God Is Here - Pastor Sam Simoes - July 19, 2026

Pastor Sam Simoes message for Sunday July 19, 2026. 

Welcome to the Northwest Church of the Nazarene podcast, where we share the heart of our church’s mission: discovering and engaging in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ through inspired worship and intentional ministry. Each episode brings you sermons, insights, and messages that challenge and encourage spiritual growth. Whether you are part of our diverse, multicultural church family, or listening in for the first time, you’ll find a community that loves Jesus and welcomes everyone with open arms. Join us online at nwnaz.org or in person in Columbus Ohio, as we journey together toward a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jesus and each other. 

Transcript

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Every Sunday at Northwest Church of the Desert in Columbus, Ohio, our congregation is challenged to grow spiritually. This podcast shares the sermons, insights, and messages that encourage our congregation to mature spiritually.

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Well, today we're going to be talking about God's presence. And we're going to be looking into a story that many of us probably have heard before, and is a story that we are familiar with, but is a story of Jacob. And if you grow up in the church, you know who Jacob was. So Jacob was born out of Isaac and Rebekah, and he was one of two twins. And as he was born, he was quickly known to be the deceiver. And that's the word Jacob means, deceiver. And he attempted to do a lot of things that were very beneficial to him. But he's also mama's boy and mama's favorite. Now, dad preferred his brother Esau, because during that time people had favorites. Parents had favorites. And my parents told me that they did not have favorites. They loved us equally. And it wasn't until I was 40 that I found out, wait a minute, they did like my sister better. And probably rightfully so, because I gave them a lot of trouble. I was the quintessential pastor's kid. And anyway, so so Esau was the father's favorite, and uh Naso is the one that was considered to be born first, even though Jacob tried to be born first by putting his hand out, but uh Esau was born first, so he had the birthright, which is something that Jacob really wanted. And as he attempted to get it, there's the only way you could have it is either by being born first or if your uh sibling would confer it to you. So one day Esau came home from hunting and doing all this manly stuff that he was into, and he gets home and he's starving, he's so famished that Jacob asked him, Hey, um, I have this wonderful plate of lentils, which it's okay food. It wasn't steak. And he said, I have this wonderful food that I have prepared for you, but oh man, just give me, I'll give anything for a plate of that food. So, well, what about birthright? Is that worth it to you? He goes, Well, sure, you can have it. There's nothing I'm gonna do with it until dad, until dad is gone. There's nothing I need from it. So, yeah, you can have it. So he he sold his birthright. So now Jacob had his birthright as the oldest, the eldest. Well, that didn't go well with the family, but you know, he was the mom's favorite, so and dad loved mom, so that's how things worked, until his father Isaac was dying. And he said, Before I go, I want to have a very nice meal of my favorite, and then I will bless my son. Well, mom uh wanted the blessing to go to Jacob, so her and Jacob figured out a way to deceive her husband and his father, and they were able to deceive him, and he was given the blessing that would go to Esau to Jacob. Well, Esau comes back, finds that out, and he remains very calm because the only thing that comforts him is that once Isaac is dead, once his father dies, he will kill his brother. There's no no doubt about that. And that's the only thing that kept him calm. So Esa So Jacob realized, well, I have two options stay and die, and be killed by my brother who is angry at me and for every right to be angry or flee. And he knew that the only way he could go is if he just went immediately. So he took the cloji he on his back and just went and ran and ran, knowing that Esau could track any animal, could track him as well. So he ran as far as he could, as fast as he could, and until he he found himself in a place where he had absolutely nothing. It was the lowest of his life. And sometimes at the lowest times of our lives is when we realize how much we have messed up. Sometimes in the lowest times of our life is when we realized how wrong we have gone. And sometimes in the lowest moments of our life is when we realize that where we are is due to our actions, to our decisions, is due to why we are in that place. So he gets to a place called Luz, which is a a place that's very barren, and it just means that it's a place that you're lost. This is a turning around point. It's it's a point that that that that that you know where you are kind of so it's it's it's a place that has no significance whatsoever. It's just a place where where you can just stop before you go somewhere else because there's nothing in there. And then as he gets over there, he probably sat down tired, tired of being himself, tired of all the bad decisions that led him to where he was, tired of losing everything, tired of being known for his entire life as a deceiver. And as he sits there, something amazing happens. And that something amazing that happened on that day is what we're gonna study today. So if you stand with me and open your Bibles to the first book of the Bible, Genesis, that's an easy one to find. Uh, Genesis chapter 28. We're gonna read verses 10 all the way to 19, and then uh we will consider what the Lord has in store for us today as we hear, understand, and be transformed by his word. Let's say the word of the Lord, and I am speaking, I am reading out of the New International Version. Jacob left Bersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun has set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on earth with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. I will give you your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth, and you will spread out like the west to the east and to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. He was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Allah's. Father, we pray today that your word will come into our hearts and transform us. Father, we don't want to just hear, we don't want to learn something interesting. We're here that you may speak to us, that we may listen to your voice and to your way and to your spirit. And Father, as for me, may not be my words, but yours being professed through me. So, Father, speak to us today and transform us that we may be renewed as we leave this place ready to minister into others. And we pray this in your son Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. We find in this passage a story that uh it's been used many times for uh for allegories or for or for a connection between God and earth. And and and they and and there is several things about Jacob's ladder. But as we look into the story, we'll recognize that the purpose of the story is not the ladder, it's not the dream, it's not even Jacob, it's not even the promise. The purpose of the story is God's presence. The significance of the story is God's presence. And what we see is that not only God is here, but that God is already present. God's presence is greater than our failures. And we see that. We see that in the midst of the depth of the sadness and and the lowest of Jacob's life, God was there in spite of it. You know, anyone else in the world would just judge him. Anyone else in the world would just look and saying, Well, you had it coming. Anyone else in the world is like, well, you deserve this. Anyone else in the world would look at Jacob and say, Jacob, you have learned so little from your grandfather Abraham and from your father Isaac. You learned so little about faith that all you did, what was profitable to you, what was good to you. You never thought of others. You deserve where you are. You deserve the punishment that you put on yourself. But that's not what God did, is it? It's not what God has done with Jacob when he got to that place at the depths of his life, in the worst moment of his life. God did not judge him but lift him up and showed him through a vision, through a dream, that he was there. And even though he was running, even though he felt guilty, even though he may be afraid, and the word says that he was afraid of that moment with God, we recognize that God was already there. And God does not want to wait until we clean up our lives, until we have things fixed, until we have addressed the situations. God is already there, and that's the story we hear from Jacob. God did not wait until Jacob had his life put together to reveal himself. He revealed himself when Jacob had nothing else in his life. When he had nothing else, God became everything. But there's many times that we need to lose everything before we can make God our everything. And that's when God showed up, when he was in the worst, when he felt that there was no future, when he felt that there was nothing beyond. The Strait of Gibraltar is in a southern part of Spain, in the northern part of Africa, and it's just a small area where for many, many centuries uh they had uh the end, or or or for many is the gate of the world. So the Mediterranean Sea with the Roman Empire, with the northern part of Africa, with the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, then you have Italy, and you have all those Eastern European uh nations, and then you have France, and you have the whole world, the whole known world of the time ended at the Strait of Gibraltar. And they had the pillars called the Pillars of Hercules, and the Spanish crown called themselves and named themselves and honored that Strait of Gibraltar with a motto, and the motto was Ne plus Ultra, Ne plus Ultra, which means nothing beyond this point. And for centuries they thought that that was the end of the world, and that beyond those that point, there was nothing else. It was just the the world was flat and would just fall over, I guess. So that part of the world was closed up because there was a well-known sentence, Neplus Ultra. Well, there's a uh people called the Portuguese who are a little bit north of that, and they're not not on that side of the world, so they were facing the ocean, and to their west uh to their east was Spain, and to their west was the ocean. So in 1415 they began doing world exploration. They built ships, they built schools, started training sailors and training captains and and learning cartography, and started going on what we call the age of discovery. And they set out to look for new nations, for new places, mostly gold and other riches. But they went off, and as they went off, they start preparing many sailors sailors to do so, and they start bringing things back to the nation. Well, the Spanish crown realized wait a minute, if our neighbors are getting wealthy with this, we probably should do the same thing. So they uh asked one of the graduates of the Portuguese navigation schools to come over. He was from Italy, and his name was Christopher Columbus, and they gave him several ships for him to go and do the discovery and find what else was beyond uh their waters. And he returned in 1492, several decades after the Portuguese started that, and when he returned, they changed their motto from ne plus ultra, nothing beyond, and they scrap off and took out the word ne, which was the negative. So now their motto is Spain or España and Beyond. So their their identity is we know that there's more beyond us. We know that there's more beyond what we understood, and what we see in this passage is that for many, many years he may have heard of God, he may have heard the stories of Abraham and his grandmother Sarah, he heard of his father and the sacrifice, he probably heard all the stories about God, but he never became his God. He became his parents and his grandparents' God. He never had an encounter with God, and it's not because God wasn't present, it's because God wasn't there. He never had an encounter with God because the only thing he cared about was himself. So now, when he didn't even care about himself, he cared about nothing. That's when he encounters God. And once he encounters God, he has the plus ultra. In other words, he now knows that there's not only a life beyond, but that life beyond is with God. Amen. So we know that God is there, and God was already there, and Jacob, who during that time the faith, the faiths and the different gods that will build altars, he built an altar knowing very well that the God of his father and of his grandfather wasn't the God that was limited to that town that he now just called Bethel, which means house of God. And he built an altar, knowing that wherever he went, God was with him. Because that's what God told him, and I will be with you, and I will be with you. So the first miracle is not the dream, the miracle that we see here is not that God has changed his circumstances, by the contrary, Esau was still looking for him. You know, he he still had to live with the consequences of his decisions. The miracle is not that everything changed in his life, the miracle is that he became aware of God. It's that awareness. And many times we want a miracle and we seek for a miracle, we desire a miracle, but what God is doing is just revealing himself and saying, I am in control. It may not be what you want right now, but I am in control. So God is already present. And we also see in this passage that grace moves first. You see, now the culture tells us, and sometimes there's church people that tell us, you know, maybe if you pray more, maybe if you spend more hours with the scripture, maybe if you go to church more times, maybe if you serve, maybe if if you do this, maybe if you do A, B, C, and D, maybe if you just have all these all these boxes checked, these spiritual boxes checked, then God can reveal to you. Maybe then God can bless you, maybe then God can come and show himself to you. But Jacob was the opposite. He had no single box checked. He didn't go to church, he didn't read a word, he didn't even care about his grandfather's God or of his father's God. He had no box checked that we feel that we need to check before God reveals himself. Except one. And that's grace that he did not work for, that he did not deserve, but God was already there, he already had grace for him. So God met him where he was with grace, not something he worked for, not something he even desired, probably, but God was there. And many times when we think about the ladder, and many times when you think about the stairway, and we think about all this that God has revealed to him, we look at what God was trying to tell him. Well, God was trying to tell him is that as it went up and down, as we see angels going up and down, we see that heaven is open to us with God's presence. Now, what's interesting is that it's not the angels that speak. It's not the angels that are the messenger and says, Jacob, we bring good tithings and good news. For you have been chosen for God's prophecy or for God's blessing or for God's covenant. And it weren't the angels, it was God Himself speaking. It is God that connects with us, it's not the angels. We don't need to have anyone to go to go on our behalf. God is connecting directly with us. And when grace comes and it proceeds and it becomes then an anticipation of what God is about to do. we find out that God used a nobody to transform the world. Same thing with Moses. Moses, I I I I heard a uh a theologian saying, you know, Moses spent the first uh 40 years of his life thinking that he was somebody, somebody in Egypt. And then he spent the next 40 years of his life in the wilderness running away, realizing that he was nobody. That he is nobody. And then when God revealed himself in nowhere through a burning bush in a place that there wasn't a temple when when God revealed himself he learned what God can do with a nobody. Amen. And sometimes we just need to be a nobody before God can use us. Because when we are willing to let God be God he will be God of our lives and we will see him and we will see his spirit through us. Nathaniel came before Jesus and Jesus says I know what you believe. I know what kind of faith you have because I saw you reading at that tree. Nathaniel said my lord you are truly the Messiah just because you saw him just because Jesus saw him reading in the tr under the tree. And then Jesus said Nathaniel you will see the glory of God descending and ascending in the stairway you see everything is connected God's presence is connected with Jesus with Jacob with Nathaniel God is still God and his presence there's still a connection between heaven and earth and the stairway ascending and descending. So Jacob did not have his father's faith anymore he had his own. He became aware of God's presence so what are we to do according to this passage we anticipate God's presence we enter into God's presence and we approach it with listening as Samuel said speak Lord for your servant is what's the word listening not hearing like men do not not not just taking notes listening. What is it that you have for me so that's how we enter into God's presence and that's how we anticipate God's presence and when Jacob sees the staircase is God that speaks and I believe that after that moment he anticipated that God's going to be wherever he went you know when I was a young uh young kid a child my parents during the summer will drive the three hours to my grandparents it's a three hour drive and during that time and then they put highways now it's like two hours but anyway during those three hours I knew every mile marker how close I was because I was anticipating arriving at grandma's house. And I knew the mile markers and I knew the restaurants and I knew the places that sometimes we stopped and I said oh it's just a little bit longer I only have this more towns before before we we we get to grandma's and at that trip I was sitting in the back I wasn't driving then I was just sitting in the back anticipating how grandma would see me would welcome me will hug me I could smell her smell smell her house knowing that she would probably have my favorite meal prepared because that's what she did. And I anticipated being with grandma for three hours I thought of very little except I'm gonna get there I'm gonna see grandma and grandpa too and probably some cousins and yes we would get in trouble because that's what cousins do but that anticipation it wasn't anticipation that that I just had because my parents said you know what you will get it was natural and this is what God is saying anticipate that I will be there anticipate that I will be I will be connecting with you we already can smell his presence we already can feel his warmth we already can hear his voice even before he speaks and that should be every time we go into his presence every time we are with his people every time we are at his temple every time we come to church that should be the anticipation I can't wait until I get there because I'm gonna be with him I'm gonna feel his presence I'm gonna feel his touch I'm going to celebrate him I'm gonna worship him and this anticipation and this awe and wonderment that we see from Jacob is what the Lord is looking from us that we just build an altar we just say God is here is no longer laws this is Bethel. This is the house of God and that's why we are called the house of God so anticipate God's presence but not just anticipate but when God is there we participate in his work because he's not calling us to come and just be in awe in his presence Jacob didn't stay in Bethel. Jacob didn't make a temple and remain there because God was there he continued going in his life he continuing his journey and eventually he had 12 kids his name was changed from Jacob to Israel and those twelve kids became fathers and they too had children and each of his kids were one of the 12 tribes of Israel see in the desert there's two kinds of birds there's the hummingbird that flies over very fast wings and looking for flowers and they find the nectar and just pull it out. And then there's vultures that they also fly through the desert but they're not looking for flowers they're looking for dead carcasses and dead animals. So whatever they're looking for is what they are going to the desert for they have no other purpose to go to the desert but to look for food. And what we're doing we participate in God's work if we are going into his presence if we're going into his house if we're going into a place where we are not looking for God we will not find God we'll find a desert but if we are looking for for what God is revealing to us for what is good for us what what God has for us if that's what we're looking for then that's how God is going to reveal himself in the deserts of our lives. So we participate in his work and that's how God reveals himself to us isn't by serving isn't by isn't by caring isn't by putting others first is by taking ourselves out of the equation and letting God be that we begin to participate in his work so we see this place called los that means turn aside is a deviation is a place that that that you know that we just stop by and continue and it's changed to the house of God so he goes from luz to Bethel many times we turn Bethel into luz into a deviation and that's where holiness is we're set apart for God we're set apart for God set apart from the world set apart from our desires so are we setting ourselves apart are we listening and I like to conclude with a story by E Stanley Jones he shares this story that one time he was at an airport about to take an airplane and as he was about to embark he heard a clear voice of God say do not take that flight and he was used to obeying the Lord so he said all right I'm not taking that flight I'll take the next flight so he went back and and made arrangements to get to the next flight later on he found out that that flight had a problem and ended up crashing and there were no survivals and he said that one time someone said are you telling me that God saved you and he goes well that's pretty much about what I'm saying well then I have a question for you why did God save only you why did God only speak to you and he said well I don't know about anyone else but I have I may have been the only one that listened because when I first read that story I realized how many people are not listening how many times have I not listened so we are attentive but we do so by participating in his work by being at awe at his presence but by making sure that God is here because if God is not here's no reason for me to stay here then I'm in the wrong place. So God is here so we might be the only ones at listening but when we listen God will speak so I have a challenge for you this week and the challenge is an interesting one because I'm not gonna ask you to to to to look into yourself and say okay Lord are you present because God's already present what I'm gonna ask you is that you bring someone into God's presence because if God is with you if God is present in your life if God is present in your day to day bring someone into that presence invite someone in in your moment with God if you want to bring them into into a place where you are reading or you're uh praying but bring God into your presence how do you do so how do I bring someone into the presence of God well if you're going somewhere just ask God to go with you and say hey I I just want to know how can I pray for you? How can I bless you today? How can I bring the joy that I have in my heart to you how can I bring a blessing into your life because many times we as Christians think that God is with us and since they are not not accepting God maybe God cannot work with them. No God is saying let me let me work with them through you bring me into their lives bring me into your midst bring me into your relationships because that's how we are going to bring someone into God's presence I like to ask the worship team to come forward as we conclude our service I don't know where you are on your journey with God you know many of us are feeling that oh maybe maybe I need to work harder maybe I need to to read more the the word of God may maybe I need to have an extra hour of my devotions maybe I need to go to church more often maybe I need to to to to to do more but what God is asking of us today is just for us to be in his presence and listen because he will speak for us to be with him because others will notice for us to really connect with him because others will desire that and how beautiful are the feet of those who take good news and we have the best news ever let us pray father we thank you for what you have spoken to us but Father we don't want to leave today thinking well there was something that was interesting. It was a great story but we want to leave today knowing that you have been with us and wherever you go and wherever we go there you will be with us. And then we will find sometimes even in the depths of our lives even in the most difficult times we'll find that you are already there and your grace is sufficient and your and our sin has been forgiven not because we deserve but because your son has done that for us and we thank you for your love. So speak to us today as we leave and challenge us that we may bring others into your presence and we pray this and we ask this in your son Jesus Christ's name.

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Amen as it is known in our community Northwest Church is committed to discovering and engaging in a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ with inspired worship and intentional ministry. People from all walks of life are welcome and received as family members. Our family is diverse multicultural and although not perfect in love with Jesus join us online at nwnat.org or by visiting us in Columbus Ohio. God bless you