February 09, 2015
In His Name
A few weeks ago I visited a Pentecostal
church that had an hour of highly charged praise songs mingled with altar calls
prior to the sermon. Describing the ambiance of the worship service the pastor
said, “We create an atmosphere to be in the presence of God.” On the other side
of the spectrum I recently attended a church that practices silent worship. For
an hour the only noise in the room was my turning the onion skin pages in my
Bible and, much to my chagrin, the growls in my stomach. The pamphlet from this
church states, “Worship is based on silent waiting, where we expect to come
into the presence of God.” Certainly God is never confused about His presence;
however, I’m not so sure we can say the same about His creatures. Jesus said, “For
where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt 18:20
NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I might be wrong, but I don’t think either church is confused. My years of pondering issues like these has brought me to see them as the blind men describing an elephant. And this is no belittlement to these churches intended, nor to me, because I also am a blind man describing an elephant. We all are. How immensely greater than we is God? Most of His realm exists in a state human senses can not receive. So, what is being in the presence of God? What is worshipping Him? Any attempt to answer either of these questions can only rise from human experiences, which include some of God’s activity and ideas He revealed to us that we never otherwise would have thought. But the far greater part of who and what God is and how we might sense Him and worship Him is outside the boundaries of anything we’ve seen or heard or imagined (I Cor 2:9.)
-----Is it for us to create an atmosphere of His presence? I tend to think it somewhat is. I think the emotional part of it the Pentecostals labor to produce is part of that atmosphere. But maybe it is only one of many parts. I think also part of that atmosphere is being righteous. I don’t mean “righteous” in the sense of doing churchy things, giving to the poor, giving to the church, singing in the choir, saying amen at appropriate times during the sermon, frying chicken for the potluck, and such, (get this, now: I said chicken, not casseroles!) Righteousness is all these and everything else (except casseroles) that is right to be felt, thought, or done regarding everything involved in every situation calling for any response from you. Righteousness is big territory. It is bounded on one side by the tiniest and on the other by the largest of all things. It involves the most particular of unique detail and the most general of universals. It even includes the causes which made the elements of the situation, and every effect those elements will in turn cause. We don’t have minds enough to even begin parsing any particular situation into all its particular elements, let alone to know what one response would serve every on of them completely right. We can only desire such. So here is another important element of the atmosphere of God’s presence, the desire for righteousness.
-----Silent waiting for the presence of God is also an element of the atmosphere for God’s presence. At least in a sense. At least in the situations where waiting is proper. In other situations, action is proper. But in all situations, if it be action or waiting or any mixture thereof, doing what that situation requires is an element of the atmosphere of God’s presence. And of course, doing what is required is merely doing right. So, enough said.
-----I presume the most important element of God’s presence is His presence. I don’t know how much more or less His actual presence is to the good man than it is to the bad one. I know His relationship is greater with the good than with the bad. And I know we can feel like His presence is stronger after we’ve hepped all up on emotional music, or after we’ve sat in silent contemplation of His holy realities. Yet has He not already surrounded you with His love and salvation regardless of what you‘re doing to feel those surroundings? I think so. I think this “practicing God’s presence” stuff is merely learning to become aware of what already is.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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