Living In His Presence

Living in His presence

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Introduction- Good morning everyone, please turn to Deuteronomy 30.

Last week, we looked at dealing with fear in our lives. We looked at the fact that fear can keep us from doing and being who the Lord wants us to be.

We saw that we make decisions individually but that we need each other.

Walking with God is easier when we do not journey alone but with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

This morning, we are taking the time to look at living in the presence of God.

We make choices everyday about everything in our lives, but no decision is as important as the choice to have God active or inactive in your life.

The theme of the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy is choice.

Moses, as well as his successor Joshua insisted The Nation of Israel had an obligation to choose who they would follow. Jehovah God, or following other gods that would take them away from the true God.

We have the same mandate for our lives today- We are to choose who we will follow, who to be obedient to. God or not. Choices!

The constant danger for Israel was to allow something else to become the center of their lives and not God.

Illustration-

Debbie and I were gone most of the week and we went to the Morikami (more-a comi) Wetlands- it is also about 40 degrees colder here this morning- just saying! The wetlands had a spot where a pond huge in size had a spot where there was no moment of water. It had still leaves not moving with a glaze like an oily surface on top of the water and that the stagnant water created a stink. To be able to move and be like a river, or a lake, or like an ocean, there has to be an inlet and an outlet of fresh moving water. The moving in of fresh rushing water to keep things from stinking and from getting stagnant. That is what is suppose to happen in the Presence of God in our lives. His presence keeps us fresh and alive! His presence will show up in our lives so others see it active in our lives. It will show up for others.

Deuteronomy 30:11-20 Read from Bible.

Choice

Decision not procrastination

Knowing God’s word so you can be educated with what He has already said to us.

Getting on track and staying on track- even in those hard times.

The Bible is full of reverences of people who encountered God.

Some were looking for God and some were not even thinking about God but because of His grace and His mercy He shows up and offers a chance for us to respond to Him.

Moses, at the tent of meeting and on the mountaintop of God encountered God and scripture says that the glory of God was all over him. (It was evident that he had spent time with God)

Isaiah encountered God in a vision and was confronted with his sin and the sin of mankind needing a savior. (Time with God will reveal our shortcomings and His greatness)

Apostle Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus while persecuting believers and his life was changed forever. (Time with God will reveal our need for Him)

Every time we talk about living in God’s presence, most think of trying to be holy, getting rid of bad things in your life, and not having fun anymore, only doing what the Lord wants like it is a punishment.

Most of that is true- we should desire that God would get rid of things in our life that are bad for us.

Being holy is not a bad thing, is not punishment, it is desiring that God would actively be present in your life and your life would reflect the decision that you made to follow Him. It is not a punishment but a blessing as we do his will in our life.

His presence is what we need in our lives or we cannot even begin to do His will.

God has been touching people lives the last few weeks, the question becomes, are you going to allow him to complete what He desires for our lives?

Decision- your decision is key to your future! Repeat.

Verse 15- “See, I have set before you this day”

Faith is always today.

Yesterday’s faith will not see you through today- today’s faith will. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but now… today.

You have heard the term “free will’- it means that God gives every human being the opportunity to make choices that will affect their destiny.

Because of free will, others can be hurt by other people’s bad decisions.

It does not mean that God didn’t redeem mankind, He has already done that. It means every human being decides if they will accept what Jesus has done.