Elements of the Presence of God's Glory

Following up the last blog, I wanted to talk about some of the elements found in the presence of God's glory.  The first is: praise.  Praise is one of the important expressions of our worship and without it God's church will never see the glory of God.  God inhabits the praise of His people and when people don't participate in praise they do not encounter the manifest presence of God's glory.

The second element is: humility.  In Ex. 37:7 we see how he made the cherubim of beaten gold at two ends of the mercy seat.  Why did it have to be done that way?  Because there is something even more precious about gold that has been through the process of "beating".  We see in the New Testament that even Jesus learned obedience through His suffering on the cross.  According to I Peter 5:6 Jesus was exalted and lifted up out of a position of humility.  Jesus chose the road of humility.  When we choose humility, we worship like Jesus.  The humble are received and revived in the manifest presence of God.    The Word makes it clear that we are to "humble ourselves".  We can either just experience the hammer blows of life, or we can submit to the hammer blows of life and know His presence.  I once read one author who said, "Never trust a man without a limp".  Jacob wrestled with God and came away with a limp.  We must be reminded that we do nothing in our own strength - but in God's strength.  Anything less and we will not see God glorified, nor see the presence of His glory in our worship. We are reminded that bowing is important to worship because where there is no humility, there is no throne.   This could explain why the Church has less life - less presence of God - in richer, prouder nations than it does in humbler ones.   May we humble ourselves beneath God's mighty hand - that in due time He may lift us up.  The church today is dying of an overdose of powerless religiosity.  We need the glory of God.

Thirdly, we need the element of unity.  Jesus said, "Where two or more are gathered in my name, I will be there in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20)  God deeply desires and is attracted to unity.  So what does the church do?  We start fighting over ridiculous things - even worship.  We would rather be "right" than be near God...together.  Does it not seem ridiculously ironic that we have "worship wars" in the church, mostly over personal tastes in music?  God will not reveal His manifest presence in a divided church.  Humility should bring us to unity.  It is pleasing to God and also is a witness to the world.  The "anointing" will only flow freely in unity.  

These are some of the elements of the presence of God's glory.  The question to the church: Do we want to pay the price?  How much do we really desire the manifest presence of God's glory among us today?  mjm

The Presence of God's Glory

We know that our relationship with Jesus enables the Spirit of God to inhabit us as the temple of the Holy Spirit.  But what is it when He does more than inhabit us and tangibly enters a room with us?  According to Scripture there is a difference between God's omnipresence and His manifest presence.  No matter where we go we cannot escape His love and His presence.  God will even go places that He detests, just to be with us.  

But the manifest presence of God is a different thing.  It has degrees.  The Hebrew word for God's glory literally means the heaviness of God's splendor.  The weight of God's glory can increase and decrease.   In I Kings 8 we see the dedication of the temple where God's glory fell and was so heavy that it pressed them down to the point the priests could not continue ministering.  Many of us have experienced this at different levels of weight in different circumstances; probably never to the point we see in that passage.  When God's manifest presence comes it is always comforting, inspiring, intimate, and most powerful.  

The Ark of the Covenant represents the glory of God on earth.  It was the literal throne of God among God's people and everywhere it went the glory of God went.  Worship sets an ark within us.  It sets up the throne of God within our hearts.  Because we have chosen, at God's invitation, to make our hearts His throne.

Charles Finney wrote the following in The Revelation of God's Glory:

The original meaning of the term glory was brightness, clearness, effulgence: from that it has come to signify honor, renown; and again, that which renders honorable, or demands honor, or renown, reverence, adoration, and worship - that which is worthy of confidence and trust.  The glory of God is essential and declarative.  By essential glory is meant that in Him which is glorious - that in his character which demands honor, worship, and adoration.  His declarative glory is the showing forth, the revealing, the manifesting, the glory of His character - His essential glory - to His creatures: the laying open His glory to the apprehension of intelligences.  And this is what Moses meant - that God would reveal Himself to his mind so that he might know Him - might have a clear and powerful apprehension of those things which constitute His glory.

Is it your desire to know the presence of God's glory in both your personal worship and the worship of your church?  mjm

Waiting on the Lord

Psalm 62:5 - "My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him."  In our lives and in our worship, we need to come to the practical experience of realizing that God is really with us every moment no matter what our circumstances are.  Too many of God's children complain that my circumstances, my trials, my temptations, my character, my temper, my enemies, my friends come between my God and me.  To believe these things shows that many do not know the God they serve and worship.  It is the evidence that many of God's people do not know their God.  

Many times in scripture we see the phrase, "And ye shall know that I am your God."  We will take anything rather than God - ministers,  preaching,  books,  prayers, work,  efforts;  anything but actually waiting on God to reveal Himself.  When God has first place in our lives, with our eyes set upon Him, with an attitude of "My soul thirsts for God", He will take possession and the presence of the everlasting God will be revealed.  Scripture makes clear that "Christ died that He might bring us unto God."

How do we wait?  First and foremost in prayer.  Prayer and waiting on God to reveal Himself are paramount to our worship. Our expectation is from Him.  If we truly want to experience God and His presence than the cry of our hearts will be more of God!  And let us say to ourselves, "My soul, wait thou upon God, for my expectation is from Him."

Obedience Rather than Sacrifice

When we drop in on I Samuel 15, we find the prophet Samuel dealing with Saul's disobedience.  Saul has taken things into his own hands and calls his disobedience, obedience.  Interesting how he and we can somehow do that.  Saul says he did the job God told him to do; the problem is he did it his way rather than God's way.  How many times have we done the same kind of thing?  Samuel very bluntly informs Saul that God doesn't want sacrifices that are empty rituals just for show.  God is more interested in our listening and obeying. A lavish kind of religious production doesn't overcome disobedience.

I am afraid that many times in the church today we are more interested in lavish production in our worship than we are in simple obedience to God's direction and commands.  And, interestingly enough, it happens in all kinds of churches and with all kinds of worship styles.  The high church, liturgical mind-set can become an empty, lavish spiritual production and yet, also the so-called free style, contemporary worship, with all kinds of free-spirited jumping, clapping, and carrying on before the Lord can be the same kind of empty, meaningless explosion of emotion - meaning little or nothing when it comes to obedience.  Someone once said, "It is not how high you jump in your worship, it is how straight you walk when you come down."  

If our encounters with God are not transformational in our lives, then I'm afraid the words of Samuel are appropriate for us today.  "God is more interested in obedience than sacrifice."  In our worship gatherings, God is present.  But most of the time there is little life-change in the people who worship.  In some ways the question is not whether God is present to us; the question would be how present are we are to God.  St. Augustine once admitted to God, "All the time you were with me, but I was not with you."  So in our worship, are we really people who are present to God in a transforming way?  When we come to worship are we expecting a life change?  We can play games just as Saul was trying to do, or we can realize that it is "obedience rather than sacrifice" that our Lord is looking for.  mjm

Why Do People Come?

Why do people come to worship?  That is a question that is usually asked for the wrong reasons.  Some churches have asked that question and in coming up with their answers move to distort authentic, Biblical worship terribly.  In our world the gathering of God's people for worship competes with all kinds of rivals -  sports, television, movies, concerts, golf, gardening, or a casual lingering over the Sunday paper.

People come for many reasons - some from habit, some from gratitude, some from guilt, some from loyalty (many times, mis-placed loyalty), children "need to be there", and the list could go on.  In some ways, given the social setting and cultural trends around us today, it is a small wonder that anybody comes to worship and is the very reason we have seen a drop in attendance in churches generally.

As I mentioned earlier, the question can actually be dangerous to authentic worship.  Worship isn't just a good thing to do, but is essential to human need because of the way we were created.  Human beings need to engage in corporate worship of God in acts of devotion, praise, obedience, thanksgiving, and petition.  As worship leaders our job is to get distortions out of the way and plan worship that is authentic and magnifies the aspects of true worship that draw people yearning to be whole.  If we are honest, not everything that attracts people to gather for worship is authentic.  That is why so much of worship today is based more on what-people-say-they-want-in-worship "market research" that leads to a "royal waste of time," as one worship theologian has put it.  

Worship is about an encounter with the living God and true worship involves our bowing down before God's presence.  Worship is about awe, not a strategy.  We can come up with strategies to "get" people to church, but you can not come up with strategies to "get" people to worship.  In worship we respond to the God who is already there, and our worship is all of what pours out of us when we become fully aware of God's presence - praise in awe, joy unmeasurable, holy, trembling confession, and thankful giving of self.  

The answer to the question should be - because we need to be in communion with God, to belong to Him and be in right relationship with Him.  And, because we do belong to God, we need to join ourselves in community with others giving ourselves to God, offering our lives to something much bigger than ourselves.  mjm

Symphony vs. Solo

I have been reading through the book of Job again the past few days.   In looking at the way we worship in light of the book of Job, I have noticed again an obvious truth - there is a false assumption among a lot of believers that worship is about us.  FALSE.  It doesn't take long in the book of Job to see that the world doesn't revolve around us.  It is because of this false assumption that we are seeing in our "Christian culture" and our day that many think worship is about entertainment, some sort of spiritual therapy, a way of "self" expression, earning brownie points, etc.  

The book of Job provides us a reality check about the character of true worship.  Job learns in his encounter with God, the very God who speaks from the center of the whirlwind, that Job is not the center of the universe.  Job learns quickly his limitations in worshipping the one who made heaven and earth.  The last part of Job suggests that all of God's creatures have a place in the symphonic choir.  Up to this point Job may have seen himself as a soloist singing the praises of God, only to find out he is singing with a symphony.  Terence Fretheim states, "God is enthroned not simply on the praises of Israel, but on the praises of all God's creatures and creation."  We see this same emphasis in Gen. 1, Ps. 104 and 148.  

We can no more make worship about us than we can make the basis of our salvation about us.  We are not a solo in worship, but part of the glorious symphony of praise and glory centered in Him!  mjm 

Counting the Cost

Early this morning I was reading in Luke 14 and I got to thinking about whether we really count the cost of passionate worship, which is really the cost of following Him.  Jesus says some really straight forward things in chapter 14.  "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters - yes, even one's own self! - can't be my disciple (worshipper).  Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple."  He then goes into a discussion of counting the cost in all kinds of situations.  Then in v. 33 He says, "Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple."  Now, obviously He isn't saying turn your back on your responsibilities and/or relationships.  What He is clearly saying, however, is that they should never be put before Him.  

Have you counted the cost of being a passionate follower and worshipper of Christ?  Jesus, and interestingly enough even the world, is saying, "Don't tell me, show me."  Jesus never meant for principles of the kingdom life to be theoretical.  He challenges us to live by them.  If we choose to walk in His footsteps, it is seen as radical.  Passionate, intense feelings and convictions will steer us to an authentic follow-ship and worship.  As worshippers we must choose to learn from life, live in rhythm with life, balancing relationships and priorities because we know our role in Him.  Praying must be a way of life as we live the life of a worshipper with the mission He has given us.  Only then, having counted the cost, can we be passionate worshippers. mjm

Scripture and Worship

We've discussed many times the importance of staying in God's Word and its importance to worship.  However, worship is not only inspired by the Word, but the Word is also instructive in how we worship.  There have been literally hundreds of books written in the last few years giving techniques and insights to worship.  But, unfortunately many times we neglect the most important book.  And even then, many times we look only at the New Testament, neglecting the Old.  

There is rich wisdom to give us foundation for worship and a sharpening of our worship practice in the Old Testament.  There is much to make a difference in our worship and life of faith today.  The Old Testament is indispensable in Christian worship practice.  It offers us a hymn book and prayer book in the Psalms.  There is a variety of expression seen in the history of Israel's life before and with God.  There is the establishing of themes and word pictures that help us understand meaning in the New Testament and nuances of worship.  When one reads the Old Testament with the practice of worship in mind, one sees more of God's perspective of worship by His Spirit. 

The Old Testament does much to reflect and shape our view of both God and the world.  It gives foundation, hones and humbles the very work of the church in every phase of ministry.  We are shown how both Christian corporate and personal worship connect at the very center of the Christian life - life at work and play, at home, school, and in the marketplace.  We see it in both the context of joy and sorrow.  Therefore, our corporate and personal- private worship propels us out to live in obedience and the joy of the Lord!  May the living Word continue to instruct and inspire our worship and our lives.  mjm

The One Thing

As we begin a new year of worship, what resolutions have you made for your worship life?  Personally, I want my worship life to be reflected in my life more.  If my worship doesn't change me, then it is not very authentic.  In trying to get back to the "heart of worship" because it's all about Him, I've made some resolutions.  The "dwelling in His Word" has become more and more important.  I have set out on a plan and goal to read the Bible through 3 times this year, and through the Psalms and Proverbs every 31 days besides devotional reading.  I am finding that the more I dwell in God's Word the greater the hunger for His Word.  

We need to pursue the biggest vision of Christ we can so that our worship is about the one thing.  There are more than 101 different names of Christ given in Scripture that reveal all the different aspects of who He is.  Our worship response will grow or shrink in direct relationship to our view and understanding of the fullness of Christ.  How Christ-centered is our worship?

As a worship planner, I have to ask the question - Do I lead people into the throne room of a generic god, or do we draw them into the presence of the One who is revealed and made accessible to us through Jesus Christ?  We need to introduce a waiting world to the Father which can only be done through the Son and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Worship leading both by me and the other worship leaders in our church is more than creating awesome God experiences.  It is introducing people to the awesome God of the experience - Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.  That is truly the one thing. 

As we approach worship in this new year, may we realize the following -  We are not called to significance but to obedience.  Throughout God's Word we see that it is obedience that produces significance.  And then, the most significant act in all of history is Jesus and the Cross.  It was an act of sheer, humble, enduring obedience.  In our worship, whether we are called to be in the pew as a worshipper or a worship leader, worship choir leader, an instrumentalist, or support team member, in front or behind the scenes, obedience is always significant in the eyes of God and should be the result of both our personal and corporate worship.  mjm