Previous week, I preached on something
“heavy” in church. By that I meant something to really ponder on,
something to look deeper into. Like the Bereans, one will have to
search the Scripture, discuss it and see if it is true rather than
just taking everything said by the preacher behind the pulpit as
truth. Preachers aren't right all the time. Here's a gist on the
subject on the presence of God.
Keep in mind this Hebrew word: Paneam.
It means “face to face”. Before the Fall of man at Eden, man and
God were able to meet face to face. After the Fall, God removed
Himself from the presence of man because in the sinful state, man
cannot dwell in the presence of God (Paneam). Throughout the Old
Testament, God's visited His people but not in the way He did before
the Fall. His glory can be seen and His presence tangibly felt and
His voice can be heard. But man still cannot “paneam” God because
as God said to Moses: “ … I will let you see my glory and hear my
holy name but I won't let you see my face, because anyone who sees my
face will die” (Exodus 33:19-20). After this encounter, Moses
physical body glowed to the extent he had to wear a veil because
people couldn't look into his face. Can you imagine what would have
happened had Moses stood in the presence of God? He would had
imploded. God placed Moses behind a cracked rock to protect him from
His presence and allowed Moses only to have a partial glimpse of
Himself after He passed by Moses. Moses no doubt felt the awesome
presence of God but was not allowed to be in the presence of God
(paneam) lest he die.
What about us today? Can we be in the
presence of God (paneam) and yet live? I don't think our physical
body can take it although in spirit we are regenerated. In that
sense, I believe we will not physically survive the presence of God
and live. That's why God gave us His only begotten Son! That's His
grace. By looking at Jesus we see God. Jesus said if we had
seen Him, we would have seen the Father. If we had heard Him, we
would have heard the Father. In order to know God and dwell in God's
presence, we have Jesus as the Way, Truth and Life! So today as we
worship and gather in the Name of Jesus to pray, we enter into the
presence of God. We tangibly feel and experience God's presence but
we are not seeing God face to face. We can't. Our bodies cannot take
it. There will come a time we will be able to but now, in our mortal
body and present condition, we have Jesus as our Mediator. When the apostle John had an
encounter with God at the island of Patmos, He was caught in spirit
into the presence of Jesus who was in His glorified state. John fell
to the ground as though dead. Isaiah too thought he was going to die
when he had his encounter with God. He had a revelation of a sinful
man in the presence of the most Holy God! Unlike Moses, Isaiah and
John encountered God in the spirit while Moses had a physical
encounter, yet they were overwhelmed!
In my opinion, in order for us to
encounter God face to face, there must be these three conditions.
First of all, being born again. Secondly, a new body. This we will
have when we get to heaven. Thirdly, a new name. God has a new name
for us in heaven because “old things have passed away and all
things have become new”. In that glorious state, we will be able to
see God face to face. What God did in Eden before the Fall, God will restore then in spirit, soul and body. What's my point in sharing
this? My concern for the way preachers today define the presence of
God.
Preachers love to draw attention to
themselves. I am not saying this as a norm. Being human, the
temptation is always there. In church, there's the stage and there's
the audience. People love a good performance and the star has to
shine brighter in order to maintain the ambiance. This is where the
preacher (if he or she is not careful) succumb. People love a hero, a
star. They are willing to pay for the stage. But this is not
something new. Centuries back, Paul warned in 2 Timothy 4:3: “The
time is coming when people won't listen to good teaching. Instead
they will look for teachers who will please them by telling only
what they are itching to hear”. We need to take heed of this. Jesus
is soon returning and false teachers are on the rise. My
caution is: be a follower of Jesus, not a follower of preachers.
God's presence is not unique only to some as some preachers would
claim to have the unique ability to enter into the presence of God. I
honestly think if God were to really appear, we too will cry out “woe
is me for I am unclean”. How can we stand in the presence of the
most high God in our present state? Yet, by the grace of God, we have
been accorded the privilege of knowing Him and gracing His presence
and His glory through Jesus Christ the Son of God. In Jesus we live
and move and have our being. We are indeed God's offspring (Acts
17:28). Jesus is the mediator between God the Father and us and we
have the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit through whom we have been
adopted as sons of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Praise be to
our God! One day we will meet God face to face. For now, we will
embrace the awesome presence and glory of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord, Master and Savior.
Churches have evolved through the
centuries. What it is today is not quite the same as what it was
originally in Acts. But that's alright. Time passes and generational
change will continue as in methods and styles. It's understandable we
don't do church the way it was done previously. Change is inevitable
and is healthy and necessary as long as the core is not compromised.
In fact, Paul said there are diversity of ministries and gifts but of
the same Spirit. Churches come in all kinds of styles and sizes but
as long as it is borne of the same Holy Spirit, it is alright. My
only concern is doing church without the Holy Spirit but supposedly
in the name of Jesus.
Since I was a freshman in Bible College in
1979, I had been involved in the pioneering of a church in Rawang. So
all in all, I have been in the ministry forty years, thirty eight of
which were in Vineyard which I pioneered. Through all
these years, I have benefited so much from big churches and gifted
pastors. Their training programs for pastors were a great help and inspiration So
whether a church is big or small, it's still God's church. God is no
greater in one church and lesser in another. God is God. As long
as I am a follower of Christ, and as long as I abide by His Word,
God's presences is felt no matter where I am. That's the joy of being
a follower of Jesus. His love, His joy and His peace abide in me. I
too hope sincerely (as I have so taught) that you too will be a
follower of Jesus Christ, not a follower of a church or a preacher.
God's presence is everywhere. Be faithful to God and to where He has
planted you. Things may not be the way you want and it probably may not, but should a man leave his wife if his spouse is not up to his expectations? What works is faithfulness. As long as you stay on course, you too can contribute positively and grow your church in ways that glorify Jesus. After all, the purpose of the church ultimately is to proclaim the kingdom of God. God have mercy on all of us and to Him be all the glory!
