HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED "THE SHEKINAH GLORY" OF GOD?
Both Old Testament and New Testament record occasional instances when
Jehovah God "lowered Himself", and came into His creations' lives.
MOSES experienced such an event up on the mountain, when God visited him, having first hidden him in "the cleft of the rock" until God started to
go away, allowing Moses to "see His hindside"!
MOSES'S face "shone with the glory of God" when he descended the mountain with the Ten Commandments which God wrote with His finger,
etching them on stone tablets for time immemorial for the Israelites to
have guidance for their lives, especially to "walk uprightly" before the Lord!
MOVING ON - God chose to "show Himself" to the Israelites as they
traversed the wilderness, with "A CLOUD BY DAY, AND A PILLAR
OF FIRE BY NIGHT"! God's "chosen" had a constant, 24-hour
reminder of His presence, His blessing, and His guidance throughout
their "wanderings", after their escape from Egypt and Pharaoh!
MY FAVORITE PASSAGE on this topic is recorded in I Kings, chapter 8,
verses 10 & 11: "And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the
holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, SO THAT THE PRIESTS COULD NOT CONTINUE MINISTERING BECAUSE OF THE CLOUD; FOR THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE HOUSE OF
THE LORD."
A SIMILAR HAPPENING TOOK PLACE ON "THE MOUNT OF
TRANSFIGURATION"! Remember? Jesus took three of His closest
disciples with him to a hilltop, and after leaving them off a few paces,
He "interfaced" with His Heavenly Father, and two of the Old Testament
"heroes of faith" appeared unto Him there! The sight was so awe-
inspiring that Peter suggested "building a tabernacle" to each of the three!
SCRIPTURE RECORDS THAT JESUS' FACE "SHONE LIKE THE SUN", AND HIS CLOTHING WAS "AS WHITE AS THE LIGHT",
giving us to believe that God's (and His) GLORY was all over Jesus'
person!
MY INSPIRATION for writing on this topic came about yesterday
morning as I participated in worship at church. While much of our
typical worship music is "trendy", fast-paced, and what is generally
considered "charismatic", I was longing for some that was a bit more
reverential and deep. THIS IS NOT AN INDICTMENT AGAINST
THE MUSIC DIRECTOR'S OR SONGLEADER'S CHOICES - but
rather a heartfelt desire for sensing a more worshipful time, rather than
a "celebratory" atmosphere!
We have at times, sung some of the "old hymns", which generally are
full of doctrine, truth, and Scripture, but some seem to consider those
treatises as "generational". I BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE DIVINELY-
INSPIRED, and intended to "draw us higher" - and CLOSER!
I PRAY THAT I'M MAKING SENSE, AND MAKING MYSELF
UNDERSTOOD.
Have you ever been in a church service in which the "glory and presence
of God" was so "heavy" and obvious that the congregants and the
leadership were "stopped in their tracks", so to speak, because of the
HOLY AWARENESS OF THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD?
I HAVE. Many times. No, I'm not talking about a forced, hypnotic-like
trance in which the saints are transfixed by the power of suggestion, or
anything the like, but rather, THE HEARTFELT AND SOULFELT
manifestation of God, desiring to make Himself not only "felt", but
KNOWN to all in the gathering in the sanctuary!!!
WORDS FALL SO SHORT OF DESCRIBING THESE RARE, BUT
SPECIAL "DIVINE" OCCASIONS.
Suffice to say that, THE OVERWHELMING "CLOUD" OR "FIRE"
OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD moves all in the meeting to either
REPENT, BE HEALED, INCREASE IN FAITH, HUMBLE THEMSELVES, OR MARVEL AT THE MAJESTY OF JEHOVAH!!
Some stand and raise their hands in worship and surrender! Others fall
to their knees in reverence and submission! Some cry. Others shout.
Still others pray. Some have even "danced"! THE RESPONSE TO
GOD'S PRESENCE is not to be judged, but rather ENJOYED AND
UTILIZED - FOR HIS PURPOSES!!
I have sat in such meetings/services, and been led by the Holy Spirit,
in a position of leadership, to allow "the flow" of The Spirit, setting
aside all of the best-intentioned plans for that time of worship and
preaching/teaching. IT'S "HEAVEN COME DOWN"!!
FANATICAL? IMPOSSIBLE? IRRELEVANT? FANTASY?
Only to those who have not "been there". No, I'm not saying in the
least that the participants in such worship experiences are necessarily
"more holy" or "more spiritual", just that WHEN GOD DEEMS TO
MAKE HIMSELF AND HIS PRESENCE KNOWN in such a manner,
there's nothing like it on earth!!
IT'S A "TASTE OF HEAVEN" which all of us who are "blood-bought"
and "Spirit-filled" are looking forward to when we "get home"!! AND
WHAT'S EVEN BETTER - IT WILL BE THAT WAY ALL THE TIME
AS WE REVEL IN HIS GLORY FOR ETERNITY, while enjoying our
"reward", which Jesus paid for on Calvary!!!
For a "spiritual leader" to CONTRIVE such an experience, would be,
I believe, wrong, and maybe even sinful! BUT, when God chooses to
VISIT HIS PEOPLE, we best "be in the spirit" and ALLOW HIM TO
MOVE AND SHOW HIMSELF STRONG!!
Both Old Testament and New Testament record occasional instances when
Jehovah God "lowered Himself", and came into His creations' lives.
MOSES experienced such an event up on the mountain, when God visited him, having first hidden him in "the cleft of the rock" until God started to
go away, allowing Moses to "see His hindside"!
MOSES'S face "shone with the glory of God" when he descended the mountain with the Ten Commandments which God wrote with His finger,
etching them on stone tablets for time immemorial for the Israelites to
have guidance for their lives, especially to "walk uprightly" before the Lord!
MOVING ON - God chose to "show Himself" to the Israelites as they
traversed the wilderness, with "A CLOUD BY DAY, AND A PILLAR
OF FIRE BY NIGHT"! God's "chosen" had a constant, 24-hour
reminder of His presence, His blessing, and His guidance throughout
their "wanderings", after their escape from Egypt and Pharaoh!
MY FAVORITE PASSAGE on this topic is recorded in I Kings, chapter 8,
verses 10 & 11: "And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the
holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, SO THAT THE PRIESTS COULD NOT CONTINUE MINISTERING BECAUSE OF THE CLOUD; FOR THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE HOUSE OF
THE LORD."
A SIMILAR HAPPENING TOOK PLACE ON "THE MOUNT OF
TRANSFIGURATION"! Remember? Jesus took three of His closest
disciples with him to a hilltop, and after leaving them off a few paces,
He "interfaced" with His Heavenly Father, and two of the Old Testament
"heroes of faith" appeared unto Him there! The sight was so awe-
inspiring that Peter suggested "building a tabernacle" to each of the three!
SCRIPTURE RECORDS THAT JESUS' FACE "SHONE LIKE THE SUN", AND HIS CLOTHING WAS "AS WHITE AS THE LIGHT",
giving us to believe that God's (and His) GLORY was all over Jesus'
person!
MY INSPIRATION for writing on this topic came about yesterday
morning as I participated in worship at church. While much of our
typical worship music is "trendy", fast-paced, and what is generally
considered "charismatic", I was longing for some that was a bit more
reverential and deep. THIS IS NOT AN INDICTMENT AGAINST
THE MUSIC DIRECTOR'S OR SONGLEADER'S CHOICES - but
rather a heartfelt desire for sensing a more worshipful time, rather than
a "celebratory" atmosphere!
We have at times, sung some of the "old hymns", which generally are
full of doctrine, truth, and Scripture, but some seem to consider those
treatises as "generational". I BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE DIVINELY-
INSPIRED, and intended to "draw us higher" - and CLOSER!
I PRAY THAT I'M MAKING SENSE, AND MAKING MYSELF
UNDERSTOOD.
Have you ever been in a church service in which the "glory and presence
of God" was so "heavy" and obvious that the congregants and the
leadership were "stopped in their tracks", so to speak, because of the
HOLY AWARENESS OF THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD?
I HAVE. Many times. No, I'm not talking about a forced, hypnotic-like
trance in which the saints are transfixed by the power of suggestion, or
anything the like, but rather, THE HEARTFELT AND SOULFELT
manifestation of God, desiring to make Himself not only "felt", but
KNOWN to all in the gathering in the sanctuary!!!
WORDS FALL SO SHORT OF DESCRIBING THESE RARE, BUT
SPECIAL "DIVINE" OCCASIONS.
Suffice to say that, THE OVERWHELMING "CLOUD" OR "FIRE"
OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD moves all in the meeting to either
REPENT, BE HEALED, INCREASE IN FAITH, HUMBLE THEMSELVES, OR MARVEL AT THE MAJESTY OF JEHOVAH!!
Some stand and raise their hands in worship and surrender! Others fall
to their knees in reverence and submission! Some cry. Others shout.
Still others pray. Some have even "danced"! THE RESPONSE TO
GOD'S PRESENCE is not to be judged, but rather ENJOYED AND
UTILIZED - FOR HIS PURPOSES!!
I have sat in such meetings/services, and been led by the Holy Spirit,
in a position of leadership, to allow "the flow" of The Spirit, setting
aside all of the best-intentioned plans for that time of worship and
preaching/teaching. IT'S "HEAVEN COME DOWN"!!
FANATICAL? IMPOSSIBLE? IRRELEVANT? FANTASY?
Only to those who have not "been there". No, I'm not saying in the
least that the participants in such worship experiences are necessarily
"more holy" or "more spiritual", just that WHEN GOD DEEMS TO
MAKE HIMSELF AND HIS PRESENCE KNOWN in such a manner,
there's nothing like it on earth!!
IT'S A "TASTE OF HEAVEN" which all of us who are "blood-bought"
and "Spirit-filled" are looking forward to when we "get home"!! AND
WHAT'S EVEN BETTER - IT WILL BE THAT WAY ALL THE TIME
AS WE REVEL IN HIS GLORY FOR ETERNITY, while enjoying our
"reward", which Jesus paid for on Calvary!!!
For a "spiritual leader" to CONTRIVE such an experience, would be,
I believe, wrong, and maybe even sinful! BUT, when God chooses to
VISIT HIS PEOPLE, we best "be in the spirit" and ALLOW HIM TO
MOVE AND SHOW HIMSELF STRONG!!
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