'I Am With You Always'
To live the God-conscious life, we must cultivate the habit of constant, unspoken prayer and experience conscious fellowship with Christ through faith, love, and obedience.
The preacher delves into the Greek word 'trachelizo,' which means to lay bare or open, often used figuratively to expose the deepest motives of our hearts enduringly. This term was also used to describe the bending back of an animal's neck for sacrifice or seizing an opponent by the throat, emphasizing complete exposure and powerlessness. The sermon highlights how God's Word acts as a sharp, penetrating tool that reveals our innermost thoughts and feelings, leaving no part of our being hidden from God's sight. Ultimately, we are reminded of our ultimate, final accountability before God, where we must give a personal account for our actions and thoughts, as nothing can be concealed from His all-seeing eyes.
Text
It is hardly possible to overstress the importance of unceasing inward prayer on the part of the one who would live the God-conscious life. Prayer at stated times is good and right; we will never outgrow the need of it while we remain on earth. But this kind of prayer must be supported and perfected by the habit of constant, unspoken prayer. But someone may question whether in a world like this it is possible to think of God constantly. Would it not be too great a burden to try to keep God constantly in the focus of our minds while carrying on our normal activities in this noisy and highly complex civilization?
Francois Malaval had the answer to this: "The wings of the dove do not weigh it down," he said. "They carry and support it. And so the thought of God is never a burden; it is a gentle breeze which bears us up, a hand which supports us and raises us, a light which guides us, and a spirit which vivifies us though we do not feel its working." We all know how the presence of someone we deeply love lifts our spirits and suffuses us with a radiant sense of peace and well-being. So the one who loves God supremely is lifted into rapture by His conscious Presence.
"Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord" (John 20:20). If only we would stop lamenting and look up. God is here. Christ is risen. The Spirit has been poured out from on high. All this we know as theological truth. It remains for us to turn it into joyous spiritual experience. And how is this accomplished? There is no new technique; if it is new it is false. The old, old method still works. Conscious fellowship with Christ is by faith, love and obedience. And the humblest believer need not be without these.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Unceasing Prayer
- The Burden of Constantly Thinking of God
- Experiencing the Presence of God
- Prayer at stated times is good, but it must be supported by constant, unspoken prayer
- The habit of constant prayer is essential for living the God-conscious life
- The thought of God is not a burden, but a gentle breeze that bears us up
- The presence of God lifts our spirits and brings peace and well-being
- Conscious fellowship with Christ is by faith, love, and obedience
- The humblest believer can experience this fellowship
Key Quotes
“The wings of the dove do not weigh it down; they carry and support it.” — A.W. Tozer
“The thought of God is never a burden; it is a gentle breeze which bears us up, a hand which supports us and raises us, a light which guides us, and a spirit which vivifies us though we do not feel its working.” — A.W. Tozer
“Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Make a conscious effort to think of God constantly throughout your day.
- Cultivate the habit of constant, unspoken prayer to deepen your relationship with God.
- Experience conscious fellowship with Christ through faith, love, and obedience.