YOU HAVE NOT, BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT

YOU HAVE NOT, BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT
I enjoyed service today. But then again, I am a pretty simple guy. I like the extra and the special and the spectacular, but I really only want what God wants me to have at any given time. The presence of God is more than we deserve.

I HAVE SEEN
I have had the privilege to enjoy magnificent outpourings during worship services. I have been blessed to be present when God manifested Himself in such an outstanding way that some people who saw if for the first time thought the service was a planned production and minutely designed performance of music and drama. It was, "too good to be real," or, "it was like a dream."

I have seen the altar filled with seekers and then refilled to overflowing and the power of God so great in the service that other ministers stood up and tried to tone down the atmosphere and pull back on the response of hundreds of people who had fallen under the power of the Holy Spirit. These ministers were afraid of what was going to happen next and they feared that the people would lose control and go wild. But I stood there, watching, smiling, because I knew God was in control and He was not finished yet.

I have been called on the phone by people outside of our church, telling me that they knew I was pumping gas into the sanctuary in order to get mind control over the people. I guess some people just don't know the power, presence or purpose of God in a service that is out of our control, but totally under His control.

BEYOND ALL EXPECTATION
But I do not seek these events. I seek God. When a church seeks God it gets EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT THEY ASK OR THINK (Ep. 3:20). I don't want anyone to experience these things because they are remarkable, I want them to experience God, and He is beyond explanation.

SEEK HIM, NOTHING ELSE
Not all of our worship encounters will lift us out of this world and usher us into the heavenlies (though some of them should), and not every personal time with God will transport us beyond the limitations of this world (but some of them should), however, God is greater than any blessing He will bestow. If in the quiet and stillness of holiness I meet with God, I am blessed beyond expectation. If it is a time when God crushes me or breaks me or searches me, I am of all men, most blessed. Seek the Blessor and not the blessing, and God will pour out a blessing you cannot contain. Be glad for the crumbs from His table and He will set a feast before you. When you are truly blessed, your cup will overflow, and you won't have to tip it.

SADLY

Sadly, if some people do not get the holy goosebumps and visible signs, they go looking for it in another church. Remember, it is not the signs that are important, it is the reality of His presence.