bs44 The Blessing of God’s Presence

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The Blessing of God’s Presence looks at how God’s special presence brings great blessings to us, and how lost people in hell are lacking this.

Por David Cox

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Psalms 16:2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; (many Bible versions have this last part, “apart from thee I have no good thing”)
Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

The Bible declares to us that there is good with God, with being “in His presence”, or in other words having a correct relationship with God. More than just that there is “good with God,” these good things very much surpass any other good that there is. Outside of God, there is no good thing. It is very important to understand that “the good” for our soul is only in the will of God. Satan will “paint” everything beautiful, sweet, good, etc. if you walk outside of the will of God, but outside of the will of God there is nothing “good”.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

The idea here is not that there doesn’t exist some vice which is sweet outside of the will of God, but rather none of these vices is really good for us.

God is Omnipresent

Psalms 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

The doctrine of the Omnipresence of God is simply that God, in His existence, is so great that He extends into every single place in existence. There is no place where God doesn’t exist or have a presence there. So, 1) if a persona sins and wants to hide (himself or his sin) from God, where would he go to do so? God is everywhere, and nobody can hide themselves from God. 2) The conclusion of this thought is simply that always and for everything we must deal with God. The idea of living without the favor of God or outside of God’s wrath is impossible. You will make an accounting with God no matter what you think or want. While many abandon God’s house and they do not want God to bother them, they have to deal with God, God will deal harshly with these people.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

The wrath of God is toward those that don’t want to recognize God and fight against God’s truth principles, justice, holiness, etc. these people are just under the wrath of God. Romans 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts… But God still will have a dealing with these people even though God gives them up to their sins, this life of sin will cause them ruin, and then they will go to hell for all eternity when they die. The principal matter is to understand that we can never “get out from under” this divine dealing with our lives and souls, so we seek the favor of God instead of having the wrath of God destroy us.

Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

In other words, even though you refuse to correctly recognize God as your God, even so, He remains God over you, and over all in earth. Palms 83:18

The Presence of the Omnipresent God and the Actual Presence of God

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. Psalms 10:11 (the wicked) He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. Genesis 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.

Understanding the omnipresence of God, we also must understand that God has a presence in a place that is special for the moment and the people of this event. This is mostly a strong spiritual blessing for the people in this place and event. The church meeting is an example, Matthew 18:20. So, God is in every place, but in heaven there is a special measure and form of His presence there. This blessing is for the good angels and the saved already there. Job 21:14 Therefore they say unto God, depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.  So even though God is present everywhere, God is especially present in some places and times, and the purpose of the special presence of God in a place is to interact with people in this place and on this special occasion.

Psalms 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

The wicked that go to hell when they die have something in common, they do not want God in their lives. But the saved seek God.

Psalms 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

The problem is always our sins. Even though God can have a pleasant encounter with us, this is not going to happen if we walk in sinful paths and do not repent and leave those paths.

When a person rejects and doesn’t want the presence of God with them, when they do not want God in their life, then rejecting the presence, guidance, and blessing of God, they are under the wrath of God. Romans 1 speaks of this type of person, and how God “leaves them alone” to rot spiritually and be even further away from God. To be in the very presence of God, 1) it is impossible if we have sins that are not under the blood of Christ, 2) this divine presence is scary, because it causes us to have the fear of God, and it causes us to be holy, refuse and reject all sin. On the other hand, we are acting like Adam and Eve and hide ourselves from the presence of God which is impossible.

Isaiah 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. 19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. (v21)

When you are in the presence of God, of the Supreme Being that is so marvelous to be in His presence, it is painful if one is unsaved or walking in unrepentant sin, or it is extremely pleasant with indescribable joy, peace, and pleasantness if one walks well with God.

Hell is to not sense any of the special presence of God

2 Thessalonians 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; (Luke 13:24-48).

Even though God is present in hell, and God controls everything that passes in hell, the people there (angels and men) do not sense the special presence of God. Since they said to God in their earthly lives, “I don’t want you in my life,” and God grants them eternity without the blessings of the special presence of God.

Revelation 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

This verse seems to contradict what I just said, but the concept here is that God’s punishment will still be supervised by God, “before” the sight of God, but not necessarily with that special blessing presence of God for them. Another passage to compare here is Revelation 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. The idea here is similar to an earthly judge who is supervising the sentence and punishment of a criminal that he himself has sentenced. The judge does not “do good things” for the criminal when he supervises his punishment but sees that he is being punished. (Compare with Matthew 10:28 where we are exhorted to fear God who is causing this horrible experience in hell for its inhabitants.) There is nothing good there, because outside of the will of God, outside of that special presence of God, there can be no blessing. Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The idea of hell is that God sends its inhabitants there because they didn’t want to submit to God. The absence of God’s blessings (which comes with his presence, and when we do not sin) makes hell what it is.

Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Without this special presence of God, the existence of the person will be with great pain, a horrible pain, that the person desires that he was never even born.

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Satan and his captains imitate this special presence of God with miracles to deceive people into thinking that they are equal with God. God’s presence is marvelous, but these false workers, and these that work miracles and wonders are not going to cause the same effect as the special presence of God. (Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:11 “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”. In thinking about hell and heaven (Heaven is God’s home, where he lives, where he has a special presence) we should understand and glorify the extreme “specialness” of God, and what it means to be with Him, in his good graces and favor, and what a scandal it is to reject this. The principal point is not that our sins were so grossly “bad” that we desire hell, but rather the Being of God and His extreme “goodness” is rejected by the sinner, and sinners without Jesus’ blood covering their sins desire hell because of who God is. When a person rejects obeying and worshipping God, then that person deserves hell’s fury. That person has despised the greatness and goodness of God and has refused to imitate the great moral character of God.

There are Great Blessing in the Presence of God

Psalms 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

Exodus 33:14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

In the presence of God, we find good and blessings.

God is Love

1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

If God’s essence is love, and God is a God of love, then shouldn’t it follow logically that the best experience in life is to be with Him? When a young man and young woman are in love, the best thing in the world is to be in the presence of that person that loves them so much. 2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

When we are physically with the Lord in heaven, he will wipe away every tear, and there will be no sadness nor bad feelings.

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Conclusion

Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

We can describe the pleasure of heaven with “the Lord will be there” with the saints, and because of His presence, we will have “fulness of joy” and “pleasures for evermore.”

The Blessing of God’s Presence

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