The Promised Presence
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Matthew 28:16-20
Matthew 28:16-20
Good morning, church!
I want to welcome you to our service this morning again with a thank you!
Thank you all for your text and phone calls about my health. I am feeling much better and I’m praying that it won’t happen again this morning…
But I appreciate all of your prayers and concerns for me! I feel so loved!
Happy Palm Sunday!
Wasn’t it great to see the kiddos come in this morning and celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion. This marks the beginning of what is called Holy Week. Jesus’ preparation for His death, burial and resurrection.
It is during this week, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. Which we will take together as a church family. To remember His body that was broken for us and His blood that was poured out for the remission of our sins.
I will encourage you, if you can to join us at Wayne St, Friday night to a Good Friday evening of prayer and praise. That starts at 6:30pm.
This morning, in our series called the Promise, we are discussing the Promised Presence.
We are going to look at the omnipresence of God but also at the manifest presence of God.
I know, big scary word. Manifest or manifestation….
But let’s get into it and makes sure we understand what the Word of God says about both.
First let’s look at our main passage that applies to us today.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This is Jesus’ departing message to His disciples before ascending to heaven. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
I am with you always. That is an absolute promises of the omnipresence of Jesus Christ with us always.
Colossians also tells us that today,
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
“In Him” all things hold together. He is present everywhere and He is holding all of creation together. The grace of Jesus not letting sin completely destroy all of creation, but Jesus is holding it all together until His return.
Jesus is omnipresent.
We know that the Father is omnipresent as well.
Thus says the Lord:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
Two of the attributes of God are His immanence and His transcendence.
His immanence is known as God is present within and closely connected to all of creation.
His transcendence is how God is also above and beyond all of creation.
These two things are not a contradiction. He can be within and closely connected to creation while also being above and beyond all of creation.
Tozer describes God’s immanence and transcendence as this. Imagine God being beyond and greater than all of creation, existing outside of creation. He can hold all of creation within the palm of His hand. All of the stars, galaxies and planets can all fit within the palm of His hand and God is Spirit. If that is true, then how can God not also be deeply ingrained within every fiber of creation? If He can hold it all together in one hand, His Spirit is going to be intertwined within all of creation and present everywhere, yet also exist outside of creation.
Now, the universe is not God But God is present and involved within all of creation.
But God, the Father is omnipresent.
Now, to close out the omnipresence of God through His Spirit, we look at 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.
Where shall I go to escape from the Spirit of God? Nowhere! Not that I want to but His Spirit is omnipresent!
So, here we have just three examples of the omnipresence of the triune God. The Spirit of God not being able to be fled from, the immanence of God the Father and the promised presence of Jesus being with us always.
It is clear from the Word of God that He is always with us and around us. God is constantly there! We can take peace and comfort from knowing that there is no place that I can go that is apart from His Spirit and His presence! Even the depths of Sheol, the place of dead, God’s presence is there.
I can speak for myself, but there have been times and seasons in my life that I have had to cling to truths of these passages to remind me that God is with me. Even in seasons that I have “FELT” like He was distant. But these verses can be clung to as a firm foundation of our faith. That sometimes what we feel is not accurate to His Word and we need His Word to be the foundation on which our feelings are based off of.
The omnipresence of God is a truth that you and I should not doubt in but lean into during difficult times. Our God is everywhere, with us always, even to the end of the age.
So, let’s look at the scary word, the manifest presence of God.
What is the manifest presence of God? And how is it different than the omnipresence of God?
The word manifest simply means clear or obvious to the eye or mind. a display or show by one’s acts or appearance.
The manifest presence of God is when the omnipresence of God is made known in the physical world.
Last week, we talked about the difference between the spiritual and physical worlds and how we should spend more of our time in awareness of the spiritual and know how to interact with God and the Holy Spirit in the spiritual world that is constantly around us.
The manifest presence of God is when the Spirit of God that is always with us and around us shows Himself in an experiential way in the physical world. God makes His presence clear or obvious to the eye or mind.
And God has been doing that since the beginning of time.
The garden of Eden. God walked with Adam and Eve.
Abraham had many interactions with the manifest presence of God.
The presence of God manifested Himself in a bush that was on fire but not consumed.
The presence of God lead the Israelites through the desert in the form of a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night.
The presence of God struck dead armies that advanced towards Israel.
Elijah called down the firey presence of God to consume the sacrifice, the alter and the moat of water that was surrounding it.
God is been manifesting His presence in the physical world since the beginning of time and throughout all of human history!
Perhaps the most obvious way was through Jesus!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus birth and life on earth was the most blatant and obvious expression of the manifest presence of God this world has ever seen up to that point! He was God in the flesh! The meeting place of the Spirit and the physical! Where the spiritual world invaded the physical world! And displayed the love, mercy and grace of God to all of mankind!
Though Jesus’ first coming with the most blatant and obvious to that point, when He returns the 2nd time, it will be the greatest manifestation of the presence of God that the world has ever or will ever see!
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
One day, Jesus will return and bring the undeniable manifest presence of God the world has ever seen. No one will be able to question it or doubt it because they will be too bust kneeling before Him.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Church, our God is the God that loves to manifest His presence, His power and who He is to the world! The evidence of scripture is obvious!
So, that leaves the gap in the story where we are! Did God stop manifesting His presence after Jesus’ ascension? Does God still desire to manifest His presence to the world today?
Look at John 14:18-24
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
Do you see that? Jesus not only promises His omnipresence with us but also His manifest presence with us!
He said, the world will not see me, but you will! This is not talking about the 2nd coming, because as we read, the whole world will see that!
He says, I will show you myself and it will leave no doubt in your mind that I am in my Father and the Father is in me. But not just that, He says that He will be in US! Do you see the promised presence of Jesus?!
He says, do you love me? If you love me, you will do the things that I taught. You will follow my instructions! If you love me, you will abide in my love and the love of the Father will be with you.
AND I WILL LOVE YOU AND MANIFEST MYSELF TO YOU!
I will show you myself! I will make myself known to YOU! I will make myself obvious to you in the physical world!
Church, that promise ought to get you excited for the possibilities of our relationship with Jesus!
And if you are not experiencing that, it ought to make you want to!!
Judas asked, for clarification about whether He was talking about the 2nd coming again. And Jesus clarified that love was the key to the presence of God!
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
There will be a dwelling place of love intertwining between us! God will make His home with you!
I don’t know exactly how that looks but I want it!
I believe that God wants to manifest His presence in your life privately! Personally!
I think the whole next chapter is about it! There is an abiding place, a dwelling place, that you can live in that God will make His home with you and Jesus will manifest His presence to you!
Jesus is not just omnipresent in your life, He wants to manifest Himself to you!
God also wants to manifest His presence to us corporately!
The NT is full of examples of this!
Acts chapter 2, 120 believers were in an upper room praying and waiting for the promises presence of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on them and God manifest His presence in them and through them! And then the mighty rushing wind filled the entire house and the tongues of fire appear and fall on each of them and they receive the promised physical presence of the Holy Spirit!
Peter preaching again to more Israelites at Solomon’s Portico, says, Acts 3:19–20 “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,”
Acts chapter 4, Peter and John get arrested and told to not speak in the name of Jesus any more. The believers once again gather and pray from God to give them boldness to speak the name of Jesus even more! Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Paul is walking towards believers to persecute them and Jesus manifest His presence to Him and converts Saul to follow Him instead!
I could go on and on, but you get the point!
Over and over again, the God manifested His presence to the believers in the NT!
And I believe that He wants to do it here, again!
The building might not shake, that may not be what the Lord wants to do but there are most definintly ways that the Holy Spirit moves in a worship gather in a way that can not be denied that His physical presence is present!
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
John Bevere says, who moves first? We move towards God first and then He moves and makes His presence real to us!
When we gather, focus on Him, worship Him, draw ourselves near to Him, submit ourselves to be used by His Spirit, God wants to and will manifest His presence to us together!
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
When we agree in unity together and ask God to make His presence known to us, it will be done! Because where two or more of us gather together in the name, the power, and the authority of Jesus Christ, He will be here among us!
Listen, a church that thinks it is rich, that has everything that it needs, is content and not striving after God, not hungry for a move of the presence of God, a church that does not understand how poor, how blind and how naked it is without desperately pursuing after more and more of God, a church that does not understand that apart from the vine, we can do nothing,
That church is referred to as the Church in Laodicea. Jesus tells them that they are lukewarm and warrent spitting them out! He would rather church be a place that is on fire desperately seeking after Him or a church that rejects Him. But Jesus is not happy with a content, rich church!
But Jesus said, Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In fact, it is to this church that Jesus says, I am outside of that church, knocking on the door, wanting to come in and meet with them. To dine with them!
Church, is Jesus knocking on the doors of this church, wanting to come in a manifest His presence to us?
Are we going to open the door and ask Him to in the name in the name of Jesus?!
Are we going to realize that we are poor in spirit apart from His presence in our lives?
Listen, He wants to do that here!
Are we even asking Him to?
What if He wants to manifest His presence to us… through you?! Do you still want it?
Did you know that is one of the ways that Jesus shows Himself to us?
They are called the gifts of the Spirit! The Spirit of God moving in and through the lives and actions of submitted believers for the common good!
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Church, as the body of Christ, we can manifest the presence of God into others lives by allowing the Holy Spirit to produce gifts in your life for the good of others!
Church, do you believe that Jesus wants to manifest His presence in your life?
Do you believe that He wants to manifest His presence in our church?
When you walk in these doors on a Sunday morning, are you expecting to experience the manifest presence of Jesus in this place?
Do you even want to?
Everyday at 8pm, we are praying this exact thing!
Lord Jesus, Isaiah 40:5, reveal your glory to us! So that all mankind can see it! So that everyone here and those in this community can see that God is manifesting His presence at Connection Church Mt Pleasant!
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Are you praying at 8pm every night asking for that to happen?
I believe that Jesus is knocking every week on the doors of this church asking to come in a be with us and dine with us.
Are we going to poor in spirit and admit that we are poor and desperate for more and more of Him?
Or are we going to say that I have all of God that I need and I’m content.
prayer
Lord, stir up a hunger in our hearts to be desperate for more and more of you! Help us to strive and strive for your manifest presence in our lives, in our church and in our community!
Do what only you can do and use us if you want to!
Draw us together in unity every day at 8pm to ask gather in prayer spiritually and ask in your name that your glory would be revealed to us personally and corporately! And do it in a way that everyone will be able to see and believe that you are God!
