Discovering
How to Sense the Presence of the Invisible God
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
22 August, 2010 AM
I.
Introduction
(Job 23:8,9)
A.
The deepest question on
anybodies’ heart is not “will I be rich?”, “who will I marry?”, or “what
will the weather be tomorrow?”
B.
It is, Are we alone? Is there a
God, and does He even care about us?
C.
Only a fool decides that there is
no God (Psalm 14:1) - that everything is a serious of accidents – that
chance is king, and that all we have to live for is ourselves!
D.
Job struggles to sense the
presence of God: When Job was in the deepest, darkest moments of his
anguish, he looks around to find God and says in chapter 23:8,9,
1.
Behold, I go forward, but he is
not there;
2.
And backward, but I cannot
perceive him;
3.
I look on the left hand, when he
doth work, but I cannot behold him;
4.
He hideth himself on the right
hand, that I cannot see him.
5.
Job needed God right then. He
needed to know that God is there, but he couldn’t sense Him; couldn’t see
Him; couldn’t hold Him… and that made it tough!
6.
It doesn’t matter how successful,
or even how desperate you may be in life, you always need God, and you need
to know that He is there, and that He is at work!
E.
David rests in God’s presence! It
was about 1,000 years later, when King David was able to confidently write
in Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for thou art
with me”
F.
There is strength in having God’s
presence that Job was seeking, that David rested in!
G.
We need that power of His
presence
1.
It drove demons crazy – AMEN!
2.
It calmed the fearful disciples
in the upper room when He appeared after the resurrection
3.
It encouraged Paul to press on at
great risk to his life for souls
4.
It enabled Moses to lead
5.
We need that kind of strength
again!
H.
It is easy to feel like He is not
there! But oh the blessing of knowing and sensing that God, the Creator of
all things is really, and truly, and powerfully present in the midst of your
life!
II.
Message -
WHERE is God? If He IS There, WHERE is He?
A.
There is so
much evidence for God being there!
1.
He is not a figment of a deluded
mind like Richard Dawkins thinks! ALL the facts scream that the God of the
Bible is THERE!
2.
God talks a lot about Him being
there for us. As a matter of fact, if He wasn’t around, everything would
just fly apart (
3.
So, what are the basic evidences
that God exists?
a.
The complexity of Creation is one big proof
– proves there is a Designer (Psalm 19:1,2)
b.
The Laws of Nature
– they should be random, but they all work together as if designed.
Everything is winding DOWN, not up like evolution teaches! Everything
started RIGHT and is now falling apart! All
c.
Animal Instincts and Moral Consciousness
cannot be explained without a Designer
1)
What makes an ant work so hard
without training courses
2)
What causes a caterpillar to spin
a cocoon, not knowing it will become a butterfly?
3)
What causes all men everywhere to
worship something bigger than themselves?
d.
The Bible, and all its prophecy
– proves it had a Designer
1)
40 authors, spanning 2,000 years,
across 3 continents – one theme – the redemption of all mankind by an
innocent Lamb!
2)
Hundreds of Prophecies pointing
to the birthplace, the miracles, the crucifixion, the resurrection of ONE
MAN – the Messiah
3)
Hundreds of prophecies about the
nation of
4)
It is a supernaturally designed
Book, written by someone outside of time!
e.
And best of all, Jesus Christ Himself
– He thoroughly proved that God is there!
Jesus said, “If you have seen ME, you have seen the Father!”
4.
To reject all that evidence, you
have to be thoroughly educated and brainwashed so that you don’t just see
what any child can see around them – that God is there!
B.
He is the
INVISIBLE God, but that does not mean He is not there!
1.
God has NEVER been seen (
2.
That’s because, God is a spirit –
not flesh like you and me, or like an image ot an IDOL (
3.
Even though He is invisible, many
people throughout history have lived as if they have seen him (Heb 11:27) –
that’s where we need to get today!
C.
He is FAR from
some people this morning!
For some of you, you will NEVER know Him, or sense His presence! Why?
because He stays away from the following kinds of people:
1.
The proud
(Psalm 138:6) – every time you are proud and stubborn, God backs away from
you! Just memorize this fact! He is nowhere near the proud, haughty,
stubborn, self-righteous person
2.
The wicked
(Proverbs 15:29). You watch what you watch on TV or have a look at the filth
on your internet and don’t expect God to be anywhere near around you when
you need Him!
3.
The lost
(Eph 2:12,13) – the unsaved! Terrifying thought! All eternity, you will cry
out for God, but He will not come! Jesus said “ye must be born again!”
4.
God is far from all of these, BUT
not too far (Acts 17:27)! Praise God!
D.
The Promise of
God’s Presence
1.
There is no place that God isn’t!
God is absolutely everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10).
a.
Whither shall I go from thy
spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
b.
If I ascend up into heaven, thou
art there:
c.
If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there.
d.
If I take the wings of the
morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy
hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
e.
In other words, God is THERE…
1)
At your workplace, amongst the
crowds and busy schedules
2)
When you are alone
3)
When you have lost everything
4)
God’s been there all along!
2.
It is the promise of His Name –
Emmanuel (Mt 1:23) – God WITH us! He is HERE!!!
3.
To the Believer, God PROMISES not
only to be WITH you, but to NEVER leave you or forsake you (Heb 13:5)!
a.
Do you understand what it means
to NOT forsake?
b.
It means to never, ever give up
on, or abandon, or lose you! PERIOD!
c.
That is the promise of God’s
presence with you!
E.
The PLACES of
His Presence
– I just want to expose WHERE God
has been hiding in your life!
1.
He is with you when you are in
the middle of God’s will (Acts 18:9,10)
2.
He is with us when we live godly
(Ps 14:5) – forget the X-generation, the Y-generation. I want to be part of
the generation of the righteous, because that is where GOD is!
3.
He is with us when we go
soul-winning (Mt 28:19,20) and press out into the front lines of spiritual
endeavours
4.
But thank God He is also with us…
a.
In every valley (Psalm 23:4; Isa
43:1,2)
b.
When things go wrong (Psalm 46:1,
11)
c.
When you are sinking and doomed
to fail (Mark 4:35-40)
d.
When we are weak (Heb 4:15)
e.
Whether you feel it or not, He is
the God who is THERE! Just like “air” – you may not feel a breeze at the
moment, but air is still very much there!
III.
Application –
How to KNOW God is There
A.
Be Still
(Psalm 46:10)
1.
Quit talking so much, and having
the radio constantly on, and the TV. Just Listen when you pray
2.
Look hard at what you are going
through – God IS there, if you would just ask god to open your eyes to His
presence, and especially His purpose
3.
Let God lead you. Just sit back
and trust God to know what he is doing
4.
Let Him back Close to You (Rev
3:20; James 4:8) – He wants to be near all of us!
a.
Some of you have forgotten what
it is like to walk with Him and talk with Him, and let Him comfort you (
b.
Some of you have NEVER
experienced the presence of God in your life and heart
B.
Be Low
- Humble yourself – the hardest job (Ps 138:6)! Quiet down the angry hurt of
your heart, and let God stand in for you! You will sense His presence as he
works on your behalf!
1.
Remember all the Scriptures that
warn us of God’s resisting the proud, and being far from stubbornness?
2.
Crucify your pride as fast as you
can so that you can enjoy the presence of God!!!
C.
Believe His
Promises
(
D.
Begin to
Praise Him
(Psalm 22:3) – He does not draw near to angry, frustrated people who get
upset because they don’t get their way! But rather to those who love Him and
are thankful for everything! Who have learned in whatsoever state that they
are to be content, and thankful! GOD shows up in their heart!
E.
Be Faithful in
a Bible Preaching Church
(Matthew 18:20; Heb 10:25)
1.
You may not think being in church
matters, but Jesus said He is HERE when we meet!
2.
He is NOT at the football match,
or down at the Pub, or in the Disco. He is at church with His people!
3.
Amongst believers – not when we
seek to always be alone (Mt 18:20; Heb 10:25), or set ourselves above
everyone else. It is amazing to know that He goes with believers (Ex 33:14)
a.
Thomas MISSED the actual presence
of Jesus the first Sunday that he rose from the grave because of depression
and unbelief kept him away!
b.
But the next Sunday, when Jesus
showed up to His disciples again, this time Thomas was there, and the
presence of Jesus Christ changed Thomas’ life!!!
4.
So,
a.
Don’t miss a meeting – I don’t
understand Christians who have been saved from hell, and are headed to
heaven not wanting to be in every meeting!
b.
Don’t miss a word preached!
That’s why we don’t have a circus or a zoo here – the main reason why we
come to church is to hear from God and sense His presence!!!
c.
Don’t miss an opportunity to
serve the Lord in some ministry
5.
Why? Because those who put the
Lord first and serve Him gladly, actually enjoy the blessed and precious
presence of the Lord God of heaven (
IV.
Conclusion
A.
Do you know Him? Do you even
realise just how much you need Him?
B.
It doesn’t matter how successful,
or even how desperate you may be in life, you always need God, and you need
to know that He is there, and that He is at work!
C.
Job struggled to sense the
presence of God
D.
David rested in God’s presence!
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil:
for thou art
with me”
E.
We need that power of His
presence
1.
It drove demons crazy – AMEN!
2.
It calmed the fearful disciples
in the upper room when He appeared after the resurrection
3.
It encouraged Paul to press on at
great risk to his life for souls
4.
It enabled Moses to lead
5.
We need that kind of strength
again!
F.
It is too easy to feel like He is
not there! But oh the blessing of knowing and sensing that God, the Creator
of all things is really, and truly, and powerfully present in the midst of
your life!
1.
I can’t live without it
2.
It is more than just knowing God
is there… it is knowing and sensing He is HERE! With Me! In my trial, in my
victory!
3.
To live without His presence is
to live without air! You just won’t last!
G.
Unless you get born again, you
will never ever experience the presence of God (
H.
Unless you seriously desire His
presence you will live and die alone!
I.
Pray
1.
God! We always are waiting for
you to prove yourself
2.
Yet you have already proven
yourself, over and over, and still people ignore you
3.
Help every one in this room to
hunger to walk with you, and sense your presence
4.
To know and I mean REALLY KNOW
that you are there, and that you are our strength and our song. You are our
very lives!
5.
May we start to know you as the
God who is THERE! Who always has been there, and always will be there!
6.
May we greatly trust you and
follow you, no matter where you lead!