We spent New Years at the Pioneer Corps in Philadelphia. John Copeland and his Generation Next bunch of crazies puts on an all-night worship sevice from 7pm to 7am including the midnight mass choir, mass drum corps, mass dance troupe Days of Elijah Jubilee Jamboree. That was pretty incredible. The whole night was really amazing. Some serious seekers after God in that room.
Right away the Spirit was present. I wrote this description of what happened early on, thinking somehow, I would take "live notes" as the night went along, but when you're in the Spirit like that, you'd just rather be there, in that moment than trying to record it. Those who were with us know what it was like. Those who were not are only going to get a small hint of the flavor through reading. So these are my only "live notes" that I ended up writing. It was important to be there. I'm glad I was able to be a part of it.
Philadelphia New Years 06 8:30pm
The Spirit just fell in a major way, the kind of thing you want to capture for other people to experience, but know you can't. Frankly it's been a long time since I've experienced Holy Spirit like that. And I've never experienced this prophetic worship where no one in the room knows the next lyrics but the worship goes on ubinhibited as each one just worships in their way, some singing, some dancing, some prostrating themselves.
And I wonder to myself when I want so much to be there and nowhere else, but in the presence of God, "why don't I practice the presence of God more often?" Why don't I seek this of God every day? It cannot be that He doesn't want me to experience what I am experiencing right now. We've settled for this stupid idea that God only wants us to experience His Glory from time to time. He wants us to live and breathe and walk His Glory everywhere at all times. In the basement, while we commute, while we do what we do. We define ourselves by where we live and what we do with ourselves between 9 and 4 every day. He wants us to be defined by His glory, to be constant seekers of His presence. And we sit back discontentedly accepting that He only wants to speak on certain days, or at a given event. He wants us to be there with Him all the time.
Your Glory. You're Glory. Your Glory is our Glory. From Glory to Glory.
5 comments:
Drew,
Thanks for giving us a taste of what you experienced in Phillie. God was speaking to me about the same things this weekend. Only it took me two hours to get to a place of feeling his presence. It was worth the dialing down, b/c I found the peace in Him I have been longing for in the hubub of Christmas. If you find the way to maintain contact with Him in the day to day, please let us know, b/c I so long to not be where He wants me to be and doing what He wants me to be doing every second.
Your sister.
correction to the last post... I long to BE where he wants me to be...
wish i could have been there
Drew,
I wish I had been there. What you describe in your last paragraphs about experience and defining ourselves has so much to do with being part of the Church instead of just going to church. While events like the one you describe are precious, it is so precious to experience and look for God in the everyday. Frank Laubach has so much to share on this. If you have not done so, read some of his writings. He says it so much more eloquently than I can.
I was going to go with Tabitha! But I was forced to go to England with my parents..I'll be their next year though!!! I can't wait
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