How's Your Walk? — Lewis Gregory

Prayer for God's Presence and Guidance

And as we proceed, let me lead us in prayer. Lord God, I wait expectantly upon you. I lay my life before you. I draw upon you, Lord, the wonderful words of life that you alone can offer. As I open my mouth wide, I am confident you will fill it.

So I say, speak, Lord, for your servant hears. And Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me. Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. Blessed be the name of the Lord, for great are you, Lord, and greatly to be praised.

I glorify your name in this place, O Lord. And I thank you, Lord, that you are moving in our midst, for you are among us. Yes, even as two or three are gathered together in your name, as we've heard, so you are here, not just here to be a passive observer, but present in us and among us to make yourself known to us.

And so, Lord, we welcome all that you want to say and do. And thank you, Holy Spirit, that as our teacher, you will now lead us and guide us into all truth. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. You know, sometimes you go out and you see people.

Maybe as you were greeting each other here, you say, well, how are you doing? And maybe you say, fine, or I'm doing okay, or I'm doing good. And maybe you are, or maybe you aren't. But that's sort of what we say, isn't it?

We just say, well, I'm doing good or okay. You see somebody in the store, a stranger, a total stranger, and you say, hi, how are you? And they say, fine, thank you. And that's courteous and respectful.

Examining the Christian Walk

But then again, there is another element we need to take into consideration. I want us to think this morning about how is your walk? How is your walk? I'm talking about your walk in the Lord, your walk in the Spirit.

How are you conducting your life daily? How are you expressing His life? Are you expressing His life? To what extent are you expressing His life? How is it really going in your life? So I'm going to be working out of Romans chapter 8.

But before I get there, I'm going to go over to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2 gives us a strong admonition when he says there in verse 6, he that says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.

So you're saying, okay, I'm a Christian. You're saying Christ lives in me. You're saying I'm abiding in Him. That is, I'm trusting Him. I'm really trusting God. Are you really trusting God? Well, if you're really trusting God, he says, then the evidence is quite clear.

Are you walking as Jesus walked? Is your life evidencing Christ as your life? Is your life expressing Christ through your life? This is the real test. You know, we can say many wonderful things, and the Word of God is filled with many wonderful things.

And we can say those things, and they are true. But the question is not what your talk is. But as the saying goes, walk the talk. We just recently were reminded of that through something someone was saying.

They were saying, walk the talk. Walk the talk. What does that mean? It means it's good to say it. But the real thing, the most important thing, is to live it, to walk it. Now, we call a person who doesn't do that a hypocrite.

But a hypocrite is not someone who intentionally is trying to mislead someone. What they're saying is true, and they want it to be true in their life. They want it to be true in their walk and their experience.

But it's not always true. And it's not necessarily because they don't want it, and they haven't tried hard to make it happen. They have. They have. And the real frustration in life for a believer, for a Christian who has truly received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, is that knowing what I know, how could I still do what I do?

One of my good friends years ago, that was his exclamation of frustration. Knowing what I know, how could I still do what I do that is the very thing I hate? So, I'm kind of keen off now of Romans chapter 7 as a lead in to Romans chapter 8 about the walk.

The Struggle with Sin in Romans 7

But to precede the walk, let's look at how it really is in our lives. And so often, it's not as it could be, and certainly not as it should be. So in Romans chapter 7, we go back here. And so that in verse 15, he says, For that which I do, I do not understand, because what I want to do is not what I'm doing.

But the very thing I hate, that's what I end up doing. So he's saying, now look, it's not that I love sin, I hate it. Now that doesn't mean you don't like it in the moment. Because the word of God is clear, there's pleasure in sin for a season.

If there was not pleasure in sin, the devil would have no hook, no pull, no appeal, there would be no temptation, because you can't tempt somebody with something they don't like. Anybody ever try to give you something you didn't like, and you didn't want it?

Wasn't much of a temptation. Certain kinds of foods, I just don't like to eat. You've been on a fast, so now you start to think about food, because now you're going to get to eat whatever you want. Not really, but at least in a different way than you were.

But foods you don't like, it's just you have no appetite for them, no desire for them, no interest in them. But where the appeal is, there's the pull. There's the pull. And so the apostle Paul is saying, now look, my walk is not matching my talk.

He's saying, my life is not what it could and should be in the Lord. And he says, I'm confused about this, I don't understand, because I know quite well what I should do, and I know quite well what God wants me to do, and in fact, that's what I want.

And yet, he says, in spite of the fact that I want to do the right thing, in spite of the fact that I know what's right, I'm not doing it. You see, in the scheme of things, we're prone to try to live our Christian life based on the way we live our regular life.

And that's not God's way. You know, we know that God's way is different than our way, so why are we still going the old way? And what's the old way? Well, the old way is based on two basic tools that God blessed us with, but not for what we think.

Knowledge, Willpower, and Dependence on the Spirit

So he gave us this wonderful brain, this mind, and he gave us a will. And so as we proceed in our Christian life, we think, well, if I just put my mind to it, if I just learn the right stuff, you know, it's all about knowledge, and we're told knowledge is power.

And so if I just know the right things, if I just... And Paul, I read over again just yesterday and today, and looking at Romans 6 and 7, he uses the word know nine times. That's huge. And he's saying, this is what you need to know, this is what you should know, this is what I do know.

But he says it's still not happening. Knowledge is not power. Knowledge may give you access to resources that can make you effective and make you competent, but knowledge in itself is not power. And that's why Paul is saying, knowing what I know, why am I still doing what I'm doing?

He says, I'm powerless. I should be doing different, should be doing better, and yet I'm not able to walk the talk. Oh, I can look good on the outside. See, I can give the impression. I can say all the right things.

You know, we learn how to say our hallelujahs, our amens, and our praise the Lord, and we do it quite well in church. But what about out there when somebody rips you off? Then the expressions of frustration roar out of you.

What about when somebody else gets blessed and you don't? Then there's this inner gnawing of frustration and jealousy and hostility, because you feel like somebody is taking advantage of you. And where's the walk?

Where's the walk? Where's the hallelujah, praise the Lord, then yet we're told in all things, give thanks. Where's the thanks? And what the Lord's trying to get us to see is there's another dimension to life.

It's His dimension. It's the way everlasting. It's God's way. It's the right way. And we know it, and it's like we taste of it sometimes. There's times when it just clicks, and it's like, wow, that's God, and oh, that's amazing, and we sense His presence, and it's rich and full and, you know.

But then what happens when things don't go your way? Then it's woe is me, and it's like your sister's saying, well, the devil's beat me up. It's not so much that we give him too much power. It's we give him too much credit.

The Devil's Lies and the Believer's Inheritance

And here's what happens about the power side of the scheme of things. You know, the only power the devil has over you is a lie, a lie. So where does he get the power? We do give him the power, but it's not that we give him the power in the sense that we think we do.

No, he gets it from us. Remember, he is a thief, and what does a thief do? He steals. Now, who has the power? God. And who lives in me? God. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, and by His Spirit. So the power of God is resident in me, and the thief comes like a leech to tap into me, to steal from me that which is mine, my inheritance in Christ, my resources, to strip me of the power.

And then he uses it against me. Wow. What happened here? Well, we lost sight of what we knew, because what we knew conceptually as information never became conscious reality by the Spirit in our heart.

And so Paul is struggling here, and he expresses that frustration. Romans 7, 24, he declares there, O wretched man that I am. That's the expression of a man who is at the height of frustration, overwhelmed, discouraged, and yes, quite honestly defeated, but not on the appearance level, because he was the best of the best, and still inwardly he's miserable, because he knew something was missing.

Discovering Christ's Indwelling Presence

And I walked through that in my own life. After being a Christian about eight years, I had this awakening from the Lord through several different circumstances that he began to push me back to a realization that he was more than just someone I talk about on Sunday, more than someone I just pray about when I have a problem, but that he's a present help in time of need.

And I began to enter into a consciousness of his presence. His presence is not just in my need, but in my life. And as I began to seek him in a fresh way, I began to find him. Not just what he could do for me, not just what he could give to me, but I found him.

And it's his presence that brings the fullness of joy. It's his presence that creates that sense of peace that passes all understanding. But it's his presence. It's his presence. And it's not just out there far removed somewhere.

That's what I used to think when I was in the Navy, and as I would travel through my life and go to college and stuff. It's like God was always way out there, and I was always trying to get closer to him and get more of him, not realizing he had already come into me and made himself one with me, and I had all there was to get in Christ.

John chapter 1 verse 16 says, Of his fullness have all we received. We received him in his fullness. We received him in his fullness. There is no more of him that you get than when you get when you get Christ.

But the question is, what are you doing with what you've got? And so Paul is saying, I'm a wretched man. Now, this wretched man is not this horrible, hideous person we're often inclined to think of. It's a person who has exhausted all of his human resources to do what he knows is right to do, and is failing miserably, and is overwhelmed by it, frustrated, and in despair because of it.

His heart is broken. And I was so crushed by all this in my own life, and when I finally came to grips with the exceeding sinfulness of my sin and the utter emptiness of my life, not just at the action level, I had that damn good, but it was at the attitude level.

And Jesus, dealing with that attitude, talked about the beatitudes, and many times over, said, it's not good enough that you clean up the outside. We talk about clean up your act. Well, we can clean it up on the outside, but it's the attitude that is everything.

I used to tell my kids, attitude is everything. It's critical, because the right attitude is your mindset, it's your focus, it's your heart intent. And if you're connected with him at the source, in the inner man of your spirit, then you'll begin to express his attitude in your actions.

See, then you're walking the talk. Then you're living the life. Not just a theory to talk about, a doctrine to embrace, but a reality to be experienced. His life, His presence, His power in you, here, now, and in every circumstance, no matter how difficult it gets.

Faith That Receives God's Power

And it can get pretty difficult. I had a pastor friend once over in Indonesia with me, and he said, you know, I just so long for God to use me to minister to people. And I said, well, it's one thing to long for it, and we can sit around, and we can ask him, and beg him, and plead him to do that, but when are you going to receive it and believe it?

You see, faith is more than just begging. You know, I was told that the Korean church, and thank God for all the believers over there, but I was told they were such a mighty group of prayer warriors, and they would get up early and pray, and yes, they do.

I went over there in 1984. I went to their prayer meetings. You know what I observed? I observed a group of very serious, dedicated, committed people who were begging and pleading out of weakness and not out of strength.

They were constantly asking God for things and to do things, but they always were there in this place of deficiency and weakness rather than the sufficiency in Christ, and the strength of the Lord as their strength.

So you operate in that mode. You're operating as a spiritual cripple, and you're quenching the spirit. That's the bottom line. So that God's presence and power cannot fill the earth as the glory of the Lord manifests in your life.

So anyway, so my friend is saying, well, this is what I desire as a pastor, as a minister, and I said, well, brother, it's time to believe it and receive it. It's time to believe it and receive it. So I sat down beside him on the bed.

We were sharing this room together in this very small space, and I just began to pray, and I prayed for him, and then I said, now just tell the Lord, I receive your presence and power in my life, and I receive your anointing in my life.

I receive you working in my life now, now. And he specifically was concerned about people being healed. He said, well, I've never seen anybody healed. I've never prayed for anybody that got healed. That afternoon, we're in the conference, in the school, we're in this Bible college, and he's going along, and in his teaching, he brings up the story, and in the scripture where the Lord takes his hand, and Peter read it, in the name of Jesus, and he says, rise up and walk.

And so my friend walked out, and he went out, and he took someone by the hand, and he says to this person, this student, he says, in the name of Jesus, rise up and walk. He tells him again, the guy stood up, and it turned out this person was very, very sick.

In fact, he had already made plans with the school. He was leaving the school, but this was his last day, and he was going home, and he was giving up on God and giving up on the ministry because he just couldn't make it anymore.

He'd gotten, his body got worse and worse. He was sicker and sicker, and he just, he was tormented with fear and anxiety, and yet he got healed. And my friend didn't even realize what was happening because he wasn't thinking about it.

But God was. God was. Finally, somebody said, Lord, make me a channel of blessing, and I believe you're doing it now. It's not like one day, someday, somewhere, somehow, but it's here and now, Lord. And so once he realized that, he said, wow, God did it, and I didn't even know it.

But the beauty of it was, God did it. Amen. And his part was to be an available vessel, just to be available so that he who is life could live his life through him. Now, as wonderful as that story is, and then, I must say, that afternoon when I was teaching, after he finished, the Spirit of God began to come and power on the whole group, and out of that came a move, an awakening of God's Spirit that impacted the whole school for days and for months following.

Faith During Sickness and Adversity

But in the midst of that, and shortly thereafter, I think it was that night, I became deathly ill. And I mean extremely ill. When I say deathly ill, I mean I had this high fever. The sweat was pouring out of me.

I was so weak, I could not hardly get up to even walk across the room, much less go to eat anywhere. I had no, I was just exhausted. And so that went on for the next couple of days. And my friend thought I was dying.

And since then, after reading the various symptoms I had, I concluded I had malaria. And I concluded it was very serious because of the condition I was in. But here's what would happen. Every time it was my turn to teach in the school, I would say, by faith, I'm getting up, and God's grace would come upon me, and I would get up, I would walk from the little room I was staying in on the mission compound where the school was.

I'd walk over to the next building, over where the building was where we were teaching, and I'd deliver my message, and then I'd go back and collapse. I'd be so weak and so sick, and I was almost delirious.

And it was just continuing to get worse. And the third day, and that day I was, you know, and of course at night I would just rest every time I got a chance. And God said, well, tonight I want you to go ahead and follow through, and I want you to preach at this little house church.

About the size of this. It was actually, this guy had taken chicken wire and put it around kind of an overhang of his house, and that was where we had the church service, okay? And that was his house church.

And God said, I want you to go and speak the night before I let my friend preach. And the Lord said, no, now I want you to preach. But I said, Lord, it took everything I could do to get through the day, and now you want me to preach at night?

But if you say so, I say yes, Lord. I say yes. See, our privilege is to just agree with Him. And so I say yes, Lord. So we got out there, and then I said, but Lord, what's the message? And the more I prayed about it, the more I became acutely aware of the sense that God wanted me to preach a message on faith.

And I said, now, faith, Lord, now that's big stuff. Because you see, I don't look like a man of faith. All I have to do is take one look at me, and my face is pale like a sheet, you know? And the sweat's pouring off of me.

I'm just, my eyes are kind of that yellowish color, and I just am so weak, I can barely walk. And I was just holding on for dear life when I would stand up at the pulpit to preach. So I said, Lord, I don't look like a person of faith.

He said, just trust me. Don't take into account, God doesn't go by appearance, so don't take into account any of that. You just do what I've called you to do. So I went to that little place, and the people gathered, and it was packed, you know, 25, 30 people.

And so I'm going along, by faith, preaching on faith, and just barely hanging in. And then all of a sudden, about halfway through the message, bam, just completely healed, completely healed. As they went, they were what?

The 10 lepers? As they went, they were healed. As they went, as they went. We keep sitting around and waiting, that one day, some way, somehow, God's gonna do something in my life. I'll be the one that gets the lottery.

I'll be the one that gets the blessing. I'll be the one that gets whatever it is that I'm hoping and praying for. But there I was, way out there, and the doctors and the health care was not good. I mean, very limited, in fact, almost none in existence.

And there I am, in this remote area of Indonesia, deathly ill, and yet taking it one step at a time. Because the walk is a step at a time. And that walk is a step of faith, one step at a time. Peter stepped out of the boat, one step on the water.

But he stepped, he was willing to risk coming out of the safety of the boat and into the presence of the Lord. And the safest place to be, my friends, is in His presence, in His presence. So Peter stepped.

Some of us keep waiting for the right conditions. And the Lord is saying, come. He doesn't miss words, you notice. He only told Peter one word, only one thing. Peter says, Lord, if that's You out there on the water, I mean, the storm is horrendous, but if that's You, then may come.

Because Peter had this awareness, if I can just get to the Lord, if I can just connect with Him, everything will be okay. But you see, the beauty of what God has done for us in Christ is He's already connected us to Himself.

He's already come to us. He came to us. And all our privilege is to say yes to Him. To say, I do, Lord. And He makes Himself known. And so, there I was, deathly ill, and yet God, who is the resurrection and the life through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, raised me up, imparted His life.

You know, I have had no symptoms from that since. None whatsoever. But God raised me up, and God brought me forward. And why? It's because that's who He is. And that's what He does. But I think of the question that Satan posed to God about Job.

Trusting God Rather Than Circumstances

Will Job serve you for nothing? Let's face it. As humans, we've got ulterior motives. We've got creature comforts that we've got to have. There's stuff we want. And we, quote, think we can't live without it.

And so, we have these drives and cravings because we have these appetites, God-given to be sure, but misguided most definitely in most cases. And so, we're being driven by the appetites and by the things, and not even realizing that Satan's like that little bull that has the ring in his nose, and we're just being drugged right along, drugged right along.

And he's got the power because he got it from us. And then he just twists it at just the right time. He knows exactly how to get to any one of us. He knows the things that get to us. He knows the things that overwhelm us.

But we've got to stay focused on the one that knows that and more, the Lord. He knows that too. But he also knows that all we need is Him. And like Peter, if we'll just connect with Him and get to Him, then we're A-OK.

And so, how'd you walk? Well, Peter understood that. Paul did. And so, looking again at Romans, in the book of Romans, you know, I was frustrated in my walk, as I said. And so, in Romans chapter 7, 24, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

He says, like, I feel trapped. I feel stuck. I can't seem to get out of the rut. I make one step forward, two backwards. I make progress. I see God work. And then all of a sudden, it falls apart. Where's the consistency in the walk?

You know, I've got a grandson that he's a wonderful little guy. But he's very impatient. He wants to be like his friends or like the bigger kids right now. He wants to be able to ride the bike first time he gets on.

Wants to be able to skateboard first time he gets on. Wants to be able to play the video game first time he picks it up. It just doesn't happen that way. Life is a matter of trial and error. But in the trial and error process, it's not so much about learning by the trial and error.

It's just the realization that it doesn't matter as long as I stay the course of whatever God's calling me to. And stay focused on Him. Fix our focus on Him. You know, faith is focus. Faith is focus. And if we fix our focus on Him, we'll be on target.

You know, I like basketball players. They come down the thing, but their focus is on the goal. They know what the goal is at all time. They're moving the ball. They see the opponents to be sure. They're not threatened by them.

They have one thing in mind. Make the goal. And some way, somehow, in spite of all the different things to their distraction, they manage to get that ball in the goal. It's amazing how they can do it.

I mean, amazing. With all the opposition, and yet they stay focused on the goal. And they make the goal. But if you take your eyes off of that, or let's say football, same way. The guy's running down there, and he's got the ball, and he's running.

But all of a sudden, he keeps looking back. Like, where's the other guy? Where's the other guy? It's like, oh, maybe the devil's going to get me now. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Look out, look out. Here's the opposition.

The next thing you know, that guy caught him. If he'd have just stayed focused, the goal is to cross the goal line. The goal is to stay 100 on target and give it all you got, which is what you have in Christ.

But stay the course. And if we keep looking back and get distracted, and the devil's the master distractor. But so what? God's the master attractor. So if he's the distractor, he's the attractor. So which one are you going to focus on?

Faith is focus. Now, Jesus didn't diminish the presence of Satan. He just put him in his place. Satan spoke up through Peter and said, Lord, no. And Jesus says, get behind me, Satan. Just put him in his place.

And so certainly there are times we have to do that. We have to give him a firm rebuke. We have to call the shots. But we don't dwell on it. We don't get consumed by it. We get consumed with him. We dwell on him.

We're caught up in him. So who should deliver me from the body of this death? Verse 25, Romans 7, 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So Paul says, now wait a minute. Here I've been trying to get delivered, and all the time he's already done it.

Now we say now, but Paul, why didn't you already know that? Well, I did know it, but I didn't really know it. I knew it. I knew it, yes. I knew it. That's what God's word teaches. I knew it. It's the truth.

But I was not experiencing his freedom. And thus I kept thinking there must be something else. And so Paul tried the different things. He tried mind control. He tried willpower. I've touched on that a moment ago.

He thought, if I just put my mind to it. If I have enough willpower. And that's the world's way. Mind control and willpower. These are the two tools. God gave them to us. But so they would be submitted to his lordship.

And under the control of his spirit. Our mind and our will now harnessed by his spirit. Now achieve his purpose. Not by works of righteousness were done. Not by our own fleshly human efforts, energies, or strength.

But solely by his spirit. Not by power, nor by might. Isn't that what it says? But by my spirit. So he's saying, you can put your mind to it if you want to. You can know all the right things. But that's not going to get the job done.

There's only one who's got the power. And that's the lord himself. His spirit. It's the spirit of the lord. And where the spirit of the lord is. There's where the liberty is. So I thank God through Jesus Christ our lord.

A Life Sustained by God's Presence

Well you know, my friend told me that. I said to my friend one day. I said, now look, I see you've got the victory. I know you've got the life. I can tell you experienced the joy and the peace. In a consistent way.

I see you walk. And your walk matches your talk. See he didn't have what this world says you gotta have. He didn't even have full indoor plumbing. Just since I knew him. He finally got just partial indoor.

He got rid of his outhouse. You know. But he still didn't have like running water in his sink. He had to have this wash basin. You poured water. And I mean he still had it. He milked his own cow. That's where he got his milk.

There was no going to the store for milk for him. It was milk the cow. And your chickens, they took care of his eggs. He lived off the land. He most of the time didn't have a job. He was getting laid off because he was a carpenter.

And he was on and off depending on the employment situation. Sometimes he had to bring home food from welfare. And he had rice and beans. But you know the rice and beans and the biscuits in their house was the best food we ever ate.

We'd get over to their house about three times a week just to hang out with them. What were we drawn to? To the Lord's presence. To his life. Here Lou and I were two young people, early 20s. And yet here's these older people, pretty young now actually.

They were in their late 50s or something. But all of a sudden I'm looking at them and I'm thinking like, wow, they've got what we're looking for. So we like to hang out around them. There was a presence about them.

There was a joy about them. A spirit about them. An atmosphere of their home. So you see when you're talking about the church, it's the body of Christ. And so wherever you go, if you're full of him and his fullness is being expressed through you, there's an atmosphere.

There's a presence. And when people come into this place, they're drawn to it because of the presence. We used to live up in Tennessee. When our kids were younger and the neighbor kids and they'd all want to come play at our house.

And then even when they were off in school, all the neighbor dogs would come to our house. Even the kids weren't there anymore. But you'd look out in our yard and there'd be our dog and about four or five other dogs.

And I kept thinking, what's the deal about these dogs? Why are they always hanging out at our house? And then one day the Lord said, it's my presence. There's a peace here that even the animals know. See, animals are clued in.

They know about God. And they like to be where God's presence is and where it's peaceful. Of course, Romans 8 tells us that later on about how all creation groans. See, they're groaning because they know only where God's presence is, only where Jesus rules as Lord, can there be a safe place.

You know, even my yard, my property where we live. When I moved there, I said, okay, some people have a bird sanctuary. I'm going to have a life sanctuary. So I'm declaring in Jesus' name, this place is a life sanctuary and all God's creations welcome here and they're all safe here.

And all the animals, they love our house. And even the squirrels are orderly. We don't have trouble with squirrels. They don't destroy my house. I put my grain out. They share with the birds. Everybody's happy.

The squirrels patrol the place. There's not just this wild mass of squirrels. There's this one family and they drive off. They're intruders. They chase them away. Everybody's happy. Even the chipmunk comes and eats out of my hand.

I hold my hand out. The chipmunk eats the grain out of my hand. The lizard, I told my kids, let's see what God can do. Here's a lizard. Now let me show you what God can do. So I caught the lizard, put him in my hand.

I held him just gently with my thumb and began to rub him. Peace in Jesus' name. Peace in Jesus' name. Peace in Jesus' name. Pretty soon, he likes that. You know what? Let him go. He's just sitting on my hand.

Crawl up my arm. Crawl back down. He likes it. Peace in Jesus' name. So we adopted him. He became our pet. We called him Lizzy. Maybe it was a she. We don't know. My daughter thought it was a she. So we called him Lizzy.

Anyway, we called her Lizzy. Whatever. When we put her on this plant in the house, Lizzy would cruise up and down there. And the kids would get him some bugs or something. Ladybug or whatever. Sorry, but they were dead.

And so give him the bug or fly. And Lizzy would eat the bug right out of their hand. Because Jesus is Lord. That means he's supreme and ruler over all of his creation. Not just in sort of vague ways in control.

His presence. His presence brings peace. His presence brings order. And people are drawn to his presence. When I was pastoring a church up north of Atlanta, there were people who would say, you know, we just drive on the property.

We sense there's unusual peace here. I said, that's the presence of God. So we made our property. We had a place. And so our property, we had recreation stuff. And we declared it a park for our neighborhood.