"Saturate In 08!"

Lord! - “Saturate in 08”

Opening Illustration: “What’s Missing?” from Blue Fish TV – We are moving from 2007 to 2008 this week and some are asking the following question, “What’s missing in my life?” Today I hope to answer that question!

Thesis: Our theme at New Life for the new year is “Saturate in 08!” It’s a prayer to God to be saturated in 2008 with His Holy presence, His love and His awesome fire!

Introduction:

Every year since I have been the Pastor of New Life I have come up with a theme for the New Year. Last year our theme was “The fire of heaven in 07!” In December of this year I had our prayer teams praying for the new theme at New Life -- because I did not just want a nice rhyme for the New Year. I really wanted to hear from the Lord on what He wanted our theme to be for this year. So when we were out with Pat and Merry Cahill they asked me what our new theme was for 2008 and I said, “I was not sure?” but I was praying about it. So we started to brain storm with phrases that rhymed with 2008 and 08: Here are some of the rhymes we came up with and some others that people gave me over the month of December:

Suggested Themes for 2008:

Get rid of the dead weight in 08!

Facilitate in 08!

Don’t hate in 08!

What’s your fate in 08?

Liberate in 08!

Be straight in 08!

Rehabilitate in 08!

Be great in 08!

Celebrate in 08!

Participate in 08!

Don’t take the bait in 08!

Saturate in 08!

After prayer and meditation I really felt the Lord say: “Saturate in 08!” Why? Because it is a call to prayer: “Lord, saturate in 08! It’s a theme which calls on us to cry out to God, to come to Him with humility and reverence. It calls on us to come to Him because of His beauty and awesomeness. It calls on us to get on our knees in prayer and to spend time in God’s presence this year. It calls us out of a life of apathy and into a life filled with the presence of God. It calls on us to enter into God’s presence and too once again experience His awesome love!

When we had Abbey Andrews here for the October meetings with Dr. Nichols she sang a song that she wrote called, “Saturate Me.” The song is a prayer to the Lord to have Him saturate us with His holy presence, His love and His awesome fire. This song has become a favorite of mine and Ashley has started singing it for us during praise and worship.

Listen to Abbey’s song: “Saturate Me!”

The song says to the Lord, “You are beautiful beyond all measure, you are wonderful to me, and I come to you.”

She sings about God’s beauty and wonderfulness which makes her want to come to Jesus to bath in His presence, to meet with God. She says, “I cannot stand in your presence” the reason is because it causes her to bow in God’s presence to yield to His holy presence. She sings and prays:

“Saturate me with your holy presence!”

“Saturate me with your love!”

“Saturate me with your awesome fire!”

I have spent many wonderful moments in time listening to this song and being ushered into the presence of the Lord. It always humbles me and causes me to meet with God. I really feel God’s presence as she pours out her heart to the Lord in this worship song. This song has moved me on the inside and quickened my spirit towards God’s presence and God’s love. This song causes me to search my heart and my mind. It calls me to come to God! So I feel this is what the Lord wants New Life to do this year! To call on Him, to come to Him and to bath in His holy presence!

So this year I want to help you to experience God’s presence, God’s love and God’s awesome fire. I really believe that many Christian’s and non-Christian’s feel that something is missing in their lives and I believe it’s a lack of intimate time and relationship with the Lord.

T.S. - So today we are going to explore God’s word and re-discover God’s saturating presence and its impact on our lives:

Opening Scripture Text: Exodus 33:12-23; 34: 4-11; 29-35:

Exodus 33:12-23 (NIV):

12Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” 14The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” 17And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” 18Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” 19And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”