In His Presence

Glory to God!

We are continuing to learn what it means to fear the Lord and yesterday God spoke to us about revering His presence. This is what He showed us:

• The one thing that distinguishes God's people from the people of the world is God's presence in and with His people. Exodus 33:12-17; 2 Cor. 6:16-7:1
• To live in the awareness of God's presence and in response to Him is to fellowship with God. 1 John 1:3; 2:24,25,27; 3:6
• As King David sought to bring back the Ark of God so the Church must seek the presence of God. 2 Sam. 6:1,2
• As the Ark was carried on a "new cart," so the Church, which is created new in Christ, is the habitation of God. 2 Sam. 6:3,4; Eph. 2:22
• As David and the people of Israel celebrated before the Lord, so the Church can rejoice in the presence of God. 2 Sam.6:5; Psalm 16:11
• God's presence must be honoured and never treated as common! 2 Sam. 6:6,7
• The Church must not confuse avoiding being "religious" with irreverence! 2 Tim. 3:2
• The Church must honour what God considers holy. 2 Sam. 6:9
• In God's presence there is blessing. 2 Sam. 6:10-12
• God wants the Church to revere His presence no matter what the cost. 2 Sam. 6:13-15
• Religious people are more concerned with appearances than responding to God's presence. 2 Sam. 6:16
• Just as David prepared a tent for the presence of God, so the believer must prepare his tent to be the habitation of God's presence. 2 Sam. 6:17; 1 Cor. 3:16,17
• The believer's response to the presence of God will be generosity! 2 Sam. 6:18,19
• When the presence of God is the believer's priority, he will "dance before the audience of One." 2 Sam. 6:21,22
• The believer must remain in God's presence and revere His presence to be fruitful. 2 Sam. 6:23; John 15:4

As a church, we are pursuing the presence of God and seeking to live continuously in His presence. Consequently we are learning to live in the fear the Lord as we rely on, respond to, and revere His presence.

In the evening we had another special opportunity to minister God's presence to the poor and needy in Frankfurt at our monthly soup kitchen. Glory to God!

Quote of the week:

"God wills that we should push on into His presence and live our whole life there."
A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

____________________________________

Living in the Fear of the Lord

Glory to God!

The Lord is continuing to rebuild, restore and renew us. He is dealing with KLF on a foundational level to help us identify what our true convictions are.

Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about how He created man to know Him and to be continuously aware of His presence and how, as a consequence of the Fall, man became self-conscious rather than God-conscious (Gen. 3:6-11). Jesus came to restore man's awareness of God so that he would live in reverent consciousness of God (Eph. 2:13). This reverent consciousness of God is the fear of the Lord that marks the people of God who no longer live for themselves but for God (2 Cor. 5:15).

The essential conviction of every true believer must be that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb. 11:6). To acknowledge that God exists and to honour His presence continuously is to live in the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1-3; Prov. 3:5-10). The early Church lived in the fear of the Lord and therefore witnessed the revelation of God's presence - His glory (Acts 2:43; 9:31).

After God's Word to us we spent time in the Lord's presence and we gave Him room to manifest His presence in us and with us. We praise God for the work He is doing in us and for the transformation we are experiencing as a result of His presence in our meetings and in our lives. Hallelujah!

Quote of the week:

"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:2,3

____________________________