Exodus 33:15 Then he (Moses) said to Him (G-D), “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

A presence driven church is made up of people who are driven by the presence of God. Wherever He leads us we will go and whenever He stops we will hold. To become a Presence driven Church, we all must individually pursue His presence, because you and I are the Church

Becoming a Presence Driven Church: (1) Holiness of life

1 Peter 1:15-16 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

• Being holy is not an option, it is a command from God.
• To be holy is not just about keeping a sets of rules or mere morality
• The primary meaning of the word Holy (Heb: Qodesh) is to be “set apart” or “dedicated” to God

Set apart your life for God so that you will see Him, and He will see us

• Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord
• Matthew 7:21-22 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Holiness is about a life worthy of veneration and a life set apart for God

• Mark 8:34-36 34 “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,” says Jesus, “but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
• The pursued of holiness is allowing God to lay claims over our lives, our loves, our devotion, our priority, our time, our money, our commitment, and to deny ourselves to follow Him; fully for His kingdom and the gospel

 

• Live our lives in the ways of God

2 Samuel 6:1-2 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 

• The Ark of Covenant or Testimony is the representation of the Presence of God.
• Whenever Israel goes out to war, they will carry the Ark alone.
• After Christ died at the cross, we were permitted to enter the Presence of God by the blood of Jesus, not by our own ability or holiness.

2 Samuel 6:3-5 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

• Ark is to be carried and not placed on a cart; even if it is new – Exodus 25:12-15 & Numbers 4:5
• The way they carry the ark is by convenience. But we are to carry the Ark God’s way (by hands)
• We do not follow God in the ways of the world (Philistine’s way), by we follow God in His ways
• Even King David also followed the ways of the world – outward forms of music, dancing and singing

 

• Live our lives in the fear of God

2 Samuel 6:6-8 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.

Why would God struck Uzzah when he was only trying to prevent the Ark from falling off the cart?

• It could be God’s intention for it to fall since the Ark was never to be carried on a cart
• Uzzah uses his own strength instead of depending on the Holy Spirit. Even his name, Uzzah, means strength.
• It is the law of God written in Numbers 4:14 that “they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.”

God is holy and often we treat Him as if He is like us and one of us; He is not. He is to be feared!

• Live our lives in the pursuit of God

After the terrible experience with what happened to Uzzah, David learned his lesson, and he sacrificed

2 Samuel 6:12-15 Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

There is one way of pursuing God – to sacrifice our heart, our soul, our mind and our might (Mark 12:30-31)

Application

Let’s strive to be a Presence driven Church by living a life of Holiness worthy of veneration and a life set apart for God and practice an awareness of the presence of God.