In Pursuit of His Presence
In Pursuit of His Presence
May 31, 2003 and June 1st, 2003
Review:
3 John 2-NKJV
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
-We defined the meaning of these three terms. Prosper carries the idea of a successful journey.
-This week I received a letter from my class to come to the alumni and it greeted me with;
“Hope this letter finds you healthy, happy, and successful.”
-I thought; that sounds like 3 John 2.
-We talked about what a prosperous soul looks like.
-We talked about worship.
-We worship God when we obey Him.
-We worship God when we acknowledge Him.
-Sociologists and anthropologists discover that wherever they go people have an inner drive and desire to worship. It may be an idol, a philosophy, or even themselves.
-I want to go a step further and talk about “PURSUING GOD’S PRESENCE.”
Psalm 84
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools. b
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Look upon our shield, c O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 O Lord Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Psalm 89
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they exult in your righteousness.
-Most people want to be close to God, they just don’t know how.
-I want us to remember that our destination according to Psalm 84 is to “GOD HIMSELF”.
-I want us to continue to enjoy worship services.
-We are very blessed to have committed and talented worship leaders who love God and help us worship corporately.
-That is wonderful but I want to lead of life of living in His presence out there.
Romans 12
Message
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
-I said last week my new goal is-to pursue God’s presence.
- I want to go where I have been and beyond.
The Westminster shorter Catechism says;
“THE CHIEF END OF MAN; TO KNOW GOD AND ENJOY HIM FOREVER.”
VIDEO CLIP
-Let’s follow the presence of God through the Scripture.
Adam and Eve
Genesis 3
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
-Adam and Eve have direct access to God. They walked with God in the garden.
-This Scripture picks up when God came calling. “Adam, Adam.”
-Adam and Eve had disobeyed and offended God so they got self-conscious and afraid. They sinned and took their eyes off of God. They placed their focus on themselves instead of God.
-They were put out of the garden.
LESSON
In order to abide in the presence of God we must obey Him.
-We worship and abide in Him as we obey.
Isaiah 59
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
1 John 1
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all a sin.
-God loves you at every stage of your development. He doesn’t wait for you to grow up to begin to like you.
1 John 3
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, a we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
-An awareness that we are on a journey to stand before God Himself motivates us to walk in the light and turn away from darkness.
Proverbs 4
18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
Enoch
Genesis 5
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Hebrews 11:5-6 The Message
By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
Ephesians 5
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. [1]
LESSON
FAITH PLEASES GOD. IN ORDER TO WALK IN HIS PRESENCE YOU HAVE TO SEE HIM WHO IS INVISABLE AND ACKOWLEDGE HIM WHEN YOU CAN’T PROVE HE IS THERE.
NOAH
Genesis 6
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
-Noah walked with God.
MOSES
Exodus 33
7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Moses and the Glory of the Lord
12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
/[2]/
-Moses got it right, what else distinguishes us from everyone else on the planet.
-YOU HAVE A SECRET FRIEND THAT NO ONE CAN SEE!
-He doesn’t want to remain a secret.
-Moses knew that the only way to fulfill the purpose of God was to abide in the presence of God.
-He said, if You don’t go with us, don’t lead us up from here.
LESSON
THE FULFILLMENT OF YOUR DESTINY DEPENDS ON THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU LET GOD LIVE AMONG YOU.
DAVID
2 Samuel 6
David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2 He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah a to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, b the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, c and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs d and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
8 Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. e
9 David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” 10 He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.
12 Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings f before the Lord. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
-David had just been anointed king over all of Israel.
-He is happy and the people are happy.
-He doesn’t want to do his own thing or take credit for the things that have been accomplished.
-He was pursuing the presence of God.
-The ark represented the presence of God.
-He was worshipping with all of His heart. But he wasn’t doing it right.
-There is a protocol in coming to God.
-You don’t force your way into the presence of a king-there is a way to come to Him.
-He had to find out how to do it.
-He did it.
-David was a worshipper.
Psalm 51
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts a;
you teach b 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.
-David was honest. He worshipped with his heart and he didn’t care what others thought.
-If you read the Psalms of David you see a life open to God.
-He was transparent and very honest.
“True worship is when your life and your testimony is the same.”
“True Worship is expressing your heart to God with no hindrances.”
-The song “Heart of Worship” was written by Matt Redman, a worship leader in England. It was the result of being in a church where the pastor forbid music for a time so the people would worship in other ways.
C.S. Lewis- “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become-because he made us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be….It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.”
PAUL
-Paul said that one thing motivated him. He wanted to know God and His righteousness.
-He was pursuing God’s Presence.
-ARE YOU?
-LEARN TO LIVE AND ABIDE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
-DAVE QUOTED SMITH WIGGLESWORTH AS SAYING-‘I HAVE NEVER PRAYED MORE THAN 15 MINUTES BUT I HAVE NEVER GONE MORE THAN 15 MINUTES WITHOUT PRAYING.’
-LEARN TO “PRAY COMTINUALLY”.
-SET A TIME TO MEET WITH GOD, BUT DON’T LEAVE HIM THERE.
-LEARN TO UTTER ONE SENTENCE PRAYERS ALL DAY LONG.
-LEARN TO TAKE HIM INTO EVERYTHING YOU DO.
Colossians 3
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
[3]
-Worship Him with your song, worship Him with your life.
-Pray continually. Learn to live in His presence.
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b Or blessings
c Or sovereign
a Or every
a Or when it is made known
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version, Eph 5:8-11. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version, Ex 33:7-23. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.
a That is, Kiriath Jearim; Hebrew Baale Judah, a variant of Baalah of Judah
b Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate do not have the Name.
c 3,4 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text cart and they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill
d See Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and 1 Chronicles 13:8; Masoretic Text celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of pine.
e Perez Uzzah means outbreak against Uzzah.
f Traditionally peace offerings; also in verse 18
a The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
b Or you desired... ; | you taught
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version, Col 3:16-17. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.