Living the Promises of God
Faith Service Worship Vision
There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds. These sessions are not about opinion, they are about learning truth, the truth contained in the Bible, together we are going to focus on how we apply God’s truth, black & white in a grey world. To set godly priorities, grow in Christian character and live according to God’s standards so that we are a living witness to others. Notes from previous sessions are available from the Bible Study Section of www.ashingdonelim.co.uk.
Session 4
1 February 2011
Living in the presence of God In the world today there are many people who are searching for happiness, fulfilment, and love, the problem is they are searching in all the wrong places. As Christians we have discovered the truth that peace can only be really found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
How can we live in the presence of God?
The person who is saved has God’s presence with them, Jesus promised, “I am with you ALWAYS.” (Matthew 28:20) Let’s consider Psalm 1, the introduction to the book of Psalms: 1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV) Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV 2011) 1
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (Psalm 1:1-3 NLT)
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The promise of God’s word is the person who has God in their life is truly blessed. This word literally means happy, completely satisfied, or blissful.” If you are saved you have God living inside you: “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)
If you could actually see Jesus with you 24 hours a day 7 days a week, would your life change? What would you do differently? Why would there be a difference? “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:15) God is with us!! “Emmanuel, God with us” (Mat. 1:23) The Bible says that if we realise that GOD IS WITH US it will radically change our lives. We will have the peace that the world does not have. In this study we are going to consider three things that will keep us living in the promise of the presence of God.
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Depart from Sin
We must tell them the truth—they need a Saviour. That is the only thing that will save them. No matter what, we must always be honest with people, no matter what the consequences are.
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:19)
The story of the two brothers
“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.” (1 John 3:4-5)
There were two rich brothers. They were also wicked. Both lived a wild, unprofitable existence, using their wealth to cover up the dark side of their lives. On the surface, however, few would have guessed I, for these cover-up artists attended the same church almost every Sunday and contributed large sums of money to various church-related projects.
Psalm 1:1 states that we must not walk/follow/listen to the advice of the ungodly, does that mean we should never seek advice from non-Christians? How do we know if advice is Godly or ungodly?
Then the church called a new pastor, a young man who preached the truth with zeal and courage. Before long, attendance had grown so much that the church needed a larger worship centre. Being a man of keen insight and strong integrity, this young pastor had also seen through the hypocritical lifestyles of the two brothers.
How often do you allow yourself to be influenced by ungodly advice? Are you currently seeking advice from the wrong places? Do you need to cut off any sources of ungodly advice to your heart? (Ungodly TV, wrong music, horoscopes, etc).
Suddenly one of the brothers died, and the young pastor was asked to preach his funeral. The day before the funeral, the surviving brother pulled the minister aside and handed him an envelope. “There’s a cheque in here that is large enough to pay the entire amount you need for the new church,” he whispered. “All I ask is one favour: Tell the people at the funeral that he was a saint.” The minister gave the brother his word; he would do precisely what was asked. That afternoon he deposited the check into the church account.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4:22-24) “I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they shall not cling to me.” (Psalm 101:3)
The next day the young pastor stood before the casket at the funeral service and said with firm conviction, “This man was an ungodly sinner, wicked to the core. He was unfaithful to his wife, hot-tempered with his children, ruthless in his business, and a hypocrite at church…but compared to his brother, he was a saint.”
Don’t walk in the old ways What is the consequence of not walking in your old ways? You may loose friends or even your own family may reject you, but Jesus promised to give you a hundred fold in this life and in the life to come.
Don’t sit in the old seats
If we are not supposed to participate in ungodly behaviour then do we do enough to avoid it?
As Christians we no longer sit where we once sat. We have been raised with Christ. Now we must seek to live the life of freedom and victory that Christ died to give us, and we must point others to Christ.
Are there certain situations that your friends would expect you to participate in that would mean you behaving in an ungodly or sinful way? We can not live the way we did before we were saved if it means endorsing or participating in a way of life that as believers, we know God does not want us to participate in. Any kind of sin, no matter how small we think it is, is still sin and will damage our fellowship with God.
If you don’t want to get wet, don’t get close to the water. And if you don’t want to fall into Satan’s trap, don’t play with sin.
Are we in danger of falling into the trap of putting our stamp of approval on sin so that we do not offend or loose friends?
The dictionary describes delight as something that gives great pleasure, what in the world gives you delight? What are you passionate about?
Delight in God
Do we love our friends enough to tell them the truth?
What we delight in is our passion. There are those who more than anything love sports, or love music, or
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something else. It doesn’t matter what it is. Our first love should be the Lord. Our life should revolve around Him. God must be our passion
The ungodly of the world do not want to depend on God to bless them. They seek to control their own situations for their own gain. This leads to instability in their lives.
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” (Phillipians 3:10)
Stability in God is a peaceful reliance on Him to supply our needs, like a firmly planted tree depending on the streams of water to nourish it. God supplies our needs, no matter what our situation or our surroundings are.
Which do you pick up more often, the TV remote or your Bible? If God is not your passion, then whatever
Why do we so often get anxious or worry about the necessities of life, when God has promised He will provide?
your passion is will be visible in your life. Whatever it is that distracts you from God’s word, can only distract you when you let it!
God can meet both our physical needs and our emotional needs. God provides the necessary comfort and protection we need. God holds each of us in the palm of His hand, keeping us stable and safe, no matter what trouble befalls us.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
Focus on God The world knows this principle. That is why TV, the radio, and the newspaper are so interesting. The world wants you to concentrate on it. But the Bible says right here that we should “meditate on the law of the Lord day and night.” Every time we turn around the world wants our attention. Just go down the road and you will see a billboard! We must put the word of God constantly before us. We must concentrate on it.
This is God’s work. You did not save yourself. We are saved by grace, not works! And since God planted us is His will, we can never be removed from the presence of God.
We have “eternal life.” “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29)
How many Bibles do you have at home? How often do you read your Bible, not study notes, or a verse printed on a calendar, your actual Bible?
We are PRODUCTIVE in God’s will
Do you take a Bible to church? Why / Why not?
“yield fruit in season”.
Let God nourish you
When you enter God’s presence, you do not leave empty handed. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The Bible says we will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. If we are living in God’s presence, He becomes our nourishment, the source of our power. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” He is the vine, we are the branches. He will see us through NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES! Why? “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” Philippians (2:13)
When God comes into your life you cannot be the same person. You are new in Christ. We cannot do it. We must let God produce the fruit in our lives through prayer and Bible study.
We are PROSPEROUS in God’s will.
Do God’s will
“Their leaves never wither & they prosper in all they do.”
Is there more to doing God’s will than the avoidance of evil?
How should we understand this prosperity that God blesses us with as we obey His will?
If we are living in God’s presence, we will depart from sin, delight in God, and the closer we walk with Him, the more we will want to do what He tells us to do and live the way He expects us to live!
Prosperity is misunderstood if taken as the world sees it. The word, prosper, literally means, to carry through to a successful result. This is a general truth. That means that this is what happens most of the time. It is the rule, not the exception. Some things do not come to a successful result, at least in our own opinions, because it is either not a part of God’s planning or God has something better for us.
“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
We are PLANTED in God’s will. How should we understand this stability that God blesses us with as we obey His will? Stability should not be understood in a worldly manner.
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Real prosperity does not come from money or power or possessions. Real prosperity is the result of God working in our lives as we earnestly pursue Him. He is bringing our lives to a successful result, if we are following Him.
Sometimes He will not work in the way we expect Him to, but He will not let us down, if we trust Him. There is nothing that God cannot do through you! I did not say that you can do, i said that God can do! “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Practical application These are 3 steps taken from Psalm 1 to help you pursue God’s will.
Examine your life: Who or what is guiding your decisions, shaping your lifestyle? Are you pursuing the wicked, progressing down their dark path? Or are you seeking after godly direction? Maybe there are some things you need
to change in your life.
Establish godly influences in your life: Is there a Christian who you can develop a level of accountability? Being able to share with someone your
struggles and have that person pray for you significantly enhances your ability to overcome those struggles. It is much easier to pursue God’s will with the encouragement of others.
Ensure you read the Bible regularly: There are various programs available. They range from a simple devotion, like the Daily Bread, to more involved and detailed study. There are Bibles for busy schedules, and even audio Bibles for those who do not have the time or the ability to sit and read the Bible. But whatever you choose to do, make the Bible a regular, habitual part of your life.
God is in us. All we have to do is depart from sin, delight in Him, and do His will. We are in His presence. We just need to realise it and recognise it.
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