God is...Present

Topic: God is...Present - Tonight, a different approach - a list - to help us grow in our Christian life - Most will agree that in a general way that God is present, but will go further to see how we must be aware of the presence of God

To do so, we must do certain things:

1) We must accept that we are accepted

- We can see ourselves as difficult to love - We can wonder how God would accept us - Yet He knows we are broken and He accepts us based on Christ

Hebrews 10:19-22 - Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

- We do not always want to draw near to God - We should be drawing near to God and we can, in the full assurance of faith

2) Be conscious of the facts of God's presence

- Sometimes we do not have all the information - The Bible is clear about the presence of God in general creation and specially in the lives of individuals

Jeremiah 23:23-24 - “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off? 24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

Psalm 139:7-12 - Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Isaiah 57:15 - For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

- God is present whether we sense it or not - For the believer, not only is God present with us in our physical environment, but we are also already present with God in the spiritual environment

Colossians 3:1-3 - If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

- We live our lives in the throne room of God - God is also present within us as believers

3) Be intentional in our thoughts and actions

- Spiritual maturity does not come by accident - We cannot sit around waiting for something to happen, we must be preparing ourselves to be used by God - We need time to be with God, to communicate with Him - Often there are too many distractions - The more aware you are of the presence of God, the more likely we are to develop love for Him

4) Be alert to the signs of God moving around us

1 Kings 19:11-12 - Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

- The presence of God is not always blatant and dramatic - He is often found in the quiet places - We can talk to God as we talk to a friend

A practical note: Pray out loud, because it is harder to lose focus

5) Rest in the fact of His presence

- We need not worry that He is not there - Failure to rest is to doubt God's promises

Final note - The presence of God is not punitive, there to find fault to punish - He says He will not leave us or forsake us - His presence is to support and encourage us

We should seek His presence as a good and joyful thing

God is...a Person

Ron Hughes Although we easily think of Jesus as a person because of His incarnation as a human, we don't usually think of God in the same way.

However, throughout the Bible we are presented with characteristics of God that lead us to be able to see Him as a Person - someone who is connected to us as a person in a very personal way, not a cosmic stranger.

Earlier we saw Him as being happy but that's not to say that He doesn't have other characteristics. This session we explored His characteristics that we humanly associate with male personalities: father, warrior, shepherd, etc., but the Bible also mentions other characteristics God has that are a bit different. God is explained as a person who shows certain maternal characteristics towards His own.

God is...Happy

Here are notes from Ron Hughes first message here at Graphite for Winter Weekend 2013. - Big misconception that God is angry - As if He is waiting to find someone to punish - Not only is God happy, but He wants us to be happy - In OT, He commanded His people to celebrate - In OT and NT, word translated as "blessed" is also "happy" - Why would God be unhappy? - General state of the world might be one reason - Perhaps due to rebellious sinners - So many wayward believers - God is happy because He is getting it His way - Making His plan come to fulfillment - Ephesians 1:11 - ...Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will... - One of the themes is the redemptive nature of what God does - There are people whose terrible experiences God has redeemed to use for His glory - The "god of this world" is unhappy - Satan - His time is limited and set - His power is limited - Satan can only offer happiness for a short time - God can offer happiness forever - God is also happy in His children - Jeremiah 32:41 - Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul. - Speaking about Israel, but this tells us of His character - When God looks at us, He wants to make us happy - He wants to establish us in a heavenly land - Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. - God is present with us - God does love us, He made us and He loves us, even though we botched it up - He will quiet us - His love comforts us - He makes us the subject of His song - Matthew 25 - Enter into the joy of your master - John 15 - These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you - Jesus was a happy man - John 17 - He prayed that His disciples would have His joy fulfilled in them - Story of the prodigal son - Father is God - He throws a party with feasting, music and dancing - Will throw the greatest party the universe has seen when His Son gets His bride

Questions to ask in regard to His happiness 1) How could God be the source of our happiness and joy if He were not happy and joyful? 2) How could the children be happy if the Father is not happy - He is happy and He puts the desire for that in His children 3) Do we think of God as being happy? - God is happy - He is happy with us - He wants us to be happy

God tells us how to be happy - Being selfish is Satan's program, not God's - Job 5:17 - Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. - If we let God correct us, we will be happier in life - Proverbs 3:13 - Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding - Tolerance is a great thing, but we cannot turn our brains off - There are very dumb ideas - We must be discerning - Proverbs 28:14 - Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. - When we disrespect others, we can no longer connect with them and get no benefit from them

Q and A 1) OT says "God's anger burned...", so He must be angry - God is angry about certain things, such as sin, but His general disposition is joy - His anger is momentary, but He is not characterised by anger - He is characterised by joy and the other fruits of the spirit 2) It's easy to be joyful when we're perfect, so how can we be joyful - God knows that as long as there is sin, we will be unhappy - However, when we believe in Christ, God has already set us on the path to perfection - When we reach heaven, we will be perfect and fully experience joy as God intended - The more we defeat sin, the happier we will be