How can I make God's presence real in my life

How can I help?

A young woman became suddenly ill in the night, and a new doctor was called. He arrived and after a quick look at the patient, the doctor stepped outside the room to ask her husband for a corkscrew. Receiving the tool, he disappeared back into the room, but several minutes later was back, demanding a pair of pliers.

Again he disappeared into the room of the moaning patient, only to call out again, “A chisel and a hammer quickly!”

Her husband couldn’t stand it no longer. “What is wrong with her, doctor?”

“I don’t know yet,” was his reply. “I can’t get my bag open.”

*Unless I can get your heart open we will never be able to make the needed changes.

Have you ever wanted to know the presence of God in a more intimate way? To have worship as a more meaningful experience?

2 Chronicles 29: 20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar. 23 The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 24 The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel. 25 He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets. 26 So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments, and the priests with their trumpets. 27 Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed. 29 When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped. 30 King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped. 31 Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs—all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord. 33 The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats. 34 The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their kinsmen the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been. 35 There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings. So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. 36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.

Church is the place where we come together in this temple, this place of gathering to do what the Lord wants from us. To worship him, to dedicate ourselves to him, to bring sacrifice and offerings, to receive his blessing, to pray. 

• In other words “The place of his Presence”
• As the priest of this temple I am often disturbed by the lack of the recognition of his presence and the lack of Honor that we give him.

John 2: 13 when it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Luke 19: 45 Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

• Where is it written?

Jeremiah 7: 1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: “‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

I will protect the House of God from becoming a place where robbers can do what they want.

1. Robbers of God’s presence and Glory
1. Taking for themselves (self centered)
2. Robbers of God’s people
1. Their right to know God
2. Their right to a Holy God
3. Robbers of God’s Honor
1. In the sacrifice

Some have wondered where we get this style of worship that we practice. We can see the elements of it here in this portion of scripture.

King Hezekiah provides an excellent model for our Church services today!

Look through this passage for examples of worship. The people gathered at their place of worship and confessed their sin, asking for God's forgiveness. They made music with instruments, knelt down and prayed, repeated the writings of great spiritual leaders from the past, brought offerings, sang joyful praises to God, thanked Him, and asked His blessing.

• The people gathered at their place of worship
• There has to be an unmovable anchor for our lives. The Church gathering should be that anchor.

Hebrews 10: 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

o   Is anything more important than the Lord?

o   Your relatives, the vegetables in your garden, rest, work, anything?

• confessed their sin asking for God's forgiveness
• 1Jn 1:9 we need his forgiveness
• knelt down prayed and worshiped
• Humility in body and spirit
• made music with instruments, sang joyful praises to God
• Praise and worship is giving God his proper place. He is worthy of worship.
• repeated the writings of great spiritual leaders from the past
• The word of God.

2 Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

• First they dedicated themselves to the Lord!
• brought offerings
• Honored God with
• Sacrifices
• Thanks offerings
• Thanked Him, asked His blessing.

Psalm 51: 1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.