In this Bible and Business episode, Bill English discusses why God’s presence is so important for us as we live out our covenant relationship with God in our role as business owners. This is the episode in a seven part series on the Theological Context for Business Owners. The slides can be downloaded in PDF format from bibleandbusiness.com. The companion video is here. The companion blog post is here. The slides can be downloaded in PDF format from the downloads section of this web site.
[00:00:04.060] – Bill English
And welcome back. I’m Bill English, the publisher here at Bible and Business. I want to thank you for joining me today. It’s good to see you. Listen, today we’re going to talk about God’s presence.
[00:00:16.210] – Bill English
And this is the fifth of a seven part series, theories in the Theological Context for Business Ownership. In other words, what’s the theology in the Bible that surrounds our role as a business owner? That’s what chapter one in my book, a Christian Theology of Business Ownership is all about. Today we’re going to talk about God’s presence. But before we get to that, I’d like to just remind you that I have a number of tools and resources over at my website, Bibleandbusiness.com.
[00:00:48.300] – Bill English
I’ll ask you to head over there and just check it out, look at the articles and the podcasts and see what you can learn. In addition, I’ll ask that you take a moment and subscribe to this YouTube channel. So here’s our core thought for today on God’s presence. And this is really a follow on to our discussion about living out a covenantal relationship with God and persevering in that covenantal relationship with God. And the core concept, or the core idea, is this if one is merely faithful to God, even with his help, one could still live a life mainly of duty.
[00:01:25.950] – Bill English
But when you combine faithfulness with God’s presence, then you have the dual elements which really form the core of any vibrant, loving, covenant relationship with God. Now, there’s two aspects, or maybe really three aspects of God’s presence that we’re going to look at today. And the first one is fearing God’s presence. Sometimes in the Bible, when God’s presence is discussed, people are afraid of God. Here’s an example in Genesis 3810.
[00:02:02.580] – Bill English
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Now, why did they do that? It’s because they had sinned. Sin had entered into their lives and had entered into mankind. And so in verse nine we see this but the Lord God called to the man and said, Where are you?
[00:02:26.440] – Bill English
And the man answered, I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. And the discussion goes on about how God says, well, how did you know that you are naked and why were you afraid? And God learns, of course, he already knew. But God learns in the story that man and woman, Adam and Eve, had sinned, and as a result, they were afraid of God’s presence. Adam and Eve’s sin caused them to hide from the Lord God in the Garden of Eden.
[00:02:59.280] – Bill English
We see that, right? We see that, for example, in Isaiah six five, that God’s holy presence caused Isaiah to see his sinfulness in a new way. Sometimes that happens when we’re praying or we’re reading the Scriptures and God taps us on the shoulders and he says, look, I need to reveal a new way for you to look at your sin, and maybe you’re not as well off as what you thought you were. Many people in the Bible who encountered God’s presence and even his angels feared for their lives. We saw that in Judges 13 and in Luke chapter one.
[00:03:36.570] – Bill English
Did you know that Jonah tried to run away from God’s presence? That’s what it says in John, chapter one, verse three. We’re also told that the whole earth trembles in the presence of God. That’s in Judges five and in Psalm 68. And even false gods, because of their fear, they become powerless before Him.
[00:03:56.860] – Bill English
That’s in Isaiah 19, fear and trembling are often initial responses of people who encounter the presence of God. And that’s illustrated in Jeremiah, chapter five. So sometimes the very presence of God creates fear within us. I think that’s reasonable and I think that that’s really to be expected when you think about the God of the universe, the God who is so incomparably greater than all the other gods in the Bible than all the other gods who exist, period, whether they’re mentioned in the Bible or not. The great Almighty, awesome, eternal God, who purchased men with his blood, who created all things.
[00:04:43.090] – Bill English
When we come into his presence, that is a fearful thing because we realize just how almighty he is and how not almighty we are.
[00:04:58.840] – Bill English
But God’s presence is also comforting to us. And this is really quite a quandary for people. I think in one sense we fear God’s presence, but in another sense we find his presence very comforting. Look at this in Joshua, chapter one. This is God talking to Joshua.
[00:05:17.560] – Bill English
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Wow, isn’t that powerful? And we saw that. And also Hebrews actually quotes this.
[00:05:35.770] – Bill English
So God goes on to say, be strong and courageous because you will need these people to inherit the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Do you see God’s comforting presence in this? Do you see how God is looking at Joshua and saying, I’m going to be with you. You’re going to lead this nation, but I’m going to be with you.
[00:05:59.220] – Bill English
Can you imagine the comfort that Joshua took from that? So God’s presence can be a comfort in times of trouble or anxiety. We see that here in Joshua, chapter one. And those who need encouragement and strength to praise Him can find what they need simply from his presence. We see that in Psalm 42.
[00:06:21.860] – Bill English
And God is so ambiently present all the time that he hears our every word and holds us accountable for what we say. We see that in ecclesiastes Five. So God’s presence can be comforting. Those who need encouragement can find it in God’s presence. And yet we need to remember that God hears everything we say because he is so ambiently, consistently and persistently present.
[00:06:49.540] – Bill English
So his presence can create fear in us, but his presence can also be comforting to us. And finally, God’s presence is our future hope. Let’s read first. This is not going to seem like the right verse, but just stay with me here. First john, chapter three, verses two and three.
[00:07:11.050] – Bill English
Dear friends, john is writing to the church at large. Now, we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as he is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves just as he is pure. Think about that.
[00:07:35.290] – Bill English
When Christ appears at the Second Coming, we will see him as he is. There will be an intimacy there that we don’t have today. Paul alluded to that in one Corinthians 13 when he talked about seeing Christ. I’m going to use the King James version here. When we see Him face to face is the phrase that Paul uses today.
[00:07:59.950] – Bill English
We don’t see Christ face to face. When we’re on this side of eternity, we only see incense God in our spirits. But in Heaven, we’re going to see Him plain as day, face to face, and his presence is going to be with us, and we’re going to be fully present with Him. So in the age to come, God’s presence will be the ultimate blessing, for believers will see Him facetoface. And this is why if you were to go and you were to read the parable in Matthew 25 about the talents, the five two and one talents, the faithful servants were not rewarded with more money.
[00:08:41.140] – Bill English
The faithful servants were rewarded with more of the Master’s presence. And so I think God’s presence is our future hope, and his presence is so much more valuable than money that that is why when the faithful stewards create cash, that God says, I’m going to reward you not with more cash, but with more of My presence. And let’s remember that his presence is incomparably more valuable than any earthly thing we could ever own. In Revelation 21, his immediate presence will render a temple unnecessary. And it’s the anticipation of his presence that should motivate us to be faithful stewards here on Earth.
[00:09:24.450] – Bill English
And I’ll reference one thessalonians two and two Peter three for that. Now look, if you’re a business owner, what does this mean? First of all, it means that we cannot live out our roles as stewards in the covenantal relationship and persist as God desires without having his vibrant presence with us daily. We need to really begin to, as Brother Lawrence said in his book, practice the Presence of Jesus. We need to practice his presence on a regular basis.
[00:09:57.960] – Bill English
His presence cannot be demanded or manipulated. Let’s remember that. Nor do we gain his presence quickly. Look, we don’t just kind of flip a switch and say suddenly we have God’s presence. I think God gives his presence to those who pursue Him, and God gives his presence to those who are diligent in pursuing Him, persistent in pursuing Him, faithful in pursuing their covenant relationship with God.
[00:10:25.750] – Bill English
Over time, God gives his presence to them. So it’s not a one and done on activity. This isn’t something we do once and then we’re suddenly done. Instead, it’s a relational cultivation that is gained over time and is only fully realized in the next life. And perseverance is required if we are going to find God’s close, loving presence with us.
[00:10:52.690] – Bill English
So what are the lessons that we’ve learned so far in this series? Well, first of all, we’ve learned that in eternity we will reign with Christ on Earth, and that we will reign as part of God’s divine council. Thirdly, we serve God within a covenantal relationship. And our response to God’s faithfulness in that covenantal relationship is for us to persevere in our faith and to not give up. And lastly, presence is the conduit through which love is passed back and forth between us and God.
[00:11:25.830] – Bill English
We don’t pass love through duty and faithfulness. We pass it through this concept and this theology of presence. I want to thank you for joining me today. And I want to invite you back in our next episode, part six, which is where we’re going to deal with how the unseen realm connects with our physical world and what we do here on Earth. So I want to invite you back to that part six, The Unseen Realm.
[00:11:55.230] – Bill English
I’m Bill English, the founder here at Bible and Business. Again, thank you for joining me today. I hope you go out and make it a great day. Take care.