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Wrestling With Prayer: A Spiritual Struggle
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Feb 4, 2025
In this video, we explore the spiritual struggle of wrestling with prayer, drawing inspiration from the biblical account of Moses' encounter with God in Exodus. Have you ever felt like you're in a spiritual wrestling match, struggling to connect with God through prayer? You're not alone. Many of us have been there, feeling frustrated, discouraged, and unsure of how to move forward. Join us as we delve into the realities of wrestling with prayer and discover how this spiritual struggle can ultimately lead to a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. From Moses' example, we'll learn how to persevere, trust, and surrender to God's will, even when the answers aren't clear. So, if you're tired of feeling like you're not getting through to God, and you're ready to experience a breakthrough in your prayer life, then this video is for you.
View Video Transcript
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well tonight we look at our message wrestling in prayer Moses's wrestling in prayer for the children of Israel and
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what an incredible intercession and picture of intercession that we see through Moses obviously the Lord Lord is
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the one that's inspiring this and this leader of God and we are in uh Exodus chapter 33 and we'll be looking through
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verse 10 of chapter 34 as we see this in incredible encounter and exchange in
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this place of wrestling and prayer I don't know how tenacious you are in your own personal prayer life but you can
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learn some great lessons from Moses In this passage of scripture and uh when I
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pray publicly or I pray with other people you know as you're you're seeking the Lord um it's all good but there's
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something about my own personal prayer life and how I wrestle over issues and
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and situations and with um just what the spirit of the Lord's doing into my own heart that is a much more um aggressive
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kind of thing as I seek the Lord and want to try to work through things from getting his heart and that's the picture
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that we see here of Moses and it tells us you have to understand that this is in the the backwash of them making the
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golden calf Moses destroying the golden calf burning it with fire crushing it into pieces throwing it in the water
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telling them all to drink it and he's went back up the mountain and the Lord told him and said you know what forget
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it let's just start over with you I'm going to wipe out all the children of Israel we're starting over with you you
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Moses and your family and we'll build a new nation and it'll you know take 4 or 500 years but no that's no sweat we'll
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just repopulate again get another two to three million and we'll start all over and Moses intercedes and we're not going
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to review that because we already looked at it but that is the backwash that we see now in verse one when it says then
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the Lord said to Moses depart and go up from here you and the people notice
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remember last message he keeps calling them Moses's people they're your people and they'll go back and forth through
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this where Moses will say no they're your people but here the Lord tells him depart and go up from here you and the
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people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt to the land of which I swore to Abraham Isaac and Jacob saying
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to your descendants I will give it and I will send my angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite the Amorite the
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hittite the perizzite the hivite the jebusite the flashlights everybody's getting now that
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if you got I on the last you're you're out of there the termites are going too verse three go up to the land a land
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flowing with milk and honey for I will not go up in your midst lest I consume
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you on the way you are a for you are a stiff necked
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people the cool thing about how we start here and then it kind of ends on a down
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note is the Lord says depart and go up from here you know it's time to move on
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you've blown it you've messed up you've made the golden calf I know you've destroyed it I know
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the people are repenting and I have heard your your prayer Moses we're going to move on from
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here and it's it's really important that you learn as a a child of God that When
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sin and failure happens you know how to repent you know how to accept and receive forgiveness and you know how to
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move on because sometimes our sin is so so great or Intense or
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so shameful to us that a lot of people have a hard time moving on oh I can't
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believe I did this and that and and sometimes we need that kick in the seat of the pants you repent you experience
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God's forgiveness and you move on forgetting those things that are behind and striving towards those things that
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are in front of us and you might be here tonight and this week you know you kind
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of messed up or in this last month or this last last year something's been dogging you and you've repented and
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you've turned from it you've changed your mind you've changed your direction you've experienced God's forgiveness but
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you still feel condemned about it the thing that we have going on for us that Moses and the children of Israel the
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blood of the animals only covered their sin it didn't remove it for you and I the blood of Jesus that was shed on the
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cross removes our sin it's it's gone it's history and so we have a a greater
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truth if you will in this new covenant new agreement with God through the blood of Jesus to be able to move
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on Solomon says in in Proverbs that the righteous man will fall seven times and
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yet get back up and get going you know when a little kid is learning to walk
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you parents you remember that stage but you know uh I'm get a kick out of moms
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especially when they get to that certain pregnant spot they can't wait for that baby to be born but you know that all
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the work is really going to happen once the baby comes out at least now you can go to sleep and the baby doesn't you know keep you up all night and then they
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can't wait for the baby to crawl and then once the baby crawls then it's into everything and then they can't wait for the baby to walk and parents go through
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life can't wait for the next step but once a child gets up on their pegs and
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starts going I mean life is never the same but wouldn't it be something if they stood up a time or two and fell
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down and they just said I quit not walking too painful when you
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fall got bruises on my bottom not going to do it I want a wheelchair from 10
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months on you know I mean they're they're not going to walk and yet we know that's part of the process right we
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know that you go from crawling to pulling yourself up on things to letting
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go of things and they don't even know isn't it funny when they don't even know that they've let go of something and their their balance and everybody's like
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look and then they fall down but they start walking and they're
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kind of unstable and then they start running how do they get there through a lot of bumps
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and bruises right you got to keep going and I want to encourage you some of you
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might be packing some condemnation from failure in your past and just like the Lord is telling them depart and go up
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from here where was here the place was horab where they had failed and where did he tell them hey I'm taking you to a
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land flowing with milk and honey I'm taking you to a good place I'm taking you to a place of fulfillment when the
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terminology milk and honey it means it is a rich agricultural uh fruitful productive land
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I'm taking you to and that's where the Lord wants you and I to go into this fruitful Abundant Life in the spirit and
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he tells him that he had promised this land to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and The Descendants and he says that in verse
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two that he's going to send his Angel and this becomes an issue for Moses because Moses doesn't want an angel to
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lead him Moses doesn't want the angel the Lord we'll see here in a few moments
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Moses is like Lord if you don't go I don't want to go so I know you got this Angel dude you say you're going to sit
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in front of us I don't know him I know you and if you don't go I don't want to go but you know I know this Angel's
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probably a cool guy and everything but I don't want to go and so the Lord is saying that though because he
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said lest I consume you God is a holy God a righteous God and in comparison to
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him the end of verse three says but you are a stiff necked people this is the down note yeah let's move on from here
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but I know as we move on from here you're still a stiff necked stubborn
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people and this is what really cuts the children of Israel to the heart the Lord's declaration as he looks at them
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just just think of it if the Lord looks at you tonight and by name he was to
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speak to you like if he spoke to me and said Rick you know what I I want to take you
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to the land flowing with milk and honey but you know the problem you have as you are a stiff necked guy now that's
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not something to be proud of a stiff necked person is somebody that's always you know it's a it's an oxen that is
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always fighting against the Yoke you're always fighting and what did Jesus say he said take my yoke upon you learn from
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me for I'm humble and lowly in heart there is a being yolked together with the Lord Jesus and and I know people
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that I mean they get their brains kicked in in their Christian Life why because they're stiff necked they're stubborn
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they're constantly rebellious they're constantly disobedient they're constantly doing their own thing and and they got enough Jesus to get into heaven
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but they don't have enough of Jesus to live victorious in this life because they're not surrendered and in that experience I
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mean if the Lord speaks to your heart and says you know what you you know why you're
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struggling it's not because God doesn't want to take you into a land flowing with milk and honey it's not because God
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doesn't have his best in store for you it's you're fighting it
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every time the Lord wants to take you two steps forward you take two steps back every time the Lord wants to bring
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you into a good place you Rebel you would rather do your own thing
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do your own kind of um make your own choices and the Lord's leading you in a
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way that would be fruitful and so the people respond to this when they hear that the Lord speaks to them in about a
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stiff neck it brings a Mourning and mourning which produces the B Bible says Godly sorrow is not to be regretted you
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should never regret Godly sorrow when somebody comes to church and they tell me they say you know I came to your
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church and I was so bummed out I said good what do you mean good what's and
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they'll tell me whether they're bummed out not to expose anything but you I was so bummed out you know I'm living in sin
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and and and I felt guilty do you know that guilt is good if it lead you to confession and
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repentance guilty people should feel guilty did you know know that I feel
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guilty are you have you repented is Jesus's blood washed away your sins and
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and may the Lord do that work but look how they respond in verse 4-6 and when the people heard this bad news what was
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the bad news that he told them they were stiff necked people they mourned and no one put on his ornaments for the Lord
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had said to Moses say to the children of Israel you are a stiff necked people I could
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come up into your midst in one moment and consume you now therefore take off
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your ornaments that I may know what to do to you so the children of Israel
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stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount horab meaning they they you know they didn't put on their Sunday
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bass they didn't have their necklaces their earrings and those ornaments and and they took them off and they were
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just mourning because God had confronted them God had convicted them God loves you I
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love what Charles Spurgeon said God never allows his children to sin
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successfully you never want to be a success at sin and the Lord if you love God you know what you're not going to you're not going to be successful you're
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just G to you're going to sin and and you're going to get busted you ever felt like I was that kid growing up that no
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matter what happened I was the guy that got caught you ever have that I had people friends that got away with murder
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and I'm the I mean I just step out of line and boom I would get caught I'm like what is it I can't I mean I can't
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get away with anything then when I got saved do is even worse because God doesn't allow his
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children to sin successfully because here as we see they begin to mourn and it's Godly sorrow is not to be regretted
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it produces a beautiful fruit in our life because you see
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repentance is being sorry enough to change that's what repentance is it's
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wanting to change your mind wanting to change your direction now because of this if the children of Israel stiff
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necked and the Lord said lest I come up and consume you therefore I'm going to going to send an angel with you I'm not going to go because the angel is not
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going to consume you but I would therefore Moses moves his tent out of Camp I think Moses saying wow if the
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Lord's going to fry all these people I better get my tent out of Dodge look what it says in verse 7
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through 11 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp far from
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camp and called it the Tabernacle of meting it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the
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Tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp so it was whenever m Moes went out to the Tabernacle that all the
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people Rose now think of this Moses is going outside the camp and people know that he's walking out to this tent that
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it says as far outside the camp and the people Rose and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had
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gone into the Tabernacle and it came to pass when Moses entered the Tabernacle that the pillar of cloud descended and
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stood at the door of the Tabernacle and the Lord talked with Moses all the
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people saw the pillar of clouds standing at the tab door and all the people Rose and worshiped each man in his tent door
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so the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend and he would return to the camp but his servant
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Joshua the son of nun a young man did not depart from the Tabernacle now the
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Tabernacle is not yet built it's in the chapters to come it's been described it's going to be built but Moses takes
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his own personal tent and he takes it far outside the camp but it was visible as all the people went out there there I
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mean as he walked out there the people could see him walking out there and it's not only Moses Moses went out there and
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talked with the Lord and when Moses entered the tent as the people watched from the door of each one of their tents
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then the pillar of cloud came and they could see this pillar of cloud and they
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were in awe it says that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face now it doesn't
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mean visually that he could see his face because just in a little bit later in this chapter the Lord's going to say you
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can't look on my face and live Moses because Moses wants to see his glory so what he's saying is that literally the
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Hebrew is mouth to mouth meaning that he's speaking and he'll later say in in
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numbers when when Aaron and Miriam kind of come against Moses because he marries an Ethiopian woman
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um the Lord says this about Moses he said most prophets I speak to him in dreams and visions and kind of a a foggy
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way but he says not so with Moses when I speak to Moses it's just like you and I talking that's how direct it is not that
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he can see his face but it is mouth to mouth or that they're just talking back and forth just like a friend would can
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you imagine living in a day I mean if we're here on the property there's a tent out there and there's this cool
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pillar of cloud that's standing out there that's pretty cool and at night
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time it turns into a pillar of fire Pillar of Fire by Night pillar of cloud by day and they know that the Lord's
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talking now it's not only Moses but it says everyone who wanted to seek the
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Lord they went out there they went out anybody could go anybody could go now
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Moses went out there all the time came back and forth to Camp Joshua never left it says his young man his assistant
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Joshua is the one that's going to take over from Moses later he doesn't know that at the time he's an assistant in training what he knows is I like to hang
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out here with the presence of the Lord I like to hang out here and in my
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relationship with God but most of the people are content to just watch Moses walk out and walk
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back and not go themselves see most people are pretty content with a pretty distant
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relationship from God you know let let let the pastor or
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let the Sunday school teacher or let the worship leader or whoever they are let the Evangelist let them be close to God
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and we'll just kind of check things out from a distance see this is the thing Moses went out to that tent but
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everybody it says could go out to the tent and this is the truth that every single one of us in this room are as
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close to God as you want to be do you know that that's true for each one of us every one of us have this he
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is an equal opportunity savior a pastor an apostle a missionary
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who they have nothing that you don't have in your
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approach they have the same Bible they have 24 hours in the day now granted with some when somebody's in full-time
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Ministry they can a lot a lot more time because if you have to work 40 50 60
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hours a week to pay the bills then obviously that takes time but every single one of us are in this room are as
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close to God as you want to be have you ever thought about church this way think about it if everybody in church was just
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like you what would this church be like if every single person in this church
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was exactly like you what would this church be like if
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all if everybody gave financially to the church what kind of condition would the
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church be in if they gave just like you would it be bankrupt would they close the
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doors if everybody in the church prayed as much as you did would it be a Praying church or a kind of weak Church
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if everybody read the Bible like you read the Bible would it be
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a a really spiritually edified and formed knowledgeable
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Christian or would it not know what it believes if everybody Walked In Love
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Like You Walk In Love or Not in Love would this be a more loving church or a less loving
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church if everybody shared their faith with unsaved people like you would the
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world be getting saved faster or slower you see this is the
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thing it's funny in our own minds how we we look at life spiritually but we
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always are looking outward in the sense that we're expecting everybody else to do all the work we want to enjoy the
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benefits of it but we want everybody else to do the work but this is what you have to understand everybody is just as
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close to Jesus as you as you want to be if you're far from the Lord that's your choice if you're close
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to the Lord that's your choice if you're in the word that's your choice if you're in prayer that's your choice if you're Ser that's you know what every single
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one of us have the opportunity to go deeper and closer in our walk with the Lord Moses pitches his
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tin out there goes back and forth him and the Lord have a lot of intimate time Joshua just says man I'm going to live
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here I'm going to live out here where God's hanging out that's what I'm going to do and then other people you know they're kind of like oh I see them out
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there kind of cool and yeah I worship you Lord but I want to do it from afar
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well in verse 12 then Moses said to the Lord see you say to me bring up this
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people but you have not let me know whom you will send with me now who did the
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Lord say earlier we just read it who he's going to send he's going to send his Angel Moses acts like that's that's not
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even an option he you haven't told me whom you're going to send with me yet you have said I know you by name and you
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also have found Grace in my sight now therefore I pray if I have found Grace
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in your sight show me now your way that I may know you and that I may find Grace
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in your sight and consider that this nation is whose people is it it's your
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people Lord just told him hey those people you brought out of Egypt now Moses gives them back to him and says
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Lord now let's talk about this we really got to get the straight doubt who's going to be leading us into the promised
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land because I don't know who you're going to send you s this Angel guy but I I don't know I'm not really into the
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angel guy leading this and you said that I have found Grace in your sight now
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Grace means undeserved favor Grace means I give you a gift you didn't earn it you
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didn't work for it that's what it means every one of you in this room has found Grace in God's sight God just gave you
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the gift of his love we're not worthy of it he gives it in spite of us it's not because of us
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and Moses had discovered this side of God's character as we're going to see expounded here in a few moments but he
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says you know me by name I found Grace in your sight therefore I want to know
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you and I want to know your way I want I want to know how you're going to lead me
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because it's your people now having said that he knows that the Lord is asking
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him don't say s the angel don't I I I know we're a stiff neck group of people
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I know that we keep messing up but Lord would you just would you just hang out
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there with us would you would you hang with us you know the beautiful thing for you and I is that we
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never have to wonder Jesus said I'll never leave you or forsake you so you never have to wonder is Jesus going to forsake you no is he ever going to leave
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you no he said I will never leave you or forsake you even when you blow it big
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time think about Peter the Apostle Peter he's the leader of the 12 Church
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tradition says that Peter's a great big guy we know that that's at least halfway true because when him and John caught a
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bunch of fish it says he caught 153 large fish so you think about that it's
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in a net it's on a muddy Shore and Peter goes in and grabs a hold of the net and he pulls it up on shore by himself I
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mean he's a massive guy and and he brings it up on shore so he's a he's a big guy he's the leader of the 12 and on
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the night before Jesus is going to be crucified Jesus looks at him and says Peter Satan wants to sift you as
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wheat and don't you think just Peter just started his knees started shaking like that Satan wants to sit you as
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wheat you know it's true for you this week Satan wants to sit you as weat you've been tempted lately oh I forgot
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this is the non these people don't get tempted if if you ever are tempted if you ever step into my world of
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Temptation I know that uh uh the thing is Satan wants to sift us like wheat he
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wants to wipe us out he wants to destroy us he wants to ruin our marriages he wants to ruin our kids he wants to ruin our walk with God that's what he's into
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he's a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour he comes to steal kill and destroy he's seeking to wipe you out he
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is shooting his fiery darts into your heart and your mind so that you doubt things and is the Bible real is it not
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real is Jesus the way is he not and you're going through all kinds of turmoil when I got saved I thought I'd
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lost my mind because I'd never been you know before it wasn't really Temptation
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because it's like any tempt I just did it there's no resistance right hey let's
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go to this okay let's take that okay let's snort this all right let's smoke that let's drop this let's do that let's
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be with the okay there's no resistance now I get saved and all of a sudden now the temptation's coming I go I shouldn't
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do that don't want to do that and so your mind starts you feel like you got this war zone going on up here you want
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to please God you you want to go do something bad you want to please God you you ever feel that way the
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enemy wanted to SI Peter like weak and so he tempts him he denies the Lord three times big tough Peter last time is
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a little servant girl she goes you're one of those guys From Galilee aren't you Peter goes and it says that he he
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cursed he swore it doesn't mean even though he was a sailor doesn't mean he cussed like a sailor what it meant is
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Peter says may my soul be damned to hell if I know him think of of denouncing the
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Lord that strongly may my soul be down to hell if
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I know Jesus and Jesus just told him you're going to deny me three times and
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what Jesus tell him before the rooster crows you'll deny me three times but once you're restored strengthen your
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brethren you know Peter had to be so bum bummed out it says he went out into the dark and and he wept
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bitterly you ever just blown it at at work or something you just just the stupidest thing and you're
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here with all these guys you're witnessing to all the time I have a friend that was a minister and he was in
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a body shop and he was working on this Fender and as he was working on the fender in this body shop he smashed his thumb and split it wide open and you
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know blood went everywhere you know it really hurts and so he hands the the fender this guy says whatever you you
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know don't drop this and he's walking to the bathroom to pour some cold water on it and the guy just exactly what he told
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him not to drop but the guy drops the fender and he turns around at the top of his lungs he just totally uses profanity
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and cusses him out now everybody knows in the shop he's the Christian so he goes in there and he
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washes off his thumb and he's in there and the Lord's convicting him now now with the same volume that you just cussed him out I want you to go out and
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repent and apologize to all of them well I don't want to do that Lord they cuss like that all the time lord said I know
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but they're not walking with me you're my servant they're not so he had to go out and repent in the same way that
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he you ever just mess up and you just regret it so much and you feel like H I'm toast the Lord's done with me my
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life's thrown in thrown in the garbage and yet when Jesus saw Mary Magdalene as
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soon as he saw Mary the first one he talked to what' he say go tell the disciples and
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Peter why do you say it that way said I want you to go and tell Peter
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specifically I love him I'm thinking of him it's
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okay let's get let's get past this I know you blew it I know you messed up I know you messed up but let's just move
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on let's move on in this and when it comes
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to God's people here that failed they Moses's great concern while he wrestled
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in prayer was he wanted God's presence now the Bible teaches especially in Psalm 139 there's no greater description
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that you can't go anywhere from God's presence did you know that he says if I go the heavens you are though or if I go
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down into sh there if I go into the depths you're there and no matter where I go the Lord's there he's he's what we
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call the omnipresent God but you know what there's also a sense of his presence a when we know in our mind he's
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always with us but when you sense his presence it says in verse 14 and 15 he
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said the Lord said my presence will go with you and I will give you rest and then he said to him if your presence
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does not go with us do not bring us up from here my presence will go with you he said
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Moses said if your presence doesn't go I don't want to move I you know what the key to the Christian Life is find out
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what God's doing how he's moving where he's directing and and follow him be
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connected to him with his presence well in verse 16 now that Moses here has
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uh found Grace and he's wrestling in prayer he's got the answer the Angel's not going who's going the Lord's going
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verse 16 for how then will it be known that your people and I have found Grace in your sight except you go with us so
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we will be separate your people and I from all the people who are upon the face of the Earth so the Lord said to
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Moses I will also do this thing that you have spoken for you have found Grace in
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my sight and I know you by name now Moses when you get an answer to prayer like that Moses is wrestling with it and
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he gets an answer you know what answered prayer does it makes you even want to go for the gusto in a greater prayer and so
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Moses says in verse 18 and he said please show me your glory he's just
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going to go for the G just just turn it on man I want to see your glory then he
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said in verse 19 I will make all my goodness pass before you and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you
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I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion but he said you
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cannot see my face for no man can see shall see me and live and the Lord said
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here is a place by me and you shall stand on the Rock so it shall be while
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my glory passes by that I will put you in the Clift of The Rock and will cover
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you with my hand while I pass by then I will take away my hand and you shall see
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my back but my face shall not be seen you want to see God now that's pretty
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bold prayer isn't it God I want to see you I don't want to see pictures I don't want to see pillars of cloud I don't
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want I want to see God I want to see your glory and that's what Moses is asking for now this is a thing you have
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to understand in your walk with God the more you grow the more you want to experience his presence the more you
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want to experience his glory the closer you want to be to him because what happens as you grow in your walk with
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God and you experience his presence and you experience his glory it spoils you for this
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world there's nothing that this world has that interests me
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I mean all the money in the world who cares all the stuff in this world who
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cares sex drugs and rock and roll been there done that check that out it's
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empty non-fulfillment but the Lord there's love and joy and peace and
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there's fulfillment and forgiveness and quality of life that is like lifechanging man I'm in I'm not only in
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I'm all in and I want to experience more of it that's where Moses is at and so the Lord
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says this is what's going to happen you know I'm going to put you in the Clift of this rock and we have that old hymn
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uh Rock of Ages cleff for me and the picture is you know we're the New Testament fulfillment if you will we're
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in that rock in the Lord Jesus he's our Rock and and we get to
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experience the glory of God as we're walking with the Lord Jesus so this is
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what the Lord says you can't see my face Moses I'm going to put my hand over your face like that that and as I go by
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you're going to see my my back it's really literally it's the Afterglow or kind of the shikina that goes by you're
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going to see the back of the Lord you can't see my face in Li but I'm going to show you the back so he puts him in the
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rock well he's going to tell him imagine tomorrow the Lord says I'm going to show you my glory tomorrow could you sleep
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that night I mean you'd be giddy wouldn't you be like a little kid on his first fishing trip or hunting trip you
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can't you can't sleep all night long so it says in verse one of chapter 34 and the Lord said to Moses cut two tablets
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of stone like the first ones and I will write on these tablets of words that were on the first tablets which you
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broke so the Lord made the first set he made Moses make the second set since he
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broke him so be ready in the morning in the morning and come up in the morning
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to Mount Sinai and present yourself to me there on the top of the mountain and
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no man shall come come up with you and let no man be seen throughout all the mountains let neither flocks nor herds
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feed before that mountain so he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones then Moses Rose early in the morning and
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went up Mount Si as the Lord had commanded him and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone now the Lord
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descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the
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Lord and the Lord passed before him and and proclaimed the Lord the Lord God
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merciful and gracious longsuffering abounding in goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity
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and transgression and sin by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
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children and the children's children to the third and fourth
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generation when the Lord passes by Moses and he shows up in the cloud and he's
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going to hold his hand over his eyes if you will and pass by the way that the Lord revealed his
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glory it says the Lord the Lord God what he did is he proclaimed his name now
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this is what you have to understand about biblical thinking the name of the Lord is his
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entire character it's who he is the names of people in the Bible usually point to their character Jacob a heal
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catcher a deceiver a supplanter his name is changed to Israel one who wrestled
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with God now he's governed by God or Prince with God and Esau he's this hairy
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guy he becomes Edom red because of his the red stew or lentils that uh Jacob
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deceived him out of the birthright for All Through the Bible people's names
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actually have meaning it kind of points to their whole character they don't just look at somebody like Rick or Bob or Joe
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or something like that they have meaning and it's also true with the Lord so so
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if you want to know who God is you ever heard this maybe you've even said it yourself or thought it yourself you know
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I like the god of the New Testament but that God of the Old Testament he's he's a cruel you know harsh dude back there
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and it's almost pictured like this the father is up in heaven and the father's kind of Grouchy he's kind of grumpy and
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he's kind of peeved at people all the time kind of torqued off now Jesus is nice and he walks around with little
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lambs and stuff like that and Jesus is really cool and you want to get close to Jesus because if you get close to Jesus
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then you can get close to the grumpy father because he's kind of a go wrathful God from the Old Testament
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that's not the picture of scripture at all God is a loving consistent God the
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Bible says Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever as a matter of fact Jesus when he was here on Earth he said if you've seen me you've seen the father
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so this is who the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are who are they if
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you want to know know who God is here tonight you want to know what God's like he starts by saying the very first thing
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that he's merciful merciful you know what Mercy is not getting what you deserve you're
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speeding you're not only speeding but you're speeding in a school zone you you're not only speeding but
34:48
you're speeding in a school zone and you don't have on your seat belt and you don't have your proof of insurance and
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your driver's license and a licensed plate on the vehicle you're about as
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messed up as you could possibly be and the officer reads the list of things
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that you you know you're busted man you've messed up the only thing you can ask for is
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Mercy not getting what you deserve you deserve to have the book thrown at you I
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was pull over when I was a senior in high school was 18 I was driving a
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vehicle with with no proof of insurance no no it had one of those stickers you know seven days you have to get the
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license plate it's like four months old we've got open containers of beer
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cans all over we're out in the desert spotlighting shooting anything that
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moves now everything was safe because we were very inebriated so we couldn't hit anything but we've got ammo we've got
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spotlights it's illegal to Spotlight did you know that it's illegal to do that
35:54
shouldn't be doing that we're totally busted and I'm sitting here and I I know
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I'm going to jail I just picture it I'm just like you know here you go and the officer says Mr Brown you deserve to go
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to jail tonight I said I was almost in tears yes officer I'm going to go to jail I'm G to
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get a DUI I'm going to get all this stuff and he says but I'm not going to send you to jail tonight I said what's
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that he said I want you to go straight home I'm going to be listening to the
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scanner and if I hear the description of this Jeep on this a scanner I'm going to complain you I'm going to throw you in
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jail but tonight Mr Brown you get Mercy see I didn't deserve
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Mercy the very first thing that the Lord wants to communicate to you tonight about his glory is that his glory is
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revealed and that he is merciful to Sinners he doesn't give
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you I mean I've never heard anybody in the almost 30 years of Walking With Jesus I've never heard anybody in prayer
36:56
say God give me what I deserve if they did I would move away from
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them it's just like boom crispy C that's a stupid
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prayer it's a stupid prayer I've never prayed you know this is calv Chapel so we get a lot of people in trouble with
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the law that's probably why they come because I used to be in trouble with law I don't know what God does but people come and they're always praying oh Rick
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I got I'm going to court on Thursday and I know I I I got messed up and I I I'm going to CT would you pray with me and
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I'm tempted sometimes but I never pray Lord give this person exactly what they
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deserve May that judge be ruthless may he have no compassion may he throw the but may he do no what do I
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pray I pray God have mercy don't give them what they
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deserve he's not only merciful but he's gracious see he said on top of God's mercy he doesn't give you and I what we
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deserve but on on top of that he gives us Grace which is his goodness isn't
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that mind-blowing first of all he doesn't give me what I do deserve then he gives me what I don't deserve then
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I'm blown away I'm like wow God's being so good to me I don't I I I don't know what to say I used to teach my kids this
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way you know when they were going to get a spanking I taught them this principle of mercy and and Grace and and they
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would beg for mercy because they figured out hey that means I don't get what I deserve dad Mercy Mercy and I'd say okay I'm not going to give you a spank you
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deserve one right yes Dad I was disobedient I'm not going to give you one then they'd say grace dad Grace take us for ice
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cream so not only we didn't give them the spanking but then they wanted ice cream on top of did they deserve no it's
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Grace man so Grace is the God's unmar
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favor that is his kindness is towards you and and and if there's anything that will melt a person's
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heart it's his grace you I get to serve God by grace
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that now some people get in a misconception that I get to do this because I deserve to be able the pastor
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do you know God does this lets me do this in spite of Me by what by Grace
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it's totally by grace that I get to be a servant he's longsuffering he's
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long suffering with you with you with you isn't it something we
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struggle and have you ever just thought what it must be like for the Lord to watch our lives struggle we struggle
39:32
through the week you struggle through the week you ever done this I did this in the early years of my Christian Life I would mess up in the week and then I'd
39:39
come to church every Sunday and i' make these huge promises to God I'd come to church maybe maybe like I said maybe I'm
39:44
the only sinner here but I'd come and I would mess up and I would come and i' go Lord just you know I'm never gonna I'm G
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to give you my life I'd make all these promises and all these vows and all this big stuff is j i i you know after I kind
39:55
of matured and realized you know what I just need to keep my mouth shut and say Lord give me help I need your help
40:00
because it's almost like the father and the son up in him go I don't know what he's going to promise this week I don't know last week was a doozy I don't know
40:06
what he's going to come up with this week I don't think he can top last week I really don't think he can top last week I I mean he promis promised us the
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world last week and he he's he failed miserably but he did it with P panach you know I mean he really went out with
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a splash and and it's God is longsuffering it if if I was God I had
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have given up on me a long time ago but he doesn't do that he's not
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going to give up on you you some of you are struggling here tonight you know what he he's not giving up on you it's because he's longsuffering he's
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abounding in goodness abounding means to overflow you know like the BL banks of the Snake River now are just uh just
40:47
overflowing their banks in certain spots and God says I'm going to be good to you it's not just I'm going to be
40:52
good to you and I'm going to keep the goodness contained within river banks it's like I'm going to be so good to you
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it's just going to overflow your life and you're just going to be blown away by my goodness that's who he is that's who God is that's who I expect
41:07
him to be I I expect him to be who he says he is this is his Revelation he's truth you know the definition of Truth
41:13
is reality he is the Ultimate Reality of life people think that Christians are
41:19
delusional Christians are the only people who are actually connected to reality in the spiritual realm and also
41:27
the Physical Realm he keeps Mercy in verse 7 it says keeping Mercy for thousands now in
41:34
chapter uh 20 verse 5 and 6 two important verses because it gives
41:40
insight to verse 7 it says this in Exodus 20:5 you shall not bow down to
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them nor serve them for I the Lord your God and I'm a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the father upon the children of the third and fourth generation of
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those who hate me and then in verse six but showing Mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments so
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now back to 347 he says this keeping Mercy for thousands of who for those who love him thousand
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Generations you know I didn't know it when I was a young man but I once I came to Christ and I found out my Heritage I
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realized my family would come from a long line of people that love Jesus I didn't know
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that and God has been merciful to our family for generation and generation and
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generation and some of you how many of you you think you're the only you're the first one saved in your family raise
42:34
your hand we got anybody like that got a few people and you're praying for the rest of the family right you're the first one but you're the first one to
42:41
start that process of now Mercy for thousands for those who love
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him for thousands you see God's incredible depth and richness of who he
42:54
is it says in verse 7 for forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin he he names everything just in case
43:02
you you might miss something notice that forgiving iniquity transgression and sin
43:07
that covers everything that you can possibly accomplish in sin okay and that's the this is the way it works
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iniquity iniquity means perversity now usually people think in their mind perversity means sexual it doesn't mean
43:20
sexual perversity means twisted if somebody's perverted they're Twisted
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that's what the word means to pervert something is to make it crooked or bent iniquity is what's going on in the
43:31
inside of you you know you're thinking this and you're kind of Twisted and you got the bent wrong attitude and iniquity
43:37
hasn't quite made its way outside in activity yet it's kind of it's bouncing
43:42
around in here we got some iniquity going on transgression is you know what you
43:47
should not do or you should do and you break that it's willful Disobedience sin is you're actually
43:54
trying to do the right thing you shot at the Mark and means to miss the mark you shot at the bullseye you way off track
44:00
and you sinned so you've got things you're struggling with on the inside you've been willfully disobedient
44:05
there's some things that you actually tried to do right but you've messed up and what does he do with all of it forgiving it when you confess he
44:12
forgives by no means clearing the guilty you see the way that the Lord has to deal with the guilty is I am guilty and
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now in this new testament sense Jesus Paid the price he P he paid the price for our
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sins Jesus didn't just wink I mean the Lord hasn't just winked at our sin or swept it on the rug no he fully punished his
44:34
son for what we did he doesn't clear the guilty he forgives the Guilty by means
44:41
of a substitute visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation now there's a terrible
44:48
terrible terrible charismatic Doctrine about this generational curse thing and
44:54
I just get so tired of it it is so biblical from Genesis to Revelation but it's found right here and this is the
45:01
way it goes well my dad was an alcoholic therefore the generational curse of the third and fourth generation I'm going to
45:06
be an Al you we all that and what it does is it piles on this fear of people that are already messed up that's not
45:14
what it's teaching what it's saying is that visiting the iniquity of the father upon the children's and children's to
45:20
the third and fourth generation if a family and we watch this happen I was exposed to it my own family when a
45:27
generation lives in sin and iniquity and they don't turn to the Lord what happens then their kids begin to
45:34
live in that and then their kids begin to live in that and their kids begin to live in that when my stepdad was in the
45:40
State pin in boisee for stabbing a man three times I was going to court for Grand larsoning which was reduced to um
45:48
petty theft and you know instead of a a year in uh jail you know ended up you know
45:56
reduced down to a 24-hour period and U 6 months of Probation and this and that
46:02
and I was just perpetu I was just that was the lifestyle I saw so you just keep liming in that but as soon as you come to Christ all that's gone listen to what
46:11
the the most wonderful verse and all the New Testament concerning this subject is 2 Corinthians chapter 5:1 17 therefore
46:18
if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation old things have passed away behold all things have become new if
46:23
you're in Christ all that the sin the bondage all all that garbage is broken you're not under some
46:29
curse you're not under some curse third and fourth generation I I had somebody come up to me and say Pastor you know
46:35
I'm a I'm a Christian but you know my dad was an alcoholic and but I'm under the generational curse and I said what
46:41
are you talking about it's not what the Bible teaches and they took me to this passage it's a common doctrine that
46:48
people it's a you know a false Doctrine and said well I said well so you're
46:53
telling me you're an alcoholic no it manifests itself different and I'm a
46:58
shopaholic so your dad's an alcoholic you're under a generational curse and now you're a Shopaholic I I bet that
47:04
flies well with your husband you the credit card bills High because you know I'm under the curse you know
47:12
it's and you just say that is not what the New Testament teaches it is not what
47:17
the whole Bible teaches as a matter of fact the Lord got so sick and tired of this he you Bible students check it out
47:24
in Ezekiel 18: 1 through3 three and even into verse 5 he says I am sick and tired
47:29
of this proverb that says our children have uh my f our fathers have eaten sour
47:35
grapes and our teeth are set on edge what it meant was is our dad has done something and now we're reaping the the
47:41
consequences of it we're under the generational curse and the Lord says I don't want you to ever ever speak this proverb again because it's not true a
47:48
father is responsible to God for his sin and a son is responsible to God for his sin and not under some generational
47:55
thing I I think in a day and age where people just um love to categorize and pigeonhole things
48:02
especially in the church an age of kind of psychology and stuff they love this
48:07
doctrine of of of uh generational stuff but the cool thing is is that this is
48:13
who God is and check it out he's merciful he's gracious he's longsuffering he's abound in goodness
48:18
he's truthful he's merciful to thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sins man's good in verse 8 so Moses Moes
48:27
made haste and bowed his head toward the Earth and worshiped then he said if now I have found Grace in your sight O Lord
48:32
let my Lord I pray go among us even though we are a stiff necked people and
48:37
pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us as your inheritance don't be ashamed of us Lord take us as your own and he
48:45
says in verse 10 behold I make my co make a covenant before all your people I
48:50
will do Marvels such as have not been done in all the Earth nor in any nation
48:56
in all the the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you
49:03
I want to encourage your heart tonight God wants to do an awesome thing with you even though you've been stiff necked
49:10
at times and you've been stubborn at times God wants to do a fresh work if you're in Christ old things have passed
49:16
away behold all things have become new and God wants to do a new
49:22
work it's kind of funny isn't it when we go through through seasons in our walk
49:27
with the Lord that sometimes we think oh I've messed up or I haven't been hearing from God or
49:34
haven't been sensing in his presence God must be done with me you ever you ever have those thoughts go through your mind and God's not done with you I love
49:42
what David said in Psalm 139 he said the thoughts that God thought towards him were more than the sand of the sea in
49:49
number think of that think about all the sand on this planet David said the
49:55
thoughts that God thought about him individually was more than the sand of the
50:00
sea that's true for you God's thinking about you man he can't take his eyes off you yeah you say I've been thinking he
50:07
has too like with a club no he's been thinking like he can't
50:14
take his eyes off you you know when your kids are little and they're yours and you're sitting there staring at me and you just think wow I can't take my eyes
50:20
off my son my daughter they're your kids they're like your genetics they're 23 or your
50:26
chromosomes and you're checking them out you're just like I was a part of that look at that that child came from me it's it's all
50:34
inspiring it really is you're just sitting there like checking out this this kid looking at you know my son with
50:39
his mom's blue eyes or my daughter with you know my cheekbones or you know whatever he just like sitting there
50:45
checking them out going wow I Can't Take My Eyes Off You I Want You know the Lord
50:51
can't take his eyes off you he loves you with an everlasting love that's why Jesus came so that he could express that
50:59
everlasting love to you for all of eternity not just this life he throws
51:04
this life in man we're getting heav in eternity we get to experience his
51:10
goodness now and forever because that's who he is let's pray Lord we thank
51:18
you for your goodness and how amazing you are your love and your kindness is
51:24
just Everlasting it just blows us away and we realize we don't deserve any of
51:29
it Lord that you are merciful and you are gracious and you are kind and we need all of that Lord and
51:36
all we come offering you is our hearts and our lives and say Lord I don't have much to offer you
51:44
but what we do we we offer it to you we offer it to
51:50
you Lord we pray that you just wash us with your precious blood tonight fill us
51:57
with the power of the holy spirit that we might live for you and Lord I pray for those who have
52:05
just been stiff necked and stubborn Lord that you would just bring them to a softness and a repentance that they would be
52:14
yielded before you in Jesus name amen