We are looking forward to Summer Freedom Celebration 2007 this Sunday, July 1 at 9:15 a.m.

This special day always gives us the opportunity to celebrate our freedom, to express our patriotism, and to remember those who have paid the price for our freedom. This year, we will also celebrate a multitude of other heroes who help make America the wonderful country it is. I look forward to being here and speaking at the conclusion of the program, “Heroes That Make a Better America.”

You can invite a friend to this great service by clicking here for First Baptist Springdale, or here for The Church at Pinnacle Hills.

At the top of all the invitations you will ever get will be the invitation to Experience the Presence of God! Just think, God invites us and even allows us to know Him moment by moment each and every day. No doubt you will remember our basic passage of scripture we have used throughout our study; let’s review it one more time. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

There is another passage I want to introduce today for our study. The passage is found in Hosea 6:1-3 and it says: “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn [us], and He will heal us; He has wounded [us], and He will bind up our wounds. He will revive us after two days, and on the third day He will raise us up so we can live in His presence. Let us strive to know the LORD. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the land.”

Let’s Take a Moment to…
Recapture What God Has Taught Us…

When you look at that scripture today, you will notice that there are nine times through the use of personal pronouns that God gives a snapshot of His involvement with us, even after we neglect Him. Listen to me today, God never gives up on you. God chases you when you’re running the other direction. God’s arms are open wide to you with immeasurable compassion even when you’re not living the way you need to live. Let me tell you, God loved them, and God loves you.

Let’s continue to look at what it means to personally experience God…
By Understanding What This Means to Me Personally…

I want you to notice first of all today, God’s personal invitation to us is to experience His presence. God has given you a personal invitation. How does He do that? Remember, the people are away from God, but what is God doing? He’s demonstrating that unconditional, compassionate love, and He says, “Come.”

I want you to notice another thing out of the book of Hosea 6: 1-2. God is working His process in us that moves us into His presence. Most of us today would say, “Boy I would love to have the presence of God in my life so powerfully that I could experience it every day.” If you are “in Christ,” you have Him living inside you forever. The key here is the question, “Are you experiencing His presence every day?” God is committed to you having a better life. And there is no better life without the presence of God in your life. And He’s very committed to you experiencing that presence. In other words, there are no shortcuts to following the Lord. You can’t change the processes of God; the processes of God are non-negotiable.

I want you to notice another thing in Hosea 6:2 – God’s power in us is realized only in His presence. Why does He hurt us? Why does He put us down? Why does he lay us low? Why? So that He will raise us up, not so we can talk about how great it is now, but why? So that we can live in His presence.

But I want you to notice a fourth thing here in the text: God’s promises are fulfilled when we are living in His presence. Look at verse number 3 – what a great word. “Let us strive to know the Lord,” in other words – pursue God, run after God, agonize after God and when you do, “His appearance is as sure as the dawn.”

Now as we conclude let’s…
Act on What God has said to Us…

When we seek to lives in His presence, the Bible says in Hosea: “He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the land.” May that become a reality in each of our lives!

Once again in the book of 2 Chronicles we read these words from chapter 7 and verse 17: “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.” When He says “Seek My face,” He’s calling us to Jesus Priority, Jesus above everything else. We need to have a longing for Jesus. I ask you today, do you have a longing for Jesus in your life? We must have a longing for God in our lives. Do you have a longing for God in your life? We long for a lot of things today. We long for relationships today. How much do we long for Jesus?

Let’s Take a Moment to…
Recapture What God Has Taught Us …

In John 15:4, Jesus said these words, “Abide in Me, and I in you. And as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” Jesus gave us an illustration that was so contemporary in His day, but it’s still very contemporary in our day. He states that He is the true vine, the only vine, the genuine vine, the one true source for everything. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a tree or a vine; I want you to understand today the key is the juice. The key is the source of life. Jesus is the source for every branch. The vine is the source for every branch and for the bearing of all the fruit. What did Jesus clarify here in these five verses of scripture? He said, “I am the vine,” and He said this about us, “we are the branches.” Now the word “abide” is a very interesting word. The word in the original language means, “to remain in.” It means, “to stay around.” It means, “to continue in Jesus.” You see, that’s what Jesus wants from us, He wants us to remain in Him, not in other stuff but in Him!

Let’s continue to look at what it means to make Jesus first by seeking to …
Understand What This Means to Us Personally …

Application #1: Based off what we’ve learned, it is simply: Jesus Alone. That’s what Jesus was saying. That is what God wants from me and that’s what God wants from you. That’s what God wants from every one of us who are Christ-followers. It’s Jesus alone, nothing else but Jesus alone. Will you apply that in your life this week? Will you just live your lives every moment with Jesus alone?

Application #2: Jesus is my Fullness. Hudson Taylor, after his deeper experience with Jesus while he was serving in China, became an amazement to his own people because of the difference in him. Listen to this testimony, this is something – they became amazed in his restful, peaceful heart regardless of what happened around him. Just listen to their testimony about their leader: “He was ‘in God’ all the time, and God in him. It was that ‘abiding’ of John 15. When you saw him, it was like he was in God all the time. We have to become convinced of this: Jesus alone is our fullness, and nothing else, no one else …He alone is my fullness.

Application #3: Well I want to tell you something else today; Jesus is enough. Live your life this week like He’s your fullness. Live your life this week like He is enough.

Now as we conclude let’s …
Act on What God Has Said to Us …

I want to declare to you unashamedly that Jesus is all you need …now go and live like it!

For those of us waiting for football to return, we often find ourselves searching for a sports alternative. Knowing that there is no alternative to football, we settle for things like Extreme Sports! Much like football, however, there are often times you see people flying through the air and an occasional sight of blood flowing from some body part or the other; thus the name Extreme!

There are times in the Christ followers’ life when there is a need for Extreme Praying!

Let’s take a moment to …
Recapture What God Has Taught Us …

What is prayer? Prayer occurs when you talk to God about anything, anywhere, at any time in your life. What is extraordinary prayer? Extraordinary prayer is when you talk to God about something or someone excessively above the norm. It’s when you go above and beyond talking to God about something on your heart. Something that is burdensome to your heart – a situation, a person, a need, an issue. Remember our basic text for this series was 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, which says: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people. If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” I believe he is talking about “Extreme …Extraordinary” prayer.

Let’s continue to look at this extreme praying by seeking to …
Understand What This Means to Us Personally …

The way to understand the effect upon our own lives is to see again just what happens when we pray in an extraordinary, or extreme way:

• First, Extreme prayer overcomes prayerlessness! We have a need in our lives and in the life of the church for a Prayer Revival; not just to return to prayer but to call for Extreme or Extraordinary Prayer!

• Second, Extreme prayer also opposes Satan! The last thing in the world Satan wants you to do is pray! He knows when we connect with heaven that the kingdom of God comes from heaven to this earth!

• Third, Extreme or extraordinary prayer leads us to operate biblically. You stand on the Word of God when you pray. You call upon the Lord when you pray. You make the house of God a house of prayer when you pray.

Now as we conclude this blog today let’s …
Act on What God Has said to us …

In Hebrews 11: 6, it says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” God says you cannot please Him without faith. And God says if you will believe God is who He says He is and God can do what He says He can do, then let me tell you – some great things are able to happen in your life. You see, prayer activates upon the basis that you believe God can do anything and that God is who He says He is. Some of us wonder if God is even on the throne or even cares. Let me tell you today that regardless of the way you feel, He’s on the throne today. And I want to tell you, He’s waiting on you. He’s waiting on you to call upon Him. Why don’t you go to Him right now and pray? Why don’t you diligently seek Him …pray in an extreme or extraordinary way right now.

Some movie sequels should have never been made. How did anyone think they could improve on the original JAWS? Well, not being much into movies at all, I do think there are some biblical messages that not only call for a sequel but a flat out rerun from time to time; such is the case with the subject of humility. Today I want to pick up where we left off yesterday in my blog by continuing some thoughts on God’s “Prescription For Pride.”

Let’s take a moment to…
Recapture What God Has Taught Us…

Your assignment at the conclusion yesterday was to look up several passages of scripture. Let me provide them here as a foundation to our time today:

1 Peter 5:6: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, (ESV)

Proverbs 29:23: One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. (ESV)

Psalm 10:17: LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear (ESV)

Isaiah 57:15: For thus says the One, who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (ESV)

Many of us want to experience the presence of God; we want spiritual revival, but we want it our way. As you can read in the scriptures, it’s not about our way; it’s God’s way! God’s way is always begins with a contrite, broken, low spirit. So I ask you today, do you want that in your life? Do you want to experience the presence of God in a brand new way in your life?

Let me tell you what it takes to get there by helping us to…
Understand What That Means To Us Personally…

First, The gateway to experiencing the presence of God is complete humility.

Second, God will NOT share His glory with anyone.

Third, There are some hazards to arriving at complete humility:

1. The hazard of Pride: We all have an “I” problem. We will never arrive at complete humility until we allow God to be Lord over us.
2. The hazard of Position: Self-exaltation will never help you to arrive at complete humility.
3. The hazard of Performance: Yes, excellence should be the desire of our hearts in God’s work but never to the point that our performance takes center stage to the exclusion of glory unto our Lord.
4. The hazard of Praise: There is only One worthy of praise and glory, and His name does not begin with yours.

Fourth, anytime you humble yourself before God through fasting and prayer, you are making an investment in your spiritual life and future. One of the entry points, not the only but one of the major entry points, is what the scripture calls prayer and fasting. What is fasting? Fasting is when you abstain from food with a spiritual goal in mind. In the Old and New Testament, to be humble means to be low before God. It means you choose to be weak before God. It means that you choose to be insignificant. The scripture here indicates we are to lie low when we are completely humble. We need to make ourselves flat before God. We need to put ourselves under God completely fasting. Fasting is an action you take that is humbling yourself rather than a position you hold.
Now as we conclude this today let’s…

Act on What God Has Said To Us…

I want to direct your attention again to God’s Word as we close. Look up these verses and let God apply His Word to your heart:

Psalm 35:13
Psalm 109:24
Ezra 8:21-23
Matthew 6:16-18
Matthew 9:13-15
Matthew 17:21
Acts: 13:2 and Acts 14:23

May the word humble become more than just a word we study, but a lifestyle we seek to live as we experience the presence of God in our lives.

Welcome to our return to “Experiencing The Presence of God.”
Over the next several days, we are revisiting the biblical truths we recently discovered as we expressed a heartfelt burden and desire to know the very presence of God in our midst. Let’s focus today on the subject of humility. Humility is the prescription for pride. When pride goes unchecked in our lives, it devours like a cancer the vibrant walk we can have with our Lord. Unfortunately, because pride by its very nature is so hidden, we often are the last ones to come face to face with its destructive power over our lives. God has a clear word for us that can help each of us return to a refreshing, clean heart before our Holy Father. Experiencing the presence of God will never take place apart from this humble discussion…

…So, let’s take a moment to…
Recapture What God Has Taught Us…
Remember that the word “humble” means “to lay low before God.” In Matthew chapter 23:12, Jesus said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus said, “If you determine to lift yourself up in life, God may humble you but if you willingly humble yourself before God, God may chose to lift you up.” In James 4:6, He says, “But He gives more grace.” Meaning much, much more grace. “Therefore it says, ‘God, does what?’ “He opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.” The word there is very clear, is it not? God gives more grace. More grace to what? To the proud, God hates the pride. God opposes pride. God never authenticates pride. God never verifies the validity of pride anywhere in scripture. So He opposes the proud, but what does He do? He gives grace, greater grace to the humble.

With this reminder let’s…
Understand What That Means Personally…
It simply means that we are to be responsible to act upon God’s Word! Each one of us must examine our lives in light of God’s Holy Spirit and let His truthful assessment lead us to take care of spiritual business. James chapter 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” Now what He is doing here is calling us to take the initiatory action here for us to humble ourselves before God. Sometimes we get it in our mind that simply it’s God humbling us; no, it’s us humbling ourselves before God. Yes, there are moments when God takes action toward you or me, but I guarantee it, the normal Christian life should not be filled with God taking action against us or towards us, but it should be us humbling ourselves before the Lord. Well, He says when we’re willing to do that, “He (God) will exalt us.” That’s a powerful promise; you ought to stand on that word.

Now as we conclude this let’s…
Act on what God Has Said To Us…
I want you to take a moment right now and apply God’s Word to your heart. Look up and read the following verses that speak directly to this issue of humility:

1 Peter 5:6
Proverbs 29:23
Psalm 10:17
Isaiah 57:15

Lord, we humble ourselves before your Holy presence. May you have your perfect work in each life as we walk through these days together.

Welcome! We are returning to the messages from our last sermon series: “Experiencing The Presence of God.” I am convinced that God will take these truths and apply them directly to our lives as we take the time to remain teachable before His Word.

Let’s take a moment to…
Recapture What God Has Taught Us…
With 2 Chronicles as our backdrop, we remember that the temple had been built, the glory of God had come, the fire of God had fallen, and the power of God was so great they could not even enter into the temple. They gave, they sacrificed, and they dedicated it to God. God’s success was all over the people, but in the night, the Lord woke Solomon up and told him, “Solomon, when I shut up heavens,” which clearly communicated the fact the there would definitely be a time when He shut up the heavens. “What exactly is God saying when He says, “When I shut up the heavens?” He means when He keeps His blessings from flowing or when He literally moves judgment among His people. This whole concept of “when I shut up the heavens” was a prophetic word. It was a prophetic word to Solomon’s life. It was a prophetic word to the people of the text. It was a prophetic word to us today. It is a prophetic word to each of us personally.

So, with that in mind let’s…
Understand What That Means Personally…
There will be times in your life when God shuts up the heavens. Do you know what that’s like? That’s like when you pray and you don’t feel like your prayers are being answered. It’s when you are living for Christ and there seem to be no benefits. When I shut up the heavens. This is not some new concept that shows up; in fact, we read about it over in Deuteronomy 11:17. There are five references to the heavens being shut up in the entire scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Deuteronomy 11:17, 1 Kings 8:35, 2 Chronicles 6:26, 2 Chronicles 7:13, and it was even used in a prophetic manner concerning Revelation 11:6. So, when God shuts up the heavens in our lives it can be because of sin or even during seasons in our lives by His direct will. Regardless of the reason, when God shuts up the heavens in our lives, He calls to do several things. When we accomplish those things listed in 2 Chronicles 7:14, then God will keep His promises and bring times of refreshing from heaven.

Now, let’s …
Act on what God Has Said to Us…
First, we must humble ourselves before holy God. The word “humble” means, “to lay low before God.” God calls us to humble ourselves. The Bible says over in 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves,” meaning that we are to take the action. A statement that all of us need to be well aware of today is that God is never attracted to pride, but only to humility. Second, we must move to an extraordinary prayer life. Extraordinary prayer is prayer beyond the normal, beyond the ordinary. Third, we must make Jesus our sole priority. The scripture in 2 Chronicles 7:14 talks about seeking His face. That means Jesus first. That means Jesus priority. Fourth, we must have nothing short of radical repentance as the norm for our lives. Again, 2 Chronicles 7:14 says “Turn from your wicked ways.” That’s the word for repentance, not only the change of your mind but also the change of your actions, moving from your head to your heart to your feet. When that takes place, there has been radical repentance.

Let me close today with an example of God opening up the heavens…
Evan Roberts wrote a little book years ago called, “When the Spirit Came.” As a young man of 26 in the country of Wales, Evan began praying for revival in his own life and in his own country. From 16 to 26 he cried out to God, “Give revival in my life” and “Give revival in my nation.” One night as he knelt on his knees, he prayed these words, “Lord, bend me…bend me.” On October 31st, 1905, Evan Roberts preached his first sermon. And as a result, taverns closed, gambling ceased, profanity ceased, old debts were paid, and forgiveness was granted over broken relationships. Peace and harmony began to replace strife and discord. Also as a result of that first sermon he preached on October 31st, 1905, 16 people came to Christ. The next night he preached again and seven more people came to Christ. On the third night he preached again, 20 more received Christ. Attendance began to boom and after two months, 70,000 people had come to Christ as Lord and Savior. By March of 1905, 85,000 had come to faith in Christ and eventually God answered his prayer, for over 100,000 people to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And you know what he began to do? He began to pray not only, “Lord bend me…bend me,”,but he began to pray these words, “Bend the church and the save the world… Bend the church and save the world!”

Listen today, when we join together in complete humility, extraordinary prayer, Jesus priority and radical repentance, God will begin to hear our prayer and the heavens will open up!

Summer has finally moved in and taken over our lives! That’s not all that bad, especially when you realize that the next season upcoming is the fall and with it…football! In the midst of your summer activities, I want to revisit some foundational truths that have proved to be a spiritually refreshing time for my own personal life. Every season of the year welcomes the reality of experiencing God. Many of you have just walked through these truths with me at one of our services, but whether you have or not, I have really been impressed to recapture some basis principles concerning experiencing His presence in our lives. So, let me invite you to join me for the next few days as we revisit Gods’ Word for our lives.

Let me guide us each day by using the following markers:

Recapturing What God Has Taught Us
Understanding What That Means Personally
Acting On What God Has Said to Us

This new outline will guide us beginning tomorrow, but as I close today let me remind us of two basic concepts.

1. Our Chinese pastor, Brother Yun, told us that “Revival is the presence of God!” Just think; you and I can know God…we can experience His presence in our lives. He is not some silent statue that we must visit. God is a person, and we can know Him because He has offered to us His grace and love. You are not alone. As His child you can clearly understand and experience His expression of love in your life right now. No need for an appointment, no need to “wait your turn;” just turn to Him right where you are and thank Him for being available to you every day…every moment of your life.

2. I want to remind you of the passage of scripture over in the book of 2 Chronicles chapter number 7. In 2 Chronicles chapter number 7, I want to bring your attention to two verses of scripture, verse 13-14. The scripture says from the English Standard Version, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.” Experiencing God’s presence is certainly available but can be interrupted by our own sin or simply our own indifference. I am praying for you in these days that God will create within all of our hearts a burning passion to experience His presence. May this be our prayer…

“Oh God, please arrest our attention and create a hunger and thirst for You this summer.”

Worship and rest need to fill our day on Sunday. Our weeks are busy, filled with all sorts of things. Schedules to keep, business to accomplish, family needs to meet, important things . . . but in all of that, remember that Sunday is the most important day of your week. Worship of our Lord is the priority for this day – He expects it, and we need it. Plus, we need to be with each other, our church family. And then – we all need rest, and that is part of what Sunday brings.

Come to Worship this Sunday EXPECTING – - come expecting God to move and expecting lives to be changed. Come with a heart that is open to what God will do – not just in others, but in YOU. Have your spiritual eyes and ears open so that you don’t miss what God says and what He does. The past several Sundays have been wonderful days, days that have given us a glimpse of what God wants to do in our midst.

Bring your family and friends on Sunday. If you honestly believe that God will move in a mighty way, don’t you want others to be there with you? Have you had the experience in the past of attending something that ended up being a wonderful event, then when you tried later to tell your family and friends about it – - you just couldn’t get them to understand? Just bring them with you. Experience the Holy Spirit and His Supernatural Power together.

Bring your gifts and resources. There is so much to accomplish this summer, with many great events happening in our fellowship even this week. Please be faithful to give so that you are obedient and so that these ministries can continue at the fullest potential. You will be blessed, and you will be a part of life-changing work.

I can’t wait until Sunday – see you there!