Series: When God Isn’t There Week 12: The Spirit & Absence
John 16:7.
The absence of the Son means the arrival of the Spirit. God is present in the way we most require in His Spirit but absent in the way we most desire in the person of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus was taken from them, their spirits failed within them
EZEKEIL 36:26-27.
Following Jesus now had power behind it because it had God within it.
1 CORINTHIANS 3:16.
God broke all the rules of absence when He tore the veil and became present to us.
EPHESIANS 2:19-22. The Holy Spirit joins us to God.
Not only does the Holy Spirit increase our capacity to experience & enjoy God, He also increases our ability to connect with God. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:11-12, 16.
- But if the Holy Spirit dwells with me, how can God still feel absent? How can God feel absent when He is so present?
2 kinds of grief when it comes to sin: worldly grief & a godly grief.
2 CORINTHIANS 7:9-10.
Godly grief causes repentance, while worldly grief causes condemnation.
Repentance leads us into God’s presence. Sin draws us into God’s absence.
HEBREWS 12:14.
As the Holy Spirit indwells Christ-followers, we experience God in 2 main ways: faithfully & relationally. It is from God’s relational presence that we occasionally feel absent.
God’s faithful presence does not abandon us when we sin, but there is a relationship gap.
The Spirit may be using this relational absence to accomplish something significant in your life.
The relational distance you feel is not just to lure you to God’s side, but to keep you safe from falling away from Him forever. HEBREWS 3:12-14.
Without repentance, our hearts can grow hard & will turn away from God. Sin is deceitful & will trick you into thinking you are safe to continue living however you want. If there is any relational distance between God & you due to sin, drop everything that stands in your way & restore your relationship.
- But what if there’s not some big secret sin keeping me from God? Why does God still feel far?
God’s Spirit is doing mighty work in us, even when our faith seems dry & our way seems dark. EPHESIANS 1:13-14. The Holy Spirit is the present promise of a future reality.
God is absent in the way we most desire but present in the way we most require.
The Spirit in us now guarantees God with us soon.
