Obstacles for being In His presence

Old presence Vs current presence

And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, neither

by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. And Saul said to his

servants, Seek me a woman who has a familiar spirit, so that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servant

said to him, Behold, there is a woman who is a necromancer at Endor. 1 Sam

28: 6,7

Real presence and only two recognitions

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation

of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. And it happened to him, being instructed by the

Holy Spirit, he was not to see death before he would see the Christ of the Lord.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And as the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do according to the custom of the law concerning

Him, Luke 2:25-27

Despising the offering of the Lord

Yea, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest. For he will not have boiled flesh from you, but raw! And if any man said to him, Let them not fail to burn the fat at once, and then take as your soul desires, then he would answer him, No! But you shall give now! And if not, I will take it by force.

And the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD. For men despised the offering of the LORD. 1 Sam 2: 15-17

lack of: Faith. Love. Interest. Holiness. Time.

1- lack of Faith

Kaleb & Joshua VS the rest of Israel who refused to enter the

promised land.

… “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this

wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to

return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and

return to Egypt.” Nu 14:3,4

22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the

wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 they

certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb,

because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he

went, and his descendants shall inherit it. Num 14:22-24

St. Ambrose's treatise On the Mysteries

It is wonderful that God rained manna on our fathers and they were fed with daily food from heaven. And so it is written: Man ate the bread of angels. Yet those who ate that bread all died

in the desert. But the food that you receive, that living bread which came down from

heaven, supplies the very substance of eternal life, and whoever will eat it will never die, for it

is the body of Christ.

2- lack of love

The rich man who asked Jesus what to do to earn the kingdom of

heaven.

Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” …. But when the

young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had

great possessions. Matt 19:16, 22

3- lack of interest

Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,For we do not desire the knowledge

of Your ways.Who is the Almighty, that we should

serve Him?And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ Job 21:14,15

4- Syncretism

And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart. 14 Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down

before them and burned incense to them. 15 Therefore the anger of the Lord was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own

people from your hand?” 2 Chr 25:2,14,15

St Athanasius on the Incarnation ch.48

These things which we have said are no mere words: they are attested by actual experience.

Anyone who likes may see the proof of glory in the virgins of Christ, and in the young men who

practice chastity as part of their religion, and in the assurance of immortality in so great and glad a company of martyrs. Anyone, too, may put what

we have said to the proof of experience .

5- lack of Time

To everything there is a season,A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,    And a time to die;A time to plant,    And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,    And a time to heal;A time to break down,    And a time to build up; Eccl 8:1-3

The word time mentioned 28 times in 8 verses

“Not feeling the presence sometimes can be part of our

spiritual journey towards growth !”