Whatever it is that you’re doing, we want to be a part of it. God gets joy from it. So don’t get twisted up about what offering and tithing means. Tithing is not an Old Testament thing. It’s not a New Testament thing. It is a God thing. It goes back before the law. When it comes to whatever it is that God has for you, you just want to make sure you’re right there a part of it.
We went to a convention this week, and there were three offering times every day — you had the opportunity to give an offering every time you turned around. And every time you did, you were like, okay, Lord, what are You calling me to today? The offering is not to be given under duress. It’s not to be given as something you think you have to do. In fact, if you do it under duress, it kind of invalidates the whole process. God loves a cheerful giver. He loves that child that paints the picture on their own and says, “Here, I want this to decorate Your life.”
So today as we give — pass the basket, or go online to EmergeInternationalChurch.org and hit the Give button; it’s a big Give button, it’s really obvious — we are so grateful to be good seed that God is sowing into us. Some of it will go back into missions immediately. Some will go into producing everything we produce here. And some is going into a building fund, because we won’t always be right here. Let’s bow our heads. Father, I thank You for every bit of giving that’s happening today. I thank You for the hearts that are turned toward You, Lord, that will say, “Lord, use me. However You want to use me, I give You everything, everything, Lord.” That includes the dollars You’ve given me, and I give You my talents back. I give You my all. And we thank You for it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
You know, last week Brother Kevin shared the word, and he was talking about God’s faithfulness. He mentioned three key things: His presence, His power, and His provision. That just rung inside me; it resonated within me. I started thinking about it. We’ve all heard teaching on the presence of God, the power of God, the provision of God, but the Lord just kept dealing with me about it, kept stirring that in me. So today the title of this message is “The Power of His Presence.” And probably over the next few weeks we’re going to look at presence, power, and provision again.
The powerful presence of Christ is one of the greatest promises given to believers. Jesus not only saves us, He also promises — and I think it’s in John 14 — He tells us that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. And then He goes on to say, “And I am in you, and you are in me.” He is always with us. No matter where we are, what we’re going through, who we’re with, what we’re doing, God is right there. The Holy Spirit is in us right now. And that word Christ in the Greek — Christ means the power of Jesus. We use it also for the anointing. And the anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit working in, through, for, and with you, just like the Holy Spirit and Jesus worked together. It’s the power of Jesus coming on us and working through us so we can do His will here in the earth. Because of His presence being on us and in us, we’re able to touch people around us.
One verse here — when Moses was handing over leadership to Joshua, before all of Israel, right before they went into the promised land — in Deuteronomy 31:8, Moses says this to Israel, but also to Joshua: “And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” I don’t care what’s in front of you or behind you — God’s with us. Four things stood out to me as I read that verse. He is the one who goes before. He will be with you. He will not leave you, nor will He forsake you. And do not fear.
You know, one of the cool things: God’s not afraid of anything. He just goes for it. Every time I read that, I think about our youngest grandchild. I laugh a lot when I watch her. She has no fear. Her older brother and sister are out doing things, and she’s watching them, and she tries to go beyond what they did. If they climb, she climbs higher. If they jump, she wants to jump further. God blessed her also with this uncanny sense of balance. They got their scooters, and she watches them, jumps on the scooter, takes off, doing things, coming around, and I go, whoa, girl. And she just loves it. That’s just the way God made her. But God wants to empower all of us to be with Him. Don’t fear. Don’t be afraid. Come on, let’s run with this.
Today I want us to look at that first promise: He is the one who goes before you. That phrase is one of Scripture’s most comforting promises. It reveals that God is never simply reacting to our circumstances. What it reveals is He’s already present in our future, preparing the way before us before we ever get there. Sometimes that’s hard for us to conceptualize and step into, but that’s where God is. Pastor Conia and I talk about this a lot: a lot of times we’re like toddlers. We see what needs to happen, or what we think needs to happen, and we go, “No, Lord, let me do it myself. Give it, I’ll take it.” And God’s going, “All right, I’m right here. I’ve already prepared the way before you.” This truth appears throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and I want us to dig down into it.
Moses spoke those words in Deuteronomy 31:8 to Joshua as the way to pass leadership to him. Joshua faced an unknown future. He knew he was supposed to lead the children of Israel into their promised land. But how? The Jordan River was there before them. Not everybody in the promised land wanted them to be there. He wasn’t quite sure how they were going to do this. But here’s what he knew: God had promised that He had already gone ahead. So here are six things I want us to know.
Number one: God prepares the way before you arrive. Whatever you’re doing, wherever you’re going, whatever you’re believing for, working toward — God is already there. He’s already working in places you have not yet reached. God is working in places you can’t see. We get up every day — I’ve taught on this before — we get up every day and step into the unknown. We think we know. The sun comes up, we look at our weather app: well, it’s going to be sunny for most of the day, but they say it’s going to rain at two o’clock. We’ll see if that actually happens. We know at some point we’re going to eat two or three times, whatever your routine is. And that’s about it. So much of the day, even though we have a plan and an agenda, we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. Every day we step out in faith, whether we realize we’re doing it or not, and step into the unknown, the unseen. We’re going places we think we know, but there are unseen things there we’ve never seen before. Pastor Conia just experienced that yesterday. We were out walking back toward the house, and she looks up and goes, “There are power lines up there.” And I went, “Yeah.” She goes, “I’ve never seen those before.” I kind of laughed. I said, “Well, they’ve been there since we moved here, but okay.” But we all do that. There are things God is already working on in our places.
Psalm 139:5, from the New Living Translation: “You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head.” I could spend a lot of time on that. When God places His hand of blessing on our head, He’s equipping us, He’s empowering us. Part of what that means is He is absolutely wrapping us in His goodness and His power, His ability, His presence. Which goes back to Proverbs 3:5-6 in the Amplified Classic: “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. God is arranging circumstances, opening doors, and removing obstacles before you even see them. He is going before us.
Second: God leads by day and by night. He’s not just a daytime God; He’s an all-day God. Throughout Scripture, God calls His people to follow His leadership. Exodus 13:21 in the NLT: “The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and He provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day and by night.” Whether it was daytime or nighttime, God could lead them. He did not simply accompany Israel; He led them. And God wants to walk with us every day. He wants to lead us through every day. He has a path prepared for us to walk in today.
John 10:4, in the New King James Version — Jesus was talking about shepherds: “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” We’ve got some friends here in Franklin that live about ten miles down the road, and they have sheep. We were out there one day visiting, standing there, and Mike looked at me and said, “Call the sheep. Just call them.” So I was going, “Hey, come here, guys. Come on. Come see me. I’ve got snacks for you.” And they all just looked at me, standing there. And Mike said, “Watch this. You guys want something to eat? Come over here.” Boom — they turn and come straight to him. He said, “Yeah, they know my voice. I’ve spent time with them.” The shepherd always leads the sheep, and the sheep always follow. God is saying, “I’ve got you. I know the way. I’m going to go before you. Just follow Me. Trust Me.”
The third thing about God going before us: God knows what lies ahead. We were driving back from Texas Friday, and we had come into Tennessee, over near the Tennessee River between here and Memphis, and we came over this hill, and Conia went, “Oh, wow,” and I looked, and down the road about half a mile there was just a wall of fog. It wasn’t just fog — it was a wall. One time that happened to me going through the mountains, over the mountain north of Knoxville that you go over on the way down into Kentucky. I got up to the very top, and there was a wall of fog. You could barely see ten feet in front of me, and that wall of fog stayed until I got to Lexington, Kentucky, an hour, hour and a half north of there. And then all of a sudden I drove out the other side, and it was perfectly clear. And I thought, wow, that’s life right there. Sometimes we step into fog and we can’t see. We’re not sure what’s ahead of us. We kind of know where we’re going, but it’s so foggy we’re just not sure. But then, boom — the fog lifts, and there’s total clarity. I can see for miles. And I pray for that a lot nowadays: God, give me the clarity to see what You want me to see, where You want me to go.
Nothing surprises God, because He already inhabits tomorrow. Isaiah 46:9-10: “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.’” That verse is why I encourage people: have time every morning, even if it’s only ten or fifteen minutes, where you sit with the Lord and say, “God, what have You got for me today? What do I need to be aware of?” Because God knows. He’s already been there, prepared it, and He knows the destination. He is the perfect guide. He knows everything. He knows everyone. He knows all that’s going on. So why wouldn’t I ask Him? Just a few minutes with God every morning can change your day.
Fourth: God provides what you will need. Before Israel arrived in the wilderness, God had already planned for manna, water, meat from the birds, guidance, and protection. He already had a full plan. He tells us in Philippians 4:19: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Now, when Brother Kevin was sharing last Sunday, I got an insight on this verse I hadn’t had quite like this before: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory” — in the power, the power and provision of Jesus Christ. That word Christ means the power, the anointing of Jesus. So through the power and anointing of Jesus, God meets all of our needs. And He’s within us. It’s already there. I love this quote: provision arrives where obedience leads. When we obey and follow Him, it’s amazing how provision comes.
Fifth: God fights battles before you face them. One of the strongest meanings of God going before His people is that He engages the battle first. Deuteronomy 1:30: “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you.” He will fight for you. Another way to think of that: He’s got your back.
I remember growing up — I was just sharing this story with somebody. I’m the oldest of four boys, and there was a lot of testosterone in our house, a lot of proving that I could do it better than my brothers. We were always wrestling and rolling and almost breaking legs, and breaking legs off of tables. My mom, a young mother — by six years in, she had three boys, and then a baby that we called “the girl,” but he was really a boy. She was sharing with a family friend: “I’m just concerned. All my boys do is fight. They wrestle and tussle all day long.” And our family friend, an elderly gentleman, goes, “Oh, them boys are just showing how much they love each other.” She said, “Wow. They must really love each other.”
But here’s the thing. We would do that at home, but when we got out in the neighborhood, this happens — kids out there playing, one kid gets mad at another, starts telling him how he’s going to rearrange his face and change the way he looks. And I’d be standing there, somebody mad at me because it didn’t happen the way it was supposed to. Every time that happened, I would hear behind me: “I’ve got your back.” I didn’t even have to look. One of my brothers would be right there. They didn’t have to say a word. They would just stand there and stare at the person, and all of a sudden he’d say, “Oh.” Probably two more somewhere just going to show up. But the funny part is, one day my best friend and I were at the end of our driveway playing in the dirt, and I forget what happened, but we had a disagreement. He started yelling at me, telling me what he was going to do and how he was going to hurt me. And behind me I hear, “I’ve got your back.” And I look, and my little three-and-a-half, four-year-old brother is standing there, and my best friend starts laughing. And I looked and started laughing, and we just kept laughing, because he was ready to go to battle for me. We laughed for a few minutes, looked at each other, went, “Oh well, whatever,” and went on and started playing again. Couldn’t remember why we were fighting. To this day, my youngest brother tells me he saved my life. And I always say, I could have taken that kid with one arm behind my back. But God’s got our back. He knows what’s coming from behind us. He knows what lies ahead. He knows what’s out to each side of us. He is right there with us.
Second Chronicles 20:17, the Amplified: “You shall not need to fight in this battle. Take your positions; stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” And if you read further, they did that, and they got there, and the battle was already won. All they had to do was go out and gather in the spoil. Victory begins with God’s presence, not our strength. There’s something to meditate on: my victory begins with God’s presence, not my strength. And if I have any strength at all, it’s because He’s given it to me — which is what Paul was saying in Philippians 4:13, from the Amplified Classic: “I have the strength for all things in Christ who empowers me — I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.” There is nothing the devil can bring against you that you don’t already have the strength and power and authority to overcome. And as I said before, that word Christ means the power or help of the Holy Spirit to do God’s work. That is within all of us. God is with us. He’s going before us. He’s empowering us. Whether you feel it or not, God’s presence is resident within you.
Sixth: God gives courage for the unknown. The promise that God goes before us is consistently connected with courage. Joshua 1:9 in the Amplified Classic: “Have not I commanded you? Be strong and vigorous and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Confidence — faith for today — comes from God’s presence, not from being so certain about your future. He is there with you.
When Scripture says He goes before you, here’s what it means. Your future is not unknown to God. Your obstacles are not greater than God’s power. Your opportunities have already been seen by Him. Your provision has already been considered. Your battles are never fought alone. Your path is guided by One who knows the destination. Your eternal home has already been prepared by Christ. He is the One who goes before us. In His sovereignty of love and faithfulness, He precedes His people into every circumstance — preparing the way, providing what is needed, overcoming obstacles, fighting battles, and leading you safely into His purposes. Because He goes before us, we can move forward in faith rather than fear.
I want to end with the verse we started with, Deuteronomy 31:8: “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.” This reminds us God’s presence is not only beside us as we go into today’s challenges; His presence is also ahead of us, and His presence follows behind us. We are wrapped in His presence. And this presence brings strength, peace, guidance, and hope in every season of this life.
What are you facing today? What are you desiring today? What are you believing for today? God is right there with you. He’s already gone before you. He has a way to bring you through. As we reach out to Him and surrender ourselves to Him, He will lead us in the way that brings us to victory, that makes us more than an overcomer. We are all victorious in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. I want to pray for you today, and then Pastor Conia is going to come with a closing word. Let’s bow our heads.
Father, we thank You for this word You’ve given. You were with us. You go before us. You prepare the way before us, Father. You remove the obstacles so we can walk on that path. You blaze the trail for us, Father. Thank You. Father, I reach out today and join my faith with those who are listening, and declare that everything they’re believing for, everything they’re hoping for, everything they desire to accomplish, whatever they need to go through — Father, You are able to walk with them and show them the way. I know You are. And I thank You that as they surrender themselves to You, they will see victory come. Their courage and confidence and hope built, as they trust in You and follow after You. Thank You, Lord, for making a way for them, even where there seems to be no way. We give You praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
You know, when we’re little and we go to school, our parents send us into the school and say, “Go. You can do it. You don’t need me. You can do this. You’ve got this.” And they’re supposed to do that. But when they send you there, you’re really not doing it by yourself, because your heavenly Father goes with you every step of the way. There’s no place that you get shooed to go and do it on your own that the heavenly Father doesn’t go with you. And even though He orders your steps and says, “This is where we’re going and this is what we’re doing,” He always walks right by your side. So you’re not alone, ever. Even though you might think you’re doing it by yourself, the Holy Spirit, Jesus your big brother, and God your Father walk right with you. Let me pray for you. Father, thank You that You go with us and bring Your power with us everywhere we go. There’s nowhere we can get that’s too far away from where You are, Lord. Thank You for holding our hands. Thank You for whispering in our ear, “I’ve got your back.” We love You, Lord. We praise You and we thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen. Y’all have a great week.
