Presence Driven

In this powerful episode of Relentless Pursuit, we dive deep into the transformative importance of God's presence in our daily lives. We shares a heartfelt message about building an intimate relationship with God, drawing inspiration from King David's journey with the Ark of the Covenant. Together, we explore key biblical teachings that distinguish between God’s omnipresence and His manifested presence. Learn why living a Presence-driven life is vital for spiritual growth and how it can guide us through the challenges we face today.

This episode is an urgent call for prayer and spiritual renewal—an invitation to seek God's guidance and draw closer to His presence in these uncertain times. Don’t miss it!

Stay tuned for next week’s episode, where we’ll dive into the powerful topic of spiritual warfare.

Transcript

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Welcome back to Relentless Pursuit. I'm so excited for this episode. I'm thankful for everyone that's joined us today. And I'm believing for God to do great things. So let us, let's just dive in. If this is your first time watching, I want you to know that this is more than just a podcast for you to listen to. This is a podcast for you to listen to and act upon. I encourage you to listen to all the previous episodes in this season because as a group and as a whole they all relatively go together and coincide with each other. And and I just believe That what God is doing right now I had an original, I had an original idea for this podcast episode and what God was going to do for the next episode, which is this episode. And I just felt in my heart that there is a right time for what I was going to talk about warfare. There was a right time for it. But right now I believe the people of God need to hear what God, where God's heart is. And. It, it goes along with what the slogan, I don't even want to say it that because it feels like it demeans what we're about because we are all about our pursuit for God as he relentlessly pursues after us. And so that's our mission. That's our vision for the podcast is we want to pursue God's presence. And this episode I'm going to talk about presence driven. And when we are driven by God's presence, people of God's presence, people that are willing to be intimate with God in every capacity that, that we can. And meaning, that means surrendering. Everything to God and allowing your life to be on his altar and giving yourself up. The Bible says let us present ourselves as living sacrifices that are holy, pleasing, acceptable to the Lord. So we are not, our life is not a room. But in that same vein, our decisions have to resemble God's decisions. And I just want you to know that there are a lot of people right now that are struggling with where society is struggling, or with where the United States government is struggling, with our identity and what we allow, the fear that we've allowed into our life. And I just want you to know that, In his presence, there is freedom. In his presence, there is the fullness of joy. And so we need to be established in God's presence. There was a man and this is where I'm going to start named David. And in the Bible, it talks about this time where he, and I referenced it in the previous episode but there was a He put a new the ark of the covenant on a new cart the bible says and he tried to bring it back to Jerusalem, but the thing is that it broke right and Anyway, so fast forward that he put it in obed edom's house and then obed edom's house obed edom was born David was blessed and he had many kids. He had a lot of riches. He was prosperous because of the Ark of the Covenant, which represents and is a representation in the Old Testament of the Holy Spirit. When David got wind of this, he was like, you know what? I just started my kingship. I just started ruling and governing what we as a people need most. Even in this chaotic time, because they just lost Saul, they just lost their royalty, they just lost Saul and Jonathan to this battle that they had, and they elected, by God's anointing, David, who then was placed in this throne, and his first order and decree was to replace Saul, To bring back the ark of the covenant into the middle of jerusalem And so david then pitched this tent because there's a tent that moses established in the wilderness. It was on gibeon or something like that. Anyways, but where moses established And there was the ark, there was a temple there, and then there was workers there, there was the bronze laver, I could be pronouncing that right, there was the holy of holies, there was everything that you needed to be a temple was there, but they did not have the ark of the covenant, and so David's first order was to get the ark of the covenant, but what ended up happening, he placed it on the new cart, fast forward to where we are today, not today, but fast forward to where David is, He's like afraid because the Ark of the Covenant killed somebody, but at the same time, he knows that he needs the presence of God. And so he goes to Obed Edom's house. He puts the Ark of the Covenant back on the shoulders of man, and they are ending up going to the temple that Moses established. This is how I envision it. But on that route, the Lord just pulls on his heart. And he says, I don't want to be in a temple and he gets a foreshadowing or vision of what the new covenant is. And he says, and God is telling David, I don't want to just be in a temple confined where only few can come to me. I want to be available and accessible to all men. David, in his wisdom, then David, Takes him to Jerusalem, puts him in the middle of Jerusalem and David then has in everything that he does, the Ark of the Covenant is next with him. Meaning that he is in joint communion with the Holy Spirit. And so that's why David was referenced by God as a man after God. His own heart a man after God's own heart because he though he did wrong in the eyes of men. He's a murderer. He ordered somebody to be killed. He's an adulterer. He slept with Bill. She, but even though she was married and he's a liar. And so we see these faults that David has, but then still is called by God to be a man after his own heart in his desire. And his heart's desire was to find the dwelling place for the Lord. He went to the Lord on behalf of God. And it was like, Lord, how can I lay my head down when you don't even have a present? Or you don't have a home for yourself, a home for your ark. How can I go to this house of mine, this temple, this, or not temple this mansion of mine, but you don't even have a place to rest? And so you could see the heart posture of David that he just wanted to find a dwelling place with for the Lord and he felt guilty in a way because David had a place to lay his head, but the ark of the covenant did not have an established home And so he wanted to build god temple, but david Wanted to build him a temple God wanted to build the temple meaning that God didn't just want to be limited to an Establishment God wanted to be established in the men meaning human Which is crazy when you think about it. Is that David's having these convictions and this guilt in the Old Testament but God's main plan his main plan focus and priority is to not just dwell in a single place, but to dwell with his people. And and I want to say this is that I believe it was David in Psalms. I could be completely wrong, but I want to say it's 131. I could be so off. As a matter of fact, let me go check this out. Let's see, Psalms, let's do it this way. Okay, it's 139. I knew it was 139. It says, if I go to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. And let's just, from verse 7, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, you are there. And if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle my Even there, your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold fast, hold me fast. And so in that, I want to show you is that there is a different, or there is a, there is this thing called omnipresence. We serve an omnipresent God, meaning that he is all places at all times. And so in his omnipotence, I'm sorry, omnipresence. God is, or David is expanding on this idea and saying, God, where can I run from you? I can't go anywhere because you're always there. But there's a difference between God's omnipresence and God's manifested presence, meaning his Shekinah glory. And I say it like that because that was a A big word back in, when I was in Bible college. It his glory is God's, glory is God's manifested presence. And so there was a difference between God's omnipresence. I literally cannot go anywhere without God's presence being there. But there is a difference between when I go into my prayer time or my, or church, or if I go into worship and I'm drilling this my actions, breaking ground, in, in a sense where I finally struck the oil. Meaning, I've pursued past a place of the flesh, and I'm now dwelling in the spiritual realm where heaven and earth are divided. And God's presence is there. God's manifested presence is there. And with that being the there's, it's the people that are willing to pursue God despite their flesh. And that's what, so I was praying today. And and I didn't feel God's presence. And I felt like that was my fault because there was a lot going on in my mind. There, This is a crazy time. I was trying to figure out what to do with the podcast and with this episode. But I was praying and I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna lay on my face and I laid down and put my face to the ground and I just said Jesus. And there was a moment in there and I was praying for a little bit, just saying, Jesus, face on the ground. Where then there was a moment. A switch where I no longer felt distracted by my flesh to do something But I then I was just consumed by god's spirit And it was a breaking point or a breakthrough where that I had in the flesh that led me to the spiritual and so it's presence driven everything we do has to be presence driven and If it's in exodus 33, let's just start there in exodus 33 moses, I believe It is Moses. Exodus 33 verse 15, and we're gonna go to 18, but we're gonna start from 15. Then he said to him, if your presence does not go with us, don't bring us up from here. Let me say, let me do, let me stand step back for a second. Let's go to 12. Then Moses said to the Lord, say, you say to bring me Bring up these people, but you have not let me know whom you will send me with. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in my sight. Now, therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now Your way that I may know you and that I may find grace in your sight and consider that This nation is your people and his presence I'm sorry, and he said my presence will go with you and I will give you rest Then he said to him if your presence does not go do not bring us up from here. I'm gonna pause right there because I want you to know that wherever you go, whether it's the gym, whether it's church, whether it's school, whether it's a prayer meeting, whatever it may be, no matter what is going on there, whether it's actions directed or focused on God, or You're just doing things in life. You're going to work, school, gym, whatever. It needs to be presence driven. You need to allow and welcome the Holy Spirit everywhere you go. Because so you can have the best self discipline. And still fall. You need to be established in his presence. Because no matter how good you are, no matter how self disciplined you are, no matter how many habits that you've, good habits that you've built up, there is still an opportunity for you to fall. You need to have his presence there. His presence will liberate you. His presence will empower you. His presence will strengthen you. And so we need to be people that are presence driven. And so in this chaotic time, I encourage you to get to him. And dwell into God's presence because I understand that you right now half of the nation is hurting. Half the nation is upset, but at the same time another half is like excited and hopeful. And so we have these conflictions even in the church where there is a part of the church is upset. Another part is excited. And so we have these conflictions and we're not sure what to do, but we also have to understand that what every answer that we need is in his presence. So we need to pray. We need to be people that are willing to pray, that people that are willing to get into the secret place, that are willing to seek the face of the Lord, that are willing to contend for this nation, that are willing to contend for the president, whoever it could have been. We, it, what happened needs Jesus to be there. Our president needs Jesus's intervention. Our nation needs Jesus's intervention. Our church needs Jesus's intervention. We need to allow Jesus to intervene on behalf on, on Heaven's behalf. Not even our behalf. Because at the end of the day, our desires are not our own. We have to desire what God desires. But the thing is that our desires then begin to lie to us. If we have not surrendered to God's presence. And back to the verse. We need to allow God's presence everywhere we go. And for how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except you go with us, so we shall be separate, your people and I, from all other people who are upon the face of the earth. Lord, The Lord said to Moses, I will also do the thing that you have spoken for you have found grace in my sight And I know you by name and he said, please show me your glory So what this is saying is that God's presence will distinguish you between you and any normal person You will go from just being a natural person to being a supernatural person. You'll go from being just an average You Individual to a uniquely made individual and I laugh at that because we are at the end of the day renewed in christ meaning that we are now ambassadors. We are not of this world We are just passing through we are not of this kingdom, but the kingdom of heaven And so we need to understand that when we are battling these things we fight not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and high You and heavenly places. And so we are not trying to dwell in the natural. We need to be the light in the natural. Anyways when you're in God's presence, it ushers you or I'm sorry, ignites you to fall in love with his presence and want and create a longing in you for his glory. We must never forget that the presence of God is the most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual lives. Lives. A taste of God's glory will create a longing in your heart for his presence. And here's the thing, is that the church needs to renew its vows to the groom. We've been living for so long without renewed vows. We have been living so long without And walking so long without and really having a relationship with no presence, having a relationship with one sided communication without giving him the opportunity or God the opportunity to speak back to us. And God is trying to knock on the door of our heart to direct us and lead us in the way that He wants for us and give us the purpose and plans that is on His heart. But we have been so busy talking to God without giving Him room to explain to us or, speak to us. And so it's in his presence where we find these things. It's in his presence where we Allow him to speak to us and in his presence will create us in us a boldness that is necessary for us to be the watchmen over this nation And over the cities and over these generation That god has assigned us to because when we will become the persistent men and women of prayer We will become the ones that are Willing to stand in the gap for those that are broken we will be the ones that are willing to be the light into the darkness We when we are in his presence and dwell in his presence It will create that Wanting to stand in the gap to bring people in because there is the fullness of joy and the fullness of joy Creates the heart of God and the heart of God will be You'll want to extend the love that God has for you. And I encourage you to find his presence. Find the break past the flesh's distraction. The flesh's distraction. Okay, it's time to go to work. Okay, it's time. And I'm not saying miss work for prayer. But what I am saying is break through the distraction so that you can get to his distinction. Break through the barrier in order for you to get into his presence. Because there needs to be a denial of the flesh in order to begin into the spirit. God is calling you. He is longing for you. He's wanting you to come into his presence because he believes that you are the agents of heaven. He believes that you are the agents of heaven. And I truly believe that. I wanted to I want you to come on here because I wanted to be quick in the podcast, but I want to pray for you. I want to pray for you and I want to pray for this nation. I want to pray for the hearts that are hurting and then also I want to pray for the wisdom of God's people. So that they will rise up in boldness, rise up in courage and that they will not allow themselves to mishandle. and misrepresent the people that God is calling. We have to make sure that we do not tear down, but that we are people that are willing to build up God's people. And so let's pray. Wherever you are, if you're, unless you're in a car, let's just bow your head close your eyes, and like I said, unless you're in a car or doing something that you need your eyes open with and don't do that but Father, I pray for everyone who's listening right now. I pray for the people that have been affected. By this election, I pray for the people, Lord, that, that are hurting and that are worried. I pray that the people that are fearful, God, of what's to come, Lord, that you would give them rest in your presence. And that you would give them peace in your presence, Lord. Lord, I pray, Father, for everyone, God that's on the other side of that, on, that's excited and hopeful. I pray that you call them to dwell in your presence, Lord, longer. Lord, where they will stir up a fire, Father, for your, For what you have for them. And Lord, I pray God that everything that you're gonna do in this generation, Lord, would spark revival, Lord. Lord, I pray that the mercy of God has been extended over the United States, Lord, that the United States can finally raise up, Lord, and be one nation under God. Lord, I pray that we, God, would submit as a nation And that we will be covered by your presence, God. Lord, that this nation will no longer be the culture of the world, but, God, this nation will be given over to you, God. Father, we are believing, Father, that you are dispatching your presence to the people that are willing to tarry, that are willing to pursue after you. And Lord, we ask you. Father, we ask you, Father, pour out your spirit. We do not want to go anywhere without your presence. Father, we ask, like Moses did, Lord, show us your glory, God. Lord, that we could be your friend. That we could be men and women after your heart, God. That we will be the ones, Lord, that pursue you despite of what everything that's happening. Lord, despite the pressure. Despite the persecution. Despite, Father, the culture and what the world is saying, the anxiety and the depression. Lord, we push forward, God, because it's your presence in which we long for. Lord, we pray that nothing of this world will fill the void that's in our heart, but Lord, that you will, God. And Holy Spirit, come. We welcome you here. We welcome you into this room. We don't just make room for you, God. We give you the room. And we invite you, Jesus, into every action, into every posture, and into every mindset, Lord, that we would exchange the old wine skin for the new wine skin. And we would get rid of the old wine and welcome the new wine, God. Lord, renew in us, Father, a clean heart. Renew our mind that we will not conform to this world, but we will conform to who you've called us to be, and Lord, that we would bear your image. God, call us, empower us to be the witnesses, Father. Lord, from heaven, Lord, we would tell people about your goodness and on your mercy, and so we know, God, you are going to have your way in this world. In this place, in the people's hearts, in Jesus mighty name, we declare, Father, You are the Lord and Savior of our life, You are the King of kings and Lord of lords, so have Your way, Spirit move, move in this country, move in this nation, move in the hearts of men, and we pray right now, God, for favor, rest over this nation, Lord, that we would establish You at the center of everything, in Jesus mighty name. Amen. Amen. I want to thank you so much guys for joining this week's episode of Relentless Pursuit. I know it was a little short and I know that we have so much to go for, but, or go into, but next week we will be talking about spiritual warfare. We will be talking about the kind of spiritual realm and I'm excited for the next week, but I know what God did this week will help people and encourage people to find his presence to find his presence because God Needs and should be at the center of everything that we do. We don't just want an omnipresence of God We want the manifested presence of God. We want the tangible presence of God We want the miracle signs and wonders not that our faith is established in that But our faith can coincide in that coincide with that because what God is doing, he, the Bible says, and that he will give us power to be witnesses to all of Judea, Samaria, and all the ends of the earth. And so let that power resonate in you so that you could be his witnesses. So I'm praying for you. I'm believing for you. I'm believing God for big things for God and I want to encourage you if you guys are struggling whether it's whatever it is reach out to RP, reach out to us, make sure, I want to pray for you, whether it's individually, I want to pray for you, whether it's a message that I can send you we, we here at RP want to pray for you we're believing for big things in this coming season and for what God has for us. For not just RP, but all of us. And so I want to thank you guys and I'll see you guys next week. Don't forget to follow, share, and subscribe to all our social media platforms, because we know that the gospel is going to be preached and reached to all the ends of the earth. Amen. But anyways, so I'll see you guys next week.