Got God in a box?

I hope that the Lord showed up in a mighty way in your church’s worship services this past weekend. There is nothing better than being in the presence of the Lord! In fact, that is what I feel compelled to write to you about this week.

You know the Kingdom of Israel used to be the place where God manifested His presence? For them, this gift became a given and ended up becoming a stumbling block. Can you imagine that? Worse, it is happening again in many churches.

Hard things have to be said

With tears in my soul I write this. I pray it is received correctly.

Can you imagine a woman in love with the picture of her husband but neglecting to pay attention to that man in real life? Sound ridiculous? It has happened. The ancient nation of Israel did it. We may be seeing it happen today.

The Lord designed a magnificent building to put in Israel’s midst. First as a modular building we call the Tabernacle and then as a non-moving structure we call the Temple. Elaborate gold, silver, and bronze; elaborate drapes, tooled stonework, and carved woodwork made the place one of the world’s wonders. The design was a replica of the Throne room—a glimpse into the invisible Kingdom of God.

Yes, the descendants of Israel were given a rare opportunity: to illustrate the Kingdom of God. The sparkle and splendor of the Temple began to glint in the people’s eyes, however. They lost sight of their role of representing the Kingdom to this world.

When the King came and walked among them in flesh, they rejected Him because they were in love with the model of His throne room. For fear they would get their Temple taken away, they had Him killed. But that is not my point. That goes further than our present crisis, I hope.

The point is that Israel never saw themselves as agents to be a light to the nations. Instead, they became infatuated with themselves, thinking of themselves as better than all others. Their privileged role became self-confirmation rather than a stepping stone to the true eternal Kingdom.

Could the church be repeating history?

It is easy to criticize ancient Israel. What if I were guilty of the same thing? Would I be as quick to realize it?

On the day of Pentecost, God’s throne room came to earth, so to speak. People were able to access the very presence of God in a new way, entering the Kingdom of God. Today, this has become trademark to the Pentecostal movement I grew up in. Our worship services and preaching lead us into the very presence of the Lord—it is awesome and unparalleled by any other earthly experience.

But might we make Israel’s mistake, too? What if we became spiritual consumers rather than distributors? If the church of Jesus Christ was to illustrate to the world what the unseen Kingdom was like, what would happen if we hid it? What if we thought it was all about us?

What if entering the throne room of God in worship became THE THING? What if we focused on the illustration rather than the purpose of it? This is not to say the moves of God are fake or imitation. I know they are the real thing. But they are not the purpose or the end goal of the church.

Israel forgot they were supposed to show people what the Kingdom of God was like. They began to think it was all about them. They fell in love with His “picture,” and had forgotten to seek the real thing.

The Lord’s presence leads us to Him

Israel was to be a light to the nations—bringing others to God. Our services stand in danger of becoming an us-only experience rather than a means to an end—bringing the Kingdom of God to reality on earth. Israel kept God in their box. I don’t want to keep God in the box of my church or my experience.

Phrases like this concern me about our focus:

• “We have the best preachers.”
• “Other churches copy Pentecostal music and worship.”
• “Service was so good, the preacher didn’t get to preach.”
• “What an amazing worship service.”

I have probably said all those and more phrases like them, so I speak to myself as much as anyone. No one should feel badly about having a great church service. We would not be Pentecostal without them. However, we would not be Kingdom-minded if we settled for just that.

The empowering outpouring of the Spirit is for the purpose of making disciples into representatives of Jesus Christ. As ambassadors, our job is to bring others into this Kingdom. They have to be born into it of course, as outlined in John 3:5 with Acts 2:38.

Upward focus with outward reach

If the church ceases to be the city set on a hill drawing focus to the King, we will have done no better than Israel. We must be exporters. The presence of God is not for domestic use only (within the church meetings) but for sharing with the world.

I can justify my love of powerful church by saying I do invite people to our church services. However, that is not the point. Jesus sent His disciples out to bring peace into their communities—to export what they got in His presence!

My time in His presence equips me to impact the world. The church building is not a mecca or shrine where I go for a beyond-belief supernatural encounter. Perhaps it is more like a shipping warehouse.

His presence must fill my home. I must take His presence into the circles where the Lord has placed me: neighborhoods, schools, cafes, workplaces, marketplaces, and more! His Kingdom must come to earth!

God’s presence is not meant to be just a church-building experience. I must take it to others. He wants to fill the whole earth with His glory. Israel did not do that. Will the church? Will you be an ambassador?

 

Get your church on focus with the plan of the DiscipleMaker!

 

If you are in ministry, please read the thoughts I post next week. I want you share some pointers that will help keep the church on target for what the Lord wants to do. Let’s talk about the purpose of…