The Presence of God

We all say we want to see the Kingdom of God released in our cities and neighborhoods. We want to see crime decrease, abortions stopped, the poor find jobs and the sick healed. Every Christian I know says they want these things. But what are we doing to make it happen? How are we cooperating with Holy Spirit to see real change come? Can we have the Kingdom of God without His manifest presence in our midst? Sure, God is present always, everywhere. But that is the omnipresence that the scripture talks about. What I am talking about is the manifest presence; the presence that is so strong that you can hardly stand; the presence that releases a new level of anointing. How can you truly have the Kingdom without the presence of the King?

We had that presence last night in the healing rooms. We have that presence in the healing rooms at RiverStone. We strive to have that presence at our services. But we need to learn how to individually stir up that presence so that when we go into the mall or to Target, that presence goes in with us. We have to learn to cooperate with Holy Spirit and stir up His presence within us. When we learn to do that, then truly wherever we go, the Kingdom of God will manifest. That’s what I want, but how do we do it?

First and foremost we have to believe that is what Holy Spirit wants to do. We have to know that He wants to partner with us no matter where we are. We need to be so in tune with His Spirit that no matter where we are we can see and understand what He wants from us. For some of us, we are getting close. We are “practicing His presence” in all areas of His life. We are learning to cooperate with Him in different areas of our lives.

Part of cooperating with Holy Spirit is to make Him feel comfortable in our lives. We need to lead our life aware that He is always with us. We have to be willing to risk so that He has room to work. We have all the gifts, but most of them are in embryonic form. They are there and can be used, but they haven’t been developed in our lives yet. “The gifts are free, but maturity is expensive.” I was reading this in Spiritual Java this afternoon. It is so true. We have all the gifts available and sometimes they manifest in great power, but most of the time they are embryonic unless we practice using them.

Practice requires that we risk, and most of the time, we are too proud to risk being embarrassed if we fail. This pride will keep us from reaching maturity, It will keep us from really releasing the Kingdom. What if you knew for sure that if you prayed for five hundred people to be healed from stage 4 cancer and they all died that on the five hundred and first person, they would be healed, and then even more healings would take place. Would you be willing to do it? Would you be willing to fail five hundred times? Well for one thing, you would not have failed. It’s not you who heals, but God. What you are doing is excursing the giftings that are available. Sometimes it’s only a matter of faith and risk, other times it’s a matter of practice and persistence. We have to be willing to risk and take chances.

I for one, want to be known as someone who is willing to risk in order to see the Kingdom advanced, and even more importantly, His presence released wherever I go. What about you?