Did You See the Cloud?                                                                                                               June 26, 2009

2 Chronicles 7:1-3

1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.

3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, 

"He is good; his love endures forever."

I would like to pose a question to us all this morning.

You don't have to answer it out loud.

In fact, you may not be able to answer it at all.

I don't think I can.

How would we react, if the glory of the Lord fell like it did in this passage of scripture?

I'd like to think that I'd react well, but how do we really know?

Unless you have been there when something like this has happened, you don't know, not for sure.

Imagine, if you can, that in a worship service, here, or, even in a church, the glory of the Lord falling in a tangible manner.

God's presence actually falling in a way you can feel, and see.

That would be exciting, but I think it would be scary as well.

I remember the service that inspired Pam to write the song, Did You See the cloud.

The worship band went into a jam, that lasted, I don't know how long.

Probably close to an hour.

I was playing rhythm acoustic guitar, and Pam was on the keyboard.

We also had Freddy Denton playing lead guitar.

He is probably the best electric guitarist I've ever known.

It was an amazing time.

It felt like the whole platform we were on, was in a cloud.

Time meant nothing to us, we could have gone on like that for hours, and not cared, or noticed.

It felt like we weren't even touching the floor.

When we finally wound down, one of the elders in the church had a word.

All I can remember of it was, Did you see my cloud.

So, that song isn't just singing verses out of the Bible, it is actually a musical expression of something we experienced.

God moved in, probably the most powerful way I have ever experienced, or at least one of them anyway.

I doubt that many, if any, of the congregation was still on their feet.

My guess is, they were on the floor.

You see, when God makes a tangible appearance, our flesh can't handle it.

Even Moses had to settle with looking at the back of God.

If he had seen God's face, it would have killed him.

Yet, we treat God like he's a good old boy.

He's just our buddy, riding along in our pocket.

(tell the story about God eating the hotdog)

Yes, we do need a relationship with Him, a real, and personal relationship.

That's what walking with the Lord, is all about.

But we can't ever forget that God isn't just our brother, our father, and our best friend.

He is God.

He made everything, and keeps everything working.

The planets, the stars, the space in between.

All the animals, plants, and people.

And yet, Jesus said in JOH 4:23  "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

The Father cares, He knows who worships Him in spirit and truth, and who gives Him lip service.

ISA 29:13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

God doesn't take faking it lightly.

When the worship runs long, or maybe we start playing something, and get lost in it, how do you react?

Do you get bored, look around, and wonder when we will move on to the next thing?

Do you wish you weren't here at all?

Are you looking at the other people, laughing at how they look, or act?

Maybe you think they must be faking it, because you don't feel anything, so they must not either, which leads to the idea that they are pretending.

Or, maybe they are just goofy anyway, so they act silly, because they are dumb.

Maybe they are trying to draw attention to themselves, so you give it to them.

You see, all these things, and even worse things, can run through our minds, when the Lord is moving, and touching people, and we feel left out.

2Ch 7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

Two major things happened here.

First, the fire came down from Heaven, and consumed the offering.

Are you freaked out enough yet?

Picture it, if you can.

We are all here, right here, in the sanctuary, and fire comes down, out of nowhere, and starts burning in the middle of the floor.

Woe, jump back, call 911.

Then the glory of the Lord filled the room.

A cloud, a bright light, something that you can feel, and see, it is here, and everywhere.

I've felt the presence of the Lord so thick, it is like breathing in oil, do you know what I mean?

I've had the Spirit of God fall, and I smell the anointing oil really thick, so strong, that I can taste it.

I've had that happen too, but it has been a while.

Why has it been a while?

Is it me?

Is it the people we are worshipping with?

It can't be God, He wouldn't hold back like that, unless something was wrong.

I think it is because we, all of us, are just not worshipping In spirit and truth.

Remember, Jesus said that people like that, are the ones the Father is looking for to be the true worshippers.

So what is wrong with me?

What am I doing wrong?

What am I not doing now, that I did before?

This word today, isn't for condemnation, not at all, but it is a word of encouragement, a word of exhortation.

God wants us to be His worshippers.

If He didn't Jesus wouldn't have said this in the first place.

Let's begin to perform a daily self examination.

Take a spiritual inventory.

What is in our spiritual toolbox?

How clean, and oiled up are our tools?

How ready are we to work for the Lord?

I am challenging everyone of us today, especially me, to start seeking the Lord.

Longing for Him, and His presence.

Seeking Him, and His gifts of the Spirit, so I can reach out, and touch others.

That is our job, it is our calling.

It isn't really an option either.

God wants to touch us even more than we want Him too.

But a lot of people, even professing Christians, don't really, and truly want the Lord's presence to fall, because it has a nasty way of revealing to us the truth about ourselves.

But you know what?

God isn't going to embarrass us, why would He do that?

The Holy Spirit isn't going to castigate us, and criticize us.

He will show us the areas we need to strengthen, or clean up, for the purpose of making us mighty warriors for Him.

A sponge can't wash much, if it is all dried out, and hard.

But if you soak it in the oil of the Lord's presence, then pull it out, and it is dripping oil, it can do a lot more.

Keep the bucket of the Lord's presence with you at all times.

Sometimes I forget, and leave it at church.

Sometimes, I leave it at home.

Carry it with you at all times.

We need fanny packs, or canteens filled with the oil of the Lord, so we can just dip ourselves in it, whenever we need it.

I know, this is a simple analogy, but I'm trying to paint a verbal picture here.

A picture we can keep in our minds, and hold onto.

Let's begin, this morning, to dwell in the presence of God.

Let's make a serious effort, to begin to worship in spirit, and truth.

Forget what happens, or what doesn't happen.

Get rid of the pride, and our preconceived conceptions of what church, and God should be like.

Press in, not just now, not just today, but everyday, from today on, and stay soaked in God's oil.

Soaking is better than dipping, because a dip just gets the outside wet, but a good long soak, goes all the way through.

Kind of like, beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the bone.

I want a real soaker, I want to live soaked, primed, and pumped up for the Lord.

If you desire that as well, then join with me in this venture.

I am going all the way to the end with God.

Come on, let's go!