3rd July 2021 | Living with the Presence of God | Jake Whittaker

[Music] oh [Music] there's a place for [Music] i am chosen not forsaken you are for me [Music] it's free [Music] yes house there's a place for me i'm a child of god i'm a child [Music] yes i am good morning and happy sabbath everyone my name is michaela and i would just like to welcome you to our online worship service this morning as some of you may be aware the south australian government have put some new restrictions in place due to a recent outbreak of the covert virus and because of this our church service is looking a little bit different this morning firstly we don't have our church family present here with us today and secondly we won't be having any live singing as per the restrictions and rather we'll be just playing some pre-recorded songs and we hope that you'll be able to reflect and meditate on the words as you sit and listen from home now this morning we have jake who is a high school teacher and chaplain at prescott college as well as a worship leader here at paravista sharing with us this morning on what it means to know god's presence in your life and so we look forward to what you'll be sharing with us this morning jake and lastly i would just like to leave you all with a reading from psalms chapter 46 verse 1 to 3. god is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging may you know today that god is with you always he is your strength he is your refuge and he is your ever-present help in times of trouble now before we have our kids space segment i would just like to invite eileen our head elder to come up the front as she has a couple of announcements for us thank you so much good morning good morning online viewers good morning everybody and happy sabbath this morning i have two announcements the first announcement is in relation because you must have heard two sabbaths ago that we had been planning to do a physical collection of offerings for the church couldn't happen today so probably today is the time but you bring out your androids your what's the other phone uh apple phone and this is the time that you scan that qr code and then click onto that and follow the prompts the other way of giving is you go and access the e-giving and you follow the prompts as well and if you still want to do the to bring the offering for next sabbath we will be collect hopefully next sabbath i'm i'm pre pre-empting it the next time we meet again we can have it whether it's next sabbath or the following sabbath the second announcement that i need to bring you i bring it with joy in our hearts because finally we have found or we had been informed that we now have a new senior pastor well he's not actually very new uh let me just mention his name because i was informed this week that they have already appointed pastor william moala as the senior pastor of paravista so i was thinking do i welcome him but i already welcomed him in some time in february so i welcomed him as an associate pastor but now we are welcoming him as our senior pastor so i'm sure that you are all happy because there is that continuity with him he already knows most of us and uh we will just come to know him more because he will be spending more time with us thank you oops hey guys sorry you are in the right church you're not in somewhere else i'll be doing the children's story and for every one of you who are there at home high five you can actually high five me via your screens well we actually have kids here maybe we can ask the kids here to join me come on guys come on join me come on come here well we have to distance ourselves in some way but we can yep okay now so the story this morning is actually entitled god's nose no not this nose but another form of no when i was a child i would always pray to god and ask my parents for so many things but for some reason there's always a lot of no when i ask for those things probably you guys have also heard of the same things the same answer from your parents so i remember one night when i discovered chocolates who among you loves chocolates i love my chocolate even now so one one evening i was praying to god god i want a lot of chocolate tomorrow so in the morning i asked my parents mom dad can i just eat chocolates today what do you think my parents said to me god what did he say to me no would you have said no prayer didn't work god must not be listening to my prayer and my parents were just so so bad in my head so i said that's okay maybe that's for the good okay so eat my veggies eat my rice and everything and then another time the next month actually we had the tv tv back then it's a bit different tv tv now but still i pray to god god there's a there's a great cartoon series tomorrow it's going to show during school day during school time i was praying god please let me just watch it so that i can watch it before my friends watch them okay tomorrow came and then i said to my mom mom i don't want to actually go to school today i just want to watch tv what do you think did my mom say yeah i wish he actually they actually said no you have to go to school you can't watch tv all day you have to go to school oh no oh yes it's good but hope unfortunately mom said no i had to go to school i was really just sad that day i had to wait like everyone else to watch my tv they said okay still and then suddenly i had this idea because i have this toy and everyone just wants to to borrow my toy so i i was praying to god god please give everyone the same toy that i have so i don't have to share them i don't want to share my toys because they'll just play with it they'll put dirt in it and their hands will be on it so i asked my mom and dad mom and dad even with my brother i didn't want to share it with him can i please just have my toy and not share it with everyone else what did they say do you think gab not share toys they say yes do you think yeah they said no again why does this keep happening to me everyone is a no it's as if everything it's as if everything that i ask from god it's as if god is so far away that he can't hear me it's the same thing as with eve back then in eden when satan said you know what god is just saying no to you for this fruit because this is good for you and even some way was was actually listening now to satan because oh yeah that's right why can't i eat this fruit why is it unknown with this fruit there's so many other things that's yes but i want this i want this it is as if god has been asking him asking them adam and eve to just don't do this stuff god was so limiting they want to be free i want to be free to do anything that i want that's what i felt in even now sometimes there's still a lot of rules in the house a lot of rules in school why can't we just do everything that we want why is it that when we pray for these rules to be away god will still not listen to us but you know what james actually says in in the book of james in the bible that these rules actually set us free because god's rules actually make us live a better life god wouldn't want me to eat chocolate all morning and then in the evening i'll have this toothache i'll be so so weak because i don't have vitamins in my body god wouldn't want me to just watch tv all day and not go out there and play and learn some new stuff in school be with my friends god wouldn't want me to to not share my my toys that i won't have any friends anymore god wants me to be freer god wants me to be active out there playing so he wants me to nourish myself with good food that's why i'm like this i eat good food god wants me to to learn to be to be with my friends in school to play sports to share my toys and have more friends god wants us to be free this is why god's nose are actually better than the world's yes out there it might seem that everyone is having fun because they don't follow rules they don't have rules to actually occupy themselves or prevent them from doing things but god's nose actually sets us free so kids i hope the next time that you pray to god the next time that you ask for your parents and then they said no maybe not this time you will realize that it is because god loves you it is because your parents love you and they're always there to look out for what's best for you god bless you guys [Music] [Music] when peace like [Music] see [Music] [Applause] [Music] now [Music] is [Music] it is [Applause] [Music] is my sin all the joy of this glory is [Music] [Music] is [Music] praise the lord praise the lord [Music] it is in my soul it [Music] is that lord hates the day when my faith the clouds be rolled back shall resound and the lord shall descend even in [Music] is [Music] is [Music] we praise you our lord this morning thank you thank you for mommy's and daddy young and old thank you also for the children thank you for the sunlight and the rain and the laughters and the tears fill us this morning with your love bless everyone here today those who will be speaking and everyone sitting watching and listening we also remember those who are sick sad or lonely thank you for the gift of grace in jesus name we pray amen we praise you our lord this morning our creator and father we come to you today as your children as your family as your church in the sabbath morning we come to you as we are open our hearts and minds and please forgive us for the things we think we do we say that makes you sad and thank you for always loving us amen say amen amen well good morning everybody um it's pretty crazy there's a couple of people here that i get to engage with uh my name's jake i'm the chaplain at prescott college down the road like michaela said i also have the joy of teaching a little bit of history which is the best subject but i'm biased um and so i have the pleasure of sharing with you this morning i've got a short message i'm just going to say another little quick prayer thank you to the wonderful people who prayed before uh we're just going to say another quick one to start so would you bow your heads with me father god thank you for your love and your goodness i pray that you're with us as we unpack your word and your scripture may breathe life into our lives here and now so be with us give us an extra dose of your spirit to interpret to lead into god we pray the things in your name amen i am i used to work as a youth pastor in newcastle in new south wales back home and as a part of that i got to lead a handful of different stormco service trips for our teenagers and young adults from our church overall i've been on 10 trips and there's this beauty to it all that kept drawing me back yeah the weeks were fun and crazy and absolutely chaotic but we also got to step into other people's lives to do something that they were physically unable to do some of the time you get a good feeling leaving as you know you've accomplished something other times you're just annoyed at what's happened on the trips we mainly focused on gardening and yard work we went to a town with a primarily older population many of them had retired and had large blocks of land and they were just untamed and crazy there was this one time a group of us turned up to a house to help with her backyard so we brought the whippersnappers we bought the lawn mowers the chainsaw everything we bought the gear and was ready to go but what she really needed was a passion fruit vine pruned now i've only done this once on this trip and it was a with a group of other people but it was painful oh my word we couldn't do it quickly we had to use like secateurs and small pruning knives not all the big gear that we'd brought it absolutely just took forever and the woman kept getting us to do more and more things taking us away from pruning the vine so it took us even longer she asked us to mow a lawn but with her mower which was broken so it took even longer we picked fruit we tidied her pond area one thing after another but we did it i didn't have a very good attitude at the end but i was very keen to get out of there and back to our place for dinner but on one of the other days of this same trip i got a call on the phone from a lady who asked if we could help remove a plant that was kind of blocking her doorway she said so i quickly headed over to check out what kind of tools we needed and how many people the lady showed me this we got a photo coming up on the screen there um i knew some of the team would be up to the challenge so i said we'd be back in the afternoon to get rid of it well it took about 10 of us which was a quarter of our team to get this thing out it didn't take much time though because when you've got a bunch of teenagers and you say oh can you just take out this particular weed from my flower garden we we're not very good at that you're really risking it we don't know the difference between many weeds and plants and flowers we're not very good gardeners but if you say to a stormcode team can you rip that whole thing out we are very very good at that we can do that in no time at all and so the main strategy involved a group of the guys just crash tackling the plant um while some others dug out the roots on the other side and tipped it over it worked quite well the team had fun and we got the whole plant out and it went into our big trail and we got rid of it for us that plant was a bit of fun and getting the job done afterwards though we spoke to the lady again to tell her that we were done and she was in tears it turns out her husband had been in hospital for weeks and the staff wouldn't let him come home because this plan was in the way for them to safely access the home for her this plant being gone was more than a simple gardening exercise the barrier to her husband coming home had been removed there have been hundreds of stormcard trips go off go out across the country with similar moments and it's easy to feel the presence of god in those mountaintop moments but today i want to talk about where god's presence truly is and spoiler is not just in those easy to access moments pastor stephen asked me to speak about the concept of god's presence and what it means when we can and can't feel it so let's go on a short journey tracing god's presence throughout the grand narrative of the scriptures god's presence turns up on page one as he creates and forms the world his separation of chaos concludes with his presence and his creation fully overlapping 100 god is on this mountaintop with adam and eve in eden despite god's warning of eternal separation though adam and eve make the decision to take control for themselves to selfishly grab the power and knowledge instead of trusting god they choose to push him out of their lives they want some power and control for themselves in his mercy god continues to sustain the people in the world his presence has been pushed away and so that overlap is now broken but not destroyed god's presence still holds the chaos at bay and sustains life allowing humanity to continue down this path with the authority that he gave them we see god's presence pop up throughout the story guiding leading influencing saving blessing but i want to focus on one of the first times his presence is revealed to the community of israel his chosen people at mount sinai god descends onto the mountain as we read here in exodus 19. on the mountain of the third day there were thunders and lightnings a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp trembled then moses brought the people of the camp to meet god and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain now mount sinai was wrapped in smoke because the lord had descended on the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder moses spoke and god answered him in the thunder the lord came down on mount sinai to the top of the mountain and the lord called moses to the top of the mountain and moses went up god's presence is linked to some sort of mountain countless times throughout the old testament there are key moments in the story where a closer glimpse of god's character is revealed in a mountaintop experience but these moments are difficult to get to many people rarely make the climb to the top they're content with staying down the bottom either out of comfort or of fear in the following passage the writer of exodus shares now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking the people were afraid and trembled and they stood far off and said to moses you speak to us and we'll listen but do not let god speak to us lest we die so god can't get the people into his presence so instead he brings his presence a step closer to them reading the second half of exodus gives you a very specific set of instructions on how to build a big tent riveting stuff i know but it's only native god being able to be closer to his people once again this tabernacle has ceremonies and procedures and priests and people working to make sure everything is perfect so it still seems like there's barriers there but the whole point of this tabernacle was so that god could live amongst and in the middle of his people his character is revealed in the tent instructions one of closeness and community so this tabernacle tent moves around and eventually king david wants to make a more permanent structure god tells him that his son solomon will be the one to do this because david's hands have shed too much blood god doesn't want this temple this housing place where his presence dwells to be the result of violent conquering full of imagery from the garden of eden the most important place on earth in the israelites eyes stood tall on top of the mountain in jerusalem this physical location gave people a reference point on god's presence if you went to the temple you were close to god if you went to jerusalem you could be near god's presence and this pilgrimage was a big part of the israelite tradition but this physical restraint wasn't his end goal though as amber dillon puts it the entire people was to become a kingdom of priests not just a kingdom with priests but the people just as adam and eve did became complacent and comfortable with god's presence and branched out to do their own thing they chose to do life their way and ultimately after generations that pushed god so far out of their lives and allowed the chaos back in to control them that they pushed his presence away from their lives the city and the temple the chaos swept in and took them from their home amber dylan continues but in the biblical story she says god isn't giving up on humanity he chooses one family out of the nations and eventually comes to take residence in their midst first in a mobile temple structure called the tabernacle and later in the temple of jerusalem these spaces were designed as micro edens and the priests who were inside were symbolic representatives of adam and eve the temple was a sacred reenactment of humanity's return to the garden to live together with god in peace in this way the temple was a prophetic symbol that pointed toward the day when not just a few select priests but everyone could enter into the divine presence in a renewed creation so during the exile the prophets spoke again of the temple in a prophetic and hopeful way some day in the future god will fulfill his promise and tabernacle and temple with his people not just be in a tabernacle or temple but dwell and live with them so jesus arrives in the story and the scriptures use the same word of tabernacle to describe what he's doing on earth he's claiming not just to be in the tent of meeting but in fact he is the tent of meeting but jesus was a human and a defining factor of humanity is that we can only be in one place at one time so in the final chapters of john where jesus eats with his disciples he describes an advocate a friend a comforter who's coming that will be greater and that the presence of god will be with all people jesus death and resurrection on the cross is the defining moment of god's character in the bible he's willing to go further than death just so that he can be with his people there's nothing he wouldn't do to be with you because he loves you well the master plan worked death was conquered but jesus ascended and left why so that the holy spirit could come and be with his people in a rushing fiery wind that is meant to remind readers of god's presence in creation at mount sinai with moses and then with elijah later the tabernacle and temple moments and god leading his people through the desert the spirit comes upon jesus followers at pentecost in the start of acts this is the moment now where god's presence is open and available to all those who accept it jesus uses more personal language to describe the spirit he is dwelling in the followers of christ and so paul and the other authors of the new testament describe themselves as holy living temples the presence of god is not far it is close and it is in you god is constantly getting closer giving is all just to be with you he sacrifices constantly so that you might allow him to dwell with you so who's in charge then god isn't the one who determines where his presence can be you are just as israelites rejected god and pushed him out of their lives their city and their temple you too have the same authority but we're being called to live differently to adam and eve we're challenged to accept the spirit and live with him in us when i have mountaintop moments at a big camp or a worship night a wonderful conversation with someone about scripture or whatever those mountaintop moments are for you don't just leave god's presence there psalm 23 talks about walking with god the shepherd through the valleys and into darkness there are tables to rest and eat in the midst of our enemies but god is eating there with us don't push him away from the table don't get up and leave you are in charge of how much god's presence is in your life this is a challenging thought i must admit mainly because it forces me to take responsibility for my relationship with him paul writes in galatians 5 that the result of having the spirit in your life is more love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control and often we label these as separate fruits and that these are all separate qualities the scripture seems to paint a different picture though instead of thinking of these qualities as separate and you having more joy or kindness than gentleness and self-control i believe that paul is saying that the result of having god in your life is that all of these things will be shown through your life the more of god's presence that you allow into your life the more of all of these aspects of god's character will be shown through your life and through your actions they're all linked together and they will all come as you accept more of jesus so when we say oh i can't hear god's voice or i can't feel his presence then sit around waiting for god to fix it i think we're called to act and to accept i think that apathy your attitude is easy to dwell on and i do it all the time waiting for god's presence to enter the room but the reality is is that he's everywhere and he is wanting to be close with us so you're in charge here you've got the authority so use it letting the spirit in and letting god take charge is hard because you must give up control and knowledge we must admit that we don't know what's best and that our way of doing something may not be god's plan so that's my challenge for you today accept the presence of god wherever you're at right now he's with you today the power that separated the chaos the warmth that surrounded ruth the faith that filled peter and the love that overcame the grave are all longing to be a part of your life and to fill you up to walk beside you through the valleys while sometimes we can't always feel it he's working he's loving he's drawing closer through the ups and downs he's with you don't for a second think that he's abandoned you because he's never done that before i pray that that word blesses you this morning [Music] soon and very soon my king is coming robed in righteousness and crowned with love when i see him i shall be made like soon and very soon [Music] soon and very soon i'll be going to the place he has prepared for me then my embraced my shame forgotten soon and very soon [Music] then my soul will be satisfied soon and very soon soon and very soon see the procession the angels [Music] soon and very soon i will be with the one i love with unveiled face i'll see you then my soul will be satisfied soon and very soon [Music] though i have not seen him my heart knows him well jesus christ i will be with the one i love face i'll see him there my soul will be satisfied soon and very soon soon and very soon soon and very [Music] soon let's pray father god thank you that your presence never leaves do you walk through the valleys of the shadow of death alongside us that you prepare tables for us to rest and eat and i pray god that we don't get up from the table we don't push you away we don't leave but we just dwell in your presence you've made it so accessible for us and the challenge is there i just pray that we let you into our hearts let you into our lives let you lead and guide and as a result only goodness can come from that god thank you that you love us that you're here with us god i pray that we don't just leave you here on sabbath that we take you through the week that we let you lead that you we let you guide and that we can feel your warmth and your comfort in each of our lives throughout the rest of this week bless us today thank you for your love and your goodness we pray the things in the holy name of jesus amen thank you jake for your message that you shared with us this morning and i pray that as well that we would all go into each and every day wanting to live in god's presence so in case you missed the qr code and the links for the offering we'll just be placing that up again for your information so you can jot down those details if you want further information on how you can give now normally we would be breaking up into our bible study small groups and a lot of us are still meeting but online so if you want further information on your particular group you normally go to there are some information in the description of this video below for you to check out so i hope you all enjoy the rest of your sabbath and hopefully we'll be able to meet again in this church next sabbath so god bless and take care thank you in my father's house there's a place yes

Channel: Para Vista Seventh-day Adventist Church

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Length: 42min 20sec (2540 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 03 2021