Latest / Koinonia Christian Center / The Power of Proximity | Pastor Trev Evans

Transcript

The Power of Proximity | Pastor Trev Evans · Koinonia Christian Center

• 0:00
  Come on, grab your Bibles as we get
• 0:02
  ready to get into the word of God.
• 0:04
  Whether it's a paper Bible,
• 0:06
  electronic phone, cell phone, whatever
• 0:09
  you have, a tablet. The crown event.
• 0:12
  Yes. Big shout out for the crown event
• 0:14
  yesterday.
• 0:16
  Amen. Phenomenal time. Mothers and
• 0:19
  mother figures with their daughters. It
• 0:21
  was a great time yesterday. Big shout
• 0:24
  out to the for all of those who worked
• 0:26
  and those who came and served in that.
• 0:27
  It was a phenomenal time. Amen. Amen.
• 0:29
  >> Amen. Come on. Let's raise our Bible in
• 0:31
  the air. Make our confession. Say, "This
• 0:33
  is my Bible.
• 0:34
  >> This is my
• 0:34
  >> It is God's word.
• 0:36
  >> It reveals to me.
• 0:37
  >> It reveals to me
• 0:38
  >> God's will.
• 0:40
  >> Therefore,
• 0:41
  >> therefore,
• 0:41
  >> it's the final authority
• 0:43
  >> the final
• 0:44
  >> to which I submit
• 0:46
  >> to settle all the issues all
• 0:48
  >> of my life
• 0:49
  >> of my life.
• 0:50
  >> It's the standard
• 0:51
  >> of my conduct
• 0:53
  >> and the basis
• 0:54
  >> of all my expectations."
• 0:56
  >> Shout it out. I am. I am
• 0:58
  >> what it says I am.
• 0:59
  >> It says I am.
• 1:00
  >> I possess
• 1:01
  >> what it says I possess.
• 1:02
  >> It says I
• 1:03
  >> And I can do
• 1:05
  >> I can do
• 1:06
  >> absolutely everything.
• 1:07
  >> Absolutely everything
• 1:08
  >> it says I can do.
• 1:09
  >> It says
• 1:10
  >> I'm a believer.
• 1:11
  >> Not a doubter.
• 1:13
  >> I'm a doer.
• 1:14
  >> Not just a hearer.
• 1:16
  >> And my life
• 1:17
  >> my everyday life
• 1:19
  >> is the better
• 1:20
  >> is the better.
• 1:21
  >> After having heard
• 1:22
  >> after
• 1:23
  >> the word of faith the word of faith.
• 1:24
  >> Faith comes by hearing.
• 1:26
  and hearing by
• 1:28
  >> the word of God.
• 1:30
  >> Let's ride.
• 1:31
  >> Come on. You may be seated in the
• 1:33
  presence of the Lord.
• 1:37
  Amen. Boy, I say it every week. I love
• 1:40
  sound ministry.
• 1:42
  >> I love everybody. God knows I thank God
• 1:44
  for sound ministry. Amen. Come on. Let's
• 1:46
  go with go with me to Mark chapter 3.
• 1:50
  Mark chapter 3.
• 1:52
  Mark chapter 3 and verse 13 and 14.
• 1:56
  Really, I just want to read 14. That's
• 1:59
  all I want. It's 14.
• 2:03
  Mark chapter 3 verse 14.
• 2:08
  Oh, that ain't it. That's Mark chapter
• 2:09
  4. Hold on.
• 2:11
  There we go. Mark chapter 3, verse 14.
• 2:17
  It says, "Then he appointed 12 that they
• 2:21
  might be with him."
• 2:23
  That's all I need.
• 2:27
  Then he appointed
• 2:30
  12 that they might be with him. Today I
• 2:34
  want to talk to us from the subject the
• 2:37
  power of proximity.
• 2:41
  The power of proximity.
• 2:45
  You know, every day that the Lord sends,
• 2:48
  we are bombarded with endless
• 2:51
  notifications,
• 2:53
  breaking news, and social media updates.
• 2:57
  Just the other day, we woke up to hear
• 3:00
  that our country is at war.
• 3:03
  >> Our minds are constantly racing. Our
• 3:06
  schedules are overflowing. And yet, with
• 3:08
  all this noise, something feels missing.
• 3:12
  We have more information at our
• 3:14
  fingertips than ever before. But somehow
• 3:16
  we're more restless,
• 3:19
  more distracted,
• 3:20
  and in some situations, even more
• 3:22
  uncertain. We live in an era where we
• 3:26
  are drowning in data, but starving for
• 3:29
  direction.
• 3:31
  >> And today, I just want to I just want to
• 3:33
  talk to us today. I just want to talk to
• 3:36
  us today. Lord, keep me calm.
• 3:40
  As in 2026, we have instant access to
• 3:43
  every theological how-to guide that's
• 3:46
  ever been created.
• 3:48
  We have become experts at gathering
• 3:50
  information about God, hoping that it
• 3:54
  will finally be the thing that changes
• 3:56
  us.
• 3:58
  But as Dr. Alicia Brit Scholey notes,
• 4:02
  God isn't looking to update our mental
• 4:05
  files. He is looking to reform our
• 4:07
  souls.
• 4:11
  Oh my God. If I could just sit there
• 4:15
  that God is not looking to try to to
• 4:17
  update your mental file. He's trying to
• 4:20
  update your soul
• 4:24
  thinking you and I often think that if
• 4:26
  we can just download these seven steps
• 4:28
  of productivity, then our lives will
• 4:31
  stop glitching.
• 4:33
  And and if we approach our if we
• 4:36
  approach our walk with God the same way,
• 4:38
  we are asking Jesus, catch this, for a
• 4:41
  road map when God wants to give us
• 4:43
  relationship.
• 4:46
  >> Ah yeah, a a road map. I I don't know if
• 4:49
  you remember, but a road map was more
• 4:52
  like a step-by-step guide on what it is
• 4:54
  you trying to get to, a place you're
• 4:55
  trying to get get to next. How many of
• 4:57
  you all remember a map quest?
• 5:01
  H see when when you are using a road map
• 5:04
  there's so much anxiety. See there's
• 5:07
  some people in here all they know about
• 5:08
  is the GPS. But I remember days of map
• 5:10
  quest when you had to print out your
• 5:13
  direction
• 5:14
  >> and you had directions in one hand and
• 5:17
  the steering wheel in another trying to
• 5:19
  turn put your signal light on get you a
• 5:22
  cup of water AND CHAIN THAT CD ALL at
• 5:24
  the same time.
• 5:33
  But now we are in the day of the GPS.
• 5:39
  >> And can I tell you all of the steps that
• 5:43
  we're trying to get and we're trying, we
• 5:44
  need the steps.
• 5:46
  >> We got to have the steps.
• 5:48
  >> But I believe God IS CALLING US BACK
• 5:50
  JUST a little bit because we put more
• 5:52
  emphasis in the road map than we have
• 5:54
  the relationship.
• 5:57
  We've put more emphasis in the steps
• 5:59
  than we have the savior.
• 6:01
  >> And so what God is calling us back to,
• 6:03
  see, because when you when you are when
• 6:05
  you are heavily invested in the road
• 6:07
  map, that's a life of anxiety.
• 6:11
  >> See, if you've never had to have map
• 6:13
  quests in your life, you don't know what
• 6:15
  I'm talking about.
• 6:16
  >> There was a level of anxiety that you
• 6:18
  had because you're trying to do multiple
• 6:21
  things at the same time and still arrive
• 6:23
  to your destination. Whereas now with
• 6:26
  the GPS, you and I have to fight and
• 6:29
  keep our attention to stay close. And we
• 6:31
  got to make sure the radio is not too
• 6:32
  loud and the people in OUR CAR ARE NOT
• 6:34
  TALKING TOO MUCH SO THAT WE CAN hear
• 6:37
  >> the directions that will take us to
• 6:39
  where we want to go.
• 6:43
  >> This is this is where our shift begins
• 6:45
  today. Before we can do anything for
• 6:49
  God, we must first learn to simply be
• 6:53
  with God.
• 6:56
  Jesus did not call you to a task, a
• 6:59
  title, or a to-do list.
• 7:03
  >> He called you and I to be with him.
• 7:10
  >> We have tasks. We have titles. We have
• 7:13
  to-do list. But before we jump into
• 7:15
  that,
• 7:17
  he's called us to be with him.
• 7:21
  >> Oh God, I feel God just trying. He done
• 7:23
  cut my signal light on to just make a
• 7:25
  left. In the day in which we live with
• 7:29
  so many voices telling us what to
• 7:32
  believe and how to believe, you and I
• 7:35
  need proximity to the Savior like never
• 7:37
  before.
• 7:40
  >> Oh, we living in a day now where things
• 7:43
  seem right.
• 7:46
  >> Oh, talk, Holy Ghost. We're living in A
• 7:48
  DAY NOW WHERE THINGS SEEM right
• 7:51
  >> and YOU AND I MUST HAVE OUR EAR PRESSED
• 7:54
  TO THE MOUTH AND TO THE HEART OF GOD.
• 7:59
  >> We need proximity to him.
• 8:06
  >> When we talk about proximity to his
• 8:08
  presence, the power of proximity is the
• 8:11
  transformative transformative impact of
• 8:14
  being close to Jesus.
• 8:16
  Catch this. Hear me good. You and I are
• 8:19
  wanted in his presence ever before we
• 8:22
  are needed for his platform.
• 8:27
  >> You and I are wanted
• 8:31
  in his presence.
• 8:33
  Ever before we are needed for his
• 8:36
  platform.
• 8:38
  Can I tell you that God wants to be with
• 8:41
  you?
• 8:43
  >> No. No. No. that that that God wants to
• 8:46
  be with you.
• 8:48
  >> You you you did not find him.
• 8:53
  >> He found you.
• 8:55
  >> I notice how we used TO TESTIFY AND THEY
• 8:57
  SOUND GOOD CUZ IT GOT US UP AND DANCING.
• 8:59
  BUT THE REALITY WAS HE WASN'T LOST.
• 9:03
  >> I WAS SINKING DEEP IN SIN. I GOT to calm
• 9:06
  down. Far from the peace for sure.
• 9:10
  >> Very deeply stained within. sinking
• 9:14
  >> to rise. He found me.
• 9:17
  >> He came and got me.
• 9:20
  >> He came and pursued me.
• 9:23
  >> While I was in sin, he died for me.
• 9:31
  >> You and I have to stay close.
• 9:35
  We got to stay close. How do we How do
• 9:36
  we stay close? Number one, we have to
• 9:38
  prioritize his presence. Come on, let's
• 9:41
  ride. We got to prioritize his presence.
• 9:43
  The scripture says in Mark 3:13, if you
• 9:48
  allow me to back up to it, it says,
• 9:49
  "Jesus went up on a mountain side and he
• 9:52
  called him those he wanted
• 9:57
  and they came to him."
• 9:59
  He called those he wanted. I'm talking
• 10:03
  to somebody right now. I don't know
• 10:05
  whether it's in here or online, but
• 10:06
  you're not sure if God still wants you.
• 10:10
  Can I tell you unequivocally that God
• 10:13
  still wants you?
• 10:15
  >> Can I TELL YOU WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A
• 10:17
  DOUBT AND WITHOUT A TREMBLE IN MY VOICE,
• 10:20
  GOD STILL wants you. THAT YOU HAVE NOT
• 10:23
  DONE SO MUCH, YOU NOT HAVE GONE SO FAR
• 10:26
  THAT THE GRACE OF GOD DOES NOT STILL
• 10:29
  WANT YOU.
• 10:31
  >> HALLELUJAH.
• 10:34
  >> HE CALLED THEM. AMEN.
• 10:37
  >> He recruited them.
• 10:41
  >> See, I just we just finished basketball
• 10:43
  season at JH Rose. God, we just came up
• 10:46
  a little short yesterday by one point.
• 10:48
  >> My God.
• 10:50
  And I'm always keenly aware of how fast
• 10:53
  the season goes, especially for players.
• 10:56
  And and what what is what is mo what I'm
• 10:59
  most aware of is that for some players
• 11:04
  seniors for some seniors when they
• 11:07
  finish playing that night that's it
• 11:11
  cuz nobody is recruiting them
• 11:16
  >> catch this nobody oh god wants them.
• 11:24
  Do you know what kind of feeling that is
• 11:28
  where you feel like this is it?
• 11:33
  >> Because not because you can't do it
• 11:34
  anymore,
• 11:36
  >> but because nobody wants
• 11:39
  >> what you can do.
• 11:42
  >> And as challenging as that is on the
• 11:44
  basketball court,
• 11:46
  >> it's 10 times worse in life.
• 11:51
  that when you begin to think and the
• 11:53
  enemy wants to make you think that God
• 11:55
  doesn't want you.
• 11:57
  >> He wants you to think that the last
• 11:59
  failure you had that that is it.
• 12:02
  >> That God no longer has need of you and
• 12:04
  that the purpose and plan that he has
• 12:06
  for your life has BEEN EXTINGUISHED. BUT
• 12:08
  CAN I TELL you
• 12:11
  >> that's why Jesus died?
• 12:13
  >> That's why he shed his blood. That's why
• 12:16
  he got up AGAIN BECAUSE HE WANTED US TO
• 12:19
  KNOW THAT HE STILL WANTS US.
• 12:21
  >> THAT OUR FAILURES WERE NOT FINAL.
• 12:28
  >> Jesus wanted them.
• 12:30
  >> He came to get them. And you and I with
• 12:33
  that understanding, this is why we got
• 12:36
  to prioritize his presence.
• 12:38
  >> I'm not prioritizing his presence from a
• 12:41
  duty perspective. I'm prioritizing his
• 12:44
  presence because he did so much to get
• 12:46
  me.
• 12:47
  >> HE CAME DOWN so far to get me. HE
• 12:50
  REACHED WAY DOWN AND PICKED ME UP.
• 12:53
  >> THAT'S WHY I PRIORITIZE HIS PRESENCE.
• 12:57
  >> When we talk about prioritizing his
• 12:59
  presence, catch this. This means it's my
• 13:03
  slide. This means to intentionally make
• 13:05
  time and space in your life to be with
• 13:08
  him
• 13:09
  >> above all else. It is about valuing your
• 13:13
  relationship with God. Catch this. More
• 13:15
  than your task, more than your
• 13:17
  achievements. And I know this one's
• 13:19
  gonna sting. Even more than your
• 13:22
  spiritual to-do list.
• 13:27
  >> I know that just I know that just ve
• 13:29
  somebody's spirit right there. I'm gonna
• 13:30
  read it again.
• 13:33
  >> When we talk about prioritizing God's
• 13:34
  presence, it means to intentionally make
• 13:37
  time and space in your life to be with
• 13:40
  him.
• 13:41
  Not to perform,
• 13:44
  >> not not not not not necessarily to to
• 13:46
  pray down heaven,
• 13:49
  >> BUT BUT TO SIMPLY BE WITH HIM. SOMEBODY
• 13:51
  SHOUT be with him.
• 13:52
  >> Be with him.
• 13:55
  >> Opportunity for us to create space to be
• 13:58
  with him above all else. It is about
• 14:01
  valuing our relationship with God more
• 14:04
  than our task, more than our
• 14:07
  achievements, and even more than our
• 14:09
  spiritual to-do list.
• 14:11
  >> We want to prioritize his presence.
• 14:14
  Prioritize it above your plans.
• 14:17
  >> Prioritize it, catch this, even above
• 14:19
  your productivity.
• 14:21
  >> See, because doing more is meaningless
• 14:23
  if it's not rooted in him.
• 14:28
  doing. Just simply doing more is
• 14:30
  meaningless if it's not rooted in him. I
• 14:32
  tell you ALL THE TIME THAT THE most the
• 14:34
  scariest scripture to me is when they
• 14:36
  get in front of God and he says, "DEPART
• 14:38
  FROM ME FOR I NEVER KNEW YOU."
• 14:43
  >> WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'M DOING ALL THESE
• 14:45
  THINGS. I'M RUNNING HERE AND THERE. NO,
• 14:47
  BUT YOU NEVER SAT WITH ME.
• 14:52
  >> YOU NEVER TAKEN TIME TO BE WITH ME.
• 14:56
  YOU'VE GOTTEN SO CAUGHT UP IN THE WORK
• 14:59
  OF THE LORD THAT YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THE
• 15:00
  LORD OF THE WORK.
• 15:05
  >> You and I got to prioritize his
• 15:07
  presence, over our productivity. We got
• 15:09
  to prioritize his presence. CATCH THIS.
• 15:11
  OVER OTHER PEOPLE.
• 15:14
  >> Talk Holy Ghost. See, BECAUSE THERE'S
• 15:16
  GOING TO COME A day
• 15:18
  >> where you are going TO HAVE TO CHOOSE
• 15:20
  God over them.
• 15:25
  I'mma say it to this side. There's going
• 15:27
  to come a day in all of our lives
• 15:32
  >> where we will have to choose God
• 15:36
  >> over the people who oppose God in our
• 15:38
  lives.
• 15:42
  >> I don't have no other way to shape it.
• 15:45
  We got to prioritize God
• 15:48
  over plans, over productivity, over
• 15:50
  people, over pressure. See, because the
• 15:53
  demands of life can wait when we choose
• 15:56
  to rest in his presence.
• 15:58
  We have to prioritize his presence even
• 16:01
  over our own pride.
• 16:08
  >> That's a challenging one.
• 16:11
  Our own pride gets in the way
• 16:15
  from his presence.
• 16:17
  Thinking that you don't you don't need
• 16:19
  to pray. Not like that.
• 16:22
  Oh, I don't I don't I don't need to
• 16:23
  gather in circles. Not like that. I'm
• 16:25
  good. They that circle that's for that's
• 16:26
  for them.
• 16:30
  >> That that that that's for them. That
• 16:31
  that that life that that's stuff for
• 16:33
  them. They you know, everybody in there
• 16:35
  strong.
• 16:39
  >> I told you the other day that pride is
• 16:41
  like carbon monoxide.
• 16:44
  >> Lord, I believe it's carbon monoxide.
• 16:46
  It's it's like carbon monoxide. You you
• 16:47
  have a smoke detector in your house. And
• 16:50
  can I tell you, you got to have a smoke
• 16:51
  detector. Change your batteries.
• 16:54
  >> You got to have one.
• 16:58
  >> But But you got to have You got to have
• 16:59
  one. You got to have a smoke detector.
• 17:01
  Say it with me. You got to have
• 17:03
  >> a smoke detector.
• 17:04
  >> Smoke detector.
• 17:07
  >> I'm not as scared now. I got it. And if
• 17:11
  some of y'all right now, yours is
• 17:12
  beeping. Go change that battery.
• 17:15
  You can't go live on Zoom. Just
• 17:17
  distracted everybody.
• 17:26
  You be telling the person, "Mute." You
• 17:27
  mute or change the battery.
• 17:32
  I need a smoke detector. But but can I
• 17:33
  say the smoke detector the most times I
• 17:37
  can pick up the smoke.
• 17:40
  I can detect the smoke
• 17:42
  sometimes even before the detector goes
• 17:44
  off. But that carbon monoxide
• 17:49
  >> most times
• 17:51
  is undetectable.
• 17:53
  >> And you and I have need that detector
• 17:56
  new curve. Well, you got to have IT IN
• 17:57
  THE RIGHT place
• 17:59
  >> so that it can pick up
• 18:02
  when something has crept in.
• 18:05
  >> Can I tell you that pride is the same
• 18:07
  way? You and I need the detector of the
• 18:10
  word of God. The detector OF
• 18:12
  ACCOUNTABILITY, THE DETECTOR OF PEOPLE
• 18:14
  AROUND US
• 18:15
  >> TO HELP PICK UP ON THAT PRIDE BECAUSE IT
• 18:18
  CAN SNEAK in
• 18:19
  >> undetected.
• 18:22
  >> God, I felt like a Baptist preacher. You
• 18:24
  saw that shake right there. God is
• 18:26
  anointing me.
• 18:28
  >> Hallelujah.
• 18:34
  He doing it.
• 18:38
  But you and I have to prioritize his
• 18:40
  presence.
• 18:41
  >> Catch this. When you prioritize his
• 18:44
  presence, everything else finds its
• 18:46
  proper place.
• 18:48
  >> IF I CAN PRIORITIZE GOD'S PRESENCE, then
• 18:51
  some kind of way everything else
• 18:54
  >> begins to find its place that God will
• 18:55
  whisper to me, "No, don't do that. Do
• 18:57
  this."
• 18:58
  >> Yeah. BUT BEFORE YOU DO THAT, HANDLE
• 19:00
  THIS RIGHT HERE AND THEN DO THAT. BUT
• 19:02
  YOU ONLY GET THAT WHEN WE SPEND TIME
• 19:04
  WITH HIM IN HIS PRESENCE.
• 19:09
  When I prioritize his presence,
• 19:11
  understand something. Before we can do
• 19:13
  for God, we must first sit with God.
• 19:19
  Pastor Shand, well, how how do I know
• 19:21
  that I'm sitting with God? How do I know
• 19:23
  when I am sitting with God? Like, what
• 19:25
  does that look like?
• 19:27
  What what what does that what does that
• 19:29
  what does that look like?
• 19:33
  See, because the disciples, they walked
• 19:35
  with Jesus while traveling from village
• 19:37
  to village. But we must do what pas what
• 19:39
  Dr. Alicia and Dr. Barry talked to us
• 19:42
  about and that is witness
• 19:48
  withness.
• 19:49
  Being with God
• 19:52
  in whatever it is I'm doing, I want to
• 19:55
  do it with God.
• 19:58
  >> Before I go and do it for God, I want to
• 20:03
  take time and be
• 20:05
  >> with God.
• 20:07
  >> Bump your name and say witness.
• 20:09
  >> Witness. Now, if you spit, just just say
• 20:11
  it straight. Don't you can't you can't
• 20:13
  say it without spraying, though.
• 20:24
  >> But you, you and I have to have you and
• 20:26
  I have to have consecrated time
• 20:29
  >> with God. What does consecrated mean?
• 20:31
  That's a real churchy term. That that
• 20:33
  that means time set apart
• 20:36
  >> to be with God. You know, we Dr. Barry
• 20:40
  and Dr. Alicia taught us that that that
• 20:41
  that can be in many different forms.
• 20:45
  >> You I learned I thought I grew up in in
• 20:47
  the church of God in Christ and I
• 20:48
  thought being with God was just on my
• 20:51
  knees.
• 20:53
  >> Father God, in the name of Jesus, Lord
• 20:54
  God, we thank you, Lord God, for another
• 20:56
  day. Lord, we ask you right now, God to
• 20:58
  endure with power FROM ON HIGH. OH LORD,
• 21:04
  >> MAN, THAT'S HOW WE COME UP. THAT STUFF
• 21:06
  STILL HOLD ON. DON'T LAUGH. THAT STUFF
• 21:08
  STILL WORK.
• 21:12
  >> YOU GET IN ENOUGH TROUBLE.
• 21:14
  >> OH, YOU WON'T WANT SOMEBODY TO GO DOWN
• 21:16
  LIKE THAT
• 21:20
  >> BEFORE WE START LAUGHING TOO HARD.
• 21:22
  >> LIFE CAN HAND YOU SOMETHING.
• 21:28
  >> Talk Holy Ghost.
• 21:31
  But what we're saying is that's not the
• 21:33
  only way
• 21:36
  >> to be with him.
• 21:38
  >> That I can I can be with with God.
• 21:47
  >> Here I am, Lord.
• 21:53
  >> And if you want to say anything to me,
• 21:56
  >> I'm listening,
• 21:58
  >> Lord. I'm not here to perform.
• 22:01
  I'm just here to be with you.
• 22:09
  >> Catch this. No Bible.
• 22:12
  >> Not right now.
• 22:15
  >> No prayer list.
• 22:17
  >> Not right now. No oil.
• 22:22
  >> Not right now.
• 22:24
  >> Hallelujah. Just be with it.
• 22:35
  And if you say something, fine. And if
• 22:38
  you don't say something,
• 22:40
  I need it either way.
• 22:45
  >> God says to you, "You don't have to
• 22:47
  perform for me."
• 22:49
  >> And can I tell you something? You need
• 22:51
  to tell God, "You don't have to perform
• 22:52
  for me either." Amen.
• 22:57
  >> I can just sit here.
• 23:01
  >> You ain't got to make the thunder roll
• 23:03
  or the lightning flash.
• 23:05
  >> I just need to be with you.
• 23:08
  >> It does something for my soul
• 23:10
  >> to sit with him.
• 23:12
  >> It recalibrates my heart when I sit with
• 23:15
  him. It settles my mind when I sit with
• 23:19
  him.
• 23:21
  >> Hallelujah.
• 23:27
  need to disconnect from the digital
• 23:30
  world for a moment.
• 23:35
  >> Unplug. We got to unplug ceremonies. We
• 23:37
  go to the wedding, you tell them to turn
• 23:38
  their phone off.
• 23:40
  >> Why? Cuz you don't want to interrupt
• 23:42
  what you done put all this money in.
• 23:46
  >> Can we have time in our lives where we
• 23:48
  unplug
• 23:50
  >> so that we can just be with him?
• 23:53
  and see. Oh God, God is thank you Jesus.
• 23:56
  Some of us have a savior complex
• 24:00
  >> and we can't turn the phone off cuz we
• 24:02
  think we have to be there for everybody
• 24:04
  on everything and every time they call.
• 24:06
  Can I TELL YOU SOMETHING? YOU AIN'T
• 24:08
  JESUS.
• 24:18
  You are not Jesus.
• 24:23
  >> If you cut your phone off for five
• 24:25
  minutes, the world will keep turning.
• 24:33
  >> I can't turn my phone on cuz they need
• 24:35
  me. No, you need the Lord.
• 24:38
  >> You need a minute.
• 24:43
  And what for some of us, what it's going
• 24:44
  to DO IS TO TEACH them that THEY NEED
• 24:47
  THE LORD, TOO.
• 24:48
  >> OH, I'M NOT JESUS. YOU NEED HIM.
• 24:53
  >> WHAT IF THEY NEED PRAYER? They they need
• 24:55
  to get saved. Talk to the Lord.
• 24:58
  >> They can have a prayer life, too.
• 25:02
  >> I'm preaching.
• 25:06
  >> You and I have to prioritize his
• 25:08
  presence.
• 25:11
  God's first call on your life is not to
• 25:13
  do something for him. It's to be with
• 25:16
  him. Oh, number two. Number two, we
• 25:19
  prioritize his presence. But also, what
• 25:21
  we need to do is we have to embrace the
• 25:23
  power of proximity.
• 25:26
  We prioritize his presence, but you and
• 25:28
  I must embrace the power of proximity.
• 25:30
  Mark chapter 3:14 it says he appointed
• 25:33
  12 that they might be with him and that
• 25:36
  he might send them out to preach.
• 25:40
  Sometimes we love we skip past the be
• 25:44
  with him and jump on the doing and the
• 25:46
  preaching
• 25:48
  but he he called us to himself and we
• 25:53
  have to embrace the power of that
• 25:56
  proximity. You know the scripture talks
• 25:58
  about that there will be a day where
• 26:02
  people will have a form of godliness
• 26:05
  >> but deny the power
• 26:08
  >> thereof. What does that mean? That means
• 26:10
  that that we will get so connected and
• 26:14
  so familiarized with with church
• 26:18
  >> and church lingo
• 26:20
  >> and church culture
• 26:22
  >> that we get we we won't even allow we
• 26:25
  have the form of we look churchy
• 26:29
  >> we sound churchy
• 26:32
  but we are not allowing the power of God
• 26:35
  to reshape us and to mold us. We need to
• 26:40
  gather in these in these these types of
• 26:42
  gatherings. The Bible says in Hebrews
• 26:44
  10:25, "Forsake not the assembly of
• 26:47
  yourselves together.
• 26:49
  We need this." But can I tell you, we
• 26:52
  need we got to take another step
• 26:56
  that that yeah, our gathering is great,
• 26:58
  but when we get in the presence of God
• 27:00
  and God is showing us things about let
• 27:02
  the power change you.
• 27:08
  What is that scripture where it says uh
• 27:11
  quench not
• 27:13
  the Holy Spirit?
• 27:15
  >> Now for many of us who grew up in
• 27:16
  church, y'all already know where I'm
• 27:17
  going, don't you? That we interpreted
• 27:19
  that verse meaning when when the when
• 27:22
  the praise is high.
• 27:27
  >> We used to interpret it like when the
• 27:29
  praise is high, you sit in your seat,
• 27:30
  you feel like you want to dance, you
• 27:31
  just you quenching it cuz you trying to
• 27:33
  look like you got to pee. You like
• 27:37
  I feel like Tim Shropshine right there.
• 27:41
  And he's trying to hold it.
• 27:43
  Hold what?
• 27:47
  >> That's what we used to call quenching
• 27:48
  the spirit.
• 27:50
  >> But can I tell you?
• 27:52
  >> That's not That's not That's not
• 27:53
  quenching the spirit.
• 27:56
  that when when when God when we talking
• 27:57
  about quenching the spirit God when God
• 27:59
  wants to change something,
• 28:03
  rearrange something,
• 28:06
  remove something,
• 28:08
  add something. When you and I put up a
• 28:12
  barricade,
• 28:14
  we are quenching the spirit. We are
• 28:16
  quenching, trying to put out, extinguish
• 28:18
  what God is trying to do.
• 28:22
  And when we have proximity to his
• 28:24
  presence, we need to let the power do
• 28:26
  its thing.
• 28:28
  >> We need to trust God enough
• 28:30
  >> to let the power do its thing. That
• 28:32
  whatever it is you want to take out or
• 28:34
  add to my life, God, here I am.
• 28:37
  >> Nobody goes into surgery and is and
• 28:40
  while surgery going on, sit up and tell
• 28:42
  the surgeon what to do.
• 28:46
  No, that's that's why they put your
• 28:47
  THAT'S WHY THEY KNOCK YOU OUT with that
• 28:48
  stuff cuz you will have too much to say.
• 28:56
  >> And some of us need some spiritual
• 29:02
  >> anesthetics.
• 29:07
  Anesthesia.
• 29:09
  >> Anesthetics. That's not a word.
• 29:12
  >> It is a word.
• 29:13
  >> Okay. God, thank you. Trying to stay off
• 29:16
  the clips.
• 29:20
  Some of us need that
• 29:23
  >> because we we we we giving God too many
• 29:25
  directions.
• 29:28
  Woo. When God trying to tell us
• 29:31
  >> who to leave alone,
• 29:34
  >> we're trying we're trying to trying to
• 29:36
  just adjust it just a little bit.
• 29:40
  >> When he's not trying to get you to make
• 29:42
  that change or that alteration FOR
• 29:43
  TODAY, BUT HE'S HE'S 90 DAYS down the
• 29:45
  road.
• 29:49
  >> Let the proxim you got to embrace the
• 29:51
  power of proximity.
• 29:54
  >> We got to embrace the power of
• 29:56
  proximity. We have to let the proximity
• 29:58
  change us
• 30:01
  and we we how we do it. We got to abide.
• 30:04
  You got to stay stay close. Bump me
• 30:05
  neighbor. Say stay close.
• 30:06
  >> Stay close.
• 30:08
  >> Oh God. You you you got to stay close
• 30:10
  >> because you and I don't have what we
• 30:13
  need on on our own
• 30:15
  >> to be and to do who God has called us to
• 30:18
  be and what he's called us to do.
• 30:22
  >> You and I got to stay connected. The
• 30:24
  Bible says in John 15:5, Jesus said, "I
• 30:28
  am the vine.
• 30:29
  >> You are the branches. I am the vine. You
• 30:33
  are the branches. I am the vine. I am
• 30:37
  the power source. You are the branches."
• 30:40
  Don't get it twisted. GOD SAID, "I am
• 30:42
  the vine.
• 30:44
  >> You are the branches.
• 30:46
  If you remain in me
• 30:48
  >> and I in you, you will bear much fruit,
• 30:54
  >> YOU CANNOT BEAR FRUIT APART FROM THE
• 30:57
  VINE.
• 31:03
  >> You know, I told Pastor Christ the other
• 31:05
  day that uh I wanted to I I had a little
• 31:07
  sermon, you know, I was writing sermons
• 31:09
  back in college uh at ENT. Should have
• 31:10
  been studying a little more, but I was
• 31:12
  writing sermons.
• 31:14
  I graduated IN DECEMBER. OH, THANK OH,
• 31:17
  GOOD THOUGHT ABOUT IT. HEY,
• 31:21
  NO, NO, don't do that. Hold on. Don't do
• 31:24
  that. I'm going to bring a tambourine to
• 31:26
  my graduation. Watch what I tell you.
• 31:33
  I was writing a sermon and uh wrote this
• 31:36
  little sermon entitled from this text,
• 31:39
  batteries not included.
• 31:43
  You remember that back IN THE DAY? SEE,
• 31:44
  Y'ALL DON'T WANT TO BE on
• 31:46
  last week with Generation Sunday. I was
• 31:48
  I was an 80s baby
• 31:50
  >> and there used to be commercials that
• 31:52
  would come on. They would show you this
• 31:53
  toy. They show you everything the toy
• 31:56
  did.
• 31:57
  Do this and do that. Transformers and
• 31:59
  everything popping out and everything.
• 32:01
  And then at the end it would tell you
• 32:05
  batteries
• 32:06
  >> not included.
• 32:08
  And I was reading this text and God SAID
• 32:10
  TO ME, TREV, YOU KNOW, I OPERATE THE
• 32:12
  SAME way
• 32:14
  >> that in my relationship with you,
• 32:16
  >> batteries,
• 32:18
  >> not included. Batteries was something
• 32:22
  that would allow you to have a little
• 32:24
  bit of power, but roam and go anywhere
• 32:26
  you wanted to go.
• 32:28
  >> You didn't have to STAY CONNECTED TO A
• 32:30
  power source.
• 32:32
  >> You could just when the batteries are
• 32:34
  when you when YOU HAVE BATTERY, YOU JUST
• 32:35
  GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT TO GO. I AIN'T GOT
• 32:37
  TO ASK NOBODY NOTHING.
• 32:42
  >> But when you got a cord, YOU GOT TO STAY
• 32:44
  CERTAIN. OH, I WISH I knew somebody that
• 32:46
  had a landline.
• 32:50
  Your cell phone. NOW YOU JUST WALK
• 32:51
  ANYWHERE YOU WANT TO GO. THERE WAS A DAY
• 32:54
  >> WHEN YOU HAD A house phone
• 32:56
  >> and if YOU DIDN'T HAVE ABOUT 15 FEET ON
• 32:58
  THAT CORD,
• 33:00
  >> you just had to talk low CUZ YOU AIN'T
• 33:01
  HAD NOWHERE to go.
• 33:06
  just had to talk low.
• 33:10
  >> I thought Reaba had swept the line when
• 33:12
  it was a 100 FOOT CORD AND I COULD TAKE
• 33:13
  IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE HOUSE.
• 33:22
  I thought revival had swept the land.
• 33:28
  You and I,
• 33:35
  we have everything we need
• 33:38
  >> to be lit.
• 33:42
  Bulb work,
• 33:45
  electricity work,
• 33:47
  only one problem.
• 33:49
  Not connected.
• 33:55
  Some of us got a great bulb.
• 33:58
  >> Power showed up. Word.
• 34:01
  >> We just not connected.
• 34:07
  >> Thank you, Holy Ghost. I was going to
• 34:09
  use an extension cord,
• 34:14
  but God said there's some of you
• 34:17
  Yes, sir. There's some of you you got to
• 34:21
  stay close.
• 34:26
  You trying You trying to get God to give
• 34:28
  you an extension cord.
• 34:31
  >> You trying to get God to give you a
• 34:33
  little leeway in that relationship, in
• 34:35
  that situationship.
• 34:39
  >> And right now you're NOT LIT. YOUR LIGHT
• 34:42
  IS OUT. YOUR WITNESS is compromised.
• 34:50
  It means I MAYBE I CAN'T GO AS FAR.
• 34:56
  >> BUT I'MMA GO AS FAR AS I can
• 34:59
  >> and shine with what I got.
• 35:03
  If that's the only way I can stay on.
• 35:08
  If this as FAR AS I CAN GO. SOME OF YOU
• 35:11
  ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT TRYING TO
• 35:12
  LEAVE. And if you need to leave, leave.
• 35:15
  GO WHERE GOD CALLED YOU TO GO.
• 35:18
  >> But if THIS IS WHERE GOD HAS CONNECTED
• 35:20
  YOU TO,
• 35:22
  >> THEN I WOULD RATHER I would rather have
• 35:24
  these limitations and stay lit
• 35:28
  >> THAN TO GO WHEREVER I WANT TO GO. AND MY
• 35:30
  LIGHT IS OUT, GO WHERE I WANT TO GO AND
• 35:33
  still
• 35:41
  now.
• 35:43
  Thank you, Holy Ghost.
• 35:46
  >> Some of us
• 35:49
  >> when we go on vacation,
• 35:52
  >> we need an extension cord.
• 35:55
  >> Cuz we think when we leave Greenville
• 35:58
  that WE CAN LIVE ANY KIND OF WAY WE WANT
• 36:00
  TO LIVE. BUT I NEED AN EXTENSION CORD ON
• 36:03
  VACATION SO I CAN STEAL IT.
• 36:14
  I'm not going out of town and get drunk.
• 36:17
  I'm going to stay lit. Lord, talk, Holy
• 36:19
  Ghost. I'M NOT GOING OUT OF TOWN AND
• 36:21
  GIVE HIM A FREE CALL. I'M GOING TO STAY
• 36:22
  LIT.
• 36:25
  Let me get out in here.
• 36:30
  >> Bump your neighbor. Say, "Stay close."
• 36:35
  >> I got to prioritize his presence.
• 36:39
  Then I got to embrace the power. I got
• 36:40
  to stay connected. And then when I have
• 36:42
  that proximity, I need to let that power
• 36:44
  change me.
• 36:46
  >> It's not enough to have a form of
• 36:48
  godliness
• 36:49
  and deny his power.
• 36:52
  >> Pastor Shawn called it name dropping.
• 36:55
  >> It's just when you just call it, you
• 36:56
  just drop names about who you know and
• 36:58
  what you know, but don't have no real
• 37:01
  connection or relationship.
• 37:03
  >> I don't want to name drop God.
• 37:09
  using them on my resume when it fits me.
• 37:12
  >> But then he ask me for something, I'm
• 37:14
  too busy.
• 37:20
  >> Got to prioritize his presence.
• 37:22
  >> We have to embrace the power in
• 37:24
  proximity. Let it change us. And then
• 37:27
  you and I must understand that presence
• 37:31
  precedes purpose.
• 37:34
  Presence precedes purpose.
• 37:38
  Scripture says he gave them to have
• 37:41
  authority to drive out demons
• 37:46
  to preach the word. He gave them all of
• 37:50
  those things, but not before he called
• 37:53
  them to be with him.
• 37:57
  Presence will always preede purpose.
• 38:04
  presence. And I know some of us we can
• 38:05
  say we like, "Lord, what you want me to
• 38:07
  do? Lord, what is your purpose for my
• 38:09
  life?"
• 38:11
  And we put so much emphasis on trying to
• 38:15
  find the purpose. And what God wants us
• 38:18
  to do is put the emphasis in just being
• 38:20
  with him. Because when we be with him
• 38:23
  and we put that emphasis in and I know
• 38:25
  there are some of my my type eight
• 38:27
  people who are listening to me and you
• 38:28
  I'm not telling us to be lazy
• 38:31
  >> because you say well I need to do well
• 38:33
  are you just telling me that I don't
• 38:34
  need to do anything in my relationship
• 38:35
  with God. No what I'm telling us is that
• 38:38
  we need to put our emphasis and our
• 38:40
  priority focus and effort into the Lord
• 38:44
  and not more so into our list.
• 38:49
  put the effort in the time of being with
• 38:51
  him in his presence and not so much time
• 38:54
  just trying to find out my purpose.
• 38:57
  >> Because if you and I will spend time in
• 39:01
  his presence, then our purpose will flow
• 39:04
  out of us.
• 39:10
  If we would spend time,
• 39:16
  this is what we're like.
• 39:19
  We're pictures.
• 39:21
  You know, I thought about the old
• 39:22
  prayer.
• 39:24
  Lord, we stand before you as empty
• 39:28
  pictures before a full fountain. I wish
• 39:30
  somebody with gray hair would say
• 39:31
  something to me. That's old right there.
• 39:33
  That's when the deacon used to get on
• 39:34
  their knees and pray.
• 39:39
  >> We like this. This is how we are. And
• 39:41
  and we're we're trying to find our
• 39:43
  purpose.
• 39:44
  God, what you want me to do? Who who I
• 39:48
  know I'm a picture. I'm I'm built to
• 39:50
  pour, but God, what you want me to do?
• 39:54
  What is my purpose? Like, what am I
• 39:56
  supposed to be praying? Lord, what am I
• 39:57
  supposed to be doing? Like feeding the
• 39:58
  hungry? Like, what am I supposed to be
• 39:59
  doing? Like, am I supposed to be
• 40:00
  counseling people or helping? Like,
• 40:02
  Lord, what I'm supposed to be doing?
• 40:05
  And we spend so time, so much time.
• 40:07
  Lord, what you want me to do? Lord, what
• 40:09
  you want me to do
• 40:12
  rather than getting in his presence
• 40:16
  and sitting still
• 40:18
  for a moment
• 40:22
  and allowing God
• 40:30
  to pour.
• 40:33
  You know, before
• 40:36
  there was a time when I was teaching my
• 40:37
  kids, you know, how to do little things
• 40:40
  and uh I would have him to hold a cup
• 40:44
  and uh he would be standing there like
• 40:47
  this. D I'm thirsty.
• 40:50
  I'm just playing. He wasn't pigeon toe.
• 40:52
  You saw I got a little pig toe, right?
• 40:56
  Damn. Damn, I'm thirsty. Can you give me
• 40:58
  something to drink?
• 41:02
  Josh, hold you. I right here.
• 41:05
  Give me something to drink. I want
• 41:06
  something to drink. Dad, will you give
• 41:07
  me something to drink, please? I'm
• 41:08
  thirsty.
• 41:11
  It's not that I didn't want to give him
• 41:12
  anything to drink. It's just that he
• 41:15
  didn't get still enough
• 41:22
  >> for me to be able to pour.
• 41:30
  It's in his presence
• 41:32
  where we get filled.
• 41:37
  >> Not to get up immediately and go. See,
• 41:40
  because at this point, this is what
• 41:41
  happens.
• 41:43
  >> We get to this point and now we want to
• 41:45
  get ordained.
• 41:50
  >> We get to this point, now we want to
• 41:51
  start a church. PREACH, HOLY GHOST.
• 42:01
  This right here. This here it
• 42:03
  >> and we a bishop in two weeks.
• 42:16
  >> No.
• 42:17
  >> Be still.
• 42:19
  >> Let me pour.
• 42:22
  Let me pour into you.
• 42:24
  Don't leave yet.
• 42:27
  I know you stopped doing some things
• 42:28
  that you used to do, but don't leave
• 42:29
  yet.
• 42:30
  >> I know you know a few scriptures, but
• 42:32
  don't leave yet.
• 42:34
  >> I know you know how to pray and you done
• 42:36
  seen some results, but don't leave yet.
• 42:41
  >> You know how long I set up under this
• 42:43
  ministry.
• 42:46
  >> Now, I'm not bragging
• 42:48
  >> cuz this is the Lord's doing
• 42:50
  >> and it's marvelous in our eyes. But I
• 42:53
  didn't get here yesterday.
• 42:58
  It was time.
• 43:01
  >> Lord, what you want me to do? Just be
• 43:03
  here.
• 43:06
  >> Lord, can I get up and go? They done
• 43:07
  told me, Lord, that they give me a
• 43:08
  church and a Cadillac.
• 43:11
  >> Just be here.
• 43:18
  What you want me to do?
• 43:23
  What God says is if you just let me pour
• 43:26
  into you
• 43:28
  >> long enough,
• 43:31
  >> you don't have to worry about wetting
• 43:33
  the people around you.
• 43:35
  >> If you can just stay faithful in my
• 43:37
  presence,
• 43:38
  what's on the inside of you will begin
• 43:42
  to leak out of you and you ain't gone
• 43:45
  nowhere. You It'll JUST COME OUT OF YOU.
• 43:50
  purpose
• 43:52
  will start coming out of you.
• 43:57
  You don't even know. You don't even
• 43:59
  realize
• 44:00
  >> where the power came from to pray for
• 44:02
  people like that. But you stayed in his
• 44:05
  presence long enough
• 44:07
  >> until it just started coming out of you.
• 44:11
  >> We don't know when
• 44:14
  >> we got ready to be to be ready for this
• 44:16
  assignment.
• 44:17
  >> Oh, we just stayed. All right.
• 44:19
  >> And allow God to keep pouring into us
• 44:22
  >> until IT STARTED COMING OUT of us.
• 44:28
  >> His presence will do it.
• 44:31
  >> His his presence will do this.
• 44:35
  >> You don't have to run around and try to
• 44:38
  make purpose.
• 44:41
  >> Just stay in his presence long enough
• 44:46
  >> and his purpose will begin to flow out
• 44:47
  of us. What am I saying? God is calling
• 44:50
  us in this third week as we head into
• 44:52
  this fast
• 44:56
  that yes, we are getting information,
• 45:00
  but what God wants is formation.
• 45:04
  He wants to form us
• 45:07
  by us getting quiet in his presence and
• 45:09
  just being with him.
• 45:11
  >> See, and what what how this unnerves us
• 45:13
  sometimes is because we're not
• 45:15
  controlling our growth.
• 45:18
  You don't control your growth.
• 45:20
  >> News flash, you don't control your
• 45:22
  growth. If you did, you'll be a lot
• 45:23
  further than you are right now.
• 45:27
  >> You and I just need to be still in his
• 45:28
  presence.
• 45:30
  >> And let God do the work. It's not that
• 45:32
  we don't do. We do what he tells us to
• 45:34
  do.
• 45:35
  >> When he tells us to move and do this,
• 45:37
  that's what I'm doing. But I'm not doing
• 45:40
  stuff on my own. Amen.
• 45:43
  >> Just doing what I want to do or moving
• 45:44
  how it how I see it fit or what seems
• 45:47
  right to me.
• 45:49
  >> No, I'm in his presence
• 45:51
  >> and let him pour into me
• 45:56
  because if I stay there long enough, my
• 45:59
  purpose, it'll leak out of me. Let's
• 46:03
  pray.
• 46:06
  Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank
• 46:08
  you for your word.
• 46:10
  We thank you, Lord, for this call,
• 46:14
  Lord. You're not calling us to go.
• 46:16
  You're calling us to come to you.
• 46:21
  Thank you, Lord, that you recruited us.
• 46:25
  You wanted us
• 46:27
  while we were yet sinners. You died for
• 46:29
  us. We thank you that we're prioritizing
• 46:32
  your presence, not to get you to love
• 46:36
  us. You already loved us,
• 46:38
  but Lord, our prioritizing of your
• 46:40
  presence is is our response to all that
• 46:44
  you have done.
• 46:46
  Father, we ask you now that you will
• 46:49
  help us
• 46:51
  to literally prioritize your presence.
• 46:54
  Father, we're asking you right now if
• 46:56
  you would help us to embrace the
• 46:58
  proximity and the power that comes with
• 47:00
  being close to you. And father, will you
• 47:03
  help us embrace your way
• 47:06
  and that is that presence precedes
• 47:10
  purpose?
• 47:11
  Help us not to be so caught up in doing
• 47:15
  that we forget you.
• 47:19
  Father, may we make time for you this
• 47:21
  week. Even if it's just five minutes,
• 47:23
  God, for the for the mother with three
• 47:26
  and four and five kids, Lord, maybe it's
• 47:28
  just time in the bathroom where she just
• 47:30
  consecrates that time to be in your
• 47:32
  presence and be with you. Maybe it's
• 47:35
  that truck driver who has a a route to
• 47:37
  take, Lord, and rather than listening to
• 47:39
  the radio, Lord, they consecrate that
• 47:41
  time with you,
• 47:44
  Father. Whether it is a senior Lord who
• 47:46
  has the majority of their time with had
• 47:49
  their time available. Father, may they
• 47:51
  craft out and cut out time to be with
• 47:53
  you.
• 47:56
  Father, whether it is a teenager
• 47:58
  who's connected in the digital world,
• 48:02
  Father, may they cut out time
• 48:04
  to be with you.
• 48:07
  Father, we value your presence.
• 48:10
  Help us to practice it
• 48:13
  so that we can be who you called us to
• 48:15
  be in Jesus name.