As I was reading through chapter 3 of A.W. Tozer’s book, the Pursuit of God, something stuck out to me that has never really hit me before. I’ve read this book many times and each time the LORD highlights something in my heart from what Tozer wrote.

There are so many cliches and presuppositions out there concerning worship and to even tackle them would be a never-ending task. However, there is a mindset that I want to point out that could have us missing out on so much. What I think we’re missing out on is His Presence.

The words of Tozer that got me thinking were:

“The interior journey of the soul from the wilds of sin into the enjoyed presence of God is beautifully illustrated in the Old Testament tabernacle. The returning sinner first enter the outer court where he offered a blood sacrifice on the brazen altar and washed himself in the laver that stood near it. Then he passed through a veil into the holy place where no natural light could come, but the golden candlestick which spoke of Jesus, the Light of the World, threw its soft glow over all. There also was the shewbread to tell of Jesus, the Bread of Life, and the altar of incense, a figure of unceasing prayer.Though the worshiper had enjoyed so much, still he had not yet entered the presence of God.”

Can you imagine being a part of the temple? Especially when the Presence of God would come down in such a way you couldn’t even stand? I don’t know about you, but that would be quite thrilling and amazing!

But I wonder how often it might have become commonplace? How often did they just go through the motions? Or how often did they do the things of worship… even with a right heart, yet they stopped short of entering the Presence?

The truth of the matter is what they were doing was their extent of their worship. They didn’t each individually have the opportunity to enter His presence after engaging in their method of worship, because only one man, once a year could enter the Most Holy Place. So ultimately, they did everything they could do.

But with us, the veil has been torn. IT HAS BEEN TORN. It no longer exists. Yet how often do we worship, we do all we know to do, even with the right heart and we still miss His Presence all together. Is that possible? Sure it is. I think it’s even possible that we can come to a place where we enjoy worship… and think that in that is the Presence of God.

This post was not intended to give a solution, but more so spur you on in your pursuit. Could it be that we’ve capped our worship experience at the point of where we think or feel we’ve reached the end… but really His Presence is just around the corner?

“It is God’s desire to remove everything from the temple of our heart so that He may reign unchallenged there.” - A.W. Tozer

Proverbs 21:21 - “Whoever pursues godliness and unfailing love will find life, godliness, and honor.”

This scripture speaks for itself and it’s pretty clear.

I’m in pursuit… are you?

Consider: Genesis 6:1-10

Verse 6 of Genesis 6 is heart-wrenching.

“So the LORD was sorry He ever made them. It broke His heart.”

Can you imagine God stating that His heart was broken? Can you imagine what the LORD was feeling when He was sorry for ever creating humanity?

This doesn’t speak of a God who is far off. This doesn’t speak of a God that hates humanity. This doesn’t speak of a God who enjoys condemning people to hell, eternally separating them from Him.

This speaks of the One who throughout the ages has wooed the hearts of man. This speaks of the One who longs for relationship with His creation.

You may not be in “sin”. You may not be a “bad” person. You may not be like the ones that broke God’s heart in the context of this passage. You may even be on your way to heaven. But I do wonder, where is your affection? What/who do you long for? We miss out on so much by settling in our relationship with Him.

The people of Genesis 6 had broken God’s heart by turning away from Him.

Which direction are you facing?

“Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies.” - A.W. Tozer

“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.” - A.W. Tozer

“We can never know God as it is our privilege to know Him by brief repetitions that are requests for personal favors, and nothing more.” - E.M. Bounds

David points to his pursuit in Psalm 27:8…

“My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘LORD, I am coming.’”

Simple, yet profound. The LORD has made it possible for us to fellowship with Him… to pursue Him. So let’s do it!

The challenge that Paul lays out in Romans 1 is definitely one that we should consider in our own lives.

Paul starts off encouraging the Roman believers with these words: “You are among those who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ, dear friends in Rome. God loves you dearly, and He has called you to be His very own people.” - Romans 1:6-7 (emphasis added).

Paul then continues to speak to them about the Gospel… but quickly reminds them concerning God’s judgment of sin. He mentions how throughout the ages people “had no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God” (vs. 20) yet they chose to not worship Him.

Romans 1:25 says “Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made, but not the Creator Himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.”

They worshiped creation and not the Creator.

Put these words into perspective in our lives. It may be easy for a lot of us to simply “overlook” this passage because of it’s wording. But it greatly applies to our lives! Are there things in our lives that we are worshiping other than He?

What is more important to you… worshiping the Creator or His creation? Does the way you live your life say that about you? What drives your heart? The answer to the last few questions will show you who you’re truly worshiping.

In my own life, I’m asking God to examine my heart to keep my worship for Him and Him alone.

I just recently pulled out a CD that I haven’t listened to in a few months. It’s Forever and a Day by Anthony Skinner. The whole album is great! This album is a must-have in any music collection.

The song “Forever and a Day” has some incredible lyrics that really connect you with the heart of the Father:

I was ashamed, You called me beautiful.
I was a thief, You said I stole Your heart.

The song itself reminds me of how great His love and grace really is… and it tugs at my heart to pursue Him more.