Practicing the Presence
David Way · Tidal Church Moncton · May 21, 2023 · Spirit series
David Way shares stories from everyday life to show what it means to practice God's presence: give Him the glory, listen for His quiet voice, bring Him your complaints, obey the Spirit's leading, and expect Him to work in surprising ways, as in John 9.
More from David Way · The Spirit series
Topics: Prayer, Holy Spirit, Discipleship
Transcript
[0:00] Two weeks ago, I was speaking to a group of pastors in Nairobi, Kenya. And before I spoke, each pastor introduced himself like this. I'm John. I'm a born again believer in Jesus Christ. So this morning, my name is David. I'm a born again believer in Jesus Christ. Happy to be here. The past three Sundays, we have learned what it means to be effective in prayer, effective in worship outside the walls of this church, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
[0:50] Today I'd like to share something that can revolutionize your life and change the way that you walk with God forever. We're going to be speaking on the practice of the presence of God. There are five principles that I wanna share with you. Five scriptures and five stories. I love to tell stories. How many know that when Jesus was on the earth, He told a lot of stories? So we're gonna do that today.
[1:36] But before I begin, I want to make a few things, a few disclosures for you so that you understand where I'm coming from. I'm not a mystic. I'm not even super spiritual. Sometimes I forget to pray. Sometimes I argue with God, sometimes I doubt. Sometimes I fear. I guess that surprises some of you. But people have told me that I am a great man of faith because for 70 plus years I've been cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
[2:24] Oh, there you go. We have a few fans in the house in spite of everything. So these stories that I will share with you, these story, every story is a story of divine providence and one, I believe, to be a supernatural intervention of God in everyday lives. And most of them happen within the greater Moncton area. Some of you are here today who were witnesses to these stories. Some of you have heard these stories. My wife particularly has heard them maybe a hundred times or more. But nevertheless, they speak of what it means to be practicing the presence of God.
[3:13] Not only in church on Sunday morning when you're worshiping the Lord and saying the battle belongs to the Lord, but in your waking and your sleeping and your working and your playing, when you're going about the mundane, ordinary things of life, do you practice the presence of God? Do you understand what I'm talking about? Do you know what it means to hear the voice of God? You know, Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you always, until the end of the, I will never leave you nor forsake you." If that's true, then He's with you 24/7. So what happens after you have your devotions in the morning?
[3:59] Maybe it's an hour. What happens in the other 23 hours? God's Spirit is within us. His presence is with us. But do we practice His presence? Do we recognize His presence? The overwhelming principle, the number one principle is that we must always give God the credit or the glory. Isaiah 48:7 says, "I will not let my name be dishonored or let anyone share the glory that should be mine and mine alone."
[4:47] I have to also tell you this morning that I have an office here in the church, but I have a few branch offices, the ICU units at the hospital, palliative care unit, quite a few cemeteries and also Timmy's. Those are all my offices. So lots of times I'm not here at church, but I'll be in my office somewhere. And so the first story today takes place at Timmy's in Riverview, the one on Coverdale Road, the main Timmy's in Riverview. And by the way, if you want to go there and fellowship with people from Moncton Wesleyan, there's more people that go to Timmy's on Coverdale Road than any other Timmy's in Moncton.
[5:41] You'll always find somebody from Moncton Wesleyan there, right? Is that true, Dougie? Amen. Well, I was meeting with a young man there and everybody is a young man in my thinking, okay? Cuz I've been around a long time and as I told the seniors a few year, a few months ago, age is just, a number and my number is unlisted. So I'm meeting with this young man and he's telling me a story about going to Brazil. Anybody here from Brazil this morning? I thought so. He's on his way to Brazil to visit a friend, and as he is getting near to the place where he is going to be touching down, he starts to get very nervous and anxious and upset, really, you know, he's going to a new place and they tell me that certain areas of Brazil can be kind of dangerous sometimes.
[6:55] And so let me tell you his story and his words. He says, after flying all day, there was very much, this was very much on my mind, especially since I was arriving late in the evening. And the last leg of my flight, I sat with a kindly, and by the way, I should set this up a little more. His friend had instructed him to take a taxi after he got off the plane and gave him the address to come to his home. And this is why he was very worried and wondering, you know, you know, sometimes taxi drivers can be a little sketchy, no taxi drivers in the house. But anyway, so that's, he was really getting concerned and worried. And he says, after flying all day, this was very much on my mind, especially since I was arriving late in the evening, the last leg of the flight, I sat with a very kind lady who was asking me what I was doing in Brazil.
[8:01] I asked her if there would be any cabs around, still concerned about my safety. She said, you know, my husband is picking me up at the airport. We may have room for you. I reluctantly accepted and followed her into the lobby. When we walked outside, I see a luxury car with young men dressed in suits and earpieces in their ears, surrounded in along with a procession of cars behind. I started to wonder if it was a drug cartel. Security smiled, winked at me and took my bags on the drive to my friend's. The lady introduced me to her husband and commented that he was involved in politics. Oh, municipal? I say, no, my husband is the governor of the state of Espírito Santo.
[8:58] I said, wow, you are sure rolling out the carpet for this Canadian. They dropped me at my friend's house doorstep and security retrieved my bags and they stayed until I recognized my friend's daughter, who led me into the apartment. And so I began my vacation in Brazil. And with that, my friend said to me, wasn't that a coincidence? And I pointed my finger at him and I said, that was not a coincidence. That was God. And you need to give God the credit. The next day he sent me a text, apologized and said, yes, that really was God. You see, it's important for us to understand that in everything we are to give thanks to God.
[9:54] Every good and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights and whom there's no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Let me say this, that God is in the business of blessing His people. And so we need to give Him thanks and in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you. And so it's important for us to honor God with our praise and our thanksgiving and everything, in everything. If God is in us, if God is for us, if God is with us, then we give Him praise and honor Him. Amen. Praise God.
[10:42] That's an amen from Nigeria right over here. Well, keep that in mind because it's important for us to recognize that in God's economy believing is seeing, in the world's economy, seeing is believing, right? So you believe it's God, and the more that you honor Him, the more you see Him, the more that you give Him praise, the more you will see His work and His, providence in your life from day to day. It's important to understand that God is with you. When I was a kid growing up, my mother went around talking to Father, Father this and Father that.
[11:30] And I knew my dad was away working and I used to wonder who she was talking to until I realized she was talking to her Heavenly Father. You see, you practice the presence of Jesus in your life every day, in your working and your sleeping and your playing. No matter what you're doing, God is there. If God isn't there, then God is a liar because He said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." So we practice His presence by praising Him. Amen. Amen. The second principle is this, that you listen to the still small voice. Listen to the still small voice.
[12:20] Elijah the prophet was on the mountain communing with God. And it says in 1 Kings 19:12, after the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper, and God heard it. A few years ago, I got a call from a gentleman who may or may not be in the service this morning but is usually here. He said, my mother's McNair Manor in Riverview, and she doesn't have much longer to be with us. His mom, her name is Pauline.
[13:06] She had been suffering from dementia for a number of years and now she had slipped into a coma and she was totally unresponsive. And room 1, I walked into that palliative care room and I said, God, I don't know what to do, whether it's to talk or pray or just sit down and be quiet. Son is on one side of the room and the daughter's on the other. And I sat down at the foot of Pauline's bed and I heard a gentle voice, voice of God, because I didn't know what to do at that moment.
[13:54] And He said, "Sing." And I'm not a great singer, but everybody can sing. You can sing, you may not be able to carry a tune, but you can sing. And so I leaned over close to Pauline's ear, remember, she's unresponsive. Remember that she has had dementia for a number of years. She doesn't know what planet she's on, if she was even conscious. And I started to sing, "There's a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it afar, for the Father waits over the way to prepare us a dwelling place there." On the second stanza, Pauline, she'd opened her eyes and she started to sing with me.
[14:44] "We shall sing on that beautiful shore, the melodious songs of the blessed, and our spirits will sorrow no more, not a sigh for the blessing of rest." And she kept singing all four stanzas and the chorus, and she closed her eyes one last time. And as far as I know, she never opened her eyes again until she opened her eyes in the presence of Jesus. You see, we need to listen to the still small voice. And you might say, well, what if it's not God? What if it's not? What, that voice, that inner urging, that thought that you have. What if it isn't God?
[15:32] Well, there are only three possibilities. Only three. It's not rocket science. It could be the devil, but the devil is not in the encouraging business. The devil is not in the healing business. The devil is not going to bless anybody, okay? And the devil is surely not going to tell me to have an experience with a woman who is totally unconscious and unresponsive that would move my spirit. And the story can resonate in your spirit this morning. The devil's not in that business. He's come to destroy and to kill and to discourage and to make you depressed.
[16:22] So I don't think the devil is in that business. So it's easy to cancel him out of the scenario. Well, it could be just my own random thought. Well, so what? It was a good thought. It was a good thought. And God can anoint your random thoughts if they're good, if they're going to bless somebody, if it comes to mind that you should call somebody, you call them. 'Cause the worst thing can happen is they can hang up on you. And by the way, a lot of seniors here this morning, let me say, my phone number is 232-7000. So when you see that weird number come up on your phone, it's me. Okay?
[17:09] So answer the phone or the best case scenario, that still small voice can be God. And we know it's God 'cause God is with us. Principle number three, it's okay to complain to God. Peter Moore, our district superintendent, a few months ago preached on lamenting or complaining. And the psalmist David was really good at this. He says in Psalm 39:2-4, but my suffering only grew worse.
[17:57] And I was overcome with anxiety and more. And the more I thought, the more I became troubled. Some of you could say, I can relate to that. The more troubled I became. I could not keep from asking God, Lord, how long will I live? When will I die? Tell me when life will. Soon my life will end. You know, even the 23rd Psalm, which is so comforting, and many times we read at funerals. Even there, you know, the psalmist has complained a little bit. He says, "I got to walk through the valley of the shadow of death." So he was complaining. It's okay to complain to God.
[18:45] Story number three, some years ago we had a gentleman by the name of Greg who was staying with us at the chaplaincy. And Greg had spent 36 years in maximum and medium security prisons. Greg at the age of 16 had killed his brother and sister. And back in the day, the justice system, I don't call it justice system, it's the legal system, was hard on kids. And he spent 36 years inside. He was totally institutionalized, but he did get out and he knew the Lord.
[19:33] And one evening I got a call from somebody who said Greg was outside of the King Street Timmy's. And he had a stroke and he was unconscious in the Dumont Hospital. So I went up to see Greg and I went in, his parole officer was there and the head nurse of the intensive care unit was there. And for some strange reason, they determined that I was his next of kin because all his family were all dead and he had no immediate family. And I was designated as his next of kin. One evening I got a call from the doctor saying, we're going to turn off the life support, Greg, and we need your permission.
[20:27] And I said, I don't know if I legally can give you that permission. But anyway, I didn't have to. The next morning Greg passed away into the presence of Jesus. So we had a funeral service for him. And I had discovered through some investigation that he had had a trust fund set up by his parents in Saint John. And I talked to the trust officer and he said, there's a family burial plot in St. George Rural Cemetery. And so I got ahold of the caretaker of the cemetery and I, the next week we took his ashes, myself and a longtime chaplain at Dorchester Penitentiary, Phil. And we headed for St.
[21:24] George's Rural Cemetery. And as far as we knew, only Phil and I and the caretaker at the cemetery had any idea that we were doing the burial that day. And as we traveled down the highway to St. John and then to St. George, Phil was very troubled in his spirit. And he kept saying, you know, we, I knew Greg all the years he was inside and you've known him since he's been out on the street. But those 16 years, the first 16 years of his life, nobody has any idea. Nobody has a clue. Nobody can speak to those years.
[22:12] It's a blank. And he was complaining. And, you know, God hears our complaints, said, you know that God hears your conversation, and He's not intimidated when you complain either, 'cause God always has an answer even to your complaints. And so all the way down, Phil, I was getting agitated with him. He would just keep on. He just kept complaining and complaining. So finally we get to the cemetery and the caretaker's up, we rolled around, we found the place up on the hill, and he's waiting for us. And so we find, we go over to the burial site and there are four headstones. One with the mom and dad, Greg's mom and dad on it, and one for his brother and his sister, and one for Greg.
[23:15] And Phil turned to me and he said, let's restorative justice right there. So I'm just getting ready to open the Scripture and read the Scripture and have a little committal ceremony when all of a sudden I see a big gray Buick driving, winding up the hill. When I'm thinking, who can this be? Nobody knows about this burial. Of course, you know, only old people drive Buicks. Okay? I drive a Ford Escape. Just saying. So I stop, I wait out of respect for whoever these people are.
[24:06] I don't know who could be. So when the car comes and parks and two ladies get out, one is obviously very old. That seems to be a kind of a topic this morning, doesn't it? It's very old. And another younger lady who was kind of helping her walk, and they come over to the burial site and they introduced themselves. They didn't say how they got there or how they knew. They just said they introduced themselves. And the older lady said, "I was Greg's neighbor. I was there the day he was born, and I was there the night the incident took place, that really, it was kind of accidental that he shot his brother," and sister, and she filled in the 16 years of his life. You see, God understands. God hears our complaints.
[25:09] He knows what we're struggling with. He knows our questions and our doubts and our fears, and He will have an answer. So it's okay to complain to God. Well, Phil never said a word until we got back to Saint John and finally said, "I'm hungry." And we had something to eat. I remember it. It was Burger King. So you don't forget things like that. So it's okay to complain to God. You may feel that way this morning. Principle number four: Don't argue with the leading of the Holy Spirit. I suppose many times a day we argue. God says, "Left," and we turn right. God says, "Kneel down," and we say, "Stand up." You know, we are contrary people.
[26:06] My wife tells me sometimes I have a rebellious spirit, but don't argue with the Holy Spirit. Few years ago, a young man who was connected to this church through a staff member was in a very serious car accident. And, it was touch and go. He was in an induced coma at the Georges-Dumont Hospital. And I had been visiting him almost on a daily basis. And I had gone to him one morning. And that evening I get a call that the lady in the church, she's here this morning. I asked her if it was okay to mention her name. She said it was Donna, she's here.
[26:55] She had been attacked by her cat and she got an immediate, serious infection and she had to be rushed to the hospital. So I got a call in the evening to go and visit her. So I go up on whatever floor. If you've ever been to Dumont Hospital, it's quite convoluted. You might know what floor you're on, but by the time you get out, you won't know where you've been. So anyway, I visited, prayed with her, and as I'm coming down into the lobby, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "Turn left and go down to intensive care." Well, I said, "Lord, I've already been there once today and I don't want to wear out my welcome.
[27:46] And I don't want to be intrusive. And it's late at night, everything is settled down." And so I argued, but I lost the argument and I turned left. And I went down to intensive care. And as I walked into that cubicle, the mom and dad were sitting there and they both jumped to their feet simultaneously and said, "How did you know to come tonight? We don't think we could have made it through tonight. If somebody hadn't come and prayed, we don't think our son would've made it." You see, the Bible says in Psalm 37: 23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
[28:44] It's important for us folk to realize that when God speaks to us, we need to obey. Because you will never know if you don't obey, if you don't listen and obey the voice of the Spirit as you practice the presence of God in your life, you will never know what could have happened, that would've happened if you hadn't been obedient. And I wouldn't have all these stories to tell you this morning. Principle number five: God's ways are not our ways. Sometimes, many times.
[29:37] What God does in our lives is kind of weird and wonderful. Different things can happen. How many of you have ever heard somebody quote this statement, "God works in mysterious ways." You've heard that, you've heard that from people that are not even believers. God works in mysterious ways. How many knew that was an old hymn? No, not one hand. Yeah, it's an old hymn. God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. He plants His feet upon the sea and rides upon the storm. He didn't know that it was written by a guy by the name of William Cooper.
[30:24] William Cooper became depressed, just like some of you here this morning. You're depressed cuz it's raining. Some of you are depressed over worse things than rain though. But he ended up in a mental hospital. And while he was in the mental hospital, he met a doctor there who was a Christian. And the Christian led him to Jesus. And as therapy, would to God that more psychiatrists and doctors would recommend writing poetry as therapy. Amen. See, you need to start writing. So he started writing poetry and he wrote some beautiful hymns, and this was one of them. God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.
[31:16] He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud that had a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan His work in vain. God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain. You see, God works in mysterious ways, weird ways. Sometimes queer things happen sometimes and you say, "How can that be, God?" But ultimately we know that God is in it. It was April a few years ago, and, I was doing a committal service in the Stiles Cemetery.
[32:10] I told you I had more than one branch office, and, the family, the funeral had taken place late in the winter. And, the burial was in the spring, and the family had gathered, and, to say their last goodbyes to Ruby. And, finally I got everybody together at the burial site. Seems like that's a kind of a theme here this morning as well. And, just as I got prepared to, read a Scripture, everything got silent, and suddenly somebody's phone went off, and I opened my mouth and I said the most ignorant and stupid thing I had ever said in my life. I'm so embarrassed.
[33:18] I said, "I think that's your mother calling you now." And I didn't realize what I had said. I didn't know where it came from. And I stumbled through the rest of the committal, and the sister, Ruby's daughter, who, his name is Sheila, I had my, it was her phone that had gone off, and I had my apology ready. And soon as I said the last Amen for the benediction, I saw her come toward me, and I was scared. I was embarrassed, I felt stupid. And before I had a chance to say anything, she said, "Pastor," now remember, Sheila was not a Christian at this time. She said, "Pastor, you wouldn't know this, but thank you for what you said. When my phone went off," and I'm stuttering, "What, you know, what do you mean?" She said, "You wouldn't know this.
[34:26] But before my mother went to the nursing home at Spencer's, she stayed in her old apartment, we had this problem with her. You see, you could call her anytime of the day or night, and her line was busy. She was always talking to somebody. She's always on the phone. So finally, out of exasperation, I made an arrangement with her. At a certain time in the afternoon, she would call me. And when the phone would ring, somebody would say, 'That's your mother calling now.' And when you said that, Pastor, I knew my mother was in heaven."
[35:12] And under my breath, to myself, I said, "Thank You, Jesus." You see, God does work in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. We never know. So some of those strange things that happen, you know, God could be in it. There is a story in John chapter 9. As He went along, this is Jesus, He saw a blind man from birth. His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, who was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus.
[36:01] "But this happens so that the works of God may be displayed in him." As long as it is day, we must work the works of Him that sent Me. Night is coming when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." After saying this... Now listen, you talk about what this preacher said was weird. Jesus spit on the ground and made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man's eyes. Can you imagine the Pharisees? What is Jesus doing now? "Go," He told him, "and wash in the Pool of Siloam."
[36:49] This word means "sent." And so the man went and washed and came home seeing. As we practice the presence of God in our lives, we will see things that are unusual, that are supernatural, that go beyond explanation. I can't tell you why I blurted out what I did in the Stellarton cemetery. But a few months later, I had the privilege of visiting Sheila in the hospital as she lay down with cancer. Her nephew had led her to the Lord.
[37:38] And I said, "Sheila, you remember that day when your phone went off and you knew that your mom was in heaven?" I said, "Soon you're going to meet her there." And I had the privilege of telling that story at her funeral. You see, God does work in mysterious ways, but you have to be open. You have to hear His voice. You have to give Him glory. Give Him credit for what He does. You have to tell others. Give praise to Him. You have to listen to the still small voice.
[38:25] It's okay to complain. We're all human. Don't argue with the Holy Spirit and expect the unexpected. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know why Jesus spat on the ground and made a paste of this and put it on that man's eyes. I don't know why He did that. Maybe there are theologians here that could enlighten me. I have no idea. But I do know what happened when Jesus did that. When Jesus spat on the ground, the DNA of Heaven touched the DNA of earth and a miracle took place. So let's stand and give Him praise this morning. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus.