“ STANDING IN

" STANDING IN

THE PRESENCE"

By J W Luman

We are searching the reality of Great Salvation, and the particular area that we’re going to look at is Salvation as it relates to Israel, and as it is fulfilled in Christ. It is a relationship that is represented in Israel, coming to be found and fulfilled in Christ Jesus as Salvation. And The Salvation that relates to Israel is called ‘REDEMPTION’. And Redemption is a tremendously unique relationship - with Christ and in Christ. Redemption is that work of God in Salvation whereby we are not only born from above, but whereby we are delivered from something, ransomed from something, purchased unto something. And we see this Redemption as it related to Israel in type, and as it is fulfilled in The Very Person of The Lord Jesus Christ. And we find the first thing that Redemption is: REDEMPTION IS OF A SON. "Out of Egypt have I called My Son. Tell Pharaoh, Israel is My Son, even My firstborn." It is obvious that Redemption, first and foremost relates to you and I as a Son - The Redemption is of a Son.

And in the very specifics of it, in the very heart and nature of Redemption, there is indeed only One Son being dealt with. Yes, that Son is in corporate form, but One Son nonetheless. And there is a very wonderful thing that happens through the Redemption of That Son. True, He is redeemed from death, and yes, He is redeemed from among the dead. And both of those are tremendous realizations of Redemption; realizations to which we must come in the understanding of our relationship with Christ. But the Redemption we want to consider now, the phase of Redemption of The Son, as The Son, is not so much FROM something, but UNTO something. It is true we are redeemed from death, and we are redeemed from among the dead; raised together, seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. But the most tremendous thing about this redeeming of The Son is - unto what, or unto Whom This Son is redeemed?

We know that This Son is purchased by The Blood of The Lamb. But Who purchased This Son? Well, the answer is - The Father did! The Father gave a Son, and The Father received a Son. The Father gave a Son, and The Father raised up a Son. And The Son that He gave, and The Son that He raised up are the same Son! But The Son that He raised up is in corporate form, for He raises that Son in The Resurrection.

Well, it is The Father then, who has redeemed The Son, and has made that very One, that very Son unto you and I - Redemption. HE IS BOTH THE REDEEMER AND REDEMPTION FOR THOSE WHO ARE HIS. So we are dealing with the corporate reality of this Son - that God raised up One Son, and indeed One Son has come forth. He has come forth in corporate form, but only One Son has come forth. But, to where has This Son come? He has been brought into THE PRESENCE! It is just this that we are going to consider now - the reality of The Redemption of The Son as standing in The Presence. Oh my, we must understand that there is only One Son being dealt with here, because only One Son went out from God, and only One Son returns to God. It’s just that the One Son that went out, went out with a Divine commission: that through His death, His burial, His resurrection He would bring many sons unto glory. And yet the reality of Redemption is NOT found in many sons, but in the many who are One Son.

This isn’t just another way of looking at it: it is The Truth of God as it is established in Christ. It isn’t just another way of saying it: it is The Truth as it is in Christ. God has redeemed unto Himself One Glorified, One Glorious Son! He has brought That Son into His Presence! HE SEES YOU AND I ONLY IN CHRIST! That’s the only way He can see us; it’s the only way He can receive us. It is right here, however that it breaks down, because even though God sees us in His Son, and God comprehends our union with That Son (or else He couldn’t see us at all!), it is you and I who fail to make the connection. It is you and I who fail to comprehend the unity into which we have been redeemed. We’ll deal with the specifics of that later, but listen to the facts of it now. And the fact of it is that in One Son, all are redeemed; but we are not redeemed as many, WE ARE REDEEMED AS ONE.

I want to deal now with terms that are used by many who teach on "The Body", but they teach "The Body" as many. There is one writer who even says the one is many, but you see, The One - that is Christ, is NOT many. He dwells in many, making them all One with Himself. If you search the scriptures carefully, you will not find the term "many membered body". And in many spiritual movements today the emphasis is always on the many - "many" membered body. But there is no term in the Bible called "many membered Body". Yes, The Body has many members, but there in 1 Corinthians 12 where the word "many" is used, it is swallowed up in the reality of The One Body, which we are.

I want to tell you that Christ has NOT brought "man" into The Presence. He has brought the multitude of One, He has brought the increase of One into The Presence. ONE SON STANDS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MOST HIGH! We are The Body - not bodies; and with reference to standing in The Presence, we are not even members. We are not members with reference to The Father; we are members with reference to Christ. We are members of HIS Body. There is our reference to Christ - many members of One Body. We are members of His Body, but His Body is One Body. It is not The Body of many sons, nor is it many bodies of One Son. It is The One Body of The One Son. And if there’s anything that we come to learn and will understand in the comprehension of Redemption, it is just that: that Redemption, though it includes many in One, Redemption is NOT of many; Redemption is of One. This is the mystery of God in Christ. You can read that: wherever the mystery is written in the Bible, it will revolve around you and I being One. It will revolve around the Jew and the Gentile being One New Man; or Christ and The Church being One. The mystery is not found in many: Adam is found in many, division is found in many. The mystery of God is found in One! One Son, redeeming unto Himself One Body, and That Son as One Body with Himself, standing in The Presence of The Most High God. We must understand that The One is not many; the many, through Redemption - of A Son; the many have been made One with Him. And in Him, and in Him only, we are made to stand, brought to stand, positioned to stand in The Presence of The Father!

It is This Son that brings joy to The Father’s heart. He did not return empty handed! There is a law with regard to the firstborn: that when the firstborn is redeemed, and he comes and presents himself in redemption, the firstborn must not be empty handed. And when The Firstborn of God, The One Redeemed as The Firstborn among many brethren - firstborn from among the dead, only begotten of God - when He returned to The Presence, He did not return empty handed, but He brought His Whole Body with Him! And that is an ever ongoing reality. He did that, He does that, He shall always be doing that!

He has brought us into The Presence. Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence. (Genesis 3:8) And Cain went out from the presence of The Lord. (Genesis 4:16) Obviously there is a great deal to be seen here with regard to this whole first creation man. In the first place it HID FROM The Presence, and then in the person of Cain it WENT OUT FROM The Presence. And in and of itself, could NEVER return to The Presence. God established the Cherubim, the flaming sword at the entrance of The Presence, and no man shall in or of himself, or as first creation man, first order man: no man of that order shall in or of himself return into The Presence that he first hid from, and secondly went out from. He can not, in and of himself, he can not as himself, as first order man return to that Presence. It is only through Redemption - the redeeming of a son: the giving of a Son, and the taking up of a Son. It is only in the Redemption of The Son that you and I are brought as a New Creation. Yes, but more than that, as a Son into The Presence. We can say, well, it’s The Presence of The Lord. Yes, it is The Presence of God, but the term itself that I want you to see is "The Presence", because it is just so throughout the scripture. It means, "The Face"; it actually means "The Person", "The Person Himself." We have been brought into The Presence, and we have been brought there in The Person of The Lord Jesus Christ. Now the issue with you and I is then one of standing, abiding, remaining IN THE PRESENCE.

We could go on to study "The Presence" in the scripture. 1 Chronicles 16 comes to this point in verse 33, " Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth." And of course this is fulfilled in Christ through His death, burial and resurrection, but notice the term here is "AT the presence." We had "from" the presence, and now we have certain things given in prophetic terms, but now we have the effect of The Presence upon things: certain things respond in a certain way AT The Presence. And it is the same way in Psalms. Look at Psalm 68:2, " As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish AT THE PRESENCE of God." And this is tremendous! Psalms 68:8 says the same thing: " The earth shook, the heavens also dropped AT THE PRESENCE of God,: even Sinai itself was moved AT THE PRESENCE of God, the God of Israel." We can go on through the Psalms - 97:5, " The hills melted like wax AT THE PRESENCE of the Lord, AT THE PRESENCE of the Lord of the whole earth." Psalm 114:7, " Tremble, thou earth, AT THE PRESENCE of the Lord, AT THE PRESENCE of the God of Jacob." We find these various conditions, these various results and reactions to The Presence of The Lord: something happening at His Presence, but our interest must go beyond that because in Christ we are not so much interested in the term "FROM The Presence" of The Lord, as we are "IN The Presence of The Lord."

Look now in 1 Thessalonians 2:19. Paul is writing to the Church there. "For ye (Thessalonians) what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye IN THE PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" What is our hope? What is the purpose, Paul is saying, of our labor? What is the purpose of our prayer? What is the whole point of our ministry? Is it not YOU - IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AT HIS COMING? And this word "coming" is the word "parousia" and means "at His presence." And so Paul is saying our joy is to find you in The Presence of The Lord at His presencing. Our joy is when we find The Lord in His presencing - we find you! Now listen, this makes perfect sense, when it is seen in the light of Colossians 3:4, and in the light of Hebrews 9:24, which we’ll look at. Where is our joy? Paul is saying it’s to find you in The Lord; not merely to find you in The Lord THEORETICALLY, not merely to find you in The Lord as a doctrinal position. But to find you in The Presence of The Lord Jesus Christ at His presencing; that when The Lord is made present, there we find YOU in The Presence. Well, maybe you’ll get a hold of that.

Now what are we doing? We are coming from the term "FROM the presence", AT the presence", to the term, "IN the presence." IN THE PRESENCE. It doesn’t take away the effect of hiding from or fleeing from The Presence, or being put away from The Presence, or the effect of certain things at The Presence. But, the reality I want you to see is: IN REDEMPTION WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE PRESENCE. In the Person of The Lord Jesus, we stand in The Presence, abiding in The Presence. We see this in John 14. Those who search the scripture regularly know what we are to find there, because it is the very promise of The Presence that Jesus is making here. You see, the first creation went out from The Presence, lost The Presence, and could never regain it. And now Jesus is promising to bring those that are His back into The Presence: back WITH HIM - not back where we were; back where He came from. He came ON OUR BEHALF out of The Presence. He came out not by sin; He came out not in fear, He came out not hiding, He came out not on His own. He came out so that He may return - bringing many with Him, as One. We are One because we have no life but Christ.

In John 14 He is saying this. Verse 3, "In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." The "where I am" here is not speaking of a location where He is - like He’s over here or He’s over there. No, The Lord Himself warns about that. The "where" here is He Himself. The term "I am" is the object of the word "where" here in the Greek arrangement of the scripture. "Where I am" - a location as a geographical location either physically or spiritually is NOT being spoken of here. But rather a DIVINE RELATIONSHIP; a divine promise of a Divine Relationship. "That where I am..." The word "there" has been added. "That where I am, ye may be also." The word "also" indicates that where I am, ye may be even as I am. Now, how can it be? How can we be in The Presence, how can we be where He is, even as He is? He explains that in verse 20. "You will know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." We are where we are because we are in Him and because He is in us. He has brought us into The Presence. You shall understand this by The Spirit, He says. This is The Comfort that The Spirit will bring to you: that in that day, you will know. Not, ‘ in that day...someday you will be’. In that day - the day of The Spirit of Truth, the day of His Coming, the coming of Truth, you will know that I am in my Father. That is not a location of geography, but rather a RELATIONSHIP OF ONENESS, a relationship of unity.

"I am in my Father, you are in Me, and I am in you." He has brought us into The Presence. Now, look in Ephesians 1:3-7. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein HE HATH MADE US ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED, In whom we have redemption..." You see, this is a position of Redemption. We have been redeemed from death into The Presence! We must get a hold of this! We haven’t just been redeemed from death and turned loose. We haven’t just been raised up from among the dead and put "somewhere". We are redeemed from death INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE EVER LIVING GOD - in the Person of The Redeemed! In the Person of The Son of Redemption, we have access, we have acceptability, we have right standing in The Presence. Why? Because it is not I, but Christ who liveth in me. I didn’t return as the old man; I am not an Adam gone out and an Adam finding his way back - that’s not it at all. THERE IS NO WAY BACK FOR FIRST ORDER MAN! But The Son - The Son Who came out from The Presence in obedience, with the purpose of bringing into The Presence, bringing back with Him into The Presence, the many of Himself, the increase of Himself, the many who live by Him and One Body of Him.

Oh, the mystery of this cannot be explained in words! We try to say it, but the fact is only The Spirit of God can reveal Christ in you in this measure; so we come to understand that though I live by Him, it is not I, but Christ Who liveth in me. I wish I had a larger vocabulary, but even if I did, I still would not have words to explain this mystery of Redemption. But let us look at it in the scripture so that the Spirit of God may open our eyes to where we are standing; that we in comprehension of Christ, that we in understanding of The Spirit, may stand - may STAND - in every situation, in every circumstance, at all times, and in every place, that we may be found standing in The Presence. And this has a real practical aspect to it, but any practical outworking of this can only come out from the spiritual realization of this. And it is that realization about which I am speaking, because this isn’t a place that we just imagine. It is a relationship with Christ - as One with Christ, as those having lost their own lives, and finding now Life only in Him, as One with Him. It is in that comprehension, that relationship that we understand "STANDING IN THE PRESENCE."

Look in Colossians 3:1-4, "If ye then be risen with Christ..." See, here it is. We have taught for years - you are risen with Christ, you are in heavenly places. We have taught for years - you are IN Christ Jesus. But now The Lord presses us farther into that realization. What does it mean: "heavenly places"? What does it mean: "IN Christ Jesus"? Where is it we actually stand? Into what have we actually been brought? And we understand that the bringing of us there is the work of Redemption - as this part of our Great Salvation. We are coming to realize that Redemption is more than being born again. Yes, being born again is part of our Great Salvation, but there is more to this Great Salvation than being born again. New birth has to have a PURPOSE; and in Redemption we are finding the purpose. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Verse 3: "...YOUR LIFE IS HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD." That’s what we overlook so many times. And the term "with Christ" can very easily be translated "in Christ", and both of them are defined as ‘denoting a relation of rest.’ "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."

This is exactly what Jesus said: "I am in My Father, you are in Me, I am in you." This is hidden from the world, this is hidden from the flesh, but it is revealed by The Spirit of God. This is what Paul is talking about: your life - hidden in Christ - in God. This is exactly what Jesus said would happen; this is exactly what He promised, and this is exactly what Paul is proclaiming as having actually taken place. "When Christ...shall appear..." This word "appear" means ‘made manifest, be openly shown; show Himself. "...then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Now, in the first place the scripture doesn’t read: "then shall ye appear also." No, then shall ye ALSO APPEAR..." Then shall ye, AS ONE WITH HIM; you shall appear when He appears. What were we talking about in 1 Thessalonians 2:19? Paul was saying our joy is to find you, is to see you standing in The Presence of The Lord, when The Lord is made present.

Now Paul says since you are dead, and your life, your very life - which is Christ, is in Christ, in God; since you have been brought into such a divine relationship with Him, so much so that He is your very Life - then when He Who is our Life shall appear - you will appear. You will appear with Him, you will appear in Him, you will appear as One with Him - in glory! With Him, in Him - in glory. Where is it that this appearing is taking place? I’m telling you, it’s in The Presence! What does that means? Look at Hebrews 9:24, "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, NOW TO APPEAR IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD FOR US." And we must understand that "heaven" is not a place, but is synonymous with The Father and the bosom of The Father, and the relationship with The Father. "...into heaven NOW to appear..." And this word "appear" is exactly the same Greek word that is used in Colossians 3:4. "...now, to show Himself in the presence of God for us." The word "for us" does not in this definition or in the context of this scripture imply that He is one place and we are another. It is the understanding of exactly what has been said in verse 4 of Colossians 3. It is the same thing Jesus is saying and promised in John 14. It is that HE is appearing in The Presence: we are in Him, because He is our Life. "I am in The Father, you are in Me, I am in you."

He presents HIMSELF to The Father, but He shows Himself as The Great High Priest, as The Son to Whom He said, "Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Thou art My Son, a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedek." Now this Priest, This Son is appearing in The Presence of The Father, and He is showing Himself to The Father. He is showing to The Father the corporate form of One Son, as the High Priest in Israel appeared in the type of The Presence, in the Holy of Holies made with hands. And he wore the breastplate wherein were the twelve tribes, the twelve stones representing Israel. So he appeared there, and he showed himself to be the High Priest of Israel. He brought Israel in there with himself in type and shadow. He presented Israel, and he did that through the blood of another, through the blood of a sacrifice. But This High Priest, This Son - BY HIS OWN BLOOD - hath once and for all sanctified us, set us aside, brought us as His Own Body into The Presence of The Most High God! And we abide there in Him, we abide there in union with Him. We abide there: this is not a location, this is a divine relationship wherein we abide. And we are in that relationship REGARDLESS of our geographical location, regardless of the condition, regardless of the circumstance, regardless of the storms that are around us. Regardless of people, place and things - WE ARE IN THE PRESENCE!

We have been brought there by The Son, in The Son. HE HAS SHOWN US AS BEING ONE WITH HIM TO THE FATHER! When He appears... and where does He appear? " Now to appear IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD..." Where He appears, ye shall also appear - not appear also...also appear, as One with Him, with Him in glory! God sees His High Priest, God sees The Blood of The Lamb, and God receives the offering. He receives the gift, He receives us as One Son unto Himself! The Redeemed of The Lord, The Son standing in The Presence!

Let’s look now at Jude 24, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before THE PRESENCE of his glory with exceeding joy." This is how He presents His Own Body. But notice this: "Now unto him that IS ABLE..." I want you to look at Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Now - now; in both cases - now unto Him that is able to keep, Who is able to keep, Who is able to present, Who is able to bring us into The Presence, keep us in The Presence, and present us as Blood-covered Ones, present us as faultless, having no life but Christ, presenting us as Himself in The Presence. "Now unto him that is able...Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Unto Him Who is able!

He has brought us as One with Himself - think of that! He has brought us as One with Himself, as those having no life but Him. Yes, that’s the one side of it: as those having no life but Him, but here’s the great side of it - as those having HIM AS OUR LIFE! He has brought us into The Presence. And not only so: He’s able to KEEP US in The Presence! He’s able to keep us there. Think of Romans 8: Paul is getting carried away with himself here, but look at verse 35, because this is speaking of those who stand in The Presence! My God, somehow we’re going to have to get a hold of this! He hasn’t just redeemed us from something, from somebody. He hasn’t taken us from someplace to a better place or another place. No - He has redeemed us into divine relationship that only The Son can have with The Father. He has brought us into The Presence!

Let us wake up and smell The Rose of Sharon here, and see what is going on in Redemption. He has brought us into The Presence: not as many, but as One. And He Himself is able to keep what He has brought, He is able to keep His Own Body, He is able to keep that which is committed unto Him. And in this joy, Paul writes this question to you and I. What shall keep us from standing in The Presence? What shall make me, for even a moment leave The Presence; go out as Cain from The Presence? What? Is there anything worth disturbing the peace, disturbing The Presence? Paul is asking - what is it? " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." This isn’t some silly milk of human kindness kind of love! For God Sake, He’s talking about standing in The Presence! He’s talking about abiding in The Son, in The Presence of The Most High! This is what he’s talking about. He’s not only able to keep us there, but according to the scripture, He is able to transform us there. We read in Ephesians 3:20-21: according to the power that worketh IN US; unto Him be glory in The Church.

Unto HIM - He is the power that worketh in us. We read again in Colossians 1:29, that it is according to His working, which worketh in me mightily. Oh, He has brought us into The Presence, and through His working in us, He is able not only to keep us in The Presence, to keep that which is committed unto Him, to keep those whose mind is kept upon Him, but He is able in the keeping to TRANSFORM by the working of His power that worketh mightily in me, and in those who are standing as One with Him, in The Presence. Now, here’s what I want us to understand: in The Presence there is peace, there is rest, there is joy. In The Presence there is a calm in the midst of a storm!

Colossians 1:13 says He hath translated us...into the kingdom of The Son of His Love. In Romans 14:17 we find that the nature of that kingdom is righteousness and peace and joy. STANDING IN THE PRESENCE, WE HAVE PEACE. Blessed be The Lamb! And in standing in The Presence we learn to be quiet. Yes, we do! There are no babblers in The Presence. No, there are no idiots or fools in The Presence - shooting our mouth off, babbling out words...No! In The Presence you choose your words very carefully, but there in The Presence, in the consciousness of Christ...That’s what we’re talking about: a consciousness, an awareness, a realization of relationship. For there you speak The Truth in The Presence of The Truth. It is here, in The Presence that we ourselves become the presencing of Truth. It is not just that we have Truth in the midst of the lie. It is that we ARE Truth in the midst of the lie. It isn’t just that we have peace, but that we ARE the calm, we ARE the peace in the midst of the storm. In The Presence we abide in perfect peace, and it cannot be disturbed so long as we stand in The Presence.

Do you remember the story in Mark 4:35-41? "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side." Not - ‘let’s see if we can’; not - ‘let’s give it a try and see what happens.’ "Let us pass over on the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Well, this is a story where it is very obvious that their peace was disturbed. THEIR peace was disturbed. Christ, in this instance of the disturbing of their peace was in one place, and they in another - while they were all in the same boat, and in the same storm! He was asleep, He was abiding in peace. He had already said, ‘let’s go over to the other side.’ He didn’t say, ‘if there’s not a storm.’ He just said, ‘let’s go over to the other side.’ He didn’t say, ‘if something doesn’t hinder us, if it’s the Lord’s will, if this..., if that...’ That’s the way we talk! He just said, ‘let us go to the other side’, and He got into the boat and went to sleep. HE is in peace. The storm disturbed THEIR peace, but they disturbed His. It was on their behalf, not on behalf of the storm that He arose. See, we miss the whole point! We say He stood up to rebuke the storm, but He was not in the storm. He was in the calm - they were in the storm. The storm did not disturb His peace, and it shouldn’t have disturbed their peace either. But it did - they were the ones who disturbed His peace. They were the ones who awakened Him with the shouts: ‘Don’t you care about us? Do you not care that we perish? Do something here! Are you not aware of what is going on? Look at the situation!’

This is the way most of us still talk every time a wind blows or a storm comes. And it isn’t that the storm isn’t real; it’s just that HIS PEACE is more real! The storms are always temporal - they are always coming and they are always going. But His peace - if you ever find it - in Him; and it’s not something you find except in Him, because it is synonymous with Him (having no life BUT Him!)... Standing in The Presence, there is peace! And everything around about you will try to disturb that peace. And storms will come, and they are real, not imitations, because this is a real peace... but the storms are temporal. They come and they go, but peace abides forever - if we find it! They wanted Jesus to come and get in this storm with them. But remember this: Jesus was never in the storm, He was IN THE CALM in the midst of the storm. What do you think would have happened if He said to the disciples, ‘Just ignore that, and come and lay down here with me, enter into My rest, enter into My peace, and don’t worry about it’. Why, they would have probably thrown Him out of the boat! That’s what you and I would do! We want Him to do something! So He couldn’t talk to them, so He talked to the storm! But listen, He has brought us to that place, if we will abide there, that place in Himself!

Natural psychology tells us, ‘well, it could be worse.’ But the idea that the next storm may be worse is not a real comfort to me in a present storm! I mean to say that if this storm took the roof off of my house, then the idea that the next storm is going to blow my whole house down doesn’t really bring me any comfort in this storm. But what does bring me comfort however, is not to be in the storm at all! But in the midst of the storm, to be found standing IN THE PRESENCE. I’m telling you something that is true, and in this case, we ourselves standing in The Presence become the presencing of Christ; we become the presencing of Peace - for it is peace that we are talking about now.

There is much to standing in The Presence, but it is in my heart to tell you there, in The Presence - we have Peace. Not only do we have Peace, we are in Peace. So that the presencing of Peace is the presencing of The One who is at peace. As with Jesus and His disciples, they wanted Him to calm the storm. He wanted them to enter into His Peace! At that point in time they simply could not do it, so He spoke to the storm! Then He rebuked them for being in fear. He rebuked the winds and the waves, then He rebuked His disciples for being fearful. At that point in time they could not come into His rest, and so He gave them this momentary relief, but He knew they were headed for a greater storm - one that would shake them down to the very foundation of their souls! THE CROSS WAS COMING! And He knew that this storm could not be rebuked, but would have to be endured. It would not go away; no, He would have to endure this one, and He knew that this was a storm coming that He couldn’t rebuke, He couldn’t take them around, He couldn’t spare them this storm; that He Himself must enter into this storm, exercising the Peace that only He could exercise.

Look at Jesus during the time of the inquisition; look at Him during all of that time. "Father, not my will, but thine be done." HE ABIDES IN PERFECT PEACE! And He’s trying to bring the disciples into that Peace, knowing that there is a storm yet to come. And He knew that in that time He alone would be their Peace; that in that crisis they must find their very lives only in Him. And this is the storm, this is the crisis to which we all must come sooner or later! All who would know Him must come to the ultimate crisis. We think it’s these little storms, these little disturbances in our earth life. No, no, no - the ultimate crisis: the loss of our very lives; the loss of them, the laying down of them, the forsaking of them, and finding again of our LIFE - not our lives. We lose our lives; we find our LIFE - our Life is One, and we find it in One, even in Him! But once you find Him in the crisis of losing lives, and find LIFE in Him; once He is your Peace, in this great crisis - then He is your Peace in every crisis!

Dear friends, there are many storms, and each of them is real. We’re not talking here about mind over matter. We’re talking about Peace in the storm. We’re talking about standing in The Presence, and standing in The Presence, we stand in Peace! Why? Because the storm can not get into that place! The storm can not come where Christ and Christ alone is our Life! Things around me may be touched, but My Life can not be touched. And if my Life, Who is Christ, has become my Peace, then my Peace can not be disturbed; but rather, every storm simply brings opportunity for the manifesting of Peace! Oh friends, you can’t minister to other people’s storms until your own storm is settled! And I know those storms are real, but if you could just abide in The Presence, and speak to the storm... what a joy, what a rest you would have! And you could minister, not out from your storm, but out from your calm, out from your Peace, to the storm that is around you. You could minister to those who are in the storm, by simply STANDING IN THE PRESENCE!

Oh, I say simply, not to bring this down to an earthly level, but the simplicity of The Truth as it is in Christ is only confused by the flesh. It is made clear by The Spirit. If you and I who are in Christ would simply ask The Father to reveal His Son in us in this way. "Oh Father, I want to see Him in this way. Oh Father, when He Who is my life appears, then I am found there in Him. Oh Father, let me see Him in that way. Let me find my life only in Him Who stands, and Who has brought me to stand in The Presence."

What shall move me from here? Nothing! But everything shall simply, or profoundly be, and become an opportunity, an occasion for ministry, for speaking out from The Presence! My whole point is that here is where we have come, we have come to be found and to be standing in The Presence. And we’ve only spoken of one issue here - the issue of Peace. Standing in The Presence, we have peace; but it seems to be such a needful understanding in the lives of most Christians who come through one storm after another, and seemingly in the midst of the storm - lose their peace. Well, it isn’t that in the storm we lose our peace; it’s that when we go into the storm we didn’t have peace in the first place! We just weren’t in a storm. Maybe we had contentment, but not peace. But if we will stand in The Presence, and find ourselves standing there; standing in The Kingdom of The Son, standing where The Lamb rules and where The Lamb reigns, we will find that we are in Peace!

How am I at Peace? I’m at Peace because I have no life of my own! I’m at Peace because CHRIST, WHO IS MY LIFE, IS MY PEACE! And the storms are real, but I’m in the calm, and therefore out from the calm, I can minister to the storm. The storms are ever coming, but they are also ever going. The Peace is everlasting, and we stand in The Presence for eternity!

Can you see this? That if God be for us, who can be against us? Oh, that we come to comprehend this Redemption of a Son; that He has redeemed us as Himself, as His Own Body, by His Own Blood, and He has presented us to The Father - HE HAS BROUGHT US INTO THE PRESENCE! May we stand - in all things, at all times - IN THE PRESENCE! Amen.