Every Sunday many people go to church while others sleep or engage in other weekend activities. For those who show up for worship services, what are their motivations? While many go to church to fulfill an obligation through some ritual, some consider church attendance as an insurance policy to going to heaven in the event they pass away unexpectedly. There are a number of church goers who use Sunday mornings at church a time to make new friends and renew old ones. Then there are those who attend simply out of habit but their worship experience is anything but exciting. What should our focus be when we attend worship services?

Isaiah 2:3 gives us a clue as to what the nations long for when they come to church. It says, “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Notice that they called the church as “House of God of Jacob.” Why did they call the Almighty God as “God of Jacob” and not “God of Abraham” or other patriarchs? Because the revelation of the house of God was given to Jacob at Bethel (Gen 28:10-22). In other words, the nations wanted to experience what Jacob experienced in the House of God. At Bethel, Jacob encountered the manifested presence of God. No wonder Jacob said, “How awesome is this place!” (Gen 28:17). The presence of God is awesome indeed.

For the next several months, we would like to concentrate on pursuing the presence of God not only in our corporate gatherings like Thursday night prayer meetings and Sunday worship services but also in our daily lives whether we are in college, at work or simply at home. When God shows up in our house, wonderful things happen. Among other things, miracles and healings can be experienced in His presence. David claimed that there is fullness of joy in His presence (Psalms 16:11). No wonder only thing he desired and that he would seek after and that was to dwell in His presence in the House of God. Whenever God’s presence is evident in a worship service, people’s response can vary. But there’s one thing for sure – no one will say the gathering is boring!

It was in the presence of the Lord that Jacob (a liar or deceiver) was transformed to being Israel (a prince or an overcomer) after wrestling with Him all night (Gen 32:28). We can expect many lives to be transformed in God’s presence. Our mission is to see lives being transformed so that they will become committed Disciples of Christ. When God’s presence is consistently felt in our midst, people will be convicted of their sins, lives will be restored, fear of God will increase among our people. And many more wonderful things will start to happen. The nations will start showing up in our midst.

Moses realized that living with God’s presence continually is not a mere luxury but an absolute necessity. He told the Lord that if His presence did not accompany Israel, the Lord should not send them anyway (Exo. 33:15) but stay put where they were and risked death. In other words, Moses would rather die than to live without God’s presence. If God’s presence was so essential to Moses, can we afford less? Let’s pursue God’s presence passionately. God always respond to hearts that are hungry for Him.

Blessings,

Pastor Chris Chan