10th August 2021
Minister: Pst (Mrs) Osanyinbi
As representatives of God’s kingdom on earth, the presence of God is so important to us. From the creation of the world, the presence of the Lord has been made evident here on earth. Every creation establishes the presence of God. In the beginning, when Adam and Eve had access to the presence of God, they lived in happiness. Unfortunately, the Devil came and stole that privilege from them. This means the Devil knows that we are nothing when we are void of God’s presence.
The word “sanctuary” used in Revelation 21:1-4 reveals that God’s presence is supposed to be with man. The essence of that sanctuary dwelling with man was because, at that time, the people had undergone times of great trouble and tribulation. Hence, the coming of God’s tabernacle to dwell with man is supposed to birth a change. The tabernacle is seen as where the Lord Himself dwells. In the Old Testament, only the High Priest was authorized to go in and hear God but today, God can directly communicate with man because of His presence that dwells in us.
In Exodus 40:33ff, the cloud of the Lord representing the presence of God came upon the tabernacle at its completion simply because Moses followed God’s instruction as touching the pattern of the tabernacle. When we are obedient to God’s instructions, His presence will continually abide with us.
In 2 Chronicles 5:11ff, a replica of the experience in Exodus was recorded. David instructed Solomon to build the temple according to God’s pattern. After every instruction was carried out, the people gathered with one spirit and the glory of the Lord descended on the temple. In essence, the presence of the Lord will never dwell where there is division.
Genesis 28:15, Isaiah 43:2 and Matthew 18:20 among many other scriptures assure us of God’s presence everywhere and anywhere we find ourselves. With His presence, we can live as conquerors.
For the presence of the Lord to keep abiding with us, a cleansing needs to be done. Our heart must be clean since so many things take place in the heart as established in Hebrews 10:22-23. The Lord is building us into a tabernacle where He can dwell according to 1 Peter 2:4-5 and we can only attain the perfection He has determined for us only if we abide in Him.