“We’ve traded Presence for atmosphere.”- John Bevere.

Yesterday we shared that one of the keys to filling the atmosphere of our churches with the presence of God, was a renewed commitment to holiness. You can find that post HERE.

We desperately need the presence of God in our services. No move of man or his power will suffice to stand against the enemies that surround the church. As ever the world is looking for something beyond entertainment. They crave above all else a real encounter with the living God. We can bring that but only if we stop striving in our own strength and begin to call down the power of God into our midst.

Holiness is one thing that calls God into the midst of His people. PRAYER IS ANOTHER.

Jeremiah the prophet said,” In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes.” Jer. 29:12, 13

God said to Solomon, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place.” 2 Chiron. 7:14,15

Again and again throughout the Bible God connects the move of His presence and power with the praying of His people. There must be an increase of prayer in the lives of the people of God if there is to be a releasing of the presence of God.

By prayer I do not mean a coming to God with our lists of what we want Him to do for us. The prayer God says brings His power and presence is the prayer that focuses on Him and on discovering His will. When God’s people spend more time in prayer asking God what He wants of them rather than telling God what they want of Him, then HIs presence will fall.

My friend Jody gave us this week’s Quote of the Week for Pastor Wrinkle’s Sunday Blog.

“We’ve traded Presence for atmosphere.”- John Bevere.

Do you agree with that? I think in some ways it may be true. When we become more concerned with the keys of a song than the keys of the kingdom, we have traded Presence for atmosphere. When we are more concerned with rhythm and melody than we are with the confession we are making we have traded Presence for atmosphere. And when we are more concerned with the look of the sanctuary than we are with the LIGHT IN OUR SANCTUARY, well then we have traded Presence for atmosphere.

Listen I am a worship pastor. I get paid to make sure songs are singable, the music is right and that the sanctuary is conducive to worship. I am not saying keys, rhythm, melody and good setting aren’t important. They are. But they are important for us not for God. They  cannot bring the Presence of God by themselves. They can create an atmosphere that impresses men but by themselves they don’t impress God enough to make Him send His presence.

I want to speak about three keys that bring Presence over atmosphere. The first one I would like to address is holiness.

Hebrews warns us, “without holiness no one will see God.” Heb. 12:14. I know we tend to think of this in terms of our eternal destination (Heaven or Hell) but frankly it pertains to the here and now just as much. God’s presence can be blocked by unholiness in the church.

We like to think that when the music is good the Spirit of God comes and moves in our midst. Conversely we like to think that when the music is bad somehow that hinders God. The music though is not for God. It is for us. Can I just say God has better music in Heaven than we will ever have on Earth no matter how talented our musicians are. So our music good or bad will not impress Him. What does move God to send His presence is the heart of those worshipping.

A heart that is actively pursuing the things of God and turning from the world of sin attracts God and will bring a move of His Spirit. Meanwhile a heart that is embroiled in sin may be able with great musical talent to move the emotions of men but it will never be able to summon the Presence of God.

The Presence is what we need. Without it we have nothing more than an emotional high in worship. We must begin to seek greater holiness and the Presence will come in greater measure.