Dwelling in the Presence of God

I think we can say that spirituality focuses on being rather than doing, although authentic spirituality will always result in action, in that sense spirituality is not an end in itself. How many men and movements which began by the initiation, inspiration and moving of the Holy Spirit have ended up powerless, due to turning in on themselves, turning from mission to self-nurture. God chooses men/women to participate in His purposes. Christians must not put limits on how deeply and profoundly God can work in the lives of His saints in all generations, nor must we measure ourselves by these spiritual giants. If you adulate them you will demean yourself! Honour them, certainly, learn from them, but do not worship them so that when they fall from their pedestal your faith is not shaken. Never, follow one man as the oracle of God and never let a man usurp the Lord who speaks to you directly and through Scripture. Remember, that Moses relating the history of Israel and his own story is inextricably bound-up with that of God’s people. When we read the book of Exodus, we are reading Moses’ own words about himself, but like John Wesley writing his Journal, he is so detached from himself that he does not intrude into the text, in other words, in writing his own story he is not indulging in a personal ego trip. The autobiography of Moses is one of the best documented lives in the Bible. I think that dwelling in the presence of God is the path to humility. We are to listen to what God has to say about us when we are with Him. Moses actually heard God speaking amazing things about the intimacy of his relationship with God! His experience with God is deep and profound but his journey is marked by clear sign posts along the way when God spoke decisively into his life. As we high-light these particular occasions which mark the spiritual progress of Moses, we do not want to separate these visitations from God from the autobiography of his life. The objective of God’s visitation is not fostering and furthering the spirituality of His servant but it is to further His great objectives for humankind, in other words, to advance His own purposes. Obedience to the Great Commission brings further release of His Holy Spirit which directly impacts our spirituality. I said earlier that our vocation impacts our spirituality. With the apostle Paul, it is impossible to separate his calling and his missional activity from his dynamic experience of the Holy Spirit. For Moses, obedience to the call of God brought him into deep intimacy with the Lord, the two are part of one whole spiritual experience – being and doing.