What Brings the Presence of God?
ICS Daily Devotions
James 4:8a (NKJV) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
As God’s children, we desire the presence of our Heavenly Father. The Scriptures have revealed what attracts His presence.
The Bible records that Jesus couldn’t do much on certain occasions because the people weren’t welcoming of His presence (Mark 6:1-6). Likewise, God’s presence and works among us have to be initiated by us because He respects our desires and wants. Therefore, we need to be open to God’s work among us.
The opening verse confirms Moses’ experience recorded in Exodus 33:7-12. When he intentionally set up a tent outside the main camp to meet with God, God came to Moses, meeting him through a pillar of cloud and speaking to him face to face. Likewise, we can intentionally come before God during our devotion to talk to Him, and He will meet us at the appointed time. We should create a habit of meeting Him at a specific place and time, though we can be flexible during travel. We should also be prepared to approach God boldly in our weekly services because He will show up! He promised that when two or three gather in His name, there He would be with them (Matthew 18:20)! Most importantly, we need to decide to draw near to God.
Psalms 42:1-2 (Amplified) As the deer pants [longingly] for the water brooks, So my soul pants [longingly] for You, O God. My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and see the face of God?
As a three-part being, made up of spirit, soul and body, our spirit man longs to worship, know God, walk with Him and in His ways, while it is in our soul that carnality reigns, making us self-centred, individualistic, emotional, want to walk away from God and push Him down our list of priorities. Therefore, when we worship Him on Sunday, we should engage our entire being: spirit, soul and body, and express our love and adoration for Him through our emotions and feelings and speak to Him. Because the body will either listen to the dictation of the spirit man or the soul, we should walk in the Spirit and seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in our lives.
When we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. This is a spiritual law that governs the relationship between the worshippers and God. Any true worshipper whose mind is steadfast on God will also love the house of God. The spiritual realm is created to operate on this principle. When we seek Him, He will be found by us. God has given us free will. Therefore, we need to initiate ascending into God’s presence through praise and worship.
Sermon Series： The Presence of God
