• Presence - The Fear of the Lord
• Devotion - Your Focus on the Lord
• Passion - The Zeal of the Lord
• Godliness - The Holiness of the Lord
• Contentment - The Rest of the Lord

• Matthew 12:38-50
• • Unoccupied = Ordered emptiness
  • Separated from sin and unto God!
• Piety - Holiness - Devotion
• • Obedience, service, mission
  • Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God"

• Genesis 28:16-17
• • The House of God, The Gate of Heaven
• Worship
• • The human response to the perceived presence of the divine, a presence which transcends normal human activity and is holy.
• Matthew 17:1-9
• • The Transfiguration
• The Pearl River wake-up call

• Piety
• • To translate the Hebrew idiom "the fear [or reverence] of the Lord" (Piety = fear or reverence for God)
  • Sometimes translating the Greek term meaning, "righteousness"
  • Piety represents the religious duty of caring for the physical needs of elderly family members (I Tim. 5:4)
• Worship
• • The human response to the perceived presence of the divine, a presence which transcends normal human activity and is holy.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

• Presence - The Fear of the Lord
• Devotion - Your Focus on the Lord
• Passion - The Zeal of the Lord
• Godliness - The Holiness of the Lord
• Contentment - The Rest of the Lord

• It is the same as "Abiding in Christ"!
• No person can be sinlessly perfect, but we can live free of all willful, conscious sin, leaving only the sins of omission AND areas not yet revealed to us like pride, insensitivity, attitudes, etc. etc.

1. By searching your heart to make sure there is no sin
2. • Ps 139:23-24--Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. NASB
3. By confessing and forsaking all sin
4. • Proverbs 28:13--He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. NKJV
   • 2 Corinthians 4:2--We have renounced disgraceful ways (secret thoughts, feelings, desires and underhandedness, the methods (arts) that men hide through (shame); we refuse to deal craftily (to practice trickery and cunning) or to adulterate or handle dishonestly the Word of God, but we state the truth openly (clearly and candidly). And so we commend ourselves in the sight and presence of God to every man's conscience. AMP
5. By faith
6. • Believing the following Scripture
   • 2 Corinthians 5:17--Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. NKJV
7. Live in His Presence, if you fail, immediately confess it and run back into the Secret Place.
8. Start your day by running into the Secret Place; being sure that you are in the Secret Place.

• Brothers and Sisters, this concept of living in the Secret Place or Holy of Holies, is an extremely high bar
• • it could cause depression, hopelessness, discouragement, and even giving up.
• 1 John 2:1
• • My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.
  • But if anybody does sin,
  • we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense
  • Jesus Christ, the Righteous one. NIV
  
  
• AMP - MY little children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God's law and sin.
• • But if anyone should sin,
  • we have an Advocate (one Who will intercede for us) with the Father
  • [it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous
  • [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father's will in every purpose, thought, and action].

• First John sets a very high standard - do not sin!
• Then John says, but if you do we have an Advocate, a Go-between; a Lawyer; a Mediator - Jesus Himself!
• Thirdly, this Jesus is fully qualified, entitled, and sufficient to represent us to God because He is the one and only Righteous One who has not sinned.
• 1 Tim 2:5-6--For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time NKJV

"Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." Proverbs 24:3-4

• Beginning with a blessing!
• • God to man and man back to God.
  • Defined: Happy!
  • • Prosperous in God
    • Destined for God
    • Victorious by God
• Your source of counsel determines your course of life!
• • Which way are you going?
• James 3:13-18 ~~ Wisdom's sources
• Verse 1 = Progressive Depravity
• • Walking - Listening and receiving
  • Standing - Direction and identity
  • Sitting - Settled and established

• The Feasts were special times, appointed by God where the covenant people of God come together for a time of spiritual renewal and celebration.
• God's foundation for understanding
• God's prophetic shadow
• There is a spiritual and prophetic sound!
• • We are to prepare our hearts
  • It is the sound of war!
  • It is the sound of gathering!

"They shall walk after the LORD. He will roar like a lion. When He roars, Then His sons shall come trembling from the west" Hosea 11:10

"And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly." II Samuel 5:24

"So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone." Ezekiel 37:7

• Two types of trumpets:
• • Psalm 81:3
  • • Ram's horn -- Ram's horn = "shofar"
  • Numbers 10
  • • Silver trumpets - Silver trumpet commanded for this day (redemption)
• First mention
• • Exodus 19:13-16 at Mount Sinai entering into covenant with God
• Last mention = the final gathering "Last Trump"
• • I Corinthians 15:51-52; I Thessalonians 4:13ff
• Trumpets are mentioned 117 times in the Bible
• • Joshua 6:20 - Joshua's attack on the city of Jericho
  • Judges 7:20-22 - Gideon's raid against the Midianites
  • I Chronicles 15:28-29 - The Ark of the covenant returns to Jerusalem
  • II Chronicles 5:11-14 - Dedication of Solomon's temple

• The 1st Wednesday at 11:00am!
• Leviticus 23:24 "a memorial (a reminder) of the blowing of trumpets"
• A summons to worship
• A call to war
• A time to prepare your heart

• The Tekiah:
• • The "blast," one long blast with a clear tone.
• The Shevarim:
• • Notes of sadness
  • A "broken," sighing sound of three short calls.
• The Teruah:
• • The "alarm"
  • A rapid series of nine or more very short notes.
• The Tekiah Gedolah:
• 
  
  • "The great Tekiah," a single unbroken blast, held as long as possible. (A combination of Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, ending with a Tekiah Gedolah.)

• I Corinthians 15:51-58
• I Thessalonians 4:14-18, 5:1-11
• Titus 2:11-14
• I John 3:2-3

• A call to assembly (holy convocations)
• A command for Israel to 'move out'
• A call to war
• Preparation for an announcement
• A warning of judgment to come
• A call to celebration and worship