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The Tent in the Centre of the Camp

                Are you interested in starting a long and possibly heated discussion in churches these days?  All you have to do is mention the word “worship”.  In most places, you will get an earful about what is being done or what should be happening – both good and bad.
    One of the problems here is that worship has come to mean everything from what Christians do for an hour or two on Sunday morning to our personal, daily commitment to Christ.  With such a wide scope and so many variables in play, there is no way that this short article will sort out any of the specifics (Besides, I do not think I am qualified to do that for you or your congregation anyway).  What I can do is offer you two pictures that may form a good foundation for the rest of the discussion.
                The first comes from Numbers 2.  God has just rescued his people from Egypt and now they are living in tents as they wander toward the Promised Land.  Therefore, he instructs them to build him a tent, the tabernacle, as a place where he would dwell, and where they could gather for worship.  Then he gives them these instructions: “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting (the Tabernacle)… on the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah… the tribe of Issachar… and the tribe of Zebulun… On the south will be the camp of Rueben… Simeon… (and) the tribe of Gad.  On the west… Ephraim… Manasseh… (and) Benjamin.  On the north… Dan… Asher… (and) Naphtali”.
                Did you get the picture?  No matter where they were and regardless of what was happening, God was in the centre of everything.  Always!
                The second picture is from Numbers 9:15-23.  In part says, “On the day the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was set up, the cloud covered it.  From evening to morning, the cloud above the tabernacle looked like a fire… Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; whenever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.  At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out and at his command they encamped”.  This is repeated at least seven times.  There is no missing the point:  God was leading them.
                These two concepts will not solve every debate, but they are a great starting point.  In fact, when God’s followers have been able to keep him in the centre and let him lead, some remarkable things have happened in and through his people (See the end of Acts 2 and Acts 4).
                If we get the centre right and if we remember who is in charge, there is a much better chance that we will be shaped into God’s image instead of shaping him into ours.

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