Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190016A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 - Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today 01:11 program! I am excited about this program today, 01:14 because today, we are going to be discussing 01:18 a topic entitled, "Being in God's Presence." What 01:23 does it mean to be in God's presence? What 01:24 does that look like? What happens if you leave God's 01:27 presence? We have so many questions, and Lord 01:30 willing, we're going to provide so many answers 01:32 from the Word of God. And here with me to 01:35 discuss this wonderful topic is, of course, no 01:38 stranger to 3ABN: we have Jill Morikone, who 01:42 is the general manager of 3ABN, and we have Pastor 01:46 Kenny Shelton of Behold the Lamb Ministries, and 01:49 he's also no stranger to 3ABN. We're so happy- 01:53 well, I'm so happy, I should say, to have you 01:56 here, as well as our viewing audience is so 01:59 happy to have you here. - Good to be here; amen. 02:01 - So, I wanna start by telling you guys a little 02:04 story. - Oh, yay! - So we'll start with a little 02:06 story, and then segue into this topic. When I 02:10 was about 15 years old, I received my hardship's 02:13 license. So, I had a car, I had my license at 15... 02:19 I had it for a couple years; I think I was 02:23 in my sophomore or junior year. I ended up going into 02:26 my junior year about 16, and you know how you 02:30 have SATs? So, I had to prepare for the SAT. So, 02:35 I was in Arlington, Texas; I had a friend with me, and 02:40 I had to drive all the way to Dallas, which 02:41 was about 30-something~ 40-minute drive. I had to 02:44 drop him off at home, so I'm flying down the highway, 02:48 going 100 miles per hour, literally-a hundred miles 02:51 per hour. All of a sudden, I see red and blue flashing 02:56 lights behind me. Now, it's safe to say that I 03:01 wasn't excited to be in the presence of that 03:03 cop at the moment. On the flip side of that, had 03:07 I been at a bank that got robbed, I would've 03:12 been very happy to be in the presence of that 03:14 cop. So, when it comes to being in the presence 03:18 of the Lord, are there times in the Bible where 03:21 we see people that may be happy to be in the 03:25 presence of the Lord or may be afraid to be in 03:28 the presence of the Lord. - I think of Jonah right off, 03:30 you know? He fled from what God had asked him 03:35 to do, but what he discovered was that you can never leave 03:41 the presence of God... and you can never leave 03:44 the will of God, because He chases you down, Pastor 03:46 Kenny, and He will find you! I think of Psalm 139, 03:49 if I can read a scripture? - Oh, absolutely. - Psalm 03:51 139:7 says, "Where can I go from Your Spirit, or 03:57 where can I flee from Your presence if I ascend 03:59 into heaven, You are there? If I make my bed 04:02 in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings 04:05 of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of 04:09 the sea, even there, Your hand shall lead me," 'cause 04:13 Jonah went, actually, to the sea-remember? He 04:16 took the ship, and then there was the storm and 04:19 all of that took place, and they threw him overboard, 04:21 and he was in the sea. You'd think he was going 04:24 to drown and that would be the end of Jonah, but 04:26 God's presence was even in the uttermost part of 04:28 the sea. "Even there, Your hand shall lead 04:31 me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 04:34 'Surely, the darkness shall fall on me, even 04:37 the night shall be light about me; indeed, the 04:40 darkness shall not hide from You, but the night 04:43 shines as the day. The darkness and the light 04:46 are both alike to You.'" So, we can THINK we run 04:50 from the presence of God, but there is no place-heaven 04:54 and earth, in the sea, anywhere-where we 04:57 can actually leave; escape from the presence of God. 05:01 - Mhm. And you know what, that can be comforting... 05:03 and scary at the same time, depending on... That's depending 05:07 on the situation, like when you look at Adam 05:09 and Eve, and they committed that sin and they realized 05:13 they were naked and were ashamed and they hid 05:15 themselves from God... And so, yeah, it can be 05:20 either scary or a comforting thing, as well. - Amen. - What 05:25 do you think? - Well, you know, I, say, a lot of the 05:28 time draw from personal experiences, which I think 05:30 is some of the best things that can happen as we read 05:33 the Word of God, but then also, we begin to draw 05:35 experiences-and I think of my own experiences. 05:40 I think I was a runner at one time. You know, 05:44 you think about a runner. I mean, sometimes we think- 05:46 you just read you can't run away from God, but 05:48 sometimes we feel the unction or the call of 05:51 the Holy Spirit on our lives. I think of myself 05:55 in calling to the ministry: I decided for about seven 05:59 years that I would run- that I wouldn't accept the 06:02 call and made all the excuses that I could 06:05 think of-why I wasn't qualified to be a pastor 06:09 and so on and so forth. It was always interesting; 06:11 every time, it's just like Moses or anyone else in 06:14 the Bible-maybe each one of you that there may be 06:17 many out there that when the Lord calls, you say, "Well, 06:20 I can't accept the call, because..." You know? 06:23 And I always tell my- and it's true. I say, 06:25 "Well, Lord, I'm slow of mind." And I love the 06:27 answer; He comes back and says, "Well Kenny, 06:28 I know that." [laughter] You know? "I know that." 06:30 And I said, "I haven't been to a school of the 06:33 prophets?" He said, "I know that, too." 06:35 - Uh-huh. - But then He said something very 06:36 interesting (the Holy Spirit impresses your 06:38 mind). He said, "You stay close to me, and I can 06:40 teach you more in 5 seconds than all the learned men of 06:43 the world can in a lifetime." So, that was a real tool; 06:46 but I still try to make excuses over the years, 06:49 but I'm so thankful that He continued to work with 06:53 me and continues along till one day I finally answered 06:56 that call and say, "Okay, Lord." It's like, you talk 07:00 3 A.M. of a morning and kind of lying on the floor 07:04 there, 'cause I couldn't sleep because of the- 07:06 I knew what I should do; and finally, I responded. 07:10 I encourage people: don't be a runner. If the Holy 07:12 Spirit is calling you to be into the presence of 07:16 God or to be a worker for God, just answer that call, 07:19 because He's everything. You know, you don't need 07:22 to say, "Am I qualified for this?" We're not 07:24 qualified for anything, but He's qualified for 07:26 everything and He's willing to give that to you and 07:28 willing to give it to me. - You know how sin brings 07:32 separation from God; sin brings separation from the 07:35 Father. You mentioned Adam and Eve. And sin, 07:39 sometimes, makes us want to run. I'm not saying you 07:41 were walking in sin in that time; I just know 07:43 in my own life, if there's- the Bible says, "If I regard 07:46 iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not, cannot, hear 07:50 me." And it's not that He doesn't want to hear 07:52 me, but my sin is pushing God away. It's separating 07:56 between me and Him; so, I think the presence of 07:59 God is frightening and it's disturbing if I'm 08:04 hanging onto junk in my life. - Mhm. - As you 08:07 mentioned-Adam and Eve. God always walked with 08:10 them in the cool of the day. In the evening, He 08:13 would come and visit with them. And then after they 08:17 partook of the forbidden fruit-Eve and then Adam... 08:22 And then that evening, God calls to them, "Where 08:24 are you?" "Where are you?" And there, what did the 08:28 Bible say? Genesis 3: they hid, because they were 08:31 afraid. They recognized their sin. Sin brings 08:35 separation and fear and guilt; but Jesus came to 08:39 bridge the gap. By the blood of Christ, we are 08:43 reconciled again. We have the privilege of making a 08:46 choice to follow Him and be reconciled again to the 08:49 Father, and then the presence of God is no 08:51 longer scary. It's a delight and a joy, and 08:55 it brings so much peace. [Amen.] - So, what would 09:00 you say that it means to be in the presence 09:02 of God? - Well, you know, maybe an example: you 09:08 go to- I think it's Exodus 3 verse 5 is what Moses... 09:11 You remember? [Mhm.] Because being in the 09:13 presence of God, there's something very special 09:15 there. And sometimes, maybe we forget that; 09:19 because what did he do when he came to the 09:21 burning bush, as it were? Could be in the presence 09:23 of God. He said sometimes, there should be the right 09:26 kind of fear. Is that agreeable? - That's 09:28 right. - A fear should be there, which is reverential; 09:32 it's respect; it's so much bigger than we 09:35 are. And so, he wanted to know where God's 09:38 presence- you said, "Well in the presence of God!" 09:40 If we are in the presence of God, we must realize, 09:43 as the song says, we are on holy ground. He emphasized 09:48 that to Moses. He said, "Take off your shoes for 09:52 the ground on which you stand is holy ground." 09:56 Now, we knew the old bush, it wasn't holy. [laughter] 09:59 It was His presence that 10:02 was there that counted for holy ground. So therefore, 10:06 I think, at least to me, there's a certain amount 10:10 I want to be the right kind of fear of respect 10:12 for who God is if I want to come into His presence- 10:17 and that can be so many different ways: through 10:19 prayer... Whatever it might be. We go in our 10:21 closet, we pray, we spend time going down the road, 10:23 we get into His presence, and a lot of the time when 10:26 we're in the presence of God, we really don't want 10:28 that time to fly by. We love that time we spend 10:35 with God. There's church services. In church service, 10:39 sometimes, the Spirit of God, I want to say, 10:41 is thick. Is it okay to say "thick"? - Yes! 10:43 - So thick, you can reach out and almost touch it; 10:46 why? Because it's following scriptural truths, you know? 10:51 You know that it's not just, "It's emotion and 10:54 it's just feeling"- praise God for feeling! Right? 10:58 Praise God for emotions. But that to be sound and 11:01 based upon the Word of God, too. "? 11:03 Thus saith the Lord." But there's been, absolutely, 11:06 services that we've been in, that everyone's been in, that 11:09 you've been in-I know at home-that you really 11:11 hated to see end. You wanted to continue it, 11:14 because why? You invited- it's like it's a shock to 11:18 some people. - Uh-huh. - We invite His presence 11:20 to come in through the power of the Holy Spirit, 11:22 take possession, go up and down the aisles, sit 11:25 in empty pews, right? You hear that phrase 11:27 sometimes, you know? And that's- it's good! And then 11:30 when there's an outworking of the Holy Spirit, it's like, 11:34 "Oh, what happened?!" - We get a little stressed. 11:37 - Yeah, we get a little stressed, like "What's 11:38 happened here?!" We just invited the Spirit to come 11:40 in and work on our hearts. Somebody got up and stood 11:43 up, and maybe testified. Somebody said, "Praise 11:45 God. Somebody's asked for forgiveness of sin. That's 11:49 what the Holy Spirit does in the presence of God. 11:52 There's conviction in the presence of God. 11:54 There's joy and there's peace and there's happi- 11:57 all kinds of things take place! I get excited here 12:00 about this right here. To think about being 12:02 in the presence of God- but there again, on the 12:04 other side is that fear of revere... "I'm not 12:06 equal with Him." No one is equal with Him, and 12:09 don't try to stand side by side and say, "Well, 12:11 yeah, I'm..." He's so far, high, and above 12:14 us that we have to respe- it's holy ground. Who else- 12:19 you mentioned another- in the Bible- was it Joshua? 12:22 I think it was J- wasn't it Joshua? When Joshua 12:25 was getting ready to take over, whatever- there was 12:27 the same kind of a situation. He told Joshua to do what?- 12:29 I think in the same chapter. He said, "Take off your 12:32 sandals, because it's holy ground." God wanted us 12:36 to know, as well as Moses and me: "Kenny, when you 12:41 invite Me in, you need to be prepared. You 12:43 need to be ready when you invite me in, and 12:45 there are conditions." I'm sure we'll get into 12:47 some of those as we go along here. Just invite 12:50 the Holy Spirit in. To invite the presence of God in, 12:53 really to me, means we need to be ready for His 12:56 presence coming in. God always reminded here 12:59 as He did His leaders, "This is holy ground. 13:03 It's holy because I'm here." - Amen. - "And 13:06 I'm going to be the leader." So, that's exciting; oh, yeah. 13:08 - It is, it is! I think it's a great way to- 13:10 I think we should segue into that. Like, how do 13:13 we conduct ourselves in the presence of the Lord? 13:15 - It's amazing. I have a whole list. - I love it. 13:21 - If you watch Sabbath School, you don't like 13:23 lists. [laughter] - I'm always having lists. 13:26 But I just want to mention one, and that is...God 13:32 requires purity. - Yes. - You know, I referenced 13:37 before if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will 13:40 not hear me. But turn with me to Matthew 5:8. 13:42 We'll do an interesting look at this. This is the 13:46 Sermon on the Mount of course which is one of 13:49 Jesus' major discourses in the gospels: Matthew 13:53 chapter 5 and verse 8. We have the Beatitudes, 13:59 which are just simply...ways that we can live, you know? 14:05 It reminds me of Romans chapter 12. It's just 14:07 practical tips on godly living for today. So, 14:11 Beatitude-let's see verse 7... No, verse 8. "Blessed 14:15 are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 14:19 So, how are you going to see God if you're not in 14:22 His presence? So to me, you could make those 14:24 almost synonymous. In other words, blessed are 14:26 the pure in heart for they're going to be in 14:29 God's presence... You know? Because if you're not pure, 14:32 you won't see God; how do you see God if you're 14:36 not in His presence? They're connected. So, it reminds me: 14:40 if we get to the end of Revelation... You see 14:42 Revelation chapter 6, the seals-all the six seals- 14:48 and you get to the end of the sixth seal...Revelation 14:49 6:17. It says, "The great day of His wrath is come. 14:54 And who shall be able to stand?" And the wicked 14:58 are just crying out, "What am I going to do here?" 15:01 And then, there's an interlude, as it were, 15:03 in Revelation chapter 7, and it talks about the sealed 15:05 people of God-those who are sealed in their forehead- 15:09 and the 144,000. And what are their qualities? 15:13 They are without guile; they stand without fault 15:16 before the throne of God. So in order to abide in His 15:21 presence, we need to walk in purity of heart. That means 15:25 that... I don't mean that in a scary fashion for you 15:29 to say, "Oh, maybe there's sin, and that means I can't 15:31 have God's presence." All you do is open up your heart 15:34 to God, and you just say, "Would you come in?" 15:37 "Would you change me?" "Would you transform me?" 15:41 1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to 15:47 forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 15:52 So, God's the One who brings purity; it doesn't 15:55 come from us. All our righteousness is as filthy 15:57 rags. Our job is to allow Him to work. Our job is 16:02 to say, "Will you come in and will you change me? 16:05 And I choose to surrender and allow Him to do that." 16:08 - Amen. - Isn't that wonderful to know that 16:11 we serve a God that's plentiful, the Bible says 16:15 in Psalm, in mercy, in forgiveness, and He 16:18 wants to forgive us. It's James-I think-4 that 16:22 says, "Submit yourself." So, we need to submit 16:25 ourselves unto God. Like you say: when in the 16:27 presence of God, there are conditions, I think, 16:29 to really get in the presence of God, as 16:31 you mentioned there, is the forgiveness of sin; 16:33 you know-confessing our sins, getting our life right 16:36 and hidden in Christ. And when it's there and we 16:39 are covered by the blood of the Lamb, there is only 16:42 one way that we can get in the presence of God- 16:45 and that is through Jesus Christ. - Yes. - Isn't that 16:47 right? Jesus Christ. He's our Mediator. We go to 16:51 God to get into God's presence through Jesus 16:54 Christ. And so, we have to have that experience. 16:57 I think it's so wonderful- had the experience with 16:59 Jesus that we might come boldly to the throne. Now, 17:04 when you think about coming boldly... I've been 17:06 thinking about the coming boldly to the throne, because 17:08 when years passed, maybe as we're searching and we're 17:12 looking for relationship with Christ, it's kind of 17:16 scary-talked about scary a little, fear-to come boldly 17:21 toward, because I realize, soon as I say, "Come boldly 17:23 to the throne," I realize how unworthy I am. - Mm. 17:26 - I have no right to come boldly. And then the 17:29 scriptures always remind me, "Yes, you do." - Yes. 17:32 - "But what right? I've not done any good." 17:34 "No, you haven't done any good," but we come 17:37 boldly because of who He is because of Jesus Christ- 17:40 right?-claiming His merits, claiming grace that we come 17:45 boldly to the throne. And then, we live in an hour 17:48 that we're in the judgment hour. I'm going to try to tie 17:54 that together. We're in the judgment hour, and 17:56 the scriptures make it very clear that since 17:58 we're in the judgment hour, we need boldness. We need 18:02 to be able to come, because we're living in such a time 18:05 that we need to come quickly to the throne room of God, 18:08 quickly claiming the merits of Christ, quickly claiming 18:12 the promises of God, because we need help in our time of 18:16 need. And I kind of feel like we're in our time of 18:18 need right now; don't you? - Oh, absolutely. - Amen. 18:21 - Tremendous need right now. - Yes, definitely. 18:23 - If... Can I share? - Oh, please. - I'll share them 18:27 quickly here. I don't want to take up too 18:28 much time, but I gotta get through my 5 here 18:31 [laughter] how we enter the presence of God. #1) 18:34 We enter with praise. Psalm 100:4 - you can 18:39 jot that verse down. "Enter His gates with thanksgiving 18:42 and into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto 18:46 Him and bless His name," or praise His name. So, 18:50 we enter His presence with praise, which is 18:52 beautiful! Sometimes, I enter God's presence 18:54 with complaints, Pastor Kenny. Sometimes, I enter 18:58 His presence with self-pity. Sometimes, I enter it with 19:01 my own stuff, and...I'm called to enter His presence 19:05 with thanksgiving. - Oh, when you said complaints, 19:07 I don't mean to butt in, because people will have 19:09 that, too, in our minds. It seems like when I come 19:13 with a heavy heart, sometimes, there are things that are heavy; 19:16 and as you begin to spill them out, it does sound like 19:19 complaints. But really, is it complaints? - That's 19:23 a good point. - I mean, there can be; but is it 19:25 really complaints that we're doing, or is it a 19:27 heavy heart, and we're laying things out as we 19:30 see them as human beings? And so, I want to make sure 19:34 that people, still, will be able to do that, you 19:36 know? - Good, thank you. - Right? You know. No, you 19:38 said the right thing, but it's... His ear never gets 19:43 heavy, right? He always can hear; He always wants 19:45 to hear as we come before Him into His presence. And 19:50 so go ahead with the list there, but it's just something 19:52 I said- 'cause I think I'm guilty of that sometimes, 19:55 you know? But I'm not meaning to complain, but 19:59 maybe I am murmuring and complaining, but I'm just 20:02 trying to tell Him; and then He says, "Kenny, 20:03 you don't need to. I already know." [laughter]? 20:06 But it's not getting it off your chest sometimes 20:10 and telling it as a friend, and so... - That's beautiful. 20:13 And it helps to talk about it, don't you think? - I think 20:15 to me, it does. - It makes a tremendous difference, 20:17 'cause who better than Jesus to be our Friend- 20:20 to bear our burdens... We can come with our supplications, 20:25 as it were. And David says, "Pour out your heart before 20:29 Him"-you know, in Psalm?- pour it out before Him. 20:32 So, thank you for bringing that up, because I would 20:34 never want people to feel like, "I can only come with 20:37 praise," because we can come with whatever is in 20:40 our heart. So, thank you, Pastor Kenny. - Oh, no. 20:43 That's just another aspect of it; no, no. - Amen. Second, 20:47 we enter the presence of God with humility. Ephesians 20:51 3:14 - "For this reason, I bow my knees to the 20:54 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We enter it with 20:59 humility." It doesn't mean every time we're in the 21:00 presence of God, we're on our knees; we can be 21:02 driving in the car, you can be talking with a 21:06 friend... We can have the presence of God at all times 21:09 throughout the day, but we still enter with our 21:12 attitude of humility, knowing who God is in 21:16 comparison to who I am. I already talked about with 21:19 purity; you talked about with boldness. I LOVE that 21:23 scripture-the Hebrews 4:16, "Come boldly before the 21:27 throne of grace." And then my fifth one was with 21:28 surrender. I want to look that scripture up. - Yeah, 21:32 and unpack that. - Romans chapter 12... This is one of 21:38 my- well, I like the book of Romans, anyway, but 21:40 Romans 12:1 and 2-"I beseeched you therefore, 21:45 brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present 21:48 your bodies a living sacrifice." That's that 21:52 surrender, as it were, going on the altar before 21:57 Him; you know: laying my plans, my thoughts, my 22:01 dreams, my hopes - all of that at His feet. - Amen. 22:04 - Because who better to entrust them to than 22:08 the Lord Jesus Christ? "...a living sacrifice, 22:10 holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable 22:14 service; and do not be conformed to this world, 22:18 but be transformed by the renewing of your 22:22 mind, that you may prove what is that good and 22:25 acceptable and perfect will of God." That word 22:28 "transformed" in Greek means "metamorphosed," 22:30 like the symbolism of the caterpillar to the butterfly. 22:35 You know, Greg and I, our front porch-we have a 22:37 little front porch-and we like to go out and 22:40 sit in the evening or whatever, talk about the day, watch the 22:43 sun go down...just nice, some couple time, you 22:47 could say. So, this one time, Greg was saying, 22:51 "Look here, Jilliane!" There was a little caterpillar, 22:53 and he was spinning his cocoon. It was right 22:55 underneath- you know, the porch has, like, the 22:57 railings this way, but it was the railing this 23:00 way, and he was right underneath here. He 23:02 was spinning it, so then every day, we'd go out 23:04 and we'd look at him. He's still there... Next day, he's 23:07 still there. Next day... And then, it was on a 23:12 Sabbath that he broke open. Now, there's gotta 23:15 be a spiritual lesson there. - Oh, absolutely. 23:18 - But it was on Sabbath! When Greg said, "Jillie, 23:23 come quick," so I rushed out the front door and 23:25 looked in. You could see the cocoon breaking open, 23:28 and here he comes out with one wing and then 23:31 the other wing, and we just watched. It was a 23:33 beautiful butterfly... And then it flew off. 23:36 That's the transforming grace of Christ, you know? 23:40 I look like a caterpillar, just crawling in the dirt- 23:43 you know?-eating dirt, crawling on your belly... 23:46 And then God says, "Through this process, we're transformed 23:51 by the renewing of your mind," the metamorphose 23:54 process, I'm going to make you into a butterfly- 23:59 which is just incredible. - It is. That is. You know, 24:05 what would you say to that person who may have been 24:09 walking with the Lord, they have been in the 24:12 Lord's presence and really felt God's presence, but 24:15 I guess maybe, they made a mistake. Maybe, they 24:18 sinned; maybe, they've experienced God's presence. 24:22 But now, they just don't feel it as much. What would 24:26 you guys say to that? - Well, #1) We serve a 24:29 God who's willing to take us back. I think, to me, 24:32 that has always been the good news - the grace of 24:35 Christ. So, if we have sinned-even willfully; 24:40 you know better, that you went ahead and did that- 24:43 the Holy Spirit is still working on the heart. 24:45 I praise God for that. None of us could ever 24:48 come- we know these things, but it's good to be reminded. 24:51 None of us could ever come to Christ if it were not for 24:53 the Holy Spirit, living and working inside, 24:56 wooing us and drawing us into that relationship. I 25:00 think- you talk about a Christian, you say, that 25:04 didn't know Christ, and they experience these 25:06 things. I believe, really, when they turn away from 25:08 Christ, they're a person most miserable-if I might 25:12 put it that way-because you have tasted, the Bible 25:16 said, and you've seen that He is good. - Yes. - And you 25:19 miss that taste, you miss that inner feeling and 25:24 emotion that you have to be in His presence, to know 25:26 that you someone that's going to fight your battles 25:28 for you, to know that someone's going to be 25:31 there, if someone's going to encourage you and 25:33 strengthen you, if it's somebody that has the 25:35 answers...then when we turn from that and we go 25:39 out here, we're doing things on our own; we're making 25:43 making choices on our own. And when we make 25:45 choices, we know that we're making maybe even the wrong 25:46 choice. And really, how can it be blessed if God- 25:49 and we're looking for things maybe to blow up. But when 25:51 the Holy Spirit gets our attention and we come 25:55 back to Him, Psalm 86:5 says, "He's ready to forgive." 26:00 I like this. "He's ready to forgive plenteous in 26:04 mercy and to all them that call upon Him." So, the beautiful 26:09 thing is, it says He's ready. - Amen. - The 26:12 question is, are we ready? So I encourage you to get 26:15 ready. - Yeah. - To get ready! This is what it's 26:18 all about-ready for the coming of Christ! Ready 26:20 because He's sending out; He's saying right now, 26:23 "I've got my arms stretched open," like the prodigal son 26:26 and the father. Regardless of what went on. That 26:30 always goes through my mind. You see the father, 26:33 you see the son coming up, and you see the father; 26:35 his arms are outstretched like our Heavenly Father. In 26:38 His presence, He's saying, "Oh, come on back home." 26:40 You know? "Why would you die? Come on back home." 26:44 And so His arms are out. They're outstretched, 26:46 and He's saying, "Come on; I'm ready," and He's 26:49 willing to do it. So I mean, don't put it off 26:51 any longer; just do it today. - The scripture 26:54 you referenced, I just turned there. Ezekiel 18, 26:58 verse 30, and some 30 and 31. Sometimes, we 27:02 look at Ezekiel and we think, "There's a lot of 27:04 hard condemnation in there," because there 27:07 was a lot of judgment that was going to be 27:09 coming upon the people because of their idol 27:12 worship, because they had left and forsaken 27:14 God-but there's this beautiful promise and 27:17 plea! You just imagine from the heart of God. 27:20 It says-verse 30- "'Therefore, I will judge 27:24 you, O house of Israel, everyone according to 27:26 his ways,' says the Lord God. 'Repent and turn 27:30 from all your transgressions so that iniquity will not be 27:34 your ruin. Cast away all the transgressions which 27:39 you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart 27:42 and a new spirit.'" And we know we don't do the getting; 27:45 we just ask, and God does the giving. [laughter] And 27:48 then it says, "'For why... 27:52 ...should you die?'" - That's it. - "'O house of Israel?'" 27:57 And I just imagine God pleading-you know?- 28:00 to each one of us, saying, "I love you with an everlasting 28:03 love. I've drawn you with my courts of love." And 28:06 whether you walked with God for years and someone 28:10 criticized you in the church and you thought, 28:12 "I'm done with God"...whether someone in your family got 28:17 sick and died and you thought, "I'm done with 28:19 God"...whether you went through a difficult, painful 28:23 divorce or situation in your life and you thought, 28:26 "I'm done with God"... Wherever you have been, 28:30 God says, "Turn. Come back to Me. Why do you want to 28:35 die? I don't want you to die." And we know Romans 28:39 2:4-you referenced this- the goodness of God leads 28:43 us to repentance. So, God's the One who draws, so just right 28:48 now, I just want to make an appeal to you: make a choice. 28:52 Choose you today whom you will serve and say, "As for me 28:57 and my house, I will serve the Lord." [Amen.] - That's 29:01 good stuff, mhm. - Do you guys have any examples 29:04 of, you know, from your own personal lives where, 29:08 maybe, you've experienced the presence of God? And 29:13 what did that look like? - I think, personally, absolutely. 29:17 I think if we've missed that, we've missed an 29:22 experience. We've really missed an experience to, 29:25 #1) is we have to be asking and pleading-ask to be able 29:30 to come and stand in His presence-and again, follow 29:32 what's been thought here from scripture, our life 29:35 needs to be right with God that we may come 29:38 fully into His presence... and things that will happen. 29:42 For instance, just through prayer, we're talking about 29:45 here, we're gonna clo- pray! "Oh, God, what 29:48 will it take? I want to be in Your presence." I do- 29:51 and it's okay to say it: "I want to feel Your 29:53 presence. I want to feel"- because part of when we 29:56 come into His presence is that joy, that contentment, 29:59 that excitement. But now for me, if being in the church 30:03 all my life basically from a young person 30:05 all up, there still has to come a time when 30:08 you're converted. - That's right. - And that was years 30:11 down the road. I've often said it, and it's really sad 30:14 to be a lukewarm Christian for a lot of years that I was. 30:16 The dangerous part about it was that I didn't even 30:21 know I was. How dangerous can you be? See, if you know 30:26 you're lukewarm- there's a difference in knowing 30:28 you're lukewarm and- but going through the 30:30 motions of always going to church and always doing 30:33 the things that a Christian does, and not really realize 30:38 that you're lukewarm. And finally, God wanted to get 30:41 my attention, because I had been praying, as it were, 30:44 I wanted to be in His presence. I wanted 30:46 something-something that was missing. Even being 30:48 born and raised and listened to all this stuff, there's 30:50 something needed to change- something be right-and I 30:53 pray, "Oh, God, I want to better experience- 30:56 I want to know what it is to be born again." 30:58 And of course, the Lord did that in a dream for me. 31:02 My life changed over a dream. - Really? - I didn't 31:07 know that! - It was over a dream. It was just... 31:09 You look at the goosebumps now that I get on me, and 31:13 that's been many years ago. And so, I pray this, 31:16 and I went to bed that night and just went to 31:18 sleep. And all of a sudden- I'll try to make it fast- 31:21 it's like I was in His pres- I knew I was in 31:24 His presence. That's what we're talking about, being 31:27 in the presence of God. Now, how did I know I 31:29 was in the presence? Because all I heard was- 31:31 some of my goosebumps- all I heard was is, "Kenny." 31:38 And immediately when I heard, "Kenny," I said, 31:42 "Yes, Lord?" - Oh, wow. - Wow. - Oh, oh, why? 31:46 Because it says the sheep knows His voice. And I'm 31:50 not trying to elevate- 'cause I was still lukewarm; 31:52 I still needed some changes, and I need some bad changes, 31:55 and I wanted some changes. But He said, "Kenny." First 31:58 thing: "Yes, Lord?" I recognized His voice. 32:00 I stood as one as a word like Adam and Eve when 32:04 sin came. He's seen right on through me. There wasn't- 32:08 I couldn't even make an excuse, I couldn't make 32:11 some alibis, I couldn't say, "Sister Jill made me 32:13 do it... [laughter] I couldn't say that brother 32:16 Jason made me- you see what I'm saying? You couldn't 32:18 blame the pastor, I couldn't blame the church... - Uh-huh. 32:20 - I knew He knew every thought about me... 32:24 everything. So, there was no denying anything. And 32:27 so, He asked me a PROFOUND question. It just blew my 32:32 mind. He said this; He said, "Kenny, do you 32:35 love Me?" [Mm.] Now, I knew He's seen through 32:40 me: everything I'd ever said, every thought, every 32:43 deed, every action - I knew it, but I could say 32:45 to Him... I said, "Yes, Lord; I do love You." 32:49 He said, "Kenny." "Yes, Lord." Second time. He 32:55 said, "Do you love Me?" - Just like Peter! - Yes! 32:59 3 times. "Kenny, do you love Me?" And I knew 33:02 again, it just shot through my whole system. He reads 33:06 the intents of the heart; He knows everything about 33:08 you. You can't say anything- you have to tell the truth. 33:11 - Oh, yeah. - Every knee will bow, every tongue 33:13 will confe- I had to say- I said, "Yes, Lord; I do." 33:16 See, I had that longing. I wanted to love Him. 33:19 I wanted to do more; just something in me was yearning 33:22 to be in His presence. And so I said, "Yes, Lord; 33:26 I do." And then one more time, He said, "Kenny..." 33:29 I know He could've said, "Hey, you." Silly, but, 33:34 "Hey, Mr. Shelton." [laughter] You know what I mean? He 33:38 didn't! He knew me - first name basis - it's 33:40 like He knows-sorry-every one of us. He calls us by name. 33:45 - That's right. - He said, "Kenny"... Notice this- 33:48 profound. "Do you REALLY love Me?" [Mm.] I said, 33:54 "Yes, Lord, I do love you." And it's like it was with 33:57 Peter: "Feed My sheep. Do you really love Me?" 34:02 "Yes, Lord; I do." And then, He only said, "Kenny, 34:06 then why do you persist in this?" - Hmm. - He named 34:10 that only God would know. - Wow. - He named three 34:14 things in my life that had to go, or I had to go. 34:18 - Wow. - And every time, He said, "Kenny, then... 34:20 You said you love me, but why do you per..." And I 34:24 said to Him, "Lord, I'm sorry. I never realized- 34:28 it didn't seem like a big thing. I didn't know it 34:30 hurts You!" See, in ignorance sometimes... And I was 34:34 telling Him the truth; that's all I could tell 34:35 Him in His presence. And I said, "I didn't know it 34:39 hurt You like that!" He named the second thing; 34:42 I said, "Oh, God, please forgive me; give me strength 34:43 that"... You know? "I didn't know it hurt You like this." 34:46 It hurt me that I knew He hurt...and then He 34:48 named the third thing. And I said, "Oh, Lord, 34:51 forgive me." And at that time, I knew. You say, 34:55 "How'd you know it was the presence of God?" 34:57 I heard singing... God does everything 35:02 different for everybody, so nothing special about 35:04 anything, but it was for me. That's what it took 35:07 to change my life. And all of a sudden, I could hear 35:10 singing, and it was like, angelic-that the angels 35:13 of heaven were just singing, and I could think about the 35:15 singing, rejoicing, over that one that left the 35:19 fold-you know?-and was coming back. - Yes. - But 35:24 you know what? The words that came back- and it 35:26 comes back to you and it's going to come back 35:28 to me; and someday, it may be sooner than 35:29 we think. God said to me, He said, "Kenny, 35:32 you have another opportunity, and you need to make it good 35:38 this time." That's pretty heavy-duty. I've never 35:41 forgotten that. But everything that He said, everything that 35:46 He did, everything harmonized with what scripture and what 35:49 I'd been praying for to somehow be more into His 35:54 presence and what it would be like...and He fulfilled that. 35:57 I immediately opened my eyes with tears and crying- 36:02 right? I've been asleep, dreaming... I immediately 36:06 just got on my knees beside the bed and I thanked God 36:09 for a new heart. Was that David in, what, Psalms 51... 36:16 What was it? "Create in me a clean"... - 51:10. 36:19 "...Clean heart and renew a right spirit in me." - And 36:23 I think if I said, "Thank you God for that"- and 36:26 I mean, I was so happy. There was a burden that 36:28 was left at Calvary. A whole change took place- 36:32 and I'll tell you the change. This has nothing to do with 36:34 individual- again, I said I- you know, I taught 36:37 the Sabbath school class, I taught the young married 36:39 class for years, got little plaques,... 36:41 That didn't mean diddly, if I can say that. - Mhm! 36:43 You can say that. - It's the heart; it's not quite 36:45 tuned like it used to be. I need it tweaked. He 36:47 was tweaking it for me. - Uh-huh, recalibrating. 36:50 - And it was so interesting, because I had never said 36:51 anything to anybody about it. I just... Woo! I was so 36:55 overjoyed. But I remember the first Sabbath school 36:58 lesson I taught the next Sabbath, people come up 37:03 and... "What...what happened to you?" - That's Jesus. 37:09 - Praise God the old man was dead! You know what 37:10 I'm talking about? And I'm not talking about self 37:13 at all; get rid of that! - Yes. - Because what 37:16 they'd seen and what they heard was different than the 37:18 guy who'd been standing for years before them. 37:20 And I didn't know I said anything different, but 37:23 it was accompanied by the power of the Holy 37:24 Spirit. And they said, "You"-listen to this!- 37:26 "You even LOOK different!" - Thank you, Jesus! - Wow. 37:31 Countenance changed! - I'm getting chills by- 37:33 "You even look"-and it had nothing to do with 37:35 this sinful mess! - Mhm. Mhm. - I was on the ropes; 37:38 didn't even realize I was on the ropes, and He... 37:40 "Before you call, I'll answer." He had the 37:44 answer. That... I'm sorry it's taking so long. - It's 37:49 a beautiful story. - That was true conversion, 37:51 at least for me, and I'm conscious of that every 37:54 day of my life that I don't go back, 'cause 37:57 He'll say to you as He said to me, "You have 38:00 another chance." - Amen. - "You need to make it good 38:03 this time," 'cause you noticed I'd failed before. 38:06 He said it, so I knew- so I praise God for that. 38:08 It is just as live and fresh umpteen years- 38:13 I was just a young man then-umpteen years ago... 38:17 It's alive and fresh in my heart as it was then, 38:20 so I don't want to forget that. That, for me personally, 38:25 it was in the presence of the Lord. - That is beautiful. 38:28 - It changed my heart and it changed my life, and I 38:31 pray, forever. - That's powerful, Pastor Kenny. 38:37 Praise the Lord. I have no story compared to that; 38:41 this is just my experience, but that's the beautiful 38:44 thing: God works, leads us along, in different 38:48 journeys-through different paths. That's... Thank you 38:51 for sharing that. That was powerful. My experience... 38:56 You know, Psalm 16:11 says, "In Your presence 38:59 is fullness of joy." - Yes. - "At Your right hand are 39:03 pleasures forevermore." So, somehow in my experience, 39:06 I always equated the presence of God with some sort of 39:09 feeling, so... There is some biblical basis for 39:15 that, because it definitely says, "In Your presence is 39:18 fullness of joy"; but at the same time-and I 39:21 don't know if this is just a woman thing or 39:24 if, maybe, a certain personality type deals 39:27 with this-but I used to think if I would get up 39:30 in the morning (and I struggled with this for 39:32 years)... If I get up in the morning and spend 39:34 my time with God in His Word and pray, and if 39:38 I felt, somehow, the presence of Jesus, like 39:41 you felt that sense of peace and just being 39:45 wrapped up in His presence and that He's going to 39:48 sustain you throughout the day, I felt that joy, 39:51 I would think, "Okay, my relationship with 39:54 God, Jay, is going well"- you know? You just feel 39:56 like you're connected. - Uh-huh. - But maybe 39:59 the next day, I would wake up, and I would 40:02 spend the same time with God in His Word, and I 40:06 would pray the same, you know, "God, take my heart; 40:09 search me and know me and try me and take away anything 40:13 that's displeasing to You"- all of that!...But I wouldn't 40:18 feel His presence, and I would feel like my 40:21 prayers would just hit the ceiling and then bounce 40:24 back, and I'd think, "Where's the joy today?" So, what am 40:28 I doing wrong? And I would think in my mind that, "Then, 40:33 I'm not connected with Jesus." There's something. 40:36 So, I would equate feeling with assurance-feeling 40:44 with presence, okay? And I discovered that I'm to 40:50 walk by faith, not by how I feel. If I walk by faith, 40:58 God always brings the feelings. I have never 41:02 had an experience where I chose to claim the promises 41:06 in His Word and I chose to walk by faith whether 41:10 I felt it or not. He ALWAYS has brought the feelings 41:14 along. I might not have them at the beginning, 41:17 and I might be making a choice to praise, making 41:19 a choice to claim His Word and the promises 41:22 in His Word. I can think of one time Greg and I 41:25 had been praying over something that was 41:28 deeply personal, and just like a dream we really 41:32 wanted...and God had said no. And when I 41:36 realized that it was a no, I remember just 41:39 leaving the house and running out... We lived 41:42 on a gravel road. We still live on a gravel 41:44 road! The same house. So, running down the 41:47 road... It was springtime, and the leaves were coming 41:50 out, and the birds are singing; the sky's blue, 41:53 but I couldn't hear that, I couldn't see that, I 41:56 couldn't sense anything! I'm just crying, "God, where 42:00 ARE You?! I want You and I need You! Where ARE 42:04 You?!" And all of the sudden, it was like I 42:07 heard His voice. Now, I'm not saying an audible 42:10 voice, but, you know, the Holy Spirit speaks 42:12 to your heart. - Amen. - And He said, "Jill, my 42:15 daughter, count your blessings." - Ooh. - And 42:18 I thought, "Okay, God. I'm going through a hard 42:20 time right now, and I'm dealing with some stuff. 42:23 You could give me some pity!" And He said, "Count 42:26 your blessings." "Okay..." So, I didn't understand 42:30 why, but I thought, "Okay, I want to walk in obedience." 42:34 - Amen. - So I made a choice and I began to 42:36 count my blessings-promises from His Word, what He had 42:42 given to me... And as I did that, God changed my 42:48 heart. As I claimed those promises, as I chose to 42:53 walk in counting blessings in praise when I didn't 42:57 feel it, He changed my heart. The tears dried, and I could 43:02 feel the sun on my face, and I could hear the birds, 43:06 and all of that! And so for me, with experience 43:10 in the presence of God, it always goes back to 43:13 the Word. - Amen. - I base my faith on the Word of God, 43:17 on the promises of God's Word, and His presence 43:21 always follows that. - Amen. Who was that in... Was it 43:26 in Scripture... Was that Mary went to the tomb 43:28 and Jesus had already risen, and she was crying 43:31 so hard, and He was right there with her? "He's gone! 43:34 He's gone; I don't know where He's at, 'cause 43:36 nobody told me where He went"... He was right there 43:38 beside her all the time, but she could not see 43:40 Him because of the tears and the emotions. So 43:43 sometimes, by God's grace, He wipes those tears away, 43:46 and then it changes your whole heart and your whole 43:48 life, and then we see Jesus. What you said on there- I 43:50 jotted a note down; thought it was interesting-just a line, 43:53 because it's dealing with faith and it's dealing with 43:56 feelings. It says, "Faith is ours to express. Joy 44:02 and feeling and blessings are God's to give." - Ooh, 44:07 that's deep! - Say that one more time! - "Faith is ours"- 44:12 notice this-"to exercise." And then we have, "Joy and 44:16 feelings and blessings are for God to give." 44:21 - Mm. - Isn't that wonderful? And He gives those to us! 44:24 He doesn't rob us all that! A lot of people were afraid 44:27 because people are around us, maybe showing a little 44:30 bit of emotion sometimes. "Oh, you're a little bit too 44:32 excited when it comes to the Word of God!" I don't 44:34 know if you can get too excited for preaching the 44:36 truth-you know? I get excited about it; and the 44:38 day I don't get excited about it, by the grace 44:40 of God, I'm going to hang it up. Really! 44:43 Because there's something about the Word that's 44:46 exciting, 'cause it just speaks to you. Doesn't 44:49 it speak to your heart? - Absolutely. - It just 44:50 wrenches your heart sometimes, and it's 44:52 always...He's speaking to me always first, not 44:54 trying to speak to somebody else; speaking to my heart 44:57 so I can be ready to meet Him when He comes in the 44:59 clouds of glory. - Yes. - But I know that we 45:01 can experience joy and excitement and blessings 45:05 from the Lord, and just feeling-that you just 45:08 know that you know that you know-when you're 45:11 going through stress or a scary situation, maybe, 45:14 that He's there. He said, "I was there all the time," 45:18 and then I feel ashamed and embarrassed I didn't 45:20 exercise that kind of faith...you know? What'd 45:23 He say? "I'll never"... - "...leave you nor forsake 45:26 you." - Right? So, faith is ours to exercise. 45:31 - That's deep. - I love that. What do you guys 45:34 think about when you help others? Let's say, Jill, 45:38 I know that we've gone and done prison ministry 45:40 together. What about when you're going to 45:43 minister to others, when you're helping others, do 45:46 you feel like you're in the presence of the Lord? 45:49 Do you feel the Lord's presence in the prison? 45:52 - Absolutely. You know, I think every time you 46:00 Word, every time you share your own walk and journey 46:03 and experience, you're going to feel the presence 46:06 of God. I can remember I went for five years to 46:09 our local jail, and we've done prison ministry 46:11 together too, Jay. To see...the Holy 46:17 Spirit move... You know, to see people who are 46:21 hardened to the gospel... People, when you first 46:24 walk in, and the girls are in there and they're 46:26 like... "Hey." - Yeah. - You know-arms crossed, 46:30 just closed... They just came out of their cell 46:33 because they want to get out of the cell, and they're 46:36 not allowed out; so this is an opportunity to come 46:39 out. They didn't come out to hear the Word 46:40 of God; they just came out to sit. And then all of 46:43 a sudden, you see the Holy Spirit begin to break 46:46 down those barriers and the conviction come in, and 46:51 the people just...the tears start to flow, and you 46:54 sense and know the presence of Jesus...and you get the 47:00 goosebump experience, you know?! Just knowing that 47:03 God is there, and knowing that there's nothing you 47:06 could've ever said or done to affect that change. That 47:11 is the work of the Holy Spirit. That's the result 47:16 of the presence of God. I mean, that's just incredible. 47:19 - It is. You know, I remember being in one of the facilities, 47:22 and I remember being in there with Lemuel Vega 47:25 with Christmas Behind Bars, and there was... He always 47:29 calls for volunteers. And so, he called for a volunteer, 47:32 and the volunteer came up- and he always gives them 47:36 something for volunteering. Well, in this particular case, 47:40 he gave them a Remnant Study Bible, and this grown 47:45 man who's behind bars, who's supposed to be a 47:48 hardened criminal in society's eyes, and... 47:52 He just began to weep. Like, he was crying because 47:56 he was so happy to receive the Word of God. And yet, 48:00 you know, when we really take a look at our lives 48:04 out here in the free world, it's like, "Am I that hungry? 48:10 Am I that hungry for the Word that I get so excited 48:14 that I would begin to weep, that"... You know, it amazes 48:19 me to see the hunger that exists behind those walls 48:23 and the freedom that exists behind those walls. Though 48:28 they're held captive behind bars, they're so set free 48:31 in the sense that they've accepted Christ. That, to 48:36 me, is just amazing. - Freedom. - Mhm. 48:39 - You know? And when you think about it, it's, like you 48:42 say, shedding tears sometimes. Growing up all the time as a 48:46 young man, I don't know if anybody's ever seen me 48:48 shed a tear; but it wasn't till I was converted-till 48:51 my heart had been changed and softened. That's when 48:55 you connect with other people: you hear what 48:57 they're saying; you hear the call of Christ. I often 49:01 said the first song I ever sang after a 49:04 conversion experience was, "What a Friend We Have 49:07 in Jesus." I couldn't sing one line of the 49:11 whole song-why? Because I cried like a baby. Why? 49:15 I sang that all of my life! ...But it was different 49:19 eyes and a different heart, you see, and 49:22 the tears come, for the tears of joy and excitement 49:24 that what a friend, Kenny, you have in Jesus. - Mhm. 49:28 - I tell you, that's an awesome thing. Let God 49:30 come in your heart; let Him come in your life. Tell 49:33 you-just- it's a different person. That's what you 49:34 told-transform, you read there in Romans 12. That's 49:38 what the Spirit of the living God... In the 49:40 presence of God, there's going to be conversions. 49:42 In the presence of God, there's going to be joy; in the presence 49:45 God, changes are going to take place. If any 49:48 change is not taking place, God's not present. 49:51 - Let me ask you a question. - That's deep. - I like that. 49:55 What would you say is the difference between, 49:57 let's say, a behavioral modification versus a 50:01 genuine transformation? - It's night and day. - Yes. 50:07 - I mean, it's completely different. Behavior 50:10 modification is all about myself. It's all about what 50:13 I can change, what I can do, what I can modify... 50:17 It's all about self, and it's inward-focused, 50:21 because it says, "Okay, I have an issue here; I'm 50:24 going to work on chipping this part off. Okay, I have 50:26 an issue here; I'm going to work on my personality 50:28 or my character here." But transformation just 50:32 says, "God, I am nothing. God, my righteousness," 50:37 as it says in Isaiah, "is filthy rags. God, there's 50:40 nothing good in me. Would You come in? Would You 50:44 change me? Would You convert me?" And God is the One who 50:51 does that. So to me, transformation is about 50:54 looking at Jesus. 2 Corinthians 3:18, "We all, with open face 50:58 beholding as in the glass the glory of the Lord, are 51:03 transformed into the same image from glory to glory." 51:07 - Yes. - Even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Now, the word 51:09 for 'transformed' is metamorphosed. It's 51:12 the same Greek word as in Romans 12. So, we are 51:15 transformed completely when we look at Jesus 51:19 and when we look at Him. - Amen. - That's beautiful. 51:23 - And there's times, I think in our Christian 51:24 experiences like we were talking about, sometimes 51:26 we talk a lot. The Bible is very, very clear there's 51:29 times that we need to be still and know-right?- 51:33 that He said that "I am God." What's that, Psalm 51:34 46:10? Yeah. "Be still and know that I am God." 51:39 Well, you need that time every day. You need that 51:41 every morning and you're studying when you get up. 51:42 Sometimes during the day, I say to myself, "Less 51:46 talking, Kenny; more listening." I can't learn 51:49 anything while I'm talking. - Uh-huh! - I learn while 51:53 I'm listening, and then God: "Be still and know 51:56 that I am God." - I like that. - I encourage us 51:59 to spend a little thoughtful hour each day. Meditate on 52:02 the last scenes of Jesus on Calvary. It'll change 52:05 your whole life. You'll be in His presence. - I 52:09 heard somebody say once that, you know, when you're 52:11 talking, you're just repeating things you 52:13 already know. But when you're listening, you're 52:15 taking in new things and learning new things. I 52:19 think that is beautiful. You know, there's... It's 52:23 amazing how wonderful it is to be in the presence 52:27 of the Lord, having been outside of that presence- 52:31 you know?-not really experiencing that because 52:34 I've gone off on my own, to coming back to the Lord 52:38 and being in His presence is just truly an amazing, 52:41 amazing experience, and I can truly say that it is 52:46 much better on this side. There is a joy that is 52:50 undescribable, a peace that passes all understanding. 52:54 There's- I mean, it's truly a blessing to be 52:58 on the side of the Lord. That doesn't mean that 53:00 we don't mess up! Right? That doesn't mean that 53:02 we don't make mistakes as Christians...but it's 53:07 such a blessing to be on the side of the Lord. I 53:09 can't believe our time's almost up! We have to go 53:11 to a quick news break, and we'll be right back. |
Revised 2019-07-29