Um it is a joy and an honor uh to be<\/p>\n
with all of you today. Uh our team has<\/p>\n
been here for four days and we have been<\/p>\n
eating our way uh through the city of<\/p>\n
Bangkok and so our stomachs are full. Uh<\/p>\n
but I think I can speak on behalf of uh<\/p>\n
all of us in saying not only our<\/p>\n
stomachs very full but our hearts are<\/p>\n
actually even more full uh as we get to<\/p>\n
see and hear uh so many inspiring<\/p>\n
stories of how God is moving uh in<\/p>\n
Thailand. It has been a tremendous joy<\/p>\n
and so I want to thank on behalf of our<\/p>\n
team I want to thank pastor Nati and the<\/p>\n
leadership here at Grace City for the<\/p>\n
kind invitation uh to join all of you<\/p>\n
for worship uh today. Uh my first time<\/p>\n
in Thailand was actually 25 years ago<\/p>\n
when I was a missionary in China. And<\/p>\n
for Chinese New Years, I had an<\/p>\n
opportunity to visit Bangkok. And it<\/p>\n
quickly became one of my favorite<\/p>\n
countries because of the food, the<\/p>\n
culture, the weather, uh and of course<\/p>\n
the people. Uh Thailand is one of the<\/p>\n
most special places uh in the entire<\/p>\n
world. And at the same time, uh,<\/p>\n
Thailand is also a place that is in<\/p>\n
desperate need of the gospel as well,<\/p>\n
which is why your presence here, uh, in<\/p>\n
Thailand is so, so important. And that's<\/p>\n
what I want to talk about today. The<\/p>\n
idea of presence, specifically, God's<\/p>\n
presence in our lives. And I want to<\/p>\n
open up by asking you this question.<\/p>\n
How aware are you on a day-to-day level,<\/p>\n
hour to hour level,<\/p>\n
minuteto- minute level of God's<\/p>\n
presence, not only in your city but in<\/p>\n
your life. I think one of the reasons<\/p>\n
why even as followers of Jesus we lack<\/p>\n
so much power in our lives and<\/p>\n
oftentimes we live such status quo and<\/p>\n
mediocre lives is directly because we<\/p>\n
are not aware of God's presence and I'm<\/p>\n
not just talking about God's general uh<\/p>\n
omniresence<\/p>\n
but I'm talking about his specific<\/p>\n
presence uh in your life how aware are<\/p>\n
you of his presence even here as we<\/p>\n
worship him.<\/p>\n
Uh I heard this story once from a pastor<\/p>\n
who was talking about how uh at this<\/p>\n
certain school it was bring your parents<\/p>\n
to school day and I don't know if they<\/p>\n
do this in Thailand. Uh we're actually<\/p>\n
this week while I'm gone uh my wife is<\/p>\n
attending Bring Your Parents to School<\/p>\n
Day. And for little children, uh when<\/p>\n
it's Bring Your Parents to School Day,<\/p>\n
it's an opportunity to brag about your<\/p>\n
parents and how cool they are, at least<\/p>\n
when they're little. Uh and so the story<\/p>\n
goes that uh student uh one says, \"Hey<\/p>\n
guys, my mom, she's a doctor and she<\/p>\n
saves lives.\" Student two goes, \"Oh<\/p>\n
yeah, my dad, he's a firefighter and he<\/p>\n
puts out fires and he saves lives.\" And<\/p>\n
then student three goes, \"Oh yeah? Well,<\/p>\n
my mom, she owns a toy store and anytime<\/p>\n
I want a toy, I can get all the toys<\/p>\n
that I want.\"<\/p>\n
And then there was student number four,<\/p>\n
whose dad was not a doctor or<\/p>\n
firefighter or certainly didn't have a<\/p>\n
toy store, but his dad was just an<\/p>\n
ordinary dad. There was nothing super<\/p>\n
special about him except for one thing.<\/p>\n
And he thought of it at that moment and<\/p>\n
he goes, \"But you know what, guys? My<\/p>\n
dad,<\/p>\n
my dad,<\/p>\n
he's here.\"<\/p>\n
You see, for all of the other students,<\/p>\n
their moms and dads were too busy to<\/p>\n
come to bring your parent to school day<\/p>\n
that they were absent. But this<\/p>\n
student's father<\/p>\n
was here.<\/p>\n
He was present.<\/p>\n
And as followers of Jesus,<\/p>\n
it is so important for us to re realize<\/p>\n
and recognize that our God is not<\/p>\n
absent,<\/p>\n
but he's very much present in your life.<\/p>\n
So, can I ask you again, how aware, how<\/p>\n
attuned are you to God's presence in<\/p>\n
your life?<\/p>\n
This was an area that Moses<\/p>\n
was growing in.<\/p>\n
He didn't really have a relationship<\/p>\n
with God early on in his life. But as he<\/p>\n
drew closer and closer to God, he was<\/p>\n
developing not only a higher sense of<\/p>\n
self-awareness<\/p>\n
about who he was, but also he was<\/p>\n
increasing in his level of God awareness<\/p>\n
as well. Which is why we read in verse<\/p>\n
12, it says this.<\/p>\n
Moses said to the Lord,<\/p>\n
\"You have been telling me, lead these<\/p>\n
people, but you have not let me know<\/p>\n
whom you will send with me. You have<\/p>\n
said, I know you by name, and you have<\/p>\n
found favor with me. If you are pleased<\/p>\n
with me, teach me your ways so I may<\/p>\n
know you and continue to find favor with<\/p>\n
you. remember that this nation is your<\/p>\n
people. The Lord replied, \"My presence<\/p>\n
will go with you, and I will give you<\/p>\n
rest.\" Then Moses said to him, \"If your<\/p>\n
presence does not go with us, do not<\/p>\n
send us up from here.<\/p>\n
How will anyone know that you are<\/p>\n
pleased with me and your people unless<\/p>\n
you go with us? What else will<\/p>\n
distinguish me and your people from all<\/p>\n
the other people on the face of the<\/p>\n
earth? And the Lord said to Moses, I<\/p>\n
will do the very thing you have asked<\/p>\n
because I am pleased with you and I know<\/p>\n
you by name. Then Moses said, now show<\/p>\n
me your glory. And the Lord said, I will<\/p>\n
cause all my goodness to pass in front<\/p>\n
of you and I will proclaim my name, the<\/p>\n
Lord, in your presence. I will have<\/p>\n
mercy on whom I will have mercy and I<\/p>\n
will have compassion on whom I will have<\/p>\n
compassion. But he said you cannot see<\/p>\n
my face for no one may see me and live.<\/p>\n
Then the Lord said there is a place near<\/p>\n
me where you may stand on a rock and<\/p>\n
when my glory passes by. I will put you<\/p>\n
in a cleft in the rock and cover you<\/p>\n
with my hand until I have passed by.<\/p>\n
Then I will remove my hand and you will<\/p>\n
see my back but my face must not be<\/p>\n
seen.<\/p>\n
Let me read for us again verse 12 where<\/p>\n
it says this. Moses said to the Lord you<\/p>\n
have been telling me lead these people<\/p>\n
but you have not let me know whom you<\/p>\n
will send with me. And so even in this<\/p>\n
verse, you can see Moses's level of<\/p>\n
self-awareness. And by the way, every<\/p>\n
good leader, one of the most common<\/p>\n
characteristics of every good leader is<\/p>\n
a high amount of self-awareness.<\/p>\n
And we see Moses's self-awareness in the<\/p>\n
sense that how am I supposed to lead<\/p>\n
your people? But we not only see a high<\/p>\n
amount of self-awareness, we see a high<\/p>\n
amount of God awareness. How am I<\/p>\n
supposed to lead your people unless your<\/p>\n
presence the God awareness there comes<\/p>\n
with us? And here he is making a<\/p>\n
connection about his leadership ability<\/p>\n
and capacity in direct connection with<\/p>\n
God's presence. Which is why we read<\/p>\n
again in verse 15 and 16, if your<\/p>\n
send us up from here. What else will<\/p>\n
earth? This is an identity statement.<\/p>\n
If you're not with us, who are we? What<\/p>\n
will differentiate us? What will<\/p>\n
distinguish us from the rest of the<\/p>\n
people on the face of the earth? And the<\/p>\n
flip side is also true. If you are with<\/p>\n
us, we are different. that we are<\/p>\n
distinct from all the other peoples on<\/p>\n
the face of the earth. And I think one<\/p>\n
of the reasons why we lack so much power<\/p>\n
in our lives is because we fail to<\/p>\n
recognize his ongoing specific presence<\/p>\n
in our lives and we then as a result<\/p>\n
forget who we are and how different and<\/p>\n
distinct we are from all the other<\/p>\n
peoples on the face of the earth.<\/p>\n
Because if you knew who was with you and<\/p>\n
who was in you and how greater is he<\/p>\n
than he who is in the world, you would<\/p>\n
live your life more influentially and<\/p>\n
with a lot more power in your life.<\/p>\n
So, can I ask you again<\/p>\n
on a daytoday level, how not just<\/p>\n
self-aware are you, but how God aware<\/p>\n
are you of his presence? And how does<\/p>\n
that influence and shape the way that<\/p>\n
you live your life and impact those<\/p>\n
around you? And what we see in this text<\/p>\n
is Moses has a high level of<\/p>\n
selfawareness and God awareness. And in<\/p>\n
verse 7, we read this. Now Moses used to<\/p>\n
take a tent and pitch it outside the<\/p>\n
camp some distance away calling it the<\/p>\n
tent of meeting and anyone inquiring of<\/p>\n
the Lord would go to the tent of meeting<\/p>\n
outside the camp. Now, just to give you<\/p>\n
some context uh with this chapter here,<\/p>\n
uh the Israelites have just fled and<\/p>\n
escaped Egypt where they were wandering<\/p>\n
now in the wilderness. And during their<\/p>\n
time in the wilderness, the Israelites<\/p>\n
suffer from Stockholm syndrome. You know<\/p>\n
what Stockholm syndrome is? Stockholm<\/p>\n
syndrome is when abused victims<\/p>\n
develop a psychological bond with their<\/p>\n
abuser.<\/p>\n
And so now they're thinking, why are we<\/p>\n
wandering in the wilderness? Let's all<\/p>\n
go back to Egypt where they were slaves.<\/p>\n
And so they no longer remember God's<\/p>\n
faithfulness to them. And as a result of<\/p>\n
that, how quickly they forget his<\/p>\n
kindness and goodness in their lives and<\/p>\n
how they'd rather be slaves in Egypt<\/p>\n
than free in the desert.<\/p>\n
God creates boundaries with them. This<\/p>\n
is why the tent of meeting is not inside<\/p>\n
the camp. This is why the tent of<\/p>\n
meeting is outside the camp. And so now<\/p>\n
there are boundaries between God and the<\/p>\n
people. His presence is removed but yet<\/p>\n
still adjacent. But there was one person<\/p>\n
who had access to God who was allowed to<\/p>\n
go into the tent of meeting that may<\/p>\n
have looked something like this.<\/p>\n
And that one person who didn't have<\/p>\n
boundaries with God was Moses. And this<\/p>\n
is what we read in verse 11. The Lord<\/p>\n
would speak to Moses face to face as one<\/p>\n
speaks to a friend. Moses had such a<\/p>\n
close and personal relationship with God<\/p>\n
that the text says that God spoke to him<\/p>\n
like he would speak to a friend. And<\/p>\n
obviously God doesn't have a literal<\/p>\n
face. This is anthropomorphic language.<\/p>\n
God is a spirit. But what this text is<\/p>\n
saying is that when you talk with<\/p>\n
someone face to face or in person, it<\/p>\n
conotes a a special intimacy and<\/p>\n
closeness that the two people have. And<\/p>\n
here we see that God and Moses have this<\/p>\n
closeness and intimacy together.<\/p>\n
He feels his presence.<\/p>\n
As you think about your day-to-day life,<\/p>\n
how close are you with God?<\/p>\n
Are you friends?<\/p>\n
Are you acquaintances?<\/p>\n
Or are you actually strangers with God?<\/p>\n
The reason why Moses is able to feel<\/p>\n
this intimacy with God is because of the<\/p>\n
closeness that they have with one<\/p>\n
another. And often times the reason why<\/p>\n
we don't feel that connection and we<\/p>\n
don't feel like God is present with us<\/p>\n
is oftentimes we think that God is not<\/p>\n
present with us. But the truth of the<\/p>\n
matter is we're not really present with<\/p>\n
him. Because when we look at the<\/p>\n
scriptures, what we see is that God is<\/p>\n
actually everywhere. Psalm 139, where<\/p>\n
can I go from your spirit? Where can I<\/p>\n
flee from your presence? If I go up to<\/p>\n
the heavens, you are there. If I make my<\/p>\n
bed in the depths, you are there. What<\/p>\n
about Jeremiah 23? Who can hide in<\/p>\n
secret places so that I cannot see them?<\/p>\n
Declares the Lord. Do not I fill heaven<\/p>\n
and earth? Declares the Lord. God is<\/p>\n
everywhere. And so the question is, if<\/p>\n
God is everywhere, then why don't we<\/p>\n
feel his presence anymore? And it's not<\/p>\n
because of him, but it's actually a lot<\/p>\n
more because of us and our lack of<\/p>\n
attention. One of my favorite um uh<\/p>\n
quotes that I found from Alexia Ferrari<\/p>\n
uh goes something like this. Chat GPT,<\/p>\n
if you were the devil, how would you<\/p>\n
destroy the minds of the next generation<\/p>\n
without them even knowing it? This is<\/p>\n
what Chad says. If I were the devil, I<\/p>\n
wouldn't come with violence. I come with<\/p>\n
convenience.<\/p>\n
I give them uh I'd help them feel<\/p>\n
connected but completely alone,<\/p>\n
endlessly entertained but quietly empty.<\/p>\n
I'd blur the lines between truth and<\/p>\n
opinion until nothing meant anything. I<\/p>\n
teach them to chase dopamine but not<\/p>\n
purpose, to worship self but loathe who<\/p>\n
they are. I wouldn't destroy them with<\/p>\n
war, I destroy them with apathy.<\/p>\n
I keep them distracted, numb, scrolling,<\/p>\n
always scrolling.<\/p>\n
I'd hand them a phone before they could<\/p>\n
speak in full sentences. And I'd watch<\/p>\n
their minds rot slowly,<\/p>\n
sweetly, silently.<\/p>\n
And the most brilliant part,<\/p>\n
they'd never know it was me. They call<\/p>\n
it freedom.<\/p>\n
This is why one of my rules in life or<\/p>\n
rule of life uh every morning I wake up<\/p>\n
is scripture before phone or to put it<\/p>\n
more specifically Bible app before all<\/p>\n
other apps<\/p>\n
because I know if I don't plan my day<\/p>\n
with God my day will plan me.<\/p>\n
And so I have to intentionally<\/p>\n
sit in the presence of God so I can feel<\/p>\n
his presence more and more in my life.<\/p>\n
You must pay attention to your attention<\/p>\n
if you want to feel his presence in your<\/p>\n
life or you will miss him. I don't know<\/p>\n
if you're familiar with the uh Jewish<\/p>\n
midrash.<\/p>\n
The Jewish midrash is fictional stories<\/p>\n
that try to fill in the gaps in the<\/p>\n
scriptures.<\/p>\n
And in Jewish tradition, what is the<\/p>\n
most famous miracle in the Old<\/p>\n
Testament? It's probably the parting of<\/p>\n
the Red Sea. And there's a Jewish<\/p>\n
midrash story about how God parted the<\/p>\n
Red Sea and how a million people are<\/p>\n
crossing through the Red Sea. But in the<\/p>\n
Midrash, there are two characters named<\/p>\n
Roven and Shyman.<\/p>\n
And as God parts the Red Sea,<\/p>\n
Roven goes, \"Why is it so muddy?<\/p>\n
I thought it would be more solid and<\/p>\n
like a sidewalk.<\/p>\n
And Shyman goes, \"Yeah, there's like mud<\/p>\n
here and mud there and mud there. I<\/p>\n
mean, this is like Egypt where we were<\/p>\n
in the mud pits making bricks without<\/p>\n
straw.\"<\/p>\n
And Roven goes, \"I mean, at this point,<\/p>\n
we might as well just go back to Egypt<\/p>\n
then. How is our lives any different<\/p>\n
than than over here in the desert?\" And<\/p>\n
and Shimon goes, \"Yeah, this is no<\/p>\n
different. we might as well go back to<\/p>\n
Egypt.<\/p>\n
And because Roven and Shyman were so<\/p>\n
busy looking down at their feet and at<\/p>\n
the mud,<\/p>\n
and because they failed to look up at<\/p>\n
what God was doing, because had they<\/p>\n
looked up, there would have been half a<\/p>\n
million people banging their<\/p>\n
tambourines,<\/p>\n
jumping up and down at the power of God<\/p>\n
that was taking place.<\/p>\n
But because they were so busy looking<\/p>\n
down and failed to look up, they missed<\/p>\n
what God was doing.<\/p>\n
And sometimes I wonder if we're any<\/p>\n
different than Roven and Shimon. We're<\/p>\n
so busy looking down<\/p>\n
and we fail to look up,<\/p>\n
we miss his presence. And as a result,<\/p>\n
he feels absent in our lives.<\/p>\n
Moses looked up<\/p>\n
and he wanted and hungered more and more<\/p>\n
for his presence in his life. But he<\/p>\n
wanted clarity on their relationship and<\/p>\n
alignment. And so this is what we read<\/p>\n
in verse 12. Moses said to the Lord,<\/p>\n
\"You have been telling me lead these<\/p>\n
whom you will send with me. I'm unclear.<\/p>\n
I'm confused. Can we get more aligned?<\/p>\n
You have said, I know you by name and<\/p>\n
you have found favor with me. And what<\/p>\n
Moses is saying here is this. I know<\/p>\n
you.<\/p>\n
But can we DTR? Can we define this<\/p>\n
relationship? Are you coming with us or<\/p>\n
are you not coming with us? And this is<\/p>\n
how we see God respond in verse 14. The<\/p>\n
Lord replied, \"My presence will go with<\/p>\n
you and I will give you rest.\" You know<\/p>\n
what the Hebrew word for presence is?<\/p>\n
Face.<\/p>\n
Notice that God doesn't say my feet will<\/p>\n
go with you. My toes will go with you,<\/p>\n
but he says my face will go with you.<\/p>\n
And what God is saying here is I am<\/p>\n
closely tied to you. I'm not just<\/p>\n
adjacent to you, but I am with you and I<\/p>\n
will never depart from you. If you were<\/p>\n
on a date and someone was down on their<\/p>\n
phone the whole time, they were present,<\/p>\n
but they were not really present because<\/p>\n
they are not making eye contact with<\/p>\n
you. And what God is saying here is my<\/p>\n
face, my presence will go with you. And<\/p>\n
as followers of Jesus, you have to know<\/p>\n
that wherever you go,<\/p>\n
whether it is to southern Thailand to<\/p>\n
work with Muslims,<\/p>\n
or you're an Afghan refugee and you have<\/p>\n
no idea where your next home is,<\/p>\n
or you're in your mid-50s<\/p>\n
and you're wondering what you want to do<\/p>\n
with the next 10 years of your life, or<\/p>\n
you're planting a church<\/p>\n
and you have all these unknowns<\/p>\n
about your future, you have to know that<\/p>\n
his face and his presence goes before<\/p>\n
And after God says this to him, Moses<\/p>\n
says something unheard of or unexpected.<\/p>\n
And in verse 18, he says, \"Now<\/p>\n
show me your glory.\"<\/p>\n
Charles Spurgeon said that this is the<\/p>\n
greatest request a man has ever made.<\/p>\n
Show me your glory.<\/p>\n
Now, what in the world does that mean?<\/p>\n
What what is glory? Is glory something<\/p>\n
God is? Is glory something God has? Is<\/p>\n
glory something we give to God? Is glory<\/p>\n
a place that we're going one day? Is it<\/p>\n
an adjective? Is it a verb? Is it a<\/p>\n
noun? And the answer is yes. It is all<\/p>\n
of those things. And more specifically<\/p>\n
in this text, God's glory is something<\/p>\n
that he has and it is who he is. It is<\/p>\n
all about his moral excellencies. Which<\/p>\n
is why in verse 19 to 20 it says, \"And<\/p>\n
the Lord said, I will cause all my<\/p>\n
goodness.\"<\/p>\n
Right? There's a connection there<\/p>\n
between glory and goodness. I will cause<\/p>\n
all my goodness to pass in front of you.<\/p>\n
But he said, you cannot see my face, for<\/p>\n
no one may see me and live.<\/p>\n
There is a connection here between glory<\/p>\n
and goodness.<\/p>\n
But God does a caveat and he says, \"You<\/p>\n
cannot see my face and live.\"<\/p>\n
And the reason why Moses cannot see<\/p>\n
God's face is because even the best of<\/p>\n
men are men at best. If you are an<\/p>\n
astronaut and you wanted to go to outer<\/p>\n
space and the space program here said we<\/p>\n
have the perfect new space shuttle, uh<\/p>\n
it has the latest technology, it has the<\/p>\n
latest gadgets, but there's a tiny crack<\/p>\n
on the windshield, but the windshield is<\/p>\n
like 99% perfect, so you should be fine.<\/p>\n
If you were an astronaut, would you get<\/p>\n
on that space shuttle if the windshield<\/p>\n
was only 99% perfect? Of course not.<\/p>\n
Why? Because only perfect windshields go<\/p>\n
to outer space, not imperfect ones.<\/p>\n
And similarly, only perfect people go to<\/p>\n
heaven, not imperfect ones.<\/p>\n
And last I checked, all of us here are<\/p>\n
not perfect, but we every single one of<\/p>\n
us fall short of the glory of God. And<\/p>\n
so this is what he says in verse 21-23.<\/p>\n
Then the Lord said, \"There is a place<\/p>\n
near me where you may stand on a rock<\/p>\n
and when my glory passes by, I will put<\/p>\n
you in a cleft in the rock and cover you<\/p>\n
Moses<\/p>\n
saw only the back of God<\/p>\n
but we have seen the face of God.<\/p>\n
In John 1:14 what does it say? The word<\/p>\n
became flesh and made his dwelling.<\/p>\n
That Greek word is tabernacled.<\/p>\n
He made his dwelling or he tabernacled<\/p>\n
amongst us. We have seen his glory, the<\/p>\n
glory of the one and only son who came<\/p>\n
from the father full of grace and truth.<\/p>\n
When you follow the theme of scripture,<\/p>\n
we see how God moves from a garden to a<\/p>\n
tent tabernacle tent, a temple.<\/p>\n
And then we see him move from a garden<\/p>\n
to a tent<\/p>\n
to a person.<\/p>\n
And when God becomes like one of us, he<\/p>\n
does something totally unexpected.<\/p>\n
He becomes a baby where he now empties<\/p>\n
himself of all glory. A king<\/p>\n
who empties himself of glory and becomes<\/p>\n
a servant.<\/p>\n
And as he empties his glory, he does<\/p>\n
something that was most unexpected of<\/p>\n
all. He willingly lays down his life.<\/p>\n
And when you think about the cross, one<\/p>\n
of the interesting things that happens<\/p>\n
on the cross is that scholars believe<\/p>\n
that Jesus died sometime between 12 and<\/p>\n
300 p.m. when it should be pretty sunny<\/p>\n
outside.<\/p>\n
But what we read in the gospel accounts<\/p>\n
is during that time what happens to the<\/p>\n
sky? It turns pitch black.<\/p>\n
And the reason why darkness is now<\/p>\n
happening is because the father's face<\/p>\n
who should have been shining on the son<\/p>\n
has now turned away from his son.<\/p>\n
And the reason why God the Father turns<\/p>\n
his way his face away from his son is<\/p>\n
because Jesus took all of our sins<\/p>\n
upon himself.<\/p>\n
And he took that darkness upon himself<\/p>\n
so that we would never be removed from<\/p>\n
the presence of God, but that we would<\/p>\n
always be in the presence of God. And<\/p>\n
after Jesus dies, resurrects and<\/p>\n
ascends, he sent his spirit that was in<\/p>\n
the garden<\/p>\n
during the creation,<\/p>\n
his spirit that was in the tent, his<\/p>\n
spirit that was in the person of Jesus,<\/p>\n
and now that same spirit is in you. You<\/p>\n
are in Christ, and Christ is also in<\/p>\n
you. And if you believe that his<\/p>\n
presence that was in that tent is now in<\/p>\n
you,<\/p>\n
that should change the way you live your<\/p>\n
life. How could it not?<\/p>\n
He is all around us, but he's also in<\/p>\n
you. And so for those of you who are<\/p>\n
investigating Christianity,<\/p>\n
we're so glad that you're here. And I<\/p>\n
want to share with you a story from<\/p>\n
Wayne Dyer called Your Sacred Self where<\/p>\n
he tells a story of twins in a mother's<\/p>\n
womb. And one of the twins is a skeptic,<\/p>\n
an unbeliever, while the other twin is a<\/p>\n
believer. And the story goes something<\/p>\n
like this. One of the twins goes,<\/p>\n
\"Bro, do you believe in life after<\/p>\n
delivery?\"<\/p>\n
And the other replies, the believer<\/p>\n
replies, \"Of course, there has to be<\/p>\n
something after delivery. Maybe we are<\/p>\n
here to prepare ourselves for what will<\/p>\n
come later.\" And the skeptic old baby<\/p>\n
goes, \"Nonsense.<\/p>\n
There is no life after delivery. I mean,<\/p>\n
what kind of life would that even be?\"<\/p>\n
And the believing baby says, \"Well, I<\/p>\n
don't know what kind of life that will<\/p>\n
be, but surely there will be more light<\/p>\n
out there than in here.<\/p>\n
Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat<\/p>\n
from our mouths.<\/p>\n
Maybe we will have all of our other<\/p>\n
senses that we can't understand right<\/p>\n
now.<\/p>\n
And the skeptical baby says, \"That is<\/p>\n
absurd. Walking is impossible.<\/p>\n
And eating with our mouths, ridiculous.<\/p>\n
The umbilical cord supplies all the<\/p>\n
nutrients that we need.<\/p>\n
and the umbilical cord is short. So life<\/p>\n
after delivery is to be logically<\/p>\n
excluded and we will never walk. So the<\/p>\n
believing baby says, \"Well, I think<\/p>\n
there is something after delivery and<\/p>\n
maybe it's different from here. Maybe we<\/p>\n
won't need this physical cord anymore.\"<\/p>\n
And the first one says again, \"Nonsense.<\/p>\n
Moreover, there is no life after<\/p>\n
delivery. And if there was life after<\/p>\n
delivery, then why hasn't anyone from<\/p>\n
out there ever come in here?<\/p>\n
Delivery is the end of life. And after<\/p>\n
delivery, there is nothing but darkness<\/p>\n
and silence and oblivion.<\/p>\n
The believing baby says, \"Well, I don't<\/p>\n
I don't know.<\/p>\n
Certainly, we will meet mother and she<\/p>\n
will take care of us.\"<\/p>\n
Mother, you you actually believe in<\/p>\n
mother? That's laughable.<\/p>\n
If mother exists, then where is she now?<\/p>\n
And the second says, well, she's<\/p>\n
actually all around us.<\/p>\n
We are surrounded by her.<\/p>\n
We are of her.<\/p>\n
It is in her that we live. Without her,<\/p>\n
this world would not and could not<\/p>\n
exist,<\/p>\n
said the first, well, I don't see her.<\/p>\n
So, it is only logical that she doesn't<\/p>\n
exist. to which the second replied, \"But<\/p>\n
sometimes<\/p>\n
when you're in silence<\/p>\n
and you focus and you really listen,<\/p>\n
you can perceive her presence<\/p>\n
and you can hear her loving voice<\/p>\n
calling down from above.\"<\/p>\n
And if you are investigating<\/p>\n
Christianity for the first time,<\/p>\n
I can't help but think<\/p>\n
that God is like that, too.<\/p>\n
He is all around us.<\/p>\n
His presence is not only all around us.<\/p>\n
His presence is inside of you.<\/p>\n
And for my brothers and sisters that do<\/p>\n
follow Jesus,<\/p>\n
let me just end with this.<\/p>\n
Uh, if you've ever traveled through<\/p>\n
Midwest America,<\/p>\n
you can see a snowstorm coming from 20<\/p>\n
miles away. Like 20 miles away, you can<\/p>\n
see it coming. What's interesting is how<\/p>\n
certain animals respond to a storm. You<\/p>\n
know what cows do when they see a storm<\/p>\n
coming?<\/p>\n
they run away.<\/p>\n
But do you know what buffalo do when<\/p>\n
they see a storm coming? They do the<\/p>\n
opposite of cows. They actually run<\/p>\n
towards the storm.<\/p>\n
Now the question is why would buffalo<\/p>\n
counterintuitively run towards the storm<\/p>\n
instead of away from it?<\/p>\n
And the reason why buffalo courageously<\/p>\n
run towards the storm is because they<\/p>\n
know if they run towards that storm, the<\/p>\n
storm will pass over them eventually.<\/p>\n
Cows think that they can actually outrun<\/p>\n
the storm and they can't.<\/p>\n
They get tired. Eventually the storm<\/p>\n
catches up to them and they end up being<\/p>\n
in the storm a lot longer than they<\/p>\n
should be.<\/p>\n
And my question to you, my brothers and<\/p>\n
sisters,<\/p>\n
is this.<\/p>\n
Are you do you live your life more like<\/p>\n
a buffalo<\/p>\n
courageously running through storms in<\/p>\n
your life<\/p>\n
or do you live your life fearfully like<\/p>\n
a cow<\/p>\n
where you are running away from things?<\/p>\n
Storms will come in your life. It is not<\/p>\n
a matter of if, it is a matter of when.<\/p>\n
And oftentimes as believers because we<\/p>\n
forget the presence of God, we are<\/p>\n
gripped by fear with the way that we we<\/p>\n
are what is the great what is the most<\/p>\n
frequent command in scripture?<\/p>\n
It is not love God. Do you know what the<\/p>\n
most frequent command in scripture is?<\/p>\n
Do not fear.<\/p>\n
Why? Why is that the most popular verse<\/p>\n
in scripture? It's because we live our<\/p>\n
lives like such scaredy-cats, like such<\/p>\n
cowards.<\/p>\n
But if you knew who was inside of you,<\/p>\n
you would not be gripped by fear,<\/p>\n
anxiety, and worry.<\/p>\n
You would not be afraid of the storms<\/p>\n
that come your way. If you really knew<\/p>\n
who was inside of you, you would charge<\/p>\n
through those storms. And I don't know<\/p>\n
what storms you're facing in your life<\/p>\n
right now. Whether it's unemployment,<\/p>\n
you're single and you want to get<\/p>\n
married.<\/p>\n
You're afraid that your children will<\/p>\n
never come to faith.<\/p>\n
You're trying to have kids and you<\/p>\n
can't. I don't know what storms you are<\/p>\n
facing in life, but I do know this<\/p>\n
that if Jesus and the power of the Holy<\/p>\n
Spirit dwells within you, you are not<\/p>\n
called to live cowardly or fearfully<\/p>\n
like a cow.<\/p>\n
But we are all called to live like<\/p>\n
buffaloos because greater is he who is<\/p>\n
in you<\/p>\n
than he who is in this world. Let's pray<\/p>\n
together.<\/p>\n
God, remind us that<\/p>\n
our attentions are not as infinite as we<\/p>\n
think they are, but they are a finite<\/p>\n
resource.<\/p>\n
And so with the limited amount of<\/p>\n
attention that we have per day,<\/p>\n
help us to prioritize your presence in<\/p>\n
our lives because without a feeling of<\/p>\n
your presence and experiencing your<\/p>\n
presence, our lives lack tremendous<\/p>\n
power.<\/p>\n
And God, we do not want to live our<\/p>\n
lives without power and conviction.<\/p>\n
And so remind us again that the same<\/p>\n
spirit in creation in the tent in your<\/p>\n
son lives in us.<\/p>\n
May that influence the way we live our<\/p>\n
lives and may that influence the lives<\/p>\n
of all those around us as well. In Jesus<\/p>\n
name I pray. Amen.<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20260203","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nCitxoIaYco","video_id":"nCitxoIaYco","video_duration":"35:06","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions\/74"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}