A Real Encounter With God

A Real Encounter With God

A real encounter with God changes everything. First of all it magnifies the Lord! Secondly it puts me, my ego, my sin, and my burdens in their rightful place.

Isn't that what churches are supposed to offer? Are we attempting to offer an encounter with the glory of God in creation as opposed to a real encounter with God in a way that only the church can provide? Is it possible the "manifested presence" of God is our greatest loss in the church world? Did not Moses declare; "Is it not your going with us that we are distinct among all the peoples of the earth?" Could this be part of the reason that the lost are not being found? Where is God's presence, really? The lost are not being found because the GLORY of God is not revealed in the church! The church world has shamefully become predictable and entertaining. Church was never intended to be a place where we serve God to the exclusion of meeting with Him.

Because of our church culture, we have perfected the ability to crouch within that culture instead of penetrating the culture that God has called us to. Evangelism is not winning people to doctrinal options and denominational loyalties. Evangelism is placing us deliberately into circumstances that will allow opportunities to witness about Christ as Lord. WHY? Our job is to get people to Jesus Christ and to get them back to Him in profound life-altering ways every week of the year. Church should be about helping people to discover and experience that reality fifty-two weeks a year. No personal quiet time, Christian book of the month, no community or small group or service can substitute for the absence of God coming down to meet with His church corporately. Instead of seeing ourselves as people attempting to connect with people, let us see the church as people attempting to connect with God and helping others to do the same. Eventually people vacate churches where God is not obvious, present, and working. Getting people back to church is pointless unless God comes back first. Let's get vertical!