God’s Presence is Everything to us, so we Practice being One with the Lord Daily

In our Christian walk and in our service to God in the church, God’s presence is everything to us; therefore, we need to be one with God in spirit, living in the mingled spirit to have His constant presence with us.

This is seen throughout the Bible and in particular in the book of Joshua.

This book is so positive right from the beginning, for Joshua was strengthened by the Lord to take the lead, and he saw a clear vision of the Captain of Jehovah’s army, received His instructions, and followed them.

As long as the people of Israel followed the Lord’s instructions, the Lord’s presence was with them, they had the victory, and they took the land and defeated God’s enemy.

In their crossing of the river Jordan and in taking the city of Jericho, the people of Israel followed the Lord’s instruction, and they were one with God and with one another.

Therefore, they crossed the river Jordan as on the dry ground, and they took the city of Jericho even without shooting an arrow or raising their sword. God parted the waters for them, and God caused the walls of the city to fall down.

When they were in front of Jericho, they sent out two spies, and these spies went to see and spy out the land; what they gained is not just knowledge but a person, Rahab, who believed in God and joined herself to God’s people.

This is such a positive account, and it is so encouraging to see that a Gentile, even one of the lowest class and profession, saw something concerning God’s people, and chose to associate herself with God’s people.

No matter what our background is, we can turn to God, we can be joined to God, and we can join ourselves to God’s people so that we may become part of the group of people who bring forth Christ for the fulfilment of God’s economy.

And continually, even as we live the Christian life and the church life, we need to make sure we place ourselves under the hearing of faith, believe God, join ourselves to God, and be associated with the proper persons in God’s people, so that we may bring forth Christ and defeat God’s enemies for Christ. Amen!

However, right after such a victory at Jericho, Joshua and the people did something that was seemingly not sinful or evil, but it was apart from the presence of God; furthermore, one of the people of Israel sinned against God.

The result was defeat and shame, which led to much repentance, returning to God, and seeking to be one with God in dealing with the problem and advancing in the good land.

When we Lose God’s Presence we are Defeated; we need to Repent and Realize that His Presence is Everything to us

After the children of Israel destroyed the city of Jericho, they were defeated at Ai; at Jericho, some spies were sent out not for fighting but for gaining Rahab, but at Ai, Joshua sent some spies for fighting (Josh. 7:2-3, 12).

At Jericho Joshua was one with God and sent out spies, with the result that Rahab was gained for God’s people; at Ai, however, because Israel lost the presence of God, the spies were sent out for fighting.

It is a serious matter to lose God’s presence, that is, to not have the presence of God. In Exodus, we know that, as Moses was fellowshipping with God, he talked to God face to face as a friend and companion, and he asked God that His presence would go with them.

He didn’t bargain about anything else except God’s presence. He wanted to know God and His ways, to find favour in His sight, and have God’s presence with them.

God, therefore, told him that His presence will go with them and He will give them rest; there’s no greater promise than this.

We don’t need anything and anyone else, and we don’t need to trust in anyone else; God’s presence is good enough – it is all we need.

We may have God within us, joined to us as one spirit, but we may not have His presence.

When a few people travel toward the same destination and on the same train, some may be apart from others and thus not have their presence; they are in the same location, they are together, yet they don’t have one another’s presence.

It is one thing to have God, to have the Lord, and to have His help, even have His direction and some of His blessing, but it is something else to have His presence.

Especially as we pursue the Lord and serve Him, as we work for the Lord with a zealous heart, having some commission and direction from Him, even having His help and some of His blessing, we may still miss His presence. Oh, Lord Jesus!

We need to treasure His presence above and beyond everything else. We may even tell Him that, if His presence is not going with us, we will not go there or do that thing.

The report of the spies to Joshua concerning Ai indicates that Israel had set God aside; instead of asking God what they should do against Ai, they forgot God and cared only for themselves.

At that time, the people of Israel were not one with God but rather, they acted on their own, without seeing the Lord’s direction and without having the Lord’s presence (Josh. 7:1-5, 12).

Furthermore, Israel was separated from God because of their sin.

The secret of Israel’s defeat at Ai was that they had lost God’s presence and were no longer one with God.

When Joshua realized that they lost God’s presence, he learned the lesson of staying before the Ark the whole night.

Eventually, the Lord came in to speak to him and tell him what to do (vv. 10-15).

The people of Israel did something of themselves, of their own ideas, without seeking God’s direction and without having His presence, and they were separated from God because of their sin.

The Lord even told them that He will not be with them unless they destroy what is for destruction. Oh, Lord.

We need to deal with this kind of hidden sins, otherwise, we are defeated and lose God’s presence. May we beware of losing God’s presence.

May we realize that God’s presence is everything to us, and as long as we have His presence, we have everything we need!

Lord Jesus, cause us to beware of losing Your presence. Save us from thinking we know You, we know the Bible, and we know what You want from us, yet not having Your instant, moment-by-moment presence. Save us from doing things without seeking Your direction. Save us from following our own ideas to do things for God without being in Your presence to enquire of You. Oh Lord, we treasure Your presence. We thank You for Your help and Your blessing, but Lord, we need Your presence more than all those things! Your presence is all we need, for Your presence is everything to us. Keep us in Your presence today, even moment-by-moment throughout the day!

As God-men, we practice being one with the Lord and Walking with Him, thus having His presence

The spiritual lesson that we need to learn from the account of Israel’s defeat at Ai is that we, the people of God, should always be one with our God, who is not only among us but also in us, making us men with God – God-men.

We not only have God with us and among us; we have God in us, for He is dwelling us as the Spirit with our spirit.

We are joined to the Lord in an organic way, and we are one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17); therefore, we need to be one with our God.

We are the God-men today, and we should live, fight, carry on, and serve God by only one way – by being one with God.

This is the New Testament of having the presence of God. We are not merely yearning to have something called “the presence of God”; we have Him in our spirit, we are one spirit with Him, and we simply need to practice being one spirit with the Lord.

Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, and even moment by moment, we should seek to be one with our God, practicing to be one spirit with Him.

We may not be that successful in living this life of oneness with the Lord, but in a small way we can testify that we are learning this, we are touching this, and we are experiencing this.

We are learning to be one spirit with the Lord in everything – in big things and in small things, in things seen and in things unseen, and in all things.

In every situation, in everything, in our going and our coming, in our speaking or our being silent, in all things we are learning to be one with our God so that we may have God’s presence.

As God-men, we are practising being one with the Lord, walking with Him, living with Him, and having our entire being with Him.

This is the way to walk as a Christian, to fight as a child of God, and to build up the Body of Christ.

Whether in our Christian walk or in the spiritual fight, whether in serving the Lord or in building up the Lord’s church, in all things we need to practice being one with our God so that we would not be defeated as Israel was.

We need to deal with anything that the divine light exposes, not allow any hidden sin to remain in us, and practice being one with the Lord.

When we practice being one with the Lord, we have the Lord’s presence with us. If we have the Lord’s presence, we have wisdom, insight, foresight, and the inner knowledge concerning things; the Lord’s presence is everything to us (2 Cor. 2:10; 4:6-7; Gal. 5:25; Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6).

We shouldn’t only follow the Lord but also walk with Him, living with Him, and having our being with Him; this is the way for us to walk as a Christian, to fight as a child of God, and to build up the Body of Christ.

We need to be joined to the Lord in an active way, being one spirit with Him in prayer, through listening to Him in His presence, by setting our mind on our spirit, and by opening to Him and looking to Him.

As we practice being one with our God in spirit, we will have the Lord’s presence.

Then, in His presence, we will have another kind of wisdom – the heavenly wisdom, the wisdom that comes from God and which is Christ.

In the Lord’s presence, we have a particular kind of spiritual insight that comes from the Spirit, and we even have foresight, a view in the future.

In His presence, we have the inner knowledge concerning things.

Without this, without being in the Lord’s presence, we may measure things and make judgements and decisions based just on outer knowledge, by looking at the environment, and by having an external analysis of things, but lacking something inward that comes from the presence of the Lord.

We need to be before the Lord concerning this and tell Him,

Lord Jesus, grant us Your presence above all else. Especially in our daily Christian life, our life of service to the Lord, and in living the church life, we need Your presence. We want to practice being one with our God as we walk with Him, live with Him, and have our entire being with Him. Amen, Lord, may our whole being be set on You so that we may be one with You in a practical and active way. Save us from living apart from You. We want not only to follow You but even more, to be one with You. We treasure Your presence, and we want to walk in Your presence, fight as a child of God in Your presence, and build up the Body of Christ in Your presence. Amen, Lord, Your presence is everything to us. Keep us one spirit with You today!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Joshua, pp. 46-48 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (2021 summer training), week 4, The Need for God’s People to Seek the Lord’s Direction and Have the Lord’s Presence to Display His Victory for the Building Up of His Body and the Spreading of His Kingdom.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – I am one with Thee, Lord Jesus, / One in spirit now with Thee; / All Thyself I now possess, Lord, / All Thou art now lives in me. (Hymns #474)
  – Gathered in Thy name, Lord Jesus, / Losing sight of all but Thee, / O what joy Thy presence gives us, / Calling up our hearts to Thee! (Hymns #204)
  – O Lord, Thou art the Spirit now / Who in my spirit makes His home; / He mingles with my spirit too, / And both one spirit thus become. / Lord, teach me how to exercise / My spirit now to contact Thee, / That in Thy Spirit I may walk / And live by Thy reality. (Hymns #493)