 All right. Okay. Good morning again. Good to see you. Let's pray. Father, we worship you. We love you. We honor you. Holy Spirit, we welcome you. Holy God, we welcome you. Holy One of Israel, we welcome you in our midst. Holy Spirit, we welcome you in our midst. We love you in this place. Lord, I pray that you would break through the every barrier of understanding and Holy Spirit, I pray that you would help us understand your word, reveal your word to us, I pray, as we learn from your word. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Okay. Psalm 119 verse 18 says, open my eyes to the hidden things of your word. You know, there's something about not just seeing but a revelation from his word, isn't it? Psalm 119 verse 18, that's what it says. I open my eyes to the hidden things of your word. So that means there are things that we can see in the Spirit that we will not be able to see in the natural. Okay. And so let's humble ourselves and begin to learn, open up our hearts as we learn from his word. Okay. So we learn, we finished chapter six in the last class. We spoke about becoming a worshipper. Yes, you remember. And we spoke about one person's example, you know, the sinful woman who breaks the alabaster jar at the feet of Jesus. We looked at it quite in detail. And I hope that was, that class was a blessing. And I hope that there was something that you could learn from that class. So in today's class, maybe today and Thursday, we'll look, I want to combine chapter seven and chapter eight. I want to combine both the chapters. Okay. So I don't want to look at it as two separate chapters. I want to look at it as one big chapter. Okay. We're talking about the presence of God and entering his presence. Chapter seven says entering the presence of God. Right. And hold on. And chapter eight is about personal and corporate worship. Okay. So are you ready to learn? Can we learn a little bit today? Yes. Awesome. Okay. Thank you. So chapter seven, we'll talk about the presence of God and chapter eight, where it's titled personal and corporate worship. It talks about the tabernacle of Moses very briefly, our outer courts, inner courts, holy of holies. But we'll try and mix all of that, combine all of that and see what we can learn. Okay. So the presence of God, presence of God, is presence of God important? It's very important, does it? Okay. Are we all on the same page? We all agree the presence of God is important? Should we have a debate? Team A versus Team B? Okay. So presence of God is important? Okay. You know what the next question is? What is the next question? Huh? Why is it important? Yes. So all of you said the presence of God is important. Thumbs up for that. Sabash, my next question is, why is it important? Come on guys. All of you said it's important. He leads us, he guides us. Okay. Sorry. Sense of security. Okay. So his presence brings a sense of security. Okay. Why is this presence important? His covering is on us. Sorry. Can you say that again? His covering is on us. He protects us all the time. Okay. Thank you. He covers. Okay. All right. Once again, please remember if you are speaking online to raise your hand and speak so it doesn't clash with what's happening here. Okay. So let's remember that. Okay. Let's keep presence of God aside. Okay. Tell me what do you understand by just presence? What is your understanding of just this word called presence? Somebody is, somebody is present. Somebody is present. Somebody is available. Interesting. Okay. Somebody is present. Somebody is available. Think, think, think. Tell me. Prince. Sorry. Presence, Prince. Fullness of his nature and character. Okay. So when you hear the word presence, what comes to your mind? In Hindi, what's the word presence? Upasthiti. So why is it important? What, what comes to your mind when you hear the word upasthiti or presence? Prasannam. You know, you know, so when I was at home growing up, when dad was at home, I was very different Russian. When dad was not at home, I was a very different Russian. So what made the difference? The presence of my father at home. So if my father was present at home, I was silent. If my father was not present at home, I was violent. No, just kidding. Right. Okay. Let's not get very spiritual right now. Okay. My question is very simple. When you hear the word presence, what comes to your mind? We'll talk about God later. Sorry. Just existence. Okay. Existence. Okay. Presence. Existence. Okay. So let's say another example, a presence of a teacher. Right. If you go to say a Sunday school or a LKG or UKG, you know, any lower school, a presence of a teacher can make you feel two things. It's the same thing as you grow middle school, high school. If a teacher comes in a teacher, the presence of a teacher will make you feel two things. One, you will feel happy because you like this teacher. Right. Oh, in the presence of this teacher, I feel safe. I know I'm going to learn something. I know I'm going to be taught well. The second example is in the presence of this teacher, I'm going to sleep because I don't understand what he is teaching. He or she is teaching. I don't like his presence. Are you with me? So you see how a presence of a person makes a huge difference, isn't it? During COVID pandemic, we always met online, isn't it? Even the church. It was during the pandemic, we understood the value of meeting one another in person. Yes or no? We met so many people after six months or seven months, eight months, and we were all giving high-fives to each other. You know, it's like, oh, so good to see you. So the pandemic taught us that the presence, right? Presence is the foundation of human connection. Okay, I'll say that again. Presence, foundation, you know, foundation, right? Presence is the foundation of human connection. Okay, we were made to, you know, live in like a community in the presence of each other. The first thing God says is it is not good for a man to be alone. That means he needed a company of a presence of something else or someone else. Are you with me? Yeah. So presence, again, it's the foundation of human connection. It says that you are present or available. Now, when I meet with you one-on-one in person or if I'm here, you are all present over here. You are all physically present, but mentally you can be somewhere else. Yes or no? So, you know, when I'm meeting with a person one-on-one, say for a coffee or tea, it's like, hey, come Nelson, let's go for a chai or whatever. We sit, chai comes. One of the things what we do is, if I put my phone on airplane mode and I put it upside down like this and I push it aside, what I'm telling Nelson is that I am present here. I have a thousand people who can reach me at this time. I have a thousand contacts. They all have access to me, but I'm pushing all of them aside so that I can be available for you. I can be present for you. Isn't it? So, you understand the power of presence. Right? It's just being fully present to say you are more important. I value you. Isn't it? That's why when we go for someone's wedding or a birthday party or even funeral, right? It's saying something, isn't it? I'm here because I value you. Yes or no? You attend someone's funeral service? Why? Because you are telling them you matter to me so I am here for you. So, you would have had someone say, thank you for coming. Your presence meant a lot to me. Have you heard someone say that? Yes. Thank you for coming. You being present here meant a lot to me. Just showing up. You didn't have to do anything. You didn't have to carry anything. You just showed up. You were present. That mattered to someone. Yeah. And so, we see that time and time again in the Bible when we look at about the presence of God. And why it's important is when we look at the story of the Garden of Eden from Genesis chapter 1 to halfway through Genesis chapter 3. God is creating everything, you know, let there be and there was. Let there be, there was. Let there be, there was. Let there be, there was. And he told himself, this looks good. After that, he made man in his own image. Right? He made man in his own image. He placed him in this garden. So the Garden of Eden, right? The Garden of Eden was, this was like what is called as a meeting place. Everybody say meeting place. Meeting place. Okay. Or a common place where heaven and earth collided. Okay. This is a place where divinity met with humanity. Are you with me? Okay. The Garden of Eden was a place where God met with human. You're with me so far? This is very important. Stay with me. But Genesis chapter 3 verse 8. Can someone, okay, let me see if I can read it for us. So it time and time again said he walked in the cool of the garden with Adam in this place. He walked in the cool of the garden. They were together, right? But something happens in Genesis chapter 3 verse 8. He says, now by now Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. They have eaten and they know that they are now naked and that they have disobeyed God, right? So verse 8 says, and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Adam and his wife hid themselves. Whatever your translation is, you need to underline those two words, hid themselves. Hide. Okay. Hide. H-I-D. Hide and seek. Hide. So the first result of sin or the basic definition of sin is separation from God. Okay. We need to understand that. The basic definition of what is sin is separation from God. So we were with him united, our spirits were united with his spirit. But when God is coming and saying, Adam, where art thou? God asks that question, no? Adam, this sounds nice in King James Version. That's why I'm using Adam, where art thou? Did God did not know where Adam was? Did God know or not know where Adam was? He knew. Of course he knew, right? But every time when God asks a question, it doesn't mean that he doesn't know the answer. He's getting you to think. So, but God was not asking Adam, where is he physically? What God was saying is, Adam, because of sin, I can't find your spirit. Your spirit is separated from my spirit. Okay. Your spirit is now separated from my spirit. So that is what sin is. Because of sin, we were separated from the presence of God. Are you with me? Okay. Romans 3, 23 says, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory. You know that verse, right? I think it's Romans 3, 23. I hope it's Romans 3, 23. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. What is the meaning? Fallen short means missing the mark. So because of sin, we were separated from his presence. Our spirit was separated from his spirit, right? Like a dislocated shoulder. This is very important and I want to take my time with this. And I hope you are getting the intensity of the importance of this. But now, John chapter 3 verse 16, John 3, 16, what does it say? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Okay, here's the thing. Eternal life does not mean the longevity of your existence. Once you die over here physically on earth, you will continue to exist. Either in heaven or in hell. I'll say that again. Eternal life doesn't mean longevity of your existence. I'm going to live eternally, you know, immortal. When you die here physically, what happens when you die physically? Your spirit is separated from your body, isn't it? Separation leads to what? Death. Yes? So what happened when we sinned here? We were separated from his spirit. That means we were dead in sin. Ephesians chapter 2, it says we were dead in sin. That means we were separated from his presence because of sin. Following? Yeah. But as soon as I say, make Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and I say, Jesus come and be the King of my heart, come and be the Lord and my Saviour. What you are saying is you are believing, you're confessing, isn't it? I believe in you that you are my Saviour. That moment I have eternal life. What does that mean? That my spirit is reunited with his spirit. That is eternal life. Eternal life doesn't mean how long you exist. The Gospel says the rich man, you know, in hell he asked for a drop of water. He continued to exist. So you will continue to exist when you die physically, either in hell or in heaven. But the point is our spirit is being reunited with his spirit. That is eternal life in his presence. But because of sin, we were separated. Adam and Eve, they hid themselves. That's basically what it is. They hid themselves. So from Genesis chapter 3 verse 8, all the way to Exodus chapter 25, which we will read in just a minute. Okay, Genesis chapter 3 verse 8 to 2, all the way to Exodus 25. Actually, let's read the scriptures quite, let's go to Exodus 25 very quickly. Exodus chapter 25, let me read it for us from verse 1. It says, everybody understood? Exodus 25, okay. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel. That they bring me an offering from everyone who gives it willingly with the heart. You shall take my offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them. Gold, silver and bronze. Blue, purple and scarlet thread, fine linen and goat's hair. Ram skin dyed red, badger skin and acacia wood. Verse 6, oil for the light and spices for the anointing oil and for sweet incense. Verse 7, onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and in the best plate. Verse 8, and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. That I may dwell among them. Okay, let's come fast forward to... Okay, let's read from verse 21. Okay, same chapter. You shall put a mercy seat on top of the ark. And in the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you. Verse 22. I like this verse, okay? And there I will meet with you. Okay. And there I will meet with you. Okay, thank you. Alive. Everybody online? Alive? All good? Okay, awesome. Thanks Sanjay. So, from Genesis chapter 3 verse 8 to Exodus 25. Tell me some of the stories that you can remember between Genesis 3 and Exodus. There are a lot of things that are happening between Genesis 3 and Exodus 25, no? Yes or no? A lot of things happening. Not everything, but some of the things, stories that you can think of. Sulpa jorgi. Cain and Abel, okay. So, K, C and A. Okay. Noah, great. So, Noah, AB, ABD. Okay, AB and Sarah. All the same thing, okay. Jacob. Mr. J, huh? Mr. I, Isaac. Mr. I, sorry. Joseph again, J, okay. All right. Thamar and Judah. That is Genesis chapter 38. You'll read about them. Okay. Jacob, Isaac, you know, Rebecca, story and sorry. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. And then we come to Exodus. And then we finally have Moses story. Okay. So, there's quite a few things that's happened, isn't it? A lot of things has happened from Genesis 3 to Exodus. The historians claim that time gap, the time gap between here and here is to at least 2,500 years, at least 2,500 years. Now, you're asking, okay, Roshan, what's the point? Right? What's the point? Why do we have to know about all this? You know, we're learning about presence. Suddenly we're talking to Exodus. Suddenly we're coming back to this, talking about everybody else. But, you know, they hid here, isn't it? They hid from his presence. The Garden of Eden was the meeting place. And here in Exodus 25 was 21 or 22. We see that God says, you build me a sanctuary. There I will meet with you. So, because of sin, for approximately 2,500 years, there was no dwelling place for God on earth. There was no dwelling place for God on earth like it used to be in Eden. Now, in this timeline, you would read that God would manifest Himself, like He would visit. There was a lot of visitations of God, right? God visits, you know, Abraham, you know, as angels, and God visits Joshua, and so there was a lot of visitations of God. But there was no resting place for God. That means there was no place for His presence of God to rest. Are you with me? Yes? And so it took a man called Moses. Just think about all of these people. Abraham, father of faith, Joseph, you know, he resisted temptation. Jacob, his name was changed from Jacob to Israel. Yeah, he was the promised seed through whom, you know, the entire nation of Israel is coming through. But God chose Moses. Was something special about Moses? I don't know, maybe. But this number absolutely amazes me that there was no resting place for God for 2,500 years on earth. And it seemed like everybody was okay with it. It seemed like everybody was absolutely fine. I want to just make a point here. You and I can absolutely live life without feeling the need for the presence of God. You and I, we can play church. We can have church Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday without His presence. That's the sinful nature in us, in the flesh, that the flesh fights against the spirit. The flesh doesn't want anything of the spirit in us. But Ecclesiastes says, God has put eternity in our hearts. In other words, you know, as the psalmist cries out, as the deep cries out to deep, there is this urge in us for His presence. But it is possible for you and for me to play church without His presence. And the time will fly. Time will fly. Now it doesn't end there. So we know 2,500 years. This also includes the 400 years that the Israelites was in bondage. Okay. Can we read some more scriptures? Are you okay? You're not tired now? All right. Let's go to Genesis 15. Genesis 15. Okay. Now here, again, we see that God is talking to AB, Abraham. Okay. Father AB. Genesis chapter 15. Okay. Verse, I will tell you verse. Okay. Let's read from verse 13. Okay. Now, look at me for a second. God is prophesying to Abraham about His descendants. Okay. What is God doing? He's prophesying. Okay. Just look at this. Genesis 15. Let's read from 13. Okay. It says, then He said to Abraham, know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in the land that is not their own and will serve them and they will afflict them 400 years. What is He talking about? God is telling Abraham that your descendants, that your people will be in Egypt, a land, there will be strangers in a strange land. They will be as slaves in this strange land. Right. Verse 14. And also the nation whom they serve, I will judge. Afterward, they will come out with great possession. Underline that words, great possession. Afterward, they shall come out with great possession. Okay. That's enough for now. So God is telling Abraham way in advance that this is going to happen. And so by the time Abraham and Isaac and by the time Jacob comes, you know, they go into Egypt and they are there for 400 years. They afflicted their slaves. But when you read in the Exodus, when the time comes for them to come out, it says, Israel came out with great substance. That means they came out with a lot of gold and silver and bronze, all these wealthy things. It is the same gold and silver, everything that they used to make a golden calf. The same thing that God says in Exodus 25, that same people who gave their gold to build this golden calf make them give to build my temple, to build my sanctuary. Are you with me? Are you with me? Yes. Okay. So to make a long story short, you know, from moving from Exodus 25, God brings the people of Israel out of Egypt. He does signs and wonders, isn't it? God provided food for them. Bread came, fell from heaven. They asked for meat. Quail came from heaven. They asked for water. They were complaining. Moses, why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here to die? We could have stayed in Egypt. We had everything nice. You know, ungrateful. When they asked for water, God gives them water from the rock. When they complain that the water is bitter, God converts that water, bitter water into sweet waters. And so, let's read one more scripture. It's going to Exodus 33. Exodus chapter 33. This is a well-known chapter in, you know, so. Moses understood the importance of the presence of God more than the promise of God, right? More than the promise of God. He understood the importance of the presence of God. What is the promise of God for them? What was the promise of God for the people of Israel? From the land of Egypt to the land flowing with milk and honey. That was called as the promised land, isn't it? That was the land that they would live freely ever after. But Moses tells this statement. It says, God, if you don't come with us, we will not go. What is he saying? If your presence doesn't come with us, I don't care about the promise. It's very, very important for you to understand the difference between promise and the presence. Okay? We have to understand the difference between promise and the presence. Moses knew the promise. God said, I will lead you into the promised land. But Moses comes and says, but if you don't come, I don't care what the promise is. We will continue to live here in the desert. Are you with me? And then God says, my presence shall go with you. How many cars you've seen with that verse? Sticker. That must be the highest stuck sticker in all the lot of Christian cars. My presence will go with you. But here's the thing. I think Moses, he understood the importance of presence. And he says this, he makes this prayer in Exodus chapter three. Let's see verse, sorry guys, just give me a minute. Look at verse 13. Exodus 33 verse 13. It says, now, therefore, I pray, if I have found favor in your eyes, show me your ways that I may know you. Okay. Moses is making this prayer, saying, show me your ways that I may know you. Are you with me? Yeah, because it's very important that thing. So now keep your finger over there and go to Psalm 103. Keep your finger, keep your finger in Exodus 33 and go to Psalm 103. Psalm 103 verse 7. Look at what verse 7 says. Everybody there? Psalm 103 verse 7. It says, God showed his ways to Moses and his acts to the people of Israel. Okay. God showed his acts, his ways to Moses, his acts to people of Israel. So there's a difference there. In Exodus 33 verse 13, what did we read? Moses prayed. Yes or no? Moses prayed. Now, and we know that his prayer was answered in Psalm 103. I'm not sure if you understand the beauty of it. So Psalm 103 verse 7, it says, God showed his ways. Everybody say ways. God showed his ways to Moses, but his acts or actions. In other words, translation, you will see deeds, like deeds, D-E-E-D-S, you know, to Israel. What's the difference? What is the difference? Why is there a difference in this verse? Where it says, God showed his ways to Moses, but his acts to the people of Israel. Because somewhere in the journey of Moses, Moses realized, let's rewind a little bit. Now, in Exodus 33 verse 18, Moses at this time, he's approximately 80 years old. How many? 80 years old, more or less. Now, Moses, he was raised as an Egyptian, right? He grew up in Egypt as a prince of Egypt. So that means he's learned the ways of the Egyptian, right? He's learned the ways of Egyptian. That means how they live life, how they do things. Moses was also a warrior. He's learned the ways of a warrior. And by the time he's 40, he's out of Egypt. He marries a Midianite woman called Zipporah. So he learns the ways of the Midianites. Because Zipporah's father was a Midianite sheikh. Are you with me? So he's learning the ways of the Midianite. Then he also learns to shepherd the flock, because his father-in-law was a shepherd. So Moses helps his father-in-law in tending the sheep. So by the time he's 80 years old, Moses has learned the ways of the Egyptian. He's learned the ways of the warrior. And he's learned the ways of the Midianites. He's also learned the ways of the Israelites. He's also learned the ways of a shepherd, right? He's learned a lot of things. And still he comes to a point and he says, Lord, I know of all these things. I know all these ways. And I have seen you do the signs and wonders. I've seen your acts. I've seen you provide water from the rock. I've seen you part the Red Sea. I have seen you send bread from heaven. I've seen you send quail from heaven. I've seen you turn bitter waters into sweet waters. I have seen you do all the actions. I know all these ways. I know the ways of Egyptian, Israelites, Midianites, shepherd. And I have seen you do all of this. But besides and more than all of this, he says, show me your ways. So Moses realized that there is something more to this God than the things that he does. I say that again. Moses realized that there is something more to this God than just the healings that he does or breakthrough or deliverance that he provides. Moses wanted to know God very intimately. And God sees the heart of Moses and says, okay, through him, I'm going to reestablish a dwelling place here on earth. So my presence will have a meeting place. Are you with me? And that is why the tabernacle of Moses is important because for the first time in 2500 years there was a resting place for God here on earth. Are you with me? John chapter 1 was 14. What it says, the word became flesh. You can read. Okay, let's read. John chapter 1 was 14. It says, the word became flesh and it well among us. Am I right? Is it verse 14? Okay. In my Bible, it's on the left side of the page. So John chapter 1 verse 1, in the beginning was the word. Word was with God and the word was God. Fast forward, verse 14, the word became flesh. That means the word came in action. And it dwelt among us. So another word for dwelt, the Hebrew word there is tabernacled. So the word became flesh and it tabernacled among us. And more literal root meaning of that is pitched the tent. That's what it literally means. He pitched the tent. So word became flesh and pitched the tent among us. So Jesus, so the tabernacle of Moses in the Old Testament is a shadow of who Jesus is in the New Testament. Are you with me? And so, okay, I'll stop with this point. From Genesis to Revelation, there is one theme of God's heart that is repeated. From Genesis to Revelation. There's one thing you will keep reading from book after book after book after book all the way to Revelation. You'll keep seeing God saying, I will be your God. You will be my people. I will be your God. You will be my people. I will be your God. You will be my people. Sometimes you'll say, you will be my people. I will be your God. From Genesis to Revelation, that is the heart of God is that he wants to dwell. And he wants to have a people among whom he will dwell. So that his presence will dwell among his people. Are you with me? Okay, so, you know, we've reduced the term presence of God like such a cliche thing as in, okay, let's enter the presence of God. Okay, let's welcome the presence of God. Okay, you know, it's, we don't understand the weight when we say that his presence is here. We were made, you and I, we were made to be in his presence. Anything outside of presence is death. Living life or doing life outside of his presence is simply death. That's what sin is, is separation from God. Like our spirit, when it leaves our physical body, our physical body dies. Are you with me? Yes. And so as worshipers, we need to understand the significance of his presence. Can we be like Moses and say, show me your ways that I may know you? Yes, I need healing. Yes, I need deliverance. Yes, I need a breakthrough in my life. But more than all of that, more than the promise, more than the promise and the prophecies that you have spoken over me. All of that is important, but I want to know you. I want to know you like my best friend. I want to host your presence. In the New Testament, in the New Covenant, you and I are the Tabernacle, are the temple of the living God, isn't it? Yes. And so just like in the Tabernacle of Moses, where God would come and rest, in the New Covenant, you and I are his temple, are we being a resting place for him? Are you carrying his presence well? Are you with me? Yes. And so if I am carrying his presence well, that when I come and meet with you, I am not just coming with my own presence, I'm coming with his. Are you with me? And so the world around you needs people like that who carries his presence, who understands the importance of his presence. All right. So we'll stop here right on time. All right. Okay. Great. So I hope there was something that you could learn from today. We'll resume on Thursday. Okay. On the same subject. Great. Thanks for joining, guys. God bless you. Have a good one.