The People of God

praise God praise God God if you were not here in the 11:00 service today you owe it to yourself to be sure that you're here in the morning at 11: brother Shaw preached an incredible message declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ if you missed it you need to hear it but come expecting tomorrow at 9:30 I will have the privilege of speaking to licensed ministers as I told the group today tomorrow I will speak based on a comment by Brother JT Pew that it's usually better Ife preachers are Christians so be there at 9:30 and I think we'll have a good time thank you brother Boyd thank you District board other officials thank you for your hospitality for my great honor and privilege to be here at camp meeting again this year we have a love in our heart for the Florida district and we've never ever been disappointed when we come God has always moved and I certainly feel him in this Camp.

Romans chapter 9 I'm going to begin reading at verse 25 Romans chapter 9 verse 25 I'll read two verses 25th and 26th as he saith also in Osee this of course is Hosea Paul is using the name from the Septuagint the Greek translation of the Old Testament that Paul used as he saith also in Hosea I will call them my people which were not my people and her beloved which was not beloved and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said of them ye are not my people there shall they be called the children of the Living God I want to preach a little while tonight on this topic the people of God the people of God would you pray with me thank you Lord for what we've already felt here tonight your presence that moved in the Praises of your people thank you for the singers the worshippers musicians those who spoke all that you've already done the great word of God we heard through this day today we pray you would anoint accomplish your purpose in jesus' name amen God bless you thank you please be seated.

it is true it is scriptural biblical that the people of God are so chosen by God himself but this nomenclature that God chooses his people though biblical the Bible speaks of Israel as the chosen people of God it's a little misleading because the choice of the people of God though God makes that choice it is not the final determinant of who are the people of God in John 1 in verse 11 and 12 John in introducing the word made flesh says that he came unto his own these are the Jewish people and his own received him not but as many as received him to them gave he the power to become not the power to be but the power to become the Sons and Daughters of God God's choice then of his people is the choice of opportunity not finality we must take advantage of the opportunity to become his people in a very real s then we make ourselves by our choices the people of God doesn't matter your race your economic standing doesn't matter your background who your parents were doesn't matter whether you've ever walked in a Pentecostal Church before tonight God has given you the opportunity to become one of the people of God how how then can we recognize and know what is the identifier or the identifiers of the people of God how do we know them when we see them if it is both the Confluence of God's choice and our choice and that opportunity lies before each of us how then can we recognize that one who was once called not the people of God but is now called the children of God how I think when we study the scriptures we will find there are three identifiers there are three characteristics that show whether a people is the people of God I believe the people of God are redeemed I believe the people of God are in Covenant with him and I believe the people of God will have have the presence of God among them if anyone of these characteristics is missing then it doesn't matter who they are how organized what is happening among them if any one of these three are not present they are not the people of God but if all three of them are there than I would tell you today they are the people of God so the first characteristic we see clearly in the children of Israel once God began to cease dealing with humankind in Mass once it failed with the flood and then it failed in Noah's postf flood family God chose to work through one person it got down to a moon worshiper who lived in her of the CES named Abram who Heard a Voice from a God he did not worship and did not know but that God said if you'll follow me I'll lead you to a new life and a new land I'll be with you I'll walk beside you and you will be my friend and Abram said sign me up and from that moment onward God has always had a People Israel were a redeemed people they were in bondage of slavery in Egypt under the harsh taskmasters beaten their children slaughtered they were controlled from the moment they Rose until they went to sleep and they live for one purpose to enrich and increase the glory of the Pharaoh nothing else mattered but God said times up I'm going to have a people and I'm going to have them by redeeming them I'm going to bring them out of slavery through the water they will find Redemption through the sacrifice of Blood on the doorpost H they will find Redemption I'll open the Red Sea I'll Smite Egypt with crippling plagues uh I will bring Pharaoh himself to his knees because my people will be redeemed uh and set free uh ladies and gentlemen it wasn't just a physical Freedom it wasn't just a political Freedom they were set free not to be free they were set free to worship the god of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob leaving doesn't just mean the crossing of the border of the territory of Egypt or leaving its political system it meant leaving the culture and the worldview and the religion that they had been surrounded with for hundreds of years and they were redeemed you cannot be one of the people of God while living in your sins you can pray now I lay me down to sleep forgive me my sins today every night for the rest of your life you will still not be one of the people of God you've got to be Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb you've got to be born again of the water and the spirit you got to come out of Egypt and leave its worldview and leave its culture you got to be a new creature in Christ Jesus H and ladies and gentlemen it comes through the new birth H men and Brethren what must we do repent and be baptized every one of you H in the name of Jesus Christ H friends there is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved uh Salvation is in and through the name of Jesus Christ and when you are baptized in his name you're going to get the Holy Ghost I'm sorry I can't help it Bishop you got to have the Holy Ghost to be in the church for by one Spirit are we all not some of us not a few of us not the Blessed among us but by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we're Jew new or Gentile Bond or free rich or poor smart or not it makes no difference you got to be filled with the Holy Ghost H and when you get it you're going to speak in other tongues as the spirit of God gives the utterance that is redemption and the people of God have always been and shall always be a redeemed people.

secondly the people of God will be a covenant people that is a covenant is an oldfashioned word for a contract an agree agreement a binding agreement the people of God are in an agreement with God and this agreement in its simplest form is described like this if you will I will yeah if you pray I will answer if you worship I will dwell in that worship if you believe anything is possible to him that believes this Covenant is found also reflected in God's relationship with Israel Exodus 19, 5 and 6 now therefore if wait a minute these are the children of Abraham these are Jews because they were born to Jewish parents they have Jews Jewish blood csing through their veins they are God's chosen people that he said they're the apple of my eye but here's the agreement not because your mom and dad are Apostolic not because your fourth or fifth generation not because you know all the words and you can sing all the songs or most of them none of that matters here in the Covenant it is this if you obey my voice and keep my Covenant then you will be my people he gives three aspects of this covenantal relationship ship if you keep the Covenant you will be a pecul treasure to me above all people for all the Earth is mine and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation think of it a treasured possession I don't know if you have a treasured possession I have a few they wouldn't have much value to you I have a little thing my grandmother made when she was in a nursing home it's the impression of her hand in a piece of foam with a little spray that she placed glued to that now that's not going to bring much on eBay but it's a treasured possession in my family I have not seen my mom in over 60 years she died when I was 10 years old but I have a teacup and a silver dollar that belonged to my mom now the silver dollar might bring a little and if you're a teacup collector you might treasure that teacup but no that's not why it's important but it is a treasured possession I know where those things are right now I put them up I keep them protected I look out for them we moved a few times in our life and I make sure that those treasured possessions along with my grandpa's New Testament along with a watch that belonged to my dad I make sure they're protected and cared for and kept up with because they're TR listen we're his children we're his people we matter to him the world may not know much about us but he's put his hand on us when the Devil Comes against us when sorrow is at the door when disappointment is near let me tell you we'll never face it by ourselves because God has made a covenant with us and we are a treasured possession we are a kingdom of priests who are priests priests are those who touch God for other people priests are those who have a connection with God it was a priest uh who could enter the holy Place uh it was a priest uh who could go Beyond the Veil into the holiest of holies H and God said we are a kingdom h of priests H we can go past that Veil we can walk into his presence we are in Covenant with God and we are a holy nation we are set aside Holiness to us usually conjures up standards and dress codes and behavioral guidances and well it should there's absolutely nothing wrong with teaching people how to be holy but Holiness goes beyond all of that Holy H is connected with the concept of Sanctified of set aside of specialness it means that we are a nation of people in which the Holy Spirit dwells we are set aside we are Sanctified we are sacred in this world some of you looking at me a little strange here we're his face we're his hands we're his feet we're his voice when we walk in a room maybe the people are too spiritually disconnected but every devil starts quivering and trembling every Angel comes to attention because the holy nation is represented here today the people of God those in Covenant with God Walk Through This World and they're swirling wakes of spiritual energy and power that flows around us we lay hands on the sick and they recover we cast out Devils H we open blinded eyes H we make deaf tongues speak because we have power in ourselves H but because if H you obey my voice H and keep my Covenant H you'll be my people in this world I don't know about you but I'm convinced as never before we need the holy nation we need a peculiar people we need a priesthood in this generation now these three characteristics although we list them separately so that we might hope to comprehend their their nature their their construction their influence and power they do not really stand alone without Redemption there's no hope of Covenant you can't can't enter into a covenant with a holy God if you're not holy and we are made Holy by the presence of the Holy Spirit within our lives and you cannot have this third characteristic without being in Covenant with God and that is the people of God have the presence of God dwelling among them a Shekinah cloud that hovered over the Tabernacle and shimmed Over The Mercy Seat between the cherubim it was God among his people and though no shimmering Cloud that lights the night is part of our experience with God my friends without his presence we are not his people in the closing chapter CH of the book of Exodus we see three connected events that underline the importance of God's presence when the Lord showed me this and I confess I haven't plumed its depths I it's beyond me I cannot fathom the depths of its meanings but it has moved and changed my life these three events are in chapter 25-31 God instructs Israel in detail how to build the Tabernacle in which his presence will dwell no detail seems too small from the exact materials whether it be raw rough animal skins or the finest of Spun gold God gave them every detail build it this way and I will dwell among you can I tell you that it's not up to us to decide where and when God will dwell it's not up to decide if I do this God's going to bless it if I do that God's going to we've got to get into the book and find out how God says to build his Tabernacle Among Us in chapters 35- 40 Moses details how they bring the instructions that God gave them to life how they carefully gathered the materials how they constructed it over and over build it like I showed you on the mountain and Moses poured himself into the construction of that place for the Shekinah to dwell but in between chapters 32 33 and 34 there is an unbelievable interlude it challenges our comprehension that such a thing could happen at such a time while Moses is on the mount receiving God's instruction both for the Tabernacle and for the law that would be our school Master for the coming of the Messiah down below they made a god of gold and they worshiped that image a golden calf and they cut themselves and they danced in a frenzy of worship to a god that did not exist they were brought out of Egypt they were Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb they were brought through the Red Sea by the incredible hand of God and now on the verge of being the people of God like no other people had ever been they throw it all away in an orgy of idolatry and God tells Moses you better get back down there I've always been amused up until this point God called them my people when he tells Moses what's going on he said that's your son that's your daughter and when Moses goes down and he walks through the camp of Israel after dealing with this horrific sin God tells him please stand stay with me just a little longer I'm going to kill them all I'm gonna kill every one of them right here and right now but they're the children of Abraham they're the children of Isaac and Jacob I don't care I'm going to kill them all but they're your people not anymore I'm gonna kill him Moses kneeling alone in the Tabernacle in that tent not the finished Tabernacle but it was actually his own tent that had sufficed for the presence of God until this point Moses kneels in that tent and begins to plead with God you can't do it God said oh yes I can God said or Moses said God what about your promises to Abraham these are his children God said I've got you I'll just take you and start over I got plenty of time it'll be your children I'll raise up a nation I'll come into this world through your children not Jacobs I'll just do it through you but Moses said God you can't do it now I don't have time to develop this but let me tell you something God didn't I mean Moses didn't try to change God's mind by talking about how much he loved them but God you love them so much you hold on to them regardless Moses knew that wasn't going to save them even the love of God will not cover up sin so Moses didn't even even go there he didn't try to save them by appealing to God's love he didn't try to save them by appealing to God's grace he didn't try to save them by appealing to God's goodness none of that could ever save them so what Moses did he said God what about your word the whole world knows that you promised toing bring them out of Egypt so that you could bring them into the land of Canaan and if you don't do it the whole world's going to say you can't trust him you can't believe in his word h he'll promise but he will not deliver What About Your Glory what about your name and I know I know there's there's depths of theological layers after layers and all of this because God knows the end from the beginning I understand all of that but we are meant to see this as God changing his mind that he had determined to destroy this people and raise up another one and Moses stood in the Gap and said God you can't do it you've committed yourself your reputation is on the line your name is involved in these people you promised and you must keep your promise and God hesitates and says all right then you're right I won't kill him and I'll keep my word here's the Crux of my message here's what God said it's in Exodus 33 and 2 and I will send an angel before thee and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the high Tite and the perizzite and the Hite and the jebusite I lead them unto a land flowing with milk and honey I'm going to do what I promised to do but I'm not going I will not go up in the midst of thee for thou art a stiff neck people lest I consume thee in the way God is saying I'll send an angel I'll fight your battles I'll bring you to victory but you won't have me God says my presence is a dangerous thing if I go and they pull this stunt again I might not listen to you next time and I might kill them all and so I'm just going to stay away I'll give you the supernatural I'll give you victory over your enemies I'll give you the blessings of the land that flows with milk and with honey but I'm not going to be there I'm not going to be among you let me tell you something the presence of God demands uh something of us uh it is dangerous uh to have his presence H and be Cavalier and unappreciative and unmoved that he is Among Us H this is why movements churches start out with his presence H but they die and substitute ritual and tradition for his presence H it's why people cool off slow down quit coming to church so much uh sit through a service and never worship because his presence demands uh something of us that we are Lo to give you cannot serve two masters you can't come to church because it's your habit or people expect it you can't be a Pentecostal and be a lot of other things H you got to make up your mind H his presence is all that matters stand with me it's easier it's easier it's less risky to do it with church growth techniques recovery programs psychology in our counseling rhetoric in our pulpits than to operate in the Holy Ghost it's easier to read the latest books and get a hold of the latest fads and do it like the big super Church does it than to put our trus uh in a god whose presence h g genuinely changes lives uh but cannot be controlled uh by our wishes and our programs H and our desires uh who might move uh in our carefully planned Services uh and disrupt uh our perfectly coughed way of comporting ourselves uh it's easier to leave him out uh behold uh I stand and uh God help us uh if he's standing outside our doors uh asking for permission to enter we are not his people.

I'll give you an angel I'll give you Victory on the battlefield I'll give you a land that flows with milk and honey is it possible to have the blessing and not the blesser is it possible to possess the promises and not the promiser is it possible to dance a jig across the front of the church to preach the house down to sing people under their feet is it possible to have a happy home is it possible to get a bigger house and a finer car and better clothes to enjoy his Blessing but not have him okay Moses I'll give you what you want you want a bigger church I'll give you one you want a you want a promotion on your job okay I'll give you one but I'm not going thank God I want to be with Moses he said God if you don't go go I don't want to go I don't care if it is the land of Abraham Isaac and Jacob I don't care if it isn't what you promised me I don't care that your blessings will be there and victory will be mine and success will come to me that's not why I'm in this I'm in this for you and if you're not in that in that church if you're not in that blessing if you're not in that success if you're not in that miracle if you're not there I don't want to be there it's you it's you the Lord spoke to me the other day I argued a bit with with him about it I'm not in a permission to in a position to even make this statement but it's what the Lord laid on my heart the United Pentecostal churches at a Crossroads we are where other groups no worse than us no more human than us we're gaining the resources we're the last Bastion of true Pentecostalism on the planet and not just the UPC but the Oneness Movement we have talent incredible Talent we have ability and education and we have some of the finest Church buildings around so we can do it without him others built work world changing movements and organizations without the presence of God and we could but God said you're at a Crossroads you have to decide is it the big churches and the white house visits is it the attention and Applause is it so we will be the biggest church in town and famous for that now I'm not against any of those things but we have to decide why are we in this Moses said I don't want just the miraculous just an angel I don't want just victory over my enemies I want your presence I want to walk to my pulpit and not use the greatest of rhetorical techniques to move people yes they will and nothing wrong with using them but I don't want the results of my education and my learning I've got to have more when I preach the word you've got to move you've got to touch you've got to Quicken that heart I can't do it I can't do it I don't want to go if you don't.