There Is A Place

There is a Place

Exodus 33:21-22

21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

Introduction

The church of the living God is presently enjoying the greatest move of God that we have ever witnessed. As His church, we are standing in a place where no church has ever stood before – at the end of the dispensation and at the threshold of the coming of the Lord. God has chosen us – all of us – to play a crucial role in this final, end-time revival that will see the largest harvesting of lost souls that has ever occurred.

You and I have been called and chosen to work for the Master during the most important time in the history of the church. The prophet Joel looked through the telescope of time and said of this day, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh….” (Acts 2:17)

What we do with this tremendous opportunity is the most important decision that we will ever make as a church and as saints of God. These times demand that we combine all of our time, our talent, our faith, our finances, and our prayers as we march on to the coming of the Lord and the end of the age.

Just as it is critical that we recognize the signs of the times and the opportunities for revival that lie before us, it is even more critical that we do not forget the mandate given to us by God through the prophet Zechariah when he said, it’s “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zec 4:6)

Our world is in spiritual darkness. We must bring them the light of the gospel. If we are to have the impact that God intends for us to have, if we are to maximize the results of our efforts on His behalf, it is imperative that we have a relationship with God that is real and relevant. “There is a place by me,” is what the Lord has said. I want to talk to you today about how we can locate ourselves in this place by the Lord.

I. We must fight off apathy and indifference.

I Peter 5:8 warns us to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

The Bible is not telling us to be afraid of the devil or to fear his diabolical devices. It’s not instructing us to circle the wagons and get ready to thwart off an attack from the wickedness that lurks out there. There is an enemy out there. And you can be sure he wants to destroy you and me. But he is not our greatest adversary. Remember the Bible tells us that “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (I John 4:4)

Peter tells us to “be sober” and to “be vigilant” because there are two things that have been the down-fall of more Christians than anything else. They are apathy and indifference.

Members of today’s apostolic church have done more, seen more, heard more, and experienced more when it comes to things of the spirit than most people in our world. Today it takes quite a move of God, quite a magnificent sermon, quite a song to move us. We are almost “awe-proof”. Is it possible that the supernatural works of the Spirit no longer move us? Are we as hungry for the things of God as we should be? Have we arrived at a place where we take for granted the demonstration of the Holy Ghost?

Four times in the Bible we are warned: “Harden not your hearts!” We must fight off apathy and indifference. If we are willing to do this, God is saying, “Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand.”

II. We must separate ourselves from sin.

Never before in the history of mankind has sin run so rampant and unbridled. We are living in a time when sinfulness is blatantly paraded across the television screens in our homes. Every day our government agencies are enacting more and more laws which protect sin and sinful lifestyles. And it’s only going to get worse.

The Apostle Paul tells us, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (II Tim 3:1-5)