... grace: bible study :::
« back to selection

Bible study #1 on "Presence (My Heart's Desire)" by Newsboys  [song lyrics]

  • originally released by newsboys.com 2004/2005
  • authors: Jim Laffoon and Peter Furler
Newsboys - ''devotion'' (2004)

GOD'S PRESENCE
Every Hearts Desire

I want to feel your presence. I want to feel your presence. Whether it is sung by a devoted believer who is conscious of their need or encoded in the frenzied search for satisfaction in the life of a person who has everything, every human on the planet has a felt need for the presence of God.

A recent cover story in Time Magazine (October 25, 2004) seems to support this conclusion. Entitled "The God Gene", this article asks an amazing question: Does our DNA compel us to seek a higher power? Although it has nothing to do with the evolutionary progress that this article discusses, I believe the answer is yes. Whether you call it a God gene, or the human spirit, people are compelled to seek a higher power, because they were originally created to walk in intimate fellowship with their creator. Simply stated, every person is hard wired with a need for the presence of God. Even in their state of spiritual death, unbelievers carry this intrinsic need for God.

Tragically, like Cain, human beings, who have not experienced redemption through Jesus Christ, are under a crippling curse:

"You will be a restless wanderer on the earth. Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, I will be hidden from your presence," (Genesis 4:12b-14a). "So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod (wandering), east of Eden." (vs.16).

At its very essence, this curse is the gnawing restlessness and endless dissatisfaction that comes when a person lives there life outside of God's presence.

Although this curse has been broken in Christ ,and every believer now as access into God's presence, the tangible realities of God's presence will only be experienced as we draw near to Him.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy
Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us
through the curtain, that is his body, and since we have a great priest
over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart
in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us
from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure
water. (Heb. 10:19-22 NIV)

That's right, as we draw near to God through worship, praise and prayer, with faith in our hearts, we can experience the fresh reality of God's presence in our lives.

Yet, the importance of God's presence is more than just a vital truth for believers. It is also critical to our understanding of evangelism. In Acts 15:16-17 the Apostle James, in the middle of a strategic meeting on how to reach the gentile world, quotes an obscure passage from the book of Amos:

"After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent, its ruins I will rebuild, And I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord who does these things."

What is David's fallen tent? In 1Chronicles 15-16, we find that David did not place the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle of Moses with all of its elaborate courts and veils. He placed it in a tent with no veils surrounded by a choir and orchestra who dedicated themselves to worshipping God day and night.

What does worship have to do with reaching unbelievers? The answer is simple. As God's presence is manifested in response to our worship, unbelievers from our hurting culture will be drawn to us by a compelling power that transcends their understanding and overwhelms their defenses.

Let us never forget, then, that every person is wired to need God. Whether it is the Christian who raises their hands in adoration to the God he knows, or the New Age practitioner crying out for a God he does not know, every human heart resounds with the same refrain:

I want to feel your presence.
I want to feel your presence.
I want to feel your presence.



band :: disco :: songs :: web :: features :: guests :: board :: grace :: fun :: shop :: news

© 2001-2005 by shineMedia  :::  site-info  :::  home.