Do You Live in Gods Presence?

(John 8:29)

I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
Knowing Jesus means youll want to do what He did
Youll want to follow His example,
Because you have His Spirit
His heart,
His desires.

One thing that was clearly on His heart

Was His desire to bring His lost sheep home.
That desire will be in your heart as well
Youll want to see your family,
Friends, neighbors,
People you dont know,
Even your enemies
Come to Christ.

But as weve also seen

There will be things that get in your way
The largest obstacle perhaps is fear:
Fear of being scorned, ridiculed, abused,
Of being thought foolish,

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Or a religious fanatic,
Fear of being out of step with your peers
Your flesh will capitalize on this
And youll find yourself paralyzed.

Because you have Jesus Spirit

You also have someone in you
Who is working to overcome these things
In a variety of ways.

He may give you a greater concern

For the wellbeing of others
To break through your fear
And to reach out to them.

He may give you a greater confidence in Gods promises,

Perhaps by boosting your obedience
So that youll have more confidence
That the promises are yours.

He may show you more clearly what an honor it is

To suffer for the One who loved you
And suffered for you so that you could be saved.

He may remind you that you are called to suffer

That Jesus, His disciples, the early Christians, the Reformers

All suffered in their service to Him.

He may encourage you by reminding you

That suffering is a mark that you are His,
That it is a privilege to suffer in His place,
That He will reward you for it,
And that through suffering
He will make you grow stronger in Him.

B. Preview.
There are many ways the Spirit can and does help.
This morning, were going to consider another way:
By helping you to remember that God is always with you.

If you know the Lord

His Spirit is in you
And He will help you keep this truth before your eyes.

1. First, well consider that God is with you.

2. And second, that you need to live in that reality.
II. Sermon.
A. First, lets consider that God is with you
He is in at least three ways:
1. He is all around you.
2. He is in you.

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3. And He is for you.

1. First, He is all around you.

This is what it means that God is omnipresent
He is infinite/unlimited in every way,
Including with regard to space.
David writes, Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your
presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol,
behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the
remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right
hand will lay hold of me (Ps. 139:7-10).
And Paul writes, And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live
on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the
boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they
might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
for in Him we live and move and exist (Acts 17:26-28).

He isnt everywhere by stretching Himself endlessly through space.

He is present in every point of space with His whole being.
Paul seems to indicate that He is the space in which we live.

His presence isnt limited by any of the things He has created,

He permeates everything.
He is around you,
Over you,
Under you,
And through you.
He is with you.

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2. He is also in you.
He lives in your soul by His Spirit.
As we saw in 1 Corinthians 6:19, Or do you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that
you are not your own?
Paul also says in chapter 3:16, Do you not know that you are a temple of God
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
When Gods Spirit raised you from the dead,
He did so by uniting Himself with your soul.
Now He lives in you
He doesnt live in temples made with hands any longer,
But in temples made without hands
In His people:
He lives in you, if you have trusted Him
And are turning from your sins.

3. And He is for you.

He is with you to bless you
As you set your heart to obey Him,
Which is what weve seen
Over the last two Lords Day evenings.
This is what Jesus meant
When He said to His disciples,
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I

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commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age
(Matt. 28:18-20).

As they would obey Him

By going into all the world
To make disciples,
He would be with them
To watch over them
And bless their work.

If you have trusted Him

Which you can know
If you are obeying Him
He is with you
To help you in the work you do for Him.

He is all around you,

Within you,
And present to bless you.

B. Second, you need to live in that reality.

As David, to set the Lord continually before you
To recognize He is with you
In every sense of the word.
This can help you in a variety of ways.
1. First, it can help you resist sin

He sees the choices you make

Whether they honor Him or dishonor Him.
David writes, O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when
I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You
scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all
my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You
know it all (Ps. 139:1-4).

Knowing He sees what youre doing

That He actually knows it before you do
Knowing He is present in your soul
And is affected by what you do
It is possible to grieve the Spirit
Can be useful to help you obey.

Everything you do is open to Him

You cant do anything in secret.
For God, any sin you commit,
Is doing it right in front of Him,
Because you are Hes there
All around you and within.
And if you are His,
He will discipline you for it
To help you avoid it next time.

You also cant do anything right in secret

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That He wont see.
Jesus says, Your Father who sees what is done in secret
Will reward you (Matt. 6:4, 6).
He sees everything you do for His glory
No act of love will be overlooked or unrewarded.

This should have a profound effect

On what you choose to do
Whether to yield to the Spirit
As He seeks to help you
Obey and love and glorify God,
Or to yield to your fleshly desires
And seek your own gratification.

You need to learn to live in Gods presence.

2. The fact that He is with you

Can also be a comfort,
Because He is present to help you.
Jesus was constantly aware of the fact
That His Father was with Him
And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the
things that are pleasing to Him (John 8:29).

Because the Lord is with you

Youre never alone.

He sees what youre going through

Your struggles, your needs
And He is there to help you.

Have you ever been in a situation

Where it looked like your life was over
But miraculously, you were saved?
Its because the Lord is with you.
He has given His angels charge over you (Heb. 1:14).

Have you ever had to go without the necessities of life?

If you had, you wouldnt be here.
If you havent, its because the Lord is with you.
Every good and perfect gift
Comes down from above
From the Father of lights (James 1:17).

Have you ever gone through circumstances

That can crush your heart,
And yet it wasnt completely crushed?
The Lord was with you to comfort you.
He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deu. 31:8).

3. The fact that Hes with you

Can also give you courage.

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Moses and David set the Lord before them

They knew God was with them
And so they werent afraid.
The author to the Hebrews writes, By faith he [i.e., Moses] left Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen
(Heb. 11:27).
David writes, I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my
right hand, I will not be shaken (Ps. 16:8).

Like Moses, you dont have to be afraid;

Like David, you will never be shaken,
Like the disciples, sent out by Jesus,
You can go out knowing the Lord is with you (Matt. 28:20).

Not one bird falls to the ground apart from your Father,
The very hairs on your head are numbered.
And so, Jesus says, do not be afraid,
You are more precious than many sparrows (Matt. 10:31).
He will not allow anything to happen to you
That will not work together for your good (Rom. 8:28).

4. In closing, dont forget

His presence will only help you
Overcome sin,
Encourage you to obedience,

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Comfort you,
And give you courage,
If youre aware of it.

How often do you go through the day

Completely oblivious to the fact that God is with you?
How many times have you forgotten,
And made sinful choices,
Then remembered and were ashamed?

How many times

Have you felt like your situation was hopeless
Because you forgot that God has promised to keep you?

How many times have you been afraid

To tell someone about Jesus,
Because you forgot that He was with you?

Set the Lord continually before you.

Live your life in the sight of God,
Knowing He is with you
Because He is
All around you,
In you,
And for you.

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You who havent trusted Jesus

Who dont obey Him
Need to remember this as well.
God knows what youre thinking,
He sees what you do,
He knows why you do it.
Nothing is hidden from Him.
One day, He will bring absolutely everything
Youve done against Him and others into judgment.
He cant overlook sin.

But remember, He is merciful and forgiving

To all who will turn from their sins
And trust His Son to save them.

He is present now.
Call on Him now.
Ask Him to forgive your sins,
To change your heart,
To give you the grace you need
To trust Jesus and turn from your sins,
That you might know these blessings. Amen.

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