Learn To Recognize The Presence Of God - C.S Lewis 202420

I consider this the greatest poem in the Suter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world it is unfortunate that the familiar translation of it in English loses all the flavor of the original but here it is in our modern language the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he makes me lie down in Green Pastures he leads me beside Still Waters he restores my soul he leads me in Paths of righteousness for his name's sake even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for

you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me excerpt from the book Reflections on the Psalms chapter n by CS Lewis in today's world our advantage is directly linked to God and the amount of him we have within us the more we dedicate ourselves to knowing god the more relevant Our Lives become When You observe the lives of people who walked with God compared to those who did not or who do not fully follow his steps a noticeable difference arises most of the people who had an impact in biblical times were those

who walked with God and dedicated themselves to him we achieve great things to the extent that God's presence dwells in US in John 15: 4 5 it says abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me I am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him Bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing when Jesus was about to depart he affirmed that he would would not leave us

desolate this is an extremely significant statement he understood the importance of his presence in our lives so he sent the Holy Spirit as it says in John 14: 1617 and I will pray to the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever the spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you Jesus spoke extensively about the Holy Spirit and instructed his disciples to wait for him in Jerusalem when

the Holy Spirit finally arrived the difference between the apostles who followed Jesus and those who were empowered by the Holy Spirit became evident in Acts 1:8 it says but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the Earth the holy spirit is the only reason they were able to accomplish what they did and they did it excellently the holy spirit continues to empower anyone interested in achieving extraordinary Deeds around the world Lewis

says God made us invented us as a man invented an engine a car is made to run on petrol and it would not run properly on anything else now God designed the human machine to run on himself he himself is the fuel our Spirits were designed to burn or the food our Spirits were designed to feed on there is no other excerpt from the book Mere Christianity book two chapter 5 when we discuss the presence of God in this era and generation we are referring to the Holy Spirit who resides in the lives of Believers

the holy spirit is God in us there are signs that show that we carry the presence of God in his teaching the Manifest presence of God Apostle Joshua Selman describes four benefits and blessings that occur when we carry the presence of God be certain that these people are reaping the benefits of God God in their lives first Supernatural favor favor is when you find loyalty in the hearts of people Lewis says every faculty you have your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment is given you by God if you devoted

every moment of your whole life exclusively to his service you could not give him anything that was not in a sense his own or ready excerpt from the book Mere Christianity Book 2 chapter 5 the Bible states that the human heart is desperately corrupt who can understand it as it says in Jeremiah 17:9 the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it even the Bible testifies about the wickedness of human hearts therefore it is surprising to see people leave their own lives and concerns to dedicate themselves to another person often

people confuse this with love it is not love but favor sometimes you love someone but you do not support them sometimes you want to teach someone a lesson but with favor it is not so favor will move your family friends strangers and even enemies to do things that will benefit you you cannot not simply wish for favor in life it takes God's intervention for someone to be favored Exodus 12:36 says the Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for so they stripped the Egyptians of

their wealth it took God for the Egyptians to favor Israel when someone has the presence of God that person will always find help even from Rangers and enemies as it says in Proverbs 16: 7 when a man's ways please the Lord he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him this is a clear sign that someone has the presence of God in them second rest all around to Chronicles 15:15 says all Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly they sought God eagerly and he was found by them so the

lord gave them rest on every side Lewis tells us that God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself because it is not there there is no such thing excerpt from the book the problem of pain chapter 6 the presence of God is necessary for people to have rest this means the absence of problems they have peace around them this does not mean that the world cannot be tumultuous or upside down it simply means that these people will not be negatively affected in any way whether physically mentally financially emotionally spiritually or in any other

area of their lives anyone who carries the presence of God will always be in a state of rest in Matthew 11: 28 29 it says come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls in John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace in this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world third

Supernatural protection and preservation Lewis says that we are promised sufferings they were part of the program we were even told blessed are they that mourn and I accept it I've got nothing that I hadn't bargained for excerpt from the book The screw tape letters letter 22 those who possess the presence of God always escape the the evil present in the world the psalmist States in Psalm 91:1 whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the almighty whose power no enemy can withstand David knew exactly what he was talking

about he had participated in many battles to doubt Saul tried to kill him several times so he knew the advantage of having the presence of God if you read the entire Psalm 91 you will see the confidence David had in God this is also true for Shadrach meach and Abednego they defied King Nebuchadnezzar's order and were not afraid because they knew the god they served King Nebuchadnezzar was Furious when he heard what they had done and decided to throw them into the fiery furnace the furnace was so hot that it burned the men who threw

them inside then King Nebuchadnezzar leapt to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire they replied certainly your majesty he said look I see four men walking around in the fire Unbound and unharmed and the fourth looks like a son of the Gods it was because God was with them that they were able to survive the fiery furnace this is another sign found in people who possess the presence of God fourth honor and exemption Lewis says a proud man is always looking down

on things and people and of course as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you excerpt from the book Mere Christianity book three chapter 8 honor is placed upon your life you cannot force anyone to honor you only God can make people honor you honor is what makes people perceive you correctly you may be doing well but still be treated as if you don't matter you may be the hardest worker but still be treated as if you have no value in 1 Samuel 2: 30 it says therefore the Lord

the god of Israel declares I promise that members of your family would Minister before me forever but now the Lord declares far be it from me those who honor me I will honor but those who despise me will be disdained you may even be needed in a particular organization or meeting but it is evident that the people there do not seem to Value you this is a result of a lack of Honor only God can open people's eyes to honor others for their unique value and contribution sometimes we see some people who we are clearly

better than but people honor them so much this happens simply because they carry the presence of God and we do not you will also be excluded from activities that diminish you and make you look insignificant or even the small things you do will eventually become magnified the presence of these four things in a person's life is proof that that person carries the presence of God the presence of God is powerful it can transform very bad situations into Pleasant ones in Isaiah 61:7 it says instead of your shame you will receive a double portion and instead

of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance and so you will inherit a double portion in your land and everlasting Joy will be yours we should never ignore the presence of God in our lives this is the basis of our success in life there are four ways to experience the presence of God first passion for God Lewis says if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the Staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak we are half-hearted Ed creatures

fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite Joy is offered us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea we are far too easily pleased excerpt from the book the weight of Glory sermon when we have a passion for God we begin to enjoy his presence having a passion for God means placing Christ above everything else whenever your heart is turned towards God and the things that concern him it demonstrates your

passion for him James 4:8 says obedience to God does not necessarily mean that you understand what God is doing or completely agree with his actions obedience to God shows that you have reached a point where whatever it is is you agree with him even if it goes against your own desires this demonstrates your trust in God and your belief in his word which says that he has good plans for you you can never carry the presence of God if you do not obey him completely second intense moments of prayer and worship Lewis says an ordinary

simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers but if he is a Theologian he knows that the simplest prayer is being heard and welcomed and responded to by the unimaginable and mighty God the creator of the galaxies excerpt from the book Letters to Malcolm chiefly on prayer letter one it is difficult to see people crying when everyone is laughing and having a good time it is also difficult to see people laughing when others are Mourning every spirit is atmosphere dependent including the spirit of God when the Holy Spirit is welcomed he will stay if not

he will leave 1 Thessalonians 5: 19 says do not quench the spirit one of the ways to make the Holy Spirit feel welcome is by praying and worshiping God intensely as it says in John 4: 2324 but the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the father in spirit and Truth for the father is seeking such to worship him God is spirit and those who worship Him must Worship in spirit and Truth third Walking In humility Lewis says do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will

be what most people call Humble nowadays he will will not be a sort of greasy SMY person who is always telling you that of course he is nobody probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him if you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily he will not be thinking about humility he will not be thinking about self at all excerpt from the book Mere Christianity

book three chapter 8 Psalm 34:18 says the Lord is close to the Brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit this is extremely important humility attracts the presence of God into a person's life because by being truly humble they do not think selfishly and they know they are dependent on the Lord and that their life belongs to him therefore humility is one of the strongest ways to experience the presence of God fourth sacrifice Lewis tells us Christ says give me all I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money

and so much of your work I want you I have not come to torment your natural self but to kill it no half measures are any good I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there I want to have the whole tree down hand over the whole natural self all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think Wicked the whole outfit I will give you a new self instead in fact I will give you myself my own will shall become yours excerpt from the book me Christianity

book four chapter 8 when we sacrifice for God we displease ourselves to please him sacrifices are never convenient they are not things we want to do as it says in Hebrews 13: 1516 through Jesus therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise the fruit of lips that openly profess his name and do not forget to do good and to share with others for with such sacrifices God is pleased those who sacrifice are the ones who truly love God we must always remember that the presence of God is an advantage for us and

that we should always seek to ensure his presence in our lives as confirmed in Psalm 16:1 you make known to me the path of life you will fill me with joy in your presence with eternal Pleasures at your right hand now dear brothers and sisters let us enter into prayer to embed this message in our hearts dear heavenly father We Gather in humility and reverence seeking your face and your presence in our lives we know that our true advantage in this world is in you and in your presence that dwells within us Lord we want

more of you we desire ire to know you deeply and experience the fullness of your love and power Jesus we thank you for your promise not to leave us as orphans for sending us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and guide Holy Spirit fill us with your presence Empower us to live lives that reflect the love and grace of God may we walk in your truth and manifest your fruits in every area of Our Lives Lord we ask that your presence grant us favor before men just as you did with the Israelites before the

Egyptians may we be blessed with rest and peace amid life storms knowing that you are with us and protect us from all evil give us the security that only your Shadow can provide and the confidence that like Shadrach meach and Abednego we are safe in your arms even in the most intense trials father may your honor envelop us may we be seen with respect and dignity not by our merits but because we carry your presence help us to live lives that glorify your name and may we be examples of humility sacrifice and true love Lord

awaken in us a burning passion for you may our hearts always be turned towards your ways and may our obedience be complete trusting that you have wonderful plan hands for each of us may our moments of prayer and worship be deep and filled with your presence creating an environment where the Holy Spirit feels welcome and can act powerfully God we acknowledge that your presence is our greatest Advantage help us to seek you with all our hearts to walk in humility and to sacrifice our desires to please you may we always find you and enjoy the

wonderful benefits of your presence in our lives may God help us to find him and enjoy the benefits of his presence in our lives in Jesus's name I pray amen thank you very much for watching this video and praying with us today I really enjoy sharing these moments with you God bless the life of each one who was with us until the next video