Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer – He Is Available
Priscilla Shirer (born December 31, 1974) is an American author, motivational speaker, actress, and Christian evangelist. Her father is Dallas mega-church pastor Tony Evans and her brother is Christian entertainer Anthony Evans.
The daughter of Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas,[1] Priscilla grew up well acquainted with the Bible. As a freshman at the University of Houston, she interned with a Christian radio station. Soon listeners were calling the station, inviting Priscilla to speak at their Bible study groups and other events. Soon she was invited to lead a weekly Bible study at the Zig Ziglar Corporation and then to join its speaker team. Priscilla has worked as an independent contractor for CBS and hosted a local television show, but recently she has focused solely on Christian ministry opportunities. She calls Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, her mentor in ministry.
Together the Shirers established Going Beyond Ministries, a speaking bureau featuring Priscilla. The parents of three young boys, the Shirers share ministry and family responsibilities. While Priscilla continues to minister full-time, Jerry manages his schedule and other business aspects of Going Beyond Ministries.
Priscilla speaks around the world at churches and other events, including the LifeWay Christian Resources-sponsored Going Beyond conference and Deeper Still: The Event, where she shares the stage with Beth Moore and Kay Arthur. She has also authored several books.
Shirer graduated from Duncanville High School and Dallas Theological Seminary, earning a master’s degree from the latter in Biblical Studies.
In 1993, Shirer was a freshman at the University of Houston. Shirer was married in 1999 to Jerry Shirer, former Hilton Hotels executive. The couple has three sons.
In 2013, Shirer was a speaker at the 2013 Women of Faith conference. In 2015, Shirer made her film debut in the Kendrick Brothers film War Room. In October 2016, Shirer was recognized as one of four prominent women of faith during the 10th anniversary of God’s Leading Ladies Life Enrichment Program at The Potter’s House.[1] Shirer also featured at the 47th GMA Dove Awards.
[Music]
[Applause]
amen amen you feel free to take your
seats here in the presence of the Lord
he is good isn’t he and there are those
times when we are in the presence of God
when you can actually tangibly feel
God’s presence I’m talking about where
you get goosebumps you know I’m saying
where your body responds to the fact
that God’s presence is here and that
doesn’t happen all the time it doesn’t
have to for us to know that God is with
us but during those special times that
it does happen isn’t it a sweet kiss
from heaven to feel the presence of God
and I don’t know about you but tonight I
feel God’s presence anybody feel the
presence of God tonight and so for just
a few moments I wanted to just share
with you a few thoughts and I’ve got it
down in my hotel room just earlier just
thinking about you and thinking about
tonight and this opportunity that we
have this unique opportunity that we
have to be in the presence of God on my
Twitter feed I subscribed to CNN news I
follow them so that every now and then I
get these little bits of news about
what’s happening in the world and quite
some time ago several months ago I
clicked on one of the little stories
that popped into my Twitter feed and it
was about Beijing and I clicked on and I
read what the story was about this
particular part of the world and they
were describing how there are so there
is so much pollution in the air right
now in Beijing there are a number of
things that have contributed to the fact
that pollution is running rampant that a
lot of people that live in that part of
the world literally have to put a mask
on that they walk around with a mask on
because they’re not able to breathe in
the air and stay healthy so they’ll put
a mask on but not only has it affected
their physical body it’s actually also
been so sick the pollution is so sick in
the air that now they’re having trouble
with visibility they’re not able to see
some distance in front of them because
the pollution is hanging like a sixth
cloud and it has become so dense and so
sick that some people in different parts
of Beijing are also having trouble
actually seeing the Sun rise in the
morning they can’t see the Sun because
the thick fog of pollution is hanging so
heavy
and solo in Beijing and so they came up
with a solution they decided that in
certain parts of Beijing what they would
do would be to put these very large
screens kind of like the screens you
would see in Times Square huge giant
enormous screens positioned in specific
places throughout the city of Beijing
and that they would manufacture a
sunrise in the morning and a sunset in
the evening so that folks could at least
get a glimpse of a sunrise albeit
manufactured and illegitimate and
synthetic and man-made but the people of
Beijing some of them are just so glad to
see the Sun rising that they’ve begun to
celebrate and become used to and
satisfied with this manufactured view of
the Sun it occurs to me that often times
in our relationship with God we
unfortunately have become satisfied and
okay with and even celebrating a
manufactured view of the Son of God that
we have got this picture that has been
painted for us and it is not really who
Jesus is and we have allowed this
man-made picture of the Sun to replace a
clear view of the presence of God that
we’ve allowed programs and church
attendance and activities to replace our
one-on-one relationship with the lover
of our souls so instead of wanting to
hear the voice of God for ourselves now
we’ve become okay with being spoon-fed
the Word of God constantly from other
people who have nothing wrong with
hearing the Word of God from somebody
else a Bible study teacher or your
pastor we celebrate the people that God
has given us to lead us into the truth
of God’s Word but there has to be a time
where you say you know what I want to
see the son for myself but I want to
hear his voice that I want to experience
his presence that I don’t want to have
to be coaxed into worship that I want to
fall to my own knees and worship Him in
spirit and in truth and tonight in this
place where the presence of God isn’t
just with us in theory where you just
know it because you’ve been told it but
where you consent his presence hanging
heavy with us I just wonder
like Kim said I just love when the Holy
Spirit does that Here I am in my hotel
room thinking about sharing this with
you and Kim stands up a few moments ago
and she says if there’s anybody in the
room who’s felt like you’ve not had that
personal intimate one-on-one touchable
tangible practical relationship with
Jesus but I agree with her tonight’s the
night so he brought you into this place
because he said I’m tired of the screens
that you got up in your life with these
inauthentic views of Who I am this
manufactured man-made thing these
programs and religious activities I want
you to see me with your own eyes and
hear me with your own ears and
experience me in your life not through
the testimony of somebody else but in
your own a practical everyday experience
and I don’t know about you but I want to
see him with my own eyes I want to hear
him I want to feel him in my own life
and let me tell you something once you
have experienced God you will be ruined
for Church as usual it won’t work for
you anymore to just read a verse a day
to keep the devil away that won’t work
for you anymore you won’t want to just
do the religious thing because that’s
what you’ve been told to do and that’s
what your momma did and your grandmother
did and your father did and your
grandfather did you’ll want to do it
because once you hear his voice you will
not be satisfied with anything else I
was talking to one of my favorite people
Sai Rogers he’s one of my favorite
people in the planet we had a
conversation the other day and he said
to me that there were there was a time
in his life when he met Jesus decades
ago when he met Jesus he said that once
I came into contact with him and
encountered him for myself and I saw him
and experienced him my life was
completely transformed everything
changes once you really miss me Jesus
not Church Jesus Church is great don’t
get me wrong but you still gotta meet
with Jesus
and let me tell you something God
doesn’t have grandkids just because your
parents met Jesus doesn’t automatically
mean you have you have to have your own
relationship with the Lord
Luke chapter 7 verse 35 says this listen
I’m going to read a few verses for you
I’m sorry Luke chapter 18 verse 35 and
it came about that he that is Jesus was
approaching Jericho that a certain blind
man was sitting by the roadside begging
now hearing a multitude that was going
by he began to inquire about what this
might be and they told him that Jesus of
Nazareth was passing by let’s just just
think about this for a minute this guy
blind bartimaeus he’s sitting by the
roadside day after day week after week
month after month probably year after
year and he has learned that in order to
make a living in order to survive he’s
got to be a beggar and so he sits by the
roadside and he can’t see but he have
learned to hear he’s learned what the
environment usually sounds like he knows
what it sounds like to hear people cross
to the other side of the road because
they don’t want to have to deal with him
he’s learned what it sounds like to hear
them the crackle of some coins banging
against the bottom of his tin can he’s
learned what denomination sounds like
what when it hits the bottom of that tin
cup he’s learned what the environment
usually sounds like but on this day
everything sounds different he can’t see
it but he can hear and what he knows is
that there is an electricity in the
atmosphere that is not normally there
the whisper of the people be enthusiasm
of the people as they pass by he can
tell what’s going on and he taps one
shoulder after another shoulder trying
to get someone to answer his question as
to what’s going on in washing sounds so
different on this particular day and
then somebody answers his question and
they say something to him that will
change his life forever
they say to him Jesus of Nazareth the
one you heard about the one who called
us blind eyes to see the one who causes
the lame to walk the one who called us
deaf ears to hear the one
who even raises the dead back to life
that Jesus is passing by bartemaeus
never thought in a million years that
that Jesus the one he heard about only
from afar would be risk close to him he
never thought in a million years that
Jesus would make himself available to a
regular blind beggar sitting by the
roadside and I wonder today if you were
sitting in this room and you feel a
little bit like bartimaeus in that you
just feel like Jesus is available for
other people but not necessarily for
folks like you just a teenager just a
university student just a housewife just
a regular blue-collar person working at
your your corporate job you just feel
like Jesus seems to be available and
more accessible to other people who are
maybe in ministry full-time or who seem
to have this special hotline connection
that you just don’t seem to have access
to and you wonder if Jesus this Jesus
that you’ve heard about can do all these
fantastic things if you’ll ever be
available to you and tonight you and I
have come into this room and he wants
you to know that just like he made
himself available to a blind beggar
named Bartimaeus in Luke chapter 18
tonight he makes himself available to
you he is not a respecter of persons he
is available to the educated and the
uneducated alike he is available to the
cultured and the uncultured alike he is
available to the 70 year old just like
he is the 17 year old he is available to
the black and he’s available to the
white he is available to the Hispanic
and to the Asian he is available to
anybody anytime anyplace anywhere God
makes himself available to you a church
on a Sunday night just like he does in
your bedroom on a Monday morning you
need to know that wherever you are
whether you’re in full-time ministry or
whether you work a regular 8 to 5 job
our Jesus makes himself available to you
you don’t have to be a special person
from a special family making a special
kind of income can a special kind of
environment just because you exist you
are
special in his eyes and he makes himself
available to you tonight Jesus whatever
you need he makes himself in his
provisions and his promises available to
you
bartimaeus has been had been
marginalized by the people that he lived
around nobody wanted to fool with this
blind beggar who who was just a nuisance
so it seemed and maybe you’re a little
discouraged tonight because you’ve been
marginalized by your family by your
friends nobody seems to understand or
desire to be in close proximity and
relationship to you and you feel alone
you’re in a room full of people tonight
but still somehow you feel left out and
you feel alone and you feel like Jesus
is doing something in the hearts of
other people but you’re wondering if
you’ll ever make himself that available
and tangible and practical to you and
you need to know that tonight he brought
you into this room he brought you into
this room so that you could hear the
whisper through the worship so that you
can hear the sweet hush of the Holy
Spirit say to your heart through the
Word of God so that he could make sure
you knew before this night was over he’s
available
he himself not the manufactured view not
the program he himself his voice his
power his blood shed on Calvary is
available to every single one of us in
this room and I don’t know about you but
I’m glad about it I’m glad that he looks
beyond my faults that he sees my needs
and that he allows himself to be
accessible to the President of the
United States this was about 10 years
ago now the President of the United
States came to visit our church in
Dallas Texas he gave an address there it
was as you can imagine an awesome
opportunity to be in this close
proximity to the leader of the United
States of America for us and it was it
was a great a great experience for our
church and I will never forget the day
that he was set to to speak at our
church it was a vu around our church if
you can even imagine I’m sure you can
there were snipers that had to be
positioned
the rooftop of our church buildings
there were barricaded streets for miles
around there were attempted off areas
where his motorcade would be pulling in
and out once his car pulled into these
tented areas by the entrance of the
building no one could see out or in
there were all of these security
measures that were put in place anybody
that was going to meet him personally my
family had an opportunity to meet him
personally before he spoke we had to
send our social security cards and our
driver’s license and our birth
certificates up to this specific agency
six months beforehand so that they could
do a background check I remember at the
time my oldest son was only about a year
old we had to send his birth certificate
and his social security card so that
they could check out his little 1 year
of life before they allowed him to be
imposed close proximity to the Institute
our President of the United States of
America and when he came he was kept at
arm’s length when he addressed the
congregation from the platform I
remember that right in front of him
right in our sanctuary there was a
roped-off area so that afterwards he
came down but he was only able to get
close enough to people where he had to
reach across this barricade that was
always in between he and the people for
security measures and as I watched this
celebrity being kept distant for regular
folk that day it occurred to me that
that we know the celebrity of the
universe and there is no barrier between
he and I there is nothing keeping you
away there is no distance between you
and he when he died on the cross of
Calvary as Kim said the veil was torn
from the top to the bottom
any dividing factor between you and he
was disseminated on the cross of Calvary
you now can approach boldly Hebrews
chapter 4 says you can come boldly to
him bringing all your requests and all
your concerns and all your needs he
makes himself available to you there is
nothing keeping you from him and you
know people who are skeptical of this
Jesus people who are unsure about this
faith this relationship that you and I
have with Jesus one of the
things that they often say is that it
doesn’t make sense to them that a God
that is supposedly so good would only
allow there to be one way for us to have
a relationship with him with so many
different cultures and so many different
backgrounds so many different parts of
the world so many different
personalities and characteristic that a
God who is supposed to be so good will
only allow there to be one way for all
these different kinds of people to have
a relationship with him and while that’s
actually a good question it’s not the
right question the question is not what
a God who is so good allow us one way
the question is how could a God who is
so holy allow people like us anyway to
have a relationship with him the fact
that he has given us anyway is enough
for us to celebrate for the rest of our
days so you know at the beginning of
last month in Syria still right now
there is so much unrest in Syria and and
on August 8 there were innocent men and
women and children that were trapped on
a mountain as the as Isis the Islamic
state forces surrounded the base and and
and and dared anyone not to profess
their allegiance to the Muslim faith if
they did not they were going to torture
or even take their lives and it was a
devastating circumstance the world all
of us we watched what was happening over
there in Syria but the Syrian Kurds on
August the 8th they came in and they
were able to carve out an escape route
from the top of that mountain down to
the base so that people men women and
children were able to find a means of
escape and as far as I know not one of
those innocent folks that were trapped
on the top of that mountain were
discouraged or disgruntled about the
fact that there was only one escape
route not one of them said you could
have given us more options to get off
the mountain everybody was just glad
that there was a way for them to escape
the brutality that was awaiting them
I want you to know tonight he’s giving
you away there’s no reason for us to
debate the fact as to whether or not he
should have given us more ways we just
need to be grateful we have a way
because the wages of our sin will gonna
be death y’all we were going to have to
pay the price and I don’t know about you
I’m just grateful there’s another
alternative and I’ll take the
alternative that he’s given me it’s
available for you tonight but not only
is Jesus available to blind Bartimaeus
and to us but when they told him that
days that Jesus was passing by it says
in verse 38 that he called out saying
Jesus son of David have mercy on me
and those who led the way we’re sternly
telling him be quiet Jesus doesn’t have
time for you but that just made all
stubborn bartimaeus call out all the
more Jesus have mercy on me I wonder if
anybody or anything is standing in your
way tonight maybe it’s fear of people
impressing people being concerned with
what folks might be think about you if
you really go all out in desperation for
Jesus you kind of let it all hang out
there maybe it’s fear of people maybe
it’s your own doubts that are standing
in your way that you wonder if you
really go all out if you give it
everything that you’ve got you wonder if
if if Jesus will really respond if
you’ll hear maybe its insecurity maybe
it’s any number of things that’s kind of
standing in your way we need to be like
blind bartimaeus when there were people
in his way he just pushed past them
he was just desperate enough when Jesus
was passing by but he did not want to
let the moment escape him so he was like
the woman with the issue of blood who
forged and forced her way through a
crowd so that she could get close enough
to him that she could reach out and
touch the hem of His garment and when
she did power less Jesus and went to her
I want to be like that woman who doesn’t
allow anything or anybody to stand in my
way so that I can desperately reach out
to him and receive the power that he so
wants to give to me and bartimaeus did
that he called out
more son of David would you please have
mercy on me he just wasn’t too proud to
beg and verse 40 says and Jesus stopped
Jesus stopped deity clothes in humanity
stopped for a blind beggar named
Bartimaeus Jesus king of kings and Lord
of lords the God of the universe the one
who has all power in his hands the one
who right this very moment is making
sure that the throws of the galaxy are
in order
the one who right this very moment is
making sure that the Earth spins on its
axis at just the right speed so that you
and I can sustain life here he is the
one that is making sure that the
galaxies that the scientists have not
even yet discovered are hanging exactly
where they’re supposed to he is the one
that made sure that the Sun rose this
morning on this gorgeous day in New
Zealand that the Sun is exactly in its
position and then it will stay exactly
where it’s supposed to be until he swaps
it out a little bit later on for the
moon he is the one that will hind every
single star in its place know them all
by name and all by number and that God
stops to see about us he is the king of
kings and the Lord of lords he is the
Alpha and the Omega he is the beginning
and the end he is the architect of the
universe and the manager of all time and
that God stops to see about regular old
people like us y’all he’s not just
available but he’s actually attainable
he stops to see about us he doesn’t
dangle himself like a carrot in front of
us he come he says to us come on and
taste and see how good I am
he’s attainable too he stops to see
about us do you know that up the
Buddhist space there are five statues I
believe of Buddha big statues that stand
in and around the Hong Kong area there
was a news story that was done there
Campbell Brown on the today news out of
New York she was doing this story on the
Buddhist faith she stood there in Hong
Kong in front of one of the big Buddhist
statues with her cam
Kru and they did the story about the
Buddhist faith just to be informative
about different religions of the world
that day she was discussing the Buddhist
faith and she talked about how pilgrims
will save up a lifetime’s worth of money
they will travel halfway across the
world they will purchase this trip so
that they can hopefully at least once in
their life travel halfway across the
world so that they can be in front of
one of these idols these Buddha statues
so that they can pray to this Idol and
she talked about how not only did they
have to travel halfway across the world
but in order for her and her camera crew
to get next to this statue it was on the
side of a mountain so she and her camera
crew had to climb up 268 stairs in order
to get close enough on this mountainside
to be where the pilgrims would be when
they wanted to come and pray to Buddha
and I sat there watching this news story
and I thought to myself if I had to
travel halfway across the world and
climb up 268 stairs to pray
I would never pray anybody know what I’m
some better ain’t nobody got time for
that
nobody got confident and while they are
climbing up to talk to bear God little G
our God is capital G the one true God he
comes down to talk to us
he condescend to us
he doesn’t have to he wants you he stops
he sees about you I need you to know
that every single here you have cried
has not been lost in the carpet fibers
of your bedroom floor every single one
of them have been captured in the palm
of on-body Almighty God you need to know
that every bead of sweat that has been
on your brow as you deal with that
problem or that difficulty in your life
every single bead of sweat has been
noticed by God every single request in
your heart the ones you have not even
verbalized in prayer yet you need to
know that your God is fully aware he
sees he cared he knows what’s on your
heart and in your mind he stops to see
about you my friend your mom might not
care your dad might not care your friend
might not care your spouse may not care
but you need to know you serve a God who
sees you his eyes are on you he stops to
see about you she just stopped and
commanded that bartimaeus be brought to
him and when he had come near he
questioned him he said what do you want
me to do for you and this is interesting
because bartemaeus says lord i want to
receive my sight y’all this is the same
man who just six or seven verses or
earlier was begging for money now Jesus
shows up and bartemaeus is asked the
question what do you want he does not
say would you give me a little change
he doesn’t say will you fill up this tin
cup with money because now he’s talking
to a different source
he says I don’t want chump change I want
something that only God can give so I’m
no longer going to request that the
symptom of my problem be taken care of
now I’m going to go ahead and get to the
root because I’m dealing with you I
don’t want money I want my sight back
because I know Jesus said if you will
give me my sight all of the other
symptoms will take care of themselves I
don’t know what requests you came in
here with tonight for your marriage or
your finances or something going on with
your health all of those are grateful
requests but you need to know that when
the presence of God is here like he is
tonight you need to not just ask him to
cure the symptoms of your problem you
might as well just get down to the real
root issue and say Lord would you give
me my spiritual sight would you help me
to see you clearly would you make
yourself real to me I don’t want the
manufactured view anymore I want you to
illumine yourself in my life so that I
have a real personal relationship with
you I don’t want just something I could
get from a human being mm-hmm I want
something that only I can get from you
tonight in this moment of worship in
these moments of worship as the presence
of God has been so real and tangible to
us as he is passing by don’t let the
opportunity escape you to call out to
him and say son of David have mercy on
me when he stops and he will stop and
when he asks you what can I do for you
don’t say anything less than Lord would
you cause my vision to be to be healed
to the extent where I see you as you
were meant to be seen clear away all the
pollutants all of the smog all of the
fog all of the distractions that are
keeping me away from a personal intimate
tangible practical real relationship
with you well you bow your heads with me
I want you for just a moment to do
business with God
I want you to ask him what is it who is
it that’s standing in your way I want
you to desperately say to him lord have
mercy on me I want you to give to him
any and everything that is standing in
your way and keeping you from being an
intimate relationship with himself
just spend a moment with Jesus
[Music]
Amen