I’ve been reading a book by Bill Johnson entitled “Hosting
The Presence”. In it, it talks about how
the children of Israel camped around the presence of God, while the modern
church likes to camp around a sermon.
This got me to thinking. God gave
me a revelation about this that I want to share. The presence of God was visible above the tent
of meeting. Inside the tent of meeting
was the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the
Ark were three things; the tablets of the law, Aaron’s rod and a bowl of manna. These three items represent three things that
the modern church holds in great value; The Word of God, The Resurrection and
God’s provision. Notice however, that
these things were hidden inside a box.
The children of Israel could not focus on these things because they were
not visible to them. What was visible
however, was the manifest presence of God.
That was their focus. It was the presence
that they followed. When the presence moved
they moved. Today, many churches’ focus is on great teaching or evangelism or
doctrines about provision, etc and they no longer view the Presence of God as
their highest asset. It has been said that 95% of the early churches’
activities would have ceased if the Holy Spirit were removed from among them.
However, the modern church could continue with 95% of their activities without
the Holy Spirit’s presence, which sadly is the case in many churches today. The
church of today has a wide variety of “visions” that range from “saving the
lost” to “being a people of excellence” to “helping the hurting”, etc. The list
goes on. What people need to realize is if we will focus on the Presence, all
of these things will simply fall into place and become a by-product, if you
will, of having a loving, amazing, all-powerful and extraordinary God in our
midst. When you place a high value on the Presence, He brings with him the
power to save the lost and heal the sick and set the oppressed free. His
Presence brings us to a place of excellence, provides us with divine insight
& revelation and gives us wisdom to understand His Word. In His Presence,
heaven and earth become one and we get to enjoy the benefits of that heavenly realm
here in our earthly realm. Worship is key to ushering in the Presence and is vital
to the life of the church, but it should not be our focus. He is to be our one
and only focus. He is the one we are there to honor and exalt and lift high. When
we do that, He will come in and do more in a moment than we could have ever
accomplished on our own in many years of ministry. We saw it a few weeks ago.
During worship, as we sang about Him and His incredible love for us, His
presence came in and a young man was saved as a result. I am fully persuaded
that this is something that God wants to be the norm instead of the occasional “surprise”.
In His presence, people will be saved and set free. Sicknesses will be healed,
demons will flee, curses will be broken and strongholds will be destroyed.
Today, let’s focus on The One that can make a difference. Let’s ask Him for more of His presence in our lives and in our church. And when He comes, nothing, I repeat, NOTHING will ever be the same. Amen?
Today, let’s focus on The One that can make a difference. Let’s ask Him for more of His presence in our lives and in our church. And when He comes, nothing, I repeat, NOTHING will ever be the same. Amen?
Until next time…………………….Stan
