When God Shows Up

This past weekend I spent a few day this in Galtinburg, TN with our youth group as part of an annual youth event called Resurrection. The band that led us in worship this weekend was The City Harmonic, and one of their songs has been stuck in my head all day today. The song is called “Mountain Top”, and one lyric says this:

               “We’ve been to the mountain top. We’ve seen the glory of our God. He is here!”

               This portion of the song looks back on an account from Exodus where Moses experienced the glory of God firsthand. But this song also reminds me about a story in Leviticus. Now I know that Leviticus is not often a book of the Bible that we go to for daily encouragement. It can be difficult to understand in terms of culture and actions. But if you read this portion of the Bible through the lens of Jesus, you will definitely come away from Leviticus with a deeper understanding of the holiness of God, and probably a reminder of how far as a society we have drifted from God’s guidelines. Most of read this book of the Bible in the context of God’s concern and care for His people.

               But here is the story that the song reminded me about, it is in t 9^th chapter. In this account Moses is telling the priests what needs to be done to prepare to worship God. And in verse 4 Moses says, “Today the Lord will appear to you”.

               Wow! Imagine the feeling that those Levite priests had at that very moment. I wonder if there were any nervously shaking hands when preparing the alter that day. I wonder if there were any butterflies churning around in stomaches that day. I wonder if there was any doubt that later that day, God would show His glory in a real visible and manifested way. I wonder if those priests spent some time talking to each other about ‘how’ God was going to appear that day?

               God did appear during this time of worship, and His glory was revealed. You can read the rest of this chapter later today, and focus on Verses 24-25 to see how God chose to show up that day.

                I believe that the Spirit of God dwells inside of each believer, offering comfort and strength. In a very real sense, God is always with us, so we are never apart from God. There are times, however, that we really feel the Spirit of God moving in us and directing events and circumstances in our lives. It is during these times where we should feel most alive, it is in these moments where we should say “God is here!” So, as we live in the grace of the New Covenant established through the work of Jesus Christ today, how are we expecting God to appear to us now? Are we even expecting God to appear to us? Did you wake up this morning wondering how and where God might show up today? What about the last time you were in church—did you go to that building expecting God to show up?

               See, God is as active now as He was in the lives of Moses, Abraham, Peter, and Paul. God is moving all of creation and existence toward the destination that He has chosen. God is still bringing communities of faith together and showing up to stir hearts and change lives through songs, sermons, and testimonies.

Revival still happens. In fact, that renewal and fire of Revival can happen every day in you. And if Revival happens every day in you it will spread out from you to others…to your church family, to your co-workers, to your spouse, to your children and grand children, to your waitress and to your pastor. That’s when worship becomes real, that’s when praise becomes authentic, and that’s when God shows up.

 

Come and See

               I love the stories in the Bible where Jesus says something and it just happens. Of course the miracles are awesome, Jesus speaks words of healing and the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk. And then there are the miracles of provision where Jesus blesses a few loaves of bread and some fish and thousands upon thousands of people have plenty to eat and the doggie boxes are full of leftovers. And then those times where Jesus shows his complete control of nature by walking on water or by calming the wind and rain in a raging storm on the sea. And the stories of Jesus’ compassion and love for us, and His offer of healing, restoration, and forgiveness of sins are incredible displays of divine love.

               But some of my favorite passages of Scripture in the Gospels is where Jesus calls people to follow Him. The most often discussed and widely read accounts of these involves Jesus and the twelve, the inner core of disciples who travelled with, ate with, and learned from Jesus Himself.

               When Jesus called to a tax collector named Levi to leave his tax booth and follow Him, Levi (later named Matthew) “got up and followed him” (Mark 2:14). Just like that. No recorded questions, no recorded hesitations, no worry about the future or finances or 401k plans. He just left what he was doing and followed Jesus. Why? Apparently because Jesus said so; Jesus called him…and Levi answered.

               Or how about those fisherman like James, John, Peter, Andrew, and Philip. When Jesus called them to follow Him they apparently just left their fishing boats, their livelihood, their families, and went walking down the dusty road with Jesus. Why? Apparently because Jesus told them to do it…and they all answered the call of Jesus.

               But I think one of my favorite is Nathaniel. Since Nathaniel is not mentioned in the lists of the “12 Disciples”, most biblical scholars think that he was also called Bartholomew. Bartholomew is listed as one of “the 12” (Mark 3:14-19). Levi was also called Matthew, Simon was later called Peter. Saul had a name to Paul after an experience with the risen Jesus. This practice of name changing was not uncommon after a momentous life-altering experience. In the OT Abram and Sarai had their names changed to Abraham and Sarah. So, maybe Nathaniel changed his name to Bartholomew. Or maybe he went by both names at times, sort of like calling someone by their middle name or a nickname. But the whole name issue is not why Nathaniel is so interesting to me. It’s because of his initial response to Jesus.

Philip, a fisherman from Bethsaida, had left his job and family because Jesus had said those incredible words, “follow me”. But the Gospel of John tells us that Philip then went to Nathaniel and told him about Jesus. I bet Philip was pretty excited! I bet his voice was kinda pitchy when he was telling Nathaniel all about this. I bet he was waving his arms while he was talking. And I bet he expected Nathaniel to share his excitement.

But Nathaniel doesn’t. In fact he even comes across a little judgmental and racist. (John 1:43-46). Philip could have become bitter. Philip could have said “your loss” and went on back to Jesus. But instead Philip said “come and see” (John 1:46b).

Perhaps that is the message we need to be carrying on today. Perhaps that should be our first line of invitation, just “come and see”.

What if we all ask one person this week to “come and see” what Jesus is doing in the lives of people we attend church with. (After all, they should already be able to see what Jesus is doing in your life, right?) Don’t elaborate on the wonderful organ player, the amazing praise band, the beauty of the stained glass, or the wit and wisdom of your pastor. Just focus on what Jesus is doing. He said to you “follow me” and I pray you have. Now you can tell someone this week, just come and see.