9TH OCTOBER, 2022
Minister: Pastor Oluwaseyi Osanyinbi
Text: Genesis 3:8
It is important that we learn to cultivate the presence of God in our lives. Many of us have a high tendency to forget God when He blesses us with riches. So, God might just never bless us because He knows that we would run away from Him when we are rich. On the flip side, many people curse God when they are poor. Whether we are rich or poor, we must understand that we are His and His presence in our lives is all that makes the difference.
Today, we will be talking about a benediction prayer because it is the foundation of everything God has to do with us. The prayer speaks to the dimensions of God’s presence in our lives.
Moses knew the importance of God being with him, so he insisted he was not going to move without God’s presence. We saw what God did with Moses because of that decision.
If the presence of God is that important, why then do people run away from Him? What is that thing that is always pushing people away from His presence?
In the book of Genesis, we saw how Adam and Eve hid themselves when they heard God coming after they fell. Adam and Eve knew God was coming but they did not want to have anything to do with His presence so they hid themselves. Sin pushes us out of God’s presence, that is why the wicked will not stand before Him. God always wants to be with us but our inconsistencies will always push us away.
Psalm 16:11
The psalmist prayed that God should show him the path of life. We cannot know the path of life if we do not live in His presence. Having being raised to have things complicated, we find it difficult to engage with the things of God. In the world, it is becoming really abnormal to seek God because people will always label those who do that.
If we know there is abundance of life and fullness of joy in God’s presence, why then are we not seeking it? It is either we do not believe it or we do not care about it.
Jonah 1:3; 2 Timothy 4:10
Jonah left God’s presence and went to Tarshish. Demas abandoned Paul and everything he represented because he was drawn by the pursuits and pleasures of the world. It is a deliberate act of wickedness to leave God’s presence. However, God in his mercies still finds ways to rescue some people who foolishly leave Him.
Titus 2:11,12
Grace has to do with life and godliness. So, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is the manifestation of His person that teaches us to deny ungodliness. It will help us recognise what is ungodly as we may not be able to differentiate some things by ourselves.
There is a filter that we all have through which we see and interpret all that comes to us. The more we see Jesus, the more we are changed. It is grace that helps us recognize what ungodliness truly is. It is this same grace that enables us to say “no” to ungodliness.
Psalm 1:1-3
Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and as we do that we also need to delight in following God’s laws. Only then can we be truly blessed. If we obey the first two verses of this chapter, almost everything will be sorted out for us. We will find out that we really would not have much troubles.
Anytime the love of God is in manifestation, a giving process is involved. When the love of God is with you, your needs are met.
The communion of the Holy Spirit is the crowning of His presence with us. What we saw in Egypt and the migration of the Israelites were technically the works of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the most dangerous person to fight. So, Jesus warned us not to offend His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One who prompts us to ask for forgiveness; if we then offend Him, who will help us?
The presence of the Holy Spirit was what accompanied Israel and made a covering over them, so much that He forbade people from talking against them. We should not do things that will push Him away from us. He is the One who acts as our covering. He is the One who prompts us to do the will of God and also instructs the angels to shield us.
In conclusion, we must understand that the presence of God is our inheritance and our blessing. As such, we need to value and cherish it.