Encountering the Presence of the Lord
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - I like golf, I would play golf, watch golf on T.V., read about golf and I have even gone to several golf tournaments. When I lived in Florida, I went to the Honda Classic several years in a row there in Palm Beach Gardens. It was amazing to see all the players and the great talent and skills of the players, the crowds of people is phenomenal but when it was time for Tiger Woods to tee off the atmosphere seemed to change. You really can’t put an explanation to it but when he walked from out of the tunnel and made his way to the practice green before he teed off his magnetism and larger than life persona charged the atmosphere, the crowds of people near where he was would be at least 10 rows deep and people would do what ever they could to get to see him hoping to capture a picture of him or a smile from him. It was something that was intangible, but it would really make your experience that much more exciting. I even have several pictures on my phone where I was close to him like 50 feet or so or a few pictures when he walked pass and was close to where I was standing. I have shown pictures to some of my friends that like to golf as well and they say man you were that close to him you were able to take that picture, it even looks like he is looking at you in that picture and smiling at you and I will say that was a great experience and I had a wonderful time. As I had a great time watching Tiger Woods and following him around the golf course that fails in comparison to what it’s like to encounter the presence of God. When you are in the presence of the Lord the atmosphere is charged but most importantly you are changed.
Encountering the Presence of God.
PRAYER: -
SCRIPTURE: - Exodus 3:1-10 “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt”.
DEFINITION: - The most common Hebrew term for presence is panim, which is also translated face, implying a close and personal encounter with the Lord.
BACKGROUND: - Moses’ life had been a rollercoaster ride like many of our lives. He went from being the son of Hebrew slaves to the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; from an ark of bulrush to a palace of gold; from a life of slavery to the lap of luxury being learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds – Acts 7:22. Then after 40 years of living in luxury, in a matter of a day, he had fallen from the pinnacle of power and prestige to the pit of poverty; from being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter to being a fugitive in a strange land. Acts 7:23-29 tells how one day he decided to go visit his brethren the children of Israel and saw one of the Hebrew slaves was being beaten by his Egyptian slave master. Moses sprang into action defending his fellow Hebrew and killed the Egyptian slave master. The next day he went out again and saw two Hebrew slaves fighting. He tried to reconcile them when one of them said Acts 7:27-28 “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday”.
At that moment his life unraveled. Anger had led to murder which led to rejection by those he tried to save. Then when Pharaoh heard about it he sought to kill Moses Exodus 2:15 says, “Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well”. A fugitive he settles in the land of Midian marries Zipporah the daughter of a Midian priest and becomes a shepherd. Exodus 3:1 says, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb”.
Another Forty years have now passed. Moses is a shepherd of his father in laws sheep he didn’t even have his own. He is a fugitive living in the desert. No doubt he looks at his life and circumstances and wondered where God was in all this. He may have even felt as though God had given up on him because of what he had done, because of the things in his past, he was a murderer, a fugitive, he may have felt that he wasn’t able to be used by God. He was existing in life going through a routine of everyday existence just doing the same old thing when he has an encounter with the presence of God that changes him and places him on the track of his appointed destiny.
Encountering the presence of God.
Exodus 3:1 says, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb”. Moses was going about doing his normal everyday routine. There was no indication that this would be any different than any other day. There was nobody around as far as the eye could see, no signs that something spectacular was about to happen. Moses is on the backside of the desert a lonely, deserted, out of the way place.
Have you ever been in a deserted place where nobody is around, you are lonely, struggling with the thoughts in your head, fighting with decisions of your past wondering if I would not have done that or if I only would have done this then maybe I would not be I this place, in this situation, having these circumstances.
Listen that’s exactly where God meets you in the ordinary, mundane, routine areas of your life. Encountering the presence of God is God will meet you where you are. You don’t have to go and try to fix things up, you don’t have to try to change this or change that you can and God will encounter you right where you are. Psalm 139:7-9 says. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea”.
It doesn’t matter where you are right now you can encounter the presence of God. God is not like people we say I can’t go there that place is not safe or that place is too dirty. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that. It doesn’t matter if you are in the crack house, the penthouse, the mental institute, the prison, if you are lonely, disgusted, abused, misused, saint, sinner, preacher, or prostitute you can encounter the presences of God because He will meet you where you are. God is not intimidated; He is not disgusted by your situation or circumstances because when He enters the atmosphere is charged and you are changed, Psalm 119:130 says, “the entrance of thy words giveth light”.
Encountering the presences of God requires that God gets your attention.
Many times, we are so into our lives, our routines, our issues and problems distracted by Facebook, Tik Toc, and everything else that in order to encounter the presence of the Lord God must get our attention. Moses was going about his everyday routine feeding the flock and before he could encounter the presence of the Lord God had to get his attention. God will always attract you to himself. God was on the backside of the desert where Moses was but he had to get Moses’ attention by appearing in a burning bush Exodus 3:2 says, “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. The burning bush that was not consumed stopped Moses in his tracks, got his attention and cause him to change his direction. Verse 3 says, “And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt”.
We all experience a burning bush experience when God is trying to get our attention. God will try to get our attention through common things in life to get our attention. There may be something that produced a since of awe in you like the birth of your first grand-child or a magnificent sunset. The problem is we will often overlook a burning bush experience because at first glance it looks so ordinary. If you want to encounter the presence of the Lord, we must look for God’s hand, listen for his voice, sit up and take notice, recognize His interruption in your life.
Moses could have easily dismissed the burning bush and just kept on walking doing his routine, but he was sensitive enough to recognize that this was something special. To encounter the presence of the Lord we must be sensitive to burning bushes in our lives. I truly believe that this whole Covid-19 pandemic was a burning bush experience that a lot of the world dismissed. The recent blizzard in California, the extreme warm weather in the North this winter, earthquakes, hurricanes in January are burning bushes that God is using to get our attention so we can encounter the presence of the Lord. The problem is many people are just shrugging it off saying I wish things would just get back to normal. Things are past normal, and time is winding up God is trying to get people’s attention so they can encounter His presence before it is too late.
Verse 4 says, “So God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am”. Understand God is a personal God who desires a relationship with His people Isaiah 43:1 says, “Thus says the Lord who created you: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine”.
No, you will most likely not hear an audible voice of God calling your name like Moses, but He still speaks directly to our hearts, minds, and our will through His Word and His Spirit. When God calls you be ready to respond. When He called Moses he answered, “Here am I”.
When God calls you simply answer here am I. Be still and listen to what God is saying, have an encounter with God that will change you in ways you never knew where possible. God wants to reveal Himself to you, He wants to change your destiny, He wants a relationship with you.
I know there has been times when it seemed like you didn’t know how you were going to make it, there may have been times when you felt all alone, you may have felt like you were struggling inside yourself and no one could understand the torture you were feeling inside, but like Jesus told Nathanael in John 1: 47- 48 “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee”. God sees everything you are going through and He is trying to get your attention simply listen stand still and see the salvation of the Lord and encounter His presence by saying Here am I.
Encountering the presence of the Lord will reveal who God is to you.
Verse 5 says, “Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground”. God is Holy and His presence cannot be defiled. God demands that we be holy for He is holy Leviticus 11:44. He told Moses to take off his sandals because the ground he stood upon was Holy. The sandals collected the dirt from his travels taking off the sandals was to show that he is leaving the sin, the degradation, the filth of the world behind and encountering the presence of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty”.
Verse 6 says, “Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God”. The God who revealed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He is faithful is the God who now reveals to Moses that He is faithful - steadfast in love, perfectly trustworthy. The God who revealed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He keeps his promises is the God who here reveals to Moses that He keeps his promises and He wants to reveal to you that He is faithful. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord”. Revelation 19:11 says He is faithful and true this states the total trustworthiness, reliability, and consistency of Jesus Christ.
It is in His presence He reveals just how faithful He is.
While in the presence of the Lord Moses hid his face, “for he was afraid to look upon God”. After 40 years of being a fugitive, after killing an Egyptian, after all the stuff he had done and been through came rushing back into his thoughts he hid his face and was afraid. He may have felt unworthy and useless and the idea of being in the presence of God put fear in him so he hid his face. So often God wants us to be in His presence and to reveal Himself to us, but we struggle with things in our past, we may feel as though we are useless and hide our faces from Him.
But we don’t have to worry because an encounter in the presence of God, God will reveal that He is faithful and true but He will also let us know that He is forgiving and redeeming.
In verse 7 it says, “And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows”. God sees the affliction of His people, He knows the condition they are in and since He is the same yesterday, today, and forever He sees the affliction you are dealing with He knows the struggles you are facing; He knows how we are being oppressed by the adversary and He hears the faintest cry. Isaiah 53:3 says, “He is a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”. That is entering the presence of the Lord.
Listen contrary to what the devil may be trying to convince you of, contrary to what you may think based upon your past life or present circumstances, God sees, hears, and knows all about you and He wants you to encounter His presence.
Verse 8 says, “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites”. God delivered His people from Egypt and has provided deliverance for us too in Jesus Christ. Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears”. Psalms 107:6 says, “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses”.
Verse 10 says, “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt”. The one who was rejected when the Hebrew men that were fighting said in Exodus 2:14 “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian”. Acts 7:35 says, “This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush”.
WATCH THIS:- When God delivers His people He sends a savior to deliver them. Jesus Christ is our savior and deliver. Isaiah 53:3-10 says, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand”.
Benefits of the Presence of the Lord.
In the presence of the Lord there is rest. Exodus 33:14 says, “And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest”.
In the presence of the Lord, we experience fullness of joy. Psalms 16:11 says, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore”.
In the presence of the Lord there is safety Psalms 31:20 says. “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues”.
In the presence of the Lord there is protection. Psalms 91 says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”.
In the presence of the Lord the mountains of life melt at the presence of the Lord. Psalms 97:5 says, “The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth”.
In the presence of the Lord, we are changed. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”.
WATCH THIS: - Wherever the presence of the Lord is there was a miracle that took place. In the presence of the Lord - Water was turned to wine, the lame began to walk, the lepper was cleansed, the blind received their sight, the multitudes were feed, the fishermen’s net were filled, the woman’s issue of blood was healed, the man’s withered hand was made new. In the presence of the Lord the dead were brought back to life, in the presence of the Lord Peter walked on water. In the presence of the Lord storm winds are ceased. In the presence of the Lord the dumb began to talk. In the presence of the Lord demons have to flee.
You want to experience a miracle encounter the presence of the Lord. When you are in the presence of God, you get your needs met.
How to encounter the presence of the Lord.
Psalms 100:1-2 says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing”. Verse 4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name”. When you do this watch what happens Psalms 22:3 says, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel”. The meaning of inhabitest is to occupy to be present in. When you praise God He inhabits your praise, His presence is there the atmosphere is charged and in His presence your life is changed.
CLOSING: -
A Prayer Thanking God His Presence.
God, I thank you for revealing yourself to me. I know Moses stood in your presence in the burning bush, and I know God, that at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
God, you are Holy, and You require us to be Holy. We understand that holiness without no man shall see the Lord so we ask that you lead and guide us to your holiness. We enter your gates with thanksgiving and into Your courts with praise and thank you for your omnipresence for in your presence is the fulness of joy. We thank you for being Jehovah Jireh, Lord God our Provider for in your presence you provide all our needs.
Lord God thank You for being Jehovah Nissi, our banner and victory. Thank you for being Jehovah Rophi, the Lord who heals us for in your presence we are healed. Thank you for being Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness for in your presence we are in right standing with you. Thank you for being Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is our Peace for in your presence we have peace that passeth all understanding. Thank you for being Rohi, The Lord our Shepherd for in your presence we shall not want, you maketh us to lie down in green pasture and leadeth us beside the still waters.
As the dear paneth after the water brook so we long to be in your presence. Thank you for being El Elyon, the Most High God. Thank you for being El Shaddai, the Almighty God. Lord you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and I thank you for being my God as well.
The heavens declare your glory and majesty. The angels are constantly in the presence of Your Glory. We long to be in your presence to join with the angels and say Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come Thank you for being able to encounter your presence, Amen.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
