What it means to enjoy Divine presence part 2

Messages for May 2016: Our Month of Divine Presence

Message for the 8^th May, 2015

Theme: The wonders of Divine Presence

Topic: What it means to enjoy Divine presence part 2

Introduction: Last week, we began to look at what it means to enjoy divine presence from the life story of Joseph. We learnt from that account that anyone who has divine presence is engraced. Today, we shall see what the Lord Jesus Christ taught on this subject from the gospels bearing in mind other qualities of those who enjoy divine presence.

We learn from the Lord in the gospels that to enjoy divine presence shows up with the following traits:

1.     They are led by the Lord Jesus Christ through His Spirit: In John 10:27, the Lord said His sheep hear his voice and they follow him. We are also taught in Romans 8:16 that the Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the sons of God. God can only lead us if we stay in His presence and not any other way. In Ps.32:8, we are told by the Lord through the Psalmist that He would instruct and teach us in the way we that we shall go and that He would guide us with His eyes. This is what it means to be led by the Lord. When God is present with us, it is evident in His leading us in the way we should go. Believe me when God leads you, you will never be lost.

2.     They hear the voice of the Lord: If you have lived with someone for some time and the person passes on, the one thing that proves their absence more than anything is that you do not hear their voice around the house anymore. In the same way, the presence of someone in a place is proven by hearing their voice in that place. In our text in John 10:27, the Lord is teaching that His sheep hear His voice. The proof that God is with a person is that they hear his voice always. When God rejected Saul for instance, we are told that He stopped speaking to him by urim, Thummim and by a prophet. See 1Sam.15:10-35; 28:6. 

3.     They shall never perish: To perish is to be stripped of dignity. In the book of Proverbs 29:18, we learn that where no vision is, the people perish. Another translation puts it this way: “A nation without God’s guidance is a nation without order…” GNB another one puts it this way: “where there is no prophetic revelation, the people run wild…” God’s word. The bottom line here is that where God’s presence is maintained, revelation is not scarce to people therefore, they maintain orderliness and do not lose color. Many people who stopped walking in God’s presence find themselves in this situation as there would be no revelation from God that comes with His presence in a person’s life that creates the momentum for living in beauty and glorifying God. For instance, God was with Samuel and did not allow any of his word fall to the ground. See 1Sam.3:19

4.     They build and maintain enduring legacies: Every time God enters into a covenant with a man, He usually makes it eternal because His covenant is trans-generational. The reason is that when He is with you, his intention is that the covenant lasts forever. However, man does not last in time forever so the covenant devolves on his offspring. This is why God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These men represent three generations of a family. For instance, he told Abraham that the land of Canaan was bequeathed to him forever. This explains why the land of Israel is being held on to as theirs up until date because God gave it to them. Every time God enters a covenant relationship with man, he usually puts the forever clause. For example, God said that the throne of David would be established before him forever. Up till date, the Israelites still celebrate the anniversary of David’s coronation even though he has since gone home. See Gen.15; 2Sam.7:15-17 and Exod.3:15 and Ex.12:24.

5.     They are joyful people: One of the hallmarks of people who abide in God’s presence is that they are joyful people because in the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy. See Ps.16:11. Also Apostle Peter points out in 1Pet.1:8 that the manifestation of our redemption is joy unspeakable full of glory. When we connect this with the word of the Lord in John 15:11 where he said that he spoke those words to His disciples so that His joy might remain in them and that their joy might be full. Finally, He promises to answer our prayer that our joy may be full. If God is not with you, He would not answer your prayer like he dealt with Saul.

6.     They enjoy supernatural protection: when God was to dole out the plague that compelled Pharaoh to submit to His authority, He exempted His people in Egypt. When Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s den, he enjoyed divine protection because God was with Him and found no fault with him. When Paul the Apostle was bitten by a snake, he was not harmed because God was with him and protected him. See Gen.47:20, 27; Dan.6:21-22 and Acts 28:3-5.

Finally, when God is with a person, it cannot be disputed as all these infallible proofs would confirm it. Access to this grace was freely available to man until the devil came in to mess things up by luring man into sin which resulted in his separation from God [Gen.3; Rm.3:23 and 6:23]. Thankfully, the Lord Jesus Christ already came to solve the sin problem for us. However, we are required to embrace His sacrifice by believing in Him and receiving God’s free gift of salvation through faith. See John 3:16-18.

If you have not yet received this free gift, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you shall be saved:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.   

Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!