Presence of God: Part 2

In my last blog entry, I talked about the importance of the Presence of God to His people. I can't seem to stop thinking about this topic. So, here's more...

Exodus is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. It describes how God called an enslaved nation out of bondage and into a journey of faith. In doing this, He transformed them from a crowd into The People of God.

To do this, He raised up a prophetic leader: Moses. He intervened miraculously, crushing the pagan deities and powers of darkness and leading the people into a kind of baptism through the Red Sea. He guided and provided for His people. He brought them to the mountain where He formed His covenant with them.

He gave them the ceremonial, political and ethical laws that enabled them to walk in that covenant relationship with Him. Included in this were even the blue prints for the Tabernacle, the ceremonial tools, the priestly garments and the instructions in how to consecrate themselves for service.

The people were flawed. They grumbled, they were strong-willed and resisted God's instructions and God's prophet. But God still remained faithful.

If the creation of the People of God is the plot of Exodus, the Presence of God is the theme.

God's Presence is first revealed to Moses through the bush that seemed to be in flames, yet was not consumed. Then, God's Presence appears as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to protect His People from the pursuing armies of Pharaoh as they seem to be trapped by the Red Sea. God's Presence is with them continually to lead them from site to site. And even before the Tabernacle was constructed, God's Presence appeared to Moses at the Tent of Meeting (Ex. 33: 7-11). Moses brings the elders with him onto the mountain where they all experience God's Presence. And of course, when Moses ascends up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, God's fearsome Presence seems to consume the whole top of the mountain.

And, as I highlighted in my last post, the climax of the entire book is the coming of the Presence of God as a thick cloud on the newly-built Tabernacle, finally consecrated for service in the wilderness.

With this in mind, one little verse has always stuck with me. The first part says, "Yahweh would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend..." (Ex. 33: 11a). This verse awakens a deep yearning in my heart to have this kind of friendship with God. Oh, that I could say, "God would speak to Mark face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."

And the rest of the verse also speaks to me: "Then, even when Moses had to return to the camp, his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent" (Ex. 33: 11b). And even when others walk away, Lord, can I just hang around in your Presence as long as possible?

Let us recapture the true theme of our identity as the People of God--the very Presence of God in our midst.

The Presence of God

At our Sunday evening gathering this last week, when the last notes of "Breathe" by Marie Barnett still lingered in the air, everyone sat silently, most of them with eyes closed. There was a palpable sense of God's presence there and no one wanted to break the atmosphere by speaking.

This is what drew me to the Vineyard over 25 years ago. And it is what, I believe, people everywhere are yearning to experience as well--the manifest Presence of God in our midst.

In Exodus 33: 15-16, Moses says to God, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

Of course, God promises to go with Moses and the people. In fact, His Presence is first manifested through the cloud during the day and the pillar of fire at night. In the climax of the book of Exodus, with the completion of the Tabernacle and all of the articles of worship and the consecration of Aaron and his sons--then the Presence of God filled the Tabernacle.

And with the completion and dedication of the first Temple of Solomon, we have a similar phenomenon: "When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of Yahweh (the LORD). And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh (the LORD) filled his temple" (1 Kings 8: 10-11).

But by the time Jesus arrived, the third temple (of Herod) was being built and sacrifices were continuing, yet the Presence had left. As Ezekiel described in his 10th chapter, the glory of Yahweh had departed the Temple.

And Jesus expressed his anger at the market that had been set up in the Court of the Gentiles, effectively pushing, not just people, but God Himself out of the way. Driving the merchants out and turning over their tables, he said, "Is it not written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?' But you have made it ' a den of robbers'" (Mark 11: 17).

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he left a new People, who themselves are the new Temple. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you (all)?" (1 Cor. 3:16).

The point is this: God's Presence is the hope and the promise and should be the legacy of the People of God. Do we hunger and thirst for Him enough to set aside our agendas so that we make room for him? Let us have the same zeal for our Father's house (that's us) so that we settle for nothing less than His very Presence manifest in our midst.

Living Water

There's nothing like chocolate to soothe me when I'm feeling down--and that's the problem.

Gerald May, in his fabulous book, Addiction and Grace, says in effect, that humans are created with an ache to be filled in our hearts in a way that, ultimately, only God Himself can fill. Saint Augustine said something similar, that is, that each of us has a kind of God-shaped vacuum.

"Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee" (Augustine).

The problem for us humans is that we tend to look to sensual things to scratch that itch when the answer is really spiritual.

Jeremiah says it to Israel: "My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jer. 2: 10).

A cistern was a huge sunken vessel, like a water-well, that provided water in arid places. Obviously, a broken cistern would leak and become useless. Going to a broken cistern for water is futile.

For Israel, the "broken cisterns" were the idols of the nations whom they had begun to worship instead of Yahweh, the One True God, who had actually redeemed them from Egypt and given them the Promised Land. How could those who had been so miraculously delivered turn away from God?

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17: 9).

The answer lies in the deceptive nature of our own hearts. And who does our heart deceive more than ourselves? When I yearn to be filled with God's comforting love and presence, I convince myself that something other-than-God will satisfy me. For me it is chocolate. For others it is alcohol or work or spending. You name it, you can go to it for water and find that it does not really satisfy.

God is the source of living water. And we know that Jesus claimed this moniker for himself.

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink," Jesus said in John 7: 37. And when we learn to bring our deepest thirsts to Him, when we draw from the well of living water, there will be an overflow from within us. "Whoever believes in me, as the scriptures have said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7: 38).

Let's learn to go to the True Well of Living Water when we're thirsty.

Why Mobs Are Not the Answer

The horrific story from Aurora, Colorado in recent days about the slaughter of innocents in a movie theater kept me somewhat glued to live cable news this week.

One of the fascinating things about our modern telecom-connected world is that we can get people's instantaneous reactions telecast, YouTubed, FaceBooked and tweeted as they happen. No waiting for any investigation or careful reflection. We are bombarded with raw emotions and knee-jerk judgments. But I am afraid that it is just such instant overload that threatens to bury us in reactionism and mob rule. Fortunately, none of the rhetoric over this event has led to any rioting.

But take the other recent tragedy, the shooting death of young Trayvon Martin. There was reaction to the partial news that an African-American youth had been shot by a "white man", George Zimmerman, and he had not been taken into custody. Much of the information that began to come out turned out to be either incomplete or just plain false. The resulting emotional frenzy could have led to a lot of further violence and even now, the actual facts are somewhat shrouded. A jury is going to have to decide.

I mention these news events, not to take a position on them, but to lament the loss of the spiritual disciplines in the Christian community. So often, we are just as guilty as the general public in taking a stand based on emotionalism and reactionism, rather than on careful meditative reflection.

We, of all people, should understand how the mob mentality can result in the crucifixion of an innocent victim. Jesus' accusers used just such manipulation to whip the crowds into a frenzied chorus of "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

And we know that the Apostle Paul also experienced mob frenzy more than once. In Philippi, he and Silas were flogged and thrown in prison after the idol-making guild whipped the crowds into a frenzy and accused them of sedition (see Acts 16: 19-24). In Thessalonica, because Paul was somewhat successful in persuading some of the Jews, others whipped up a mob and started a riot to expel them (Acts 17: 5-9). These same agitators followed them to Berea and tried to repeat the experience (17: 13). Another such event occurred in Ephesus in 19: 23-41 when the silversmiths felt threatened by Paul. Finally, Paul needed to be rescued from the crowd that was stirred up at the Temple in 21:27-22:22.

The mob is seldom right in its judgement. It latches on to "factoids" that may or may not be true. And most of the time, even if the fact is true, it is incomplete. Founding father, John Adams, felt it his duty to provide an adequate defense to the British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre. He was able to obtain acquittals for six soldiers and reduced sentences for the two convicted of manslaughter. He counted this as one of the highest services he ever gave to his countrymen, even though it would potentially appear that he was siding with the British against the colonialists. "Judgment of death against those soldiers would have been as foul a stain upon this country as the execution of the Quakers and witches anciently. As the evidence was, the verdict of the jury was exactly right" (John Adams, on the anniversary of the massacre).

Let us determine to be part of the solution, not the problem. Allow the legal system to do its job. After all, God has given the authority to judge to governments (Rom. 13: 1-7). It is not wrong of us to ask our representative democracy to serve us properly. But let us not become like the mob who cried, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

Taking an Eye Exam

Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems that everything that can break or wear out, does? I had one of those weeks last week. And of course when things wear out or break down, it costs money. And when that happens, I begin to obsess over my finances and my peace goes out the window.

"In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
But you remain the same, and your years will never end" (Psalm 102: 25-27).

Those of us who are Christians should know better than to place our confidence in material things. We need to develop a perspective on life that sees beyond the physical and takes into account the spiritual. And that should mean that we live life with one eye on what is in the here-and-now, but always with one on the yet-to-come.

Jesus encouraged this in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven..." (Matt. 6: 19-20a).

The material "stuff" of this life can be deceptive. It promises to make us feel secure; it promises to make us happy; it promises to raise our self-esteem. "If I can just save up enough for my retirement, then I'll feel secure." "If I can only get that new car, I will be happy." "If I can make enough money, I'll be successful."

Now don't get me wrong. I am not advocating taking a vow of poverty. In fact, I believe in receiving material blessings from God with thanksgiving and enjoying them like a child receiving a birthday present.

But we must be aware that our "stuff" comes with a warning label.

Jesus says: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6: 21). He links our affection to our eyes. If we are preoccupied with material things, then our eyes are not clear. Why? Because we "cannot serve both God and Money [Mammon]" (vs. 24b). In other words, affection for "stuff" blocks our vision of the things of God.

Paul says to Timothy: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Tim. 6: 10).

And the writer of Hebrews adds: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because he has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'" (Heb. 13: 5).

And it is at those times that our possessions begin to wear out and break down that our hearts are tested. Are we placing our trust in God or in things? Are we so preoccupied with our "stuff" that our vision is clouded?

So the next time something breaks, think of it as a divine eye exam. How's your vision doing?

Leadership and Pain

M. Scott Peck begins his classic book, The Road Less Traveled, with these words, "Life is difficult."

The writer of Job puts it another way, "Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward" (Job 5: 7).

Pain is one of the common experiences of humanity. And so Peck goes on to explain that it is the avoidance of pain that is at the root of all psychological dysfunction. And I would add that it stands at the root of all relational dysfunction as well.

The classic example is the man who is frustrated at work. But since it is too scary to confront his boss, he comes home and yells at his wife, who then scolds her son, who kicks the dog.

All sorts of dysfunctional behavior can be explained using this paradigm. Addictions are often attempts at self-medicating: a way of numbing pain, rather than dealing with it. Codependency--focusing my mental and emotional energy on taking care of someone else's needs so that somehow they will take care of me and take away the pain of feeling unloved. Excessive anger--an attempt to push away the source of something that I perceive is making me feel weak or powerless--perhaps an attempt to feel in control when I feel out of control.

If this is true, then leaders have an especially hard time. Let me say that if "Life is difficult" then "Leadership is very difficult."

In 2 Timothy 2: 3-6, Paul gives three metaphors with four applications for leaders.

First, Paul tells Timothy to "join with me in suffering hardship" like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Soldiers must endure all kinds of hardship in order to accomplish their mission. So, a leader must learn to bear up under pain and do his job.

Second, rather than get distracted by other pursuits, a soldier must be dedicated 100% to his job. Why? His focus is on pleasing his superior officer. He can't decide to go to a movie or sleep in when he is on duty. So a leader must learn to be dedicated and not get distracted.

Third, like an athlete competing in the games, he must undergo a strict regimen of training and diet. This is what Paul means by competing according to the rules. Thus a leader must learn to be disciplined (and especially must practice spiritual discipline). A leader who is performing the tasks of leadership without the underlying disciplines is headed for a big crash. It is like a flower that has been cut from the stem and placed in a vase with no more connection to the root--it may look fresh now, but it is destined to wither and die.

Fourth, the farmer only gets to share in a crop if he is hard-working. You cannot expect a crop to simply show up because you want it to. You must work the soil. Thus, leaders must learn to put their shoulder to the plow and work hard in order to produce fruit for the Kingdom.

For this reason, leadership is not just about natural talent. It is also about maturity. Only those who have applied themselves to the disciplines that produce spiritual growth will be in a place to sustain leadership over the long haul--because that involves experiencing the pain of life, not avoiding it, but enduring it so that it produces fruit.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Gal. 6: 9).

"Consider him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12: 3).

"You have persevered and have endured hardship for my name, and have not grown weary" (Rev. 2: 3).

The Church and Politics

The political season is well under way here in the good ole U. S. of A.

And I must admit that I am kind of a political junkie. I majored in Poli-Sci as an undergraduate at UCLA and I try to stay current on political issues.

But when it comes to my role as Pastor, I try to keep my political leanings out of the pulpit. I am concerned that I might abuse my authority. I'm also concerned with communicating to anyone that they must share my political philosophy in order to be saved. My job is to teach the Word and to preach the Gospel, not politics.

And one of the distressing "branding" problems for Christians and especially Evangelicals in the US today is related to politics. In the 80's, Evangelicals discovered that they could grab the levers of political power and exert their influence through such groups as Moral Majority and Christian Coalition. Pastors are frequently lured by their relationships to political leaders into becoming political advocates. And the message that the world gets is that Christians are just interested in power and that they are just too political.

Yet I can't tell you how many hours I've spent in pastors' prayer meetings praying for governmental agencies to approve some facility for a church. The same politicians who are courting the friendship of churches become the biggest enemies of churches when their tax-base is threatened.

In Romans 13, Paul gives instructions to the Roman church about their relationship to the governing authorities. What is amazing is that Paul probably wrote this during the reign of one of the most despotic emperors in history, Nero. He tells the Roman churches to "submit" to the authorities, to "do what is right" (be law abiding citizens) and pay whatever taxes are due.

But the church of Paul's time was a small and obscure sect of Judaism in the eyes of Rome. They were not in a place to influence government policies. They were simply trying to live as an exemplary community, maintaining a positive reputation so that the testimony of Christ was enhanced. They wanted to be an aroma, not a stench (to quote Rich Buhler).

It was only after Constantine that Christianity assumed a new relationship to the state in the West. The church was no longer being persecuted, but was now tempted to rely on political power rather than the power of God to grow. And so it has been in the West ever since.

In Europe, church power and state power became inseparable. Thus, the motivation for the framers of the U.S. constitution to put into the first amendment the ban on the establishment of a state religion and a ban on any limitations to the free exercise of religion (commonly called the wall of separation, although that language is from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danville Baptists).

So how then are we to live? I believe we can learn a lesson from Paul. Let us seek to be good citizens whose presence is an enriching and positive one that can be felt and seen by those around us. As a group, let us resist the temptation to grab the levers of power and try to implement a social agenda through politics. But let us take our citizenship seriously by becoming informed on issues and contributing our part, whether that is by voting, serving jury duty or simply attending local council and PTA meetings.

And yes, we can expect and, indeed, should pray for those Christians whose calling is to politics. May they be the moralizing influence in society that gifted and called vocations in all other fields should be.

But let us resist the temptation to try to implement our moralizing influence through politics. When we do that, we become just another competing power and we lose our fragrance in society.