Experience Trumps Theory
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)
“that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us….” (John 17:21)
“Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing toward the east; and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east, And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever.” (Ezekiel 43:1-7a)
   The first two scriptures above speak of a truth that is foundational in Christianity. Those who have believed in Christ are those who literally have the Person of God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit living within them. We are literally the “habitation of the Lord”, the Temple of the living God.
   This is an eternal truth. But, sadly, it is not a truth that is given much more than lip service in the average church in our day. I don’t mean that to be taken rudely but, as a sober truth. There is a major disconnect between our beliefs and our experience. Now, what we believe concerning God’s abiding Presence within us is absolutely true. It is simply that for many it has settled into a place of theological agreement which is tantamount to being a theory and not an actual life. Our faith is scheduled around devotional time, prayer time, church time; and, while all these are good they are small amounts of time in comparison with the daily schedules we all face. And, sadly, these daily schedules are lived out as though God is not with us at all. He is given very little, if any, notice. Thus, my observation: what we believe and how we live are largely disconnected.
   I am not saying that we do not sense the Presence of the Lord in times of personal prayer or when we gather together in church; but, more often than not such experiences are brief at best. We go out the way we came in, largely unchanged. But, this all changes as we begin to truly experience the Presence as more than an occasional event but as an ongoing, deepening life. Just what does it take to make that shift? I believe the opening verses of Ezekiel 43 above give us an answer.
    This passage is part of a long vision of the House of God, the Temple. God declares that it is in this place that He has established His throne and set His very feet, or made His dwelling. Obviously, we must look beyond a physical building made by man for there is no building big enough or grand enough to house the Creator of the Universe. Scripture is clear on this stating repeatedly that the ‘place’ of God’s habitation is NOT a building constructed by man. His habitation is within those in Christ, Blood-redeemed believers. For this reason, we must look at Ezekiel 43:1-7 with the eyes of the Spirit not the flesh and understand this is an eternal reality of our spiritual being, not a temporal earthy setting.
   I am captured by the image. Ezekiel is taken to the east gate where he sees the glory of the Lord approaching with awesome power, and he falls to his face before the Lord of Glory. Stunning! The ‘east gate’ is always seen as the Gate of Worship. Ezekiel falls on his face before the Glory of the Lord in the PLACE OF WORSHIP. Understand, this is not something we must adopt as a physical direction or position. There are cultures worldwide that face east and prostrate themselves in prayer and worship. This is not wrong at all; however, it is not what ushers in the Presence.It is the attitude of the heart that ushers in the Presence. Let me put it this way: The Gate of Worship in the temple of the Blood-redeemed believer is the HEART. “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!” (Psalm 24:7). Just how is the Gate of Worship opened? HUMILITY. The position of Ezekiel is meant to be seen as one of humility. An arrogant heart will never be opened to the Glory of the Presence.
   But just what do we see about the Glory of the Lord? It is awesome in its majesty, fearful in its sounds and light. It is beyond words to describe. If we go back to the beginning of the book of Ezekiel we find the reference to his remembrances of the visions at the river Chebar. The church plays with the Glory. We are like children playing at the edge of a deep river, splashing in shallows. We are like children sitting close to a campfire feeling its warmth. And, we delight in the ‘still small voice’, tender in its love and affection. These all the Lord loves, too. But, we have not remembered that our God is a Fearfully Awesome Deity of Unapproachable Light, the One who holds the infinite universe together by the word of His power. Who, if for even a nanosecond removed His Light from us we would cease to exist. We must never let go of the deep tenderness of the Lord, nor the sweetness of His intimate love; but, we must also hold close His Awesome Majesty. “It is a fearful (terrifying) thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 11:31), and, it is into His hands we indeed fall. Yet, how wondrously beautiful it is!
   These are days of Great Awakening as more and more Blood-redeemed believers are embracing once again the truth of who God truly is in us. We are not satisfied with words about His Presence, our desire is to experience Him. As His Holy Temple, we are filled completely with the Him and are beginning to resonate with the sound of His voice and the Light of His glory.
   Ezekiel saw the Glory of the Lord approaching, His voice was like the sound of many waters, “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic.” (Psalm 29:3-4), and the earth”shone with His glory”, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:3) Even now, the frequencies of Heaven-the Sound and Light of Elohim- are moving with increasing intensity in the hearts of the redeemed. And, we shall see in these days a pouring forth of Majesty beyond all we could ask or imagine. Not because the church has initiated more programs and mobilized more workers to carry them out. But because of the men and women of the Flame of Ya, the Children of the Presence who have yielded themselves before the Lord and opened wide their gates of worship. These are the ones in this hour who will shape the world to come.