God's Manifested Presence

Preliminary:

John 14:16-26

Introduction:

Years ago a Southern plantation owner left a $50,000 inheritance (equivalent to about half a million dollars today) to a former slave who had served him faithfully all of his life.

The estate’s lawyer notified the old man and told him the money was deposited at the local bank in his name.

Several weeks went by and the former slave never called to ask for any of his inheritance.

After several years, the banker called him and told him he had the $50K available to draw upon at any time.

The slave said, “Sir, might you be able to spare me $0.50 for a sack of cornmeal?”

J. D. Greear Sermon Archive (The Forgotten God? John 14:16–26)

I’m afraid this story illustrates the reality of so many living beneath our privilege.

This word “comfortless” in KJV seen in John 14:18 mean abandoned person or “orphan”

we so often go around attempting to live our Christian lives on a pitiful fifty cents when there is 50 grand for us untouched in the bank.

We mope and struggle along like orphans barely getting by - when we are given this tremendous and amazing promise of God’s Manifested Presence.

That is what I wish to talk about a few moments this morning

Two phrases jump out at us in our passage

John 14:18 - “I will come to you”

John 14:21 - “I…will manifest myself to him”

We see in this passage a Trinitarian view of God - I’m not going to spend much time on it - but we have Jesus talking - and he tells us that the Father listens to Him pray

so we have two distinct persons of the Godhead

Jesus is going to pray to the Father that the Father would send “ANOTHER COMFORTER” to his disciples because he was going away (going to be crucified, resurrected and ascended to the Father)

this “Another Comforter” is known to us as the third person of the Godhead - The Holy Spirit

We are not left abandoned or orphaned - the Holy Spirit has been given to us -

God has so much more for us than what we have experienced.

Jesus promises in John 14:21 that he would manifest himself to his own.

Now this could be referring to his post resurrection visits - but it is more likely the Manifested Presence of God.

Manifest means to make present or evident to the experience or senses: conceived of as coming into sight or view - or some have said feelings.

Now I have tried to preach and teach to you that God is everywhere present all the time - what theologians call the Omnipresence of God

that is one form of the Presence of God

but a second form of the Presence of God is found in those special times when God through some way causes his presence to be known, felt, seen, in some form or fashion.

God is present in some intensified way- in prayer, worship, or devotions

I think of Johnathan Edwards preaching that sermon that helped spark the Great Awakening “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and while he preached the people began to groan and weep so much so that some historians said Edwards (who was reading his sermon) put the book down and told the people to be quiet so he could finish preaching.

Or John Wesley on numerous occasions was preaching and people would be so overcome by the manifest presence of God that they would fall to the ground.

Finney entered a steel mill on one occasion and hardly said a word and conviction fell on those men and revival broke out

This doesn’t happen every day all the time - but there are moments in time when God’s Presence is Manifested.

David Campbell has excellent thoughts in blog

check other blogs in history too

a pdf was downloaded on phone that talked about other perspectives of God's manifested Presence.

Martyn Lloyd Jones: the presence of God is a felt sense of the attributes of God

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Awareness of His Presence

Awareness of His Presence

Dr. Howard Thurman tells of preaching in the chapel at Tuskegee Institute, where he met Dr. George Washington Carver. Sitting in his usual pew, the great scientist and Christian focused on the preacher. “There was the customary rose in his lapel, a Bible in his lap, and a light in his eyes that seemed to be controlled by some inner dimmer switch.”1

Jonathan Edwards: “Sometimes only mentioning the name of Christ or an attribute of God will cause my heart to burn within me … suddenly God appears glorious to me. When I enjoy this sweetness it seems to carry me outside of myself. I cannot bring myself even to take my eye from this Glorious Object.” Beyond doctrine, this is a sense of the majesty and beauty of God in His heart.

I want us to notice a couple of things Jesus is trying to tell us from this passage

1. The Exclusivity of His Manifestation

There are three exclusives of being a privileged participant of this type of manifested presence of God

Love Him

Know His Commandments

I will hide God’s Word in my heart that I might not sin against God

Keep His Commandments - Not keeping his commandments can hinder the Manifested Presence of God.

The “Vertical” Commandments -

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

The first commandment has to do with our heart attitude, our thoughts, our personal relationship with God. But God is also interested in our deeds, what we do about how we feel. Furthermore, he is concerned about our words, how we use his name, what we say about him. Some tend to spiritualize the relationship with God and are careless with the external manifestations of that professed heart relationship. But that God is interested in deeds and words as well as in thoughts is clearly revealed in the first three commandments. Robertson (McQuilkin p 155)

To "have" a god is to ascribe to someone or something attributes that belong only to God or to relate to someone or something as the ultimate-to seek above all else, to trust above all else, to love above all else, to serve and obey above all else is to treat as God. To make something central in life, the pivot or ultimate reference point, is to "have a god." To yield ultimate allegiance to or to consider someone or something as the ultimate happiness or most desirable object, even to fear above all else is to "have a god."

Notice that the first commandment does not say that we should have no other gods. ... this command prohibits having other gods before the true God.

. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”

“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.”

breaking a vow made before God

using God’s name in an unholy or profane way

Can be done euphemistically or what some have called “second-handed cursing”

According to some dictionary’s words like “golly” “gee whiz” “gosh darn” are really just ways of second-handed cursing

“gee” according to Webster’s New International Dictionary says it is a form of Jesus

“golly” and “gosh” are used as substitutes for “God”

“darn” is used for being damned or damnation

Just think about what “gosh darned” is really saying

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

rest day rooted in the example of God from the beginning

The “Horizontal” Commandments

Honor thy father and thy mother

Thou shalt not kill

Thou shalt not commit adultery

Thou shalt not steal

Thou shalt not bear false witness

Thou shalt not covet

Phillips’ Treasury of Humorous Quotations Ten Commandments

Someone has tabulated that we have 35 million laws on the books to enforce the Ten Commandments.

—Bert Masterson

2. The Absolute Certainty of His Manifestation

We sometimes live as though maybe God might manifest his presence maybe

there’s a slim chance

It’s possible but not really probably

I mean how many came to church this morning expecting on and planning to have God’s manifested presence here????

God’s presence is especially manifested where God’s presence is especially wanted.

John G. Butler

I would add …and expected

But the passage leaves no doubt - I will come to you --- I will manifest myself to you

There is no doubt - no second guessing - no wishing or hoping

If you are a Christian - in love with Jesus and keeping His commandments there are going to be times when He Manifests His Presence to You.

And it ought to be more than revivals and camp meetings

Now we aren’t just seeking emotional experiences but our innermost spirit when affected by the manifested presence of God may in fact move our emotions.

Samuel Brengle talked about how Acts of Apostles could be called Acts of the Holy Spirit - while the book of Acts comes to a close the Holy Spirit’s work and manifestations has not.

3. The Eventuality of His Manifestation

John Bevere.

Historical moves in the past

Brengle - Guest of the Soul

.....Oh! the joy and infinite peace and satisfaction contained in this spiritual manifestation of Jesus to the heart! It is a fulfilment of those wonderful words of Jesus (John xiv. 16-27): "I will come to you.... At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me,and I in you... I will manifest Myself to" you.

I sat beside a student when Christ was manifested to him, and saw his face shining almost like the face of an angel, and heard him whisper, "Blessed Jesus! blessed Jesus!"-- and later heard him saying over and yet over again and again, "Glory be to Jesus! Glory be to Jesus!"

I knelt beside a young lady in prayer, when all at once she burst into tears and cried out in an ecstasy, "O Jesus!" He had come, and she knew Him as Lord. Six months later she said, "I'm going to Africa," and with Christ in her heart she went joyfully as a missionary to darkest Africa, where she lived and laboured and loved, until one day He said: "It is enough, come up higher"; and she went to Heaven by way of Africa.

A great business man found Jesus, and with radiant face and deepest reverence he said, "I was so mixed up with Jesus that for several days I hardly knew whether it was Jesus or I."

A timid little boy, who was afraid to be left alone in the dark, had the great inward revelation and said quietly and joyfully, "I'm not afraid now, for Jesus is with me."

Asbury Revival

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Breathe on me breathe of God and Burn in me Fire of God

1 Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love the way you love, and do what you would do.

2 Breathe on me, Breath of God, until my heart is pure, until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure.

3 Breathe on me, Breath of God, so shall I never die, but live with you the perfect life for all eternity.

Burn in me, Fire of God,

burn till my heart is pure;

burn till your life shines out in me,

steadfast and strong and sure.

Burn in me, Fire of God,

spare not for price nor pain;

burn till all dross of earth consume,

only your gold remain.

Burn in me, Fire of God,

burn till your eyes can see Jesus' own image,

strong and sure,

formed by your grace in me!

It’s going to take God’s manifested presence to take our little bits of bread and fish to make a meal to feed the multitudes

It’s going to take God’s manifested presence to revive the work of God

It’s going to take God’s manifested presence to convince the lost,

It was the manifested presence of God that changed Isaiah, Elijah, Moses, Paul, Peter, Timothy - and it will take those moments in the manifested presence of God to change us as well.

At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His presence.

A. W. Tozer

It is not the form that makes the church or its service. The Presence and the Name—these make the church.17

A. W. Tozer

We may define the work of the Holy Spirit as follows: The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church.

Wayne Grudem