certainly I will be with you all right I I used to I used to think God just in fact I taught it God just ignored his question because he had something better to show him which which in part is true but what did he actually tell Moses how did he let's look at it this way who was Moses God says you're the one I want to be

with that's who you are your identity is in the one who has chosen to walk with you that's who you are you are the one over whom God says I am not ashamed to be called their God that's who you are you are the one I am not ashamed to display myself upon that's who you are I do love the privilege of being together and I especially of the opportunity to make sure that everyone in the room has an opportunity to know what it is to be forgiven of sin to turn from the self-centered lifestyle

that everybody lives before meeting Jesus to turn from that one thing that condemns every one of us and that is sin there's only one possible solution God made this statement he said there's only only one name under Heaven by which a person must be saved it's foolish to think there's many ways to God foolish absolute foolishness if there's many ways to God then he was cruel to Jesus to make him suffer and die the way he did if there was any other way to get people to be at peace with God then that was absolute

cruelty it was done because it was the only possible solution there had to be the shedding of innocent blood for the Forgiveness of sins in and Jesus volunteered to die in my place your place and with a crowd this side there's always opportunity there's always a chance that there are people here that have never said yes to Jesus you've never said I I want to follow Jesus I want to turn from my life I want to know what it is to be forgiven I know what want to know what it is to be born again

and if that's anybody in the room just quickly I want you right where you are sitting just put a hand up and we're just going to make wonderful wonderful agreement with you that you would know what it is to be forgiven of sin to be brought into the kingdom of God to be adopted into God's family wait about 15 seconds that's about it 10 seconds maybe but if there's anyone at all please put your hand up if you're in the Overflow room please do it there so the people there can see you is there a

hand up I didn't see it I'm sorry is it right over here yes it's right there yeah wonderful God bless you sir in Jesus name God bless you anyone else real quickly anyone else all right let's go ahead and stand if you'd hold your places please I I uh it will help us tremendously if you if you would give opportunity for this to happen I I want this is what I want I want Ministry team to quickly come to the front the gentleman to put your hand up if you wouldn't mind do us all a

favor yourself a favor come down here I want you to talk and to pray with the people to my left there's a banner over here it's called a freedom Banner and it just as a place where some folks that we know and love uh will help you now the rest of you as a minister to him is coming just put hands in front of you I just want to pray over you concerning this mind of Christ fact maybe I should have you lay hands on one another's head no don't do that shake it too let's

let's just pray together I want to pray for this mind of Christ thing and then I'm going to turn it over to Chris and to Tom and if you would hold your places please it's very important that we give place to what the holy spirit is doing first and foremost so father I ask for the glory of the name Jesus that you would help us to adjust and shift with everything you do so that we see the beautiful opportunities to know you to love you and to make you known we devote ourselves as stewards of

testimony the knowledge of your ways and your presence I ask for this grace to rest more powerfully honest this year in Jesus name amen