Leviticus 9:24 (NASBStr)
Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
There are a number of places in God's Word where people or servants of God were able to see the visible glory of God. Here, in the above text we have an entire nation who sees God's glory. Their response was falling on their face!! The same was true of Moses in the wilderness, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Paul in the New Testament. Today's modern form of worship, often promoted by worship leaders, doesn't come close to soliciting this type of response. Instead we use the modern, unbeliever's rock concert paradigm. We seem to think that seeing God's glory in a place (the "feeling" of His presence) calls for shouting, jumping and the waving of limbs. Yet, in Scripture we have no other picture of that type of response. This is not to say that it is a wrong response. Holy celebration has a time and a place. But, to believe that this is the typical response when someone "feels" the presence of God is a narrative invented by us and not interpreted from Scripture. If our worship services brought us into a face-to-face relationship with God we would have more of the Puritan poster - bent over and humbled before God. The Reformation didn't come with shouts, arm waving and a mach-pit experience down front. Seeing God brings us face-to-face with what we are. We are depraved and God is holy. That comparison can only carry one response: Humility and fear on t he part of the believer. There is a time for celebration and excitement - just don't think that is the only way to worship or the Biblical response to seeing the Glory of God.
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