We have been taught how to worship and we have been taught how to praise regardless of how and when, we worship because we love to but at the same time there is the presence of God that very few people have been taught about and know about.
Ps Bonnie Deuschle calls the Great Connection that is entering his courts with praise and entering his gates with thanksgiving. In church we know how to get into the presence of God and as soon as we enter into his goodness we stop so that the Pastor can preach the message. Once we are in the presence of God we don't know what to do.
I had never seen these scriptures before when I saw them I was amazed. "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words", Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
So yes we know how to enter into his presence but then what do we do once we are in the presence of the Lord, what do you do? What do you say? Where do you start from?
Ecclesiastes shows us that the Presence of the Lord is about
Keeping Thy Foot:
Which basically means guard your steps as you go in, consider your ways, look at your heart, think carefully as you go into His presence. If the presence of God really hits your life you see your life you really see like Isaiah saw and he gasped Woe I'm a man of unclean lips. Consider your ways as you get into his presence, Jesus said if you about to offer a sacrifice and things aren't well with your brother leave your sacrifice and deal with your life first before you enter in.
Hearing:
"be more ready to hear", "therefore let thy words be few" In his place it all about Him showing and telling us, the presence is what we came to see and touch then hence we should stick to that. Some people are not good at hearing because they talk too much and if we are going to see and hear from the Lord we should ready to hear to hear. As a worship leader we need to learn the attitude, make it a personal culture and endeavour to be a better listener and if we can live that way then we able to listen and hear from the Lord.
Speaking Less
"Don't be hasty", "let thy words be few" the Lord here is showing us that in his presence its key choosing words and knowing which words to say. Moses said I stutter and Isaiah said here I'm send, Samuel said here I'm Lord, what will you say and what have you said in his presence before. In God's presence we have to know the words we speak. We have to learn to withhold words and be careful with words.
Words of the Heart
The heart speaks, the heart has words and even though our minds speak before our hearts relate God here is teaching us to learn a lifestyle where our hearts and minds speak the same language and we mean what we say. Jesus said they honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me, God wants our hearts and minds to be in sync.
The presence of God is more than just an idea, it's a reality and it's a lifestyle that we have to cultivate in our own space before we endeavour to step into his presence. It's not something that you quickly do before you get in it's a lifestyle that you cultivate, a footballer create football on and off the pitch but he puts in 70% off the pitch that he does on the pitch. God wants that focus and heart to chase after God and not a soup in a cup mixture.
May we learn to hear, may we consider our ways, may we speak less and know the God we serve above all.
Worship Him in the Beauty of His Holiness
