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[music] Gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside. Down by the riverside. Down by the riverside.

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Gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside. [MUSIC] ♪ Steady, one and one ♪ ♪ Steady, one and one ♪

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♪ Steady, one and one ♪ ♪ Steady, one and one ♪ ♪ Steady, one and one ♪ ♪ Gonna pry on my sword and shield ♪

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Down by the riverside, down by the riverside, down by the riverside, Gonna try on my sword and shield, down by the riverside. ♪ I ain't gonna study one no more ♪ ♪ I ain't gonna study one no more ♪

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♪ Ain't gonna study one no more ♪ ♪ Ain't gonna study one no more ♪ ♪ I ain't gonna study one no more ♪ ♪ Ain't gonna study one no more ♪

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♪ To study one more, one more ♪ ♪ Gonna try on my starry crown ♪ ♪ Down by the riverside ♪ ♪ Down by the riverside ♪

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♪ Down by the riverside ♪ ♪ Gonna try on my starry crown ♪ ♪ Down by the riverside ♪ (singing in foreign language)

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(fire exploding) (一定能 cows mooing) (singing in foreign language) ♪ Because Daddy wore a bow ♪

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♪ Because Daddy wore a bow ♪ ♪ Daddy wore a bow ♪ ♪ Because Daddy wore a bow ♪ - Amen.

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Amen. [ Pause ] >> The basis of the morning message, I invite your prayerful attention to a passage of scripture which is recorded

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In Exodus, the third chapter and the 14th verse, a song which has become a melody of faith for pilgrims traveling the upward way. Whither shall I go from thy spirit?

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And whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Psalm 139 verses 7 and 8.

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Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. The subject, the eternal presence. The eternal presence.

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When we speak of God, the truth is often expressed in contradictory statements. statements that we call paradoxes. The eternal presence, the

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being embraced by eternity, that which is always the same and yet changing

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The eternal is that which is forever. I asked those in my children's hour some time ago whether they would like to live forever. And to my surprise, several of them said no.

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They didn't want to live forever. Most of the things that claim our attention are temporary. Let me say that again. Most of the things that claim our attention are temporary.

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Having to do with what we eat, that's temporary. But we need to eat again in a short time. What we're going to wear, that's temporary. We have to replace it after a while.

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And where we're going to stay, we have to remodel our places of abode. Jesus wants us to focus on the eternal. To seek first the kingdom of God, our Father, the God who is the source of our being, the means of our existence, and the goal of our striving.

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Paul Tillich, a noted theologian of our time, has referred to God as the eternal now.

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The eternal now. Oh, how we are attracted to and captivated and dominated by that which is temporary. I remember in the neighborhood where I grew up,

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a group of fellows were shooting dice. And two of them got into an argument about what was due. And one of them went home and got his father's pistol and came back and killed the other.

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So the fellow lost his life over a dime, a very small amount. And so often we give our lives, we lose our lives, over something that is insignificant, comparatively speaking. He lost his life over a dime. So we're concerned about this God who is above all,

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who is in all, who rules. This is the God who meets us in life. This is the God Moses meets in the wilderness while he's keeping watch over Jethro's flock. Moses had run away from Pharaoh's court. He had a burning desire

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for freedom, the freedom of his people. It was like a fire in his bosom that would not go out. Moses had been educated in the wisdom of Egypt, He realized that his people were still in slavery.

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We may have degrees and good paying jobs and still be in economic slavery. We may be in a dungeon, we may be locked in prison cells.

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Moses realizes this and tries to run away from it all. On the backside of the desert, as a humble shepherd, he encounters the eternal presence.

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He hears a voice. It is the voice of God, calling and speaking to him through a burning bush that is not consumed.

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The voice he heard calling him by name, Moses, Moses, I am the God of your fathers. Pull off your shoes for the ground on which you stand holy ground. Moses you may run away from Pharaoh but you are still in my world

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and you cannot run away from me. You may run but I speak to you saying stop. So When we recognize the presence of the eternal, we are summoned to pull off our shoes for the ground on which we stand is holy ground. God continues to speak to him saying, "I have heard the cries of my people and have come

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down to deliver them. Moses wants to know who God is. God summons him to go back to Egypt and to participate in the movement to free the people. But he said, "When I When I get there, if I go and stand before Pharaoh, whom shall I say sent me?

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And he's given the answer, I am that I am. Not I was, not I will be, but I am that I am. send you to Egypt Moses but I'm there before you get there I am that I am I'm here I'm there I'm everywhere I am that I am so Moses be sure to tell Pharaoh

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and all the Egyptians that I am, that I am. I am the eternal presence, the eternal presence. I am the God of your fathers. I'm the God not only of yesterday, but I'm God of today.

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And I'm the God of all of your tomorrows. I am that I am. If you ascend into heaven, I'm there. If you descend to hell, I'm there.

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I am sovereign Lord. I am wherever I will to be. we really don't have to call God in and say Lord stop by here He's already here

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I am that I am always present no matter what may be our condition, our circumstance God is present

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all time is in His control or under His control I am the eternal presence. And I determine the beginning and the end.

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I am Alpha and Omega all time. We don't know how long Moses has been away from Egypt. He's run away. You know how much time, he's not told how much time he's going to have to participate in this freedom movement.

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He needs to go back to Egypt. But all time is in God's control. And if we really focus on the eternal, that's rather difficult for many people to do. to focus on the eternal in the midst of time. We want to rush things.

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We think that if we don't have much time, Gable is going to blow his horn. But that's not in Gable's hands to determine when the horn is blowing.

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In the picture "Green Pastures," the movie, Gable was shown polishing his trumpet. And he puts it to his lips and it seems that he's about to blow

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and God speaks and not now Joe, not now Gable. I'll tell you when. God has control of our time. Doctors may say this or that, but God has the last word.

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He determines how much time you have and how much time I have. He determines the allotment of time given to each one of us. So God has no past, no present, no future. He's just God.

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I am, always I am. I am the God of all your yesterdays. I am the God of the present opportunities that are presented to you when you got up this morning.

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I am the God of your tomorrows. I am that I am, the eternal presence. And when you really understand what it means to focus on the eternal, you're not carried away about some of the present happenings.

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You focus on the eternal. I remember I was working on a job and a man told me that he wanted me to go to another place and I didn't think that was going to be to my advantage in my mission of trying to get some money that summer to go back to seminary. And so here's the boss telling me where I am to go and I didn't think I could make that a success going where he wanted me to go.

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I wanted me to go from New York to Maine. I had done pretty well in New York and I didn't want to risk Maine. So I told them that I'm not going.

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And I thought about it and I thought, "Lord, this is your work that I'm trying to prepare for. "And so this is in your hands to work this out." already told the boss I'm not going. But you are the big boss. You're over it all and

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if this is the way it's to be, you work it out. And that's the way we have to go with God. And consider whether or not this particular course of action has eternal significance. Now if it has eternal significance, if you're linked up with God, you don't have to worry about the outcome. Because even if you don't get to

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finish it, God will finish it. You may not be able to carry it out with zest and zeal, but put it in God's hand. He has all of the energy and the possibilities that are in existence. is not in existence he can bring into existence. I am that I am. Wherever you are, God says to Moses I'm always there. I am that I am. You know he controls, we tried when President Roosevelt was

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in office. He was so popular. He was elected president the first time, then he ran again the second time as president, then he ran again the third time, and so Congress passed a law that you could only run three times. It limited him. He was so popular with the people. He would have been elected

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possibly again if he had lived and been up for office. But nobody elects God. He's just God all the time. I am that I am. And so Moses meets God in a desert in the wilderness. While he's on the job as a shepherd, he meets God who helps him to see what his mission is to be. He's to go back to Egypt and to stand before Pharaoh

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and he is the God of the oppressed. You know, that's good news. For those of us who know what it is to be oppressed to know that God is on the side of the oppressed. God is on our side. I am that I am. And so when we look at this God who is in the Old Testament with Moses, covenant God, gathers his people around Sinai and

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gives them the directions that they are to follow for the good life, the godly life. He has many names. El Shaddai, Mountain God. In other words, if you have any mountains, He's the God of the mountains. In any impossible circumstances, He's in control. He's the God of that. He identified with his house, El Bethel, the house of God. He has a dwelling place.

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Even in the midst of the wilderness experience, he provides for us a home in the wilderness rests along the way. He's the God of the mountain. Then he is King of Kings, Lord of Lords. They're talking about abolishing the kingdom in England, changing them, getting rid of the monarchy.

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But this is a monarchy that man does not control. He is the monarch of the universe. He is Lord of all. And we have him as a rock.

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A rock. And when you recognize this imagery of a rock, and you ride through the country of Palestine, and you see those huge rocks.

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We have some of it around Mount Barnhill here in Austin, but they're much darker than that. And it says, watch out for the rocks when you drive around there.

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But here we have this huge rock. But God is this rock. No matter how much rain falls upon it, this rock remains the same. He is rock.

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David calls him shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord takes care of me. He leads me beside still waters and green pastures.

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He anoints my head with oil. The Lord does this so that David is not afraid of what may happen to him as he performs the Lord's work. The Lord will take care. Surely, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of

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the Lord forever. I am that I am. I am means Moses. I am there for you. So he's there for you, he's there for me. God is there for everybody. So we don't have to worry about those who tell us to watch our back. Just be sure we have our hands in the hands of God. And God has a way of making himself present. Now we don't realize many times that God is along the way.

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And he has a way of letting us know that he is present. He is the eternal present. And we're not talking about a God who is governed by historical affairs. He governs the historical affairs.

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And he says, "I will be with you." Whatever you need, Joshua, if you need more time, I'll provide it. Ahaz, your time is running out? Well, I'll put some more hours on the clock.

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God is the eternal presence. And when we look at the Old Testament, we see him as the one who is always there with his people, people, leading them as a shepherd, being the judge, giving them the laws to govern their lives.

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Then we turn to the New Testament. We move from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, and we hear this God speaking to us through through his son Jesus Christ who says to his disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the true vine. I am the bread of heaven. I am the light of the world. I am the living water.

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I am the Good Shepherd, I am the resurrection and the life, I am God, the eternal presence. That's the witness that Jesus gives. He's a God that comes and and redeems us through suffering. He's a God that lifts us no matter how low we may fall. God is present. Well, Moses has his testimony and Jesus gives us the New

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Testament witness of the presence of God in the life of his people. But we ought We ought to have some experiences of our own. We ought to be able to testify as to what God means to us and what God has done for us and give witness wherever we are,

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whatever our situation may be. So join in making your witness known this day and every day as As we have the testimony, "Oh God, oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home.

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Under the shadow of thy wings, still may we dwell secure. sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure. Before the hills, before the hills in order stood, the earth received her frame, from everlasting thou art God,

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to endless years the same. Time moves on, but God remains the same. Time like an ever rolling stream, bears all her sons away.

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They fly forgotten as a dream, dies at the break of day. Oh God. Oh God.

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The very fact that we say, oh God, that reflects some excitement. Filled with joy, filled with concern. God how you have helped me, how you've led me, how you have strengthened me in the

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midst of it. So we have our own. Our ancestors used to say he's my walking chain. Somebody else says he's my lawyer and another says he's my doctor and some will cry out that he has been with me in the midst of all of my trials. This is the God who is the eternal presence. Eternal. Not to worry about where you're

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going from here. Just be sure you with God. The eternal presence. There's this old I'm going to sing a song that we used to sing in the family when I was a boy. to god.

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unchanging. Put your trust in things that are eternal. Eternal. and hold to god. and have a good car

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but it's not eternal. It can break down in a moment. may but it's not eternal it can leak. Hail can cause the roof to give way. But God, God is changeless. He remains always the same. Whole to God and changing and as we

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say in that hymn we extend the privileges of church to take hold to this God who is eternal who leads us wherever we are. He leads us through hell on the way to heaven. The door of the church is open. We invite you to come to become a part of the family of God here at Ebeneezer. Come.

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[ Music ] Time is filled with good and transitional, Not a word of good can stand. In your homes of things eternal,

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♪ Home to God's unchanging hand ♪ ♪ Trust in him who will not leave you ♪ ♪ Because, oh, ever he is made free ♪ ♪ In the earthly prison for saving ♪

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[MUSIC] ♪ Hold to His hand ♪ ♪ God's unchanging hand ♪ ♪ Hold to His hand ♪

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♪ God's unchanging hand ♪ ♪ Fill your hopes on things eternal ♪ ♪ Hold to God's unchanging hand ♪ [MUSIC]

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♪ As the rampant leafy bay ♪ ♪ Sing to make the heavenly treasure ♪ ♪ They will never pass away ♪ ♪ When your journey is completed ♪

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[Music] [MUSIC] ♪ Your imagined soul will heal ♪ ♪ Hold to his hand ♪

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♪ God's unchanging hand ♪ ♪ Hold to his hand ♪ ♪ God's unchanging hand ♪ ♪ Feel your hopes on things eternal ♪

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[MUSIC] ♪ Hold to his hand ♪ ♪ God's unchanging hand ♪ ♪ Hold to his hand ♪

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♪ God's unchanging hand ♪ ♪ If your hope's on faith eternal ♪ ♪ Hold to God's unchanging hand ♪ [MUSIC]

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>> Don't steal our church, please. >> This pastor coming to hold to God's unchanging hand will be Sister Aisha Prince. She's the godchild of Sister Opal Irving. She's coming as a candidate for baptism.

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>> Sister Prince, will you stand? You accept Jesus Christ as your savior, want to be baptized as an expression of your faith in him? God bless you and we're gonna welcome you into the family of God. And we're gonna baptize this morning so you can go right down into the pool and be baptized.

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God bless you and may he keep you. This is a wonderful family picture here. Amen. I hope Brother Marshall has his camera.

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I have it. It's in the car. All right, all right, we'll have time for you to get it out All who are in favor of accepting this dear sister, would you say aye? Aye

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Opposed no, it's carried. God bless you and God keep you. [ Silence ]