Afraid of God Having No Fear

In a moment of nostalgia this past weekend, I gathered my family around the television to watch an old video tape of my youth pastoring days in Hillsdale Michigan. It wasn't that I wanted them to take pride in the person I once was but I wanted them to have a taste of the experience I had in being a part of a genuine move of God. This particular video tape which we viewed contained a Sunday night service in which my youth group had just returned from the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, Florida. At this time in this church, God had already lit the fire of revival and with the return of thirty-five young people from being set ablaze by the Holy Spirit, things were about explode! As I watched, something stirred in my spirit and I was once again filled with an insatiable desire to have that same kind of passion and hunger I had for the presence of God. Although it was a joyful time for me to remember the incredible times I had at that church in seeing the Spirit of God move upon so many lives, there was also a sense of grieving for those in that church who rejected what God was attempting to do in that body.

As I fast forward almost fifteen years later, I cannot help to have to same concerns for the church today. We may not all agree upon all of the things which took place in Brownsville during the years of revival, but from the standpoint of people have a pure, intense hunger for knowing the Living God, the revival indisputably  confirmed that there were people from all around who longed for His presence. The contrary was true as well. Brownsville proved that there were also believers all around the world who opposed the strange and bizarre happenings in Pensacola. As it stands in our day, there are many things happening in the realm of the supernatural in the Name of the Lord, which are much different than the manifestations that were observed in Brownsville. I have already discussed some of these issues in my post " A Worship that Deceives Part 1." The different in emphasis upon many of today's manifestations via the "New Apostolic Reformation" is the promotion of today's movement is centered upon "what WE can do and what WE can have and what WE obtain" from encountering a certain level of spirituality. A revival like Brownsville, with all of it's bizarre manifestations, simply explained it as "GOD doing something in man's life." I still stand by my simple example I used to explain "manifestations" of the Holy Spirit upon those who come encounter with His awesome presence: if you stick your finger in a light socket, you'll know you have come in contact with some sort of power. If you come in contact with the Spirit of the Living God, your life will reflect that you have indeed come into contact with some very real power! And this is where the problem exists in the church today---we have become afraid of that power.

In Deuteronomy 5:22-27, Moses recalls to the children of Israel an event in which they had the opportunity to come into the presence of the Lord and yet, because they claimed that they were "afraid" they would rather of had Moses approach God on their behalf. God's response was interesting as He said to Moses "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to FEAR me...."(Deut. 5:28-29). For the children of Israel, coming into contact with the glory of God was too much for them to handle. They saw the manifestation of His power and rejected the privilege to enter it because they were "afraid." God however, blamed it on the fact that they did not "fear" Him. The result is the same thing which is transpiring in churches today. We have asked a man (or woman) to be the one to enter into that glorious presence for us so that we can "observe" rather than participate. This individual who does this has been give a special name in the church----the worship leader!

I write this on the heels of yesterday's service where I was leading a portion of the praise and worship at my church. I have the privilege of being a part of a church where God is moving in a very real and powerful way. Something is being stirred and the people in this tiny country church are passionate and hungry for God to do something special in their midst. As we neared the end of the worship set, the team moved into a time of spontaneous worship---which is somewhat uncharted territory in this congregation. Beyond that, the spontaneous worship began to develop a prophetic edge which was propelled us into even more uncharted territory. To be honest, I'm not sure how it was received. Last night a wave of discouragement came over me and I began to question if what I felt led to do was the right thing or not. This in turn allowed me to reflect upon this one thought: Why are we so afraid of the presence of the Lord?

Churches take great measures these days to ensure that their congregants are completely "comfortable" with what is going on within the four walls of the church. We strive to create an environment which makes people feel welcome, secure, and "happy" to be in service. Not that these things are not necessary in some ways, but how has that affected our worship experience? Sure we want the "presence of God" but it seems we are much like the children of Israel only wanting His presence on our terms. We say with all respect, "God we love that fact that you are doing something here, but we don't want all of the smoke, lightning, and thunder, that accompanies your awesome presence; instead, let the worship leader experience that and tell us what it is like!" If we break that form, we tend to find reasons why we simply cannot have "those kinds of things" happening in the church. Just as the excuses flowed from the mouths of the people of Israel, we have our pat excuses as well. Among my favorites are "God is a God of order, things need to be decently done in order, and we need to be considerate of the weaker brother." Can we be a church that cries out for wanting the presence of God and then put stipulations upon how much of His presence that He desires to reveal to us? If we are honest, it comes down to a lack of "fear" of the Lord.

The context of Deuteronomy 5, centers upon the idea that God wanted to reveal something to His people. But because of their lack of "respect" for what God wanted to do in changing their lives, the people rejected what God wanted to do in favor for what THEY wanted God to do. Think about how many churches continually pray on a regular basis, "God do something in this place" and yet, when He tries to bestow upon them the very thing that they need, they reject it! The more troubling aspect of this type of response is they reject it on the basis of their flesh ( as the flesh will ALWAYS feel uncomfortable in God's presence) and then try to justify their reasoning based upon spiritual premises. If we're asking for God to do something in our church, do we ever have the right to tell Him "how, what, when, and where" He can do these things? As my title suggests, I am afraid that we have no fear of God. We are much more comfortable having our worship leader be the "radical" who visits the mountain and gives us the crumbs of his experience with God rather than  actually tasting for ourselves to see that the "Lord is good." Unless we allow the uncomfortable darkness, the loudness of His voice to boom like thunder in our hearts, and the lightning-like power to flash in our churches, I fear that we will never enter into the promised land that God has waiting for us to take possession of for His glory.

The Walk of Famine

Have you ever found yourself questioning why God would allow you to go through the times of "wilderness experiences" only to send you into a famine? Even as I write this blog this morning, I have been traveling through the wilderness in serving the Lord, and like the prophet Elijah, I have enjoyed the refreshing streams of His water flowing through this desert and the blessings of His "ravens" bringing me unexpected blessings to sustain me; however, the brook has dried up and the provisional blessings I have learned to live are no more. I have discovered that the Lord has taken me through this wilderness experience only to send me into a famine! It has been easy for me to look to heaven and cry out to the Lord " My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I would be lying if I did not admit the struggle I am having with discouragement and doubt. When rent and bills are due and there is nothing left, it can be a stressful time in one's life as it makes "worship" a task in trying to keep one eye on the Lord while keeping the other from looking at the impossibility of my circumstances.

Fortunately, God's leading of our lives is not without purpose. The story of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath provides an often overlooked truth which is necessary for us to bring the greatest possible glory to the Lord through our lives. In 1 Kings 17, we find Elijah being sustained in the wilderness. God had provided the necessary needs for Elijah's survival and we see a picture of a man who has found a way to be content in the desert experience. Although we are not told "why," God suddenly removed the provisions which Elijah had enjoyed and commanded the prophet to go to "Zarephath" to be provided for. I can image the look on Elijah's face as he entered this town only to see the epitome of being destitute in the widow who was to "provide" for him. God had led him from a place of sustenance to a place of famine! Perhaps, Elijah faced the same "let down" we experience when we have been in a wilderness experience for so long and God suddenly opens the door for us to leave the desert only to bring us into a worse situation. If while Elijah was in the wilderness he believed in the "things can't get much worse" philosophy, when he walked into Zarephath he certainly discovered that the pithy saying  needed to be reworked to say "things can always get much worse!"

On the surface, things were much worse; however, in the economy of God, Elijah was led to the richest, most abundant place on the face of the earth. Elijah was given a "word" from the Lord. God had given Elijah specific instructions to carry out the plans and purposes of the Lord. Elijah gave the Lord a wonderful expression of worship as he "went to Zarephath" in obedience to the Lord's word. Rather than discovering a buffet of provision waiting for him, Elijah found that he was on the "walk of famine" by the command of the Lord. Why would God do this? Why does He do this to us? Why would he allow us to go through the wilderness, open a door for us to get out of the wilderness, only to bust our bubble by leading us into a place worse off than where we were before? If we only look at what is around us, I believe that this type of thinking is justified. But the Apostle Paul offers us great wisdom as to how we are to look at all of life, he states "We live by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). And like the apostle, Elijah was able to do the same.

There is something incredible to be discovered on the walk of famine. When God calls us to this walk, we soon find that we have absolutely everything we will ever need. When Elijah saw this widow gathering sticks and asked her for a glass of water and a meal, a believe a big smile came across the prophet's face when she replied "I don't have any bread---only a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug" (1 Kings 17:12). Weary brother and sister in Christ, the Lord is asking us for a meal of worship for Him to feast upon and like the prophet, He smiles upon us when we reply "I only have a handful of flour and a small jug of oil." Because if you listen closely, He is saying "That is all you need!" Think about the significance of what the widow had. She had "flour" and she had "oil"----the same two things which we have no matter where we find ourselves in this life. The flour we have is "the Bread of Life" and as Jesus promised, this "Bread," the Word of God is something which will sustain us for all of eternity (John 6:51-58). The oil, which brings the flour together in order to make it into something which we can feast upon, is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that bring us "life" when we allow Him to "anoint our heads with oil" and "overflow our cup" (Psalm 23:5).

Worship in the walk of famine is one that realizes that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is all we need for this life. If God has commanded you to be in a particular place in this life then you indeed have all you will ever need. If God can take a small jar of flour and oil from a famished widow and produce an abundance of provision, what can He do with those who will offer Him through their worship, lives that are obedient to the Word of God and His Holy Spirit? We can chose to look at the nothingness of what our situation offers us and say like the widow, "I'm giving up" or we can choose to heed the Word of the Lord which tells us "His divine power has given us everything we need for life..." (2 Peter 1:3). If we would but realize the truth of having all we need in Him for this life, then what greater worship could we possibly offer the Lord when we are able to say without a doubt that even in a walk of famine "I will trust in You!"

A Father Worst Nightmare

There are some things in life which are certain to cause an instant sense of dread. Last week, I unfortunately experienced a few minutes of what I would call a “father's worst nightmare”----my three year old was missing! Although my wife and I have six children living in the home, we make it a habit to keep tabs on our four younger children as we solicit the help from our two older daughters in watching the kids. On this particular day, my daughters were taking the kids to the park up the street. After making sure that everyone had their shoes on, they gathered outside with the neighbors and were about to walk to the park; however, there was only one problem. There was no Josiah. I realized there was a problem when one of my daughters came back into the house and called for him. I knew that unless he was hiding, he wasn’t in the house. We then checked the back- yard, garage, and basement. There was absolutely no sign of my three year old. My wife rushed down one end of the street while my oldest daughter went down the other side of the street frantically calling out his name. Our hearts began to sink as we realized, Josiah was nowhere to be found. I grabbed my keys to the van and ran out quickly when I noticed a small head in the driver’s seat. For some reason, Josiah had climbed into the van and locked himself in. This could have turned out to be a tragedy as it was a hot day and Josiah could not get out of the van. Fortunately, the Lord was with us and our son is safe at home as I write this blog.

Song of Solomon 3:2 states “…I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him.” The author of Song of Solomon poetically writes in chapter three of the pain that is associated in love as it longs to have what it can not. The bride was longing for intimacy with her lover and for whatever reason, he was absent from her presence. This realization made her search for the one that her “heart loves.” As I read this scripture, I cannot help to think about how sick I felt when I realized my son was nowhere to be found. All I wanted to do was to find him and hold him and affirm in his life how much I love him. This incident in my life, however, became more than just a lesson on being a more attentive parent. I began to wonder about the times when I, like my son or like the lover in Song of Solomon, am missing from the One who longs for me to be in His presence. Does God long for us? Does he have the desire for intimacy and yet, we are nowhere to be found? Do you think that all He wants to do is to hold us and affirm His love to us?

Believe or not, God does long for us to be in His presence. As Jesus approached Jerusalem on His journey to the cross He cried out to His people “O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). The last lines of that verse “…but you were not willing” is perhaps one of the saddest in scripture. How often does the Lord attempt to gather us into His presence and we, because of the rituals of life, are not willing? Like a young child who has lost his way, we find ourselves in places throughout the rigors of daily life where we should not be. The Lord calls out to us desiring an intimate time of worship and we are nowhere to be found. Too many times, we are captivated by other interests and the thought of being in the Kings chambers is not as interesting as exploring what this world has to offer. All the while, God longs for us knowing that wherever we are at, it is not a safe place.

Just as my son was fascinated with playing in the drivers’ seat of my car, he did not realize that it was a potential death trap if I would not have found him. The things of life which we may consider exciting and important may only be things which eventually destroy us. If we would but take the time to listen in the busyness of life, we may hear the voice of our Father calling out to us to come to that place that is safe in His arms of love. Just as the father of the prodigal son longed for his son to come home, our Heavenly Father longs for us when we decided to go our own way and leave him behind in the everyday activities of life. If we would just realize that this world can only offer us “pig slop” we would make it our habit to return to the Father as much as we can throughout the events of the day. I promise you one thing: whenever we respond to the longing of our Father’s heart, He will be there, running to us with arms open wide.

Satan's Dirty Little Secret

This week's blog is a snippet of chapter five of my book project entitled In Spirit and In Truth. "Satan's Dirty Little Secret" is exposed through discovering that the enemy of our souls actually knows more about "worship" than we do. His place in heaven gave him incredible privileges which we have yet to experience, yet in his pride, he proclaimed the five "I wills" (Isaiah 14:13-14) which in essence, spoke volumes as to what was in his heart:

I will ascend to heaven: I will establish my kingdom.

I will raise my throne: I will establish my power.

I will sit enthroned: I will establish my place of recognition.

I will ascend above the clouds: I will establish my Predominance.
I will make myself like the Most High: I will establish my supremacy. 

Satan is a brilliant foe. We too often underestimate his abilities to infiltrate the church and destroy the very purpose for which we exist as a church body---to worship the Lord. He does this in an ever-so-subtle way and before we know it, we have fully embraced the idea of usurping the authority of God in our lives. How does he do this? Consider the story of Hansel and Gretel. Did they one day decided to go to the witch’s house and say, “Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Let’s climb into someone’s oven and let them eat us for dinner!” Hansel and Gretel didn’t have the desire to be eaten by the witch, but they ended up there by first detouring from the path where they were suppose to be walking. Once away from where they needed to be, they were offered tasty delicacies which brought them further into the witch’s lair. She in turn, fattened them up to the point where they became helpless to her evil plot.

     For us, we do not start off by saying, “Today, I think I will announce my supremacy to the world!” Instead, we begin by saying, “I am going to establish a small little kingdom for myself. A place where I can make some decisions of my own and where I can establish my own set of standards.” We convince ourselves that this kingdom of ours will pose no threat to God’s kingdom. In fact, just as the serpent convinced Eve, God wouldn’t mind at all. It is perfectly fine with God if I have a little place of my own where I can “be like God” and make the choices of what is “right and wrong.”

     What follows is the beginning of a downward spiral. A kingdom of one is never enough. It then becomes important that you establish a sense of power by attempting to control things which normally God would control. Adam and Eve were not satisfied with the fact that God willingly controlled all that went on in the Garden. They became attracted to the “power” He had and wanted to be in on the “know.” I don’t know about you, but have you ever noticed that church is one of the most political atmospheres on the planet? There are some individuals that feel it is their God given duty to submit an opinion about everything that goes on in the church. They want to know it and want to have their say in what happens in the Body of Christ. Adam and Eve figured that if they could know what God knew, they could somehow have their “say” as well.

     With the quest for power comes the need for recognition. Since it’s your kingdom you’re establishing, people have to recognize who you are. It must have been quite an ego boost for the couple in the Garden when the serpent had taken notice that they were being mistreated by the Lord. He gave them a sense of entitlement. They deserved not only to "know" but to be “known.” Certainly every creature in the Garden knew God, but this was their big chance to make a name for themselves. The serpent cunningly alluded to the fact that God may have been wrong. “Did God really say?” Perhaps we do know better. Image what people will think of us if we can let them in on some knowledge that God has not revealed to others!

     The result becomes clear. You are now the expert! You are now bent on fulfilling the quest to “ascend above the clouds” and let everyone know that you have been given such glory and greatness. You no longer need the boundaries set before you in God’s word, because you are exempt as you have been given “new revelation” which is given to those whose eyes have been opened. Because God has not done a thorough enough job explaining His Word to others, you have been donned with the privilege of interpreting the meaning of what God “really meant” concerning His Word. 

     The last step is a far leap from the initial step of simply desiring to have one corner of life in which you can call your own. The words “I will make myself like the Most High” is seldom ever spoken; however, it is lived out on a daily basis among countless numbers of people who have called themselves “Christians.” We live as if our lives are our own. We have the gull to attempt to fashion God in the image we have created rather than the image that He has given us of Himself. We reserve the right of supremacy in choosing how, when, where, and why we worship. We fashion our own truths, set our own boundaries, and formulate our own beliefs concerning who God is “to us.” In essence, we create a supremacy in ourselves which doesn’t exist in God Himself----the ability to create a god that has never exited before.

     This is the goal of Satan’s dirty little secret. Because he knows so much about worship, it is through our worship in which he plots his deceit. He makes us feel as if worship is an activity and not our entire life. He makes us believe that there is a part of ourselves that is our own and that we have been given a sense of entitled because we are human. He gets us to believe that in some small way, God may be wrong about how He is to be served and worshiped. He woos us to the belief that we are somehow a significant part of worship and we somehow need to be included in the receiving glory. He gets us to buy into the idea that God will share His glory with us and make us forget that the only glory we possess is Jesus Christ in us. He then gives us a blueprint to fashion our own god from the use of our emotions, attitudes, and desires that serve to produce a god which will fit comfortably under the rule of our kingdom.