Linger in the Presence of God

In 2014 we need to practice lingering or waiting in the presence of God. It seems to me that a great hunger for God's presence needs to arise in the Church. We need God's presence more than ever before - Let's make this a season of waiting on Him and calling for more! May a passion for His presence arise in our hearts, churches and nations!

When Moses went into the place of meeting with the Lord, all the people stayed in the safety of their tent doors. We only hear of one – Joshua, (who had the heart of a servant and the life of a worshiper) who lingered in the presence of the Lord. Even after Moses left, Joshua stayed in God’s presence:

Ex. 33:9-11 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.

10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.

11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

It is in the process of being worshiped

that God communicates His presence to men.

C.S. Lewis

The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines linger: “to remain or stay in a place longer than is usual or expected; to continue to exist as time passes; to be slow in parting or quitting something; to be slow to act; to pass a period of time slowly; to remain alive though gradually dying…”

In most of our churches, there are set times for the worship. Worship leaders tend to fill the entire time with songs and give no time to waiting in the presence of the Lord and listening for His voice. We rarely experience time passing while we remain still – being slow to act or speak.

I encourage you to wait in the presence of God this Sunday – Stay longer than is “usual or expected.” Just as we long to linger in His presence like Joshua, the Lord also loves to linger with us. Throughout their Wilderness journey, they were never without the presence of the Lord, as He lingered with them in a cloud by day and a fire by night:

Ex. 40:36 Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up.

David tells us…

Ps. 37:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
 Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

The NLT translates this: be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act…

I love that – think about being still in His presence. Quiet your mind and make your heart still.

David calls on us to do three things that will help us to linger in God’s presence:

-Rest in the Lord

-Wait patiently for Him

-Do not fret

Being released from fretting can only come as we rest in Him and wait patiently for His will.

Look for His glory in this place of waiting
Smell His beauty in this season of expectancy
Listen for His presence in this time of stillness
Taste His goodness in this moment of fruitfulness
Touch His garments in this sanctuary of His presence

The word “rest” in Hebrew is: damam.  It means to be silent, to be quiet, to wait, to grow dumb (no speak), to be still, to die.

Interestingly, the Hebrew for "waiting patiently" is the word chuwl which means to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, tremble, fear, travail, to be born, to wait…

So, it seems that our waiting can bring on a dance, and a “birthing” of the things God has purposed for us. Wait on Him – linger for a while and listen to His voice – turn your prayers into a dance if that is a way you can communicate with Him.

Just remaining quietly in the presence of God,

listening to Him, being attentive to Him

requires a lot of courage and know-how

Thomas Merton

More on lingering: HERE and HERE

7 Things - Waiting On Him

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord;
 And He inclined to me,
 And heard my cry.

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
 Out of the miry clay,
 And set my feet upon a rock,
 And established my steps.

He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
 Many will see it and fear,
 And will trust in the Lord.

When we wait patiently for the Lord there are 7 things that we can look for and expect to see from Him:

• V1 He inclines or turns and looks towards us

• V1 He listens to us

• V2 He lifts us up out of the pit of despair

• V2 He pull us out of deep mud – or deep problems of every sort

• V2 He sets our feet on solid ground – the rock (Christ)

• V2 He establishes our steps – steadies us as we move forward

• V3 He puts His new song in us – a song that causes people to see the wonders of Christ in us! They will be amazed, will fear the Lord, and will put their trust in the Lord as a result.

The Hebrew word for "waited" in this psalm is qavah, which means to lie in wait for something, to look for with expectation, to linger. I was talking about lingering in God’s presence: HERE and HERE and HERE

Psalm 25:5 says ...on You I wait all the day...

There are so many things that we need to inquire of the Lord - we don't need to be in a hurry - some subjects sit in our hearts and are with us for days...even years as we linger in His presence. Hold these treasures that you seek carefully before the Lord - wait on Him as He listens to your heart and touches the world from the song of your life.

Finding Stillness: HERE

A Few Thoughts On Worship

Here are just a few thoughts on my mind lately - things for worship ministers to meditate on:

• We must become lifelong students of God's presence. We spend more time studying church history, music, trends and technical things. Worship is primarily about the presence of God and yet we seem to give so little time to studying the presence of God. The Lord considers this the greatest thing that man can achieve:

Jer. 9:23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
 Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

24 But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
 That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
 For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

• As worshipers, it is our privilege to encounter Him – as artists, it is our privilege to describe Him. We have tended to treat the arts as a means to “decorate” our worship services. We have made our sanctuaries beautiful, and we ensure that the lighting and smoke machines are in order…but the awesome responsibility of revealing the sight, sound, smell, taste and touch of God has been neglected. Artists get to “handle” the glory of God. We are charged with a prophetic responsibility in worship…unfortunately, we have made worship about the music and the songs. So many musicians, singers, artists are only functioning at a fraction of their potential. Without the prophetic realm, we miss the primary function of our ministry. We need to learn how to break in upon Him, and allow Him to break in upon us. True worship is about this encounter with God.

• We don’t come to church to get the presence of God; we come carrying the presence of God. The congregation can tend to have a consumer mentality about church. We pick churches for their preaching, youth or children’s programs, music etc. The people come looking for the leaders and worship teams to “produce” the presence of God for them. The Lord, however, looks at His people as a holy, royal priesthood. Every Believer is a minister before the Lord and a carrier of his presence into the world. Just as the Old Testament priests carried the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders, so too, the New testament priests must come carrying God’s presence wherever we go. This is only possible when we abide in Him and learn to refresh ourselves in God’s presence on a daily basis.

1Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

• We have to learn to linger in his presence. More on lingering: HERE

We need to find the moments in the worship and the rest of the service where there is life – the God-breathed moments where you can tell He is calling to us to listen to Him and follow Him – the places where we must linger and wait on His leading.

Ps. 37:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

• You can tell if you have really worshiped – you will be changed. It is impossible to worship and stay the same. Everything that has been created will be changed in His presence. As God’s children, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. In fact, the greatest glory in the universe is not some miracle, or manifestation of God…it is the power of God to change the human heart into the likeness of Jesus.

It is not the music that changes us – it is the presence of God in the music. It is not the preaching that changes us – it is the presence of God in the preaching. True worship will bring us to His presence…His presence will bring us to the glory…the glory will bring us to the greatest changes imaginable – we will be like Jesus!

2Cor. 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The glory is the invasion of God into the human sphere

• Worship is about seeing. We have made worship about hearing - music and sermons etc. but really, we come to church to look at God - to behold His beauty and glory...all our senses must be involved in communing with the Lord - not just listening. Worship music should help us see the Lord. We are not an audience - we are the priests of His presence. It is incorrect to think of the Lord as "The audience of One," as so many seem to say. He wants to be just as involved in our worship conversation as we are. In worship, there is no audience - only communing hearts!

Ps. 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
 All the days of my life,
 To behold the beauty of the Lord,
 And to inquire in His temple.

• Worship leaders and ministers (dancers, singers and musicians etc.) are doorkeepers of God's presence. We act as if the main aspect of worship is the music/songs, but again I say: The ultimate goal in worship is to connect the people with the presence of the Lord - to encounter Him and stay in His presence for however long He wants to speak with us. Worship leaders are a form of intercessor - a doorkeeper of God's presence. We are called to stand in the gates of God (Prov. 8:34) and cry out over the people: 

Ps. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
 And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
 And the King of glory shall come in.

8 Who is this King of glory? 
The Lord strong and mighty,
 The Lord mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
 Lift up, you everlasting doors!
 And the King of glory shall come in.

10 Who is this King of glory?
 The Lord of hosts,
 He is the King of glory. Selah

Surely the King of Glory desires to meet with us day by day, Sunday after Sunday. This is the greatest privilege of the universe!!

Some further worship links: HERE HERE and HERE