The Lord Is with You

Scripture Reading:  2 Chronicles 15:1–7

“And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you,” 2 Chronicles 15:1–2

The Lord Is with You

Father God, we thank you because your thoughts for us are for peace and not of evil, to bring us to an expected end. Thank you because the expectation with you is not variable; it is definitely good, peaceful, and beautiful, for your doings in our lives are always marvelous.  Blessed be your holy name.

This passage reveals the essential truth that the Lord is with you when you are with Him. In our generation, Christianity is no longer a relationship; it is more like a religious club.

Sometimes we foolishly think we can inherit Christianity because our parents are Christians. But we cannot get to heaven on our parents’ account. Each one of us has to cultivate a relationship with the Lord.

The picture drawn of Israel in the days of King Asa is that it was absent of teaching.  “Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law,” 2 Chronicles 15:3.  It is not enough to be a priest. When we stay in the presence of the Lord, we get the matters and revelations that are on the heart of the Lord; the wisdom of God with which we can now teach. The people will then be delivered because they have heard the truth and the truth will set them free, John 8:32. What causes a priest not to teach? When we are away from the Lord we become lecturers, not teachers.  When we are teaching priests it means we are receiving immediate information that is pertinent to the needs of people. When we share it and people obey it, it affirms that they are also with God. “But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them,” 2 Chronicles 15:4.

Ask yourself the following pertinent questions:

1.  Am I with God? When was the last time you spent time communing with God? Not in prayer requests, but actually in communion with God? Talk to Him as a child and say, Lord, I am in your Presence now, I am here for you, I am available to you. Spend time worshipping God so that He will be found in you. When God is in you, His principles will enter your system like a divine download whether you are a student, parishioner, or priest.  When you are a teaching priest you will hear what is in God’s heart because you are with Him. You are able to minister what is in God’s heart to God’s people. It will secure rewards, revelations, and breakthroughs in their lives.

There is a scarcity of teaching priests. As it was in Israel for a time so it is now. But if you are close to God as a priest, you will become a teaching priest. If you are close to God as a parishioner, you will receive from your teaching priest things from God and your spirit-man will accept them. Our brain hears many messages every day, but our spirit differentiates between the ones that are from God and those that are from men. Do you have a discerning spirit or do you swallow everything you hear?  If God has said clearly that He is with you while you are with Him, then our challenge is to make sure we are perpetually with Him. If we do that He will deal with us as a very present God, not an intermittent one. While those of us who teach are with Him, He will give us teachable messages that are pertinent to the needs of people. God is calling you to another level of God-consciousness not only in your prayer time but also in your daily walk, communications, thoughts, desires, needs, and challenges.

2.  Am I sensitive to God? We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit because He is the chamberlain of God.  If we are sensitive to Him, we will know what He is doing, what is on His mind, and His counsel for us.  We will know the things that grieve Him and we will not do them. We will know when He is present in a gathering and when He is not; when He is in attendance and when He is not. There are great benefits in being sensitive to the Holy Spirit because He will lead us to the presence of God, to breakthroughs, and to deeper levels of God-consciousness.

3.  Do I desire growth in God? How many of us desire that growth today? Do we desire to be perpetually with God, to grow in God-consciousness? If we are with God and if we are sensitive to Him, our desire to grow in God should be evident.

Prayer Points:

If you desire that growth, pray today and say, Lord God, give me the grace to be perpetually with you, the grace to strengthen and grow my God consciousness, the grace of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and the grace to be led by the Spirit of God. Your Word says as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Are you led by the Spirit of God or by your emotions?  Are you a child of God? If you have never given your life to Jesus, pray with me now because the Holy Spirit can only lead you when you have surrendered your life to Jesus. Pray, “Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you. Write my name in the book of life. Give me the grace of greater consciousness in Jesus that I may know the Lord is constant, and He is always with me.” Amen.