Francis Chan on Experiencing God's Presence in Intimacy with Christ

Francis Chan shares a personal story about his stepmother not showing up to a celebration.

He emphasizes the importance of God's presence in worship and how it can lead to lasting change.

Francis references 2 Peter 2 and Exodus 33 to illustrate the difference between external actions and internal transformation.

He prays for God's presence to be felt in the hearts of the audience, leading to a desire for righteousness and a fear of God.

Will you pray with me? God, we come before your holy throne right now, and we worship you. we join with all of the angels who are right now worshipping you all the saints who have gone before us just screaming out your praises and we agree with them that you are holy and worthy is the lamb who was slain you're such an amazing God so powerful every breath comes from you It's your breath in our lungs We can't breathe without you We can't think without you And you gave everything Lord So you can have us as your children And so we come here tonight to just worship you and praise you until you are so worthy. God, keep me from saying anything that would lift me up. I want everything to go to you. Keep me from saying anything that's not true. Fill me now with your spirit, God. Come, Holy Spirit, speak through me. Manifest through me. so that I can be a blessing to my brothers and sisters tonight. Please, God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Oh, gosh. I want to share a story about something that happened about two months ago. I have a stepmom. Some of you guys know my mom died when she gave birth to me. And then my dad remarried. but then my stepmother died when I was seven. And then my dad remarried, and then he died when I was 12. And there was a woman that took care of me, my third mother, and she took care of me till I was about 18. And she kicked me out. And I had nowhere to go. And this couple took me in, Mike and Vicki Otto. And Mike was such a stud. He showed me what it was to be a husband, to be a dad, this young guy. And I respected him because he pitched in the College World Series for Pepperdine way back then, back in the 70s. And anyways, he just became like a father figure to me and the example of what a husband and a dad were supposed to be. But that mom, that third mother who took care of me till I was 18, she just turned 90 two months ago. And so we flew in my sister's, you know, I rented out a Chinese restaurant, obviously. And all our greatest foods, everyone, When all these relatives came in, we spent like thousands of dollars and so excited because I just want to bless her. But then she didn't show up. She refused to come. And so I'm like, well, I guess this is still cool. We get to have dinner with some of our old relatives or whatever. But at the end of the night, I'm just like, that was so stupid. we wasted thousands of dollars and all this effort my point in that story is you know when i came here and i think when a lot of us come here tonight we just assume this is going to be awesome we're going to have thousands of people in malibu worshiping with with cody carnes What could go wrong? I mean, when's the last time you went to something where Carrie Jobe was leading worship and you thought, oh, that was dumb? Like, it's a guaranteed success. But do you really look at it like, but no, God, we don't care about that. We want your presence. I was just thinking, gosh, this could be like my mom's birthday, where we got everything there, but she doesn't show up. Man, I am so hungry for God to show up tonight. And we can't be content just because we have great worship leaders. We can't be content just because thousands of us showed up and we're singing and there's energy. Believe me, I'm excited to see Pepperdine worshiping. I used to preach here like 20, 25 years ago. No one was worshiping. I mean, it was crazy. That's why I'm sitting here going, this is insane. I can't believe I'm at the same college. So, okay. So I love that. Don't get me wrong. What an amazing night. But at the end of the day, is God himself really going to show up? See, otherwise, I could maybe teach you some things, maybe talk you into doing some things, but it's not going to last. Unless God himself does something invisible in your heart, that he changes you. Because the Bible says, otherwise, it's like there's a verse in 2 Peter 2 where he says, sometimes, it's a really gross verse. He says, dogs sometimes throw up. And they'll walk away. Then they'll think, I want to go eat that. And they go back to their vomit. That's a great verse. and then he says and pigs you can wash them clean but what they do is they run back to the mud right afterwards why does a pig do that because he's a pig when you wash them off you don't change their nature their nature is to run to the mud and in the same way in the church I feel like sometimes will come to an event like this. Maybe I'll talk about sin. Maybe I'll talk about repentance. And we'll spray you off and you'll get all hyped up and you'll get convicted like, yeah, I'm going to break up with my girlfriend. Yeah, I'm going to stop looking at her. Whatever it is. And you make that decision, but then it doesn't last. And a few weeks later, you run right back to your mud. Why? Because you're still a pig. Your nature didn't change. And what the Bible says is that when the Holy Spirit enters into you, so God has to show up and come into your very core, your very heart. Because the Bible says when the Holy Spirit enters into you, you're no longer a slave to sin. You actually become a slave to righteousness. it's like you you may be tempted by the mud to go back but the moment your feet get in the mud you're like this doesn't feel right I can't enjoy this I feel sick I feel gross I know it's wrong and you suddenly hunger for righteousness see that's not something I can do for you see when I was a teenager I heard the gospel and something changed in me I didn't need a big crowd and all these people worshiping for me to worship because something inside of me wanted to worship. My youth pastor didn't have to beg me, no, get up in the morning, I'll call you, set an alarm, whatever. No, I wanted to be with God. I wanted to read this book. I wanted what was right. And there was a process. I mean, I went through college was a bad time for me. But it's just the sin and everything else. But everything in me was leading towards following him. It was inside because God did something. That's what we're desperate for tonight. that something would happen inside of you, that I don't talk you into something, Carrie and Cody don't move you into something, but God Himself says, I'm going to put a fear of me in your heart. I'm going to put a desire in your heart so that even if no one else at Pepperdine worshipped again, you couldn't stop. Even if all your friends, your parents walked away, from God, you couldn't stop because He did something in you. So I've been walking with Him for 45 years and it just keeps getting better. I was just thinking as we're singing, I'm like, God, there's no way I could walk away from You. And as I saw you guys singing, worshiping, I was praying for you going, God, please make it last. I've had too many friends walk away. too many other pastors, peers, who are just done. And I'm like, God, make it last in this generation. See, there's a verse in Exodus. You know, we just sang that song, Nothing else will do. I just want you. I'm caught up in your presence. It's what Moses said in Exodus 33. I love this passage in Exodus 33, verses 2 and 3. God says to Moses, I'll send an angel before you and I'll drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you lest I consume you on the way for you are a stiff necked people. So this is what god is saying to moses. He goes, okay, I told you I would send you the promised land I'm going to send you in fact I'm going to send an angel and he's going to destroy all the other people so you can go and you can take that land So you got everything you wanted you want this land you got this land he goes, but i'm not going And I love what moses says a few verses later He said to him if your presence will not go with me do not bring us up from here For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight? I and your people Moses says I'm not going I'm not going I don't care about the land I don't care if you send an angel I want you with me And so I would rather be in the desert with you than going into the promised land with an angel. See, my hope is tonight that you're not content with a worship team. That you're not content with a pretty good speaker. You know, that's not enough. I mean, what if I said, look, we're going to be here in Malibu, and we're going to start singing, and an angel's going to come down. Okay? Imagine afterwards, Carrie and Cody and I were worshiping. All of us are worshiping, and an angel comes down here in Malibu. That's a pretty good night, right? You go home, you tell all your friends about it. Moses says, that's not enough. I'm not okay with that. I have to have your presence. Is that your heart right now? Where you go, God, I've got to have you tonight. I've got to have you change me. I need your presence. I'd rather be in the desert with you. The desert of relationship. God, I'd rather be single with you. than to get into a relationship that is absent of you. I'd rather be with you. Okay, so I'll never have children. That's okay, as long as I'm with you. I gotta have you. The land doesn't matter. The angel, I mean, that's cool, but it's just not, I can't do it without you. Just leave me here in the desert with you. I don't want the promised land if you're not there. is that your heart tonight? Man, do you see God as a real person that you love? Man, I knew it was going beautiful tonight. I love Malibu. I love this area, but honestly, I'd rather be in a gas station in Compton if Jesus is there. Right? And I could be with eight people in the bathroom in a gas station, and if his presence shows up, I'm like, okay, I would rather be there than out here in this beautiful place. Is that really your heart? Like, how real is he to you? Honestly, do you love him like that? He goes on a few verses later in verse 17, the Lord said to Moses, this very thing that you have spoken, I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. Moses said, please, show me your glory. So when Moses tells God, like, I'm not leaving, I'm staying in the desert, I don't care, I'm not going to the, I have to have you. It says that God loved that. Moses found favor in the sight of God. God saw that Moses was like, no, I really mean that. I really mean that. And then God says, okay, I'll go with you. And then Moses says, okay, okay, okay. One more thing. Can I see your glory? Can I see you in all of your glory? Think about this. This is Moses who spoke to God on a burning bush. This is Moses that went on this mountaintop with him. This is Moses talking to him in this tent of meeting, like you're with God somehow, and you're hearing his voice, and then Moses goes, that's not enough. I want to see you in all of your glory. See that's what it's like when you really know him You can't get enough of him All the things in the world just seem like I really don't care about that that much. I don't care about that that much Can I get closer to you? And then god says something very important a few verses later In verse 19 he says this He said I will make all my goodness pass before you Okay, make sure you catch this And I will proclaim before you my name the lord And I will be gracious to whom I be gracious and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy But he says you cannot see my face for man shall not see me and live And the Lord said there's a place by me where you'll stand on the rock. And while my glory passes by, I'll put you in a cleft of the rock and I will cover you with my hand until I've passed by. Then I will take away my hand and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. You have to understand this about God. God says no human being can look at my face and live. do you understand that? Sometimes when we talk about God or we pray to God, it's just like, oh God, we just talk. Do you understand that you're talking to someone who is so holy that if right now he would just tear open the heavens and let us see his face, we would all simultaneously die. like we're talking about a being who's so different from us i'm breathing right there's someone up there who's determining whether i breathe through the rest of this message and moses is like can i see you because no you can't see my face and live the bible says he dwells in unapproachable light do you get that but God says here's what I'll do I'll hide you in a rock and then when I pass by I'll reveal myself to you and then these are some of the most important verses in all of scripture in Exodus 34 starting in verse 5 It says, the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord. A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity. and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. Okay, you guys need to memorize that passage. Okay, this is God revealing himself to Moses. And the first thing he says, he goes, I'm the Lord, the Lord. First thing he says, a God merciful. Isn't that great news? Like that's the first thing he says. Here's this God who says, you can't look at me and live. But let me tell you about myself. I'm merciful. Do you know what that means? He loves to show mercy. That is some of the best news. so that holy god in heaven he loves to forgive that should be great news for us because you're probably sitting there going oh that's cool because i love being forgiven right i mean that's a beautiful thing that's why we come here tonight it's like you've got this holy god in heaven who's looking down and going, man, I want to forgive someone. I want to forgive someone. And then you've got 5,000 people on this field going, well, I want to be forgiven. I want to be forgiven. The Bible says He's rich in mercy. That means on the cross, that's not something that He just did one time, that He was being merciful. The Bible says that He's rich in mercy. That's the first thing He wanted us to know, that those of you who are guilty and you probably even came here with some shame and guilt during the week, God says, I'm merciful. The Lord merciful and gracious. That means He loves to give to us things we didn't earn. So that holy God loves to give. He loves to forgive. and he says he's slow to anger. Isn't that great news? Because we've all done some things that we just go, he's got to be so angry with me. And God says, I'm merciful, I'm gracious, I'm slow to anger, and I'm abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. This is our God. He goes, I'm like overflowing with love. Like I want to be in a love relationship with you. I want to forgive you, show my grace. I'm slow to anger. I can forgive you. And I just love you and want you. But I'm also holy. And you can't see me and live. Amazing. But then he goes on and he says, but I'm also a God who does not leave the guilty unpunished. See, people ask the question, well, if God is a God of love, then how could he punish? How could he cause? If he's a God of mercy, how can he punish? And I'm going, well, just read the Bible. He says that he's a God of mercy, a God of grace, God of love, and he doesn't leave the guilty unpunished. and he'll punish them to the second or third generation. I mean, that's just what God says. And I don't know. I don't know why we go, well, if he's a God of love, I don't think he can be a God of wrath. God just said it. That's the first thing he tells Moses. This is who I am. I'm a God of mercy, but I also am a God of wrath. We can't do that to God. We can't use our own logic. It's like me telling you hey i'm actually a really good driver And i'm chinese And you're like no no you can't be both I am i just am it's who i am it's the same idea here And i'm not good at math which is weird you know it's so i don't play violin piano nothing but here's the thing God's just telling us look this is who I am I'm a God of wrath but I'm a God of mercy I'm a God of grace I'm a God of love here's what I want to do with my remaining time okay the bible says okay earlier i talked about how i've been walking with him for like 45 years and i'm going god i don't understand why i'm still standing and i still love you so much and i could never leave you and so many of my friends have walked away And there was a verse that I a passage that I looked at a while back and I'm like, oh That's why It's in jeremiah chapter 32 He says this I will give them one heart one way that they may fear me forever For their own good and the good of their children after them I will make with them an everlasting covenant that I will not turn away from doing good to them And I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not turn from me. When I read that, I go, oh, that's what happened. You did something when I was in college. You put a fear of me in your heart. Like like that's why, man, I'm always aware of like my mortality. I always think, man, I could die tonight and I'm going to stand before God. And that's, that's like intense for me. I mean, I know he loves me. I know I've been forgiven, but there's still a terrifying thought of like, wow, seeing him for the first time. Like that's in me. Every time I start drifting even little ways towards sin, I'm just like, there's a fear of God in me. I can't go there. God made a promise. He goes, I want to put a fear of me inside of your heart so that you may not turn away from me. When I read that, I'm like, God, that's what you did. Thank you. That's what I want to pray for you tonight, is that God would put that in your heart. When's the last time you prayed that? When's the last time you said, God, put a serious fear of you in my heart so that I'll never turn away from you. And then one other verse I want to read. Romans 5, 5, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. So another verse where God says, okay, I want to put the fear of me in your heart, but I'm also going to pour my love into your heart. This one was huge for me. Because I grew up just, you know, my dad rejected me, didn't want me. I just, some of us grew up like that. Our parents didn't want anything to do with us. And then you start believing in this God. You're supposed to believe that he loves you, even despite all the junk in your life? How does that happen? God says, this is what I'll do. I'll actually literally pour my love into your heart. See, all these objections you have in your head, I can bypass all of that and make you know at the core of your being that I love you. See, this is why I go, God, I've got to have your presence here tonight. because I can't put anything in your heart. I can't put the fear of God in your heart. I can't change your nature and have the spirit change. That's something only he does. I can't make you know that God loves you and that he's a God that will forgive you of everything. That's why right now I'm going to ask God to show up here. In fact, I've asked Carrie and Cody. They're not going to sing right now. They're just going to come up with me. And we're just going to be up here silently praying for you. We're going to be praying that God just comes and meets each one of you. And see, that's the thing, is we don't know what you need. Some of you, you don't fear God. You don't treat Him as holy. Others of you, man, you don't trust that He loves you. There's this little insecurity, like, gosh, if you were to die today, you don't know what He would say when you come into His presence. You don't know His mercy. Some of you are stuck in your sin. And you're holding on to it in your relationships that are wrong. And God wants to change that. So God may be convicting you of sin today. He may be showing His love to you today. He may be putting a fear of Him in your heart so that you'll never turn away. some of you, maybe you never truly had a relationship with him. It was just something you grew up with. Something you were taught and it was all in your head. And maybe he wants to change that tonight. Some of you might even need to be healed tonight of some things. I don't know what it is. but we're just going to leave some space right now for God to do whatever he needs to do in your heart those of you who are distant from him he may draw you so close to him right now I was just over at Cody and Carrie's house I don't know like a month or two ago And we're just seeking God and we're just saying God We just want to see you We just want to see you move We're tired of the show we repent of all of our little tricks to try to move people we've got to have your presence so just right now if you would just bow your heads everyone and ask God to meet with you Thank you. Thank you. Right now. The spirit of God. The spirit of God. It's sweet to them. Go in their spirit and their heart. They know exactly how to meet their children. How to direct them. Words that they should sing to you. I want to sing another song. I want to sing another song. Lead them, Lord. Lead them. I pray for them. Please surrender for them, brother and sister. God, please surrender. Like anything, your God, we're breathing because of you. So God, anything you want them to say, give them courage. In the name of Jesus, I'm asking. God, I am going to bring them for this evening. You are the I am. Thank you. That's all right now. God. Yes. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you

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