Product Details

• ISBN: 044669844X
  
• ISBN-13: 9780446698443
• Format: Paperback, 160pp
• Publisher: FaithWords
• Pub. Date: March 2006
• Sales Rank: 103,087

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In the Presence Of God

Warner Faith

Chapter One

ASK YOURSELF THIS question: How much of God's presence does He want us to experience?

There is only one way to accurately answer that question. We must go to the one place in the Bible where things on earth were exactly as God intended them to be: the Garden of Eden.

Let's go back now to the beginning and discover God's intent for man and his fellowship with his Maker.

Man's God-Given Dominion

In Genesis 1:26, we find these words:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

I think it is significant that the first thing God gave man was dominion, or authority. In other words, God wanted to create a partner in ruling the earth. In making man, God duplicated Himself in the sense that Adam became "god" of the earth, just as He (God) is God of the universe.

Now I realize this is a controversial statement for some people, but I have never quite figured out why. The Scripture is clear on this subject. Still, some people getquite offended when you use the term "god" when referring to man.

Even translators of the King James Version of the Bible fell into this trap. When translating Psalm 8:4-5, they chickened out of making a literal translation. This Scripture reads:

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

The word translated angels in the above passage is the Hebrew word elohim. According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, in most Old Testament Scriptures where you see the word God, it is translated from the Hebrew word elohim. In fact, elohim is used in Genesis 1:26: "And God [elohim] said, Let us make man in our image...."

Yet in this case the translators of the King James Version chose instead to render it angels. Why? Because their natural minds simply could not grasp the reality of what God was saying there. The translators of the New American Standard Bible, however, got it right. This version says:

What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and majesty!

Psalm 8:4,5 NAS

Man wasn't created lower than the angels. The Word clearly states that angels are here to render service to God's people.

Are they [the angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Hebrews 1:14

God created man just a notch below Himself and, according to the passage we just read from the New American Stan- dard Bible, intended him to be crowned "with glory and majesty."

When you begin to get a clear picture of the authority and dominion God intended man to walk in, you can see how much our thinking has been corrupted by religion. But authority was not the only thing God gave man in the Garden.

The Breath of Life

In Genesis 2:7, we find a remarkable passage of Scripture:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Can you picture this scene? God took some dust from the earth and formed a slab of flesh. Then He breathed His life into that flesh. What a moment that must have been! God, the eternal Creator of heaven and earth, breathed into man the very thing which makes God be God.

This kind of life referred to in the New Testament-eternal life, the life Jesus has-is in the original Greek language zoe, which means "life"-the God-kind of life. The uniqueness of who God is was transferred from God into that slab of flesh, "... and man became a living soul."

I want you to notice how, at that moment, man had the presence of God inside him in the form of God's zoe life. That presence gave man supernatural ability in every area of existence. He was gifted physically, intellectually, and spiritually.

When God Comes to Visit

As we have seen, God's nature and ability was present inside Adam in the form of God's zoe life. But that was not the only level at which Adam enjoyed the presence of God. As we are about to see, man experienced God's presence in a much more literal way.

In Genesis 3:8, we find God "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" looking for Adam and Eve. Obviously it was God's practice to spend time with them in this way on a regular basis.

Think about that. Adam and Eve had the privilege of walking, talking, laughing, and fellowshipping with God-face to face! They experienced the presence of God in the fullest way you can possibly imagine.

The reason this is so hard for most of us to comprehend is that, even though we are born-again children of God, we still carry around the old sin-consciousness. Even though the Word says we are righteous and justified and sanctified by the blood of Jesus, we are still more sin-conscious than righteousnessconscious.

Prior to falling into sin, do you think Adam and Eve greeted God's presence in the Garden with fear, shame, or a sense of unworthiness? Absolutely not! They greeted Him with joy and a total sense of belonging.

It was only after sin had stripped them of their innocence and covering of glory that they felt unworthy to enjoy God's presence.

If you want to know what you can expect from dwelling in the presence of God, take a look at what Adam experienced. Above all else, he experienced an abundant provision for every need he could possibly have.

In Genesis 2:9, we see God providing an abundance of food:

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food....

In verses 11 and 12, we see Him providing wealth:

The name of the first [river] is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good....

Then in verse 18, we see Him providing companionship and completion:

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Are you beginning to get the picture? When you live in the presence of God, no needs will go unmet. Abundance, sufficiency, and increase are all you will ever see.

The presence of the Lord is a wonderful thing. Not only do you, as a child of God, get to experience the wonderful fellowship and communion of God Himself, you get all your needs met as a side benefit. That's why Jesus was able to say:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

When you find the kingdom of God, you have found God's presence. When you have found God's presence, you can know that every need will be met in abundance.

Running from the Presence

An awareness of sin will cause you to shrink from the presence of God. That is precisely what we see happening to Adam and Eve after they were seduced by Satan and had rebelled against God.

Look at Genesis 3:8-10:

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his Going Back to the Beginning wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Adam and Eve's disobedience stripped them of their covering of glory. It also stripped them of their ability to stand in God's presence with no sense of shame. That is one of the most devastating things about sin: it robs you of your confidence before God.

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 1 John 3:20,21

What a tragic thing to have had the privilege of walking and fellowshipping with God, and then to throw it away for a lie. The good news is, Jesus-the last Adam-came to restore that privilege to you and me. The problem is, many Christians don't seem to be able or willing to exercise that privilege.

That's what this book is all about: discovering God's plan to restore you and me to His presence.

In the coming chapters we will continue to explore God's Word and discover keys to enjoying the benefits of God's presence. As we have seen by looking at God's original plan for creation, it is in His presence that all our needs are met in abundance.

Claim Your Benefits!

What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and majesty!

Psalm 8:4,5 NAS

Study Questions

1. If someone asked you, "How much of God's presence does He want us to experience?" what would you say?

2. How do you experience God's presence in your life?

3. What do you think God wants from each of us?

4. How does sin disrupt our relationship with God?

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from In the Presence Of God by Creflo A. Dollar Copyright ©2006 by Dr. Creflo A. Dollar. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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