There’s something the LORD wants me to address that affects not only how we believe, but how we have acted as well.  In the past I’ve talked about the so-called Burger King mentality that many Christians have.  You can go to Burger King and get a hamburger pretty much any way you want it, and there’s no wrong way, for your way will always be the right way.  If you want a conventional hamburger, that’s fine.  But if you want the meat on the outside and the bun in the middle, that’s ok too.  If you’d like French fries on your hamburger with pie in the center, you can have that.  Whatever you want, it’s ok.  So we think we can experience God on those terms as well.  Can we really?  Let’s explore that today.
   We hear about the Glory of God, the manifest power of His presence.  We say, “The Glory is coming!”  Well that’s wonderful, for when God shows up, He brings all His glory and power with Him, and supernatural things happen.  But where IS the Glory of God?  Is He showing up in our church services?  Because if He shows up, things happen; people are saved, healed, delivered from their oppressions and addictions, and their lives are changed forever.
   Back in the Old Testament we are told how God operates.  Funny thing, it isn’t on man’s terms, it’s always on God’s terms. Let’s take a look at Exodus 20:1-23:
Exo 20:1  And God spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exo 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Exo 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.
Exo 20:14  Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.
Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
Exo 20:20  And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
Exo 20:21  And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exo 20:22  And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
Exo 20:23  Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
    Did you see anything in those verses that indicate God is not in charge?  Do you see anywhere that God is asking for our input, our opinion, or our permission to do anything?  I don’t.  No, He told US how it will be, and that it will be done according to HIS will, not ours.  Are you still with me?
   Going forward into Exodus chapter 25, I see lots of “THOU SHALT” items, and in verse 22 it says,  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Here I see God says three times, I WILL.  He didn’t say, AS YOU WILL, I’LL COME WHEN YOU SAY.  Here’s where we seem to have a degree of difficulty in our walk with God.
   I’m sure we all want to see God’s glory in church services, but have you ever noticed we extend our will even into that?  For example, perhaps church service will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.  That means God is welcome to move in the service, but only if He shows up when WE CHOOSE, during the time WE appoint!  Have you given any thought to that?  Seems to me, we have forgotten HE is in charge. 
   Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just humble ourselves before God and ask Him where and when He will show up, and then be there when HE chooses?  You might respond, Oh, that’s impossible, how can we do that?  Well, if you’re one of HIS servants, you’ll know by the Holy Spirit what He will do, for He will tell you, that is, if you really want to know.
   There have been many times I’ve been invited to attend this service or that service, and I’ve declined.  Why?  Well because the LORD told me it was their service and not HIS, that they had planned it according to their own will and hadn’t even asked His will concerning it.  So when that happens, and they’re up there shouting, THE GLORY IS COMING, THE GLORY IS COMING!, then I’m going to say, Call me when the Glory gets here, because I’m not going to waste my time playing “church”.  If the Glory isn’t there, then God isn’t there, and if God isn’t there, the sick will come in sick, and leave sick.  The unsaved will come in, if they show up at all, and they will leave unsaved, and the oppressed will leave oppressed, and nothing will change.  And we’ve all seen far too much of that, haven’t we?
   You know, the LORD is just as weary of our playing church, but He will not intrude until we are ready to let Him deal with us according to His own will.  I see all through the Gospels how Jesus told the people about His heavenly Father’s Kingdom, and He demonstrated the Father’s love to them by giving sight to the blind, healing the sick, cleansing lepers, setting the captives free, and even raising the dead.  So we should WANT God to be in charge, because GOOD THINGS happen when God is allowed to do things His way.  Our attitude should be we can’t wait to submit our will to Him and only then will we be able to stop shouting THE GLORY IS COMING, for the GLORY WILL BE HERE!
   Sadly, I think church will go on much the same as it has in the past, because mankind really likes to have it his way, and we only have to look around at the world today to see where that has brought us.  We like our ritual and schedules and programs.  It’s not a good thing to say “We will have church from such time to such time“.  But then again, that’s when WE have church, isn’t it?
   When will the LORD get to have church?  It will be when HE is in charge.  Even in things as simple as the Ten Commandments, we balk at doing things His way, how much more so in other things?  Oh, the LORD is the Almighty God, and if He chooses to show up and take over the service, believe me, things will be done differently, and personally, I wish He would.  But the fear of the LORD is pretty much absent today, wouldn’t you say?  Even early on in the Book of Acts, we see how people had already begun to disrespect the Holy Spirit.
Act 4:33  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
Act 4:34  Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
Act 4:35  And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Act 4:36  And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
Act 4:37  Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Act 5:1  But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2  And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Act 5:3  But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Act 5:4  Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Act 5:5  And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Act 5:6  And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
Act 5:7  And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
Act 5:8  And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Act 5:9  Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Act 5:10  Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
Act 5:11  And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
    Maybe we need to see some of this in the churches today to wake people up to the fact that GOD is still in charge.  Then things would start getting better once people truly submit to GOD.