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Experiencing the Presence of God (Delighting in God part 2)

I’ve heard it said that if you removed the parts of the Bible that deal with the presence of God, you would end up with the genealogies, Proverbs & Philemon, and maybe not even that!

Everyone recognizes that this is one of the most important subjects that there is, yet very little is written about it apart from the description of some experiences. So here I am attempting to begin to develop the theology of the subject.

I believe that there are three ways that the Bible speaks about God’s special presence:

  1. His presence everywhere
  2. A special manifestation of his presence
    • External, e.g. in the O.T. from his presence in Eden, through to his temple presence
    • Intimate, through the Spirit e.g. Experienced by David and by New Covenant believers
  3. The chosen place of God’s final “residence” among his people (Rev 21:3)
    • We have a foretaste of this when believers are gathered and the Spirit makes God’s presence felt

So the big question is: Why do we often not experience God’s presence the way we would like to?

  • Psalm 16:11 says, “...in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
  • I suggest that since v.16 is the climax, if we follow through the Psalm, we will get some very practical suggestions as to how to experience this “fullness of joy”

Here is a link to the notes and audio: Experiencing the Presence of God. Note that it follows on from Delighting in God Part 1: Looking for Pleasure in All the Right Places

  • I don’t want this to seem like a “formula”, (follow these 7 steps and God’s presence will magically appear), but I do think we need to be practical in advising those who are hungry and longing for more of the Lord.

I would welcome comments from others on this subject.