Thank you for joining us for the Grand Opening of our new home here at 414 Brannan. My name is Ben and I have the great privilege of being the founding and current lead pastor of Epic Church. This property is a miracle gift for our community and we’re delighted to share it with each of you. But more than a building, we want you to know that we believe you too can find home within this Epic community.

In this room, there are planners and then there are those who just kind of wing it in life…go with the flow…fly by the seat of their pants…just feeling it in the moment. And whichever group you belong to, you might feel like your way is the best way to live. You might think that anyone who is a responsible human being must make a plan for how they will live life. But if you’re more of a “go with the flow” person, you think that a plan could restrict you from what you feel led to do in the moment…you might think that planning removes the fun of being spontaneous.

What if there’s a way to both plan well but hold those plans loosely and a way to stay completely open while paying attention to something or Someone who might want to alter our plans at a moment’s notice?

There are so many decisions we make in each season of our lives. And oftentimes, these decisions come down to whether we’re going to stay or whether we’re going to go. Should I stay with this company or pursue another one? If I stay with this company, should I put in for a different role? Should I stay in this city or move to London or New York or Bakersfield? Should I stay in this relationship or take a break from it? Should I renew my lease or look for a better housing option? So much of our planning and deciding has to do with staying or leaving.

It probably won’t surprise you to hear me say that God has a plan for your life. If we’re honest, what many of us want is for God to give us a detailed playbook of what we should do for the next 10 years. Most of us would be happy to take that plan and go carry it out. But this would miss the whole point of why God created us.

God has no interest in guiding our lives in a way that is detached from a relationship with us.

God doesn’t want to give us a detailed strategy for how to live the rest of our lives and then just leave us alone. He wants to dwell with us. And just think, if we have a God who is dwelling with us, surely He will lead us to the best path for our future. But how is he going to accomplish his goal of being present with us? Numbers 9:15-23. I’m calling this message “Moving with the Presence”.

Numbers 9:15-23 On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.  When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the LORD’s command they encamped, and at the LORD’s command they set out. They obeyed the LORD’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery and into the promised land, he instructed Moses to make a tabernacle.

Exodus 25:8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”

The tabernacle was a visible symbol of God’s presence with his people. This was a new expression of the desire that has always been on God’s heart – to be present with his people. The pages of Scripture open with this reality and close with this reality.

Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

We constantly claim that God is hiding from us, but what if we are the ones hiding from the God who wants to live among us?

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

Presence has always been and will always be the goal for God. Is presence what we’re after too or just a good plan? Back to the tabernacle. In the daytime a cloud would cover it and at night this cloud looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted, the people set out. When it settled, the people encamped. WHENEVER (v.17). If something significant can happen whenever, guess what you have to do to be ready? You have to be watching and listening.

We will not be guided by God if we are not giving our attention to God.

They were paying attention on a daily or even moment-by-moment basis. And when we learn how to dwell in God’s presence moment by moment, we get a deeper relationship with God and we gain discernment on where this God is guiding us. They were watching the cloud and they would set out at the LORD’s command.

They did not set out when they got bored.

They did not set out when life got hard.

They did not set out when someone in the group had a good idea to go to a new place.

If it was a long time or a short time, they stayed until it moved. Sometimes it was just overnight. Sometimes it was a few days. It could last as long as a month and sometimes they were to remain where they were for an entire year.

Are you trying to stay when God is asking you to go?

Are you trying to go when God is asking you to stay?

God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden.

He gave the Israelites the tabernacle to represent his presence.

He sent Jesus to move into our neighborhood as Eugene Peterson has said.

And one day, we will once again dwell in the presence of God.

But between now and then, how is God going to accomplish his goal of being present with us? By way of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

God has sent his Holy Spirit to reside in us so that He might dwell with us. It’s how He is currently making his home with us. What’s the purpose of the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the empowering presence of God who guides us where God wants us to go.‍

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

If part of the Spirit’s job is to remind us of what God has said to us, guess where we probably need to spend some time each day – yes, learning Scripture – God’s voice to us.

God wants to lead us day by day, moment by moment. And not just us personally.

“God does guide the individual richly and profoundly, but he also guides groups of people and can instruct the individual through the group experience.” -Richard Foster, The Celebration of Discipline

We want this church to be led by the Spirit of God. We want to pursue whatever he puts on our hearts and minds. We want to be open to God’s leading. I love this quote from Pete Hughes, who leads King’s Cross Church in London:

“We don’t have a map; we have a guide.” -Pete Hughes

This doesn’t mean we don’t make plans. It just means we have something better than a plan, so we hold our plans loosely.

Proverbs 16:9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

Here’s one more thing I’ve heard Pete Hughes say about this:

“When God speaks, we will dump any plan we have.” -Pete Hughes

Here are a few questions that I encourage you to be honest with yourself and God over:

Do you want God to guide you into the future or would you prefer to guide God into the future?

Do you want the presence of God or just the plan of God?

Application if you want the Presence of God guiding your life:

-Ask God to fill you with himself.

Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Knowing God, not just his plan. Scripture. Guide. Into life. Into every part of your life.