His Presence

If you were asked to talk about the most important subject of all time, what would you talk about? Once you’ve settled on that topic, what would you say? How would you grab your audience?  Today, I want to talk to you about the most important subject of all time. He is the beginning and end, the lion and the lamb, the prince of peace, the Son of God. He is Jesus. We spend so much time searching for things that surround the subject of him… we search for answers to our problems. “How can I fix my marriage?” “How can I be a better parent?” “What’s my purpose?” “Who am I?” The answer to all of life’s mysteries can be found at the feet of Jesus. Laying at his feet, completely surrendered with your eyes and your heart turned toward heaven - this is the posture of the ministry of His feet. Keep this in the back of your mind because we are going to talk about this again later.  If you are not focused on the person of Jesus, then you are missing the mark. You can chase destiny, you can chase wealth, you can chase power, you can chase gifts of the Spirit, you can chase ministry, but if these things don’t come from the person of Jesus, it all means nothing. The person is in the presence, and the presence is in the person.

Come, dwell, abide, rest, grace, mercy, tenderness. These are words that describe the presence of God. None of them have heavy urgency to them. None of them are commanding or demanding. They’re a picture of the Father standing with arms stretched wide, waiting to embrace you. In Jeremiah 29:13 it says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart.” The presence of God is all around us, whether we have opened our hearts to it or not. But, when you seek His presence, he will make himself very apparent to you.

I’ve spent my entire life off and on in the church. When I was younger, I grew up in a non-denominational church (and every other weekend at Catholic church) that was actually pretty Penecostal. I’m talking about two hour long services, lots of loud music, dancing, fiery preaching. I was exposed to the presence of God at a young age, but I never grasped it on my own. In my mind, it was always for everyone else. Jesus didn’t become MY Jesus until a couple of years ago. My husband and I were going through a tough time that I didn’t know how to reconcile. I was depressed and feeling lost. I didn’t know who I was, I didn’t know who I wanted to be. I felt so void. But one day, I was working out in our living room and the music suddenly shifted from pop music to a song by Kari Jobe called, “You’re the One That Really Matters.” The song opens with “I feel you so close to me, I can hardly move or breathe.” The moment I heard that line, my knees hit the ground and I had the biggest ugly cry of my entire life. I realized that the closeness of God was what I was missing. At that moment, I felt arms around me, holding me. When I finally opened my eyes, no one was there. It was just me and I knew in my soul that Jesus had been holding me while I cried. Has a line in a song ever spoken directly to your heart and helped you process pain that you didn’t know how else to process? 

 What we fail to recognize is that Jesus is closer than we think. In Galations 2:20, the Bible says “It’s no longer I who live, but Chist who lives within me.” This scripture has become one of my favorites because it reminds me not only who Jesus is and what he has done for me, but it reminds me of who I am. Jesus lives within me. I have constant access to Him.  Not only did Jesus die for you to make sure you would spend eternity in His presence, but he sent the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to speak to you and live through you. We aren’t believing and putting trust in an “idea.” Don’t detach yourself from the presence of the person. Jesus wants a personal relationship with you that is for YOU. In the Passion Translation of Psalm 84, it says, “God of Heaven’s Armies, you find so much beauty in your people! They are like lovely sanctuaries of your presence.” These words of David capture my heart. It makes the presence of God so personal. Not only does God find beauty in you, but he finds you to be a sanctuary, or a safe place, of his presence. 

We’re all women here. We have so many excuses to not spend time alone with Jesus. Some of my excuses were: “I’m tired, I’m a mom, I’m a wife, I have activities, I have friends…” The list was never ending. But my life lacked real joy, real peace. There were fleeting moments where everything seemed right with the world, but they were so short-lived and manufactured by my environment; they didn’t come from within. I also just didn’t understand why anyone would want to sit quietly and try to spend time with Jesus. It just seemed almost like wasted time. Now it is the most precious time of the day I have. I’ve found my purpose, my destiny, my groom, my best friend, my Father and my consuming fire in the presence of Jesus. You guys, he is everything. I’ve had people ask me why Jesus is so important. The entire Bible points to Him. God the Father points to Him. The Holy Spirit points to Him. It says in John 4:16, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Completion is found in the presence of Jesus, worshipping at his feet. 

How do we find ourselves in the presence of Jesus?  For my notetakers, this would be a great time to bust out the pen and paper. I’m going to give you a bit of a guide to getting into his presence. That is not to say that God is some sort of machine that we can just put the coin in and get what we want, but there is biblical proof about what pleases Him and encourages connection with him. I’m sure this seems like an abstract concept. The first step I use to focus myself on the Lord is with Psalm 100:4 as an example. It says, “ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” When I want to be in the presence of God, I spend time thanking him for what he has done for me. God, thank you for saving my marriage, thank you for your blessings, thank you for the community you’ve placed us in, thank you for the calling on my life, thank you for the cross, thank you for your Spirit, thank you for your person. The more time I spend thanking Him and worshiping him, the more I feel him around me. Father, I praise you for who you are. I praise you for what you’ve done and what you’ve yet to do. I praise you because you are worthy of praise. You guys, we are worshipping a king, but not a king that is out of reach. We are worshipping a king that has humbled himself enough to live among us, to dwell within us, to be in covenant with us, to die for us. That is enough to humble me into a place of praise and thanksgiving. None of these things were done BY me but FOR me by the creator of all. 

 After spending time in praise and thanksgiving and letting him fill your heart with gratitude, then, and this is number two, ask him questions. He will reveal himself to you piece by piece. He might sound like a voice from within, He might give you dreams and visions, He might confirm himself to you through another person. In Philippians 4:6 it says, “...with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” So first, we thank him and give him praise, then we ask questions. I’ve found that I’ve grown from asking God for things, and I now ask Him to reveal Himself. “God, more than anything, I want to see your face. Show me a piece of who you are today. Show me a facet of your person.”  Each facet of the person of Jesus reveals a piece of your identity. You are a daughter, you are a friend, you are a bride, you are a royal heir. You aren’t just one of these at a time, your identity is all of these at once, and every piece of your identity that God reveals to you is your complete identity within Him. You are made in his image and likeness. 

Finally, and I’d argue most importantly, God speaks to us through his Word. In 2 Timothy 3:16, the Bible says, “ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The words of Jesus are written in the Bible so that you can recognize what His voice sounds like. The Word is active and living, but steadfast. Through his Word he will teach you who He is. There is nothing more precious than spending part of your quiet time with God by reading His words and asking him to reveal things to you through what you read. 

Have you ever had a friend or an acquaintance that you feel is or was only close to you because of what you can offer them, whether it’s gifts, position, or opportunities? You don’t trust those people. Every motive they have is questioned by you, and you wouldn’t share your intimate feelings with them. We all want to be needed and wanted because of who we are, not for what we can offer someone. Jesus feels the same way. Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” When we seek His face, it has to come from a place of pure motive. We cannot want God for what He has. We cannot want him for the gifts he can give us, for the peace he can bring us, for the words or revelation that flow from Him. We have to want him for him. When all of it is stripped down, do we want Jesus for who he is? He reveals revelation and purpose to his friends. Our relationship with Jesus is like a marriage. When you meet someone you start a relationship with, you want to know everything about them. Nowadays if you’re not with that person, you’re texting them, emailing them, instagramming them, tik tocking them (whatever that means). You want to know every detail. How awkward would it be if you pressed someone for everything, even the most intimate details but they never asked the same of you? For a marriage that has a strong foundation, you build trust and connection. Approach your relationship with Jesus the same way. Give him every detail even though he already knows. He wants to hear it in your voice from your perspective.

Remember how I told you about finding all you need at the feet of Jesus? We’re going back there now, so get ready. One of the many women of the Bible who nailed the ministry at His feet was Mary of Bethany. Every time I read about her, I feel inspired to maintain the heart posture and physical posture she did in front of Jesus. As Charles Wesley writes, 

“Oh, that I could forever sit,

Like Mary, at the Master’s feet:Be this my happy choice:My only care, delight and bliss,My joy, my Heaven on earth be this,To hear the Bridegroom’s voice.”

I’m sure you remember the story, but to refresh your memory, according to Gospel of Luke, Mary and Martha were sisters that opened up their house to Jesus. Martha was busy preparing a meal and cleaning her house and she was feeling salty that Mary didn’t pitch in to help. Mary was busy sitting at the feet of Jesus, taking in his every word. In a moment of puffing up with pride and frustration, Martha asked Jesus to make Mary help out. That sounds like something siblings would do. “DAD! Make my sister help me!” But, Jesus had an amazing response. He said (and I’m paraphrasing here), “Martha, you’re right, there’s a lot to do, but none of it matters compared to what Mary has chosen to do.” Mary wanted a relationship with Jesus, starting by sitting at his feet, just like a daughter. In Mark 6:31 it says, “many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." Jesus says to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” One of the benefits of coming to a conference like Crowned is THIS! A desolate or secluded place is a place where distractions are minimized. You can be just like Mary, and sit at the feet of Jesus.

How often do we find ourselves being Martha? I feel like I was bred to be a Martha. My mom keeps an immaculate home, she’s great at caring for people, she loves people really really well. My stepmom is similar in those ways. The two biggest female examples of my life as I grew up could “Martha” REALLY well. I took on a lot of those traits (except for the immaculate house, I won’t lie), but it wasn’t until this last year that I’ve started to mold myself after the example of Mary. I love to be around people, I love to make people feel like I’ve thought of them and I care for them, but all of this is second to the time I get with Jesus. I’ve come to the point in my life where I feel like I can’t “people” really well until my cup has been filled by the Lord. You can’t pour into others unless you have an overflow. I want my overflow to be pure and unadulterated. The Jesus who lives in you is the one you’ll give away.