Thriving in Tribulation
I. Secret Place 101
1. The Secret Place is a value, if not the greatest value, of the house
A. Our vision
B. Holy Spirit woke me up at 3am and downloaded His strategy for accomplishing this vision
i. Daily Secret Place Time
2. The Secret Place has Two Parts
A. A controlled environment (time and place) intentionally set apart for the purpose of meeting with Holy Spirit
i. A room in your house in the morning
ii. A hiking trail in the evening
iii. A spontaneous bathroom break in the middle of the day
iv. Your commute to and/or from work
v. Your bedroom at night or first thing in the morning
vi. The gym during the day
B. A genuine expectation to meet Him there
i. Come with expectancy, not expectations
Hebrews 11:6 New King James Version
6 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.
a. It’s REAL hard, almost impossible, to hear God when you have already decided what you want Him to say
3. The Goal of the secret place is to connect with God for yourself
A. Can I really connect with God and if so, how?
i. The 12 Disciplines
a. Holy Spirit told Pastor Raquel and I that we will be taking the rest of 2021 to diligently teach the church how they can delight in God via the disciplines
4. “I’ve tried this secret place thing and it didn’t work for me, I didn’t feel, sense, hear, see anything!”
A. It takes time:
i. November 2021 testimony, seeking and waiting on the Lord, only to realize He was always there
ii. Sometimes, Jesus waits to see how serious we are about Him before revealing Himself to us in more powerful ways
Proverbs 25:2 New King James Version
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.John 2:24-25 New King James Version
24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
B. It takes practice
i. You’re learning your way around a new neighborhood trying to find where the presence of the Lord lives
a. It’s not the same for everyone because everyone isn’t in the same place
i. Getting to the church from each of our homes
ii. You can only get somewhere if you know where you are, and where you’re going
C. The goal at first should be to be seen by Him
i. Matthew 6:4, 6, 18 all refer to disciplines (giving, prayer, and fasting respectively) that we practice in the secret place in order for God to see us, not for us to see Him.
ii. If you can understand and accept the truth that church, secret place, and life is all about Jesus, then you will experience more joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, than you ever could putting your needs first.
II. Holy Spirit’s Warning
1. The Return of Jesus
A. Tribulation, trial, and persecution proceeds His return (Matthew 24)
Matthew 24:21-25 New King James Version
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the [a]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
2. Those who do not spend time in the Secret Place will not survive it
John 10:10 New King James Version
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
3. Holy Spirit told me that He doesn’t want us to just survive the coming tribulation, but to thrive in the midst of it
Psalm 27:4-5 New King James Version
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [a]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
III. You will Thrive, not just Survive If:
1. You CRAVE His Presence
A. Healthy sons and daughters desire to be with their Father
i. Ezra and Judah
a. Coming home from work, leaving for work, playing, cuddling, etc…
b. Buying them toys, putting the tv on for them
i. They want to be with me more than anything else
ii. Healthy children have appetites
a. Raquel can COOK, if the boys don’t want to eat its either because
i. They’re sick
ii. They got full on junk
B. If you’re not hungry for the presence of God, you’re not a healthy son or daughter
i. In the natural you eat when you become hungry, in the spiritual you eat to become hungry
C. Discipline yields Desire
i. If you don’t desire the secret place, you haven’t been disciplined in the secret place
2. The Secret Place is Home
A. Dwelt – yashab (H3427)
i. To dwell, remain, sit, abide
a. To sit, sit down
b. To be set
c. To remain, stay
d. To dwell, have one’s abode
B. After a long day of work, I want to go home and… SIT DOWN
i. It can be challenging to do so because I have a wife and kids
a. It takes 30 min being home after work before you feel like you’re at home
ii. When my boys shut down, if they’re not home, they just want to go home
C. I don’t only want to go home, but I want to stay home
i. Home is peace, home is escape, home is safe
D. What makes your home?
i. All of my bachelor life I lived in houses, its only when I married Raquel that I knew what a home was.
a. Pictures, scents, furniture
ii. Secret place home is the same
a. Raquel’s vs mine
b. Your secret place will not and should not look like anyone else’s. It’s you and Holy Spirit making a home together.
3. You’re in the Secret Place DAILY
A. Holy Spirit has given me Raquel and I much direction in the secret place
i. It’s where we hear Him the MOST
a. Marrying Raquel
b. Free wedding ring, band, wedding, honeymoon and everything in between
c. Having two boys
d. The home we live in now
ii. When you learn to love the secret place, you can even begin to take it with you
a. The Lord has woken me up out of dead sleep to speak to me in the secret place because it’s with me everywhere I go now
B. You can’t accomplish anything worthwhile without consistency
i. The greater the consistency the greater the accomplishment
ii. If you want God to trust you with greater things, demonstrate to Him a greater level of obedience
a. If a child wants more benefits, they must take on more responsibility
4. Your Intention in the Secret Place is to See and Delight in Him
A. The secret place is about God, not you
i. It’s like video chat, I always look terrible in my little window, and if I only focus on what I look and feel like in that little window I never connect with the person I am video chatting.
ii. You’re there not to figure out how to accomplish your ministry goals, not to get what you want from Him, but to minister to Him
a. Understanding this is the key to not burning out when the going gets tough
iii. This is the way to prepare for the day, ministering to Him, thanking Him, praising Him, worshipping Him, meditating on Him.
a. That’s what produces the greatest change in our lives
2 Corinthians 3:18 New King James Version
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as [a]by the Spirit of the Lord.
5. If You Care More what He Thinks than Anyone Else
A. Holy Spirit loves to answer GOOD questions.
i. I hear Holy Spirit so much because I have learned to ask Him the right questions.
a. It’s not right vs wrong, there is no intimacy in that
i. “Just tell me what I’m supposed to say/do!”
b. It’s the intimate questions
ii. What pleases You Holy Spirit? What makes You happy?
a. Imagine making decisions based on His answer to that question
i. Family
ii. Finances
iii. Career
iv. Business
v. Vaccines
vi. Closing vs Opening
B. This is essentially what the fear of the Lord is.
i. Caring what He thinks more than anyone else does
IV. The result:
1. In the time of trouble (bad or evil)
A. You will be hidden in His pavilion/ the secret place of His tabernacle (presence)
i. If God hides you from bad and evil times, that means bad and evil times cannot find you
a. This doesn’t mean, bad/evil things won’t happen, but you won’t lose yourself in them
B. You will be set high upon a rock
i. You will have the high ground, you will rise above the loss, devastation, pain, fear, etc…
