Into God's presence?

I found this post on Franklin Road Baptist Church's website challenging and corrective...

In his book The Other Side of the River, Kevin Reeves, a former worship team leader, explains that, "It was said regularly that believers coming into the service were either inner court, outer court, or holy of holies Christians, each one needing a certain period of time to come into the manifest presence of God."[1] It became his and the worship team's responsibility, in an act he descibes as "charismatic ritualism" (I would call it, "mystic ritualism."), to help people enter into the divine presence.

During the Old Testament era, entry into God's presence was restricted to the High Priest one day per year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). For reason of the holiness of Yahweh, and to enter into the divine presence, the High Priest needed to pay attention to the required protocol, or face divine judgment, even death. The Lord would accept no offering of "strange fire" like that offered by the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu. For their offering of "strange fire . . . in the presence of the Lord," the two sons of Aaron died. In explaining to Aaron why they died, the Lord said through Moses, "By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored" (See Leviticus 10:1-3.).

That's why the presumptuous way in which some musicians and singers advertise themselves is troubling. One worship leader's CD contains the following promo. It advertises her as, "Fresh, energetic and anointed . . ." The CD jacket goes on to state that she is "an accomplished singer/songwriter, keyboardist and speaker." The promo concludes by stating that the recording, her second musical project, will take "you through the door of worship, right into the heart and presence of God."[2] Note the words of the blurb: her music will take "you through the door of worship, right into the heart and presence of God." It's as if, through her music, she will usher people into the Holy of Holies.

Another musical group makes a claim to do the same. As their advertisement reads, they possess "one common denominator: a passion for worship. Each conference weekend, the Worship Team leads thousands . . . into the freedom of God's presence."[3] Again, according to their passion, whatever that is, the team promises to lead thousands of participants "into the freedom of God's presence." For New Covenant believers, these advertisements raise issues about where God is, about whose place it is to lead believers to Him, about what it would really be like for us to enter His divine presence, and about the presence of God who, in Christ, already resides in believers.

First, the Bible states that God is everywhere present. He's omnipresent. The Psalmist asks, "Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?" (Psalm 139:7; See 139:8-12.). Of course, the answer to the question is, "Nowhere!" Again, Jeremiah the prophet asks, "'Can a man hide himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?' declares the Lord. 'Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?' declares the Lord'" (Jeremiah 23:24). So how can any human usher any other human into the presence of the Holy God who is everywhere anyway? Does God depend upon worship teams to take people into His presence? Hardly . . .

Second, if we Christians were to enter into God's presence (The ultimate place of His abode is, we believe, heaven.), who would be qualified to take us there? The Bible affirms that believers need a mediator between themselves and God. In the Old Testament, the divinely appointed High Priest and Levites served that function. In this era, our "go-between" is Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus . . ." (1 Timothy 2:5; See Hebrews 8:6; 9:15.). If people wish to enter God's presence, they will need to be ushered into it by Christ. It would be wise to remember that musicians, no matter how passionate and sincere they might be, are not qualified to do that. Our drawing near to God can be facilitated only by Christ and His Spirit. He is our Concierge!

Third, if persons where to enter into God's presence, what would that experience be like? To answer this question, we must glean from those who encountered God in the Bible. Moses found himself in God's presence. The Lord told him, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5). Of his reaction to being in God's presence, the Scripture records, "Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God." (Exodus 3:5-6). God manifested His presence to Elijah through an intimidating tornado, an earthquake, a fiery inferno, and then a gentle voice. Elijah responded to the Presence by wrapping "his face in his mantle" (1 Kings 19:11-13). Isaiah entered into God's presence, and immediately became convicted of his sin, that he was a man with a dirty mouth who dwelt among a people with dirty mouths. For that reason, he cried out, "Woe is me, for I am ruined!" (Isaiah 6:5). Upon encountering God, the prophet pronounced a curse upon himself. Jesus helped Peter to catch a mass of fish on what otherwise had been a bad fishing day. The miracle stimulated Peter to know he was in the Lord's presence, and falling down at Jesus' knees, he cried out, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" (Luke 5:8). In the Bible, those who encountered God did not celebrate the experience. To the contrary, they became unnerved and convicted of their sin. Is this happening to people supposedly led into the mystical presence of God by contemporary worship teams? It neither sounds or looks like it.

And fourth, the Scriptures teach that Christ is present with and in believers. Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him" (John 14:23). Before His ascension, the Lord promised the disciples, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20). Paul wrote that the mystery of God among believers is, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 2:27). If Christ is God (John 1:1; 10:30; Philippians 2:6; etc.), and His Spirit resides with and in every believer (Romans 8:9-11), then the only thing believers need to do is appropriate their knowledge of God's presence by faith in the Word. For that, no worship team is needed.

Christ's presence cannot be "drummed up." As Christ is "in" us, He is also "with" us, and in light of His divine presence, can any team of singers and musicians lead believers to be closer to God than they already are "in Christ"? We appropriate the presence of God in our lives through faith in the promise of Christ, by His Spirit, through Bible reading, by prayer, and in relationships cultivated with other believers (i.e., attending church, partaking in the Lord's Table together, and singing spiritual songs to one another). The whole business of bringing people into God's presence appears to be Old Covenant, and therefore denotes law, not grace. Because the Spirit of Christ resides in believers, God is present with them 24/7. Christ is already at home in our hearts. Question: For reason of His presence with us and in us, why are muscians and/or worship teams needed to usher New Covenant believers into a divine presence? Answer: They aren't.

Some of today's worship leaders claim to be able to mediate God's presence to Christians, but this they do by usurping the mediatorial authority of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And this they do without having to meet the spiritual and moral qualifications for spiritual leadership (See 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9.). And this they do without the mention of any such ministry in the New Testament.

Sometimes, we assume that, by a corporate "working-up" of human emotion, we can mystically "get into God." Too, we treat this whole business of entering into the Lord's presence too casually, especially when the Scriptures teach that, for those who directly entered it, God's presence was an awesome, if not unsettling and convicting, experience (See John 16:8-11.). If we are to sense God's presence within us before death, then the Spirit of Christ will lead us, and that is something no musical-mystical high priest possesses either the authority or power to do.

Guest Blogger, Larry