Pastor John’s Blog

This is my foray into the world of blogging. I have my dear friend Luis to thank for this. He and I had discussed the possibility of me blogging but left it at that. Then last week he surprised me with this blog page. Thanks Luis!

This past weekend the Church that I serve, Spirit Life Community Church, went on a spiritual retreat and used a venue in San Juan Capistrano that was new to us. The distance to the retreat site was just enough to make everyone feel that they had left their obligations behind. Plus the fact that there was no mobile phone service further distanced us from our daily obligations and allowed us to focus on the reason we had come to the retreat in the first place, and that was to encounter God in a profound way. To achieve this we scheduled four worship gatherings, one on Friday evening and three on Saturday. The gatherings were all patterned the same way. We began with praise and worship. This was followed by the preaching of God’s word brought to us by Hector Saucedo from Urban Ops who brought to us an amazing word from God each time. Hector focused all of his talks on the theme of yearning to be filled with God’s Spirit. Each time he spoke to us we all felt hungrier for God and felt a stronger need to be in God’s presence. Each time Hector finished speaking he called us to the altar where we prayed and sought God with intensity. God’s presence manifested each time in an almost tangible way. Some felt God’s presence as a warm sensation. Others felt an electrical charge go through them. I felt God’s presence as a warm thickness in the air. Some stood still and others cried with joy as we all experienced God’s presence.

I believe that followers of Christ should not leave their brains at the door when they attend church or a retreat. It is through the careful meditation of God’s word that we are able to grasp the complexity of God’s message to us and to perceive all of the rich nuances that have great applicability to our daily lives that would otherwise be missed without deep, intelligent reflection. It is through intelligent reflection of God’s word that our minds are renewed and experience growth in our lives. However, having said that, I also believe that God can be experienced in powerful ways. I firmly believe that we can sense God’s presence not just on the inside but all around us when we seek him. Worship should be both intellectual and experiential. When God introduced himself to Israel in Exodus chapters 19-20 it was profoundly experiential for the Israelites. God manifested himself to them on Mount Sinai hiding himself inside of a cloud and smoke and fire. The mountain trembled as God’s voice thundered from the mountain. As the Israelites stood at the foot of the mountain they felt as if they were going to die on account of what they were experiencing through their senses. This is experiential at its greatest intensity. In chapter 2 of the book of Acts the believers that were praying in the upper room awaiting the promise of the Father, felt the Holy Spirit enter the room as a strong wind from heaven that made a loud noise. Then they were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues. Upon them appeared cloven tongues of fire. This was a highly experiential encounter with God! They saw, heard and felt this manifestation of God’s Spirit. I am convinced that we can and should experience God in powerful ways.

Most Genexers that come to Christ want to experience God’s presence. In fact, most GenX church services involve the senses to one degree or another. If you are a Genxer like me (although my parents are from the builder generation I was born at the beginning of Generation X) and want to experience God in a deeper way let me help you get started. First, prepare yourself for an encounter with God. To do this you must set a block of time to seek God (retreats are great for this). Second, spend time waiting on God. The old-time believers would call this “tarrying at the altar”. This includes worshiping God through praise and worship songs, reading God’s word and fervently praying to him. Next, yearn deeply for God’s presence. Ask God to fill you with his presence. And last, let God minister to you as you stand still fully focused on who he is. Something good will happen.

As for me, I am still sensing God’s presence in such a powerful way three days after the retreat. I feel charged with God’s anointing! I need to do this more often. There just is no substitute for being in God’s presence.