May 4, 2024 • 50 mins
Welcome back to the Christian Cafe, where we're not just serving up your average cup of spiritual java. Today's brew is a robust blend, rich with the aroma of divine reverence as we explore the journey from anointing to the very weight of God's glory. A.W. Tozer joins us, offering wisdom on handling the holy with the care it demands. Sip slowly, friends, as we immerse ourselves in a discussion that promises to elevate your heart closer to the heavens and deepen your understanding of what it truly means to be in God's sacred presence.
Have you ever felt a stirring within to rediscover the core of your worship? This episode is a sanctuary for reflection as we strip away the excesses of modern church practices to reveal the pure heart of devotion. We'll navigate through biblical times to draw lessons from the high priest's reverence and the dire consequences of losing God's glory. It's a poignant reminder that our spiritual abode's role is not just to exist but to thrive as a beacon of God's presence. By making room for the Almighty, we become vessels for the miraculous, reshaping our understanding of the church's purpose in showcasing God's splendor.
As the world seems to spin into chaos, echoing the biblical prophecies of Matthew 24, we anchor ourselves in the pursuit of what truly matters—God's presence in our church and in our lives. This episode is an invitation to weigh the significance of this divine pursuit against the casual familiarity with which we sometimes dare to approach the holy. Through the sobering tale of Uzzah and the Ark, we're reminded of the gravity of God's standards of holiness and the unique path He has charted for each of us. So, let's join hands and hearts as we seek to carry God's glory with the reverence it deserves, transforming our worship into a true reflection of His majesty.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Music.
Hello, this is your host, glennKivett, and welcome to today's
(00:26):
episode of the Christian Cafe,where the bread is made fresh
and delivered right from theWord of God.
To keep up to date with what'scoming up, be sure to follow me
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Also on Twitter, feel free toemail me with your prayer
request at thechristiancafe2022at gmailcom.
(00:48):
I would love to hear from you.
So grab your seat, place yourorder and we will deliver it
fresh and hot, just for you.
Welcome everybody.
(01:36):
Welcome Welcome to my world,the Christian Cafe.
Glad you came.
Come on, in, sit down, glad tohave you, man, it's good to be
back.
It's been a while since I'vebeen on I guess a couple months
or so Been busy Doing a lot ofthings and just glad to be back
(01:58):
with you guys, just gettingready to spread the word with
you and talk to you about thegoodness of God.
I hope you've been doing allright and God's been blessing
you and keeping you and justpouring out His blessings upon
you, because God is good to us.
I don't know what you're havingto face, but I do know one
(02:18):
thing God is good.
He's been good to me and I knowhe's being good to you.
We've just got to put our faithin Him.
Again, thank you for tuning into the podcast.
I'm expecting God to ministerto us today.
We're going to continue in ourbook that we have been talking
about and going through the GodChasers.
(02:40):
We're going to be getting intoChapter 6 here in a little while
and we're going to talk aboutjust moving from the anointing
to glory, how to handle the holy.
That's a great topic.
I'm excited to get into that.
First, let me just talk to youjust a little bit.
I'd like for you too, if you'dlike, to subscribe to my podcast
(03:00):
.
We're on a lot of differentvenues Apple Podcasts, google
and so many others, even Spotify.
If you would like to subscribeto us, check us out and just hit
that subscribe button and youcan send us an email at
thechristiancafe2022 at gmailcom.
Let us know what you thinkabout the podcast and God is
(03:22):
leading you to support us.
Oh, by all means, do that.
We don't do this for money, butit does cost a little bit and
God's providing so far and we'dlike to get support.
So that would be awesome if wecould.
If not, we're still going tobring God's goodness to you and
bring the Word to you, because Ibelieve that in this day and
time that we live in, we need tobe telling about good news.
(03:46):
We've been hearing so muchabout bad news across the United
States right now.
Until you know, good news is agood thing.
I do not like negativity.
I do not like seeing what'sgoing across the news channels.
I got any more where I don'teven pay attention to the news
(04:07):
and that's something importantthat comes on, because all they
talk about is negativity and howthis person's doing that and
this, that and the other.
But I still believe in what theBible says, that we are subject
to God, and he is our leader,he is our Father.
He's the one that's going toprovide for us, no matter what
the world is doing.
(04:28):
He's going to provide, and Ibelieve that because, like I
said, he is good to us and he'lltake care of us.
So drop us a line, let us knowwhat you think about the podcast
, and if there's something youwould like for us to talk about,
we would love to do that too.
We're hoping to have a specialguest on here in a few weeks,
(04:50):
and that's going to be exciting.
We're looking forward to that.
So tune in with us and sit backand relax, and we're going to
get started here very shortly,back into Chapter 6.
And let's talk a little bitabout getting into the holies,
because that's where we want tobe at.
Let's take a short break and wewill be right back.
(05:34):
All righty, I had to get me acup of coffee, something to
drink here.
I'll sit down here and justrelax and get comfortable a
little bit.
We're going to get back intoour book, the God Chasers, and
we're going to jump into chaptersix.
If you've got this book, openit up and follow right along
with us.
We'll be reading some andcommenting a little bit on the
(05:56):
other and here and there.
If you don't have this book,you can send me an email and
I'll be glad to send it out toyou free of charge.
Like I said in episodes before,I've read this book.
You can send me an email andI'll be glad to send it out to
you free of charge.
Like I said in episodes before,I've read this book two or
three times and every singletime I read it there's something
(06:16):
.
I get out of it, somethinggreater, and I'm just excited to
share it with you.
I know it's taken us a whileand I try not to take up too
much of your time, but we wantto kind of get through this
chapter if possible.
Probably won't, because it'staken us a while and I try not
to take up too much of your time, but we want to kind of get
through this chapter if possible.
Probably won't, because it's apretty lengthy chapter, but
we're going to get right into ittoday and it's chapter six,
called how to Handle the HolyMoving from Anointing to Glory.
(06:41):
Do you quietly bow your head inreverence when you step into the
average church?
I would be surprised if youranswer is yes.
Ray W Tozer said that my lifechanged forever on the October
weekend in Houston, texas, whenGod's presence invaded the
(07:03):
atmosphere like a thunderboltand split the podium at the
Sunday service.
I'll never forget telling myfriend the pastor you know God
could have killed you.
I wasn't laughing when I saidit.
It was as if God had said I'mhere and I want you to respect
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my presence.
A picture of Uzziah's grave hadpopped into my mind.
We didn't know what we wereasking for when we said we
wanted God.
I know I thought I did, but Ididn't.
When God actually showed up,none of us were prepared for the
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reality of his presence.
As I've already mentionedearlier in this book, there was
very little preaching because wedidn't have a choice.
God repossessed his church fora period of time and he wouldn't
allow anything to happen thathe hadn't specifically ordained
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for that service.
The thick blanket of histangible presence was so heavy
that I received an up-close andpersonal understanding of what
is meant by God's word when itsays in 1 Kings, 8, 10, and 11,.
And it came to pass, when thepriests were come out of the
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holy place, that the cloudfilled the house of the Lord, so
that the priests could notstand to minister because the
cloud for the glory of the Lordhad filled the house of the Lord
.
God came so suddenly and soforcefully into that church
building that we were afraid todo anything, unless he
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specifically told us to do it.
His presence was always there,of course, but not the weighty
manifest presence we experiencedat certain times.
In those moments, all we coulddo was sit there trembling.
All we could do was sit theretrembling.
We were afraid to take anoffering without specific
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permission from God.
We kept asking each other Doyou think it's okay to take an
offering?
Do you think we should do this?
What about that?
Why were we so hesitant aboutthings most of us had done
thousands of times before?
We were amateurs at handlingthe holy.
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We still are.
I have noticed that early on invisitations of God's manifest
presence.
He comes suddenly and withoutwarning, but in subsequent
visitation he comes only byinvitation, in other words,
displayed hunger.
The crux of the matter issimple Do you really want him to
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come?
Are you willing to pay the costof becoming a God chaser?
Then you will have to learn howto properly reverence, handle
and steward the holiness of God.
Let me ask those questionsagain to you Do we really want
him to come when we ask him to,to come when we ask him to, and
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are we willing to pay the price,or pay the cost, of being a
God-chaser?
And we say that we are, we eventestify that we want him to
come in a manner that we'venever experienced.
But if and when he does, are weready for it?
Are we ready?
Are we going to properlyreverence him?
Are we going to be able tohandle and steward the holiness
(10:54):
of God?
That's a topic we'll have todelve into some other time, but
we're going to get right backinto the book here.
Aw Tozer was deeply concernedabout our loss of holiness in
the church.
He noticed that the averagechurch was losing that sense of
sacredness in their worshipservices and it grieved him.
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To him, that lack of reverencemeant that people didn't think
God's presence was in the churchor in their church, and it
probably wasn't.
Tozer observed that theyearning and desiring of the
spiritual life was losing out toworldly secularism, just like
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today.
Such an environment does notproduce revival.
As a result, tozer felt thatGod may actually look elsewhere
if the church does not come backto him, to a relationship with
him and not just his stuff.
We can look all around in thereligious world today and we can
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see all these programs and allthese light shows and all these
other things, thinking that'swhat God wants to get his
attention.
But I disagree.
God's presence can come with nosound in the church, no music
playing, and I'm not sayingthat's what we need to do, I'm
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just saying we get caught up onthat.
There's nothing wrong with goodpraise and worship music or
good people or good singing orgood music.
There's nothing wrong with that.
But I think sometimes that weget caught up in those things
that we think everything's gotto be perfect.
But, saints, we're not aperfect church, we just serve a
perfect God.
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And in our attempt to do thingsperfectly in the church, we
mess it up to the fact that weforget about the reason why we
do it.
And we do it because it'seither show or it's just
something we're expected to do.
But God wants us to worship himfrom our heart.
He wants us to desire hispresence.
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He wants us to desire him fromour heart.
He wants us to desire hispresence.
He wants us to desire aspiritual life with him, one
that is not focused on tangiblethings, but one that is focused
on a spiritual life with him.
I now know why the high priestof old would say to their fellow
priest tie a rope around myankle, because I'm going into
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the place where the glory of Godabides.
I've done everything I know tomake myself ready, but I am in
awe of God.
I'm not afraid of God, I lovehim.
But I now have a respect forthe glory and the holy things of
God that I confess I didn'thave before.
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It used to be easy to handlethe anointing, but now I know it
is a sacred thing.
Now I am careful to pray twothings before I minister.
In most cases I pray a prayerof thanksgiving, first of all
saying thank you, lord, forvisiting us.
Then I ask the second part ofthe prayer.
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Please stay, lord, if youremember the barren woman who
prepared the prophet's room forElijah in 2 Kings 4, he was
rewarded with a son.
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When Satan took him away inpremature death, god sent the
prophet to raise him back tolife.
Satan cannot steal what God hasbirthed.
Let me say that again Satancannot steal what God has
birthed.
But God will only birth thingsto people who make room for the
miraculous, by faith Strongstatement.
That is why I am careful tothank the Lord for coming.
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Then I tell him that we havemade provisions for him to come
again.
Lord, we're going to be hereworshiping you on Wednesday,
thursday and Friday.
Our sole purpose is to praiseyour name and seek your lovely
face.
By faith, I believe that Godwill visit us once again.
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I know from his word that whenGod visits someone, he causes
new and precious things to beborn and even if Satan tries to
kill them, god will move heavenand earth to breathe life back
into what he has birthed.
We need to learn how to handlethe holy things of God with
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greater tenderness andsensitivity.
We must remember that the goodcan quickly become the worst
enemy of the best.
If you want God's best, thenyou will have to sacrifice what
you think is good and acceptable.
If you and I can find out whatis acceptable to him the best,
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then the promise of visitationbecomes real.
I think I've seen a glimpse ofwhat I think God is doing.
He is moving into position.
Chapter 13 of the book of 1stChronicles tells us that after
David was crowned king overIsrael and defeated the
Philistines, he decided to movethe Ark of the Covenant back to
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Jerusalem, of the covenant backto Jerusalem.
There was a move of God in thesense that his Old Testament,
abode of the manifest presenceof God, was being moved from its
interim resting place to theplace where his glory belonged.
God is wanting to move into histrue resting place.
Jerusalem is spoken of as atype of shadow, type and shadow
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of the church.
The apostle Paul spoke ofJerusalem, which is above, as
the mother of us all, referringallegorically to the church in
Galatians 4.26.
This is a picture of the church, the spiritual city or a boat
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of God.
God wants his glory in thechurch on display for the world
to see how many believe that.
I think God wants to see hischurch in actions.
Let me see if I can find thatverse of scripture his church in
actions.
Let me see if I can find thatverse of scripture.
It talked about chapter fourand 26 in Galatians.
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Um.
It says but the woman, but theother woman, sarah, represents
the heavenly Jerusalem.
She is the free woman and sheis our mother.
That was the New LivingTranslations.
The New King James Version saysbut the Jerusalem above is free
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, which is the mother of us all.
See, jerusalem is free and hewants his church to be free too.
He don't want us to be bound.
There were times when God'sglory, his kabod or weighty
presence, was moved out of itsrightful place through the sin
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or indifference of men.
The grandson of the old priestEli remains an eternal landmark
of God's presence From man'sworst laid plans.
As the newborn boy's mother laydying, she told the woman at
her side that the boy would benamed Incubab, which literally
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means the glory has departed.
Her labor began moments aftershe learned that the ark of God
had been taken by thePhilistines in battle and that
her husband, phineas, was slain.
Eli's son, phineas and Horphanihad sinned against God.
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I think I said that right, ifnot correct me, please.
They had sinned against Godeven while attending to their
priestly duties before the Lord.
Is this still the case today incountless ministries.
The same fate may well awaitthem.
Their legacy may well beremembered under the name
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Ichabod.
The glory has departed, andsadly, let me just add here, in
a lot of our churches that isthe case.
The glory of God is gone, noone is being saved, no one's
been delivered or set free.
And when the glory of God isleft the church, it's the same
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way.
Here you might as well writeIncubat over the doorway because
God's no longer there, god'snot performing his miracles any
longer.
And let me just say, if you'rein a church like that now you
need to find your place whereGod's glory is at, so you can be
delivered and set free ofanything that's bothering you or
anything that's binding youfrom stepping into the next,
next, next level, uh, that godhas placed in your life.
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In the 20 years or so thatpassed after the loss of the ark
, saul, the king never showedany interest in bringing the Ark
of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
But David felt differently.
He had a burning passion to seeGod's presence restored to its
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proper place in Jerusalem.
He wanted to live under theshadow of God's glory.
The church has been playingchurch far too long.
It is time for someone to standup and say the era of Saul is
over.
Saul was a king after the flesh.
David was a king after thespirit.
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Saul was a king chosen becausehe stood head and shoulders
above everyone else according tooutward appearances and
qualifications, and he appearedto be the right one.
He was named king only becausethe people pressed God for
second best.
Saul quickly lost his God-givenmandate to rule by choosing to
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please men by his actionsinstead of God.
There is no room for apolitician in the stewardship of
God.
We have only one public toplease as children of God, and
that is the audience of one whomade us for his own pleasure.
David, on the other hand, wasGod's chosen king, a man who had
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been groomed all his lifethrough intimate relationship.
When God ripped the kingdom outof Saul's hand to put it into
David's hand, david said inessence through his actions,
we're not going to pursue God inthe fleshly ways any longer.
When people like you and mestand up and declare our
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intentions as god chasers, thechurch will never be the same
again.
But we've got to do that, guys,and there's no greater time
than right now.
I mean, just look at the thingsaround us, look at everything
that's taking place.
The moral society, I meanthere's not even more.
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It's so immorally.
Uh, they're allowing things thatI don't know about when I was
growing up.
If it was on tv now, um, whatwas showing back then?
Now it'd be a bit differentstory.
But I mean, you didn't seethings like that in my day.
Uh, it's so much more publiclyaware now.
We got.
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We got people that's doing allthis stuff.
That's not even right.
Even inside churches, we haveforgot about God and we've
started pleasing man.
We've allowed certain thingsinside the church.
We've allowed people tominister that have a lifestyle
of homosexuality.
And yes, I said it.
You can get mad all you want to, but that's not God, that's sin
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.
It says so in the scriptures.
And when we start allowingthings like that into the house
of God and saying it's Bible,and saying that they love God,
well, they may love God and Godloves them, but God does not
love their sin.
It is sin, guys, I don't carewhich way you slice it, it's
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still sin and I may losefollowers, I may lose people to
quit listening, but that's allright.
At least you heard it.
Just get in the word, becauseit's there, it's wrong and we
need to change.
We need to stand up as a churchand begin calling sin sin and
kick the devil out of ourpulpits and have him in a place
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where he's supposed to be, underour feet.
But you know, the scripturetalks about how things were
going to take place, and it'smore greater now than it's ever
been.
And I'm just praying that we asa church will wake up and we'll
see what's taking place and andand do something.
And I know that a lot of us wecan't get out and go and and
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talk against it.
But one thing we can do we canpray.
We can, uh, bombard, bombardheaven and pray for those that
are lost and pray for ourleaders and and our religious
leaders that they'll come backto the, to the scriptures and
come back to god.
Because it's going to take thatin this last days for us to
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stand.
We're not going to be able tostand if we keep patting sin on
the back and saying it's okay todo this, guys, we'll take a
break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Here at the Christian Cafe, we believe in serving up
a hot, fresh word for ourlisteners.
We recently read a new booktitled Revival Makers Stop
Chasing a Move of God and Be Oneby Pastor Tony Suarez.
We would love to send you acopy of this book for free.
(25:22):
All you need to do is contactus through email at
thechristiancafe2022 at gmailcomwith your name and address, and
we will send it to you for free.
Also, be sure and tune in toall the latest episodes of the
Christian Cafe wherever you getyour podcasts.
Again, email us atvthechristiancafe2022 at
(25:48):
gmailcom.
Thanks and have a great day.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
We were talking right before we took a break, about
things that are taking place inour world, in our nation, and
how sin was running rampant.
I want to remind you about whatit said in Matthew 24.
And how sin was running rampant.
I want to remind you about whatit said in Matthew 24.
You know, the disciples hadcome to Mount Olives and they
had arrived there with Jesus andthey were sitting with him and
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they're talking to him and theyask him.
You know, what can we expect?
What is a sign that we can lookfor for the end of time, for
the completion of the age?
And Jesus just simply said I'mgoing to read this from Matthew
24, from the Passion Translation.
It says At that time, deceptionwill run rampant.
So beware that you are notfooled, for many will appear on
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the scene claiming my authorityor saying about themselves I am
the anointed one, and they willlead many astray.
It's already taken place, guys.
You will hear wars andrevolutions on every side, with
more rumors of wars to come.
Don't panic or give in to yourfears, for the breaking apart of
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the world's system is destinedto happen, but it won't yet be
the end.
It will still be unfolding, yetnations will go to war against
nations and kingdoms againstkingdoms, and there will be
terrible earthquakes, horribleepidemics and famines in place
after place.
This is how the birth pains ofthe new age will begin.
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Remember I said that when Godvisits and God comes, he comes
only to birth something.
So you can expect to bepersecuted, even killed, for you
will be hated by all thenations because of your love for
me.
Then many will stop followingme and fall away, and they will
be betrayed one another and hateone another.
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And many lying prophets willarise, deceiving multitudes and
leading them away from the pathof truth.
There will be such an increaseof sin, of lawlessness, that
those whose hearts once burnedwith passion for God and others
will grow cold.
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Behold your hope.
I love this verse.
Behold your hope firmly to theend, and you will experience
life and deliverance.
See, there is a promise at theend of that.
It all looks bleak.
It's not a pretty picture, butthose of us that will hold on to
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the end, we've got a reward,you know.
That's why I said before thebreak we need to stand up
against sin If we're expectingto get into that realm, as the
priests did when they went tothe Holy of Holies and they was
in God's presence and they stillsurvived because they were
right, they were in touch withGod, they had a relationship
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with him.
So if we can get to that placeand learn about God, we can
experience greater things.
Let's continue on.
In our book there are steepledbuildings all over North America
, but no matter what the sign ontheir manicured front lawn says
, god is quite unwelcome inthose places.
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Why those places?
Why Because their programs,their dignity and the
respectability among men aremore important than the presence
of God.
Yet God is beginning to raindown his grace and mercy and a
little bit at a time, histhirsty people are changing.
No longer do they care aboutthe imposing appearance of a
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building or the professionallook of a man-made program.
They are hunting for God.
They want the ark of God'spresence back in the church.
You may be in the same place Iam in today.
I've been in too many arklesschurch services.
I've endured too many powerlesschoir songs.
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I'm even tired of my ownministry.
I have preached too manysermons that may have been
anointed but didn't usher in thevery presence of the one we all
long for.
Maybe I was doing the best Iknew how to do, but all I could
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do was muster up a faint scentof him, the merest hint of
something immeasurably betterand more powerful.
All I could do under theanointing was make some smoke on
the wrong side of the veil,when what we really longed to do
was slip underneath and beholdhis glory beyond the veil.
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I am thankful for the anointing, but now I know that God has
even more for us.
That's himself.
I struggled and worked at theministries for decades, but now
I've discovered that when theweighty presence of God comes in
, everything I can do pales incomparison.
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Presence Everything, sinnersand saints, rich and poor, wise
and foolish, young and old alikeEverything falls down in all of
his glory.
We must move from asking foranointing to pursuing his
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manifest presence.
The glory.
Anointing empowers the flesh.
You preach or sing better Gloryflattens flesh.
Go for the glory.
David remembered his intimatefellowship with God in his
father's fields.
He remembered his supernaturalencounters with the Lord as a
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lowly young shepherd facinglions, bears and the mightiest
warrior of Philistia.
Now, many years later, as thenewly crowned king of both Judah
and Israel, david made thefirst move to fulfill his dream
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In 1 Chronicles 13,.
Then David said to the wholeassembly of Israel If you
approve and if the Lord, our God, opens a way, let us send to
our kinsmen who have stayedbehind in all of the districts
of Israel, and also to thepriests and Levites in the
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cities and towns where they havecommon land, bidding them join
us.
Let us fetch the ark of God,for while Saul lived we never
resorted to it.
For while Saul lived we neverresorted to it.
The Saul's in the flesh triedto do it long enough.
Thank God for pastors in church,churches who are hungry enough
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for the presence of God to layeverything else aside and say we
might have a nice building, wemight have a tabernacle, but we
need him.
We need the anointing, we needthe presence of God in our
churches.
We don't need man-made ideas,we don't need man-made programs,
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but we need his presence.
We need the ark of God in ourpresence Many times.
Israel had all the trappings ofGod but didn't have him.
The Jews Of Jesus day had thetabernacle, they performed every
ritual Sacrifice to perfection,they went through all the
(34:11):
motions of the law and they keptthe Levitical priesthood
Working around the clock, butthe Ark of the Covenant was gone
.
I sometimes wonder if the splitveil was also to reveal the
emptiness of religion gone awry.
The rip revealed that the Holyof Holies was empty.
(34:35):
Holy of Holies was empty.
That couldn't fathom that.
The Holy of Holies, or theFather, had just been ripped by
a Roman spear on a hill not faraway from the temple.
All the activity took placeoutside the veil, while behind
the veil there was only emptysilence.
There was only empty silence.
(34:57):
Sometimes you must acknowledgethat something is missing and
take a trip to get the ark.
Pharisees never like to admitthat they possess less than
everything.
In 1 Chronicles 13, chapter 13,again verses 5 and 6, it says
so.
David gathered all Israeltogether to bring the ark of God
(35:17):
from Kirjathor-Jerom, and Davidwent up to bring up thence the
ark of God, the Lord thatdwelleth between the cherubims
whose name is called on it inDavid's day.
If you wanted the glory of then, you had to go to the Ark of
(35:37):
the Covenant.
The Ark was still at Benedet'shouse, where it was left by the
stunned Israelites fromBethshebush after more than
50,000 of them had died.
They were killed because theylooked upon the sacred Ark of
God's Presence as just a commonbox.
(35:59):
They presumed to open the Arkof God's Presence and look
inside as if it were nothingmore than a pretty toy box.
Twenty years later, david made a15-mile pilgrimage to find the
missing glory, made a 15-milepilgrimage to find the missing
glory and they set the Ark ofGod upon a new cart and brought
(36:22):
it out of the house of Abinadadthat was in Gibeah.
And Uzziah and Ahaz, the sonsof Abinadad, drove the new cart
and they brought it out of thehouse of Abinadad, which was at
Geb, out of the house ofBen-Hadad, which was at Gebeth,
accompanying the ark of God.
And Ahio went before the arkForgive me for these names, guys
(36:48):
, I'm not the best pronouncer ofwords and David and all the
house of Israel played beforethe Lord on all manner of
instruments made of fir, wood,even on harps and on psalteries
and on timbrels and on cornetsand on cymbals.
And when they came to Nashon'sthrashing floor, uzziah put
(37:10):
forth his hand to the ark of Godand took hold of it, for the
oxen shook it and took hold ofit, for the oxen shook it, and
the anger of the Lord waskindled against Uzziah and God
smote him there for his errorand there he died by the ark of
God.
And David was displeased becausethe Lord had made a breach upon
(37:33):
Uzziah and he called the nameof the place.
Here is Uzziah to this day.
And David was afraid of theLord that day and said how shall
the ark of the Lord come to me?
So David would not remove theark of the Lord upon unto him
into the city of David, butDavid carried it aside.
(37:57):
Into the city of David, butDavid carried it aside into the
house of Obededim, the Gittitethat's found in 2 Samuel 6, 3-10
.
David and his crew was trying tohandle the holy presence and
the glory of God with humanhands.
How do you handle the holinessand glory of God?
(38:20):
God will only let you do thingsyour way for just so long.
I've heard it said that David'scaravan hit a bump in the road
at the thrashing floor.
Who put that bump in the road?
That would be like God.
(38:41):
He still has a way of puttingspeed bumps in the middle of the
highway of man's reasoning.
They force us to slow down andask is this the right thing?
Us to slow down and ask, isthis the right thing?
David's problem came when hehad his throb, tried to continue
on his normal past God's speedbump?
(39:05):
The Lord never intended for hisglory to creak along on the back
of man's mechanisms, vehiclesor programs, along on the back
of man's mechanisms, vehicles orprograms.
He has always ordained for hisglory to be transported by
sanctified or set-apart holyhuman vessels who reverence and
(39:25):
respect his holiness.
Abinadad's sons had spent up to20 years around the ark.
To them it was an ornate box,but ordinary box or chest.
They were probably honored whenthey were chosen to drive the
(39:46):
cart carrying the ark, butneither one of those young men
was prepared and they didn'tknow about the ancient warning
concerning God's holiness.
When David's possession came toGod's holy shaking place, in
the road the oxen stumbled andUzziah reached out to steady the
(40:06):
ark.
Uzziah's name literally meansstrength, boldness literally
means strength, boldness,majesty, security.
The presence of God never needsthe assistance or guidance of
man's strength to hold hisrightful place.
Nor will God ever allow thearms of flesh to glory in his
(40:27):
presence without tasting death.
God's glory broke out on theflesh that drew near to it in a
living state, and Uzziah wasinstantly killed.
Only dead men can see God'sface and only repentant, dead
flesh can touch his glory.
(40:50):
I don't think any of us haveseen the church function.
On the order of the church atJerusalem in the book of Acts,
the deaths of Ananias andSapphire for lying to God,
described in Acts 5, should bereexamined by the church today.
(41:10):
That same spirit is beginningto visit the church today, and
his standards of holiness havenot changed.
When the glory of God descendedupon that young church, it
brought fear on the people, butit also brought God's
miracle-working power throughsigns and wonders, causing many
(41:31):
to be added to the church.
Why?
Because the leaders who weresubmitted to God flowed in his
power and authority.
You have nothing to fear fromGod if you haven't done anything
bad.
While dad was gone, as soon asGod's presence fell on us in
(41:52):
small measures of glory, webegan asking ourselves the same
questions.
David must have asked himselfwhen he saw how serious it was
to be the stewards entrustedwith God's manifest presence.
We began to ask ourselvesshould we really be the ones to
take care of the sacred presence?
I distinctly remember sayingover and over why me, lord David
(42:17):
, the psalmist on the heels ofthe worry of God, has suddenly
discovered another facet ofGod's character that he had
never seen before.
Evidently, no one else inIsrael had seen this side of God
either.
Sadly, neither has the churchof today.
David decided to cancel thetrip to Jerusalem and pull aside
(42:39):
, to leave the presence he nowfeared at the home of Obed-Edom
in nearby Gath, formerly aPhilistine stronghold.
The ark stayed there for threemonths and the Lord blessed
Obed-Edom, his family andeverything that he owned.
Why did David stumble like theoxen pulling the cart?
(43:03):
He was in shock.
He had been doing everything heknew to do in the most
respectful manner that he knewof.
In fact, david's methodsresembled the methods used by
the Philistines years earlier totransport the ark into
Israelite territory, accordingto 1 Samuel 6 and verse 7.
(43:26):
He was dancing at the head ofthe procession and around the
cart along with the rest of thepeople, while many played
instruments and sang.
He obviously believed that godwould be pleased with his
efforts that day.
They were a happy little churchtaking the presence of god to
(43:49):
the place where it belonged.
Then they hit a holy bump inthe road at the threshing floor
of Nishan, a Hebrew word which,ironically, means prepared.
They were obviously unprepared.
When Uzziah casually reachedout to steady God's box from
(44:13):
falling off a man's vehicle, godseemed to say look, I've let
you come this far in your ownmanner.
Enough is enough.
If you really want my presenceback in Jerusalem, then you're
going to have to do it my way.
Then he struck down Uzziahright on the spot and stopped
David's parade in its tracks.
(44:35):
God broke out of his box andcaused man's plans to fall that
day, and it would take Davidthree months to recover, repent,
research and return for God'sglory.
The same thing happens todaywhen we encounter God's manifest
(44:56):
glory.
Too often we reach out infleshly presumption to stop the
God we've carefully contained ina box from falling off of our
rickety, man-made ministryprogram or tradition.
We shouldn't be surprised whenGod's glory breaks out of our
doctrinal or traditional boxesand shocks us.
(45:17):
Something always dies whenGod's glory encounters living
flesh.
David's changed his plan andmethods because the weightiness
of the presence of God suddenlydawned on him.
He began to think this is nosmall matter.
What are we doing?
Am I really the one who shouldbe doing this?
(45:40):
Things are not going the way Ienvision it in my head and I
think that's the way the churchworld has gotten today.
They envision all these thingsthey want to do.
They look at other churches andother programs and they see how
successful they are and theytry to bring them into their
house.
And it don't work.
The reason it don't work isbecause that's not God's plan
(46:02):
for your house.
God has a plan for you,specifically what you're
supposed to be doing in yourcommunities and where you're at.
You're not to bring the samething he's doing someplace else
there, because it's not going towork.
God's blessing is not going tobe upon it, and when we begin to
do that, like I said God, don'tlet us go so far.
And then, all of a sudden, he'sgoing to put a halt to it and
(46:23):
we're going to start seeingthings take place.
We're going to start seeing,you know, people leave and
programs that we're doing failand not reaching the people that
need to reach.
Why?
Because we are not taking itseriously enough.
We're trying to build, let'sjust say, a church or a
tabernacle, to be maybe a bigchurch, and that's not what God
wants.
(46:43):
I'm not saying there's anythingwrong with that, but I'm just
saying that if we're not doingexactly what God wants us to do
in our lives, that he's plannedfor us, then it's going to fail.
The glory is not going to bethere and if we are expected to
do what we are called to do,then we're going to have to find
how God wants us to do it.
We just can't reach out andgrab hold of the ark and take it
(47:06):
on and expect us to surviveBecause, as we found out in
Uzziah's time, when they come tothat threshing floor, they had
a bump in the road.
Uzziah died.
See, we'll get to a place wherewe hit a bump in the road and,
depending on how we work on thathow we handle that bump, it
depends on if we survive or not.
(47:26):
So, guys, we've got to be intune with God.
We've got to know what he wantsand how he wants us to do it.
You know, we just can't keepdoing this ourself.
It's time that we make a change.
It's time we decide that, hey,god, I'm going to follow your
path, regardless of what it does.
(47:47):
You know, I've tried it myselfand I failed.
It's not working right and I,can, man, can I preach on that
for hours in my own life.
I could tell you stories of howI've tried to do things my way
and God was nowhere in it.
I mean, I had good intentions,yes, but good intentions does
(48:07):
not follow what God wants done.
God's not going to bless goodintentions.
God will bless the thing thathe has ordained in your life.
Let's find out what God hasordained in this life.
Guys, it's been a great pleasuretoday to be with you.
I hope that you've receivedsomething from this today.
(48:29):
I know each the deeper we getin this book, we're going to
continue in chapter six.
Today, I know each the deeperwe get in this book, we're going
to continue in chapter 6.
On the next episode we're goingto pick up with.
Where do you want to pay theprice?
And that's the decision you'regoing to make Are you willing to
pay the price to see the gloryof God in your life, to see the
glory of God in your house?
Guys, it's been great andwonderful today.
(48:55):
Again, I ask you if you wouldlike to support this ministry,
feel free to.
There's a link on my page tosupport us.
You can follow us on Facebookand on YouTube at the Christian
Cafe.
You can email me atthechristiancafe2022 at gmailcom
.
I would love to hear from youAny prayer requests that you
(49:17):
might have.
Please feel free to send themto me.
I'd love to receive emails fromyou.
I hope today has been a greatday and you've feasted and
you've been fed well,everything's been to your liking
, and that you are blessed andhighly favored in God.
We're praying for you, we loveyou and I hope you have a
blessed day.
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Join us next time right here on the Christian Cafe
and see what God is serving upfresh for you.
Speaker 3 (49:50):
Well, you are working , you are working.
You are working for the good,and you are working.
You are working for the good inall things, in all things, in
(50:14):
all things and all things.
You're working it out, workingit out.
Music.
Hello, this is your host, glennKivett, and welcome to today's
(00:26):
episode of the Christian Cafe,where the bread is made fresh
and delivered right from theWord of God.
To keep up to date with what'scoming up, be sure to follow me
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Also on Twitter, feel free toemail me with your prayer
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(00:48):
I would love to hear from you.
So grab your seat, place yourorder and we will deliver it
fresh and hot, just for you.
Welcome everybody.
(01:36):
Welcome Welcome to my world,the Christian Cafe.
Glad you came.
Come on, in, sit down, glad tohave you, man, it's good to be
back.
It's been a while since I'vebeen on I guess a couple months
or so Been busy Doing a lot ofthings and just glad to be back
(01:58):
with you guys, just gettingready to spread the word with
you and talk to you about thegoodness of God.
I hope you've been doing allright and God's been blessing
you and keeping you and justpouring out His blessings upon
you, because God is good to us.
I don't know what you're havingto face, but I do know one
(02:18):
thing God is good.
He's been good to me and I knowhe's being good to you.
We've just got to put our faithin Him.
Again, thank you for tuning into the podcast.
I'm expecting God to ministerto us today.
We're going to continue in ourbook that we have been talking
about and going through the GodChasers.
(02:40):
We're going to be getting intoChapter 6 here in a little while
and we're going to talk aboutjust moving from the anointing
to glory, how to handle the holy.
That's a great topic.
I'm excited to get into that.
First, let me just talk to youjust a little bit.
I'd like for you too, if you'dlike, to subscribe to my podcast
(03:00):
.
We're on a lot of differentvenues Apple Podcasts, google
and so many others, even Spotify.
If you would like to subscribeto us, check us out and just hit
that subscribe button and youcan send us an email at
thechristiancafe2022 at gmailcom.
Let us know what you thinkabout the podcast and God is
(03:22):
leading you to support us.
Oh, by all means, do that.
We don't do this for money, butit does cost a little bit and
God's providing so far and we'dlike to get support.
So that would be awesome if wecould.
If not, we're still going tobring God's goodness to you and
bring the Word to you, because Ibelieve that in this day and
time that we live in, we need tobe telling about good news.
(03:46):
We've been hearing so muchabout bad news across the United
States right now.
Until you know, good news is agood thing.
I do not like negativity.
I do not like seeing what'sgoing across the news channels.
I got any more where I don'teven pay attention to the news
(04:07):
and that's something importantthat comes on, because all they
talk about is negativity and howthis person's doing that and
this, that and the other.
But I still believe in what theBible says, that we are subject
to God, and he is our leader,he is our Father.
He's the one that's going toprovide for us, no matter what
the world is doing.
(04:28):
He's going to provide, and Ibelieve that because, like I
said, he is good to us and he'lltake care of us.
So drop us a line, let us knowwhat you think about the podcast
, and if there's something youwould like for us to talk about,
we would love to do that too.
We're hoping to have a specialguest on here in a few weeks,
(04:50):
and that's going to be exciting.
We're looking forward to that.
So tune in with us and sit backand relax, and we're going to
get started here very shortly,back into Chapter 6.
And let's talk a little bitabout getting into the holies,
because that's where we want tobe at.
Let's take a short break and wewill be right back.
(05:34):
All righty, I had to get me acup of coffee, something to
drink here.
I'll sit down here and justrelax and get comfortable a
little bit.
We're going to get back intoour book, the God Chasers, and
we're going to jump into chaptersix.
If you've got this book, openit up and follow right along
with us.
We'll be reading some andcommenting a little bit on the
(05:56):
other and here and there.
If you don't have this book,you can send me an email and
I'll be glad to send it out toyou free of charge.
Like I said in episodes before,I've read this book.
You can send me an email andI'll be glad to send it out to
you free of charge.
Like I said in episodes before,I've read this book two or
three times and every singletime I read it there's something
(06:16):
.
I get out of it, somethinggreater, and I'm just excited to
share it with you.
I know it's taken us a whileand I try not to take up too
much of your time, but we wantto kind of get through this
chapter if possible.
Probably won't, because it'staken us a while and I try not
to take up too much of your time, but we want to kind of get
through this chapter if possible.
Probably won't, because it's apretty lengthy chapter, but
we're going to get right into ittoday and it's chapter six,
called how to Handle the HolyMoving from Anointing to Glory.
(06:41):
Do you quietly bow your head inreverence when you step into the
average church?
I would be surprised if youranswer is yes.
Ray W Tozer said that my lifechanged forever on the October
weekend in Houston, texas, whenGod's presence invaded the
(07:03):
atmosphere like a thunderboltand split the podium at the
Sunday service.
I'll never forget telling myfriend the pastor you know God
could have killed you.
I wasn't laughing when I saidit.
It was as if God had said I'mhere and I want you to respect
(07:23):
my presence.
A picture of Uzziah's grave hadpopped into my mind.
We didn't know what we wereasking for when we said we
wanted God.
I know I thought I did, but Ididn't.
When God actually showed up,none of us were prepared for the
(07:44):
reality of his presence.
As I've already mentionedearlier in this book, there was
very little preaching because wedidn't have a choice.
God repossessed his church fora period of time and he wouldn't
allow anything to happen thathe hadn't specifically ordained
(08:05):
for that service.
The thick blanket of histangible presence was so heavy
that I received an up-close andpersonal understanding of what
is meant by God's word when itsays in 1 Kings, 8, 10, and 11,.
And it came to pass, when thepriests were come out of the
(08:27):
holy place, that the cloudfilled the house of the Lord, so
that the priests could notstand to minister because the
cloud for the glory of the Lordhad filled the house of the Lord
.
God came so suddenly and soforcefully into that church
building that we were afraid todo anything, unless he
(08:47):
specifically told us to do it.
His presence was always there,of course, but not the weighty
manifest presence we experiencedat certain times.
In those moments, all we coulddo was sit there trembling.
All we could do was sit theretrembling.
We were afraid to take anoffering without specific
(09:09):
permission from God.
We kept asking each other Doyou think it's okay to take an
offering?
Do you think we should do this?
What about that?
Why were we so hesitant aboutthings most of us had done
thousands of times before?
We were amateurs at handlingthe holy.
(09:39):
We still are.
I have noticed that early on invisitations of God's manifest
presence.
He comes suddenly and withoutwarning, but in subsequent
visitation he comes only byinvitation, in other words,
displayed hunger.
The crux of the matter issimple Do you really want him to
(10:00):
come?
Are you willing to pay the costof becoming a God chaser?
Then you will have to learn howto properly reverence, handle
and steward the holiness of God.
Let me ask those questionsagain to you Do we really want
him to come when we ask him to,to come when we ask him to, and
(10:29):
are we willing to pay the price,or pay the cost, of being a
God-chaser?
And we say that we are, we eventestify that we want him to
come in a manner that we'venever experienced.
But if and when he does, are weready for it?
Are we ready?
Are we going to properlyreverence him?
Are we going to be able tohandle and steward the holiness
(10:54):
of God?
That's a topic we'll have todelve into some other time, but
we're going to get right backinto the book here.
Aw Tozer was deeply concernedabout our loss of holiness in
the church.
He noticed that the averagechurch was losing that sense of
sacredness in their worshipservices and it grieved him.
(11:15):
To him, that lack of reverencemeant that people didn't think
God's presence was in the churchor in their church, and it
probably wasn't.
Tozer observed that theyearning and desiring of the
spiritual life was losing out toworldly secularism, just like
(11:38):
today.
Such an environment does notproduce revival.
As a result, tozer felt thatGod may actually look elsewhere
if the church does not come backto him, to a relationship with
him and not just his stuff.
We can look all around in thereligious world today and we can
(12:01):
see all these programs and allthese light shows and all these
other things, thinking that'swhat God wants to get his
attention.
But I disagree.
God's presence can come with nosound in the church, no music
playing, and I'm not sayingthat's what we need to do, I'm
(12:22):
just saying we get caught up onthat.
There's nothing wrong with goodpraise and worship music or
good people or good singing orgood music.
There's nothing wrong with that.
But I think sometimes that weget caught up in those things
that we think everything's gotto be perfect.
But, saints, we're not aperfect church, we just serve a
perfect God.
(12:42):
And in our attempt to do thingsperfectly in the church, we
mess it up to the fact that weforget about the reason why we
do it.
And we do it because it'seither show or it's just
something we're expected to do.
But God wants us to worship himfrom our heart.
He wants us to desire hispresence.
(13:04):
He wants us to desire him fromour heart.
He wants us to desire hispresence.
He wants us to desire aspiritual life with him, one
that is not focused on tangiblethings, but one that is focused
on a spiritual life with him.
I now know why the high priestof old would say to their fellow
priest tie a rope around myankle, because I'm going into
(13:27):
the place where the glory of Godabides.
I've done everything I know tomake myself ready, but I am in
awe of God.
I'm not afraid of God, I lovehim.
But I now have a respect forthe glory and the holy things of
God that I confess I didn'thave before.
(13:48):
It used to be easy to handlethe anointing, but now I know it
is a sacred thing.
Now I am careful to pray twothings before I minister.
In most cases I pray a prayerof thanksgiving, first of all
saying thank you, lord, forvisiting us.
Then I ask the second part ofthe prayer.
(14:09):
Please stay, lord, if youremember the barren woman who
prepared the prophet's room forElijah in 2 Kings 4, he was
rewarded with a son.
(14:29):
When Satan took him away inpremature death, god sent the
prophet to raise him back tolife.
Satan cannot steal what God hasbirthed.
Let me say that again Satancannot steal what God has
birthed.
But God will only birth thingsto people who make room for the
miraculous, by faith Strongstatement.
That is why I am careful tothank the Lord for coming.
(14:52):
Then I tell him that we havemade provisions for him to come
again.
Lord, we're going to be hereworshiping you on Wednesday,
thursday and Friday.
Our sole purpose is to praiseyour name and seek your lovely
face.
By faith, I believe that Godwill visit us once again.
(15:13):
I know from his word that whenGod visits someone, he causes
new and precious things to beborn and even if Satan tries to
kill them, god will move heavenand earth to breathe life back
into what he has birthed.
We need to learn how to handlethe holy things of God with
(15:35):
greater tenderness andsensitivity.
We must remember that the goodcan quickly become the worst
enemy of the best.
If you want God's best, thenyou will have to sacrifice what
you think is good and acceptable.
If you and I can find out whatis acceptable to him the best,
(15:58):
then the promise of visitationbecomes real.
I think I've seen a glimpse ofwhat I think God is doing.
He is moving into position.
Chapter 13 of the book of 1stChronicles tells us that after
David was crowned king overIsrael and defeated the
Philistines, he decided to movethe Ark of the Covenant back to
(16:21):
Jerusalem, of the covenant backto Jerusalem.
There was a move of God in thesense that his Old Testament,
abode of the manifest presenceof God, was being moved from its
interim resting place to theplace where his glory belonged.
God is wanting to move into histrue resting place.
Jerusalem is spoken of as atype of shadow, type and shadow
(16:46):
of the church.
The apostle Paul spoke ofJerusalem, which is above, as
the mother of us all, referringallegorically to the church in
Galatians 4.26.
This is a picture of the church, the spiritual city or a boat
(17:07):
of God.
God wants his glory in thechurch on display for the world
to see how many believe that.
I think God wants to see hischurch in actions.
Let me see if I can find thatverse of scripture his church in
actions.
Let me see if I can find thatverse of scripture.
It talked about chapter fourand 26 in Galatians.
(17:32):
Um.
It says but the woman, but theother woman, sarah, represents
the heavenly Jerusalem.
She is the free woman and sheis our mother.
That was the New LivingTranslations.
The New King James Version saysbut the Jerusalem above is free
(17:52):
, which is the mother of us all.
See, jerusalem is free and hewants his church to be free too.
He don't want us to be bound.
There were times when God'sglory, his kabod or weighty
presence, was moved out of itsrightful place through the sin
(18:14):
or indifference of men.
The grandson of the old priestEli remains an eternal landmark
of God's presence From man'sworst laid plans.
As the newborn boy's mother laydying, she told the woman at
her side that the boy would benamed Incubab, which literally
(18:38):
means the glory has departed.
Her labor began moments aftershe learned that the ark of God
had been taken by thePhilistines in battle and that
her husband, phineas, was slain.
Eli's son, phineas and Horphanihad sinned against God.
(19:00):
I think I said that right, ifnot correct me, please.
They had sinned against Godeven while attending to their
priestly duties before the Lord.
Is this still the case today incountless ministries.
The same fate may well awaitthem.
Their legacy may well beremembered under the name
(19:22):
Ichabod.
The glory has departed, andsadly, let me just add here, in
a lot of our churches that isthe case.
The glory of God is gone, noone is being saved, no one's
been delivered or set free.
And when the glory of God isleft the church, it's the same
(19:43):
way.
Here you might as well writeIncubat over the doorway because
God's no longer there, god'snot performing his miracles any
longer.
And let me just say, if you'rein a church like that now you
need to find your place whereGod's glory is at, so you can be
delivered and set free ofanything that's bothering you or
anything that's binding youfrom stepping into the next,
next, next level, uh, that godhas placed in your life.
(20:06):
In the 20 years or so thatpassed after the loss of the ark
, saul, the king never showedany interest in bringing the Ark
of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
But David felt differently.
He had a burning passion to seeGod's presence restored to its
(20:26):
proper place in Jerusalem.
He wanted to live under theshadow of God's glory.
The church has been playingchurch far too long.
It is time for someone to standup and say the era of Saul is
over.
Saul was a king after the flesh.
David was a king after thespirit.
(20:47):
Saul was a king chosen becausehe stood head and shoulders
above everyone else according tooutward appearances and
qualifications, and he appearedto be the right one.
He was named king only becausethe people pressed God for
second best.
Saul quickly lost his God-givenmandate to rule by choosing to
(21:11):
please men by his actionsinstead of God.
There is no room for apolitician in the stewardship of
God.
We have only one public toplease as children of God, and
that is the audience of one whomade us for his own pleasure.
David, on the other hand, wasGod's chosen king, a man who had
(21:36):
been groomed all his lifethrough intimate relationship.
When God ripped the kingdom outof Saul's hand to put it into
David's hand, david said inessence through his actions,
we're not going to pursue God inthe fleshly ways any longer.
When people like you and mestand up and declare our
(21:57):
intentions as god chasers, thechurch will never be the same
again.
But we've got to do that, guys,and there's no greater time
than right now.
I mean, just look at the thingsaround us, look at everything
that's taking place.
The moral society, I meanthere's not even more.
(22:18):
It's so immorally.
Uh, they're allowing things thatI don't know about when I was
growing up.
If it was on tv now, um, whatwas showing back then?
Now it'd be a bit differentstory.
But I mean, you didn't seethings like that in my day.
Uh, it's so much more publiclyaware now.
We got.
(22:38):
We got people that's doing allthis stuff.
That's not even right.
Even inside churches, we haveforgot about God and we've
started pleasing man.
We've allowed certain thingsinside the church.
We've allowed people tominister that have a lifestyle
of homosexuality.
And yes, I said it.
You can get mad all you want to, but that's not God, that's sin
(23:01):
.
It says so in the scriptures.
And when we start allowingthings like that into the house
of God and saying it's Bible,and saying that they love God,
well, they may love God and Godloves them, but God does not
love their sin.
It is sin, guys, I don't carewhich way you slice it, it's
(23:22):
still sin and I may losefollowers, I may lose people to
quit listening, but that's allright.
At least you heard it.
Just get in the word, becauseit's there, it's wrong and we
need to change.
We need to stand up as a churchand begin calling sin sin and
kick the devil out of ourpulpits and have him in a place
(23:43):
where he's supposed to be, underour feet.
But you know, the scripturetalks about how things were
going to take place, and it'smore greater now than it's ever
been.
And I'm just praying that we asa church will wake up and we'll
see what's taking place and andand do something.
And I know that a lot of us wecan't get out and go and and
(24:04):
talk against it.
But one thing we can do we canpray.
We can, uh, bombard, bombardheaven and pray for those that
are lost and pray for ourleaders and and our religious
leaders that they'll come backto the, to the scriptures and
come back to god.
Because it's going to take thatin this last days for us to
(24:24):
stand.
We're not going to be able tostand if we keep patting sin on
the back and saying it's okay todo this, guys, we'll take a
break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Here at the Christian Cafe, we believe in serving up
a hot, fresh word for ourlisteners.
We recently read a new booktitled Revival Makers Stop
Chasing a Move of God and Be Oneby Pastor Tony Suarez.
We would love to send you acopy of this book for free.
(25:22):
All you need to do is contactus through email at
thechristiancafe2022 at gmailcomwith your name and address, and
we will send it to you for free.
Also, be sure and tune in toall the latest episodes of the
Christian Cafe wherever you getyour podcasts.
Again, email us atvthechristiancafe2022 at
(25:48):
gmailcom.
Thanks and have a great day.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
We were talking right before we took a break, about
things that are taking place inour world, in our nation, and
how sin was running rampant.
I want to remind you about whatit said in Matthew 24.
And how sin was running rampant.
I want to remind you about whatit said in Matthew 24.
You know, the disciples hadcome to Mount Olives and they
had arrived there with Jesus andthey were sitting with him and
(26:28):
they're talking to him and theyask him.
You know, what can we expect?
What is a sign that we can lookfor for the end of time, for
the completion of the age?
And Jesus just simply said I'mgoing to read this from Matthew
24, from the Passion Translation.
It says At that time, deceptionwill run rampant.
So beware that you are notfooled, for many will appear on
(26:51):
the scene claiming my authorityor saying about themselves I am
the anointed one, and they willlead many astray.
It's already taken place, guys.
You will hear wars andrevolutions on every side, with
more rumors of wars to come.
Don't panic or give in to yourfears, for the breaking apart of
(27:14):
the world's system is destinedto happen, but it won't yet be
the end.
It will still be unfolding, yetnations will go to war against
nations and kingdoms againstkingdoms, and there will be
terrible earthquakes, horribleepidemics and famines in place
after place.
This is how the birth pains ofthe new age will begin.
(27:40):
Remember I said that when Godvisits and God comes, he comes
only to birth something.
So you can expect to bepersecuted, even killed, for you
will be hated by all thenations because of your love for
me.
Then many will stop followingme and fall away, and they will
be betrayed one another and hateone another.
(28:03):
And many lying prophets willarise, deceiving multitudes and
leading them away from the pathof truth.
There will be such an increaseof sin, of lawlessness, that
those whose hearts once burnedwith passion for God and others
will grow cold.
(28:24):
Behold your hope.
I love this verse.
Behold your hope firmly to theend, and you will experience
life and deliverance.
See, there is a promise at theend of that.
It all looks bleak.
It's not a pretty picture, butthose of us that will hold on to
(28:50):
the end, we've got a reward,you know.
That's why I said before thebreak we need to stand up
against sin If we're expectingto get into that realm, as the
priests did when they went tothe Holy of Holies and they was
in God's presence and they stillsurvived because they were
right, they were in touch withGod, they had a relationship
(29:11):
with him.
So if we can get to that placeand learn about God, we can
experience greater things.
Let's continue on.
In our book there are steepledbuildings all over North America
, but no matter what the sign ontheir manicured front lawn says
, god is quite unwelcome inthose places.
(29:33):
Why those places?
Why Because their programs,their dignity and the
respectability among men aremore important than the presence
of God.
Yet God is beginning to raindown his grace and mercy and a
little bit at a time, histhirsty people are changing.
No longer do they care aboutthe imposing appearance of a
(29:57):
building or the professionallook of a man-made program.
They are hunting for God.
They want the ark of God'spresence back in the church.
You may be in the same place Iam in today.
I've been in too many arklesschurch services.
I've endured too many powerlesschoir songs.
(30:20):
I'm even tired of my ownministry.
I have preached too manysermons that may have been
anointed but didn't usher in thevery presence of the one we all
long for.
Maybe I was doing the best Iknew how to do, but all I could
(30:41):
do was muster up a faint scentof him, the merest hint of
something immeasurably betterand more powerful.
All I could do under theanointing was make some smoke on
the wrong side of the veil,when what we really longed to do
was slip underneath and beholdhis glory beyond the veil.
(31:04):
I am thankful for the anointing, but now I know that God has
even more for us.
That's himself.
I struggled and worked at theministries for decades, but now
I've discovered that when theweighty presence of God comes in
, everything I can do pales incomparison.
(31:28):
Presence Everything, sinnersand saints, rich and poor, wise
and foolish, young and old alikeEverything falls down in all of
his glory.
We must move from asking foranointing to pursuing his
(31:56):
manifest presence.
The glory.
Anointing empowers the flesh.
You preach or sing better Gloryflattens flesh.
Go for the glory.
David remembered his intimatefellowship with God in his
father's fields.
He remembered his supernaturalencounters with the Lord as a
(32:20):
lowly young shepherd facinglions, bears and the mightiest
warrior of Philistia.
Now, many years later, as thenewly crowned king of both Judah
and Israel, david made thefirst move to fulfill his dream
(32:42):
In 1 Chronicles 13,.
Then David said to the wholeassembly of Israel If you
approve and if the Lord, our God, opens a way, let us send to
our kinsmen who have stayedbehind in all of the districts
of Israel, and also to thepriests and Levites in the
(33:04):
cities and towns where they havecommon land, bidding them join
us.
Let us fetch the ark of God,for while Saul lived we never
resorted to it.
For while Saul lived we neverresorted to it.
The Saul's in the flesh triedto do it long enough.
Thank God for pastors in church,churches who are hungry enough
(33:27):
for the presence of God to layeverything else aside and say we
might have a nice building, wemight have a tabernacle, but we
need him.
We need the anointing, we needthe presence of God in our
churches.
We don't need man-made ideas,we don't need man-made programs,
(33:49):
but we need his presence.
We need the ark of God in ourpresence Many times.
Israel had all the trappings ofGod but didn't have him.
The Jews Of Jesus day had thetabernacle, they performed every
ritual Sacrifice to perfection,they went through all the
(34:11):
motions of the law and they keptthe Levitical priesthood
Working around the clock, butthe Ark of the Covenant was gone
.
I sometimes wonder if the splitveil was also to reveal the
emptiness of religion gone awry.
The rip revealed that the Holyof Holies was empty.
(34:35):
Holy of Holies was empty.
That couldn't fathom that.
The Holy of Holies, or theFather, had just been ripped by
a Roman spear on a hill not faraway from the temple.
All the activity took placeoutside the veil, while behind
the veil there was only emptysilence.
There was only empty silence.
(34:57):
Sometimes you must acknowledgethat something is missing and
take a trip to get the ark.
Pharisees never like to admitthat they possess less than
everything.
In 1 Chronicles 13, chapter 13,again verses 5 and 6, it says
so.
David gathered all Israeltogether to bring the ark of God
(35:17):
from Kirjathor-Jerom, and Davidwent up to bring up thence the
ark of God, the Lord thatdwelleth between the cherubims
whose name is called on it inDavid's day.
If you wanted the glory of then, you had to go to the Ark of
(35:37):
the Covenant.
The Ark was still at Benedet'shouse, where it was left by the
stunned Israelites fromBethshebush after more than
50,000 of them had died.
They were killed because theylooked upon the sacred Ark of
God's Presence as just a commonbox.
(35:59):
They presumed to open the Arkof God's Presence and look
inside as if it were nothingmore than a pretty toy box.
Twenty years later, david made a15-mile pilgrimage to find the
missing glory, made a 15-milepilgrimage to find the missing
glory and they set the Ark ofGod upon a new cart and brought
(36:22):
it out of the house of Abinadadthat was in Gibeah.
And Uzziah and Ahaz, the sonsof Abinadad, drove the new cart
and they brought it out of thehouse of Abinadad, which was at
Geb, out of the house ofBen-Hadad, which was at Gebeth,
accompanying the ark of God.
And Ahio went before the arkForgive me for these names, guys
(36:48):
, I'm not the best pronouncer ofwords and David and all the
house of Israel played beforethe Lord on all manner of
instruments made of fir, wood,even on harps and on psalteries
and on timbrels and on cornetsand on cymbals.
And when they came to Nashon'sthrashing floor, uzziah put
(37:10):
forth his hand to the ark of Godand took hold of it, for the
oxen shook it and took hold ofit, for the oxen shook it, and
the anger of the Lord waskindled against Uzziah and God
smote him there for his errorand there he died by the ark of
God.
And David was displeased becausethe Lord had made a breach upon
(37:33):
Uzziah and he called the nameof the place.
Here is Uzziah to this day.
And David was afraid of theLord that day and said how shall
the ark of the Lord come to me?
So David would not remove theark of the Lord upon unto him
into the city of David, butDavid carried it aside.
(37:57):
Into the city of David, butDavid carried it aside into the
house of Obededim, the Gittitethat's found in 2 Samuel 6, 3-10
.
David and his crew was trying tohandle the holy presence and
the glory of God with humanhands.
How do you handle the holinessand glory of God?
(38:20):
God will only let you do thingsyour way for just so long.
I've heard it said that David'scaravan hit a bump in the road
at the thrashing floor.
Who put that bump in the road?
That would be like God.
(38:41):
He still has a way of puttingspeed bumps in the middle of the
highway of man's reasoning.
They force us to slow down andask is this the right thing?
Us to slow down and ask, isthis the right thing?
David's problem came when hehad his throb, tried to continue
on his normal past God's speedbump?
(39:05):
The Lord never intended for hisglory to creak along on the back
of man's mechanisms, vehiclesor programs, along on the back
of man's mechanisms, vehicles orprograms.
He has always ordained for hisglory to be transported by
sanctified or set-apart holyhuman vessels who reverence and
(39:25):
respect his holiness.
Abinadad's sons had spent up to20 years around the ark.
To them it was an ornate box,but ordinary box or chest.
They were probably honored whenthey were chosen to drive the
(39:46):
cart carrying the ark, butneither one of those young men
was prepared and they didn'tknow about the ancient warning
concerning God's holiness.
When David's possession came toGod's holy shaking place, in
the road the oxen stumbled andUzziah reached out to steady the
(40:06):
ark.
Uzziah's name literally meansstrength, boldness literally
means strength, boldness,majesty, security.
The presence of God never needsthe assistance or guidance of
man's strength to hold hisrightful place.
Nor will God ever allow thearms of flesh to glory in his
(40:27):
presence without tasting death.
God's glory broke out on theflesh that drew near to it in a
living state, and Uzziah wasinstantly killed.
Only dead men can see God'sface and only repentant, dead
flesh can touch his glory.
(40:50):
I don't think any of us haveseen the church function.
On the order of the church atJerusalem in the book of Acts,
the deaths of Ananias andSapphire for lying to God,
described in Acts 5, should bereexamined by the church today.
(41:10):
That same spirit is beginningto visit the church today, and
his standards of holiness havenot changed.
When the glory of God descendedupon that young church, it
brought fear on the people, butit also brought God's
miracle-working power throughsigns and wonders, causing many
(41:31):
to be added to the church.
Why?
Because the leaders who weresubmitted to God flowed in his
power and authority.
You have nothing to fear fromGod if you haven't done anything
bad.
While dad was gone, as soon asGod's presence fell on us in
(41:52):
small measures of glory, webegan asking ourselves the same
questions.
David must have asked himselfwhen he saw how serious it was
to be the stewards entrustedwith God's manifest presence.
We began to ask ourselvesshould we really be the ones to
take care of the sacred presence?
I distinctly remember sayingover and over why me, lord David
(42:17):
, the psalmist on the heels ofthe worry of God, has suddenly
discovered another facet ofGod's character that he had
never seen before.
Evidently, no one else inIsrael had seen this side of God
either.
Sadly, neither has the churchof today.
David decided to cancel thetrip to Jerusalem and pull aside
(42:39):
, to leave the presence he nowfeared at the home of Obed-Edom
in nearby Gath, formerly aPhilistine stronghold.
The ark stayed there for threemonths and the Lord blessed
Obed-Edom, his family andeverything that he owned.
Why did David stumble like theoxen pulling the cart?
(43:03):
He was in shock.
He had been doing everything heknew to do in the most
respectful manner that he knewof.
In fact, david's methodsresembled the methods used by
the Philistines years earlier totransport the ark into
Israelite territory, accordingto 1 Samuel 6 and verse 7.
(43:26):
He was dancing at the head ofthe procession and around the
cart along with the rest of thepeople, while many played
instruments and sang.
He obviously believed that godwould be pleased with his
efforts that day.
They were a happy little churchtaking the presence of god to
(43:49):
the place where it belonged.
Then they hit a holy bump inthe road at the threshing floor
of Nishan, a Hebrew word which,ironically, means prepared.
They were obviously unprepared.
When Uzziah casually reachedout to steady God's box from
(44:13):
falling off a man's vehicle, godseemed to say look, I've let
you come this far in your ownmanner.
Enough is enough.
If you really want my presenceback in Jerusalem, then you're
going to have to do it my way.
Then he struck down Uzziahright on the spot and stopped
David's parade in its tracks.
(44:35):
God broke out of his box andcaused man's plans to fall that
day, and it would take Davidthree months to recover, repent,
research and return for God'sglory.
The same thing happens todaywhen we encounter God's manifest
(44:56):
glory.
Too often we reach out infleshly presumption to stop the
God we've carefully contained ina box from falling off of our
rickety, man-made ministryprogram or tradition.
We shouldn't be surprised whenGod's glory breaks out of our
doctrinal or traditional boxesand shocks us.
(45:17):
Something always dies whenGod's glory encounters living
flesh.
David's changed his plan andmethods because the weightiness
of the presence of God suddenlydawned on him.
He began to think this is nosmall matter.
What are we doing?
Am I really the one who shouldbe doing this?
(45:40):
Things are not going the way Ienvision it in my head and I
think that's the way the churchworld has gotten today.
They envision all these thingsthey want to do.
They look at other churches andother programs and they see how
successful they are and theytry to bring them into their
house.
And it don't work.
The reason it don't work isbecause that's not God's plan
(46:02):
for your house.
God has a plan for you,specifically what you're
supposed to be doing in yourcommunities and where you're at.
You're not to bring the samething he's doing someplace else
there, because it's not going towork.
God's blessing is not going tobe upon it, and when we begin to
do that, like I said God, don'tlet us go so far.
And then, all of a sudden, he'sgoing to put a halt to it and
(46:23):
we're going to start seeingthings take place.
We're going to start seeing,you know, people leave and
programs that we're doing failand not reaching the people that
need to reach.
Why?
Because we are not taking itseriously enough.
We're trying to build, let'sjust say, a church or a
tabernacle, to be maybe a bigchurch, and that's not what God
wants.
(46:43):
I'm not saying there's anythingwrong with that, but I'm just
saying that if we're not doingexactly what God wants us to do
in our lives, that he's plannedfor us, then it's going to fail.
The glory is not going to bethere and if we are expected to
do what we are called to do,then we're going to have to find
how God wants us to do it.
We just can't reach out andgrab hold of the ark and take it
(47:06):
on and expect us to surviveBecause, as we found out in
Uzziah's time, when they come tothat threshing floor, they had
a bump in the road.
Uzziah died.
See, we'll get to a place wherewe hit a bump in the road and,
depending on how we work on thathow we handle that bump, it
depends on if we survive or not.
(47:26):
So, guys, we've got to be intune with God.
We've got to know what he wantsand how he wants us to do it.
You know, we just can't keepdoing this ourself.
It's time that we make a change.
It's time we decide that, hey,god, I'm going to follow your
path, regardless of what it does.
(47:47):
You know, I've tried it myselfand I failed.
It's not working right and I,can, man, can I preach on that
for hours in my own life.
I could tell you stories of howI've tried to do things my way
and God was nowhere in it.
I mean, I had good intentions,yes, but good intentions does
(48:07):
not follow what God wants done.
God's not going to bless goodintentions.
God will bless the thing thathe has ordained in your life.
Let's find out what God hasordained in this life.
Guys, it's been a great pleasuretoday to be with you.
I hope that you've receivedsomething from this today.
(48:29):
I know each the deeper we getin this book, we're going to
continue in chapter six.
Today, I know each the deeperwe get in this book, we're going
to continue in chapter 6.
On the next episode we're goingto pick up with.
Where do you want to pay theprice?
And that's the decision you'regoing to make Are you willing to
pay the price to see the gloryof God in your life, to see the
glory of God in your house?
Guys, it's been great andwonderful today.
(48:55):
Again, I ask you if you wouldlike to support this ministry,
feel free to.
There's a link on my page tosupport us.
You can follow us on Facebookand on YouTube at the Christian
Cafe.
You can email me atthechristiancafe2022 at gmailcom
.
I would love to hear from youAny prayer requests that you
(49:17):
might have.
Please feel free to send themto me.
I'd love to receive emails fromyou.
I hope today has been a greatday and you've feasted and
you've been fed well,everything's been to your liking
, and that you are blessed andhighly favored in God.
We're praying for you, we loveyou and I hope you have a
blessed day.
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Join us next time right here on the Christian Cafe
and see what God is serving upfresh for you.
Speaker 3 (49:50):
Well, you are working , you are working.
You are working for the good,and you are working.
You are working for the good inall things, in all things, in
(50:14):
all things and all things.
You're working it out, workingit out.
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