A People of His Presence: Our Friend, Holy Spirit

"We are, first and foremost, a people of His presence: marked by His presence, brokering His presence, releasing His presence into every situation, circumstance, and relationship. This is what being a disciple is at its essence and the first and highest priority, practice and value of Fusion and its people." Doug Burroughs, Leader of Fusion Ministries International

Yes, God wants you to do signs and wonders. But the love of God manifested through you is what people really need. So you first must see His face. You must become so close to His very heartbeat that you can feel what others feel. -Heidi Baker

As we start the new year, I felt directed from the Lord to review some teachings that are foundational to who we are as a people, and none more so than the truth that we are a people of His presence.

More than what we do, who we are is of upmost importance, not just an identity of our being in Christ, but the reality of the encounter in that, no matter what, we are "in Christ". We are a people who could not even call Jesus Lord, except by the aide of our indwelling and overshadowing Friend, Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).

"The Holy Spirit is in me for my sake. He is upon me for your sake." Bill Johnson

A People of His Presence: The Holy Spirit is within us

The living presence of God is in us through our Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us in much detail what the Holy Spirit would do for us, within us when He came in the gospel of John 14 - 16. Here we are told:

John 14:16-17 (NASB) I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

John 14:25-27 (NASB) “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

John 15:26-27 (NASB) “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

John 16:5-15 (NASB) “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Do you see it? Just from these few scriptures we see that the Holy Spirit is with us forever; He will abide with us and be in us; He will teach us all things and bring to remembrance all that Jesus has said; He is the Peace of Jesus, present within us; He will testify to us about Jesus; He will lead us into even greater revelation and reveal what the Father gives Him. These are just a few things the indwelling Spirit, our friend , Holy Spirit gives to us. Read the New Testament this year with a new set of eyes to see all that Holy Spirit has come to give to us and is ours!

A People of His Presence: The Holy Spirit is Upon Us

When we see the passages of the Holy Spirit coming upon us, we are talking about the overflow of His presence, the anointing (His manifest presence on us), and the glory (His living powerful presence expressed in this reality). Here are a few scriptures that talk about this overwhelming, overflowing, overshadowing Person and His Presence: the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11 (NASB) - John the Baptist speaking of what Jesus would do

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

Luke 4:18-19 (NASB) - Jesus in His first sermon describing what the Holy Spirit was upon Him for

“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,

BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,

AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,

TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

Luke 24:49 (NASB) - Jesus speaking immediately before His ascension telling the disciples to wait for the "Promise of the Father", the Holy Spirit

"...And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:4-5 (NASB) Jesus telling the disciples to wait for the "baptism", the overwhelming of the Holy Spirit

"...what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:6-8 (NASB) - Jesus redirecting their inquiry about the end of days to receiving power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.

"So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) - the release of the Holy Spirit coming upon and filling the disciples with signs and wonders

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Acts 4:8 (NKJV) - Peter has a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit to speak to authorities

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:"

Acts 4:31 (NKJV) - The result of Peter's prayer for healing and boldness

"And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."

These again are just a small few of the scriptures that demonstrate that the Spirit of God (God's very presence) is upon is for the sake of others.

How to apply a growing awareness of the Holy Spirit

I will have much more to say about his as we enter this new year. In the meantime, practice these things to become more aware of God's presence through our Friend, the Holy Spirit.

Raising awareness through affection. - When you start your day or going to bed, or even at work during lunch, take a moment to turn your affections to the Holy Spirit. Welcome Him into your room, over your life. Take a moment and reflect on what you are aware of and experiencing. Don't tune out your body, it was designed to respond to God, as well as mind and spirit. Focus on where you become aware of Holy Spirit and ask for more. Always, ask for more.
When you pray, take time to become more aware of Holy Spirit's presence through listening and not just talking. Allow silence to become a part of your prayer life. In the silence, listening to Him and welcome Him.
When you are about to encounter a difficult situation or are running errands, invite Holy Spirit to rest upon you before you enter the circumstance or store, etc. You were designed to invade the impossible with an appetite to see Heaven's kingdom invade where ever you are. Become aware of His presence before you step into the situation. Take time to reflect how that affected your shopping or working through the problem.