SEEKING HIS PRESENCE
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Have you ever said,
“I’m dying of thirst!”?
It’s a phrase most of us have used.
It may have come from the exhaustion of working outside on a hot summer day,
or finishing a sporting event,
or even from the need for water felt after eating a salty meal.
For most of us it’s just a casual statement....
yet, for others, it is a brutal reality.
Sadly, this was the experience for Dave Buschow......
In 2006....A 29-year-old New Jersey man traveled to the deserts of Utah for an adventure in survival training.
By day 2 in the more than 100-degree heat, Dave was in bad shape; desperately in need of water, he began experiencing hallucinations.
After 10 hours without water, Dave collapsed and died face down in the dirt
he was only 100 yards from a cave with fresh water.
CHURCH…
I JUST SAID THIS A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.....
What happens in the natural, can also happen in the spiritual.
We can become thirsty with spiritual thirst
even though an endless supply of spiritual water awaits.
37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Our greatest need is to pursue Jesus.
He alone is the source of living water.
He alone satisfies the thirst in our soul.
(EXPOUND) SO OFTEN WE TURN TO OTHER THINGS TO SATISFY US
JESUS SAYS.....I AM THE ANSWER
I HAVE WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR
I CAN SATISFY YOUR SOUL
LORD, HELP US TO GET THAT......
HOW DO WE FIND GOD’S PRESENCE???
LET’S SEE WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS....
4 ways to SEEK OUT the presence of God
1. Set your PRIORITIES in order
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
PAUL DECLARED IN.....
1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
CHURCH.....WE SPEND TO MUCH TIME ON EARTHLY THINGS (EXPOUND)
26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.
Priorities are a matter of the HEART.
Jesus told the crowd that if you are thirsty, “Come to me.”
The greatest pursuit of your life begins when you set your heart to seek after God.
When His presence becomes your greatest desire
you are headed in the right direction.
ENTERING INTO IS PRESENCE IS NOT TOO FAR FROM ANY OF US
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
HE IS KNOCKING.....ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ANSWER
IT’S A MATTER OF THE HEART
WE HAVE TO SET OUR HEARTS TO SEEK AFTER HIM
WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE OUR LIVES TO PURSUE HIS PRESENCE
DAVID CRIES OUT TO GOD AND SAYS.....
1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
2. Seek His Presence through PRAYER
UNDERSTAND THIS....
You cannot have a personal relationship with someone
IF you aren’t willing to communicate with them
The prayer of Psalm 119:18 is
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
Let that be your prayer .....
“Lord, open my eyes that I may see you.”
I want you to notice where the psalmist knew to look
“IN YOUR LAW.”
I HEARD IT SAID LIKE THIS......
“When we pray, we talk to God.
When we read the Bible, God talks to us.”
When we pursue after God we need both....
to talk to God, and
to listen to God speak back to us
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
3. Seek His Presence with HUMILITY
IN LUKE 18:10-14
Jesus told a story of two men who were praying in the Temple.
One man was a religious leader, a Pharisee who lived by a strict religious code.
The other man was a dishonest tax collector grieved by his sinfulness.
I want you to Notice the difference in the prayers of the two men.
Luke 18:10–12 (NIV)
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
Notice how he degraded the other man in his prayer.
Luke 18:13–14 (NIV)
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Of these two men, which do you believe touched the heart of God and received living water?
If you answered the humble sinner, you are correct.
Luke 18:14 (NIV)
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
OH MY LORD....HELP US
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WORKS TOTALLY OPPOSITE OF HOW THE WORLD WORKS
THE EXALTED WILL BE HUMBLED AND THE HUMBLED WILL BE EXALTED (JAMES 4:10)
THE FIRST WILL BE LAST AND LAST WILL BE FIRST(MATT 20:16)
TO BE STRONG, YOU MUST BE WEAK (2 COR. 12:9-10)
TO BE A RECEIVER, YOU MUST BE A GIVER (ACTS 20:35)
IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, YOU FIRST MUST…DIE (ROMANS 8:13)
Jesus is our example.
Think about what He did
HE LEFT His glory..... to come to us.
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
2 Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.
WORSHIP TEAM JOIN ME....
4. Seek His Presence through SURRENDER
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
2 Joyful are those who obey his laws
and search for him with all their hearts.
3 They do not compromise with evil,
and they walk only in his paths.
This is the greatest pursuit – to seek the presence of God.
YOU WANT TRUE HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE
IT DOESN’T JUST COME FROM FREEDOM AND LIBERTY TO DO WHAT YOU WANT
REAL JOY...... REAL HAPPINESS COMES FROM THE FREEDOM THAT CHRIST BRINGS TO YOUR LIFE…WHEN
YOU HAVE DECIDED TO LAY DOWN AND SACRIFICE YOUR DESIRES IN PURSUIT OF HIS PRESENCE
OH MY LORD....I HOPE YOUR GETTING THIS
YES, IT IS GREAT TO BE FREE AND
GREAT TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE HAPPINESS THROUGH LIBERTY....BUT
REAL HAPPINESS COMES FROM SEEKING HIS PRESENCE WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART AND
NOT COMPROMISING WITH EVIL BUT WALKING ONLY IN HIS PATH
IT’S ABOUT SURRENDERING YOUR HEART TO HIM
UNDERSTAND THIS....
YOU WILL NEVER FIND GOD’S PRESENCE IN AN ATMOSPHERE WHERE...
HE IS NOT HELD WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT
3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:
‘By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.’ ”
So Aaron held his peace.
I WANT YOU TO HEAR TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE WORD....
MUST
GOD IS SAYING,
IN ORDER TO COME INTO MY PRESENCE
WHETHER IT’S PRIVATE OR PUBLICLY
WE MUST HOLD HIM WITH THE UTMOST OF HOLY FEAR, REVERENCE AND AWE
BUT PASTOR CHRIS...
I THOUGHT GOD SAID HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE ME OR FORSAKE ME
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE
GOD IS OMNI-PRESENT
THIS IS THE PRESENCE THAT DAVID SPOKE OF IN PSALMS 139:7-8
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
THIS IS THE PRESENCE OF GOD THAT SAYS...
I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU
HOWEVER, IN JOHN CAHPTER 14
JESUS TALKS ABOUT ANOTHER ASPECT OF GOD’S PRESENCE
HE TALKS ABOUT HIS MANIFEST PRESENCE
JESUS SAYS....TO HIM WHO HAS MY WORDS AND OBEYS THEM....
I WILL MANIFEST MYSELF TO HIM
THE WORD MANIFEST MEANS
TO BRING FROM THE UNSEEN INTO THE REALM OF THE SEEN
TO BRING THE UNHEARD INTO THE REALM OF THE UNHEARD
TO BRING THE UNKNOWN INTO THE REALM OF THE KNOWN
IT IS WHEN GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO YOUR SENSES
YOU CAN FEEL HIM WITH YOUR PHYSICAL SENSES
THIS IS A REAL ASPECT OF CHRISTIANITY
THIS IS THE PRESENCE OF GOD THAT WILL MANIFEST
WHEN WE WALK IN HOLY AWE
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT SAY..
I DON’T EVER FEEL GOD’S PRESENCE
I DON’T EVER EXPERIENCE IT IN CHURCH OR WHEN I’M PRAYING
I WANT YOU TO CHECK YOURSELF
ARE YOU APPROACHING HIM WITH THAT HOLY AWE
BECAUSE GOD SAYS IF YOU DO...
HE WILL MANIFEST HIMSELF TO US
NOT JUST APPROACHING HIM WITH HOLY AWE
BUT ALSO LIVING AND WALKING IN OBEDIENCE TO WHAT HE REVEALS TO US
UNDERSTAND THIS...
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LIVE IN THE MANIFEST PRESENCE OF GOD
THIS IS WHAT MOSES SAID WOULD SEPARATE US FROM ALL THE PEOPLE ON THE EARTH
15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
THE MANIFEST PRESENCE OF GOD
THIS IS WHAT THE APOSTLE PAUL SPOKE ABOUT IN 2 CORINTHIANS 6:16
16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said:
I will dwell
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
CHURCH HE IS TALKING ABOUT DWELLING
NOT A VISITING PRESENCE
A DWELLING PRESENCE
THE BIBLE SAYS...
WHEN TWO OF YOU ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, THERE I AM IN THE MIST OF THEM
THIS IS NOT AN OMNI-PRESENCE
THIS IS HIS MANIFEST PRESENCE
THE PRESENCE THAT MOSES SAID WILL SEPARATE US FROM ALL OTHER PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH
CAN YOU SAY AMEN????
.....STAND TO YOUR FEET.....
SO WE MUST CREATE AN ATMOSPHERE FOR HIS PRESENCE WITH HOLY REVERENCE AND AWE
We have this promise from the prophet Jeremiah
all who seek Him.....find Him when we seek Him..... with all our heart.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Bottom line is this.......... Pursue with Persistence
Persistence -
continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
WOW....THAT’S GOOD
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO WANTS MORE OF HIS PRESENCE???
THESE ALTARS ARE OPEN THIS MORNING
I WANT TO SPEND SOME TIME SEEKING HIS PRESENCE