In The Presence of God

If you are from a “Pentecostal” church, then you are familiar with the term, “the presence of God”.  We look for it in our worship services – we want to experience the presence of God.  What does that mean??  If you sing a song seventeen times and modulate every two or three verses, and then do one verse with no music . . . maybe you will “feel” the presence of God??  What does it feel like??  Goose bumps?  A chill?  A warm fuzzy feeling?  Can the Presence of God be described in the words of men without somehow cheapening it?  Do we take it for granted?  Remember the first time you truly experienced “the presence of God”?  It overwhelmed you.  It may have made you weep.  It may have left you speechless.  But as time goes by do we still get that feeling, that intimacy that we did when we first experienced it? 

In I Samuel chapter 6 is a story featuring a man named Uzzah.  Uzzah was one of the sons of Abinidab.  Abinidab was one of the Priests who was responsible for moving the Ark of the Covenant from place to place.  The Ark was built under specific instruction from God.  It was made of gold and had two cherubim who stood facing each other on either side of the top and their wings spread across the top and touched at the tips.  Inside the area between the wings and the top of the Ark is where the tangible presence of God dwelt.  Literally, where the Ark went, the presence of God went.  There were very specific guidelines given on how to transport the Ark from place to place.  There were gold rings on the sides of the Ark where poles were to be inserted to lift and carry.  These poles could be placed on an oxen cart to help transport it. Uzzah had grown up around the Ark of the Covenant.  When he was a child, I’m sure the whole “process” of moving the Ark was fascinating to him, but as he grew older, he became more comfortable and it lost its "awe factor".  He knew what significance the Ark held, his father was a priest.  He knew that the presence of God dwelt between the wings of the angel.  It should have been  a thing of awe and respect – a holy reverence.  But to him, it had become ordinary. He had been around the Ark for so long, had seen the "ritual" so many times that he no longer thought of it as holy. So, here’s what happened. 

“David again brought together out of Israel’s chosen men, thirty thousand in all.  He and all his men set out from Baalal of Judah to bring up from there the Ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.  They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.  Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinidab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it and Ahio was walking in front of it.  David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all of their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.  (They were having a worship service) When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.  The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his IRREVERENT act, therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.”

WHAT HAPPENED??

Uzzah had lost sight of who God was.  The power, the awesomeness, the sovereignty of God.

• He had become "comfortable" in the presence of God
• He didn’t feel the need to “prepare” himself to be in the presence of God, yet his father was a priest and Uzzah knew of the annual ritual of preparation for the priest to enter the Holy of Holies. He forgot the price.

Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark – now don’t you think that if God was worried about that Ark being destroyed or falling off the oxen cart, that HE would have steadied it?

• Uzzah took things into his own hands – thus removing God’s hands.
• The price to enter God’s presence for Uzzah was death, because he did not take  time to prepare.

Ok – so how does this relate to us??  Do we ever take things out of God’s hands?  Do we get so busy that we just unconsciously go through the motions of worship?  What about God’s plans for us?  Does He show you the big picture and we get so excited that we leave Him in the dust as we try to “make it happen”? OR are we going through a time of stress, overwhelm, etc. and in the midst, God is trying to get our attention so that He can lead us out, and as we hit that bump in the road, we just reach out and try to steady our Ark? 

The presence of God (His direction, His guidance, His moving in our lives) NEVER needs the assistance or guidance of man’s strength to hold its rightful place.  Nor will God ever allow the arm of flesh to glory in His presence without first tasting death.  

God broke out of His “box” and caused man’s plans to fall that day and it rocked David to the core, so much so that it took him several months to recover. The same thing happens today when we encounter God’s manifest glory. Too often when we reach out in fleshly presumption to stop the God we’ve carefully contained in a box from falling off our rickety man-made ministry program or tradition.  We shouldn’t be surprised when God’s glory breaks out of our traditional boxes and shocks us.  Something ALWAYS dies when God’s glory encounters LIVING FLESH. May we never take the presence of God for granted!  May we make preparation in our lives before we enter His presence this week.  Let us come before Him having made preparation much like a bride makes to meet her groom.

What do YOU want??? (Jn 5:1-15)

It’s a sunny day, and I’m just laying here by the pool waiting in anticipation.  It’s that time of year again, when maybe, just maybe, my situation could change.  But…if it doesn’t, I’m become accustomed to this life.  It may not be ideal in most people’s eyes, but it’s okay for me.  I’m a regular. Everyone knows me, even though I have been here longer than most; nearly 40 years.  Many call me an invalid because I can’t get up and walk, however, I just consider it my life.  People are good to me here.  They have become family in many ways.  They take care of my needs, help me wash my clothing, make sure I have food to eat.  It used to bother me, but I’ve gotten used to it.  Life is simple – just the way I like it.  Soon the pool will begin to stir – that time of year when someone gets healed.  As much as that sounds like a good deal…I’ll never make in it in time – I never do. Besides if I was healed, where would I go? What would I do? 

About midday as I am waiting for my noon meal, along comes this man.  He just looks like a regular guy to me, but this day, there was nothing regular about him. He walked right up to me. After a brief and somewhat uncomfortable greeting, he looks me in the eyes.  You know, there was something about his eyes….something powerful.  The next words he spoke caused me alarm.  He said; “Do you want to be made whole?” Now, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I HAVE been laying here for many, many years.  I do make a concerted effort to get in the stirred up waters.  But what kind of a question was that?  DO I WANT TO BE MADE WHOLE?  WHO IS THIS GUY?  He doesn’t look like a rabbi or anyone with special powers.  But, that question - well…of course I want….of course I ....

Wait!  If I am made whole, everything about my world is going to change radically. My friends, my home, my lifestyle.  Wait – maybe, maybe I need to think about this.  If I am made whole, I have to get a job and this life is all I have known.  Do I want to be made whole? Do I?  Again, I look at those eyes, searching for answers, but it’s as though he is pleading, reassuring, loving, caring and I think, YES! I want to be made whole.  I want to get out of my comfort zone! I want to have a new life – live it to the fullest, but how do I know this isn’t just another ray of hope that will be destroyed if nothing happens.  I am in a place of decision.

One last time, I look at those eyes and I find myself saying, “YES! I want to be made whole!” I am thinking that he is going to help me get into those waters, but what happens next is the strangest of all. He said, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” It wasn’t what he said, it was the way he said it.  He had this authority that made me believe that I could do what he said, and when I tried, I GOT UP. I WALKED! I was healed -HEALED without the water, healed because I obeyed his command. I picked up that mat and I headed straight for town.  Life as I knew it had ended.  A new life had been given to me and I wasn’t about to waste it staying where I have always been. 

Obviously, I’ve taken some liberty with a Biblical story.  This is one that has always intrigued me, because I see so many people today who are willing to live a compromised life of comfort then to get up and get out of the wasteland and walk into all God has.  Where are you today? Are you spending your time saying “I can’t” or are you asking God to take you where you’ve never been to do what you have never done?  The choice is ours.  God can heal and restore ANYTHING in your life – no matter how bad, how deep, how painful.  And when He does, He gives you more than you could have ever asked for or imagined!  SO the question is your today, “Do you want to be made whole?” I hope you'll say YES!

God wants you to know.....

I have become increasingly alarmed at the number of Christians who are using the facebook application, "God wants you to know." This is a daily posting from who knows where that is supposedly a word from God for you.  The messages are normally fairly generic and benign, touchy-feely words.  Harmless, right? Here is my concern - who is behind these messages? Do you know? Is it a Christian? Is it an Atheist? Under whose authority does this person speak? Have you noticed how amazingly similar it is to a horoscope?

A few years ago I warned the people of my church about those messages as I was seeing more and more of our congregation subscribing to them.  The messages are "nice", but they are not scripturally sound.  Did you here what I said? The are NOT true to scripture. They are enticing words of mens wisdom.  Feel good little nuggets of junk that we swallow hook, line and sinker.  It's easier to download an application than to spend time seeking God. WOW~

It's like this, if you are in construction, it is of vital importance that whatever you build remain in plumb.That is lined up and in balance.  Thus the level.  Me, being the not-so-attentive-to-detail-want-to-get-it-done-fast person in our household, I look at a level and think, "Eh, close enough." My spouse, however, having been in the engineering field most of his life says, "No way! Once you get off the bubble, everything is out of balance and now compromises the structure." I would never intentionally compromise - I just didn't want to do the work! No one wants to live in a building that is not level and is structurally compromised.

Let's apply this to our lives.  How do born again, often Spirit-filled, believers fall for this stuff? The answer is sad.  It's because the do not know the Word of God.  They have sat in church most of their lives being spoon fed solid Biblical teaching but have never become a scholar of the Word.  Rather than to read the Bible, they want someone else to just tell them what it says. What a tragedy!  Then along comes the newest thing; a speaker, a book, a prophet, and suddenly these good people are chasing after, listening to and believing anything that is being spoken. That scares me to death. That is how we get spiritually off the bubble and start building our spiritual lives out of plumb with God's plan for us which is outlined in His manual.

Mark 20:21-23 says "Then if anyone tells you 'Look, here is the Messiah,' or 'There he is' don't believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time."

Can I also caution you?  The latter days are going to get harder and harder if you do not know the Word of God.  It will sustain you through difficult trials. It will feed your spirit during times of spiritual drought. There is going to be an increase in people rising up to say that they are prophets, teachers or scholars.  Be careful to know the Word so that you can discern what is truth and what is not. God has given you every tool you will need to survive. USE THEM.  Check your spiritual plumb line often to make sure you are in balance.

Oh - and get rid of that application. If you want to know what God wants you to know, ask Him.  You have access to the real deal.  Why seek counterfeits?