In His Presence

Numbers 9: 15-17, "Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents."

This was a visible representation of the spirit of God > every move that God made, the people responded…this is the life a Christian should live! Our part is to value God’s presence, we do this 3 ways:

1. We deliberately meet with God > through attending church / prayer / devotion
2. We arrange our lives around God's presence! Matt. 6: 33 - 'Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...'
3. We make decisions with God's will in mind! God must be considered in everything we do...it's bad enough when we make decisions and not include our spouse...let alone Father God!



The point here in the scripture is that God will guide you and I just as He did the children of Israel. This is going to mean, we must maintain our focus and make right decisions.  Don’t forget the main thought here – when God moves, you move, when He stays, you stay! Be encouraged, He is not leaving you on your own…in the decisions of your life, God says, ‘I want to help you!’

People who stay close to God have a greater chance of making good decisions!

Jas. 4: 8 - "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

Psalm 32:8  - I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

Just look at the pillar of the cloud - practically we find 2 things here:

a. God's will is revealed one step at a time
b. God can only guide you when you're obedient. The children of Israel moved when God was moving, and stayed when He decided to stay...they didn't move without Him, or refuse to move when He did...we can learn a lot from this!

Now, let's examine the pillar of Fire? What does it mean?  My friends, it is the pillar of Protection!

This pillar of fire was first seen when the Israelites were up against the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army was bearing down on them...here's the what the bible says

Exo. 14: 19 – 20, And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

God will protect His people - He will also protect His will! His will was that His people would make it to the Promised Land...no devil in hell could stop that!

So, the saying is true - the Safest place on earth is in the middle of God's will...whenever you find yourself on the outskirts of His will...there are no guarantees.

People visit with me often, and they speak about struggling...granted, I haven't seen them in church or fellowship for weeks / months on end. However, I don't believe they understand what it means to struggle...

Picture with me: If you were wrestling someone, trying to pin them, and they are trying to pin you - no one is conceding so you can naturally say, 'You are in a struggle with them.' Right? Well, if you equate this to Kingdom living and you don't attend church regularly, you don't pray, nor worship, nor give, nor fellowship, and you don't read your bible - sir / ma'am, that's not struggling, that's DEFEAT...

My point is, being in God's will is linked to obedience and devotion to Him...do you value His presence? Do you want to see the glory of God revealed in your life and the life of your family? Do what He says!

Luke 6: 46 - "Why do you call Me Lord, when you refuse to do what I ask?"

The Last Plague

Exodus 11:4-6 (NKJV)

⁴ Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt;⁵ and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the hand mill, and all the firstborn of the animals. ⁶ Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again.

Our text speaks of the final plague that broke Pharaoh down. There were several plagues before this one, but none of them caused Pharaoh to flinch or experience fear…however, this last plague would top them all. This plague struck the family. The family has been the final stronghold of human sanity, care, sacrifice, and love. Life is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, without the love and support of a family. Having a family, is having something! However, over the years, the family has lost its luster; it's grown smaller, and less important as it used to be.

1 Timothy 3:4-5 (NKJV)

4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);

America has been plagued by Dysfunctional families...there are several different families that fit this description:

1) A Single-Parent Home: This is dysfunctional, not because there is a lack of love, but a lack of balance. 

My hat goes off to all of the single mothers out there; trying to do the best they can to take care of their children, when the man has run off...try as you might dear; those kids NEED a Father. The same is true in a vice/versa type scenario...a 2 parent home is balanced and provides a stronger advantage versus single parented homes. Understand, it is possible to raise up a child in a single parent home successfully, but not without strong opposition and odds stacked against them.

2) A family with loose morals / disciplines:this is dysfunctional! A child allowed to do anything they want in the name of your ‘love’ is insane! Without proper disciplines instilled in your children at early ages…you’re going to raise a monster!!

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 13:24 (NKJV)

24 He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

Proverbs 23:13 (NKJV)

13 Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

We teach our children to disobey with our empty threats…we refuse to take the time to discipline and follow through w/the discipline! We would rather plop them down in front of a television or the internet…the greatest form of child abuse is NEGLECT

3) Another form of Dysfunction is a Perversion:  Artificial insemination began in the 1920s…commonly seen in animal breeding but went on to humans due to some issues of procreation. In other words, if the husband couldn’t generate enough sperm to impregnate his wife, artificial insemination was an option. Today, it’s used for much more than that.

Because the family and its definition thereof has been changed by perversion – now you have homosexual and lesbian ‘couples’ performing this practice in order to raise children…due to this perversion, a curse has been released in our homes.

A family is and forever will be, a male husband, a female wife, and their children! Anything outside of this is NOT a family, but a terrible imitation and spittle on the face of God.

The plague is released, and children are suffering at the hands of selfish parents who care more about their carnal appetite and sexual preference versus the healthy structure of a righteous home.

So where is the Salvation for the family? It can be found in Exodus chapter 12, the first 14 verses. Those verses speak of the Passover Lamb.

Considering all of the plagues that struck Egypt, this was the first one in which the Children of Israel had to do something in order to be saved from it! The only way their families could be spared was by the blood of the Lamb!

It had to be spotless, without blemish, they then took the blood and smeared it on the lentil of their doorposts…afterward – they were to roast the beast and eat ALL of it, what was not eaten was sacrificed.

The same is true today – if our families are going to survive, we must have the blood of Jesus in our homes! We must consume Him every day! We won’t make it without the blood of Jesus in our homes. I don’t know about you, but I want my family safe, and saved. That means, it is my responsibility as the leader of my house hold to make sure Christ is the center of it.

Just a Good Day

Ps. 133: 1 - 'How good and pleasant it is for brethren to walk together in unity!'

January 24th, was just a great day in the Lord Jesus Christ! We decided to have a cookout after the morning services; it was great weather, and plenty of visitors and new converts to enjoy the fellowship! Our services were powerful, and the Lord was moving on every heart.

The great day actually started the day before! Saturday morning prayer and outreach was awesome! 20 people showed up ready to go and pass out fliers, they were ready to give their testimony as we believed God fo
r a tremendous and fruitful venture. God did not disappoint! I was paired up with one of the new believers and he barely spoke English. His Spanish was top notch as we tag-teamed on patrons of an apartment complex.

When it was an English resident, I spoke and handed out the flier - when it was Spanish, he took off like a shot!! I asked him, (Leo), if this was his first time outreaching, and he said 'yes.' Well, he could've fooled me! We had the privilege of praying with a young man to get saved towards the end of the outreach!! Today, (The 24th), as people were coming into the church, we began to recognize many of the visitors from the outreach the previous day! It was so encouraging to see the fruit of our labors!

Before the preaching went forward, I had the honor and privilege to handout Water Baptism Certificates to the many new comers who were recently baptized! The church exploded into applause as the people came to accept their certificates. I'm telling you, today was just a really GOOD DAY. The food was out of this world! I'm telling you, our ladies in the church can cook like pros!!

I'm so glad that my family and I are a part of something so special. You know, from time to time, I often wonder - what would've happened, if I would've compromised my calling, or my faith? I thank God that He kept me! Please continue to pray for the church in Pasadena TX...God is taking us to the next level.