Speaker 1: 0:00

Exodus, chapter 3. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Now, most of you know that this is the time after Moses, sort of to say, took things in his own hands and struck the Egyptian. He had to flee from Egypt after being raised up in the Pharaoh's court, and now he finds himself in the desert, connected to a new group of people. But I don't believe Moses ever lost the sense that he was called of God. I really believe you're in the sound of my voice and even in this place today, because you carry the call of God, you carry it on the inside of you. You know God's designed you for some big things. But here he is in the desert, and not just in the desert but in the back of the desert. And he founds himself at the mountain of God and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. So he looked and behold, the bush was burning, burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. There are encounters that we have with God and we can look at the life of Jesus. He was baptized in water by John the Baptist and then the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove and from that day he was filled with the Spirit. But that wasn't the only miraculous encounter. On the Mount of Transfiguration His face was shining and his appearance changed. There are encounters that we can have with God and we can't make anything up. We can't like I'm going to have one, I'm going to have one, I'm going to have one now. You can't make it up, but you can come drawn near to God. You can have a heart after God. You can be thirsty, you can be hungry for him, you can have love for God. I believe Moses had that heart and God showed up in a bush flame of fire from the midst of the bush and Moses said I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn. When the Lord saw that, he turned aside to look. God called to him from the midst of the bush and said Moses, moses. And he said here I am. So he hears a sound With God calling his name. God was calling his name.

Speaker 1: 3:18

There's many calls that you can have. There's many ways you can get invitations, some of you, your phone is buzzing Even during this service. You've got a bunch of invitations and maybe even a few calls, but usually God doesn't use your cell phone to call you. He uses other means. That's why it's safe to put it on an airplane mode when you come to church, because God has a way of getting a hold of you. He doesn't need your phone, but there can be many calls, call of God when he speaks to us.

Speaker 1: 4:10

And then Moses said. He said here I am. Then he said do not draw near to this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. Moreover, he said of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from the land to a good and a large land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite, and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. A bunch of ites, hevites and the Jebusites, a bunch of ites. Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come up to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them. Come now, therefore. I will send you the Pharaoh and you will bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt Now.

Speaker 1: 5:22

I believe everybody here knows the story of Moses, but how did it really begin? I believe he had a very tangible sense of awareness of what God had called him to do, but how everything changed and when everything changed was when God appeared to him changed was when God appeared to him. There's no replacement for a personal encounter with the holy God. Sometimes we face things in our lives challenges, storms, obstacles, things. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. Something happens. Sometimes it's because of our bad decisions. Don't have to raise your hand if you've done one. Sometimes it's because of the bad decisions of our parents. Sometimes you can find yourself in a sticky situation because of bad decisions of your boss or the owner of the company that you work for. You've done a good job, but because somebody did something, you find yourself in a challenging situation, whatever things may be coming your way, and there's a choice that you make. Do I press into the presence of the Lord and receive the answer, just like you heard from the testimonies this morning, or do you compromise and draw back? Just remember this. It's the enemy who would like you to back out. I said it's the enemy who would like you to back out.

Speaker 1: 6:57

Go with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 4. While you're going there, say with me a personal encounter with God, encounter with God. See everything that I see that's happening even in our nation. In many ways can be traced back to a lack of personal encounter with the Lord, because something happens when you meet him. God is a personal God. God is not a force. He's not an intangible, mysterious force. In the history people have believed nature is God. No, even the trees worship God. The stars and the sun and the moon worship God. God is the creator of everything. What we see is the created, but God is the invisible creator. Hallelujah, he put everything in motion. Hallelujah, he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns the silver and the gold. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. In Hebrews 4 and 14 it says Hebrews 4 and 14,.

Speaker 1: 8:26

Seeing that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession Now. It's important to understand that you're a great high priest. It's not your husband or your wife, it's not your pastor, but it's Jesus. Amen, hallelujah, amen, hallelujah. You are not the great high priest. Some of you are discouraged by that. Some of you are very happy about that, that you are not the great high priest. But we have a great high priest, jesus the Son of God. But we have a great high priest, jesus the Son of God. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Speaker 1: 9:23

Let us therefore come boldly, say with me, come boldly To the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. In other words, the way is open. And when you study about the tabernacle and about the temple in the Old Testament, how did they enter in? It was by the blood. Everything was cleansed by the blood. And we don't come by the blood of bulls and the blood of goats and by the blood of animals, but we come by the precious blood of Jesus that has given us access to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive help. How many of you received help in your life from the throne of grace? In other words, the way is open. I said the way is open. Well, I have some weaknesses. Well, the way is open for strength. I lack wisdom. Well, the way is open to receive wisdom. I said the way is open for wisdom. Well, I need a miracle. The way is open to receive a miracle. The way is open to come boldly.

Speaker 1: 10:34

That you, instead of drawing back, you have an attitude. I'm going to turn this situation and I'm going to turn it into become more hungry and you know, in natural life, you can get into a place where you can even become almost like a quitter. It's like I'm giving up. Well, it didn't work here. Some of you, when you were a child, you played Monopoly and when you saw the things go a certain way, you already threw all the money at the table and you ran out of the room. I'm not going to ask you to raise your hands. Who did it? Some of you don't like Monopoly at all. You started playing and immediately when things went the wrong way, you're already giving up. You didn't give whoever was doing better the pleasure of winning. Okay, I thought that was funny. Okay, I thought that was funny.

Speaker 1: 11:35

But we should not allow that attitude that we're going to be giving up to settle in our hearts and in our minds no, we will never give up. Say with me, I'll never give up. So what do we do instead? We come in boldly and press in, and we enter in by the blood of the Lamb. We come in by the blood and we recognize we have a great high priest. And we come in, we draw near and we receive help. Sometimes, I wonder, do believers even believe? Do they even know what's accessible to them? The enemy is a master of trying to draw us into the natural battlefield so that we would be distracted and not even realize we can come boldly and actually receive help At the desperate hour.

Speaker 1: 12:33

Moses was already, by modern standards, a very old man. At this point he was 80. He was old. If you're 80, I'm not meaning to offend you or anything, but Moses was already high in age and he was in the back of the desert. But because of an encounter with God, everything turned around. I don't care how hopeless it may look like to you this morning, but I'm telling you one encounter, one personal encounter with the living God. Everything turns around. Answers come, wisdom comes. God gives you a blueprint for your business. He gives you a key for your marriage, how to unlock that? Maybe you've been, you know. We heard testimony from my dear sister about the things and almost like oppression heaviness on and then Lord touches and then things are lifted and they're set free.

Speaker 1: 13:31

And then when we grow, listen, when you grow, it's the same way as with children. You know you don't take the first grade test on the sixth grade. It's like a night and day difference. Who knows what I mean. First grade test is like are you happy today? Yes, but then you get a few grades in and they actually expect you to put some stuff in there. It's like when you start getting into math one plus one, two, and you're excited. Everybody claps Good job.

Speaker 1: 14:10

And then a few years go by, you're looking at it. There's not even numbers there anymore. It's a bunch of letters and you're like this is supposed to be math. What is this? Are those like hieroglyphics? You know what are those little swiggly things? You know, you're looking at it and when you go take the test test, it's not the first great test, it's you've, you've learned a little bit and now there's more expected.

Speaker 1: 14:36

In other words, we grow, we learn, and sometimes believers are like little babies. They're like me. I wanted to do the one plus one. God loves me. It's good that you know that.

Speaker 1: 14:50

But there's things to grow. In other words, when God puts something in you, there's some steps you need to take. It's like when you're getting your first child. We were just celebrating what a precious gift. But, like you get your first child, your view of the world changes. There's somebody there who's depending on you. You can't just sleep in until two o'clock in the afternoon.

Speaker 1: 15:17

Why are you so quiet? Haven't you ever had children? Who's ever seen a child? Everybody should have seen one. In other words, there's a step. You see the child. Then you realize, okay, I have more. And then you realize, okay, as a man, you got a man up. As a woman, you got a woman up. In other words, okay, I take my responsibility.

Speaker 1: 15:39

There's things you go and what that puts you in a place. There's two choices you go to the world. You lean on your own understanding, or you draw closer to God and you, okay, but he's thinking, pastor, I had an encounter with God in 1987. And I'm thankful for that. But you know what's happened since then. It's like many years ago. You know what's happened since then. It's like many years ago. It's like getting close to 40 years ago. What's happened since then? Is there some more you're believing?

Speaker 1: 16:18

For Now go with me to Isaiah, chapter 55. Isaiah, chapter 55. If you find it, just say I found it. I knew that was a little slower because it was like a tricky one that's out there in the middle of the Old Testament. Oh, you got it. Good, it's like last few times I've asked to look for a scripture and there's like two people who shouted like one and a half seconds later that they found it and I'm thinking they were cheating or something.

Speaker 1: 16:49

Isaiah 55, verse 10. For as the rain comes down, as the snow from heaven Hopefully not happening actually anymore this year Not a word of prophecy for this coming week. Summer surely cometh. Summer surely cometh, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bright, forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. So God's word is so powerful.

Speaker 1: 17:38

But what's your attitude towards the word of God? Do you welcome it? The word of God can be like a shower washing you clean, but you don't automatically get clean. You have to go to the shower. Who appreciates that your neighbor went to the shower? What if I told you it's more real spiritually than naturally? What if I told you it's more real spiritually than naturally? In other words, you don't automatically get washed just because you have a shower in your home. You have to get under the shower and then the water. In other words, that word has to work in your life. It has to work. There has to be a work in your life. It has to work. There has to be a transformation in your mind. The word has to be deposited in you. That word is eternal, that word is perfect. That word never returns void. But you have to see it planted into your heart and then do a work in you.

Speaker 1: 18:47

Hallelujah, we have access, the blood, to the throne of grace, but we must come boldly. Hebrews 4 doesn't say I shall surely drag you forcibly to the throne of grace. Thou shalt have no say in the matter whatsoever. Verily From your neck, I will drag you to the throne and you will receive help, whether you like it or not. That's not what the Bible says. It's an invitation to come boldly. It's an invitation to come because we have a great high priest.

Speaker 1: 19:32

Hallelujah. This is an invitation To come in that whatever we face, whether it's a challenge we draw to him, whether it's good we bring him praise, whether we receive good report, then there's going to be thanksgiving. But in everything we draw near to him, and then the devil will give up on you. He'll tell the demons don't even try to do anything with him. Whatever we try, he just gets closer to God. It's like useless to even try to mess with him. We try to distract him, but he just gets closer to God. Every time we try to do anything, he ends up everything is turning around, for they must love God because everything is turning around for good. Can you say hallelujah, hallelujah.

Speaker 1: 20:24

So whatever it is that you are facing today, I'm telling you you will not quit. It's time to draw near and if you've seen some good things, you're like pastor, my life is actually pretty good. There's more to God. I said there's more to God, and it bothers Sometimes how a little stirs me up Because I see God, and it bothers me Sometimes how the Lord stirs me up Because I see some stuff and it bothers me and I'm like why is it like this? Why are people so easily distracted? How can people so easily give up when we have people like Moses? He had everything coming his way, but he would not quit. But he had an encounter. He was there where God's fire, the Lord, appeared to him in a flame of fire and I believe something was imprinted into his spirit by the encounter that he had with God. So it was with Isaiah in Isaiah, chapter 6. When he saw the throne and he saw the one sitting on the throne, and the ministry of Isaiah was forever changed.

Speaker 1: 21:27

We were just reading from Luke, chapter 5 earlier in Finnish, about how Peter fell. This was right after the passage that I read to you. Peter fell on the bottom of the boat and he said I'm a sinful man. He recognized, recognized who Jesus was. He had an encounter with the Lord In Acts, chapter 9. Praise the Lord. Acts, chapter 9. How? Acts, chapter 9. How Saul, who later became Paul, had an encounter with Jesus. Hallelujah. You don't even know who you are before you have an encounter with God.

Speaker 1: 22:16

You know, sometimes we think, well, I'm not good enough. I'm telling you that he is the one who qualifies you. None of us are qualified, and that's actually one of the problems. People think they're qualified because they graduate from the theological seminary. Did I say cemetery or seminary? Which one did I say?

Speaker 1: 22:49

And then they come around the things of god, and they say, well, I'm qualified for this, this position, and I'm for education. I am for education. But you don't get qualified by just natural things. There's a qualification that's done by the hand of God and, regardless of your assignment and your position, we need to be qualified by heaven. As a businessman, as a businesswoman, as a mother, as a father, as a husband, as a wife, as whoever, as an entrepreneur, a business person, as a politician, as a governmental leader, we need to be qualified by heaven and there needs to be a work that the word of God does, work that the word of God does in your life.

Speaker 1: 23:47

You have to choose to get into the shower. You, what's your, what's your heart's desire? What do you desire? Throne of grace, what's holding you back? Have you been distracted? The presence of the Lord is in the house, actually to call people back to that place that he has for them. There's a very natural way to bring forth fruit when you're in the place that God has for you. Heavenly results can always be traced back to an encounter with God, and bad results can be traced back to a compromise, to a heart that knew that I was supposed to press in, but for whatever reason, there was distractions, whatever have come, and maybe you're in this room today and you know, man, I think I've done that. I think I did that, I think I took a wrong turn in my life and the Lord's actually calling you back tonight I mean today and then there's some people that are in the room today that you actually never have had that encounter. Amen.

Speaker 1: 25:48

There's no replacement for the work that the Holy Spirit does in our lives and in our hearts. Today is the day to come boldly. Say with me I'll come boldly, I'll come boldly, hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you Jesus. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing which I sent it. That word always produces, but that word is not always welcomed. You can make that choice. I welcome the word. You can make that choice. I welcome the word, especially in an area where I need help, and many times, the river of offense is the river of deliverance.

Speaker 1: 27:01

Say, what does that mean? It means that the thing that is irritating you is actually the thing that will bring you the breakthrough. So, dads, you need to take a step back. Why am I so upset about this? Let me give you an example. If you're going through a challenge in your marriage and somebody's talking about keys to successful marriage, you got two responses. One is like I can't take that right now. Or you can say, okay, I'm going to humble my heart, I want to receive, in other words, the very thing that you needed. You got offended about and then you never got the breakthrough. And you have to understand what our passion is, for this church is we want to see those rivers flow and we want to see those breakthroughs and we want to see you fulfill the call that God has for you.

Speaker 1: 28:01

Out of that encounter, moses went to do what God had for him and he became one of the key people in the whole of history of humanity. Moses led millions of Israelites out of Egypt, amazing leader Isaiah. After the encounter, the rest of the book of Isaiah Say hallelujah, hallelujah. Apostle Paul, his beginning was against the church Actually looked to kill.

Speaker 1: 28:37

Christians like we are, you could say that's not a good beginning. Christians like we are, you could say that's not a good beginning. But this is what happened after an encounter with Jesus, he became the most productive apostle. That's our God. I said that's our God. And it never ends. You say I've already done some things. I know about these verses, pastor. I've read them myself, I studied them myself. It never ends. Every time you grow. You got that same opportunity.

Speaker 1: 29:12

Will you be high-minded, arrogant, or will you allow the word to continue to do the work in you? Nobody who's alive has fully arrived. We are work in progress. In other words, when God lifts you up, there's more work. I said there's more work, more work to be done, and none of us like to see something in ourselves that need to be changed in the natural who knows what I mean? Like we don't want to look into the mirror and we find out oh no, I came, just came from church and I got this thing on my face. Why didn't anybody say about that? We don't want to find out something that needs to be changed in us. We would like to be perfect, but we're in the process of changing and the heart's attitude that we have will determine the results, because we can be open to the work of the word and we can be open to press in with boldness to the throne of grace to receive the help that we need, or we can come up with excuses and reasons why we would not be moving forward.

Speaker 1: 30:35

God's made you full progress, increase, moving forward, hallelujah, and I pray that you got a whole holy irritation for any Stagnancy in your life, because God is the God of breakthroughs and answers and he will help you. He knows where you're at and his word will work in every. It does not return void. And there's nothing wrong with you than more of the Holy Spirit would not fix Hallelujah. There's nothing wrong with you that more of the Holy Spirit would not fix, hallelujah, hallelujah. Think about the baby testimony. After many years, there he is, there he is. Some of you have had some things you've carried on the inside of you. You haven't seen it yet, but I'm telling you, it's time. It's time, but with your heart you draw near to God and say Lord, this is my time, and then you allow that word to work in you.