The Presence of The Lord
by G. Craig Lauterbach
There are seasons in life when circumstances beyond our resource and the resources of others challenge us. It’s during these times that God wants us to know we can turn to Him for the answers we need. He is the answer for broken lives, broken promises, broken relationships, broken hearts, broken minds and emotions, broken dreams, broken bodies, and even broken bank accounts. Scripture says, “God is an ever present help in the time of trouble.” The question is how do we access His ability during these times of trouble? The answer is simple, “The Presence of The Lord.”
There was a Christian woman who had two children, a daughter and a son. From day one, her daughter chose to follow Christ and even later went into full-time Christian service. On the other hand, her son was a different story. Following his high school graduation, he decided to leave home and make a life of his own. From the day he left, two years passed without any contact, until finally she received word her son had adopted a homosexual lifestyle. Upon hearing this, the mother told her daughter, “I’m locking myself in the bedroom to pray and not coming out until I touch God regarding your brother.” One day, two days, three days, then four days passed as this mother fasted and prayed earnestly for the soul of her son. Finally, on the fifth day the phone rang. When the daughter picked up the receiver, guess whose voice she heard? On the other end of the line, her brother is sobbing as he proceeded to share how Jesus Christ set him free and filled him with the Holy Spirit. The sister responded by asking, “When did this happen?” He said, “Last night I was walking home from a friend’s home. As I passed by a small Pentecostal church, I was compelled to go inside. They were having a revival meeting and I entered right when the altar call was starting. Without hesitating, I went forward for prayer.” Before the daughter could run to tell her mother who was on the phone and what had happened, the bedroom door swung open as the mother came out dancing, crying, and shouting, “You don’t have to tell me. I already know. God gave me a vision of your brother weeping at the altar of a small church. Then I saw him with his hands lifted and praising God.” This mother knew what to do. She knew what was needed. She prayed that her son would have an encounter with Almighty God. When he entered that church and went to the altar for prayer, he experienced “The Presence of The Lord.”
The life and ministry of Jesus shows us time and time again what the presence of the Lord can do. In His presence there was victory over temptation, people were called into ministry, water was changed to wine, the sick were healed, the Gospel was preached, sinners were forgiven, the winds ceased, the demon-possessed were delivered, the dead brought back to life, blind eyes saw, the mute spoke, multitudes were fed, a man walked on water, the crippled were healed, taxes supernaturally paid, deaf ears could hear, the Holy Spirit was given, and people worshipped. All of this took place in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Psalm 16:11, David writes, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” Have you ever asked yourself why this is true? The reason there is fullness of joy, is because in His presence every need is met. That’s what God was saying to Moses at the burning bush. Moses wanted to know what to tell the people if they asked him, “Who sent you to lead us?” God’s response to Moses was, “I Am that I Am.” In other words, whatever your need is, I Am the one who can meet that need. What need are you facing today? As God spoke to Moses, He is speaking the same to you. Whatever your need is, I AM the one who has the ability and desire to meet that need. The answer for our lives, families, communities, state, nation and world is, “The Presence of The Lord.”
I want to share with you a passage of scripture that instructs us on how to experience God’s presence in our day-to-day lives. Look at James 4:8-10 with me. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” With this passage in mind, I want to emphasize the following points.
Draw Near To God
In verse eight, the Greek word the Apostle James uses for “draw near” is “eggizo.” It is also defined as, “to come near or approach; to join or weld one thing to another.” The word “weld” impacted me when I read this. To draw near to God means to be welded to Him. Let me illustrate it this way. I love to work around my yard. My wife and I take great pride in the landscaping we have done around our house. At times when I need to move topsoil or mulch around the property, I’ll hookup a small trailer to the back of my tractor. It makes this job a lot easier. One day when I was backing up the tractor, I turned the wheel too sharply and wound up snapping the hitch. A gentleman in my congregation is a professional welder, so I gave him a call to see if it could be repaired. Much to my delight, he said “Bring it on down and I’ll fix it.” In less than 10 minutes, it was done. I asked him if this would break again in the same place? His response was, “The spot I welded is actually stronger than its original condition. If it breaks again, it won’t be in that spot.” He was right! It has been 6 years since the repair and I have never had another problem. By welding the 2 broken pieces together, he made the hitch that much better. This is exactly what “draw near—eggizo” means. When we take deliberate steps to draw near (bond or weld ourselves) to God, in return He responds by drawing near to us.
God Draws Near To Us
When we draw near to God, we have the promise of the Word that He will draw near (bond or weld Himself) to us. James doesn’t say He might draw near; we have the absolute promise and guarantee that God will bond or weld Himself to us. PRAISE GOD! There isn’t even a question about God’s will here. James says “HE WILL” draw near when we draw near to Him.
Look at the benefits we receive when this happens. The presence of the Lord changes us. In verse 8, James says, “Cleanse your hands you sinners.” This represents a change in the way we conduct ourselves. When we experience His presence, it will change the way we think, what we desire, and what we do. Bad attitudes and old habits will disappear. Weakness will be turned to strength. Hope will replace hopelessness. Doubt and unbelief will be overpowered by faith. His presence will mold and shape our character into His likeness. In other words, we become like Him, but only if we choose to do our part. We have to be willing to cleanse our hands. Willing to let go of the things that make them dirty. Willing to say, “Not my will but Yours be done.” When we do this, we’ll experience a change of heart.
James goes on to say in verse 8, “Purify your hearts . . .” The heart is what motivates us as people. It’s the reason why we do what we do. When we experience God’s presence on a continual basis, our hearts will be transformed. Self-serving agendas will be replaced with a heart of a servant. Jesus came to serve, not to be served. He washed feet and fed the multitudes. When He looked on the needs of the people, scripture says He was moved with compassion. Our Lord was motivated by love. Not an ordinary love, but a Divine love—the love of the Father. In Acts 3, Peter and John were used by God to bring healing to a crippled man at the “Gate called Beautiful.” Following this miracle, Peter stands up under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and begins to preach to the crowd. The impact of his message causes 5,000 people to make a personal commitment of their lives to Jesus Christ. As the religious leaders observed the entire ordeal, look at what they said about Peter and John: Acts 4:13 reads, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” These same two disciples who were fearful at the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, are now speaking with confidence and authority. What changed them? They had been with Jesus. Spending time with Him transformed their hearts from fear to courage. This same principle applies to us as well. By spending time with the Lord in daily prayer, the study of His Word, and worshipping in a Bible-based church, like Peter and John, we will become more like Jesus. The Presence of the Lord changes our lifestyle, our hearts, and then our minds. In our text, James calls this “double-minded.” Simply put, this means two mind-sets. One that desires to please God and one which seeks to please self. God’s Word governs the first, and the other is ruled by what we see and feel. When we experience God’s presence, we will view trials and temptation from our Lord’s perspective. Fear and reason will no longer be the deciding factor in our lives and decisions. In His name, we will look at the mountains facing us and command them to go. Why? Because this is what Jesus would do. Spending time with Him will cause us to respond like Him.
Are you beginning to see the process? When our lifestyle changes, our hearts change. When our hearts change, our minds are transformed. When our minds are transformed, repentance takes place. That’s why James says in verse 9, “Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” This is a repentant heart. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:10 that, “Godly sorrow worketh repentance.” When we experience the presence of the Lord, anything that causes Him grief will grieve us. That’s why James says to mourn and weep. This illustrates genuine sorrow regarding our sin, the kind of sorrow that causes us to take positive steps to live a life that honors God. This is what James means in verse 10 when he says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord.” Repentance means humbling ourselves, admitting we are wrong, and asking for forgiveness. In the 1970’s, the movie “Love Story” was popular at the theater. In this film the dying wife says to her husband, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” That may work in Hollywood, but it doesn’t work with God. When we love someone we have wronged, we tell them we’re sorry. If they love us, they will say, “I forgive you.” This is repentance. As we recognize our shortcomings, we humble ourselves by telling God we’re sorry and His response is always, “I forgive you!” When we humble ourselves in this way, God promises to lift us up. The end of verse 10 in our text says, “He will lift you up.” I love this statement! This is the purpose behind God’s presence in our lives. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will lift us up. We will rise to a new level of faith, a new way of thinking, and a new strength. When this happens, we will enjoy the benefits of His presence.
Experiencing God’s Presence
Moses knew the importance of God’s presence. In Exodus 33:15 he tells God, “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” Moses had no desire to lead the nation of Israel to the Promised Land if God’s presence did not go with them. Moses knew that without the Lord, there is no lasting victory, only delayed defeat. He was not looking for a temporary fix. It’s one thing to obtain a blessing and quite another to maintain it.
Our hunger for His presence needs to be radical. When America was seeking her independence from England, Patrick Henry proclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death.” This should be our passion. “Lord, give me Your presence or take me home.” This is the kind of passion believers at the Azusa Street Church had in 1906. They wanted the presence of God at any cost. They understood God’s presence could remedy in a moment what someone may have been battling for years. In the Gospels, the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years was healed instantly in the presence of Jesus. The impotent man, who had waited 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda for a healing, was immediately cured in the presence of Jesus. Let me share a miracle with you that happened one Sunday at Lambertville Assembly of God. Service had ended and as I made my way towards the sanctuary doors to greet people, a woman with an infant daughter grabbed my arm. With tears streaming down her face, she cried out, “Please pray for my daughter, she was born deaf and I want God to heal her ears.” I took the baby in my arms and prayed the prayer of faith over her. The woman thanked me and then left with her daughter. Several days later, the mother called my office. On the other end of the receiver, this mother was crying and praising God. She had taken her daughter back to the doctor for a scheduled appointment. During the examination, the doctor was astounded to find the baby was responding to sound. He then did a series of tests, which confirmed that this baby born without eardrums now had two perfectly formed eardrums. Her daughter is now 16 years old and hears perfectly. PRAISE GOD! In a moment, the presence of the Lord changed this baby’s defect from birth.
Some of you may be thinking, “Wait a minute. I’m a Christian and the Holy Spirit lives in me. I already have His presence.” This is true, however, there is a difference between His indwelling presence and His abiding presence. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Spirit. The Greek language also translates this verse as, “Be filled and continually filled with the Spirit.” The Word teaches the moment we are saved, the Holy Spirit indwells us, but the filling of the Spirit is a daily, moment-by-moment experience for all Christians. In Acts 4:31, believers who had already received the Holy Spirit experience the power of God’s abiding presence. As they gathered together in prayer, an earthquake suddenly shakes the place where they were assembled. Following this phenomenon, the Word records they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Listen to me: it is not enough to have Him in us. We also need Him to go with us. How desperate are we for His presence? If we choose to draw near to Him, we will experience “The Presence of The Lord.”
