{"id":3352,"date":"2015-08-02T00:35:24","date_gmt":"2015-08-02T07:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/?p=3352"},"modified":"2015-08-02T08:37:54","modified_gmt":"2015-08-02T15:37:54","slug":"82-the-power-of-his-presence-%e8%af%97901-10-%e7%bd%971514-33-%e4%bb%a3%e4%b8%8a1223-1417","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/2015\/08\/02\/82-the-power-of-his-presence-%e8%af%97901-10-%e7%bd%971514-33-%e4%bb%a3%e4%b8%8a1223-1417\/","title":{"rendered":"8\/2: The Power of His Presence (\u8bd790:1-10 \u7f5715:14-33 \u4ee3\u4e0a12:23-14:17)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u8bfb\u7ecf\uff1a\u8bd790:1-10 \u7f5715:14-33 \u4ee3\u4e0a12:23-14:17<\/h2>\n

The Power of His Presence<\/h2>\n
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The Duke of Wellington once remarked about Napoleon, \u2018I used to say of him that his presence<\/em>on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.\u2019 The presence of a strong leader has a powerful effect. How much greater is the impact of the awesome power of the presence of God.<\/p>\n

There is a deep spiritual hunger in all of our hearts that can only be satisfied by the presence of God himself. The presence of God satisfies our deepest spiritual longings. Adam and Eve lost this sense of His presence through their sin. Thereafter, the presence of God was not known as it was before.<\/p>\n

God is holy. He is all-powerful. We cannot take his presence for granted. It is only through the cross and resurrection of Jesus that a way into his presence and the gift of the Holy Spirit living within you is made possible. In each of the passages for today we see something of the awesome power of His presence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1. His presence reveals our secret sins<\/h2>\n

Psalm 90:1-10<\/a>I remember a man in our small group on Alpha saying that he could not understand the concept of \u2018sin\u2019, as he \u2018led a good life and was not really aware of anything wrong in his life\u2019. A few weeks later, on the Alpha weekend, he encountered Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit. He had tears pouring down his face. I asked him what he was sensing at that moment. He said he realised how sinful his life had been and how much he had been forgiven.<\/p>\n

The light of God\u2019s presence reveals the dark places in our hearts. The psalmist says, \u2018Lord, you have been our dwelling-place\u2026 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence<\/em>\u2019 (vv.1a, 8). Or as the Amplified Version puts it: \u2018Our iniquities, our secret heart and its sins (which we would so like to conceal even from ourselves), You have set in the (revealing) light of your countenance\u2019 (v.8, AMP).<\/p>\n

The longer we spend in God\u2019s presence the more the light shines and highlights our sin. The apostle Paul started out by describing himself as \u2018the least of the apostles\u2019 (1 Corinthians 15:9). Later on he called himself \u2018less than the least of all God’s people\u2019 (Ephesians 3:8). Finally, he described himself as \u2018the worst of sinners\u2019! (1 Timothy 1:16).<\/p>\n

It is not that he got worse; it is simply that, through the awesome power of God\u2019s presence, he became more and more aware of the light shining in his heart. That could seem very negative, but actually for Paul it was quite the opposite. His overwhelming feeling was gratitude and praise because no matter what he had done wrong, he knew that he was forgiven and could know relationship with God.<\/p>\n

As Christians we can look forward to that relationship lasting forever. God is eternal, \u2018From everlasting to everlasting you are God\u2019 (Psalm 90:2b). Yet we know only too well the fragility of human life. The psalmist reminds us that we return to dust as mortals (v.3), we are like new grass that by the evening is dry and withered (vv.5\u20136), and our usual life span is seventy or eighty years (v.10).<\/p>\n

God\u2019s everlasting nature is part of who he is. For us, eternal life is not automatic or natural. It is a gift from the everlasting God. As the apostle Paul puts it, \u2018The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord\u2019 (Romans 6:23).<\/p>\n

Lord, thank you for the blood of Jesus, which cleanses me from all sin and unrighteousness. Thank you that through him I have access to the awesome presence of God.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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2. His presence comes through the power of the Holy Spirit<\/h2>\n

Romans 15:14-33<\/a>The presence of God radically changes our lives and the lives of others. He gives power to both our words and our actions. He makes possible signs and miracles. This is what characterised the early church. This is what should characterise our churches today.<\/p>\n

As Paul begins to bring his great letter to the Romans to a conclusion, he talks about his own personal calling: \u2018This highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God\u2019s Holy Spirit\u2019 (v.16, MSG).<\/p>\n

Among other things, a priest is a person who goes to God on behalf of the people and goes to the people on behalf of God. In this sense, we are all now priests. You are in priestly service whenever you are taking a message from God to the world and when you go to God \u2013 interceding, praying for those outside of the church to come to know Christ. As they do so they become \u2018an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit\u2019 (v.16).<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s ambition was to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that he would not be building on anyone else\u2019s foundation (vv.20\u201321). He did this by \u2018leading the Gentiles to obey God\u2019 (v.18). He \u2018fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ\u2019 (v.19).<\/p>\n

His proclamation of the gospel was holistic. Like Jesus, his preaching with words was accompanied by a demonstration of the in-breaking of the kingdom of God. It involved three things:<\/p>\n