1. Obstacles for being In His presence

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. 1- lack of Faith Kaleb & Joshua VS the rest of Israel who refused to enter the promised land.

7. … “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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 2- lack of love The rich man who asked Jesus what to do to earn the kingdom of heaven.

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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

16. “Not feeling the presence sometimes can be part of our spiritual journey towards growth !”