You know ghosted? You know the term?  

I'm not going to ask if you've ever been 
ghosted or been the ghoster. Ghostees, ghosters.

When I was on the dating scene back 
in seventh grade, you at least had the  

common courtesy to have your friend 
break up with a girl for you, but now  

it's called ghosting. You just end 
the relationship by never responding.  

Technology has greatly enhanced our lives, 
hasn't it? You just never get back with them.

Of course, I'm using it in two different ways. 
Jesus tells them about the Holy Ghost that's  

going to come on them and that he's going to give 
it to them, and then he leaves. I was thinking,  

"Did Jesus just ghost his own disciples?" 
I was thinking that. I was thinking, Jesus  

gives them the biggest mission that has ever been 
given to a human, and right after he gives it,  

just when they're getting their notepad and their 
Elevation pen out to write down point number one…

"Okay. Witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 
ends of the earth." They look up for what's next,  

and he's gone. Now, the theological 
content of this passage is vast, and  

of course, there have been volumes 
written on the pneumatology, or  

the study of the Holy Spirit, as it relates to 
the transfer from the external to the internal.

See, if you read the Old Testament, you'll 
see the phrase a lot that the Holy Spirit came  

on a person and the Holy Spirit overshadowed 
or rested so they could fulfill a particular  

purpose. If a prophet were to prophesy, the 
Spirit would come on them for that task.  

Now we're seeing something very different that 
is born, something greater that is happening,  

as the Holy Spirit will no longer visit 
but inhabit. He's going to move in now.

He doesn't want a guest room. He wants 
access to all parts of my heart and my life.  

So, the disciples, who have spent 
three years… Now let's talk about this.  

Three years with Jesus. Over the course of 
these three years, they have seen the power  

of his presence. After seeing him open blind 
eyes and even unstop deaf ears and touch lepers  

and minister in such a way, they had finally 
started to grasp the power of his presence.

I don't know about you, but I want the presence 
of God in every area of my life this year. When  

I say that, what I mean is I don't just want to 
experience God's presence in church with you.  

No offense, but I need the presence 
of God when you're not around.

I need the presence of God when 
I'm dealing with stressful people.  

I need the presence of God when I'm looking at 
expensive bills. I need the presence of God when  

my emotions are roaring and foaming like some 
kind of nasty sea. I need the presence of God  

when things rise up in me that I thought I had 
gotten out of my system a long time ago. I need  

the presence of God so I don't go crazy. I need 
his presence more than just 90 minutes a week.

I need his presence in my car. 
The way some of y'all drive,  

I need his presence in my car. I need his 
presence when I'm dropping my kids off at  

school. I want him to go with my kids to school. 
I want him to follow in their class and keep an  

eye on them for me, because I can't see them. I 
want the presence of God to stalk my young ones.  

I want the presence of God. So, they spent three 
years understanding the power of his presence.

Let me tell you something. Everywhere his 
presence is welcome, power is available.  

Everywhere his presence is welcome, power 
is available. Just know there is a huge  

difference between acknowledging God's 
presence and welcoming God's presence.  

To welcome his presence gives a picture that 
we will work with him, not fight against him,  

and accept the things that he allows in 
our lives, even sometimes the painful ones,  

and even inviting him into those areas of our 
lives where we would not expect him to appear.

Do you know you can invite the presence 
of Jesus into your relationships?  

Did you know that one time in John, chapter 
2, Jesus was invited to a wedding and he went?  

"You don't have time to go to a wedding; you're 
the Savior of the world. Come on, let's go to a  

press conference." He said, "I want to go to this 
wedding because they're going to run out of wine."

The presence of Jesus is powerful 
when you run out of stuff.  

They had no more wine, but they had some water.  

When they filled the six ceremonial stone jars 
with water (and they held 20 to 30 gallons each),  

the water turned to wine, because the presence 
of Jesus is that powerful. The presence of God  

can transform "not enough" into "more than 
enough." The presence of Jesus is powerful.

So, you can invite him to your 
wedding. You can invite him into  

your relationships. You can invite him, 
and his presence is powerful. You can also  

invite him into your boat. Trust me; you 
want Jesus in your boat. Ask Peter. Peter let  

Jesus use his boat, ostensibly so Jesus could 
preach a sermon, but Jesus had an ulterior  

motive, because he wanted to show Peter 
something about the power of his presence.

When he got into the boat, not only did he 
preach, but after he got done preaching,  

he said, "Peter, I appreciate it. 
Are you ready to catch some fish now?  

Before I got on your boat, I noticed your 
empty nets. I noticed you aren't very good  

at life without me, but if you want to put 
your nets back down with me on your boat,  

you might just find that what was empty without 
me is going to be full now that I'm in your boat."

I want Jesus in my boat this year. I want him in 
my business. I want him in my decisions. How many  

of you want Jesus in your phone this year? I want 
him in my contacts. I want him showing me who to  

delete, who to mute, who to ignore, who to text 
back, who to call and encourage, who to FaceTime,  

who to ghost. One time, 
Jesus was in a boat sleeping,  

and the disciples encountered a storm. 
He was in the bottom of the boat.

He wasn't even walking around. He 
wasn't even praying. He was snoring,  

but the power of his presence is so real that 
even his snoring can still a wave. He got up  

with sleep still in his eyes and said, "Shut up 
and let me get my rest." When he spoke to the  

storm, he demonstrated the power of 
his presence over any force of nature.

So, if you are going through a storm right now,  

if he is on your boat, you won't go down. He is 
with you in the storm. The power of his presence.  

You have five loaves and two fish? It's not 
enough unless you know a man who can multiply it.  

When you put your little bit in the 
hands of the God who created everything,  

little becomes much. It's the power 
of his presence. Oh, by the way,  

be very careful if you invite Jesus to 
your funeral, because he might mess it up.

He might make you roll the stone away. He might 
say, "Lazarus, come forth." Be careful getting  

too close to him. He might awaken a dead dream. 
After all, he is the resurrection. He is the life.  

He is a new beginning. He is power. He has all 
authority. For three years they saw the power  

of his presence, but now they are about 
to experience the power of his absence.  

"I don't think I like this part. I 
didn't like that turn you just took  

there. Bring it on back to the power of the 
presence. That's good. It starts with a P."

"Bring it on back to the times when I feel 
close to God." The text said, on the verge  

of the greatest not visitation but habitation of 
the Holy Spirit, which would come not only to the  

disciples but to all of us who would believe 
in his name… When they got closer and closer  

to the real purpose Jesus came for, in 
verse 9, is the moment he left their sight.

The power of his absence. I never heard 
a sermon about that. I heard about his  

presence. I heard about the tabernacle and 
the temple and the shekinah glory and the  

table of shewbread. I've heard all manner 
of messages about the power of his presence,  

but we see that the kingdom was inaugurated 
with what they perceived to be his absence.

What is God doing in your life right now 
that is actually an indication that his  

presence is becoming stronger and more real 
but your emotional sensation is that he has  

left you? Now, the power of his absence 
is really a matter of us understanding  

that God is not limited by physical 
dimensions. I know you know that,  

but he never really leaves. 
However, he does change forms,  

and he creates space where we can experience him. 
It's almost impossible to preach about the power  

of his absence, because we have come to so closely 
associate the presence of God with our comfort.

It's difficult for us to believe 
that in the moments we feel him  

or understand him the least 
he might be working the most.  

I'm going to say that again for the people 
in the back. I'm going to say it differently.  

In the absence of answers, faith is born.  

In the absence of resource, creativity is born.  

That's when you have to figure out what to do with 
a stick when you're standing in front of a sea,  

when you don't have enough. When is the last time 
we thanked God for something he didn't give us  

because it showed us who we really are?

That's what I mean when I say the power of 
his absence. I don't mean that it feels good  

when people walk away from you and 
when people don't show up, although,  

if we're honest, there are certain people that 
when they don't show up, we silently thank God.  

Do not pretend like there aren't people in 
your office that when you hear they're sick…  

You pray for them. "I hope it's not too bad, 
but, Lord, if it could last the rest of the week,  

that'd be all right, and then they get 
well. I just need a little breathing room."

Have you ever had somebody, by the way, leave your 
life who you thought you couldn't live without,  

and then you did? I even had staff 
members… I've been pastoring this church  

since before I had a beard. People would leave,  

and I would get confused. I would start to think 
that because they left, what they brought left.

But what they brought came from God,  

and God will send another truck with the 
package if somebody decides to leave.