"Place Of Worship Series One."

Rev. Dr. Charles O. Osueke

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's most Holy place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of His death for us. And since we have a great High priest who rules over God's people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22 (NLT)."

If we get back to our basic text for these series in John 4 Jesus was telling the Samaritan woman that a geographical expression is not what matters in a meaningful worship unto God, rather the presence of Christ in the midst of His people; that was why He immediately went into the spiritual aspect of worship.

We can only worship God most effectively in the most holy place. Worship is not something that should be done once a week, but must become a life style. Every activity in our lives should reflect this positions. This means that even when we eat, fast, dress, drive, work etc; wherever we expect His presence, there God can be worshipped.

"God was not offended by this 'Oliver Twist' kind of request from Moses, rather He received it with enthusiasm."

In Exodus 33, we read the story of how Moses requested God to show him (Moses) His glory. This was after series of assurances from God that He would be with Moses and Israel. Moses was not just satisfied. The bible said, "Then Moses had one more request, 'Please let me see your glorious presence'."

God was not offended by this 'Oliver Twist' kind of request from Moses, rather He received it with enthusiasm. He was excited that somebody was seeking to know Him intimately. God went ahead to prepare a place where Moses would stay and worship Him. "Stand here on this rock beside me. As my glorious presence passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed. Then I will remove my hand, and you will see me from behind" He declared to Moses.

What does this mean? He (Moses) will be standing both on and in the rock at the same time. And God will cover the place (cleft) with His hand to ensure protection for Moses. Standing in the rock and on the rock, and the God's hand covering the only entrance into the rock shows that the worshipper is safe and secured.

He will not slip off because he will be standing on the rock, he'll not fall away because the rock will be around him; and also he will not be able to get away, because the hand of God covers the cleft. That's the place that we worship God.

Let's get back a bit. On the appointed day the bible said that Moses went up to the mountain and consequently God came down (Exodus 34:4-5) . All that God wants is for us to take the first step towards Him. When we do that, God rushes down to us; because He is always eager to manifest Himself to those who trust in Him.

Let us talk about the place of worship in all these. The bible said that after Moses met and saw the glory of God, he immediately fell to the ground and worshipped (Exodus 34:8).

We can also see this in the purpose and building of the Tabernacle in Exodus 25:8. God said "I want the people of Israel to build me a sacred residence where I can live among them." The purpose of the Tabernacle is to ensure that God dwells amongst His people.

Remember it was not the people that got up and said let them build the Tabernacle, God initiated it; because He desired to be resident amongst His people. If we will create a conducive atmosphere for God to visit us, including our churches on a regular basis, we may not again need weeks or months to be praying, "please God come, God come." All He requires is a conducive atmosphere and He comes down to manifest His glory.

Again, see Exodus 29:44-46, "Yes, I will make the Tabernacle and the altar most holy, and I will set apart Aaron and his sons as holy, that they may be my priests. I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God."

God did not just bring Israel out of Egypt to demonstrate His power or just to free them out of bondage. He brought them out so that He might dwell among them.

God has not called us out of the 'world' just to have a people that would claim they belonged to Him, but so He might dwell in our midst. He wants to live among us, and when He does that, anything can happen.

Let's take another look at the Tabernacle. This particular structure (The Tabernacle) represented everything we talk about worship. The Tabernacle portrays what our relationship with God would be through Christ.

Dear friend, the first step is to enter into a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. If you would like to begin this relationship, then accept Jesus Christ into your life and your life truly will never remain the same again.

God bless you.