The Presence of God
written by Carol Wimber

When looking back in what were the early distinctive’s that made the Vineyard what it was, was primarily our understanding of what the Christian life was. In the Quaker church in which John and I were saved, there was no higher call than to be a Christian. The man who led us to the Lord used to talk about the responsibility and the wonder that we walked around with the presence of God dwelling in us.

Also, in that Quaker church there was simplicity, and a lack of ambition. The man who led us to the Lord was a welder. The foundation of the church was everyday, simple people.They dressed down; they drove Chevy’s instead of Cadillac’s, even though some of them were quite wealthy. Anybody felt comfortable and welcome in that church. There was no great gap between the clergy and the laity. We didn’t even use those words in the Quaker church. The big thing was whether we would love people and how we led our lives before them, and whether our faith was real.

The truth is the Holy Spirit really began to visit us in the Quaker church. It sometimes sounds or comes across as if nothing was happening before this time, but that wasn’t the case. There had been an increased hunger in us for God and for his Word. But there was also a huge increase of hunger to worship. In the Quaker worship,they have what they call “communion”. It’s a time of silence, where they just wait and soak in God, unless someone felt like they had a song from the Lord,or a word, or even a teaching. If they felt like they had received something,they were supposed to speak it out. Every once in awhile someone would sing out some beautiful song or have a short teaching or some sort of revelation—though they would not have called it that.

So we were no strangers to the move of the Spirit. In fact the later outpouring was merely an increase of what had already been happening.

I believe our foundation, how the Vineyard was formed was by Quakerism. Most people don’t realize that; in fact they believe the Vineyard came from Calvary, when in fact, we’re Quakers.

When we look back and see God’s presence moving on us; forming us; worship had such an intricate part through all this. Over the years we’ve seen things change-shift, but from the very beginning we understood that worship wasn’t “for” anything, except for the Lord. Sometimes I get the feeling that we’ve shifted a bit too, “We worship in order for this to happen.” Whatever “this” is —a great move of the Spirit perhaps. But that truthfully is the opposite of what were doing in those early days. We were worshipping simply because God is worthy of worship. The wonderful things that happened were as a result of his presence. But we didn’t worship so that his presence would come; we just worshipped!

We didn’t even really know about trying to ‘make’ things happen, or “we’ll worship until the ‘big’ thing happens, or when the Spirit begins to move. That wasn’t why we were meeting together. We were meeting together out of love for God. It was odd to us that suddenly in the middle of John teaching a course at Fuller for seasoned missionaries [MC 510: Signs, Wonders & Church Growth] that the course would become world famous and we would become these great ‘healers’. That sure wasn’t what we were doing. That’s just something God did when he showed up.

But we somehow through God showing up; got this reputation, so many churches became or wanted to become Vineyards around that time, and that’s what their idea of the Vineyard was. But that was never what John and I set out to do. John used to say, “I do what I do. I preach the Gospel. I lay hands on the sick. Either God will heal them or he wont. I just do what I do, and God does what he does. Shame on me if I don’t do what I do, but he’s responsible for what he does or doesn’t do. We’re just following directions.”

John had this ability to see what was coming in the days ahead. So he would often prepare or warn us what would be coming next. Concerning the Vineyard, John used to always say that an outpouring has about a twenty-year life span. Then hinges will get too much in cement and we’ll start building monuments to ourselves. He said, “I don’t expect us to be any different. But the Lord is faithful, and he’ll pour out his Spirit again and again. It may not be here, but lets all be watching and listening, and as soon as that happens, let’s go where he is!”

John had a great respect and regard for the whole Church and believed that the Lord’s hands are on the whole thing. He knew it was possible for a movement to be sustained for hundreds of years. Look at the Moravians. But he didn’t have any huge concern that we had to protect anything. He really didn’t think it was that important. He figured our grandchildren would find where the Lord was pouring himself out if the presence of Jesus wasn’t here anymore.

By Kelly Carpenter
Tri-Cities Vineyard
www.kellycarpenter.com

Spring has finally sprung in our corner of the country. My wife and I took an early evening bike ride through our neighborhood. The trees have started to leaf and plenty of blossoms abound. As I was coasting down a gentle slope, I let the sweet wind overtake my senses. I delighted in this moment-this little gift from the Lord, and I thanked him for it.

The Lord has given us so much. The big things, such as His great plan through the sweep of history, the gift of His Son, our adoption as sons and daughters in His family, the incredible riches of our glorious inheritance. The little things, such as the blossom-scented breeze, a timely letter of encouragement from a friend. And the things in-between, such as our families, relationships, jobs, and all the ways we have been provided for.

When we gather together in worship, it seems to me that there is so much that we have to be thankful for–that we can praise God for. Yet, I am grieved at how disconnected some people are from this truth by the looks on their faces on Sunday morning, emotionally detached from everything. Occasionally, I am tempted to stop everything and yell, “Don’t you people get it?”. This would not be a very encouraging thing to do, so I do what I can through modeling worship, singing and speaking prayers, and exhorting them to draw these “bulletin readers” in.

There is another group of experienced worshippers that I think of as the “professionals”. Experienced worshippers have this tendency to rate the worship experience. “Wow that was really hot. God showed up BIGTIME!!” or “Ooo.. that was really pathetic”. What is our criteria when we measure worship? Is it how much God “showed up”? Is it the percentage of people still on their feet at the end of the worship set-with their hands raised? Is it how well the band played and the singers sang? Was it the level of “anointing” the worship leader displayed while navigating through the set? Is it how big the smile is on the pastor’s face? Is it how many “Wow, worship was awesome!” comments the worship leader receives?

All of this leads me to the question: What do we expect in worship?

How would you answer this question? There are variety of answers. I have been in the Vineyard now for over 15 years. Typical answers I hear from those in the Vineyard tradition is that we expect to experience the “manifest” presence of God in our worship and that we come to connect with Him. Many times we do experience His love, His touch, His healing, and so on. Sometimes we don’t.

I think it is a good thing to expect a visitation from the Lord in our worship times. But is that the reason why we worship?

Let me turn the previous question around. What does God expect in worship?

I really appreciate the story behind Matt Redman’s song “The Heart of Worship”. The nutshell of the story is that their church, Soul Survivor (in Watford, England), was going through a dry period, and it dawned on them that they had become “connoisseurs of worship, not participants of worship”, almost as if worship itself had become the object of worship, instead of God being the object of worship. They repented in a drastic way and Matt wrote “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus”.

I believe that sometimes we have been guilty of making the experience of worship the object of our worship as opposed to making God the object of our worship. I think that us “experienced” worshippers can be in as much danger of “not getting it” as the bulletin readers.

So, what is worship? What does God expect from worship? And, what should we expect in worship?

One answer is from the church tradition that states: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This is a simple yet powerful way of stating what our whole purpose of existence is. There have been entire books written about this, and scriptures abound in supporting this whole concept. Simply put, I believe that we were created to worship God. The two most prevalent Greek words for “worship” in the New Testament are latreuo which means to “render honor” or to “pay homage”, and proskuneo which means “to kiss the hand” or “to bow down”. Notice that these are verbs, we are the initiator, and they are about giving, not receiving. I appreciate how John MacArthur, in his book “The Ultimate Priority”, puts it: “When we talk about worship, we are talking about something we give to God. Modern Christianity seems committed instead to the idea that God should be giving to us. God does give to us abundantly, but we need to understand the balance of that truth-we are to render honor and adoration to God. That consuming, selfless desire to give to God is the essence and the heart of worship.”

I think that when a person first discovers worship, we understand that it is a response to God for what He has done for us and what He is doing in us-we have gratitude in our hearts. We come to bless and honor Him. God meets us and blesses us with His wonderful presence. But what I have observed is that after a while we get hooked on the experience of God’s presence in worship. Now I believe that the presence of God is a wonderful thing, but I don’t believe that that should be our only motivation for worshipping Him. Our motivation should be to give to the Lord, not receive. We come to bless Him, praise Him, minister to Him, touch His heart, and lift up His name. When we do that we honor and reverence God; the latreuo and proskuneo of worship.

A helpful analogy is the sport of running. Running is something I have done off and on over the years to help lose some weight and get my cardiovascular system in shape. Many people get into running to achieve these benefits. However, after running a certain distance, the body releases endorphins into the bloodstream and once it hits the brain, we experience what is called a “runner’s high”. It’s that feeling for an hour or so after exercising that “life is wonderful”. There are some people who run solely out of the motivation to get the “runner’s high”, and this is usually involves running longer than is necessary to simply achieve cardiovascular fitness. What once started out as a desire to get fit has become a quest to get high.

What once started out as a response to God’s goodness by desiring to bless and thank Him has become a quest to get high on His presence. Now, again, I think it is wonderful to “bliss out” in the presence of the Lord. But, what happens when He doesn’t manifest His presence in this way? What is our reaction when God apparently doesn’t “show up”?

I believe that worship is not about God’s presence as much as it is about our presence. A good worship service has less to do with whether or not God showed up as much as whether or not we showed up. We are the giver in this transaction. God is the audience. The reality is that God is always with us. His presence is not the issue. Are we always present with Him?

It’s up to us whether or not we will delight in the Lord. It’s our choice. When we choose to delight in Him, bless Him, touch His Heart, and so on, then true worship happens.

Because worship is a choice we make or not make, the issue of sincerity comes up. What if we don’t feel like worshipping God? I am not proposing that we force ourselves to sing certain songs, adopt certain physical expressions, and in general “fake it”. But if we don’t feel like we can worship God, then we need to take inventory of what is going on in our heart and make the right choice about how to approach Him in honesty from whatever place our heart is in. I love Craig Musseau’s song “I Pour Out My Heart” where he writes “I pour out my heart for I know that You hear every cry–You are listening, no matter what state my heart is inÉ”

Since worship is about what we give rather than what we get, and since it appears that some people, including ourselves at times, just don’t get the picture, how do we get to the place where we are making the appropriate choice to delight in, bless, and exalt the Lord? I have three suggestions:

First, we need to recognize that worship is a lifestyle and not an event. An event mindset is one where we come to church and we expect God to show up for us and give us whatever we feel we need to make it through another week or to the next meeting. I know people who are “conference junkies” who go from conference to conference to get their next renewal fix. On the contrary, the Lord calls us to a daily lifestyle of devotion. He calls us to walk with Him. He calls us to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is [our] spiritual act of worship.” (Rom 12:1) We make the choice to be continually present with Him. If we make worship our lifestyle, then we come to our meetings prepared to give instead of expecting to receive. Worship becomes about our giving to God, not about His giving to us.

Secondly, we need to look at ourselves honestly and determine whether we are in this thing called the “Christian Life” for ourselves or for God. Sure, we signed up for God’s Kingdom when we came to know Him. But do we really live for His glory, or do we exploit the inherent benefits of the Christian life to better our own condition? If we look at ourselves honestly, I believe that the only proper response is to develop a lifestyle of daily repentance. That’s why Jesus commanded us to “take up [our] cross, daily”. We need to realize that self-enthronement is a beast that needs to be taken to the cross daily. And then we need to remember that we are sinners saved by grace.

Thirdly, once we realize we are sinners saved by grace, we are then reminded of how much God loves us, and what He has done to prove it, His only Son sacrificed for us. This produces in us an “attitude of gratitude”. We can’t stray far from the Cross before we start to become like spoiled and petulant children. We stay close to the Cross and we can’t help but be filled with gratitude. When I am ever aware of how much I have to be thankful for-the big things, the little things, and those in-between-I can’t help but come to the Lord with a desire to thank Him, bless Him, touch His Heart, and praise Him.

Let’s all stay close to the Cross and pass the message along.

By Ken Wilson
Ken Wilson is the Senior Pastor of the Ann Arbor Vineyard, Michigan and is the Regional Overseer for the Great Lakes Region. This article, which is reproduced in its entirety below may be found at this link at Vineyard USA Online.

Throughout its history, the Vineyard movement has fostered a conversation about the kingdom of God. This conversation is ongoing, and so it is important both to remind those in the movement of what these concepts involve and to introduce those new to the Vineyard to these distinctive emphases.

Kingdom Theology & Practice

The Vineyard is committed to the theology and practice of the kingdom of God—rooted in the vision of the Hebrew prophets and fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. The movement is distinctively rooted in a renewed understanding of the centrality of the kingdom in biblical thought. We view the kingdom of God as the overarching and integrating theme of the Bible.

From the beginning, the Vineyard has been committed to proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God and to bearing witness to the “already and not yet” of the kingdom in our words and deeds—through healing (physical, emotional, and social), doing justice, and delivering those held captive by evil. Since the kingdom of God is the future reign of God breaking into the present through the life and ministry of Jesus, we are a forward-leaning movement that emphasizes the ever-reforming nature of the church and engages the world in love.

Culturally Relevant Mission

The church exists for the sake of those who are exiled from God. We are called to bring the gospel of the kingdom to every nook and cranny of creation, faithfully translating the message of Jesus in language and forms that are relevant to diverse peoples and cultures.

The Vineyard seeks to plant churches that are culturally relevant in a wide variety of settings, both locally and internationally. Each Vineyard church is encouraged to reach those in its community not already reached by existing churches. To this end, we promote a creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative approach to ministry that is faithful to Jesus and expressive of his desire to reach those who are far away from God.
Compassionate Ministry

We lean toward the lost, the poor, the outcast, and the outsider with the compassion of Jesus, knowing we are sinners whose standing before God is utterly dependent on his mercy. This mercy can only be truly received inasmuch as we are willing to give it away.

We believe that ministry in Jesus’ name should be expressed in concrete ways through the local church. The poor are to be served as though we serve Jesus himself. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a church expressing the love of Christ in a local community.

In fact, in all forms of ministry, compassion is a hallmark of the One who was “moved with compassion” in the face of human need. This being the age of grace—and “the year of the Lord’s favor”—compassion should constitute the leading edge of our service to God, each other, and our broken world. With humility, we seek to avoid unauthorized judgments of others, realizing that we suffer and struggle along with the rest of humanity.

Reconciling Community

Jesus is reconciling people to God, to each other, and to the entire creation. He breaks down divisions between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. Therefore, Vineyard churches are committed to being communities of healing, engaged in the work of reconciliation wherever sin and evil hold sway.

We also seek to be diverse communities of hope that realize the power of the cross to reconcile what has been separated by sin. This requires that we move beyond our personal preferences and engage those whom we perceive to be unlike us. We must actively work to break down barriers of race, culture, gender, social class, and ethnicity.

We are convinced that the church—locally, nationally, and globally—is meant to be a diverse community precisely because Jesus is Lord over every nation, tribe, and tongue. We are not satisfied with the status quo when it doesn’t reflect this kingdom reality. Instead, we pray eagerly for the coming of God’s kingdom here and now and hope to see the reconciliation that is evidence that kingdom in our midst.

Experiencing God

The triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is eager to be known and experienced by all. We believe that God is searching for the lost and longs to draw us into loving, intimate relationship with him. In Vineyard churches, we welcome God’s personal presence, we seek to be attentive to his presence, and we value the passionate pursuit of his presence in order to respond in obedience to his initiatives.

We understand God’s presence as a palpable reality. As we become increasingly sensitive and responsive to the Spirit’s presence, we too can learn to “see what the Father is doing” and support his work with our lives.

We value an approach to God’s presence that is respectful both of God and others. We eschew hype and other efforts to manipulate either God’s presence or the response of others to his presence. We distinguish between the Holy Spirit and the human response to the Holy Spirit, which shares in all the beauty and brokenness of our humanity.

These, then, are the core values that draw us together as a movement. They are different aspects of the treasure buried in the field that is the Vineyard. The treasure, of course, is the kingdom of God embodied and brought forth by Jesus of Nazareth.

by Francis Frangipane
www.frangipane.org

Since time began, the Kingdom of Heaven has been an interactive reality in man’s destiny. God (and angels) spoke to man “from Heaven” (Gen. 21:17; 22.11; 22:15), the Lord gave man promises and blessings from Heaven (Gen. 24:7; 49.25), and when necessary brought judgments upon wicked men “out of heaven” (Gen. 19:24).

Indeed, the revelation of God’s kingdom in the Sacred Writ is no incidental issue. The Bible records several hundred verses where Heaven or God’s kingdom is mentioned in its various phrasings. It is this kingdom that I’d like us to consider, first as it is revealed in the Old Testament and then as it was manifest in power through Christ in the New Testament. Our focus will remain upon God, of course, yet we must also learn of that realm that surrounds the Most High: His eternal abode.

This realm called Heaven is not only “real,” but it is “an everlasting kingdom” that “endures throughout all generations” (Ps. 145:13). Nations rise and fall, men and cultures emerge in pride and vanity only to disappear, yet God’s kingdom abides forever.

The Time Is Fulfilled
For all the references to Heaven in the Old Testament, with few exceptions, the actual life of Heaven remained remote and inaccessible to the common man. Israel had the Law and the Prophets; it had moments of glory and divine visitation. Yet, the kingdom of God was greater than even Israel’s standards of righteousness.

It was out of Israel that the Messiah came, yet His message was not a restoration of the Law. It was the proclamation of God’s kingdom. Both Jesus and His forerunner, John the Baptist, heralded the same incredible word:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

The time was fulfilled? Yes, a new dispensation had arrived! The Kingdom of God was at hand? Yes, Heaven was within the reach of men. The realm of God had come near! The message of the kingdom was without precedent, yet it was so! Every manner of sickness was healed instantly at the touch of Jesus’ hands, for Heaven was at hand! The demonically tormented were instantly set free, for Heaven empowered Jesus.

Yet, as the Holy Spirit empowered Christ, so He empowered and commissioned His disciples, and Heaven manifest through them as well! Through the battalion of His disciples, the authority and compassion of Heaven flowed. They had power to heal, to deliver, even to raise the dead.

“And as you go, preach, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:7).

Heaven, “at hand?” What did that mean, but that Heaven itself, once remote and inaccessible to common men, was now close enough to reach from where men were.

Beloved, this is what Jesus said church should look like! Healing, deliverance, power: the kingdom of Heaven manifested through the lives of surrendered, yet believing men and women.

And this is what the church will look like before Jesus returns.

This Gospel of the Kingdom
Jesus knew there would be a great falling away from God’s kingdom. He warned of false prophets and teachers arising to mislead many. Certainly, we have seen our share of watered-down, superficial Christianity. Yet in spite of our failings, Jesus made a remarkable prediction. He said,

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).

In spite of a great falling away, there is a great gathering back to God’s kingdom. Let us hear Christ’s words with faith. He said before the “end shall come” and He returns, the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to all nations. He did not say that the whole world would be subdued before He returns, but that the whole world would witness the kingdom of Heaven, preached with power, before His return.

Let me emphasize His reassuring point. He said, “This gospel” – that is, His gospel, His teaching, the “words in red.” If we focus on becoming like Him in obedience to His words, He promises to increasingly accompany our preaching with His power to perform miracles, signs and wonders.

He said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached.” Not the gospel only of salvation (as wonderful as it is!), but also the message of the kingdom. The gospel of salvation is free. We cannot access the kingdom without experiencing salvation by faith in God’s grace. Yet, many in the church have been parked in the realm of salvation without ever seeing and believing the promise of God’s kingdom.

Beloved, our theology has been diluted by unbelief and dead traditions. We need to return to the words of Christ. We need to press into the reality of God’s kingdom. For as this age ends, certainly Heaven will be within reach.

This prophetic word is submitted by Wendy Graham [wendy4c@primus.ca]

Child, I have seen you in your distress. I have seen you in your nakedness and despair of your soul. You lie down in defeat and woundedness of the heart. I see your wound; the dagger that is lodged in your heart. I see all your pain in this trial–but I also see your destiny.

I am the Lord your God and it is I that have summoned you. I chose you and I delight in you. I have clothed you in white, and in My righteousness. You can not come by it on your own, but only by My blood. Yes, it was My bloodshed that made you clean, and it is by My hand of righteousness that I now uphold you in this trial.

You will rise like the noonday sun, and I will cause all to come into alignment with My kingdom plan. You will stand in My glory and My honor. I am pure and without sin; and I am clean and free from guilt.

I will wash over you by My Spirit in purification and newness of life. I will restore the years the locusts have eaten and bring you into your freedom. Yes dear one, do not despair that I have forsaken you in your day of trial. As I have said in My word, you will come into your time of difficulties, but you must remain cheerful in Me because I have already overcome the world.

Am I not the maker of the heavens and the earth? As I breathed new life into being, so will I breathe new life into the despair of your soul. Look up to the heavens in anticipation and expectation of Me. I will surely meet you. Yes, you will rise in Me for I have already written the beginning to the end.

I am the Alpha and the Omega. I will turn your days into rejoicing. I will draw you nearer to Me, and you will commune with Me in an increase of love and purity. This will be at a much greater level than you did before. You will hear My voice and know that it is I that speaks to you. I will give onto you My wisdom and understanding. You will have a discerning heart and you will know the hope to which I have called you. You will see Me in depth and clarity, and your heart will leap for joy in it.