September 2023: Cherishing His Presence
““Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.”
Zechariah 12:10 NLT
I have been reading through the Old Testament in reverse, starting with Malachi and moving my way to Genesis. Currently, I am working through the minor prophets. While the Old Testament prophets may get a bad rap for being intense and confusing. They are inspirational when we see them in their context and those who God chose to speak to His people. Zechariah was one of those prophets who I just lumped together with others, and can say that his book really stirred my heart.
In the last section of Zechariah (12-14), God promises the New Jerusalem that is reflected John’s apocalypse in Revelation. Also, Zechariah points to is the day where God’s Spirit will dwell with God’s people. I believe this has multiple layers, but what it points to more significantly is that God’s presence fills His people and then fills the world.
As I read Zechariah, it struck me that this vision of the Holy Spirit wouldn’t come true in his lifetime. The hope that brought God’s people through the exile is the reality that we all now get to stand in. The hope that Israel’s messiah would come one day to overturn the work of the enemy, and that one day God’s Spirit would fill his people.
Living in the 21st century, we are on the other side of this reality. We can read through the Biblical history between the Old and New Testament with a turn a few pages. We can read the plight of the prophets and jump directly to God coming in the flesh, Jesus’ death, the resurrection, pentecost, and are able to read the story of the early church.
If we take the history of God’s story and turn it into information to consume, we can take for granted what we have access to in Christ. What the prophets longed for was God’s presence, because they didn’t have access to God like we do. We have the gift of knowing God personally, can experience God’s presence in our homes, we can hear God’s voice on behalf of others. Yet, how often do we take these amazing things God offers to us, and we limit ourselves by sitting around waiting for Sunday to come around so we can experience God at church.
How often do we take our faith, and what we have access to for granted?
Brothers and sisters, my encouragement is to see your place in history, your place in God’s story, here and now as an opportunity to step into faithfulness, not to squander.
Pursue God. Pursue His presence. Listen to His voice. Share the good news of God’s Kingdom here and now.
If we don’t cherish what we have, those who don’t know Jesus won’t want to know Him.
How often do we take our faith, and what we have access to for granted?
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This month, may we learn how to cherish God’s presence well.
Community Blessings
As we have discussed at Garden Church before, is that a big part of Intentional Spiritual Formation is replacing the stories we believe around us with biblical teaching. We do this because our family, culture, and social circles can often tell us lies or even speak curses over us. Another way of replacing stories we believe is through intentionally speaking and receiving of blessings. Pair people in your House Church to write blessings for each other. This is different than a prophetic word. It is a collection of the “gold” that you see in another person, and you are able to call it out. This act is a beautiful way of replacing false narratives that we all carry subconsciously, and allowing God to speak into our lives in partnership with someone else.
Formation Read Scripture
As a House Church Leader, I expect that baseline you are a reader of the Scriptures. But as a House Church, I would invite you to sit down and slowly read through a portion of the Bible. Find a chapter, a shorter book, or a longer book over a few weeks, and read it together. Allow questions to pop up, allow reflections to be shared, and allow wonder to pour out. If you haven’t gone through the Scripture Handbook, I would encourage you to do that with your House Church.
Presence Worship Night
Get together as a House Church, or with other House Churches in your region for a worship night. There is something unique when we pursue God together corporately. Lead the way in pursuing God’s presence. Let there be risks taken in worship. This should be a safe place where people are able to pour out their praise and adoration to Jesus.
Mission Back to School Prayer
The end of summer is here, and kids are going back to school. This is an amazing opportunity to invite your neighbors to a party with your House Church where you can pray for a safe year for the kids around you. Kids going back to school can raise worries for parents regarding their safety. It would be a great missional opportunity to bring parents of the neighborhood together to share the love of God for them. Have food, drinks, and a fun time!