3 - Spiritual Formation

Practicing the Presence of God

[Review]

The Biblical idea of redemption is God’s delivering us from sin and death and the sharing of His Holy Character. God making us like Himself.

Christian aim/goal is Christlikeness - the cruciform life.

The Holy Spirit will make you perfect. Nothing less.

He has already begun.

I think some of us may come to a place after God has set us free from some very annoying sins and behaviors that we finally think ourselves good.

I just want to be a decent husband, father, mother, wife, friend and we may consider it a humble position. But it is a terrible mistake.

True, we never asked or wanted to be made into the kind of creatures that God is turning us into. But the question is not what we ever intended for ourselves to be but rather what He, the inventor, the author, the designer intended when he made us and that is nothing short than absolute perfection, transformed into the image of Christ, forever reflecting the beauty and glory and wisdom of our Father to the universe.

This is costly, Christ often displayed the cost of following him. It requires all, not a theoretical losing your life but an actual losing your life. Giving Him our everything (small and insignificant it is) to receive is boundless everything.

This whole work - Only God can do this. We see this played out in Paul’s theology in the book of Philippians, the common thread going through this letter is apparent.

To help us understand this thread, we would do well to remember, that righteousness is a gift and sanctification (process of being transformed) is part of that gift.

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God began the work, a present tense work, and a completion of it.

Don’t miss the tension of truth - I can’t just sit on the couch eating potato chips and expect change.

Philippians 1:25 “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,”

Through Paul’s apostleship, teaching, and especially way of life (his practices) there is progress being made.

Philippians 2:12–13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

“Continue” - this is obviously something Paul had instructed - Theology in Practice.

Not a form of terror but of great awe - like Moses at Mount Sinai.

Our hearts awe must be placed correctly.

Even good things can take the place of God things.

Financial security, sports, ministry, family.

Act - his good purpose, not just your vocation but you being what he designed you to be.

Philippians 3:10–11 “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

Knowing God - everything begins and ends there.

Then he defines knowing God...

Power of his resurrection

Partnership of his sufferings - cruciform life - the way of the cross. Becoming like him in his death. Humility, sacrifice, and obedience.

Everything we try to keep we lose, everything we give up we gain.

Philippians 3:20–21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

The completion of what he started

Philippians 4:9 “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

A principle we all know that makes this verse so significant is that - We are shaped by our practices.

Everyday your practices are either making you into a little Jesus or a little devil.

God wants to change the practices and habits of our daily life that move us and transform us more and more into His beautiful glorious design.

We see the tension, we know only God can do this, but it does take work.

1 Timothy 4:7–10 “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (physical exercise dies with your body, godly exercise does not).

This does not happen automatically

It also doesn’t happen by our sheer effort or will.

The needed transformation is an inside job, it’s God’s work not ours.

The spiritual disciplines are a means of receiving God’s grace for transformation.

They allow us to place ourselves before God so that He can transform us. And when we understand that, it will:

Protect us from making the disciplines a rigid law of righteousness. As if you are righteous because you have mastered the spiritual disciplines.

They are simply a means to an end, not the end themselves.

There is no formation without the presence of God.

The spiritual practice of: The Disciplined Practice of the Presence of God

Three categories of presence in the Bible:

God’s omnipresence (Psalm 139)

Only God is omnipresent. He is infinitely present at every point of creation.

1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.””

Scripture is shouting to us that we have His full, undivided attention at every moment and in every place.

“For in him we live and move and have our being.” -Cretan philosopher Epimenides

Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Manifest presence of God

Mount Sinai

Temple dedication ceremony

Jesus’ transfiguration

Personal felt presence of God that is life changing and embracing, this a more subjective experience.

Jacob’s encounter with God in (Genesis 28, 32); David and many of the Psalms he wrote record his personal experience with the presence of God. Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

God is not only omnipresent, He also wants to be present with you. Is not limited to our time in church, but is to be our day to day, moment by moment experienced life. It’s up to you.

James 4:8 “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

We will not be narrow-minded and limit God by claiming that his presence is a mere feeling to our senses, however I will say, it is life giving and life-changing.

HOW?

Statio

Latin word for this is statio - In Christian monastic practice, there is something known as statio. This is often meant to denote the moment between moments, or the pause between those times when you are doing things. You can think of it as a mini-transition. You already experience this several times a day, for example, when you are figuring out what to do next or when you take a momentary break to regroup. With statio you make the pause intentional. Rest in the now moment. Take a single mindful, desire-free breath and recognize there is no other time but this.

In this moment by moment - statio - we can practice of The Presence of God by: the concentration of the soul’s attention on God, remembering that He is always present.

Those in the monastic life have described the secret as: “Keeping my attention on God in a simple, loving way.” By:

A loving, adoring look at God

A remembrance of Him

Being confident in Him

Praising Him

Thanking Him for what He has given you

Result: filled with faith that equips to handle anything that comes into life. Contentment and joy that makes you feel like a child again.

This practice translates into the Presence of God becoming your normal reality and changing into His likeness.

One beloved monk in the 17th century described being in His holy presence is like, “The King, who is full of goodness and mercy, doesn’t punish me. Rather, He embraces me lovingly and invitees me to eat at His table. He serves me Himself and gives me the keys to His treasury, treating me as His favorite. He converses with me without mentioning either my sins or His forgiveness. My former habits are seemingly forgotten. Although I beg Him to do whatever He wishes with me, He does nothing but caress me.”

To practice His presence is to cultivate the holy habit of thinking of him often.

The Presence of God is not a means to an end.

When we make God a means to an end, usually quite a good end such as peace or happiness or wisdom or something.

When we make that “thing” the end, that object takes the place of God and cannot give us what we desire.

Example, when I make peace or happiness or comfort the object of my desire and affection, that which I must have, the desired object does not have anything to give me.

As soon as we look beyond God to the object we made the end, the object disappears and worship ends.

God Himself is the giver, He is the gift. His presence will be discovered to be the very answer to our deepest desire. We too will celebrate with David, that He fills us with joy in His presence and there infinite treasures of pleasure at His right hand.

The Practice of the Presence of God Tenth Letter

Do not forget Him! Think of Him often. Adore Him ceaselessly. Live and die with Him. That is the real business of Christians; in a word, it is our profession. If we do not know it, we must learn it. I will pray for you.