The Presence of God

We Need the Presence

We need the presence of God. As we enter this time of prayer and fasting, I have a burden for a fresh experience in God’s presence.

We are very fortunate that, as a church, we have times in the presence of the Lord. I am thankful that I feel HIs presence in every service.

But there is something unique about the presence, the more I experience it, the more I desire to be in His presence. Can there be too much of a good thing?

We can overindulge in food

We can overindulge in activities

We can overindulge in hobbies

But we can never overindulge in the presence of God.

I want to spend a few moments conveying what I feel the Lord is speaking to me about this fast-- We need the presence of God!

Let’s take a quick journey and see experiences people had in the presence of God.

Exodus 33:14–15 NKJV

14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

Moses

Moses was at a critical juncture in Israel. He had just spent extended amounts of time with God on top of the mountain. He was one of the fortunate ones who enjoyed a close and personal relationship with God!

He walks down the mountain and find that Israel has forgotten the Lord and created a golden calf to worship as their god.

The Lord would not put up with this and determined that they could go to the promise land, but He was not going with them.

Moses became desparate. He knew they needed God to personally go with them!

The Lord answered, My presence will go with you. Moses shares what we all should feel—without your presence we cannot go forward!

The presence for Moses was a priority. But for him, he had to either go to the mountaintop or go to the tent of meeting to enjoy God’s presence.

Psalm 27:4–6 NKJV

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 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. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

David

David was another one who was blessed to know God’s presence. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit.

He shows his hearts desire when he declares ONE THING have I desired of the Lord. Nothing was more important to him than being in God’s presence.

David enjoyed the presence because he knew how to praise and worship. He understood that where people honor God He will arrive and be present.

When David sinned, notice one of his greatest concerns:

Psalm 51:11 NKJV

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

The thought of losing God’s presence was too much.

But for David, enjoying the presence meant going to the Ark or the Tabernacle. He had to GO be in God’s presence.

The Psalmist

Psalm 84:10 NKJV

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

The Psalmist speaks of the blessings of dwelling in God’s presence. But notice again, he had to GO to the house of the Lord to be in the presence of God.

I am pointing this out for a reason. In the Old Testament, many enjoyed God’s presence, but it is not as though He was always with them.

Their sin separated them from God’s continual abiding presence.

That would have been our situation, except God allowed us to be born in the New Covenant.

Now, we have Emmanuel, God with us!

His Presence Today

1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

2 Corinthians 6:16 NKJV

16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

We are blessed because in the days of Moses, David, and the Old Testament, those who enjoyed God’s presence had to go somewhere to do that.

We on the other had, have God with us. We are temples of the Spirit.

But my prayer and burden this evening is that God will give us a fresh revelation of HIs presence.

We are different than Moses and David in that we can experience God’s presence because the Holy Spirit lives within us.

We are also different than them because we do not have to climb a mountain or go to a tabernacle to enjoy God’s presence.

But we are the same as them in that we have to hunger, desire, and want His presence.

And that is my question tonight, who wants His presence?

Who needs a fresh outpouring of the presence of God?

Who longs for God to pour out His presence on our lives and church in an unprecedented way?

Psalm 22:3 NKJV

3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

Acts 3:19 NKJV

19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,