Why is there often very little, if any, discernable presence of the Lord in so many “church services” today (whether in religious facilities or even in many home gatherings)? In “churches” that run the spectrum from charismatic and pentecostal to conservative fundamental to moderate evangelical to liberal Protestant, why is it that sheep so often leave their meetings unedified, having the same gnawing spiritual emptiness they came in with, knowing that they never really touched the Lord because, in all honesty, He was nowhere to be found in the midst of the people gathered there? Why is it that “the church” today, in form and function, bears little or any resemblance to the church we read about in the pages of the New Testament? Are we helplessly confined to where we find ourselves in the “evolution of Christendom” and need to just accept “the way things are” and try to make the best of it—or does the Lord have another way? Are we really doing it right and, for some inexplicable reason, the Lord is simply choosing not to bless us with His presence and power, or are we hindered because we (unknowingly) cling to a set of underlying assumptions about how church life should be and the Spirit-quenching baggage that goes with them?
These are needful and relevant questions that all true followers of Jesus need to grapple with in our day and time. As the Master shines His light of truth in answer to our seeking Him with all of our hearts, we need to embrace what He reveals along with all the implications of how it will affect our lives and practices. If, indeed, we are created for His good pleasure and not our own (Phil. 2:13, Rev. 4:11), and if, indeed, the Church is for Him and not for us (Eph. 5:22-33, Col. 1:16), then should we not attend to Him personally and give Him what He wants?! Is it right and submissive on our part to continue in our entrenched un-Biblical practices and traditions, demanding, in essence, that He settle for what we are willing to offer Him? Anyone with the Spirit of Truth in them knows the answers to these questions.
Some years ago, while in a particular city, I was invited to go eat lunch with some brothers, one of whom was the pastor of a local institution (for the sake of anonymity, I’ll refer to him hereafter as “The Pastor”). After the waiter took our orders and we began to talk more substantively, The Pastor began relating a shocking (to him) story he had heard from a particular preacher who has a fairly extensive speaking ministry (I’ll refer to this man hereafter as “The Traveling Preacher”). I was somewhat familiar with The Traveling Preacher and knew him to be a man of integrity who sought to be faithful with the light that he had.
The Pastor went on to recount the story that The Traveling Preacher had told about how, at the outset of his ministry, when he was a young man, he had begun keeping a journal that listed all the places where he preached. The journal entries included the date, location, subject he shared on, and a description of the spiritual condition and atmosphere he perceived among the people with whom he shared—namely, whether or not he sensed the presence of the Lord there. Some 25+ years had now passed, and, gleaning from this journal that he still kept current and updated, The Traveling Preacher testified that of the more than 800 “churches” he had spoken at so far, he honestly did not sense any true presence of the Lord in more than 600 of them.
The Pastor was both amazed and alarmed by this as he shared it with us. While he allowed for the fact that The Traveling Preacher is an imperfect and fallible man, and that he may not have always discerned things correctly or with complete accuracy, we all noted a certain respect we had for this man’s walk with the Lord and concluded that he probably wasn’t very far off the mark in his perceptions. Then The Pastor continued, “No sense of any presence of the Lord in more than 600 out of 800+ churches!?! Can you believe this?! Matthew, do you have any idea why this would be so?” This poor brother obviously had no idea what he was walking into by asking me this question.
I waited on the Lord for a moment, praying quietly in my heart, asking Him to show me how to respond. I then sensed that He gave me a word of wisdom (1 Cor. 12:8) and so I ventured out. I asked The Pastor if he would “go on my ride” for a moment, indicating that I was about to say some things that might sound pretty outrageous to him but to hang with me because I would be making a point in order to ultimately answer his question. He smiled and responded that he would. I then said, “Brother, would you like to experience the presence of Lord Jesus in our midst like you have never experienced Him before?”
“Well yeah, sure!” he replied.
“Great! Me too! So here’s what we need to do,” I continued. “We all need to go into a room, close the curtains, and put on long purple robes. Each one of us must then take up a brass pan in our left hand that has incense burning in it and a hawk feather in our right hand. Next we all need to begin walking around in a circle, counter-clockwise, shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ while swirling the hawk feather around through the incense smoke. I promise you that if we do this, we will encounter the Lord like we never have before! So you want to go do it?”
“Well, no,” The Pastor replied.
“Oh come on, it will be wonderful, even glorious! Come on!”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Brother, don’t you want to experience the presence of the Lord?”
“Well, yeah, sure, but…”
“Then come on, let’s go right now. I know a place nearby where we can get the robes and hawk feathers and everything we need. Are you ready to do it?”
“No”
“Why not? It’s what the Lord wants us to do—don’t you want to please Him? Come on, let go.”
“Brother, that sounds weird.”
“Oh you’re just unfamiliar with the Lord’s ways for genuine church life. Come on now, let’s go do it!”
“No”
“Why?”
“I just don’t want to”
“Why not?”
“It’s just not right”
“Why is that?”
“Well, it’s just not.”
“How do you know?” I asked—and then he took the bait.
…This article is continued on page 6 of the Premier Issue of Brush Arbor Quarterly.
Matthew Chapman preaches and writes extensively concerning God’s eternal purpose, our participation in it, and how this translates into our daily life and choices. From matters such as deepening our individual relationship with Jesus, to learning how to consistently make a place for Him among us in how we gather together around Him, to our marriages being a reflection of Him and His bride, to “training up our children in the way they should go” and helping them come into their own walk with God, to even how we conduct ourselves in matters of work and everyday life. Matthew shares with a heart of knowing that the Holy Spirit wants to touch (sanctify) every part of our lives so that we might “grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the Head, even Christ” and make ourselves ready for our glorious Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus. Matthew and his wife, Maranatha, and their six children live in Central Texas. For materials, please contact Kindling Publications, PO Box 4614, Bryan, Texas 77805-4614, or visitwww.KindlingPublications.com. ©2005 Matthew Chapman
