Somehow, in the last few centuries, the sermon became the central event when the church came together. I distinctly remember my early training as a pastor when we were told that worship was to prepare the hearts of the congregation to receive the Word of God through the sermon. The centrality of the sermon is clearly expressed by the number of churches that record and offer the sermon each week. In fact, the bookstores in larger churches will offer dozens of sermon series with a sprinkling of worship CD’s thrown in. No one seems to question the emphasis. But what if we gathered primarily to experience the presence of God rather than to study God? How would that change our gatherings?

I am not saying that preaching or studying the Word is not important. It is. But is it more important than His presence? Even under the Old Covenant, the presence of God was everything. The Ark of the Covenant was the central furnishing in the temple. It sat in the Holy of Holies with the stone tablets on which the commandments were written, a sampling of manna, and Aaron’s priestly staff within the ark. The lid of the ark depicted the throne of God surrounded by cherubim. God said to Moses, “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you…” (Ex. 25:22). The amazing and fearful thing about the Holy of Holies was that the presence of God was there. The entire point of the temple was that it housed the presence of God and The Presence was a source of blessing.

During the wilderness wanderings, the presence of God was also experienced as a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud which hovered above the tabernacle except when it was time for Israel to move. In those moments, the cloud moved ahead of Israel. Speaking of that pillar, Moses said to God, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up 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?” (Ex.33:15-16). It was the presence of God that set Israel apart from all other nations. It is the presence of God that sets us apart.

First of all, the presence of God dwells within each of us as the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit should cause each of us to be observably different from all other people. But there is another dimension of the presence of God that can be experienced when God’s people gather together. When gathered and hearts are focused directly on the person of God, there seems to be a synergism of the Spirit that manifests the presence and power of God in amplified ways. Jonathan Welton describes such a moment in Brazil. He says, “ I was with 5,000 home group leaders at a church in Manaus, Brazil. The presence of God was incredibly tangible during worship…as she (Kathy Oates) took the microphone, she began to prophecy over the nation of Brazil, and a powerful wind began to blow through the church…Inside, the wind was whipping around like on the Day of Pentecost – a mighty, rushing wind had come in to the house. It blew the potted plants on the stage wildly and even blew open two large arched doors on the stage. While this was happening, I stepped outside the church to see if there was any natural explanation for the wind. Outside, it was eerily calm and peaceful…team members were later to talk of strong winds blowing in a circular motion around them as they ministered…virtually everyone prayed over that day was instantly healed.”

I noticed that Welton said the wind began to blow as they worshipped. The scriptures declare that God inhabits the praises of his people (Ps.22:3). Praise draws the presence of God in ways that preaching will not. On the day of Pentecost, the tiny group of Christ-followers were in an upper room praying and fasting when the Holy Spirit showed up in spectacular fashion. The Spirit seems to manifest the presence of God in greater ways when his people are encountering him directly through praise and prayer.

One of the reasons that the 21^st Century church has been rendered powerless is because we have exchanged experiencing God for the study of God. When the early church met, the presence of God was manifested through worship that was offered in spirit and truth, through intense prayer often fueled by fasting, through the gifts of tongues and prophecy and the expectation of healing. Seeking the presence of God brought those manifestations and the church turned the world upside down.

Again…preaching, teaching, and the study of the word are essentials but our goal must be His presence. Rather than worshipping to prepare our hearts for the message, perhaps the message should prepare our hearts for worship. Instead of an opening prayer, perhaps we need a season of prayer. Even in our personal time, we should give more thought to experiencing the presence of God rather than simply reading about him. It is his presence that changes everything.

The axiom that “we should begin with the end in mind” seems to be simple common sense. If I begin a journey without the end in mind, I risk ending up in a bad place, driving in circles, or becoming the next Forrest Gump – simply running until dirt turns to ocean and then turning and running the other direction with nothing more in mind. And yet, many of us live that way when it comes to very important elements of our lives.

King David wrote, “ Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life”(Ps.39:4). David’s prayer is prompted by the knowledge that life goes by incredibly fast and that every day should be lived with great intentionality. He wanted God to remind him to live each day mindful of his priorities and purpose.
That would be an excellent prayer for us as well. In the end, what do you want to be able to say about your relationship with God, your spouse, and your children? What do you want to be able to say about the mark you left on other people and the world around you? What do you want to be able to say about how you fulfilled God’s purposes for your life?

By temperament, I am not wired to set concrete goals and stay on task. I can be a rabbit chaser and enjoy the chase. If I’m not careful, I can let daily circumstances and other people constantly set my agenda. When I do, my priorities suffer. Days and weeks can go buy without me investing in the most important things. If, however, I partner with God’s Spirit to think about how I want to finish my life or what I want my life (my marriage, my family, my ministry, my health, my finances, etc.) to look like in ten years, I can begin to lay in strategies that will get me where I want to go.

In my church, we talk a lot about being Spirit-led. Some believers think that the Spirit leads only with spontaneous and unexpected moments, as if long term planning and staying on course is not spiritual. Although the Spirit may reveal tasks on the spur of the moment, he is still the ultimate long-term planner whose priorities never waiver. Although, Jesus seemed to have days filled with spontaneous and unexpected moments, he always knew where he was headed and what his priorities were. First of all, he had to preach the gospel to the cities of Israel. On numerous occasions, Jesus would simply leave in the middle of a “successful meeting” while the crowds were clamoring for more and go somewhere else to preach because he had a clear agenda to preach to more cities and a limited amount of time in which to do so. At other times, he would leave the crowds who were hungry to hear more and go off by himself to refuel with the Father because he knew that the days ahead would demand that close relationship.

Eventually, he knew that to finish his mission, he would have to submit to rejection and accusation along with crucifixion and would have to do so with faith, love and forgiveness on his lips. He began the final three years of his life with two preparatory events: his baptism that brought the anointing of the Spirit and forty days of fasting in the wilderness. He and the Father began with the end in mind. The Holy Spirit and a disciplined flesh would be required to finish well and to fulfill his primary purpose in life. Knowing how he wanted to end his life, he received the things that would prepare him for the final hours. He did not dodge or resent the heat or the hunger of the desert nor the temptations Satan dangled before him. Those moments were strengthening him to fulfill his purpose. Even in the spiritual realm, a process of growth and development is by far the norm rather than a full-blown and immediate impartation of maturity and gifts. Gifts, positions, and opportunities that run ahead of character are dangerous.

King Saul was anointed by Samuel and made king over Israel in a short period of time. He had not been trained to be king or even a leader of men. His sudden responsibilities and power led to numerous disasters for himself, his family, and his country. Proverbs declares that the “earth trembles when a slave becomes king.”   That is true when the slave has not been prepared for a wise exercise of power, wealth, and leadership.

The very thing a person wants can destroy him or her if the individual is not prepared to steward those things well. Many people who have suddenly become wealthy through the lottery are prime examples. The very wealth they thought would make them happy destroyed their lives. The same can be true of us if we are given gifts or positions for which we are not prepared. Preparing ourselves for the use of gifts and positions of leadership avoids the disasters. Preparing ourselves for relationships we desire also avoids disasters. When we contemplate the end or the goal, we can “reverse engineer” what it will take to get there. We can pray into the goal, align ourselves with mentors, obtain training, and develop the character traits that we will need to succeed.

Too often, we just wait on the Lord to fulfill a prophetic word spoken over us, to supernaturally gift us, or to place us in a position of leadership without envisioning how we would want to lead, exercise the gift, or live out the prophecy. As a result, we don’t set priorities, equip ourselves, or develop strategies for growing into the vision we have for our lives. Too often, we neglect the most important priorities in our lives, thinking that we can focus on those later when we are not so busy. But life goes by quickly. David said, “ how fleeting is my life,” and when you hit the sixty mark you feel it going by at light speed. You also realize how little time you gave to the most important things because the lesser, non-eternal issues of life kept you so busy.

Let me encourage you to take time on a regular basis to think about where you want to be in ten years or even at the end of your life. What do you want your relationship with God and your spiritual life to look like? What do you want your marriage or your relationship with your children or your ministry to be like? How do you want to be able to describe your physical health or your finances? Even more importantly, what would God want those things to look like?

Once you are clear on the end product you want, its not that hard to know what you need to be doing now to get there. You might even get a small group of trusted friends together who begin to envision those things for their own lives and then each of you can encourage one another and keep one another on track over the next twelve months or a lifetime, while you consistently build some things into your life that will take you where you want to go and where God wants you to go.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV).

“Movements are always birthed by dreamers who first envision life as it ought to be and not as it is. Dreamers stir people’s imaginations, agitate their souls, and inspire their hearts. George Bernard Shaw expressed the dreamer’s attitude when he said, ‘Some men see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ Others dream of things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’” Dreamers are the cultural catalysts, reformers, and history makers. In order for us to experience the fulfillment of the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ (Mt.6:10), it’s vital that we begin to envision the world, not as it is, but as it ought to be” (Kris Vallotton, How Heaven Invades Earth, P.187).

I like what Vallotton says in this brief paragraph. It echoes the proverb I quoted at the beginning of this blog. Where there is no vision, people perish. The reason is that a vision for the future is what keeps us on course and what keeps us slogging through the muck and mire of everyday life. Most believers have a general vision for Christ’s kingdom on earth after his return. They look forward to the day when the heavens will split and Jesus will once again stand on the earth to judge the wicked while rewarding the righteous. After that, we will all live in health and prosperity for eternity. That is a worthy vision, but one that is out of our control. Jesus said that not even he knew the day or the hour of his return…only the Father knows.

But what about a vision that we can affect? What about a world in which entire nations are being discipled and leaders are actually governing with justice and righteousness? What about entire cities that willingly bow the knee to Jesus so that crime is almost nonexistent, divorce is the rare exception, poverty has been all but erased, and gifts of healing make the ER the least visited room in the city?

If you are not careful, you will immediately dismiss that vision as “pie in the sky” and not possible. And yet, would that not be God’s will on earth as it is in heaven? Did Jesus instruct us to pray for something that was not really possible or only possible in small, insignificant patches? Or did he expect us to carry a vision for massive changes in the earth before his return as we “make disciples of all nations.”

The power of a specific vision for the areas we can touch is that it focuses our efforts, our resources, and our prayers. Advancement is noticeable, measurable, and strategic. A shared vision unites and energizes believers. What if every church in a city shared the same vision and prayed into the same specific outcomes? As you think of a vision you begin to see the possibilities and begin to think of creative strategies to accomplish the vision. I love Bethel Church in Redding, California. It has a very clear vision for their city and even a sharper vision for their campus. They intend to evangelize their city and make it a city on a hill where Jesus truly is Lord from the City Council on down. They want their campus to become a cancer free zone in which any one with cancer can find healing there without exception.

I suspect that very few of us have anything but a vague vision for our life in the kingdom. If a life without vision causes people to perish, then living with a God-given vision should impart life. Sometimes I realize that my vision for serving God begins to get fuzzy and drift. When it does, my motivation wanes, my energy levels seem lower, my focus broadens, and my effectiveness slips. Recapturing the vision makes all the difference and if you have other believers in your life who share the same vision, the synergism of that is amazing.

We live in the Permian Basin – oil country. Years ago, the Western Company sold drilling rigs, oil field equipment, etc. and had an advertising slogan that declared, “If you don’t have an oil well…get one.” I think the Lord might say, “If you don’t have a vision, get one.”  It doesn’t have to be a vision for a worldwide ministry. It may simply be a vision for your ministry at your church, your family, or some way to serve your community. Ask God to give you a vision for your kingdom assignment. You may also find someone who already has a vision that the Holy Spirit causes to resonate in your heart. Then join with that person. Invest yourself and your resources in that cause. It will energize your life as you begin to partner with God to accomplish a dream given by him. Vision is the beginning of his will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s…The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:1-5, 8-14

This section of the Psalms should be a great encouragement to every believer because it reveals the heart of God towards his people. Too many of us doubt the answers to our prayers and godly desires because we feel as if we don’t measure up or because some failing from our past haunts us. On top of that, many of us still see God as a distant father whom we must somehow beg or persuade to answer a prayer.   Too many of us imagine that God hasn’t immediately answered a prayer because our ‘spiritual performance” has not been up to par and, therefore, quickly give up on the prayer. Too often we focus on our performance rather than the heart of God and the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus.   When we do that, our faith easily gives way to discouragement.

Notice that David says nothing about his spiritual prowess or personal righteousness in this section. Even when David failed catastrophically in his sin with Bathsheba, he trusted in the heart of God for forgiveness and restoration. Real faith rests on our confidence in the character and faithfulness of God, not on our own righteousness. It stands on our belief that God is always good and always wants good things for his children. If David was confident of that goodness, how much more confident should we be as we live under a better covenant, drenched in the blood of Christ, as well as hosting the Holy Spirit within us.

According to this Psalm, here are some things in which we can have complete confidence. God is always ready and willing to forgive and heal. It is his nature. When we trust in his love rather than our own righteousness, we can easily own our weaknesses and sins and confess them – which brings immediate forgiveness and blessings. We can also trust in the heart of God to pull us out of the pits we so often dig for ourselves and to be eager to restore us to full standing in his house. The prodigal comes to mind.

David also declares that it is the heart of God to fulfill the desires of his children with good things. When God isn’t answering our desire for a certain relationship or for a big lottery win, we can be assured that that those would not produce good things in our lives in the long run. Trusting God to sort through our desires and grant us only those that will ultimately bless us may be the ultimate test of our faith. Contentment is the fruit of that trust as we ask for our desires but then take no offense at God when he does not say yes to every desire of our heart.

Finally, David sums up the most amazing thing about God when he declares that God does not treat us as our sins deserve. He recognizes our inherit weaknesses. James wrote that mercy triumphs over judgment (Ja.2:13) and that was David’s hope. Remember, David wrote these words hundreds of years before the cross but still received a revelation that God’s immense love for us prompts him to remove our transgressions from us. David’s claim to this grace of God reveals that the blood of Christ must have flowed backward as well as forward from the cross for those who had faith even under a covenant of law. Although David had only a prophetic glimpse of God’s answer for sin, he was convinced that the love of God and the goodness of God would find a solution to the problem of our alienation. Even after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, David found hope in the heart of God. Psalm 51 is his lament after that sin and he begins with, “Have mercy on me O God, according to your unfailing love.” His hope was never in his ability to do enough good to cover his sin or in convincing God that someone else actually had caused him to sin. He made no attempt to rationalize or minimize his sin or to declare that he just wasn’t himself that day. His trust was in the unfailing love of God for his people and a belief that somehow God would be willing to forgive his worst sins and take away his transgressions.

We need to live by that same confident expectation. Too many of us doubt that God’s blessings are for us because of past mistakes or present stumbles. Too many of us doubt that God will work through us because we are still trying to unravel the issues in our lives. James tells us that we “have not because we ask not.” We ask not because we do not live with an assurance of God’s unfailing love, his relentless desire to bless his children, and his eternal willingness to remove our sins as far as the east is from the west through the perfect sacrifice of his Son.

Satan fuels those doubts in each of us because doubt prevents is from moving in the power and provision of heaven. As long as we feel that we don’t qualify for the best of heaven, we will have no faith for those things. We must remember that God has qualified us through his Son. We will never qualify ourselves except through a simple faith in God’s unwavering love for us, his constant goodness, and his desire to bless us in every way through Jesus. That was the foundation of David’s life and must be the foundation of ours as well. If you struggle with that assurance, spending time soaking in Psalm 103 on a regular basis would be well spent as you focus on the unwavering heart of the Father for you.