Step Into His Presence, Carry His Glory Everywhere

Introduction

There is a longing that runs through the whole Bible, from the first garden all the way to the cross: God wants to be close to you. Not from a distance, not through a go-between, not just for some spiritual elite. Close, like a Father with his child.

In this message preached at Efficient Church, Hugo, a member of the church Paris Évangile, traces this thread through Scripture. He starts in Genesis, moves through the Old Testament, then brings us to the cross to show one simple truth: the veil is torn, the way in is open, and this presence is meant to overflow into everywhere you go.

Two passages carry the message: Hebrews 10:19-21 and 2 Corinthians 3:16-17. Two passages telling the same good news: through Jesus, you can enter in.

Sermon Outline

1. In the beginning, a lost closeness

When God creates Adam, he doesn't make him from a distance. He forms him, then leans in close and breathes life into him. Hugo highlights this image: God had to be right there to breathe that breath into him. That is where it all begins, in a closeness nothing has yet disturbed.

In the garden, that relationship continues. Every evening, God comes to walk with the man. Picture it, Hugo says: you get home from work after an hour of commuting, you walk through your door, and God is there, listening to you tell him about your day. That was Adam and Eve's life before the fall.

Then sin enters. The forbidden fruit is eaten, the relationship breaks, and humanity is driven out of the garden. For a very long time, there is no closeness like before. The direct connection is broken.

2. The old covenant: a few rare openings

After the fall, Scripture tells of a few exceptions: men who walked with God in spite of the distance. Enoch first, of whom the Bible says he walked with God so closely that he was taken away. Hugo confesses: "I want to walk with God like that too. Just maybe not get taken away right now, Lord, give me a little more time."

Then there's Moses. A man with almost nothing to recommend him for being chosen, yet he spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain with God, without food, without water. When he comes back down, his face shines so brightly with God's presence that he has to cover it with a veil. The people cannot bear the brightness. That is the account in Exodus 34.

Then David. In Psalm 27, he voices this hunger: "One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh's house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh's beauty." In his day, the most holy place was reserved for priests, once a year, after a long ritual. And yet David thirsts for that presence.

These figures are the first signs of what God is preparing, as though he were saying: "Don't worry, I have an ultimate plan."

3. Jesus tears the veil and reopens the way

That plan has a name: Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem. He comes, he announces that he is the bread of life, the Son of Man given for humanity. People don't believe him. But what he proclaims, he accomplishes. He goes to the cross, he dies, and three days later he rises again.

At the moment he breathes his last, the Gospel tells us the temple veil is torn from top to bottom. It is a tremendous sign. Hugo sums it up this way: "Access to the most holy place has been opened." No more need for a priest, no more need for a thousand sacrifices. Access to God is no longer reserved for one person; it is offered to everyone who believes.

That is what Hebrews 10 says: "Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh." And the text adds that we also have a great priest over the house of God. It's all there.

Hugo then shares his own story. Before his conversion, he thought seeing God was reserved for "super-apostles." Then he heard testimonies of encounters with the Lord, and he started to pray. Once, twice, three times, nothing. He kept going. One day, while praying on his knees for his sick grandmother, he felt a presence growing heavier in the room. He looked up and saw pierced feet. Then a face. And above all, a look: "A love so intense in his eyes that it shocked me. He didn't look at me with anger. He looked at me with incredible love." That day, he was transformed.

4. Soaking in his presence and reflecting his glory

Hugo continues with 2 Corinthians 3:16-17: "But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

The text goes even further: we are called to reflect the Lord's glory like a mirror. Just as Moses soaked in God's presence and came down shining, you can spend time in that presence and come out of it marked by it. Maybe your face won't physically glow, Hugo says, but you will shine all the same. The world sees it. People who cross your path can tell you've spent time with God.

And that presence gradually drives out whatever darkness remains in you. Every time you draw near to it, a small piece of darkness falls away. The light takes up more room, until you can say, like Paul in Galatians 2:20: "It is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me." Or even come close to Jesus's own prayer in John 17:20-23: "that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one."

5. Carrying this presence everywhere

This presence is not meant to stay in the room where you pray. Hugo points to Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a 17th-century monk known for carrying God's presence into the simplest of tasks. He didn't work spectacular miracles. He washed dishes. But he was so soaked in that presence that it shone even through that ordinary chore.

Through the sacrifice of the cross, you have become his temple, his dwelling place. Wherever you go, you carry that presence: in your home, at your job, on the mission field, or while doing the dishes. And with it, the whole kingdom comes too: resurrection power, provision, authority to lay hands on the sick and see God heal, authority to drive back darkness.

Hugo closes with a call. The Church has a mandate over Paris, over the Île-de-France region, over France. This isn't about waiting for someone else to do it. It's about stepping into consecration and action, so that the city is filled no longer with an atmosphere of darkness but with the atmosphere of God. "It comes through time, intercession, and action."

Key Takeaways

• From Genesis onward, God created humanity to live in closeness with him. Sin broke that connection, but God never gave up on restoring it.
• Under the old covenant, only a few figures had access to that presence: Enoch, Moses, David. They were the first signs of a wider opening still to come.
• When Jesus died, the temple veil was torn. Through his blood, you have free access into the sanctuary (Hebrews 10:19-21).
• Spending time in God's presence transforms you. Just as Moses shone after 40 days with the Lord, you reflect what you gaze upon (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
• You are God's temple. Wherever you go, you carry his presence: into your home, your work, your neighborhood. That is how the atmosphere of a city changes.

Personal Application

1. When you think about your relationship with God, do you see yourself more like Adam before the fall, or like someone still standing at a distance from the veil? What is holding you back from entering in?
2. David asked Yahweh for one thing: to dwell in his house. What is the one thing you're asking God for right now? Is his presence part of it?
3. Hugo testifies that he prayed many times without seeing anything before he met Jesus. Are you willing to keep praying even when nothing seems to be happening?
4. Who around you would notice a change if you spent 30 extra minutes each day in God's presence? Where could that light shine this week?
5. The Church has a mandate over your city. What concrete thing is God asking you to do (in your neighborhood, your work, your family) to carry his presence?

Scriptures Referenced

• Hebrews 10:19-21 · Free access into the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus.
• 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 · The veil taken away, the glory reflected.
• Genesis 2:7 · God breathes life into the man's nostrils.
• Genesis 5:22-24 · Enoch walked with God and was taken away.
• Exodus 34:29-35 · Moses's face shines after 40 days with God.
• Psalm 27:4 · One thing I have asked of Yahweh: to dwell in his house.
• Galatians 2:20 · It is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me.
• John 17:20-23 · That they may be one, even as we are one.

FAQ

Do I need to have a spectacular encounter like Hugo's to know God's presence?

No. Hugo shares his experience to show that God responds, but what he really emphasizes is persevering in prayer and spending regular time in God's presence. Your transformation doesn't depend on one spectacular moment; it depends on what you gaze upon day after day.

Why was God's presence so hard to access in the Old Testament?

Because sin had broken the original closeness. Under the old covenant, access to the most holy place required a priest, an animal sacrifice, a strict ritual. Jesus opened up a new and living way through his own flesh: since the cross, you can enter directly.

Does "carrying God's presence everywhere" mean becoming a full-time preacher or missionary?

No. Hugo actually uses the example of a monk who carried that presence while washing dishes. The mandate starts in your home, your work, your neighborhood. You don't need a title to be God's temple and reflect his glory in your everyday tasks.