Entering His Presence
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
· Last week I spoke on a foundational truth.
· The basics for any disciple is to learn how to enter and be occupied by The Presence of God
· I spoke on 10 things to Understand about God Presence.
· The Presence is where we want to be, it’s the uttermost desire of heart of every person on this earth, who has or ever will live.
· People try to fill this longing with everything under the sun, but only 1 thing will truly satisfy
· That is to constantly abide in the presence of God
(ESV)
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
· Our current method of prayer does not allow this verse to be acted out in reality.
· Our current method of prayer does not allow this verse to be acted out in reality.
· It would be silly to think God ‘s “will” is that every believer locks themselves in a monastery, gets on their knees and prays continually 24/7
· To be in the will of God we need to understand what this verse is speaking on.
· I believe God desires us to be in constant communication with Him
· That no matter what you are doing, you are in a constant awareness of His presence all around you
· Sound impossible?
· No its Not,
· There have been periods of my life when I have experience this.
· These have been times of fasting.
· When I fast, I even feel God presence when I sleep,
· However there are also times when I don’t feel God’s presence
· When I feel like I’m all by myself
· So here’s where I’m going!
· I believe it is God’s will for us to be continually aware of His Presence. Walking the dog, sitting at your table etc.
· We already took a look at the benefits of being is his presence last week
· So today I want to look at How do we become aware of the Presence of God.
· I will often refer to the term entering His presence,
· remember God’s presence is everywhere, He’s omnipresent
· So we are actually always in His presence , it’s just there are times we are unaware of it!
· Wifi analogy
· Next week we will talk about how to Abide in his presence, to stay in His presence and not leave it
· But today I want to focus on How do we become aware of His presence.
· In other words How do we Enter the Presence of God
· Question How many people here have had times when they’ve experienced the presence of God?
· What happened? (interview people)
· As stated earlier, I believe It’s God’s will that every person is constantly aware of His presence
‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’
(ESV)
· Obviously this passage was written specifically to the people of Israel, But I contend that it holds true for every believer today
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
· Obviously this passage was written specifically to the people of Israel, But I contend that it holds true for every believer today
· If you seek God with all your heart you will find Him, and then good things happen
· One issue in the modern church is that we have become complacent in our desire to encounter God
· For many people Church is a routine, a ritual. Something that has to be done because you are a follower of Jesus Christ
· I long for the day when the people of God gather with anticipation and excitement, expecting God to do the miraculous when God people come together
· I know for this to become a part of our culture, encountering the presence of God has to be our primary reason for us coming together
· I’m fully aware that every person here is at a different stage of their spiritual journey
· I’m fully aware that every person here is at a different stage of their spiritual journey
· That’s Ok, infact its awesome,
· teach what you know!
· Ok Let’s get into it:
Last week I said the Bible contained the strategy to enter the presense of God
It in sever locations by today I want to focus on
A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
(NASB)
1) Shout joyfully to the Lord
100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
3 Know that the Lord [b]Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and [c]not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with [d]thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
O clap your hands, all peoples;
Shout to God with the voice of joy.
And His faithfulness to all generations.
1) Shout joyfully to the Lord
2) Serve the Lord with gladness
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
2) Serve the Lord with gladness
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
3) Come before Him with joyful singing.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
4) Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Knowledge of God
Warning too much knowledge puffs up
Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.
5) Enter His gates with thanksgiving
Description of tabernacle/Temple
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
6) And His courts with praise.
Praise: “express warm approval or admiration of”.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has granted us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has granted them according to His compassion
And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.
7) Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
8) For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.
Conclusion
· To many people make worship an event, when it should be a lifestyle
· When you desire to enter the presence of God, it will always begin with thanksgiving
· It will continue with Praise
· Next week we will continue With how do you abide in the vine