I didn't figure a distant God would have much to say to a heathen like me. I wanted more than just a God who wouldn't strike me dead. I wanted a God I could talk to.
One of the greatest passages of scripture in the Bible is found in Matthew:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
(Matt. 1:18-23)

The greatest central doctrine of Christianity lies in those three words, "God with us." To hear that Christ came, and now has gone away wouldn't be tidings of great joy. When my back is up against a wall, I don't need an absent Jesus.

A Present Jesus, Not An Absent Jesus
Yet that is exactly the kind of Jesus most of Christianity preaches. If you're dying of cancer, you don't need to hear, "Well, God used to heal the sick, but He doesn't do it anymore!" No, you need Jesus and His healing power present with you in your time of need. When you're so sick you can hardly lift your head, you don't need a has-been God. God will hold the church world accountable for preaching an absent Jesus.

The great secret of Christian joy lies in the fact that we believe in a present Jesus, not an absent Jesus. The sad truth is that most Christians think God works like a gospel casino. The casino mentality says, "Sometimes God will, and sometimes He won't. Just roll the dice and kiss lady luck." God is not a game of chance. He is a God of faith.

The apostles didn't preach an absent Jesus. They didn't say, "Step right up and roll the dice!" They preached Jesus as He is: alive, vibrant, expressive, full of joy, healing the sick, casting out devils and raising the dead. If you present Jesus that way, the world will fall at His feet.

I Wanted A God I Could Talk To
When I was a kid, I had a deep, unexpressed longing for God. Yet He seemed as far out of my reach as the moon and the stars. I never wanted to worship some distant deity. The Bible told of people who worshipped the sun. Who would want to do that? I knew all about the sweltering Louisiana sun - it would blister you.

I didn't figure a distant God would have much to say to a heathen like me. I wanted more than just a God who wouldn't strike me dead. I wanted a God I could talk to. I longed for a God whose arms I could run to and cry, "I messed up! Real bad!" I would rather hear His correction than suffer His silence.

My journey to find a God I could talk to was a long and treacherous one. I filled that God-sized hole on the inside of me with cocaine that I snorted through hundred dollar bills. I took so much speed that my heart almost pounded out of my chest. I drank a fifth of whiskey a day, smoked a lid of dope each week, shot crystal and used PCP. Thank God, Cathy got born again and started praying for me.

Why was I willing to walk away from a lucrative career and a wild lifestyle? Because Cathy talked me into watching Billy Graham on television. And Billy Graham introduced me to a God who wasn't as distant as the stars. He told me about a God who loved me so much that He left heaven and came to earth. A God so loving that He hung on a cross for me.

I let the purity of the Gospel go as far as the pollution of my sin had gone. When I poured my heart out to God and accepted Jesus as my savior, I was set free by the blood of the Lamb! I've never had a drink since, and I've never used drugs again.

Stepping Out With Jesus
It's a good thing that I was serving a God I could talk to when I gave away all my money and stepped out on faith as a minister of the Gospel. Back in those early days of ministry, Cathy and I didn't have anything. When I went out to preach, they put me up on an Army cot in the Sunday School room so they wouldn't have to pay a hotel bill. It was 28 degrees inside because they refused to turn on the heat. I couldn't have handled that if God hadn't been with me.

Once I answered a call to preach in a small town for a week, and they didn't feed me once. They didn't give me any food, and they never gave me an offering. When the meeting was over, I didn't have a dime on me, and I hadn't eaten in seven days. I didn't have enough gas to get home. They said, "Thank you very much, we enjoyed it. God bless you."

So I turned that little Toyota towards home. I figured I'd drive as long as the gas held out, and all the while my stomach was eating a hole in my backbone. By 2:30 in the morning, I had less than a quarter of a tank left. You may wonder why anyone would be willing to live that way. The answer is that you wouldn't unless you knew for certain that God was with you.

God With Us
I pulled into a small town and found a little store open. The man on duty was throwing away the leftover popcorn, which was mostly seeds and hulls. "Excuse me," I said, "if you're going to throw that away, could I have it?"

"But this is just scraps," he said.

"That's okay." I was so hungry I could have eaten the paper bag he put it in. I walked back to my car, which was parked by the gas pumps. Another car drove up and a large man got out. "Go on and pump your gas," he said. "I can wait."

"Naw, that's all right," I assured him. About then the man on duty came out and said, "I thought I had that popcorn machine emptied, but I found more in the other tray, so you can have it. This has more than just seeds."

I was embarrassed, and the man pumping gas looked at me real hard. "Where you going?" he asked. "Close to New Orleans," I answered.

"You better fill up right now," he said, "because it's nearly 200 miles. You won't be able to get gas at this hour."

"That's all right," I assured him. He just looked at me.

"You don't have money for gas. What do you do?"

I didn't want to answer that question. I swallowed hard and said, "I'm a preacher."

"Just starting out?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where have you been preaching?"

I named the place.

"They didn't give you an offering?"

"It's all right."

He began cussing up a storm.

"That's my home town and my wife wants me to go to that church! You mean to tell me you preached a week, and they didn't give you a thing?"

"It's all right."

"Take your gas cap off and fill your car with gas. Then I want you to go inside and get all the food you want to eat, because I'm buying."

I had tears in my eyes when I said, "Yes, sir." I could hear him cussing all the way inside. I got bologna sandwiches, hot dogs and ham. It was wonderful. When I was ready to leave he said, "Don't you ever quit! I've got faith in somebody like you!"

I don't know what helped me more, the food in my belly or the faith he had in me. I hit the road crying, shouting and eating sandwiches all at the same time. When I got home Cathy took one look at me asked, "Didn't they feed you?"

I told her the honest truth. "God was with me."

We've come a long way from those humble beginnings. Our ministry has grown, and we've grown in the blessings of God, but never think for a moment that we've outgrown the need to have God with us every moment of every day. We've never outgrown the need to talk to Him. That's not to say we haven't made mistakes - we have. But when we mess up, we run toward God, not away from Him.

So when I pray I don't say, "God, where are you!" I say, "Hello, Jesus!"

He says, "Hi, Jesse. Come on, we're going to kick the devil's brains out today."

The Joy of The Lord
Cathy and I have great fun serving the Lord. Every day is a joy. When it's time to relax and unwind, we climb onto my Harley Davidson and take off for the horizon. Do you think we ever start one of those trips without Jesus? No, God is with us!

If you're having a hard time living with Jesus, you're trying to serve an absent God. "God with us" is an insight born in Heaven and decreed by faith. I believe that everybody wants a God they can talk to, but they think He's out of reach. They think God is untouchable. It's your great privilege to be one of those who can show them differently. Notice that I didn't say that you just tell them. If God is with you, it will show.

Would you like to know what the greatest hindrance is to this kind of relationship with God? I'll give you a hint - it isn't the devil! It's sad to say, but the greatest hindrance is religion as expressed through joyless Christians. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. That's why so many believers are spiritual wimps. They haven't spent enough time in His presence to experience the joy of the Lord.

God As One Of Us
Psalms 8:4 says, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

Notice that this verse puts the Son of God and man together. Why is that? Because you are created in His image. You were created to look like Him. To act like Him. To have faith like Him. So you see, it isn't just that God is with us. He's with us as one of us!

Do you understand that? God will hang out with you just because he wants to share something you enjoy. Do you like to fish? So does Jesus. Do you like to fly airplanes? He's the best copilot you'll ever have. Maybe you like to hunt for antiques. He'll find you the bargain of the century. Take Him with you! You'll have the time of your life!

Copyright © Jesse Duplantis Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.