Sermon Central
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Seeing The Unseen Christ Series
Contributed by Paul Decker on Apr 23, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: We need to practice God’s Presence.
SEEING THE UNSEEN CHRIST
S: Presence of God
Th: Seeing the Unseen Christ: How His Presence Transforms Life
Pr: WE NEED TO PRACTICE GOD’S PRESENCE.
KW: Questions
TS: We will answer in our study of Scripture three questions about practicing God’s Presence.
The _____ question we will answer about practicing God’s Presence is…
I. WHY IS GOD’S PRESENCE IMPORTANT TO US?
II. WHAT IS GOD EXPECTING FROM US?
III. HOW CAN WE PRACTICE GOD’S PRESENCE?
RMBC 2/11/01 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Friendship (Letterman)
Here from David Letterman’s Top 10 Signs You Have No Friends are five of his list (sorry, I had to edit the list):
You know you have no friends when…
5. You get no calls from salespeople pushing MCI’s “Friends and Family” plan.
4. You send birthday cards to members of “The McLaughlin Group.”
3. You are one of the five best solitaire players in the world.
2. At your funeral, the entire eulogy is, “Yep, he’s dead.”
1. James Taylor sings the first bars of “You’ve Got a Friend,” notices you in the audience and stops.
It is a lonely feeling without friends, isn’t it?
None of us want to be without friends.
And there is nothing like a good friend…
Don’t you enjoy friends, who even after you are apart, you are able to pick up right where you left off?
I think Dondra and I have friends like this.
Whenever we visit them, it is just like we have never been apart.
We seem to be able to get the friendship going with barely any reorientation.
You really enjoy a friendship like that, don’t you?
If you could get together with anybody you chose, who would it be?
Would it be a high school friend or a former neighbor?
Would it be someone who was kind to you or a relative you haven’t seen in a longtime?
Would it be someone who has helped you tremendously in your spiritual growth?
TRANSITION:
What would you say if I suggested that Christ Himself be that person?
1. How about Christ?
Maybe that wasn’t the way you were thinking, this morning, but why not?
After all, close fellowship (close friendship if you will) with the Lord is the ideal.
When we look at the biblical story and go back to Eden, it is there that we find that God fellowshipped with His creatures in the cool of day.
It is a picture of true rest, contentment and joy.
But…
2. Since the Garden of Eden, experiencing God’s Presence has become elusive.
Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect friendship with God.
But when sin entered into the picture, the relationship with God suffered a serious setback.
Sin became the wall of separation between God and us.
But God was not content to leave the wall there.
He has provided a way for that wall to be torn down.
He has done this because He wants very much to be present in our lives.
3. In two weeks, we will begin the 50-day adventure called Seeing the Unseen Christ: How His Presence Transforms Life.
An adventure…do you like adventures?
When you hear the word adventure, if you are like me, it excites me because there are elements of surprise and joy.
Let me propose another thought…
Wouldn’t it be something if Christ bodily visited our services during the adventure?
Do you think it would make a difference?
I bet some of us might arrive on time…and others might even be early!
If Christ were bodily here, our singing might have greater meaning.
We might have tears of joy and gratitude as we sing.
I know that I would work even harder on my messages, and I suppose you might work on listening better.
And for many of us, our conversations would change in His Presence.
You already know where we are going at this point, don’t you?
For the truth is that the unseen Christ is with us every Sunday.
He is here right now.
Yet, admittedly, many of us have been very casual about that fact.
In fact, our hearts and minds have already treated this day rather matter-of-factly.
But perhaps now we need to rethink this and…
4. WE NEED TO PRACTICE GOD’S PRESENCE.
Yes, He is here.
We need to acknowledge it and act on it.
As we go through our adventure in coming weeks, this is going to be our goal…to act and to live in God’s Presence.
Today…
5. We will answer in our study of Scripture three questions about practicing God’s Presence.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first question we are answering about practicing God’s Presence is WHY IS GOD’S PRESENCE IMPORTANT TO US?
1. God’s Presence promises deliverance (Exodus 33:14).
The study of Exodus 33 is interesting because it is there that God threatens to abandon Israel.
