Entering God’s Presence
Hope everyone had a great Bonfire weekend. This is a photo of fireworks from one of Huddersfield’s most well-known sites - Castle Hill. Brilliant, isn’t it?
We had a great time in our gathering on Sunday morning here in Huddersfield, with testimonies of healing, miraculous financial provision and salvation, and a baptism with lots of guests hearing the gospel. We also had 5 people respond to an appeal to commit their lives to Jesus! Hallelujah!
I was speaking on ‘How we should enter God’s Presence’ and promised to post the list that we zipped through (well perhaps not quite zipped!) I hope others might be provoked to think about it, but it is rather a bald list as I am withstanding the temptation to write somthing about each one. I hope the list gets you thinking and maybe you could add to it! Also feel free to comment on it or ask me questions about it.
Entering the King’s Presence
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Be on time
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Be prepared
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Be clean
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Be glad
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Be reverent
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Be free
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Be wholehearted
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Be vocal
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Be ‘in the Spirit’
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Be expectant
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Be ready
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Be one
I’m using the verb ‘to be’ because worship is not something we do, worshippers are what we are. Whilst these things need to be worked at, they are ideally an expression and an overflow of who we are!
November 7th, 2005 @ 11:33 pm
Praise God for another five saved. Well on the way to the church of a thousand!
November 8th, 2005 @ 9:06 pm
Preperation and commitment are essential when there are important appointments. I have used two and sometimes three alarm clocks to make sure I arrive on time. One set a little faster than the other. I struggle a bit more than the norm in the morn so I prepare ahead of time. If I can, anyone can.
November 8th, 2005 @ 10:03 pm
It is great to hear that God is adding to your number in Huddersfield. I rejoice with you in God’s faithfulness.
I do have a question about your message from last Sunday. What do you mean when you say ‘How we should enter God Presence’?
November 9th, 2005 @ 2:09 pm
Excellent Picture Trevor - there’s party in heaven over one sinner who repents so when 5 make respond to an appeal to commit their lives to Jesus - that’s what I call a party! - PRAISE GOD for what he is doing in the UK!
November 9th, 2005 @ 5:04 pm
1000 people here we come!!!!!!
November 9th, 2005 @ 8:31 pm
Answer to Gavin’s question - in the context of the message I brought to the church, entering God’s presence means whenever we gather together to worship God. I know that we can we can enter God’s presence individually and I have sadly been in meetings supposedly for worship where God was nowhere to be seen! I also recognise that we can live continually in God’s presence. But generally I think it is true to say that whenever we gather together for worship we should regard ourselves as consciously entering into the courtooms of our God and King!
November 11th, 2005 @ 3:57 pm
I have been thinking recently about the purpose of our gatherings. Your post provoked me to think and ask myself some questions.
I really appreciated your closing remark that all the things you talked about are an “expression and an overflow of who we are!”
I agree there is a unique consciousness of the presence of God when we gather together with the saints. I am concerned, however, that many Christians fail to recognize that God is present by His essence everywhere and in all things. More specifically, that God is, by faith, present in the soul of every believer by the appropriation of the Holy Spirit. We are, as the priesthood of believers, the temple of the living God. Therefore, we live and experience the presence of God in every aspect of life.
The presence of God, worship, and the moving of the Holy Spirit (gifts etc.) have been reduced to an experience during a meeting. Our God is so much bigger than a meeting.
Thanks for a great thought provoking blog.