Priscilla Shirer shares a message on TBN’s Praise about the joy found in experiencing life with Jesus! “This video was brought to you by TBN Networks® WATCH full Praise episodes for free on the TBN app: https://watch.tbn.org/praise

SUBSCRIBE:    / praisetbn   NEED PRAYER? TBN’s Prayer Partners would love to prayer with you and are available 24/7: 714-731-1000 (U.S. and Canada) and +1-714-731-1000 (International). On the air since 1973, TBN’s flagship ministry and talk show Praise is one of the most recognizable — and most watched — Christian programs in the world. Taped before a live audience and hosted by TBN’s own Matt and Laurie Crouch along with other popular personalities, Praise features the best in contemporary Christian music and worship, fresh and impacting ministry voices, engaging interviews from a wide variety of guests, and a fast-moving hour of relevant talk you won’t want to miss! #praise #tbn #priscillashirer 00:00 Intro 00:40 Desensitized to God’s Presence 10:32 Awaken Your Desire for Jesus 11:23 When God’s Ways are Unexpected 18:33 Our Affluence Can Distract Us from Intimacy with God 26:58 The Power of the Holy Spirit 35:48 The Favor of God 36:53 A Life of Holiness

could it be that we have lived in this

neighborhood of blessing for so long

that when the train of God’s glory wants

to fall in unusual way when he wants to

show up in power and in glory that we

have become so used to it that we don’t

even recognize his blessing anymore

that we’ve become so desensitized to

God’s presence Among Us that it doesn’t

cause us as it always should for us to

fall into our knees and adoration our

arms outstretched in worshiped that God

would visit us in this unique beautiful

way Lord help us to never be

desensitized to the train of your glory

so glad to be with all of you listen

don’t even take your seat yet let me

just let me just go ahead and read God’s

word over you while you’re standing is

that all right I think every now and

then we ought to just stand up when

God’s word is read just to remind

ourselves who’s talking to us

listen to Luke chapter 2 verse 21

through about verse 32 or so when Jesus

was about eight days uh were completed

he was circumcised his name was then

called Jesus

the name given by the angel before he

was conceived and when the days for

purification according to the law of

Moses were completed that’s about 40

days after Jesus was born or so so he’s

40 days old they brought him into

Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

every firstborn male that opens the womb

Shall be Called holy to the Lord and

they came to offer sacrifices according

to what was said of the law of the Lord

a pair of turtle doves or two young

pigeons and behold somebody say behold

come on y’all say behold

oh there was a man in Jerusalem this

guy’s name was Simeon and he was

righteous and devout and looking for the

consolation of Israel and the Holy

Spirit was on his life

[Music]

and it had been revealed to him by the

spirit that he would not see death until

he had caught sight

of Jesus

so he came into the spirit into the

temple and when the parents brought in

the Child Jesus to carry out the custom

of the law Simeon saw him he recognized

that this little baby was Jesus Christ

he gathered the baby up in his arms he

blessed the child and he said Lord now

you can let me depart in peace I don’t

have to see anything else I haven’t yet

seen this guy perform one Miracle

Lazarus hadn’t been raised from the dead

the sick have not yet been healed deaf

ears haven’t yet been opened I haven’t

seen any of that but once I’ve caught

sight of the savior

Lord he says you can let me depart in

peace because my eyes have seen your

salvation which you’ve prepared in the

presence of all the people he’s a light

of Revelation to the Gentiles and the

glory of thy People Israel thank you for

letting me see

Jesus

Lord open up our eyes so that we can see

you Lord open up our spiritual ears so

that we can hear you God we are sitting

on the edge of our seat because we are

anxious to see how you will introduce

reintroduce yourself to us today Lord

I’m so grateful that all of us is here

but we didn’t come to see each other we

came to see you

so Lord come we’re your daughters and we

want to see you in Jesus name everybody

agreed when they said amen

give somebody a high five before you

take your seat

[Applause]

I’m so grateful and I’m so honored to

have an opportunity to be here with you

and to share in God’s word I believe in

the power of the word of God I I do

parent uh Chris just told you three sons

they are giants I just have Giants

walking around my house my nearly 16

year old is six foot two inches tall his

14 year old brother is the exact same

height they both wear size 14 men’s shoe

my youngest son his name is Jude so I’ve

got Jackson Jerry Jr and Jude and we

named our third son Jude on purpose

because y’all that’s as close as I could

get to Revelation because it is finished

that is it it’s the end of the line

and they’re Giants somebody come help me

feed these people that’s all I do is try

to feed the boys and I remember this

particular weekend because I was in

Memphis Tennessee there were very little

at the time and I remember being very

very tired on this particular trip I

could not wait to get to the location in

Memphis Tennessee so I could get to the

hotel I’d had an early flight and was

very excited to be at the hotel early so

that I could immediately go and get in

the bed and go to sleep early that night

I was so happy to have that opportunity

and so I arrived in Memphis Tennessee

was picked up at the the airport driven

by a sweet woman who had come from the

church where I was going to be at their

conference she’d come and pick me up

took me to the hotel and it was about 7

30 in the evening I was so happy she

said would you like to go out to dinner

first I was like oh no I get to go into

this hotel room all by myself and have

the bed all to myself I could not wait

so I lay down watched a little something

on television I’m thinking about 8 30 I

mean I was out I needed all those hours

of rest

accept that around 3 A.M or so I was

Jarred awake jolted awake by a train

that started to go by right outside the

back of the hotel there were train

tracks that were just a few feet behind

the hotel the conductor was sitting on

the horn the entire time that all of the

cars of the train went by I was jolted

awake and I went immediately to the

window and looked outside and I saw how

close that that train actually was and

then you know you have to kind of sit

there and wait for the whole thing to

pass and this wasn’t a small train this

was one that goes on and on and on

finally it passed and I tried to get

back to sleep but really couldn’t Nestle

down into a good sleep I knew I had to

be up really early in the morning so I

couldn’t sleep real well but did my best

got up in the morning the sweet woman

from the church came picked me up I got

in the car didn’t say anything about the

train had a great long day at the church

at the conference and then could not

wait to get back to the hotel so that I

could try to get a good night’s sleep

this was going to be the night that I

got all my good hours of sleep in before

having to go home the next day and so I

laid down in the bed about 8 30 9

o’clock in the evening fell into a very

deep sleep until 3 A.M in the morning

when a train went roaring by the

conductor sitting on the horn the entire

time that the train went by this time I

was jolted awake went and looked at the

train outside of the window and I

thought I can’t wait for the sweet woman

from the church to come pick me up

so that I can tell her about this train

that is passing by right outside the

door or outside the back of this hotel

so when she came I sat down in the car I

said thank you so much for picking me up

I gotta ask you about this train I

described to her how at three o’clock in

the morning for the last two nights this

train had gone roaring by in the back of

the hotel as I explained it to her I

felt bad for her because it was like it

was occurring to her Dawning on her like

she was reminded about this train that

comes to their Community her eyes were

as wide as saucers and she said

Priscilla I am so sorry I I totally

forgot about that train and she said the

reason why is because those of us who

live in this community have gotten so

used to the sound of the train that we

don’t even recognize it anymore that

train comes by two or three times a week

every week and we paid little attention

to it because we’ve lived here so long

that we’ve gotten so used to the sound

of the train that when it comes we don’t

recognize it we’ve been desensitized to

the train in this community it occurs to

me that those of us who live

particularly in this part of the world

where we have been all

the only blessed by the presence and the

power of God Among Us where here in this

country you and I can go on a Saturday

to a Christian women event like this one

or we can go to a Christian bookstore

when we could pick up any Bible in any

translation in any language or we can

turn on Christian radio and listen to

gospel if you like that or contemporary

Christian music if you like that we have

options available to us could it be that

we have lived in this neighborhood of

blessing for so long

when the train of God’s glory wants to

fall in unusual way when he wants to

show up in power and in glory that we

have become so used to it that we don’t

even recognize his blessing anymore

that we’ve become so desensitized to

God’s presence Among Us that it doesn’t

cause us as it always should for us to

fall to our knees in adoration our arms

outstretched and worshiped that God

would visit us in this unique beautiful

way Lord help us to never be

desensitized to the train of your glory

and in the Old Testament or in the New

Testament rather in the Book of Luke

Luke’s gospel I love so much because

Luke writes about people who encounter

the train of God’s glory in the person

of Jesus Christ he gives a story after

Story encounter after Encounter of Jesus

meeting with people and transforming

their life he included a handful of

these stories so that you and I would be

not only reminded of their Encounter

With Jesus but recognize that they are

not exceptions to the rule they are

examples for us of the encounters that

we should also expect to have with Jesus

and listen this should be your goal not

just hearing about him but experiencing

him that should be your goal like your

appetite should be wet your heart should

Hunger for More Than Just a knowledge of

who Jesus is you ought to come to the

place I ought to come to the place in my

relationship with the Lord where more

than anything else we want to see him

with our own eyes we want to hear his

voice with our own ears that the same

God who divided the Red Sea in the Old

Testament the same God who raises

Lazarus from the dead in the New

Testament the same God that are those

things we don’t want to just celebrate

it in the lives of other people we want

to stand in line to have an encounter

with God like that ourselves

Luke writes about encounters because he

wants to wet our appetite to have an

encounter with Jesus Christ because

listen y’all we have wasted our time if

all we’ve done is come here on this

Saturday to applaud what Jesus did

yesterday I’m so glad about what my God

has done yesterday but I want to see him

today anybody interested I want to see

him in my own marriage and in my own

finances and raising my kids and on my

job and in my Ministry I want to see and

encounter the power of the almighty

Living God

that’s what today is about

it’s to make you hungry again it’s to

wet your appetite again it’s to not let

when the day ends something to end in

your life but really to launch you

forward to a brand new beginning and an

adventure with Jesus Christ so Luke

writes about encounters and he writes

during a time when the nation of Israel

is experiencing National depravity and

Decay they have been oppressed by

oppressors who have come in and stolen

from them much of what they valued they

are living in a in a place of Oppression

and a place of Destruction and look

right to them during this time when

their nation is in trouble and I don’t

know if if you’ve noticed or not but our

nation is in trouble we are living

during a time of moral and social Decay

and decline like never before and listen

the more God is marginalized the more

he’s segmented to the periphery of

society the more he has completely

ignored or disregarded the more we will

continue to see an influx of chaos and

an influx of destruction in our nation

but Luke doesn’t just write to people

who have National trouble Luke is

writing to people that have individual

personal struggles they’ve been waiting

on a hero to show up they’ve been

waiting for the kingdom of God to be at

hand they’ve been waiting for the

Prophecies of old to come to Florissant

that there would be a messiah a savior

who would come and rescue them from all

that they’ve been experiencing

nationally but also the things that they

have been experiencing personally

so I know our nation is in trouble but I

didn’t really come to talk to you today

about what’s happening in the White

House I want to talk to you about what’s

happening in your house

underneath the roof of your home the

trouble that might be happening in your

marriage the thing that causes the tears

to fall down from your eyes in regards

to your kids or your finances or your

health or on your job or in your

ministry you like the children of Israel

like me been waiting on a hero somebody

who can come in and Speak Life to the

dead places and refresh the dry places

of our life Luke is writing for people

who need an encounter with a God Like

That

and I just want to tell any of you that

might be in a struggle personally

underneath the roof of your own house

and the landscape of your own house and

you’re in a struggle you’re in a time

like Luke writes to where man things are

just plain old flat out difficult I just

want to

suggest to you the possibility

that sometimes

sometimes your difficulties are less

about the Enemy being against you

and more about God wanting to show you

what it looks like when he’s for you

sometimes the stuff that you are facing

the stuff that I’m facing that are

difficult it’s less about the Enemy

being against you and sometimes it’s

just about God allowing a stage to be

set in your life to where when he shows

up you will never ever doubt again that

you’ve had an encounter with Jesus

so the children of Israel need an

encounter with a messiah they need an

encounter with Jesus Christ and finally

Jesus arrives on the scene after 400

years of Silence between the Old

Testament and the New Testament Jesus

arrives on the scene after centuries of

waiting after prophecy Desiring to be

fulfilled Jesus shows up on the scene

their hope has finally be been fulfilled

but here’s the tragedy when he comes he

does not come as they supposed he would

he is not on the throne he is not riding

a white horse he is not coming in power

and Vengeance and Authority that they

had mirrored in their oppressors that

they had pictured that their Messiah

would come in no he is born as a baby

all of that deity and authority and

miraculous working power that they

longed for was packaged in the skin of

humanity and a small human at that this

is not what they wanted it’s not what

they recognized it wasn’t the

expectation they had built up in their

heads so when he came they did not

recognize him

when he showed up because he was not in

the package that they had pictured in

their minds

he didn’t come in the package they had

prayed for

he had come in a different way because

he did not meet their expectations when

he showed up they did not recognize him

in the passage that we read Jesus is

being brought into the temple he is

being carried by his mother Mary Joseph

is along for the ride as well they have

come with Jesus about 40 days old into

the temple they are in a religious

gathering where people have come to

perform their religious duties

and all the people who were gathered

that day are in the presence of the one

they prayed for and do not know him when

he comes

would you please notice that they’re not

just anywhere

they are in the temple

and still don’t recognize the presence

of God

I want to suggest to you that it is

possible to be at Propel and not CG

I want to tell you that it is possible

for you to be in your church every

single Sunday which I pray you are but

you can be in your church and not have

an encounter with Jesus

I want to tell you that I’m so glad many

of you are in Bible study stay in Bible

study but you can read a verse a day to

keep the devil away until you are blue

in the face

but if you read the scriptures with a

hardened heart with your eyes not open

you can be filling your days with the

duty of religious activity and never

catch sight of the lover of your soul

never have an encounter an experience

with Jesus all these people were in the

presence of Jesus Christ and did not

know him when he came

because oftentimes many times

when the Lord comes to minister to you

to speak into your life circumstances he

will come in a way that is not the way

you expect it

why because his ways are not our ways

his thoughts are not our thoughts as

high as the heavens are above the Earth

that’s how high his ways and his

thoughts are above our own and what I

attempt to do what you often attempt to

do I’m sure is to dumb him down so that

his ways match our ways his thoughts

match our thoughts we want him to answer

our prayers the way we’ve prayed them we

want the solutions that work out in our

minds to be the solutions that will be

best given the scenario that we see

given the prayer requests that we’ve

prayed but y’all sometimes we pray for

growth and he answers with rain

sometimes we pray for oak trees and he

answers with an acorn

and when the answer comes for your

marriage when the answer comes for your

parenting when the solution that God

listened today God is going to give some

of you Solutions and divine strategies

for things that are happening in your

life and on your job and in your

finances the struggles that you’re

facing and I’m saying when he answers if

the answer does not come in the package

that you have expected will you miss it

because you want your way not his way

and so Jesus he comes and he’s in a pool

of religious people and they do not

recognize the presence of God near them

now I want to open up a little

parenthesis here before we jump to a

specific person that I want to draw your

attention to he’s the only person in the

text who actually sees Jesus but I want

to open up a little parenthesis because

you may have recognized that Luke went

into a whole lot of detail to tell us

something about the text it’s one thing

I love about Luke is that he gives us

details I like all the juice and all the

details out of the text so that I can

get a full picture painted of what’s

happening in the story and Luke wants us

to know that that Mary and Joseph are

coming for the ceremonial dedication of

their firstborn son that’s what

everybody did they would come to

Jerusalem particularly during this time

when they had a newborn son to present

their newborn son to the Lord get the

picture of this the Lord in this case is

being presented to the Lord

and they come in and Luke writes and

tells us exactly what they have with

them other than the baby Jesus says that

Mary had two turtle doves or two pigeons

for her sacrifice now that wouldn’t

really be of interest except that we

know from Leviticus from the sacrificial

system that had been set up divinely

mandated by God in Leviticus that when

someone came to make their sacrifices

they did need two animals to be

sacrificed one was a pigeon or a turtle

dove the other was supposed to be a lamb

that they were supposed to bring a lamb

with them but we find in Luke’s gospel

that he’s made sure we know Mary and

Joseph do not have their own lamb Luke

chapter 12 tells us or Leviticus chapter

12 tells us that there was a caveat for

why someone would not bring a lamb to be

sacrificed there’s one little verse Luke

chapter 12 verse 8 or so that says if

someone could not afford a lamb if

they’re fine Financial Resources were so

that they could not buy for themselves a

lamb to bring into the temple to be

sacrificed there would be an exception

made for them they could bring two

turtle doves instead of one turtle dove

and a lamb they could just bring two

turtle doves but that was a symbol of

the fact that they were insufficient in

some way they did not have the finance

finances to buy their own lamb which

means

when Mary and Joseph came on that

particular day with their two turtle

doves in tow people would have

automatically looked at them and

recognized them as a couple who had

insufficient funds as a couple who was

inadequate in some way as a couple who

had lack and who had knees I wonder how

many people turned their noses up at the

couple who could not afford their own

lamb I wonder how many people ignored

the poor couple who didn’t fit in with

everybody else who had been able to

purchase their own lamb I wonder how

many people did not get an opportunity

to have an encounter with the baby Jesus

because they ignored the people who had

him carried in their arms

I want to speak to who anybody who’s in

this room and you’ve ever felt excluded

or ignored from The Clique of people who

have the money to buy their own lamb

they drive the car and they live in the

house and they’re able to to communicate

or to experience life in a certain way

that that man you just can’t afford

maybe you’ve got lacked financially or

you’ve got lack emotionally you have

lack relationally you have poured

everything out and you find it that

you’ve got insufficient funds in some

way in your life and you can’t afford

what it looks like everybody else can

afford and you’ve been ignored or

ostracized people have turned their

noses up at you can I just tell you that

sometimes you don’t need to have your

own lamb when you can carry the Lamb of

God that takes away the sins of the

world

in fact

the lamb is most often best experienced

in the lives of those who have

insufficient funds

in fact I think it is our affluence that

keeps us from actually having an

encounter with the Living God we’ve

become so used to being able to bless

ourselves

that we don’t have a real authentic

relationship with the blessor

we are so affluent we have Prosperity

particularly in this part of the world

where listen if you’re poor in this

country you’re rich in other countries

and here where we’ve been able to

sustain ourselves where we know where

our next meal is coming from where we

choose from a closet full of clothes as

to what clothes we’re going to wear to a

particular event where we might have

Financial struggles everything is not

perfect but we still have our daily

needs met it is sometimes in our

affluence because our arms are so full

of the Lambs we have bought for ourself

we actually don’t even have room we

don’t have margin to have an intimate

ongoing relationship with the Lamb of

God that takes away the sins of the

world Lord forgive us when we’ve turned

our noses up at people who don’t have

all of the external markings of

affluence in doing that we have missed

out on the blessing of having a

relationship with the people who often

have the most intimate relationships

with Jesus Christ

because sometimes y’all those people are

not in this in the spotlight they’re the

ones behind the scenes sometimes those

are the people that are not in mega

churches they’re in storefront churches

sometimes there are the people that are

not the ones on the platform with the

microphone in their hands they’re the

people that volunteer their time to

clean up in a sanctuary like this to

sweep up after us they’re the people who

volunteer their time to be in the Sunday

school teaching our second graders and

third graders so that you and I can

enjoy an opportunity like that Lord

forgive us when we ignore those people

and clamor after the people whose gifts

happen to put them in the spotlight but

we ignore those people who are who are

uh an intercessory prayer who are on

their knees in the secret quiet places

the Lamb of God tucked within their arms

having an intimate encounter with him

but we ignore them because they don’t

look like us or dress like us or drive

what we drive or live where we live

so if you’ve ever been that person

the text speaks to you today that it was

Mary and Joseph who did not have what

everybody had

but they had

what everybody else didn’t have

and so they come into the building

nobody recognizes that

accept one person

Luke writes at the top of the passage

he writes and beholds somebody say

behold

come on y’all say behold

anytime an author in the text writes

that word it isn’t a throwaway word it

isn’t something that you just need to

skip or skim over quickly anytime you

read behold in the text the author is

trying to tell you lean in put your chin

in your hands just in case you kind of

fell asleep during all the minutia and

the fine details that led up to this

moment this is when the author wants you

to open up your eyes and sit up straight

because there’s somebody he wants you to

meet

he says behold there was a man named

Simeon and when no one else recognized

the presence of God when God came near

there was one guy who did

and if in this room today

there are only going to be a handful of

us who actually have an encounter with

God I’m talking about where we hear his

voice when we our hearts are set aflame

by the Holy Spirit when you when we get

some some direction for the purpose that

he has for our life if they’re going to

be a whole lot of us who have an

experience today but only a few that

actually encounter the Living God that I

don’t know about you but if there’s only

going to be a few I want to be one of

them anybody

so Luke says pay attention because

there’s one guy that’s going to show you

how to have your eyes open so that you

aren’t just in the religious place but

so that you encounter a holy living God

he says there’s a man named Simeon he’s

righteous devout

he’s looking for the consolation of

Israel his eyes are open peeled to the

Horizon waiting for Jesus in whatever

package he chooses to come waiting for

an encounter with the long-awaited

Messiah

then he gives us at least the one there

are many throughout this text but the

one characteristic of his life that I

believed opened up simeon’s eyes to

catch sight of God that will open up our

eyes to catch sight of God he says at

the bottom of verse 25 he says and the

Holy Spirit

was upon him

Luke says simeon’s I

because

God’s spirit was on him

the holy spirit is the greatest gift you

will ever receive this side of Eternity

the moment you place faith in Jesus

the moment you receive Jesus as your

personal savior I don’t know if you knew

it or not but you received in that

moment the greatest gift you will ever

receive the holy spirit of God

and the Holy Spirit is not a ghost or a

wind or a fire or a dove he is often

symbolized by those things but y’all

they ain’t who he is

the holy spirit is the third person of

the Trinity not third because he is

least in value just third because he is

the last to be revealed to us in the

pages of scripture but all of the

fullness all of the Power all of the

authority all of the greatness all of

the Grandeur of God the father is in the

person of the Holy Spirit which means

when you place faith in Jesus Christ and

the Holy Spirit takes up residence in

you

that now means that all of the Power all

of the glory all of the Grandeur all of

the greatness of God the father now

lives on the inside of you Ephesians

chapter 1 says the moment you believe

you receive the holy spirit with promise

you are not waiting on the Holy Spirit

you have the Holy Spirit right now you

did not receive the holy spirit in

installment plans

you can’t give away a person in parts

all of the Holy Spirit you ever gonna

get you got the moment you got saved now

we need to be filled by God’s spirit as

we yield to his conviction in our life

in obedience

as what is happening in US becomes an

outward expression as our behavior is

modified as we are Sanctified somebody

say sanctified

that means as we are molded into the

image of Christ Jesus so that we start

to think like him and talk like him and

walk like him and behave like Jesus

Jesus behaved we need to be filled by

God’s spirit but when you got saved

listen to me you received the Holy

Spirit of God God’s spirit is in you the

benefit of this is all of the fruit of

God’s spirit is available to you that

means that that there is gentleness

that you don’t have in your own natural

ability for that person or that problem

that now you are able to have that is

beyond your own natural capacity because

the Holy Spirit what he does is help us

to live beyond ourselves when we’ve come

to the end of our patience you know with

that one co-worker that one that if she

says one more thing to you you go knock

her out that one

the holy spirit is the one that gives

you patience when your patience has long

since run out the holy spirit is the one

who gives you self-discipline so that

you have discipline in areas where you

know left to your own natural desires

and propensities you would not have

discipline in that area of morality or

that area of gluttony you wouldn’t have

discipline but now because the Holy

Spirit lives on the inside of you you

can live beyond your natural capacities

anybody excited about that the holy

spirit gives you fruit so that you are

able to have more than what you would

have if left to your own

but you don’t just get his fruit you get

his gifts

the holy spirit gives you gifts through

which you can edify the body of Christ

he turns what would have maybe possibly

been just a talent into a gift that

actually causes what you do or what you

craft to actually get to the hearts of

the people that you are singing to or

speaking to or dancing for or writing to

those people now don’t just read words

on a page that you wrote now the words

are like fire shut up in their soul it

changes their heart it renews their mind

it accomplishes spiritual purposes in

their life so listen if you’re a writer

well then write do your best work but in

the end what you’re praying for is that

God’s spirit will anoint your words with

power and with fire to affect people for

the glory of God

don’t you speak

ask God for fire on your message

don’t just dance perfect your craft but

in the end what you’re looking for is

not just Talent

what you want is a gift

and there’s no amount of manufacturing

that can give what only the Holy Spirit

can give

so when the Holy Spirit takes up

resonance on the inside of you and on

the inside of me at the moment we are

saved we have the privilege of having

relationship with Jesus Christ having

relationship with God having

communication with him because of the

holy spirit that lives on the inside of

us that if when God sent his son Jesus

to die on the cross if when we received

that gift we got a ticket to Eternity

and that was all we got just that we

knew we were saved from Death hell and

the grave and we got to experience

eternity with Jesus Christ listen if

that’s all we ever got out of this

salvation deal that would have been

enough for us to celebrate for the rest

of our days but when that might have

been enough for us it wasn’t enough for

him

he said no I’m gonna send you the holy

spirit so that I don’t you don’t have to

wait to get to heaven to experience

heaven but so that you can have a little

bit of heaven right now while you’re

here on planet Earth I’m going to give

you myself in the person of the holy

spirit so that you will see what it’s

like to walk with me and talk with me

and have friendship with me and an

ongoing relationship with me that is

what it means to have the Holy Spirit

but Luke says

that Simeon did not just have the spirit

in him

it says that the spirit was

upon him

this tells us that there is a difference

between the spirit being in you

and the spirit being on you

I want to live a life

that invites the presence of God’s

spirit

on me

I know he’s in me but I want the kind of

life that is a magnet that calls down

the grace the favor the anointing the

presence of God upon my life I want to

live in such yielded surrender to him

that not just is he in me that’s a gift

that all of us get who have placed faith

in Jesus Christ but I don’t just want

him in me I want him on my life

I want the evidence of him on my life I

want it so that when I do something or

say something or participate in

something or pray over something I want

it so that when I walk away people don’t

just say Priscilla was here I want them

to say no God’s presence was here that

only happens when the spirit of God is

on you

and so if you want to Mother your kids

in such a way that you leave the imprint

of God on those kids the spirit can’t

just be in you he got to be on you

if you want to be the wife that God has

called you to be single woman if you

want to be the kind of single woman that

God has called you to be if you want to

be the kind of employer or employee that

God has called you to be if you want to

walk with purpose in the way that God

has called you to then thank the Lord

that God’s spirit is on you

but I’m asking that God will allow it

there to be 2 000 women who leave this

place today at the end of the day and

God’s spirit isn’t just in us but God’s

spirit is on us where we are marked by

the presence of God where when people

encounter us there’s something unusual

something distinct something that they

cannot touch or taste or communicate

with their five physical senses there’s

an intangible that is on their life

where when the employer is looking to

give the promotion it’s not that your

resume says you are the most qualified

out of all the candidates but there’s

something about you that they just

can’t put a finger on that’s called the

spirit of God being on you

it’s called

favor

is what opens up doors no man can shut

favor is what puts you in places you

know you don’t have no business being in

favor is what sets you in positions that

you know you aren’t qualified for say

favor is what makes it so that you are

exactly where you’re supposed to be to

accomplish exactly what it is that God

has set for you to come it’s it’s what

qualifies you when you don’t have the

degree and you don’t have the diploma

you don’t have the connections you’re

just where God has opened up a door for

you to be and even though people might

talk badly about you or try to push you

out of that place you cannot be moved

not because you manufactured your way

there but because God’s spirit has

placed you there

God’s spirit on your life

is what makes it so that you don’t have

to Market yourself because you’ve

already been marked by the presence of

almighty God

oh I want God’s spirit on me can I tell

you this are you listening

there is one thing that attracts the

presence of God to rest on our lives

and it is

plain old

flat out

old school

I implore you Sisters by the mercies of

God

to walk in a manner worthy of the

calling by which you have been called

that if you come if I come into this

room and we celebrate till we are blue

in the face and we wave our hands and we

read the scriptures and we worship but

we walk out of here and we live in a way

that is incongruent

with everything that we’ve heard here

today

if we do not choose to walk in a way

that honors God we will have wasted the

time that we have spent here

and if there is something that breaks my

heart for my own generation and the

generation coming up after me

is that social media has made it so that

we are more interested in impressing

people

than walking holy before our God

we are more in more instant in being

perfectly lit

lit making sure that we’re laying up

Treasures for ourselves in heaven

Lord help us

when because of our hubris because of

our arrogance because of our pride we

are more interested in receiving the

Applause of people than we are of making

sure that we will receive the Applause

of Heaven

but a day is coming y’all sooner than we

think where we’re going to look our

savior in his face where we’re going to

see him face to face and when we see him

he will not ask me how many Instagram

followers I had

he will not wonder how many people liked

my message on Twitter what he’ll ask me

is number one did I have a relationship

with his son Jesus

and then I will give an account

you will give an account

and I don’t know about y’all but when I

give an account I’m looking for a well

done

not because I necessarily please people

but because he is pleased with my life

and the one thing that invites the favor

of God on our life like Simeon that will

open our eyes to see him more clearly so

that we don’t miss him when he comes

into our circumstances trying to speak

to us to answer us to make himself

apparent in our lives the one thing that

opens up our eyes is God’s spirit on us

and if you want if I want God’s spirit

on our lives then we got to decide to

live holy

I implore you by the mercies of God to

lay aside every sin every hindrance

anything that is keeping you entangled

so that you cannot run with endurance

the race that is set before you

any relationship severate at the past so

that you can walk holy sister

any addiction any habit any lifestyle

choice that is keeping you from being

free and walking in Victory in Jesus

name Let It Go by the power of the holy

spirit so that he can rest on your life

going to church is good but it’s not

enough

doing your Bible study oh it’s great but

it’s not enough if you want God’s

presence on you marking you making you

distinct and different from the people

around you then you gotta walk in a

manner worthy of the Lord

be ye

it’s not perfection

it is a call to yield to the power of

the holy spirit in you so that you do

not give way to all the desires of your

flesh

what it means is that you have not

chosen as a lifestyle

an attitude or an action that you

already know is displeasing to God you

know up front that you’ve already got on

your calendar after this is over a place

you’re going or a person you’re seeing

that you know you don’t have business

any business being in relationship with

but you’ve already scheduled sin into

your calendar

I’m saying walk away from everything

that is keeping you from having the

biggest most amazing blessing you can

have on your life and that is God’s

presence

marking you all up on you setting you

apart girl for his purposes and with his

power evident through your life if you

were in this room and you are in Chains

in some area of your life where you’ve

tried the 12-step program you’ve tried

to walk away from that illegitimate

relationship you’ve tried to not live

this lifestyle because you know that it

is out of alignment with the truth of

God but everything you’ve tried in your

own power has not set you free so that

you can walk in Holiness and have God’s

presence resting on your life I believe

that before this day is over those

chains can fall off of your life that

you can decide that I’m going to live

holy so that I can have God’s favor like

Simeon so that my eyes can be opened

because I want to see my God I want to

hear his voice I want to have an

experience and an encounter with him