Got a promise but missed the Presence?
Moses would talk with the Lord face-to-face. Amazing...
Dangerous.
God drops a bombshell: 'Go to the Promised Land - but I'm not going with you.'
The Manifest Presence is too hazardous given their heart-set.
But Moses insists. "How else are we to be distinct?"
Not, "How else are we to defeat the enemy?'
Not, "How else will we fund this project?"
Not, "How will I manage these ragamuffins?"
But, "How else will it be known that we are Yours and You are our God?"
We usually don't have this determination.
Provided we can gather a 'good crowd,' have a 'good word,' and even note that it was, 'greatly anointed,' we're good.
Yet somehow we leave these gatherings unmarked at our core.
We see this disconnect in Luke 17: Ten lepers cry out and get healed as they follow orders: only one turns back to the Presence and is saved.
(Funny enough - he was the one who actually didn't fulfill Jesus' directive to the letter.)
It's a great loss to get healed but not get the Healer.
Even worse is to traffic in that disconnected dynamic.
In Matt. 7 Jesus details those who thought they were doing the work of God...even in some kind of power: Prophecy, deliverance and mighty works.
Yet Jesus says He just doesn't know them:
No Presence in their presence.
Yikes!
One of the critical needs we have is for rest and God ties His Presence into His rest.
This time of returning is to bring us into deep rest so it must bring us deep into His Presence.
We are to bring ALL of who we are and as we are to all of Him - dangerous and drawing as He is.
It will no longer do to have revelation without, worship without, relationships without; nor even healing or miracles without.
No, we stand as Moses: 'Unless your Presence goes with us...'
There is much to do and much to learn as we advance. But we dare not do so without the consistent, persistent, relentless quest for His manifest Presence.
Stephen
Full replay of The Deck includes a clip of Chuck Pierce on God's strategy for freedom outposts across the US, click here.
YouTube Channel for The Freedom Outpost has all the Deck replays.
