4/19/20 - Zion LIVE - In His Presence - Pastor Josh Lawrence

[Music] that meal today [Music] [Music] that residue [Music] [Music] you guys hear me out there just monitor test test test test give me different mic if you want me to use a different mic here oh this looks like a new one see this looks like a refurbished one if this is knew it was bad shipping [Laughter] you so excited to share this Sunday morning with you or whenever you're watching this and so we're gonna go ahead and go for it this morning and so there's some good news God's mercies are new every single morning and so no matter what's happened this past week you get a fresh start you get a grace card for you golfers out there you get a mulligan and that is good news and so um let's just get our hearts ready for worship put aside any distractions whatever you guys are so we can just really focus in on the Lord and make this a real worshipful experience Jesus we love you and Laurel we just soften our hearts towards you we incline our ear God we we're gonna give you our best worship today so holy sprit I pray that you would invade living rooms cars that you would touch families that you would touch individuals today let there be a genuine experience of you not just a theory not just going through motions but Lord we just thank you that there's gonna be a genuine touch of the Holy Spirit on lives today in the name of Jesus amen [Music] see there is why cannot see there is no [Music] [Applause] you cannot see there is [Applause] we cannot see you cannot there is one Julie his name [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] would've died [Music] what a powerful what [Music] what the car [Music] [Applause] there [Music] [Music] [Music] to [Music] keys [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] your will will be done no one can stop our coming King [Music] your kingdom it will come you're really no one can stop our coming your kingdom [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] there is power to [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so sir let it burn [Music] the season [Music] and [Music] [Applause] the dark maestro to [Music] Jesus you see [Music] call these balls too call these lungs again gee you make the darkness Jesus Jesus gee gee you oh Jesus shut up [Music] Oh you [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] is the light that the shadows can't deny your name your name is alive forever lifted high your name the show [Music] come [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so much power [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] ooh [Applause] [Music] Margie [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] No [Music] No No [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] your name [Music] [Music] yo [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] No [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] cuz your dad [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] thousand kingdom of light the kingdom of light [Music] the king of my giggle mine [Music] times now is nt Kingdom the kingdom mother [Music] you the key of my looky oh my [Music] [Music] [Applause] it's over there's no Jesus [Music] [Music] No there is no [Applause] Jesus you [Applause] [Music] you Stinky's you [Music] here there is no Jesus jeez [Music] [Music] he said the junkies run out of an empty it's through Dava you said the dog is out of it great tigré this one [Applause] there is the [Music] the universe don't there is no high name Jesus you [Music] the earth erupting song - golly - the everlasting one there is no I Jesus you [Music] see how there is no Jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] - see yeah [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the darkest [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] see [Music] you see [Music] Oh I have seen [Music] I see you you the days of my [Music] [Applause] I see [Music] [Music] cease your the days of my [Music] cease your I Oh [Music] [Music] thank you Jesus I've been thinking about that verse in Romans chapter 8 where it says if God is for us who can be against us and it doesn't mean that there's never gonna be anybody comes against it just means they don't get a vote they don't get to influence our heart they don't get to influence the outcome and then right after that here's what it says in the pan and the passion translation for God has proved his love by giving us his greatest treasure the gift of his son and since God freely offered him up as the sacrifice for us all he certainly won't withhold from us anything else he has to give guys if God gave us his son what else he's not gonna hold anything else back if he gave us his most precious gift and so I want to just go after a couple things one of the things that Jesus paid for was healing it says he bore our sicknesses he carried our pain by His stripes we were healed and that is good news that means he carried the sickness so you don't have to we got to get this beyond more than just a theory we got to attach our faith to we've got to push our chips to the center of the table and bet it all on God for this thing so I'm just getting a couple of words of knowledge a ward of knowledge is when God is highlighting a certain illness that he wants to heal to raise faith that he wants to heal all the rest of them too and so well first one was a right ear and so I was getting some kind of infection in the right ear so if that's you we're gonna pray here in just a second but go ahead and just say thank you Jesus this healing belongs to me because of what Jesus has done I was getting someone who's just fighting depression and somebody who even has suicidal thoughts it's just like you know it's like this isn't even me but it just seems to keep attacking you that's what it is it's an attack and we're gonna break that off the other thing should've wrote these down it'll come back to me here in just a second so what yeah memory loss maybe it's memory loss we're supposed to remembering order now from memory loss here well does it go after that so Jesus you're so wonderful you're so wonderful Lord I just come against that that ear infection in the name of Jesus or that person who was harassed with that depression and the person who's just harassed with those suicidal thoughts I speak in the name of Jesus peace to come into your room right now let that darkness lift off you and the name of Jesus I pray that you'll be able to see Jesus more clearly give your heart over to him and now if you if you're at home and you've got an illness that like is affected by a part of your body I just encourage you put your hand on if you got a bad hip put your hand on a bad hip if you got a headache put your hand on your head and you've got power in your hands the Bible says this in mark 16 that the believers would lay hands on the sick and they would recover because we've got to start taking God at His Word and not just quoting scriptures we've got to just but we've got to see Jesus in these things so just put your hand on that that part that's affected and Lord I release healing right now in the name of Jesus but you said healing is the children's bread and soul oh we delight in it we revel in it that you paid for this and so I just speak this word to you be made whole if you're beginning to experience breakthrough just go ahead and put it in the comments you know put just post it online whatever's going on but we just want to rejoice with you but we say be made whole pain leave in the name of Jesus joints come back in order someone who's struggling with arthritis in their hand lord I just thank you right now for loosening up those joints that pain leaving those tendons responding to normal in the name of Jesus what I just thank you for us someone who has some kind of tumors going on in this stomach area I command those tumors to dissolve right now in the name of Jesus I declare this nightmare ends today in Jesus name I just see a mom who's just about had it with her kids and I just say grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus God cares about these things too not just life-or-death things he cares about the little things Oliver the bottle says he's got the hairs of her head numbered I mean he just it's an intimate father he knows you better than we even know ourselves sorry I speak peace to those home situations I see parents who are frustrated and losing their temper and saying things to kids that they don't want to say and Lord I just speak peace to that situation lord I just break the shame off and I just see you lenient God in new ways and him giving you grace and patience and words of life so low we bless homes though we bless the businesses God the ones who have been affected I thank you that our source never changes our resources of provision may change the Lord our source doesn't change the solar we look to you well we look to you lord I thank you that we are anchored in a reality that's beyond just this earth so I pray for businesses I pray for finances in the name of Jesus Lord pray for our president that you give him wisdom as he's unfolding the plan for reopening the country I prayed that you'd surround him with wise counsel while I pray for our governor's that you would surround them with wise counsel give them wisdom from on high lord I pray for our mayor's or I pray for church leaders that Lord you would give us wisdom on how to reengage and how to show Jesus in these situations well we bless you yeah we got another word aknowledge coming up probably the one I forgot hey so God was just giving me a picture of someone who they used to have a really great passion and enthusiasm just for life and then something happened and they felt like their wings were clipped like something happened and now they're just in a pit and God's saying he wants to restore those those joyful emotions that passion for life he wants to sweeten life for you again yeah and so I just pray Holy Spirit invade their circumstance invade their life he says he wants to sweeten life for you again so I just released that over you and if that's you just open your arms and receive that from the Lord and I just got this picture if you're at home and you're watching this with somebody else why don't you just take a few moments and just pray for each other just if you're with your kids bless your kids let them know how much they are loved if you're if you're by yourself watching this just pray for somebody that's on your heart you know there's no distance in prayer prayers and us throwing pennies into a wishing well it's us partnering with God to bring his a reality to this plane it because he's given authority to the sons of men and so I'll just take a few moments you just I just pray for whoever is on your heart but if you're with people just bless them ask God to be gracious to them multiply his goodness to them thank you Jesus lord I thank you for Shalom peace coming into homes right now [Music] but I thank you for healing flowing into homes right now I have emotions relationships physical bodies mental I see a young man in his late teens early 20s watching this on a replay in a mental hospital and I just speak piece to your mind in the name of Jesus mm-hmm Jesus loves you so much he's stopping this whole service just for you peace to your mind in the name of Jesus law we love you you're wonderful thank you for Jesus thank you that there's no more obstacles between us and you thank you that we don't have to work for our salvation or you paid for it all and I pray that we would do that today that you would have helped us have a radical mind renewal now what it means to be the people of God we bless you we bless you in Jesus name Amen well turn around and greet somebody in your living room and now let's welcome Shawn O'Rourke okay everyone is you guys kind of settle down wherever you're at maybe in your car or you're at home wherever you're at right now wherever you're listening from we have some amazing things that we're gonna get into today now but I just want to formally just welcome you thank you so much for joining us today and if you're new you know if Scion is kind of a new place for you maybe a new live stream you're tuning into or maybe you've heard of it but maybe this is the first time you're listening to it or just still the first couple times there's a phone number I'd love for you to text it's six one four three three three one one zero one and just text knew just neew and we would love to just reach out to you connect to you kind of let you know a little bit more about Zion about what we're all about and kind of gets to know you a little bit more too so write that number down because you might want to text that before all this is done and so write that number down six one four three three three one 101 and can the word new text the word new and sometime you know any you can do that any time doesn't have to be during this live stream if you're listening to on replay you can still text that in because we're we actually reach out to people all week long so thanks so much I always feel like I'm on a telethon when I do that but just thanks so much because we're just trying to find ways to connect with people so we're seeing people connect through each week so thank you guys so much real quick announcements today is we're doing a week a week day devotional every morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time so what that means is on our Facebook live and you can just tune in it's 15 minutes we're seeing people from all over the world every part of the every continent has been represented so far except for Antarctica so I'm just waiting for someone down there but but everyone is just really tuned in it's really cool to see there's community that's felt there if you just feel like hey I want to go I want to kind of wake up in the morning or maybe it's the evening where you're listening to this just connect to people connect to the Lord go ahead and log on to there because we have lots of comments and so far I think the the reach has been over 15,000 people and so it's just really really cool there's a lot of people tuning in to that and it's a great way 15 minutes get really a prime for the presence of the Lord for the day step into his voice and you and you might find some community too so we love to have you join us the second thing is you can also join us in prayer and there is a website you can go to Zion Pickerington comm slash connect as well as Zion equip comm slash connect and there are links on there that you can actually link into our Wednesday evening prayer that we do prayer and intercession and we're just having some really powerful times so if your man if you just really want to connect in and join us in that go on that connect page because there's a lot of other areas too that while you while we're away from one another you can still connect in a multiple way so thank you so much guys check out our websites there's some great stuff on there okay lastly we're gonna do offering and so there are some ways to give that you're gonna see on your screen here in a moment and some of the ways to give include text to give include giving online includes let's see our app if you haven't downloaded our app yet I would highly recommend the app it's free you can get it anywhere in the world and what you can do on there is actually each week our podcasts our messages are uploaded there automatically so it's a really great way to listen to messages to stay connected and there's also a giving portal on there that once you set it up you can do a checking account you can do a debit card you can do a credit card whatever that looks like for you you can set it up once it takes about 60 seconds and then every other time you give from there and that secure portal it takes about five seconds so it's a great way to give finally whatever way you're giving from make sure you choose Sion Powell or the Pickerington campus so the Powell or Pickerington campus as you're giving type really important if you're just tuning in you're like I don't know what either those places are you're totally fine don't worry about it you can give however you would like to whatever you would like okay so we do declarations every every morning every Sunday morning over are of our finances and declarations is a way that we connect our words we mix it with our faith and when we release it over different areas different spheres of influence as we give our offering in faith we also declare things in faith that are related to offering that are related to influence and impact and so this morning we have a really special declarations we're going to do so you guys are going to see this in a moment here but here are some declarations we're doing today for some families of Zion businesses and buildings houses vineyards irresistible influence witty inventions glory explosions in my workplace to boldly go where no one has gone before may God be gracious to us his face to shine upon us your way may be known on earth break through no limits that was amazing it was so much fun to see everyone here hear their voices so this morning we have our campus pastor from picture teen Josh Lawrence is going to speak all right good morning good evening good afternoon wherever you're watching from we just welcome you if you're tuning in just ask you to put aside some distractions and get your Bibles out get a re refreshing of your coffee I want to talk to you this morning for just a bit about the presence of the Lord and who doesn't love the presence of the Lord it's an amazing thing to realize that a God who created everything is also ever-present I love what Reinhard Bonnke says he says that God is um omnipotent he's not up and impotent and so omnipotent means that he is has limitless unlimited power impotent means that there's not you're not unable to act and to understand and realize that we have a God who's ever present that is able to act on our behalf at any given moment at any given time to me is an exciting revelation to understand and that's the kind of God that I want to serve so I'm gonna be reading just a few verses out of the book of Joshua chapter 1 so if you have your Bibles you can turn to Joshua chapter 1 we need like Bible page sound effects turning right now for me Joshua chapter 1 verse I'm gonna start in verse 5 it says no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life just as I was with Moses so will I be with you I will not leave you or forsake you be strong and courageous for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous be careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you do not turn do not turn from it to the right or the left that you may have good success wherever you go the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth and you shall meditate on it day and night so that you will be careful to do according to all that is written for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success verse 9 have I not commanded you be strong and courageous do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go let's close in prayer I'm just kidding I want to just give a little bit of background in a little bit of context understanding when you read scripture it's important to understand background in context and I for one love the book of Joshua fun fact I was named after the book of Joshua if you didn't know that so I actually love the book of Joshua and many theologians have said that Joshua the book of Joshua is is a parallel to the New Testament book of Ephesians and there's many different reasons and many different schools of thought regarding that but some interesting things to understand is that in the book of Joshua the God's people are inheriting land in the book of Ephesians God's people are inheriting life and there's there's a natural implication there's a natural action that has spiritual implications that we see in the book of Joshua and this is one of the reasons why I love Joshua there's a lot of fighting in there I love fighting when my wife asked me if I want to my watch a movie I usually ask her does someone die in it is there fighting and that usually determines whether or not I want to watch it but but there's a lot of that in the Book of Joshua it's an amazing book it's it's uh I love it now the context of the book of Joshua is the reason why God is in encouraging Joshua as a leader is because the the people that he was he is to lead have just lost everything they've literally lost everything now if you remember from the book of Exodus you remember Moses Moses was one of the premier leaders of the Bible especially the Old Testament you cannot go real far into the book of Genesis into the book of Exodus and and not see the significance of Moses when God wanted to deliver his people out of the hands of Pharaoh he called Moses when God wanted to cause water that the Red Sea to split he raised up Moses when God wanted to do miracles signs and wonders he raised up Moses Moses was a man that had no systems no processes no procedures but yet he led an entire nation and began to build systems processes and procedures to lead a nation into prosperity so that they would increase in the midst of wilderness Moses was the leader that prayed and they saw manna fall from heaven Moses was the leader that prayed and they saw Quayle come that would feed the people Moses is the leader that would pray and God would would sustain their clothing and their feet and their other sandals so that for 40 years they they lasted in the wilderness Moses was a leader all by himself in fact God even said that you know I I speak to my prophets in dreams and in visions but Moses I speak face-to-face and so you can see that Moses is in a category all by himself you can see the significance of the leadership of Moses you can see that although he had his false he was a powerful leader that that did things that was unprecedented he left a legacy he left a mark he was the one who got the blueprint for the tabernacle that was a a picture on earth of what heaven looked like this is Moses and so here we have Joshua who was Moses's assistant that was to take over everything that Moses had built now you can imagine that the people had come to really rely on Moses they'd come to rely on his leadership because even the the judges in the court system in it and if there was disputes people would go to Moses they would they would get ideas in judgments and things like that of cases they would get it from Moses and so the people had come to really rely on this leader called Moses and now you have Moses who all of a sudden he goes up onto a mountain and he doesn't come back he he doesn't he never returns and and in fact the Lord had to tell the the people of Israel that Moses had died and we know from Scripture that that the people mourned Moses death it went from days to weeks to a month that they would mourn Moses death because again this was a leader that they really relied on that this leader delivered them from Israel from Egypt this leader was leading them into a land flowing with milk and honey and all of a sudden the leader had changed all of a sudden what they knew the the crutch that they had leaned on was kicked out from underneath them this is the context and when got it in which God begins to speak to Joshua this is the context in which he begins to encourage him because Joshua is in a tough situation he's in a situation where the people were mourning because of the leader they had lost they were in transition you have to understand the the radical transition that these people were in they were not only crossing the Jordan River into the land of promise they were inheriting a land that they had never been their ancestors it was their land but they had never been there it was promised to them it was given to them but they had no history there these people had had had vineyards that they didn't plant and houses that they didn't build and they went from from living a nomadic lifestyle where they would move around from place to place and they would be fed daily from God himself to now they were stepping into a land flowing with milk and honey and they had to maintain houses and build vineyards and they had to plant and harvest and they had to understand an entirely new system they were in transition and then you have a leader that all of a sudden and one of the most crucial moments one of the most crucial points the leaders gone the person that had helped you for the last 40 years the person that you had come to rely on the person that you had that had delivered you from the hands of Pharaoh the person whom you had looked to is gone everything is changing their land is changing their leader is changing the life in which they lived and how they lived it is changing in them in the midst of everything changing this is what God says to Joshua the main theme through these these particular passages is God says over and over I will be with you as I was with Moses so will I be with you now you can imagine - Joshua these were comforting words these were words that he needed to hear because it was Moses who prayed and in a pillar of fire appeared in a club you know by night in a cloud by day it was Moses who would go up onto a mountain and all of the sudden the mountain would burst into flames and and it would not be consumed in smoke would wrap around the mountain and then God would speak from it there were dramatic signs and wonders and the Lord was speaking to Joshua and saying as I was with Moses so will I be with you I want to talk to people this morning who feel like you're in transition who feel like everything's changing who feel like there's the the props that you've held your life up with the props that you've held your faith up with are being kicked out from underneath you I want to talk to people this morning who need encouragement because I've got good news with for you this morning I've got good news that that a God who was with you in previous season a God who was with you in the in the first part of your life will be with you always he had in fact says and encourages us I will be with you always as I was with Moses so will I be with with you and we can read that as ourselves and say as I was then so will I be now as I was in that season so will I be now when everything is being shaken when when everything is changing he who remains unshakeable never changes he's the constant he's the anchor he is the fortress the strong tower he is our hiding place our shelter our comfort he is everything that you could ever need and in the midst of everything changing the comfort is not in our security of our external circumstances or the the steadiness of our external circumstances the comfort is in the fact that he is unshakeable the comfort is in the fact that he is unchanging the comfort is in the fact that he is who he says he is and he will do what he said he'll do this is the comfort that people in transition take this is the comfort that Joshua took when over and over the Lord began in the in the first God commissioned Joshua he calls him as the leader of an entire nation that whom many would say he is not qualified to lead and his main message to him is I will be with you what does it look like in your life right now what are some challenges what are some uncertainties what are some things that have fallen away what are some things that are shifting and changing what if the new season looks different how do you maintain and excitement a momentum a a hope in what God is doing what is going to happen when some good things have died when maybe some good things have passed away when maybe some good things are no longer but yet we remain hopeful because we know that we serve a radically good God that will ensure that as I was then so will I be now when we hear this when I don't know about you but when I hear this I I want to understand who is this God that is saying I will be with you who is this God that is saying this who what is he to me what has he done to me what is he saying specifically to me because I don't want to hear just what he's saying to Joshua I want to hear what he's saying to me and to understand a little bit about what God is saying to us and to you specifically we have to understand who he is to know the nature to know to understand the the lens in which one speaks the the lens in which he sees you understand that he is radically good and he's hopeful and he's strong and he's powerful understanding that it's it's him it's it's the God who knows no end it's the God that in Isaiah 9 it says of the increase of his peace and of his rulership as government there will be no end it means that no matter the setbacks what you think is a setback God sees as a setup what you think is is a a one or two steps back the Lord sees as as just a reload and so I want to encourage you I want to I want to challenge you to begin to think differently about your circumstances there are people in in this time in these circumstances that are having radically different experiences there are some who are enjoying the the solitude they're enjoying not slowing down and not having the busyness of life and there are some that that are suffering there are some who are experiencing depression there's some who are experiencing a confusion there they're experiencing a what we would say just a mental chaos or they're just feeling this swirling that's going on and and there there is people that are having radical experiences different ecstatically different experience in the same time in the same community in the same nation what we have to understand is is regardless of our experience our lens our view of what's happening he is unchangeable he is unchangeable and if your view of him is changing it will dictate your experience of what is happening if your view of him is changing it will dictate what your experience of what is happening if if you see a God that's that is uncertain that is confused about the future that doesn't have things in order that doesn't know what he's doing then then you're going to experience confusion you're gonna experience depression you're gonna experience frustration but if you see the God that is unshakable a god that is unmovable a God that calms the storms not causes them if you see a God that is radically good and radically for you then you begin to look at circumstances no matter how good or how bad radically different you begin to see it through a lens that no other not many other people see it through because you have an insight or a perspective you're viewing things from a heavenly perspective and this is what God is encouraging us in this time that in a season of transition we've been in you we've been told by the news and in and I'm not giving much merit to the news but there's you know people are saying it's it's not going to go back to normal it's not and and that can cause fear can cause anxiety because we get comfortable we get comfort and comfortable out of normal rather than getting comfort from the comforter and so when everything is changing and our circumstances are shifting and the ground that we're walking on is shaking and it's unstable and it's uncertain when you begin to understand and see things from his perspective it doesn't matter there could be a tornado a storm raging around you but when you see yourself in the eye of the storm in perfect peace you can begin to speak from that place and call those things that are not as though they are you can call peace into situations you can call encouragement into situations you can begin to have a different viewpoint a different idea and begin to actually instead of all of your energy and and your your mental capacity be tied up in maintaining the history and maintaining the frustration and maintaining the disappointment in the depression you can be using all of that energy all of that power all of that mental capacity to begin to innovate to begin to build momentum to begin to prepare to begin to position yourself for increase to begin to enlarge the stakes of your 10th stretch them out so that when things begin to shift you are prepared and you're not reactive but you're proactive this is what God's people look like this is what life and the Kingdom looks like and just as the children of Israel God had to encourage Joshua over and over I will be with you no matter what it looks like no matter what you're going through there will be battles you will win some and you will lose some there will be fights there are beasts in the land that he you know they actually tell I can't give you all of it because the beasts of the land will overwhelm you but you can take it little by little you can take it little by little and your future the next few months the next few years of your destiny and and what God has in store for America in the nations of the world it doesn't have to be you know taken all at once but begin to take a step begin to take a step now begin to - even if it's in your heart and in your mind and in your posture begin to take a step begin to prepare begin to anchor yourself to him who is unshakable so that you can begin to move forward and push forward so we understand who is saying this that God is saying this he is all-powerful he is all sufficient Isaiah tells us that that I believe it's Isaiah it tells us that he is enthroned upon the circle of the earth that that Ezekiel says he is a wheel within a wheel that he is the he is God all by himself and beside him there is no other but this is the God who is saying this the one who is saying I will be with you the one who who caused water to come out of Iraq the one who split the sea the one who caused the Stars to come into their places this is the God who is saying this and he is looking at you if he was in front of you right now he would be looking at you and saying I will be with you I will be with you so you understand who is saying it and now we have to understand who he is saying it to in this particular passage we know pretty clearly he's saying it to Joshua he's speaking to Joshua he's telling him I will be with you he's saying that be strong and courageous he's telling them fear not he's encouraging them over and over he's affirming him I will be with you go through and you can do this in your Bible you can highlight that mez many times in just a few short passages he says I will be with you be strong be courageous I will be with you he says that multiple times be very courageous be very strong I will be with you he encourages him he's saying this to Joshua and Joshua is a leader but also Joshua is like you and me he is a person caught in the middle of transition with some uncertainties and some questions he's a person that that doesn't necessarily know what the future looks like he's a person that may not know all of how to move forward he's a person that that that that has questions that he doesn't have answers to but but the Lord is encouraging him that I have answers to all of your questions I'm not going to answer them right now but I will be with you I'm not going to give you everything right now but I will be with you because it teaches us and him at that time it teaches us to walk step by step with him to not get too far ahead but to not get too far behind just to maintain a steady pace with him he says be strong and courageous what he is saying to Joshua he is saying to you I will be with you all uh what I take out of this passage too is what I is is the Lord saying this what I put in you will conquer what's around you what I put in you will conquer what's around you and this is encouraging because you know when when the Lord says be strong and courageous is interesting you know I think about these kinds of things that he says courage instead of boldness be he didn't tell Joshua to be bold he said be courageous there's a difference between being bold and being courageous boldness and this is my interpretation boldness is something that comes upon you boldness there there's moments and I've experienced this myself maybe you've experienced there's moments where boldness comes upon you and you do something that you would not normally do and in the midst of doing that there is no fear a boldness has come upon you there's a certainty and I believe that boldness is something that comes upon you yes people can be bold but there's there's there's a boldness from the Lord that comes upon people courage is something different I believe that courage from from what I can tell is something that comes from inside of you be strong and courageous courage is what rises up in you it's not necessarily something that comes upon you and courage is something you do you act in in spite of the fear in spite of the disappointment in spite of the the the the depression in spite of the anxiety you begin to act and be courageous and be very courageous and begin to take courageous steps forward and so the the the idea and the understanding in this particular you know passage when the Lord is is encouraging him to be courageous to allow what's in you to rise up to the challenge to allow what's in you what I have put in you is enough what I have put in you is enough to conquer the storms around you and it's interesting I when we look at God and how God created things in Genesis God does things by a system I'm fascinated with with science and in physics and in a previous life I was an engineer and and so I'm fascinated with how things work I'm that fascinated with with making things work I'm fascinated with the intricate details you can you can ask my wife that if I see something I'm on Google I'm looking up how how does that even work and so when I study God I I look at how God created things I look at that his nature and how he how he functions and how he acts and I try to you know understand at least in in some way shape or form and the thing that you see in Genesis is God is a systemic God he's a God of systems he's a God that does things by systems when when he when he said let there be light and light wasn't chaotic but light had a beginning and an end and and and there was day and night and night and day and and in the way that the planets revolve around the Sun and the way that the universe is everything is systemic it's it can be measured it's it's it's precise and this is what I love about God the way that he created animals in the way that he created plants and grass and roses and trees and all of these different things and down to the way that he created you and I he does things by a system and the interesting thing that that Genesis takes just quite a bit of passages to lay out is that everything that God created has the seed inside of itself everything that God created you you can read it that everything has the seed inside of itself it has the the you know the the grass and the roses and the trees and and and even you know man and one we have the seed inside of itself what does the seed represent the seed represents the future it represents the future and so the future is inside of you the future is inside of you and that's the spiritual implications is when you have the Holy Spirit the future is inside of you everything you need to conquer and perform your destiny is in you and we spend our lives discovering what is in us so that we can manifest it on the outside we can begin to just talk like it walk like it act like it live like it begin to function in it because he has putted it put it inside of us your future is inside of you so I want you to get this picture now we talked about Joshua we've talked about the people of Israel we've talked about how they they came out of the Promised Land how they the the Lord encouraged the people of Israel I know things are changing I know there's transition I know everything's being shaken but I want you to take refuge in the fact that I will be with you I want you to understand that what is in you will conquer what is the circumstances around you he's telling Joshua be courageous be strong what's in you you have it in you and so I've had this picture just the the the last few days and I shared this a little bit on our prayer and intercession so if you're watching and you were on prayer intercession this is a little bit of a repeat for this part right here but I you know just with the way that things have have laid out the last six weeks I'll be honest I have I've been a little discouraged I've been a little disappointed I've been I felt like every area of my life was firing on all cylinders and all the sudden everything came to a screeching halt all of the sudden it all all the activity ceased and I personally felt like momentum had began to die I just begin to pray to the Lord begin to talk to God about this and one of the things that he encouraged me with is is that number one that I'm not the only one that's feeling it so that's it's always encouraging when you're not the only one amen you can type amen there's nobody here to say Amen so it's always encouraging when you realize you're not the only one that's experiencing some of these things and so you know he encouraged me that I'm not the only one that's this feel this and you know he talked to me about just some things that I've shared with you in the sense of no matter what the season no matter what the stage no matter what's happening what's shifting I will be with you and that's enough that needs to be enough you see what happens is we begin to live for other things we begin to live for praises and an audience in a platform and we begin to live for likes and follows and and we begin to live for all of these different things and and the reality of the matter is is that we live for an audience of one we live for an audience of one everything that you do everything that you put your hands to is for him it's it's not for recognition it's not for anything other than bringing him glory this is the reason why we were created it's the reason why that we were formed out of the dust of the earth is so that we ourselves can choose to bring him glory with what we do and not bring ourselves glory not begin to seek all of these things and the Lord began to encourage encourage me you know that that as a as a body of Christians as just believers all over the world that we need to not sell the pearl to by all but we need to sell all to buy the pearl and then when there's so many activities and there's so many things that are happening and there's so many things to be distracted by what can happen is we begin little by little to sell the Pearl to buy all rather than understanding that all of it as Paul says all of these accomplishments all of these things are but dumb they're nothing compared to the glory of knowing him in the power of his resurrection there's an internal reality that we we shift and we change and we understand that gosh that there's there's a pruning in a weeding away and the Lourdes is pulling things out of us so that he can put things in us and this is a good thing this is a powerful thing and so when I was you know feeling momentum come to a screeching halt events were being canceled and plans were being cancelled and all these things that we were excited about and prayed into were were were we can't do them now and and so I I began to say God what's what's going on this I feel like all the momentum is coming to a halt and the Lord asked me a very simple question he says what makes you think momentum is tied to activity what makes you think momentum is tied to activity you're a momentum the the momentum that we experience as a body of people as a church as as an individual as families as people that are running after our destiny it is not tied to your activity because more activity doesn't equate more momentum what it's tied to is your belief what do you believe do we take God at His Word do we believe him without a shadow of a doubt when everything is crashing down and it makes no sense and it's contrary to popular opinion and popular belief but we stand firm and say no this is what the Lord has said and it makes no sense but I'm gonna take a step I'm gonna go anyways I'm gonna be strong and courageous because he is who he says he is and he will do what he said he'll do and so he began to to share with me about momentum and how momentum is is not tied to activity how it's tied to internal belief systems it's tied to you our momentum when you step into a room a wake of God's presence can step into the room with you if you believe it when you step into a room a wake a wave of healing can come into that room if you believe it if you grab on to it by faith and so momentum is not tied to activity it's not tied to your feelings it's not tied to external circumstances it's tied to what the Lord has said and your actions internally about it do we believe it do we believe it I'm reminded of the quote from Smith Wigglesworth where he said if God's not moving I'll move him and you know it sounds arrogant but it's a it's a simple statement that says that because of the belief that I have internally when I step into a situation my belief will cause God to turn aside and see my belief will cause God to to to act because he is is attracted to people who will take him at his word he's attracted to people who will take him for what he says and move into action about it so momentum is not tied to activity it's tied to our beliefs it's tied to our faith and our faith is that no matter what we're stepping into if God has said it he'll be with you for it this is a beautiful picture it's a beautiful reality and I don't know if if you maybe you're watching and you felt something similar you've been in a fight with frustration you have felt a swirling you've felt this confusion you you don't understand because spiritually everything was firing on all cylinders and I want to encourage you that it still is I want to encourage you that he is still on his throne enthroned I want to encourage you that of the increase of his peace and of his government there will be no end that means that despite of the circumstances he's still moving forward despite of it that the kingdom advances forcefully and the violent men and women lay hold of it that it's it's propelled forward by people who have an understanding that you create the momentum you create the momentum and history will speak of what you believe right now history will tell the story of what you believe history will tell the story of what men and women in twenty twenty stood up and believed God for and began to step out into and so that means that we need to have radical hope that God is doing something right now and he's about to do something unprecedented unbelievable almost impossible but because it's God it's not impossible and so our beliefs and what he said and what he is doing begins shift our reality and it causes us to begin to act it causes us to begin to step and that step might be hypothetical step it might be a not an actual action because a lot of the actions that were able to take in this time we're not able to take and and so our momentum our belief our moving forward is simply it could be that you begin to dream again it means that you begin to have hope again it means that that you begin to believe that the best is yet to come that you begin to declare it day by day moment by moment that no despite whether you're feeling it or not you stand up and say the best is yet to come that's despite the circumstances despite what the world is saying that you know the the fear the doubt the unbelief all of these things swirling in the atmosphere it takes men and women of God to become beacons of hope to stand up and say the best is yet to come and begin to actually pray it into existence what if on the other side of this what if on the other side of what the Lord is opening up and I believe the the doors and the windows are already opened he's waiting for people to stand up with hope with radical hope with an understanding that the best is yet to come with an understanding that my activity doesn't dictate the momentum and I see this picture and I shared this with you know with the prayer and intercession team we have kids lots of kids I have four kids and one of my son's has this car and this car many of you may have a car similar in your home but this car is a toy car and as you as you go like this you Rev the wheels up and you begin to build an internal momentum and you keep doing it until the sound gets louder and it gets it gets faster and then when you set it down at Soph and I felt like I had this picture that this is this is where we're at right now that we are in this place where we're revving up we're building momentum internally so that when things open up we hit the ground and we take off and I believe that many of you have felt this you felt this tension of this confusion but also this tension of extreme hope and and belief that God's doing something and I want to encourage you begin to rev it up begin to turn it up like a horse in a like a horse in a race and and there there at the gate and they're ready and they're waiting and they're just waiting for the sound of the gun to go off so the gate drops so we can run and I feel I feel it in my spirit I feel that this is what the Lord is encouraging us with that that you can be in that posture because I will be with you you may not know what's on the other side of the gate when it drops you may not know what it looks like when you're released and it takes off you may not know where you're going how you're getting there why you're getting there why you're going but all you need to know is I will be with you and so you can begin to turn it up you can begin to blaze you can begin to move into new territories and begin to allow something to rise up in you because this is the Bible this is what the scriptures say when the enemy comes in like a flood God raises up a standard and I'm telling you he's raising up a church that is full of momentum and not full of fear he's raising up a church that's full of faith and not full of doubt he's raising up a church that is looks not too natural timing but too prophetic timing he's raising up people that that will not be reactive but will begin to be proactive will begin to call those things that are not as though they are and begin to look 2 3 4 10 years into the future and begin to prepare and dream and plan and say what if God there's something that the Lord is stirring and you can have one perspective or you can have another I don't know about you but I've had the other perspective and the Lord corrected me very strongly and I began to believe I began to position myself for increase I began to dream I began to prepare I began to plan I began to say what would it look like if what asking God questions God what what could be what is possible and so I want to encourage you that you may feel just like Israel just like Joshua in a season of transition and you may not know where to go how to go what's what's it gonna look like many of you may have suffered from a loss of your job a loss of your career and and and you're uncertain there's an uncertainty there's questions and it's okay to have questions but it's not when those questions begin to move into doubts we need a recur you need a recalculating recorrect Shinra course and and we need to understand that no matter what the future looks like the best is yet to come and the Lord is preparing us right now to step into the best what if half of the prophetic words over America over Columbus Ohio come true what if I know just one that fuels me is is one of Bob Jones's words that the greatest signs and wonders the world has ever seen will come out of Columbus Ohio what if even just half what if you say half of the greatest signs and wonders the world's ever seen will come out of Columbus Ohio is it still good enough is it still powerful enough to believe it says is it still enough to go after to act on to begin to prepare and to begin to build momentum is it worth it yes it's worth it it's worth it to win for the lamb the reward of his suffering it's worth it to step outside of our personalities and step into our persona who God has called us to be who he's created us to be and it may look different than what you thought but it's okay because I will be with you I will be with you so I want to pray I want to pray for you if you feel like you're in transition if you feel like the ground underneath you has been shaking maybe you've lost your job maybe thing have radically changed for you over the last month six weeks I want to encourage I want to pray for you that you would experience the presence of God like you've never experienced that there would be a certainty that comes over you that there would be a momentum that begins to rise up in you and I and pray for you to have courage for the future so that you can begin to be like that horse that is ready to step out of history and into destiny so father I just thank you in Jordan if you want to go ahead and come on up father I just thank you I thank you for every person watching I thank you for Zion lord I thank you for for this this church as a movement Lord I pray father that every person that calls this place home would begin to feel the rumblings I pray that you would begin to put your ear to the ground and hear the stampede of blessing the stampede of miracle signs and wonders in the stampede of the harvest coming I pray Holy Spirit that there would be a momentum that rises up in every person I pray that we would have the realization that what is in us will conquer what it is around us and so lord I pray that above all that every person would experience your presence in a new and profound way I pray that every person would have an understanding no matter your circumstances whether you are experiencing the greatest of times or the worst of times I pray that you would have a certainty in your spirit that I will be with you the Lord will be with you always and so Holy Spirit I pray that as we move forward as we begin to see things open back up I pray Lord that we would be innovators dreamers pioneers trailblazers I pray that there would be ideas and strategies I pray that there would be businesses and solutions that the world has never seen I pray that once again the name of Jesus would be held in high esteem in this city and in this land I pray Holy Spirit that you would begin to touch radically every aspect every facet of society that once again as I said the name of Jesus will be held in high esteem lord I pray right now Holy Spirit that you would raise up men and women of God that take you at your word I pray that they would be like the radical war horses at the gate ready to run I pray that our we would understand that our momentum is not tied to our activity but it's tied to what you've put in us and you have put the keys of heaven and hell into our hands and you've said go into all the world and make disciples you've said raise the dead heal the sick cast out demons freely you've received freely give in lord I pray that men and women would rise up rise up and step out of of the box of your personality and step into your persona step into what God is calling you out into I pray that Lord just as you have snapped us out of the orbit of our ordinary that we would step into the extraordinary so father I pray we're for each and every person watching right now I pray that you would feel the presence of Jesus right now every song we sang was about the name of Jesus I pray that you would experience the radical King Jesus that King Jesus the one who rides the white horse and carries the sword that who has fire in his eyes would make himself real to you the one at whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord I pray that you would have an encounter with him I pray Holy Spirit that you would touch every heart right now that's watching and listening so what I pray above all that you would be with us we know that that's your promise but raise our level of awareness to what you're already doing raise our level of awareness to what you've put inside of us allow our hearts every cell of our being to say with certainty but the best is yet to come in Jesus name we pray amen I'm Jordan come you know so I feel like we we can't just talk about Jesus and and and the Father God and not give you an opportunity to get to know him and encounter him and and discover more of who he is you know in John the book of John Jesus speaking said that no one can come to me unless the father draw them and so I just wanna I just wanna ask that if maybe you signed on during worship if you begin to feel the presence of God if you begin to feel the drawing of God on your life if if you sign on all Joss's watching Dawson speaking and you begin to feel your heart beat fast if you started to start to think in your mind like wow this thing could be real if this thing could be real that's the best that's the father drawing you in to Jesus it's the father drawing you in to Jesus and and listen listen it's not just about being saved from sin that's a big deal but it's more about being saved into him and been in this life full of purpose and full of hope and full of victory that we get to go into not just what we're saying from but listen you are being saved from something there are pleasures and sin but they're short-lived don't waste your time without life wonders when there's pleasures forevermore pleasures from heaven a life of godliness a life full of abundance and full of joy a life that we never get to be alone in yeah it also says later in John that he wants to come and make his home in you so if you're starting to feel that if your heart is starting to burn if you're wanting him if you're feeling the drawing the wooing of God if your heart's starting to be fast you got chills during the service you're starting to think a little differently during the service it's the wooing of God calling you to come home to come home into the family of God so if that's you if if you've been feeling that during the service listen it's not about praying a prayer playing praying some prayer that's repeated after me does it get you into heaven so what's happening inside your heart and so this is what needs to happen with you and God you just need to get with him you need to say god I'm tired as being apart from you apart from you and now I'm ready to come in close to you I feel your wooing and I'm ready to take a step and come be with you to trust you Jesus to put my faith my trust my life and you in saying this Jesus I'll surrender I'm tired of doing this on my own I'm ready to do it with you it's saying Jesus I'll believe in you I believe in what you did for me god it's thanking him for her for saving me from sin and death and and taking me from that Kingdom into his kingdom of peace and life and so if that's you if that's you praying that right now that's good news and I'm happy about that you should be happy about that too so I'm going to pray for you guys in a minute but I just want to get this out here this is our way to connect with you guys so if you are if that's you if you're taking that step if that is where you're at then I need you guys to text Jesus to six hundred four three three three one one zero one it's probably on your screen yes good it's on your screen I know it's a little weird to do that right in the middle of a view in this life-changing moment that's happening and it's awkward but it's fine someone will reach out to you begin to help you walk this journey with Jesus and get connected and so let me just pray for you guys real quick before we get out of here Holy Spirit would you come right now I'll thank you God for drawling them to Jesus God thank you that every answer to every problem is found in Jesus that every hopeless situation finds hope in Jesus Wow the every every addiction every uh every every every every addiction God gets healed every sickness it gets healed in Jesus God thank you that it's all about Jesus God so even right now God the ones that who aren't ready yet would you continue to woo them to yourself and the ones God would you just release your presence over them right now know that they would even now begin to encounter the pleasures of heaven over their life right now and sitting in the room in their car God they begin to feel you begin to rest upon them thank you God alright guys well thanks for signing on and be blessed if you if you begin to feel god during the service you fellas presence like you've never have before well Joshua's speaking or those that maybe just receive Jesus if you felt him for the first time and why don't you you guys should post in the comment section or something get it to us to know like hey we did feel god I encountered him today if that happened to you man we want to know about it it's a big deal every encounter with God is a big deal whether it's his voice being whispered in your heart or it's his presence landing on your life so be blessed guys thanks for signing on [Applause] [Music] [Music] my hands battle goodbye [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Zion Christian Fellowship

Views: 697

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Id: hL-_46UNmQ8

Length: 124min 29sec (7469 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 19 2020