The Presence of God
The face of those that meet with God.
I like to smile at people, even with these masks, people who are of the Lord or who are sensitive to spiritual things receive my smile because it comes out of Jesus and the Holy Spirit within me.
There’s some days that I don’t smile but it doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit has left. It may mean that I am not feeling well physically or it may mean that there is a barrier of sin or lack of meeting with God‘s presence. The Christian life is not all mountain high experiences. In Psalm 25 we see that David humbles himself and asks the Lord to forgive him or pardon his sin. David understands to be led by God and to receive his teaching and understanding that he/we must come to God in humility. David desires, as we should, the Lord’s steadfast love and faithfulness.
“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.” Psalm 25:9-15 ESV
DEFEATING TEMPTATION
Temptation is not sin. Sin is yielding to temptation, it is acting on the temptation that comes our way. It is both a noun and a verb. People don’t like to talk about sin. It’s like a flashlight coming on And all the little roaches scurry to get out of the light. Sin brings to mind those things that we know are not right.
The word, sin, immediately paints a picture in my mind of something I don’t want to have anything to do with. For somebody who has not come to know Jesus, the word, sin, does not have that infectious, grimy ugliness that separates us from a close relationship with our creator. But God gave us a moral compass which to follow. However, the pressures of peers, or the dullness of our consciousness lets us keep repeating what we know deep down is wrong.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:12-15 ESV
Sin means missing the mark of what God requires.
You have to love the Mirriam Webster definition of “Sin”, “a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God.” Vitiated means “faulty or defective” so, a faulty or defective state of human nature. We ALL were born, and we ALL were born with this sinful human nature.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, most Christians know this verse but don’t know the next except by experience,
“and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” Romans 3:23-24 ESV
Sin means missing the mark of what God requires. It’s like a dartboard in which anything but a bull’s-eye is a miss. That may seem stringent but it is the portal in which we enter into the presence of God.
Jesus said, as recorded by Matthew, “"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14 ESV
REVERENCE
David writes, “Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.”
The Amplified Bible says it this way, “Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose.” Psalms 25:12 AMP
This fear is not meaning to be afraid but to reverence, or hold in awe, the Lord. It is this man, woman or child, that God will instruct in the way that “He” has for him.
Here is another familiar verse that we often point to, Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” That makes us feel good and reassures us of our future…
BUT we fall short of this “promise” if we don’t take it in context with what follows,
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV
HUMILITY
Humility - you do not need to be perfect in order to hear God’s guidance but you do need an attitude of humility; simply put: ‘He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way’ (Psalm 25:9, MSG). ‘God-friendship is for God-worshippers; They are the ones he confides in’ (Psalm 25:14, MSG). MSG is not monosodium glutamate but the Message Bibleš¤£
The following quote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” has been attributed to C.S. Lewis or Rick Warren. I’ve met Rick and he would give Lewis credit… even if it was himself. Try this yourself, a humble move and take the glory and spotlight and point it to Jesus.
“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” Psalm 25:9
Nicky Gumbel, of the Alpha course said, “When we try to force our own agenda or strive to do what we want to do, there is a sense of spiritual discomfort.” We cannot experience the presence of God when our agenda is more important than His.
RELEASING GOD’S GIFTS
Every day we are each given gifts from God including the very breath that we breathe. The sun warms her skin, coffee that awakens her mind
“And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.” Exodus 35:21 ESV
We came into this world with nothing and nothing will we take out of this world. Why, why, why is it we strive to get more stuff? Flashier cars, bigger houses, blotted bank accounts… don’t miss what I’m saying; there is nothing wrong with wealth. Some of you may be saying, I’d love a car that works and I can park it in a “house” meant for it, or for a job, or for some security.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV
It is one of life’s mysteries. Why are they sick or why are they rich and I’m not? Why do good thing happen to bad people? Why can’t I have…
EVERYONE that reads or hears this is rich. We have clothes to wear, probably a cell phone, computer or both. We have eaten in the last 24-hours. So, we are richer than 75% of the world! Paul goes on to write to Timothy about us because we are rich:
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19 ESV
PRESENCE THROUGH GOOD WORKS
Another verse that people hold to is: Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Again, we fail to grasp the whole context of Paul’s important message that follows those two verses in verse 10:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV
Good works are born out of love for others, thinking of others more than thinking of ourselves. James writes this about the pendulum of all faith and no works or of all works and no faith. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” James 2:14-20 ESV
Paul writes further showing examples of Abraham and the prostitute, Rahab (there us a wide continuum of population), “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” James 2:22, 24, 26 ESV
It isn’t either/or, it is both, in unison. The Bible (or Word) says “we love because He (Jesus) first loved us”. We have faith through grace and practice love and good works out of Christs love for us and what an amazing thing He has done for us.
RADIATING THE PRESENCE OF GOD
When the people of Israel finished the plan given to Moses of the tabernacle it was set up and when fully erected, the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle like a cloud by day and fire by night. When Moses was able to go into the tent of meeting with God, he would come out with a veil covering his face because his face gleamed so much that people could not stand to look at him.
When we put away the traditions of men that weighs down the church and look into the eyes and words of Jesus directly, we are personally transformed. That transformation comes thus:
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:9-10 ESV
Being a true follower of Jesus is about a relationship with Him. He, our Creator, made us for relationships. That is why Jesus said in reply to this question: ““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”” Matthew 22:36-40 NKJV
The walk of following Jesus is daily staying so close to Him that His image is all that is seen. When we step out of that closeness our imperfections show. Staying in close communion with the Lord makes our reflection as clear and clean as it can be revealing the presence of God.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
We practice not a religion but this relationship as a new creation with the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives us to comfort us, convict us and guide us. True followers of Christ are never alone for Jesus sent the Helper (the Holy Spirit). Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father and Jesus is our advocate as we pray in His Name.
“"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”” John 14:15-17 ESV
The Apostle writes, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 ESV
CHRIST RETURNS WITH HIS PRESENCE
“and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."” Mark 1:15 ESV
Christ died for our sin and sinful nature and that is the gift He made provision for. But each person must exercise their free will and either accept the blessed gift or reject it. We must repent of our sin, believe with our heart, mind and soul of Christ’s death and resurrection and follow Him all the days of our life. It is not easy but it is when we will have life in this world and the next with Jesus rather than apart from Him for eternity.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."” Acts 1:8-11 ESV
