The Immediate Presence of God

Psalm 139:7 - Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?

The presence of the Lord could arguably be considered the single most important part of our lives.

God is omnipresent meaning that he is everywhere at all times. David concluded in our text that there is no place that we can hide from God's presence. He is everywhere and sees everything. Because of this we can know that we are never alone and that he shall never leave us nor forsake us.

As well as being omnipresent, God also dwells in the believer. The indwelling presence of God is given to all who believe.

I Corinthians 3:16 says - Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you?

However, his omnipresence and the indwelling of his Spirit does not stop us from longing after the presence of God. How can we long and hunger for something that is already all around us and dwells within us?

God's Presence is:

1. Physical - God is always present to us. Physically, as the omnipresent divine reality
2. Spiritual - When we are aware and respond to the physical presence of God, then he is spiritually present to us.

A person may be physically present in a room, but unless we are somehow aware of that person being there, and respond to that presence, he or she might just as well not be there.

For instance....I went to church this morning and there was approximately 75 to 100 people present there, however I actually engaged with approximately 25 people. The other 50 to 75 people were there however they were not in my presence so they had no effect on me.

God is always present but unless we engage with him and respond to him, we are not in his presence and we do not have the benefits available to us that those who do engage and respond have. We have to purposely place ourselves in his presence.

Repentance brings us into the spiritual presence of God, however we must remain there. How do we do that?

I. Earnestly Seek Him

Deuteronomy 4:29 tells us - You will search for the Lord your God and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.

If we want to walk in the presence of the Lord, then we need to be practicing the presence of God. Pray without ceasing and keep the Word of God on your lips and in your heart. For the Lord is always present when his Word is being spoken. We seek him and we find him in his Word!

II. We Must Have Him On Our Minds

If we wish to cultivate living in the presence of God, we must set our minds to think about God. We must place him before the eyes of our mind. Some people have the ability to turn their thoughts easily and almost instinctively towards God however for others it is not so easy. It demands some effort to stop thinking about other things less than God, but we must take every occasion to use or, if need be, create situations where we become "thought-full" of God, where our thoughts are full of God.

What we have to convince ourselves of is that we have the power to turn our minds to whatever we want. II Corinthians 10:5 says - Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

I Corinthians 2:16 tells us that we have the mind of Christ...and we know that Christ had his mind on the will of his father at all times.

III. Abiding In The Word

Jesus said "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask whatever you will and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7 This is because abiding in him means we will ask according to the Father's will. Jesus is always present with his word. Abiding in the Word of God will always bring an increase in the sense of his manifest presence.

Joshua 1:8 says - This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

IV. Say "Yes" to God's Will

At the last supper, among other things Jesus said. "If anyone loves me he will keep my word" (meaning he will do my will) "and my Father will love him and we shall come to him and make our home with him."

The "if" is up to us, the "and" is up to God. We take care of the "if" and he will take care of the "and".

The deep sense of intimacy of God's indwelling is not something we can acquire cheaply. If we wish to experience that intimacy with God, we have to carry the cross. We have to surrender our will. If we do this, he will do his part. We give him our wills and he gives us the intimacy of his presence as only God, making his home in our souls, can effect.

Glory Hallelujah! Who wouldn't want to surrender their will and carry the cross when having the intimacy of God's presence is the benefit.

V. Worshiping Him

By placing ourselves before him in a place of adoration, we make room for him, and through focusing our attention on him we increase our awareness of being in the presence of God in our lives. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2 to Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Learning how to soak in God's presence through worship is one of the most valuable things we can do with our time. God has promised that as we draw near to him, he will draw near to us and we will experience him with us in ever increasing measures.

In Closing....Psalm 91:1 says - He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. Shadow means "immediate presence".

Think about it...if you are close enough to be in someones shadow you are in their immediate presence. So let's read it like this....He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under (or in) the "immediate presence" of the almighty.

My little girl sometimes will wonder away from me when we are in a public place and I will run after her. I always tell her that if she leaves my presence then I will be unable to protect her from any danger that is waiting for her.

If we purposely leave our heavenly Father's presence then we are opening the door for the enemy of our souls to move in and try to snare us. Even though God is not limited as we earthly parents are and he can protect us no matter what, if we leave his presence and head into danger he is not obligated to rescue us and when he does it is only because of his mercy.

Do you want to remain in the IMMEDIATE PRESENCE of the Lord? If so determine from this day forward to earnestly seek him, keep him on your mind, abide in his Word, say yes to his will, and worship him...then you will be a secret place dweller and abide in his immediate presence.

See You In The Word,

Janetta