Make Room - Week 3: Watch the Signs

Tim Ross | October 24, 2021

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What's up people? Y'all doing all right? All right. If you have your Bibles, I want you to go to the book of Numbers. When's the last time you've been there? The book of Numbers 9. I'm going to read a few verses in your hearing. Ooh, I'm so full on this word, y'all. Oh, my gosh. Somebody's about to get it today. I don't know who it is. Somebody's about to get this work. Goodness, I'm so hyped.

Numbers 9. I'm reading from the New Living Translation of the Bible, starting at the 15th verse. If this is your first time joining us here or online, I'm so grateful that you decided to be with us. We are in a series called Make Room. It is a series of prophetic messages that I believe God is using to guide Embassy City through the season that we're in so he could give us clarity into the season that we are going. I believe that ever since Charlotte Gambill was here, and she preached that word about changing batteries, and then the prophetic word that was given to both Juliet and I, I just think that God has put us on a trajectory that is absolutely amazing and exciting.

Numbers 9, starting at the 15th verse, here's what it says, "On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it, but from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. This was the regular pattern - at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. Wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord's command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle.

If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord's command, they would break camp and move on. Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. Day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. As soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. They camped or traveled at the Lord's command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses."

That's good. If you're taking notes on this message, three words, please write them down - watch the signs. That's what I want to talk to you about today - watch the signs. Let's pray over the word. Shall we? Holy Spirit, help us to pay attention. Shoot. Amen. The Old Testament is absolutely fascinating to me. It's rich with history, poetry, genealogy, and we get the origin story of Israel, how they came to be, who they were, and their special connection to a God that decided to make a covenant starting with one man. That out of one man many would come into a relationship with this same God, because one man decided by faith at 75 years old to just trust God and go.

Throughout their relationship that Abram and God had, changing his name to Abraham, then on to Isaac, then on to Jacob, then on to Joseph, then on to Jesus. I'm just jumping ahead and then on to us. Gentiles being engrafted into this same covenant promise that was given to Abram for no other reason than doing the same thing Abram did, believing by faith that God sent his son and that the holy spirit raised him from the dead.

Can anybody beside me testify that there have been some times where you didn't know what God was doing in your life? If somebody were to ask you, "Hey, what's going on right now?" you'd be like, "I don't know. I don't even know." "What is He doing?" "I don't know." "You get up every morning, you journal, what's in your journal?" "Three letters, IDK. I got tired of writing it. I just put IDK," but God is always speaking if we're paying attention.

From the beginning in the Old Testament, in the Book of Genesis, He is always dropping hints and always giving signs of what He's trying to do. Even if you can't hear Him, you can pick up on the signs that He's trying to communicate. After the flood, He told Noah, "I'm not going to do this again. I will never send destruction like this again. As a sign to you, every time you see the rainbow, it's going to be a reminder of the covenant that I'm making with you today that I will never do something like this again." It was a sign. He gave signs to His people. Even though we're going to focus on this, I just want you to know this is not the only time He gave signs.

Gideon is a guy that comes to mind because a lot of people look down upon Gideon. I've heard a lot of preachers preach negatively about Gideon because he needed a sign. Whenever you've been called to do something big for the Lord and you've never done anything even small for the Lord. Sometimes just hearing Him say, "You're a mighty man and I want to do something to you," is just not enough.

While everyone teases Gideon for asking for signs, God didn't tease him. He said, "I need a sign if you're really going to be with me," he said, "Okay, what do you want me to do?" He said, "I'll give you the sign that you need. If it's going to help you step into what I'm calling you to do, I will give you a sign. I will give you a sign that I will be with you so that you will always know that what I say I can actually support, that if I ask you for it, I can actually follow through and give it to you and do it through you."

Jesus Christ. God's word wrapped in flesh. What followed Him? Signs and wonders. These were to prove that He was who He said He was. This is why when the Pharisees asked for more signs, He rebuked them. He said, "Only a wicked generation seeks after a sign." Wait a minute, you came doing signs and wonders, and He was like, "That's right. I get to choose the signs and the wonders. What you don't get to do is demand what they look like." If you're really the son of God, perform a miraculous sign. He's like, "Bruh, you didn't come to the wedding? You didn't see the blind man whose eyes were opened? You didn't hear about the deaf man whose ears were unloose? You didn't see the lying man that got up from his bed? Have you not heard? Now you need something else?"

Let's not just think that that's only limited to the Pharisees. In 2021, we still have people seeking signs outside of the ones God's trying to show you. I won't speak to the world right now, I'll only speak to the Christians, those that believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised him from the dead. I have never seen so many believers need signs that God doesn't endorse. As a matter of fact, when they meet each other and get into conversation, they'll say something absurd like, "What is your sign?" You'll say something like, "I don't know. What do you mean what is my sign? I don't have a sign." They're like, "No, no, no. When were you born?" Based on where you're born, they think they know everything about you because some horoscope-- You're going to set your life's agenda based on the fact that you're a Sagittarius? You're going to pick your mate based on if they're a Taurus, or a Gemini, or a Leo? The signs you're looking for don't coincide with the signs God wants to give you. You are opening up a door for an evil spirit to influence you. You think it's innocent. "No, it's just a sign. There's some stuff true about it?" Is it more true than what God says about you? People ask me, "What's your sign?" I ain't got one. My sign is a cross, go look at it. Matter of fact, pick yours up. What are we talking about? "It's just like the stars." Stop. God gets to choose the signs and he'll make them really obvious to you.

The children of Israel were in the wilderness at this time, in the passage that I just read. They're about to culminate this time where God has spoken to them on Mount Sinai. Now it is this moment where the Tabernacle has been erected, this very special place that God chose to dwell. Let me tell you the thing that's amazing about this place that God chose, it was a tent. This wasn't Solomon's temple. It was not elaborate. It was not overlaid with gold, it was not opulent. It was a tent made with goat hair and badger skins. It was a tent, with a collection of things put on the inside of it, that God specifically said, "Please make sure you follow the pattern because what you are putting down on earth is something that actually exists up in heaven, follow the pattern.

If you follow the pattern to the tee and make it exactly the way I want it to be, I will come down there and I will dwell with you." God says, "I will make myself manifest, I will literally come down to where you are and dwell with you." They put up a tent made with dead animal skins, and God somehow some way tiptoed out of heaven and made himself present among his people in a way that they could not deny. A cloud came out of nowhere. This cloud literally came out of nowhere. They made the tent, and all of a sudden, they saw this cloud form, and it kept getting closer to the point that it came down and covered the tent. It stayed there for a while and whenever the cloud would lift, it will start moving in a certain direction.

I don't know who was the first person to get a clue, but somebody said, "I don't think we should be here if the cloud is going over there." Because when His cloud is here, we feel protection. When this cloud is here, we feel peace. As it's lifting, I'm starting to look at you crazy, you starting to look at me crazy. I think we better follow." "Where is it going?" "I don't know." When is it going to stop?" "I don't know." "We tired of walking." "I don't care, because we have to follow the cloud." Then after a certain time, it would settle and when it settled, they settled. When it moved, they moved. He never spoke. Scripture said when the cloud lifted, they would move at the Lord's command, but he didn't say nothing. They saw something.

I don't know the percentage of people in the room that are in the midst of a transition and you might think the transition is absolutely crazy. Let me just pause and say that the wilderness gets a bad reputation. When you hear somebody say, "I'm in my wilderness season," you're like, "Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry. I'll be praying for you. That just sounds so horrible." It would only be horrible if you're in a wilderness that God didn't send you to. It would only be horrible if it's a wilderness period that God didn't lead you into. If He's the one that said, "I need you to come with me this way," oh, then I'm all down for the wilderness.

I want to talk about the attributes of this cloud because I think you're going to be able to pick up on some signs in your own life, what God is doing for you right here and now through these attributes in this cloud. I'm not saying to go outside and look for no clouds, but I'm also not saying that God can't speak through that as well. We just hired some new children's pastors and they're from California as well. We getting a bunch of Californians right now. They're ready to go. We got some more Californians, my fellow folks, and they got here. Kevin is the children's pastor and his wife's name is Asanda.

Asanda said, "God, I need a sign if you're calling us to move out here. Our whole family's in Cali. I got everything right. We're in great distance between all of our other family members. I'm close to my sisters and I'm close to my mom, and we got everybody where we want them to be, and now you're telling us to move to Texas? If you want us to move to Texas, when I get to Texas, I need a thunderstorm." That's what she said. She said, "Not like no-- I don't mean a light rain, I mean [sound] thunderstorm. I need hail being thrown by angels, like softballs.

They came out to visit and they were actually in this church on the second floor in our Executive Pastor Greg's office. Greg was having this time with them and Kevin had to go to the restroom. While he's going to the restroom, a thunderstorm broke out and not just a light rain, I'm talking [sound] rain hitting heavy, dark clouds, almost pitch black outside, and Asanda's at the window crying. Greg has no idea why. Greg is like, "I guess they're not going to take the job. I don't know. What did I say?"

She's weeping at the window. Kevin comes back from the restroom, and he looks at Greg and he looks at Asanda, and Greg goes, "I didn't do nothing. I was just minding my business and she started crying." She's like, "I asked the Lord for a sign, and I wanted it to be a thunderstorm, and I wanted it to be a [sound] thunderstorm, and I wanted it to be dark, and I wanted it to be scary. This is it. Take the job, honey." This is God. Can you believe that God loved her so much that instead of saying, "Oh, you should just have some more faith, why don't you just believe? I already gave you a word, why don't you just believe?" she wanted a sign, and He gave her one?

Four attributes of this cloud, I want you to write these down, here's the first one, the cloud covers. No matter what season of life you're in, whether you feel like you are in the promised land or in the middle of the driest wilderness of your life, do you feel God's presence? The cloud covers. The wonderful thing about that cloud covering is that it gives you an immense sense of peace when you are going through a season that you can't make sense of.

Anybody ever been in a season that seems so disoriented, but you have so much peace in the middle of that season, you couldn't even explain it? Your friends were getting nervous for you. Your family members were getting nervous for you. They were all sitting back like, "Girl, I don't even know if you're going to make it." You're like, "I'm going to be fine." Well, they're about to cancel 300 more jobs and it's like, "Well, I'm going to be fine."Well, they just gave pink slips to your whole department and you already said that you depleted most of your savings in last year's move and you're like, "I'm going to be fine."

Why? The cloud covers. When the cloud covers, there's peace that comes with the cloud that no matter what season you're in, no matter what you're going through, no matter what the struggles may be, when you have God's peace and his presence with you, it doesn't matter what you go through. I'm covered. Best season of my life, I'm covered. Worst season of my life, I'm covered. Not knowing what I'm stepping into, I am covered. Not knowing why the door never opened, I'm covered.

I don't know who that's for, but you need to thank God for closed doors. While you're steadily asking him to open doors, you need to praise God for closed doors. You need to give God an ignorant blissful praise, a blissfully ignorant praise, that's what I was trying to say. You should give him the type of praise like, "Lord, I don't know what you just saved me from, but thank you. I don't know why you didn't let that door open, but thank you. I don't know why the relationship ended, but thank you. I don't know why you just did what you did, I might not know for five years, but thank you so much." Ignorance is bliss when God is involved. The cloud covers.

Point number two, please write this down, the cloud changes. Y'all have to get this because the cloud was a cloud by day, but as soon as it turned night, it turned into a pillar of fire. I think I need to stop and say this right here, that you can't get used to the way God used you, or you experienced him in one season, because the same God that was with you last year that way, might be with you this year a completely different way.

If the only way that you ever interacted with Him is through cloud, then when fire shows up, you think something's wrong. "Well, I just don't see God. I used to get up at 5:00 AM and my right arm would get really warm. Usually through the third song in worship and then my right arm gets warm and it starts to shake a little bit, and that just doesn't happen anymore." Before you think something's wrong with the relationship, investigate to see if there's been a change. Maybe the time has changed. From day to night, the cloud would change. Maybe the season has changed. From day to night, the season can change.

Let me just say on a practical level, it was genius that the cloud would turn into fire because at night, it's hard to see clouds. Before we make this super deep, can we talk about the practicality of God? You're so smart. Thank you so much for lighting up because it got dark and I wouldn't have been able to see a cloud and now I can see it. It makes sense that in the daytime, the cloud would be there and not fire because it would be hard to see a fire in the sky in the daytime.

Do you pay attention to the seasons changing? Do you pay attention to the timing that God wants to give you? There's certain things that God says in certain seasons and there's certain ways that he shows up in different seasons. He did this with the children of Israel. He's like, "Hey, listen, not only will I be a cloud by day and a fire by night, but I will also give you manna from heaven, and you won't have to do anything, but come out six days a week and grab what you need. I'll give it to you."

Then when they got over and crossed over to Jordan, he said, "I'm not doing manna anymore. I gave you a land flowing with milk and honey." It's not three gallons of milk on a table and four jars of honey. It's cows and bees. Get to work. "God, I thought you were bringing us into a land of milk and honey," and he's like, "The cows are right there, milk them. The bees are right there, put on something and go break off those honeycombs." In this season, I brought it to you. In the next season, you have to work it. In another season, you might have to manage it. I'm still with you, but there's changes that I'm making.

For some of you all, the devotion time that you used to have in the last season is not enough for this season. The time that you spent with God in last season isn't enough for the spiritual weight you need to carry in this season. Some of you all need to change your sleeping cycles and you need to change your spiritual dietary habits. Some of y'all need to read way more than what you're reading right now because you have too much on you to have that little word going in you.

That YouVersion 15-minute devotional app ain't going to work and YouNow managing the entire region. You can't have four kids and still be reading Songs. You're going to need a little bit more than that now. I'm not going to even go there. I'm not going to do it, I'm not going to do it. The cloud changes. I'm a cloud right now. Catch the sign, I'm a cloud right now. You see me, but I'm going to change. Don't be afraid of me changing. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

Jesus took three of his disciples up to the Mount of Transfiguration. In front of them, a cloud came, and He changed. Changed in such a glorious way, the three of them didn't know what to do. When you don't know what to do, you shouldn't do nothing, but Peter just couldn't help himself. He's like, "Oh, oh, oh, my gosh. Oh. You floating. Oh, and you're changing colors. Oh, and Moses and Elijah showed up. Oh, what should we do? We should do something. This is big. We're going to build three Tabernacles for all three of y'all."

God is like, "Hey bro, focus on My Son and listen to Him." The change happens. When the change happens, you have to be able to embrace it. "Oh, I got to stay here." How many people, by admission, don't like change? I'm talking like change just sends you-- you lose your mind when change happens. Somebody says, "Hey, I know we were going to do this, but we're going to do--" You're like, "Oh my. Ah. I don't understand. Why are we changing? I thought we were going to Cheesecake Factory. Ah. I was going to get the orange chicken and the rice. Now you changed it."

He's like, "We're going to go to Truluck's instead." "Oh, oh. Ah. My brain was not ready." This is how some of you all look in God's presence when He wants to give you the slightest change. "Hey, I need you to change your behavior." "Ah. This is the way I'm-- This is just me. Why do You want me to change it?" "Because you're going to ruin your child." [chuckles] "I need you to change churches." "Ah. No. There's nothing wrong here. Everything's great."

God's like, "There's something I need to do in and through you, and it won't happen here." "Ah. Huh?" Now, why am I saying this? Because you're looking at a guy-- We did a thinking wavelength, and that just assesses these different things when you do strategic planning. On change, with 1 being "change is the worst thing that can happen to you," and 10 is like "let's change right now," I'm a 10 out of 10 on change.

The reason why I'm here right now? Because God speaks to me. When He speaks to me, I'm like, "Okay, this is what we're doing." In the middle of this message, if God was like, "Stop preaching this," I would stop right now. Well, you're going to be embarrassed, and you're not done with this sermon, and what if they're like, "I can't track with you?" When the Lord calls an Audible, I'm gone. Why? Because it is in the sensitivity that you keep your obedience. I have been in seasons of my life where I didn't change when God told me to and I wound up embarrassed. I'll never forget. I used to work at Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation right up the road off of 114 and Freeport. This was 2003. I had been working there for two years and the Holy Spirit kept telling me, "It's time for you to step into full-time ministry." I was like, "Oh, okay. Yes, amen. That'll happen one day. I don't have enough preaching engagements yet to support all of that, and I'm not going to live in a car with Juliet in the name of the gospel. This is not happening." Amen, right?

I'm like, "When I start, when I beef up more engagements, then I will make the transition because that's responsible and that's practical. When the itinerary fills up, then I will make the transition and go into full-time ministry. Right now I'm still the weekend warrior, and I'm just weaning myself off of it." The cloud lifted. Even though we haven't got to point number three, I think I'm supposed to get into point number three. Please write down point number three, the cloud lifts. The cloud lifts. The cloud lifted. I wasn't ready for it to lift. I was still planning when the cloud lifted. When the cloud lifted, the peace went with the lift. His presence with the lift. I was still there trying to figure out the plan. I waited too long.

I remember being with my friend. I had a friend who had a mutual friend-- No, I'm sorry, it wasn't mutual. I had a friend who had a friend that I didn't know, that's the best way I could say. My best friend had a friend that I didn't know. I don't know if you've ever been in that type of situation where your best friend has a friend, you don't know him, they know him. You meet him, you're like, "Oh, I guess you are right." You're like, "You'll never be best, but you can be rest, right?"

I meet this guy, and I'm telling them right now "Hey, I'm going through this season and I'm praying through some stuff, but I feel like God's calling me into full-time ministry, but I'm not-- when I get the itinerary filled out, that's when I'm going to make the jump." This is my best friend's friend. I don't know this person, I've never met him in my life. All three of us to talking and I'm giving them the breakdown and this dude says, this stranger says to me, "God is offended with your faith."

I don't know you like that. I don't. Not sure you had permission to proceed. I don't know who gave you clearance, this is my best friend, he's your friend, I don't know you. He goes, "God's offended with your faith because you think that He's going to fill the itinerary before you obey the last thing He told you to do." Exactly, right? My pride was so flared up that day, my nostrils were flaring, my ancestors were rising up in me. Got some warriors in my DNA. I was like, "Okay. I hear you, Lord. I hear you."

I heard the Lord through this stranger, did nothing about it. Three weeks later, maybe a month later, 6:00 AM in the morning, I pop out of bed. Juliet wakes up, "What happened?" I said, "They're going to fire me today." Am I lying? True story, right? I said, "They are going to fire me today." Was there any evidence to support me being fired that day? Nothing was going on. I'm literally sitting there. I wake up in the morning, "They're going to fire me today." She was like, "What? Who's going--" I said, "I'm about to get fired today." She said, "Why?" I said, "I don't know."

I go to work 7:30 in the morning, put on my headset, log in. I started answering every call in the queue that day. Poom, "Thank you for calling Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation." Poom, "Thank you for calling Nissan--" Poom. My quality assurance check was 100% that day and just like corporate America does, did nobody say nothing to me all morning. I hit my lunch break. They were like, "Hey guy, go enjoy lunch. It's going to be amazing. See when you get back, Tim."

I came back from lunch, logged back in, poom, "Thank you for calling Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation." Poom, "Thank you for calling Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation," for 15 minutes before my shift was over. "Hey, they need to see you in HR." I was like, "You think?" "I don't know." "What's going down?" I called Juliet before I left that cubicle and I said, "Baby, it's about to go down." I was like, "I'm going to need you to come pick me up," because Nissan was letting me lease this car long as I work for them.

I put all my stuff in a box before I even went downstairs. We got downstairs, we sat down. They said, "Hey, Tim, it's been brought to our attention--" I said, "You don't have to finish the story." I said, "I don't know what you're about to say, but here's what I know. About five months ago, the Holy Spirit told me to leave and I didn't, and this is the consequence. You've done me a favor today and I appreciate the time you've given me." I turned in my keys, I got up, and I walked out. They were like, "What is wrong with him?" I knew it was over because the cloud lifted. Because I didn't want to pay attention to the signs, I had to feel the consequence of it.

Now when the cloud lifts and you don't move, here's the only thing you need to do. You ain't got to go, "I repent, I'm sorry. Cloud is five miles away." You better get some shoes on and get to-- "Where are you going?" "Catching up to the cloud. I'm late." The cloud lifted. When the cloud lifted, it's time to go. I'm going to say it again. When the cloud lifts, it's time to go. Scripture said the children of Israel sometime would set up camp. They'd be there for a year. In a year, you get settled. Ain't nothing temporary about a year. You get settled in. They got settled in, put up the Tabernacle, and it was great.

Then the cloud lifts and it's like, "Oh, I guess it's time to go." Scripture said other days the cloud would lift and then it would go settle in a day.You can't fall in love with a season. You have to fall in love with the God of the seasons because if you fall in love with a season, when the season changes, you will make an idol about where you've been and you will begin to worship the old days.

This is one of the reasons why I love my parents so much, because my parents'-- Front row. You see them? Front row. My daddy's going to always have on a suit and my mama is going to always be the flyest church mother ever made in life. You hear me? Here's what you need to know. They've been saved longer than I've been alive. God is moving in a different way. They're still following the cloud. They're not going, "That's not the way he did it when I was growing up." They didn't fall in love with the method. Thank you, Holy Spirit. My mama has told me at certain times in the last six years I've been pastoring this church, "I don't really like the worship at your church." She has told me that. She said, "I have learned to endure what I cannot enjoy." That's what she said.

You can't tell because certain weekends, my mama be like [sound]. She gets into it. Why? Because she's not made an idol out of the method. When the cloud moves, sometimes it lifts and takes you to a place that you didn't think you want it to be. Ooh, I feel this thing. The cloud lifts. I never want to be in a season of my life that the cloud lifts and I say to God, "I'm cool right here, but I'm moving and I need you to stay with me." "This is fire. I love this, though. This is so good that-- You sure you don't want to stay here?" "It's three miles away. You're still talking." "I don't understand what's wrong with here." What if nothing's wrong with there? What if He can't give you what's next until you move? The cloud lifts.

Point number four, please write this down, the cloud settles. In the same way, you have to be open to where it goes, you have to be open to the lift. You have to be open to God saying, "Season's up." You have to be open to Him saying, "Hey, there's a change of plans. I know we were going this way, now we're going this way." In the same way, you got to be open to the lift, you have to be open to the settle. Where does he want me now?

You ever seen where God wanted to take you and you were like, "No." I'm not talking about those moments where you're like, "Take me there, Lord. Amen. I want that job and I want that check and I want this life." Have you ever seen the cloud start to settle and you're like, "No, come on. You're not about to park right there. I know you're not about to park right there. You're about to park right there? You're really about to park right there? You're about to park right there."?

I'll never forget, we transitioned from Potter's House, our last day at Potter's House. That's where I met Juliet, that's where our babies were born, we were at Potter's House. I was there 13.5 years, Juliet was there about almost 15 years, and the cloud lifted. We had to follow the cloud. Oh, it was a heartbreaking season because we loved that church, we loved that environment, and we didn't know where we're going to go. Juliet and I were like, "There's churches in the Metroplex we're never going to visit. We don't want to go to those churches. We want a small church. Give us the Goldilocks church."

We was tired of megachurch. We were like, "Give us a church maybe about 500 people. We'll sit in the back," and the Lord was like, "Y'all are foolish. I'm moving." After about three and a half months, the cloud moved to South Lake and it started coming down and we were like, "No. We didn't want to go to Gateway." I was like, "This is big as the church we left. What are you doing?" Juliet was like, "No, I don't like to worship at Gateway." We came from here. We needed a bridge and a hook. You know what I'm saying? We needed something, exhortation in there. Juliet was like, "I don't like to worship there, babe." She was like, "It's just too wordy." She was like, "It's like a journal entry. That's not a song. It's a paragraph. Where's the vamp? Where's the bridge? It's just all those words on the screen."

The cloud was settling. Here I am, from Inglewood, California, raised in predominantly Black Pentecostal churches and He's sending me to Southlake. I am from the hood and He is sending me to Southlake. The clouds settled there. You know what we did? We got in that building, and the Holy Spirit's peace and His presence was with us there like it was in the last season at the Potter's House. We both concluded, no matter how we felt about it, we were in God's spot for our lives. After three years, the Lord said, Irving, and not just any part of Irving, Las Colinas, Irving. The cloud lifted and moved over here, so guess what we did? We came over here because we watched the signs. You have to be the type of person that is open to the signs that God wants to give because He's always speaking even when He's not using words.

Scripture said that the cloud lifted and moved and they moved at God's command, He never said a word, He signed a word. Watch the signs, pay attention to what he's saying even when He's not speaking because He's trying to set you up to make room for what He wants to do. You should bow your heads and close your eyes. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message? My hope and my prayer is that there was something in this message that got you to become curious about where you are right now, the season you're in right now. He's trying to make room for you, He is trying to make room in you.

You got to pay attention to the signs. What He wants to do and how He wants to do it, you want to pay attention to the signs, you want to be covered in His piece and in His presence. You want to be aware of the changes that He makes. You want to be open to when He lifts to move and you want to be obedient to where He chooses to settle. You got to watch the signs because He's trying to speak to us and take us to another level of relationship with Him. The times that God doesn't use words, [silence] He'll give you a sign that He's still with you, that you're not far, that you're not late, that you're not disconnected, that He wants a relationship with you that is so close that every time He moves, you move. Where He goes, you go. Where He dwells, we dwell.

Holy Spirit, I pray right now, in the name of Jesus, that we would be open to the signs that you want to give us for this season of our lives. I come against the enemy right now that would put fear into our hearts about the changes that you want to make in our lives. Open up our hearts and open up our minds. We invite you in right now, Holy Spirit, and we say that you can lead and guide as you see fit. We will go wherever you tell us to go, we will do whatever you tell us to do, we will say whatever you tell us to say, we follow you. We are spirit-led believers, this is a spirit-led church, we follow you. We do not tell you where we're going, we follow you. God, thank you for the blessing of following your spirit.