God’s Presence

When I was working in the media I was at one time in the department dealing with live, many times presidential broadcasts.

We had to be at the venue of the function at least a day earlier to be able to set up the microwave links (nothing to do with cooking) since at that time technology was not as advanced as it is. Even a telephone link was not as easily available and we had to make prior arrangements with the telephone company for it. Our communication was through the walkie talkies (radio calls) as we set up the links.

One very clear observation I made was that when the president would be at a function his security would be in the venue days before we arrived though they would not be visible. It was because we were in several such events that we were able to notice familiar faces.

Some president’s or king’s visits in other countries ground all communication wherever they go (I think they are so cowardly to do so)

The point I want to make is that a president must know the state of wherever he goes long before he gets there. That is not because he is unsafe as he is literally surrounded by people who have been trained to die for him at short notice. And that is the reason very few presidents, if any, have been assassinated from short range unless it was done by a disgruntled member of his security.

He needs to know because his safety isn’t easily compromised. It is the state and people of the place he is visiting he is concerned about. Any slight appearance of a threat to his person is disastrous to more people than those who caused it. It is very difficult to take any threat close enough to him as may pose any danger to his person as I have said there are enough highly trained people not only to foil it but even take the bullet for him.

Several years ago a president visited a place where his opponent enjoyed unquestioned support for an official function. The crowd decided to show the president who was in charge of their hearts by booing. But they went further. I hear they threw some projectiles towards him. What followed is something the community has never been able to forget almost fifty years later. They still remember the massacre that followed. Yet the president was not even touched. Many times a president is not even aware of the punishment people who seek to get to him unofficially suffer. I remember our president remembering his times as a normal citizen with nostalgia as he now is shielded even from buddies he had good times with.

And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. (Exodus 33: 2, 3)

Though God seeks to dwell amongst us, He will not do so because His nature is that He will not tolerate anything contrary to His holiness if He decided to dwell amongst us.

Through the scriptures we are able to see the reality of that time and again. It is at our risk that we seek that presence without seeking to know the requirements for the same and especially the dangers inherent in breaching them.

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:1 - 3)

It is sheer folly to expect God’s presence to fall upon us before we deal with issues He expressly demands. That is unless it is not the God of the Bible we are talking about. It is insanity to offer strange fire before Him and not expect what happened by the two priests. Again unless it is to a strange god you are offering it.

I believe it is vitally important to know what the requirements are for that presence to descend upon us. It is dangerous to rush through that presence. The Bible is replete with example after another of people who breached those requirements and paid with their lives.

But even more important is for us to realize that God desires to dwell among us. That is the reason throughout history He has been making effort after another at us. He has been reaching out to us with the ultimate being sending His own begotten Son to die so that we can access that presence. Then He can share His presence with us as we accept the sacrifice Christ made.

But that sacrifice was costly, way too costly. Though it is free to us we need to acknowledge that Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for it to be free. I always like to remind people that free is not synonymous with valueless. Free simply means that someone has paid the price. It therefore costs someone for me to freely enjoy.

The problem we have with free things is the culture whereby someone gives by proxy. The intermediary is therefore the one to transform the gift, many times monetary, into something else. Many times the intermediary will play games with the gift and milk it as much as possible before releasing the final product which by that time will be so adulterated as to become almost worthless. Another way the gift may appear worthless is when it is taken to people who do not need it. Let us say a child offers his toys to an organization to take to poor children and the intermediaries give the same to their children and the children of their friends who many times have better ones. To those children free will mean worthless as the toys may be old and worn as opposed to if they had gone to children who had no toys in the first place.

But we are talking about God’s presence. Could our worship by proxy be cheapening that presence for us or others? Could we be talking about a proxy presence when we are looking to experience the actual presence?

How can we experience God’s presence using copied worship? How can God’s presence be where secular musicians and instrumentalists are leading worship? How can God be where the worship leaders are for the most part walking, even living in open sin?

Is the God of the Bible that cheap?

Is His presence even imaginable under our standards? Can we have Him make an appearance on our terms? Do we really think that His presence is marked by our feeling good and all revved up? Does the presence of tears signify God’s presence at a worship event?

Music is the language of the soul and will arouse soulish excitement whichever spirit is present. That is why a good musician draws worshippers whichever side of the cross he is on.

For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:24)

Does that fire consume or is it for display only? Can we approach that fire the way we feel? Does that fire exist only to make us feel good? Does it exist for our use and convenience?

… for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. (Exodus 33:3)

Israel died in their thousands by breaching the requirements of that presence. And we are foolish to expect God to have lowered His standards because of the cross. If anything the standards went way up because of the cross because the resident Spirit makes it possible to keep the minutiae of the law of God. We therefore have no excuse for being careless in our faith.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5: 19 – 20)

This means that His presence is even more dangerous than it was for Uzzah and Aaron’s sons because we have no excuse at all for our ignorance as they may have been.

That presence would be disastrous if we would encounter it as we are. We would be dying like flies if He decided to make an appearance in our worship gatherings. And this is because His presence will never overlook our sin and rebellion. And grace will never cover for rebellion and sin.

God will never make an appearance where there is unforgiveness and bitterness. He will never make an appearance where sin is tolerated or overlooked. And He will never make an appearance where flesh and fleshy achievements are paraded.

You see He makes an appearance to display His glory and nothing else. We deceive ourselves if we think that His presence is for the purposes of our feeling fulfilled or even good. He and He alone is the focus of that presence and anything standing in the way of that has to be dealt with summarily.

God’s presence spells death and doom to sin and sin tendencies. Ananias and Sapphira died when their generosity, huge and substantial as it was, fell afoul of that presence. Herod, who was not even a believer, was eaten by worms as he was giving a speech because it was a season that presence was spreading. No wonder this verse is in Acts.

And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. (Acts 5:13)

That was different from the ‘come as you are’ gospel of nowadays that seems to imply that no change is required when one enjoins himself to Christ. Grace is also abused when we seem to imply that just because our sin was summarily dealt with at the cross, there is no need to change if grace is our portion.

That changes drastically when God’s presence comes into play. Every aspect of life drastically changes with as sin is dealt with.

Again we deceive ourselves when we think that God’s presence is for the purpose of giving us joy and fulfillment.

Any student of revival will tell you that drinking dens and brothels close when the move of God begins to manifest itself. His presence overruns all once it gains a foothold as the people of God deal with obstacles to that presence. And they close not because the owners choose to. They do so because the presence clears the area of anything that offends God. People get saved because a thirst for worldly things diminishes in that presence.

Is that the presence we are talking about? Is that the presence we seek?

Are we ready to encounter that presence?