Called to Be People of the Presence
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” 17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” —Exodus 33:15-17 (NIV)
• Moses desired God’s
• “What else will
• The distinguishing
• A danger for the church in the western world is that, by and large, we have learned how to “do
• 1 Cor. 4:20 (NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
• Depending on the Spirit involves
• Ministry in the power of the Spirit puts me in touch with my
− It isn’t something I can do by
− It takes me out of my comfort zone because it removes me from what I can control and places me in a position where I have to
• Being people of the presence requires a
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” —Matthew 14:28-31 (NIV)
• This is not primarily a story about risk taking; it’s a story about
• Peter walked on the
• When it comes to being people of the presence
• We get out of the boat, not because we feel courageous, but because Jesus has
•
• Being people of the presence involves
• If you get out of the boat, there’s a good chance you might
• But if you don’t get out of the boat there’s a guaranteed
• If you want to walk on water you’ve got to
• What’s your
• Your
• Because of the storm some people decide to never leave the boat.
• But remember there’s no
• Being people of the presence involves
• “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
• Peter doubted when he saw the
• In some ways Peter failed.
• His faith wasn’t
• He saw the wind and the waves, and he took His
• He began to
• You could argue though that there were
• They failed
• They failed
• They failed
• Only Peter knew the shame of
• But only Peter knew two other things as well.
• The joy of
• The joy of being
• The worst failure isn’t to sink in the waves. It’s to