Tag: presence of Christ

Seeking God Successfully (Part Seven)

Psalm 27:8

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (ESV).

Seeking God testifies that our joy is found outside of ourselves. We seek something when we realize that we do not have sufficient resources in us. A thirsty person will get up and look for a glass of cold water. A hungry person will raid the refrigerator, because he or she knows that food is to be found there. In the same way our hearts reach out for God when we are convinced that he has what we need spiritually and eternally. This kind of conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 CSB; cf. John 15:26; Romans 8:15).

On the other hand, when God seeks us, he is not seeking to supply some deficiency in himself, because he is fully satisfied. And human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need (Acts 17:25 NLT; cf. Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 11:36;). Instead, God seeks us (Luke 19:10) in order to meet our need. God, wanting to share the immensity of his love, reaches out to us that we may drink at his fountain and be utterly satisfied. So he tells us that all his fullness is to be found in Christ and that he gives this fullness to us in Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority (Colossians 2:9-10 NIV). So then, we should realize that our Father in heaven really wants us to approach him in faith and through Christ by the Holy Spirit draw all that we need to satisfy our thirsty souls (John 4:10-14; 6:34-35; 7:37-39; 10:9-10; 16:24; Philippians 3:1).

Believers must be seekers. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob (Psalm 24:6 ESV). In heaven we will possess all things fully, and God will live with us in a way that is the completion of our present experience (Revelation 21:3-5). But now we are caught in the tension or pull between what we have by grace in Christ and what we still long for—to live directly in God’s presence.

By the presence of God, the Scriptures mean something richer than the omnipresence of God. Truly God is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Amos 9:2-5; Acts 17:26-28), and he is fully present and active in the fullness of his divine power. But by the presence of God, the Bible means God being with his people to bless and help and encourage and make his love known to us. We have this presence through the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit. As J.I. Packer points out in Keep in Step with the Spirit (p. 49), the Holy Spirit makes known to us the presence of Christ with us so that three events keep happening:

  • Personal fellowship with Jesus – the Lord draws near to us to share our lives with us. God is not a passive spectator but an active participant in our struggles.
  • Personal transformation of character into Jesus’ likeness – the Lord works in us to make us more and more like him, and we produce the fruit of the Spirit.
  • The Spirit-given certainty of being loved, redeemed and adopted through Christ into the Father’s family – the Lord lets us know that we belong to him and that he will never turn his back on us.

Let us draw near to God. He offers much to his children who rely on him. He promises himself, the awesome God over all!

Grace and peace, David

Psalm Nineteen (Part Eight)

Psalm 19:12-14

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (NIV).

Some time ago, we had several posts on Psalm 19. We return to the concluding verses of that great psalm. Last time in this series, we considered the meaning of secret or hidden sins. Next or second, let us think about the danger of secret sins. They can be more harmful to the person committing them than open, known offenses. Why are secret sins dangerous?

  • Secret sins deprive a person of the help he might receive if his sins were known. When others know of our iniquities, they might call them to our attention, rebuke or correct us for them, or pray for our repentance. However, since such sins escape observation, we are cut off from a valuable means of grace. The sin is like an internal infection, growing in strength, unnoticed until it affects the whole person.
  • Secret sins work on the inner person of the heart, turning spiritual resources to the satisfaction of the sin when they might be far better employed in worship and knowing and fellowship with God.
  • Secret sins help heat the soul for more open sins. If a few coals are spread apart, they quickly cool off, but when gathered together, they stay warm. So secret sins warm the person toward the practice of open rebellion against God.
  • Secret sins help polish the hypocrisy of a person. The more he wants to hide his secret sins, the more skillful he becomes in presenting himself as something he is not.

Third, the person who truly knows the Lord recognizes his guilt for these sins. He senses his need for forgiveness, for inner cleansing, though no other human observes his guilt. The spiritual person wants a heart clean of offense before God. Ac 24:16. “This is a singular difference between pharisaical and real sanctity: that is curious to look abroad, but seeth nothing at home: so that Pharisee condemned the Publican, and saw nothing in himself worthy of blame; but this careful to look at home, and searcheth the secret corners, the very spirit of the mind” (Nathanael Hardy, quoted by Spurgeon, The Treasury of David). The spiritual person knows that God is holy, that God desires fellowship with him, yes, that the Spirit of God lives within. The direction of his soul is to love this Holy God, and not to offend him in anyway. Therefore, he knows that he needs forgiveness even for these hidden misdeeds.

The great point is that we must not dabble in secret sins. A verse that has been a help to me has been Romans 13:14. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (ESV). We should realize that in our Lord and Savior, we have real help, as the Spirit makes Christ present in our hearts. When we feel a temptation to dabble in secret greed, lust, fear, anger, or laziness, etc., Christ has more than sufficient power to help us resist temptation. We should not fret about the temptation, but by faith in Christ act against that temptation. It is good to start each day by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace, David