Living in God’s Presence
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God promises to be with us.
God promises to be with us.
Matthew 1:22–23 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”
Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””
God has given us access to Himself through Jesus Christ. He wants us to walk with Him. Jesus prayed for us to know Him and live in His presence.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Why do we fail to live in God’s presence?
Why do we fail to live in God’s presence?
We’re busy? We’re distracted? We’re drawn away by sin? We’re lazy?
Think about Jesus in the garden before His arrest. He knew that the disciples needed the presence of the Father to get them through what was going to happen next. He knew Peter needed the Father to stand firm instead of denying Christ, but instead, He slept.
We don’t realize how weak we are outside of God’s presence.
John 15:4–5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
We are powerless on our own. We need to dwell in God’s presence and draw strength from His presence.
We’re too busy worrying about things that are outside of our control.
Matthew 6:31–33 “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Yes, you need to get a job and not be lazy, but at the same time, it is God who provides the job. He gives you the ability to work. He knows the way that you need to go. And the more you dwell in His presence the better decisions you will make. And the more you dwell in His presence, the more peace you will have while you are waiting for a situation to resolve itself.
How do we live in God’s presence?
How do we live in God’s presence?
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Colossians 3:1–2 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing,”
It is the idea of constantly focussing our minds on Jesus Christ.
Psalm 139:7–10 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
There is no where you can go that God is not there. As a Christian this should hold us accountable, but it also should come with great joy. We are never going to find ourselves outside of God’s presence.
Nicolas Herman, also known as Brother Lawrence wrote several letters that were compiled into a little devotional book entitled, The Practice of the Presence of God.
After meditating as he looked an empty tree in winter, he realized that it would soon undergo a transformation and burst with life again in the spring. It was in this realization that he was changed. Some refer to this as his conversion, but the main point is that God was sovereign over all. That tree would go through life and God would guide it through every season. In the same way, God would be with him guiding him through every season of his life.
He eventually moved into a monastery and served there in obscurity. Sure the people knew of him. They knew mainly of his joy and his even temperament. He would always point others to living conscious of the presence of God. He practiced diligently day after day to keep his mind on God.
He confesses that this isn’t easy. The mind wants to wander from God. The flesh doesn’t want to serve God and will try to put our minds on anything and everything, but Him. But with practice, Lawrence confessed that it becomes easier and easier. And in fact the more you live in His presence, the more you notice and miss it when you are living outside of it.
We live in God’s presence through the meditation of God’s Word.
Psalm 1:2–3 “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
This is not just Bible reading, but keeping God’s Word on our minds throughout the day.
We live in God’s presence through prayer as we need His comfort and His guidance.
In the Matthew 6 passage concerning our worries. As we go throughout life, things will come up. We will have good news and bad news. We will have good times and hard times. Thank God for good times, thank God for promising to lead through bad times. Pray and ask for God’s peace and grace through difficult times, through difficult news.
We live in God’s presence through immediate confession of sin and immediate faith in God’s promise of forgiveness.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Conclusion: Seek to live in the presence of God.
Conclusion: Seek to live in the presence of God.
Take a verse of scripture and write it down somewhere you will come across it throughout the day. You can use the Bible app to make backgrounds on your phone. There are tons of apps to help with this. Wear a bracelet or put a rock in your pocket. Something out of the ordinary that will catch you attention and remind you to focus your mind on God.
This will not happen automatically. You must be intentional in this.