7/21/13 DESIGN FOR LIFE
The Lord’s Presence
Song: The Lord Will Bring You OutPsalm 42:1-11 NKJV
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
Pictures: Ein Gedi, Israel, near the Dead Sea. The area that inspired these thoughts.
Worship and seek the Lord as we sing. Worship -- Worth-ship, ascribe worth, value. The strong sense of God’s presence makes all the difference.
Worship is not about:
□ us, but the object of our worship -- God
□ what worship does for us
□ what we get, but rather, what we give
□ not about a feeling we get when we sing
□ entertainment - a fancy presentation
Worship is all about our Lord, bring all to Jesus and gaze on Him.
The good feeling, the inspiration, is the by-product of real worship. God is worthy of our worship even if He never did anything for us.
Worship the Lord as we give, tithes and offerings. This is an act of worship.
Psalm 42:1-11 NKJV
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
This is when we thirst for God. It’s been hot lately, and water is necessary and greatly desired. It is very refreshing. Our Lord and His presence are essential for spiritual life and wholeness. When we really trust God we will hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with him. When we drink of His presence, we will be satisfied.
When a person stops thirsting for God they die spiritually. So, don’t allow anything to steal your deep desire to be close to God. Live His plan for your life. Never allow yourself to be distracted by the circumstances of life. They will destroy your hunger and thirst for God.
Faithfully serving and worshiping God will keep our desire for God’s presence strong. This will keep our spiritual passion strong.
Jesus said:
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
This hunger and thirst is so important that Jesus will bless the one who does so.
Psalm 42
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. 6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.
HOPE in God. We have a solid and real hope for life and eternity. This hope is genuine, especially when the signs around us are dismal.
Wait on God when things don’t look promising and it seems to take long to see results. The faithful will keep on pursuing a deeper relationship with God, whatever the feelings or circumstances may be. God will not abandon you.
God may seem to be silent, but He has not forgotten you. Keep developing your relationship with him and build your Christian character. Never give up, never give up hope in Christ.
Psalm 42
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
Hey, self. Why are you so upset? What are you discouraged and thinking of giving up? There is solid hope in God. Praise Him and see Him intervene.
Lamentations 3:22-24 NKJV
22 Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
The book of Lamentations is not a book that gets much coverage in Bible study. It was written by Jeremiah. The theme is “Present Sorrow and Future Hope”. Because God is faithful every day, we can rejoice in hope.
Jeremiah wrote this series of laments as he expressed deep sorrow and emotional hurt over Jerusalem’s destruction. The prophet pours out his grief similar to the tragic death of a relative or close friend. These laments describe God’s judgment on Judah for centuries of rebellion against him by its rulers and people. Jeremiah shows that God was justified and correct in all He did in relation to this nation. Also noted was the truth that God is merciful and compassionate to those whose confidence, faith and hope are in him.
Psalm 63:1-5 NKJV
1 A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
David expressed his heart towards God - Earnestly I seek You. We all need to pray as David prayed. He had a deep longing for God. It could only be satisfied by a close, personal relationship with the Lord.
Good questions for believers to ask:
Do I really have a strong passion for God’s presence and plan for my life?
Is worldly pleasure and earthly accomplishments primary?
How important are prayer and Bible study?
Do I focus on really serving the Lord?
Do I seek God’s power and glory in my life?
Do I seek God’s power to be strongly felt when we come together?
Do I trust God to overcome the powers of evil?
Do I believe that the answers to the struggles face will be found in Jesus and a strong personal relationship with Him?
Do I seek to inspire others?
Is our mind God-centered?
We started today talking about worship and God’s presence. Then we sang and worshiped the Lord. We have been talking about this more as we read from the Bible. Now, what’s next?
THE APPLICATION OF THIS MESSAGE
Seek HIM, let’s do it again right now. Worship the Lord.
