PART 1
This is my Bible: I am what it says I am; I have what it says I have; I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word of God. I’ll boldly confess. My mind is alert; my heart is receptive; I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living Seed of the Word of God. I’ll never be the same – never, never, never! I’ll never be the same, in Jesus’ Name.
“Refuse to be content with the knowledge of God. Insist on experiencing His presence.”
John Paul Warren
How can you choose to be intentional about God’s presence?
The big question is, I have no problem talking when I pray but how do I Hear God’s Voice? How do I plug into his presence? – By Dr. Mark Virkler
Habakkuk 2:1-3: I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. (What to answer) The Lord’s Answer 2 Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald (Whoever reads it) may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; (Or Though he lingers, wait for him; / he) It will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk said, “I will stand on my guard post…” (Hab. 2:1).
The first key to hearing God’s voice is to:
Go to a quiet place (Your post) and still your own thoughts and emotions. (position yourself by placing yourself in a posture to hear)
You may not have a guard post, but you do have somewhere that you can escape and find solitude in the secret place.
Invite God in
“Presence is the communicated love of God himself, the very person of the Holy Spirit,” said Duncan Smith, president of Catch the Fire.
It’s true that the Holy Spirit is alive inside us, but there’s something about intentionally inviting him into your present moment, that really makes a difference. He’s a person, not a force to be used for our convenience, but someone to spend time with, love, and be loved by.
Live in the moment-Live in the Glory-From Glory to Glory
“I will keep watch to see,” said the prophet. To receive the pure word of God, it is very important that my heart be properly focused as I become still, because my focus is the source of the flow.
Try Picturing Jesus
Imagination is a tool God has given us to help understand and connect with him.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you picture Jesus. Where is he in the room? What does he feel toward you right now? You can sense his presence and even the angelic.
Illustration: Caryduff, Ireland
There is a deep inner knowing in our spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds. Practicing the art of biblical meditation helps silence the outer noise and distractions competing for our attention.
One of my ministry friends said, “It isn’t that the church doesn’t have enough power; it’s that the church doesn’t want to wait to hear his counsel.”
In 2 Kings 3:15, Elisha needed a word from the Lord, so he said, 15 But now bring me a musician.” And it came about while the musician played, that the hand (power) of the Lord came upon Elisha.”
Soak: Bathe, Bask, Pickle, sizzle and sauté
This is the secret place where we silence our thoughts, quiet our heart. It is where our emotions surrender to the Holy Spirit. It is the place of submission.
Soaking in God’s presence is about putting your distractions aside and taking time to rest and receive. If you have space, even just three minutes, putting on calm worship music and welcoming the Holy Spirit, can make all the difference to your day.
Saturday Nights is soaking time. Every morning Sheryl sits and soaks in His presence. She is a creature of habit! Same place on the couch. You can use your godly imagination to see the truth that He is right here with me and I sing my songs to Him, personally.
Quietly worshiping the King and receiving out of the stillness that follows quite easily accomplishes this.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” The word “still” means “idle, quiet, and alone” The word “know” means, “come to know by experience or through intimate relationship.” It also means to perceive, to find or to see, to become known or to be revealed. This verse encourages us to be still, let go, cease striving, and know that He is God.
In Psalm 37:7 we are called to “be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”
Soaking is not making requests, praying in tongues or praying in general. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to you.
Worship Is how we enter his presence:
Personally, I believe it is a key to unlock the door
“I encounter God best, perhaps, in a worship time, where I can just get lost in the worship, and thank him, and get lost in that place where I appreciate over and over that I am his and he is mine,” I need that affirmation of appreciation.
John Arnott Said, “Putting on worship music is a great way to disconnect from the intensity of your day. Play a favourite song, close your eyes, and sing along. I also find that playing worship music as I go about my day is a constant reminder of who God is.
Psalm 95:1-2 “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
Psalm 100: 1-2 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, [a]all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
You can’t make it Monday-Saturday if you only go into his presence 40 minutes on Sunday.
2.) Fix the eyes of your heart upon Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God. Habakkuk was actually looking for vision as he prayed. He opened the eyes of his heart and looked into the spirit world to see what God wanted to show him.
SING THE SONG: OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
God has always spoken through dreams and visions, and He specifically said that they would come to those upon whom the Holy Spirit is poured out (Acts 2:1-4, 17).
I had never thought of opening the eyes of my heart and looking for vision. However, this is exactly what God wants us to do. He gave us eyes in our heart to see in the spirit the vision and movement of Almighty God.
There is an active spirit world all around us, full of angels, demons, the Holy Spirit, the omnipresent Father, and His omnipresent Son, Jesus. The only reasons for me not to see this reality are unbelief or lack of knowledge.
PART 2
In his sermon in Acts 2:25, Peter refers to King David’s statement: “I saw the Lord always in my presence; for He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.”
Psalm 16:8 “I have set ( I saw) (literally, I have placed) the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” NKJV
Psalm 16:8 makes it clear that this was a decision of David’s, not a constant supernatural visitation:
Because David knew that the Lord was always with him, he determined in his spirit to see that truth with the eyes of his heart as he went through life, knowing that this would keep his faith strong.
In order to see, we must look. Daniel saw a vision in his mind and said, “I was looking…I kept looking…I kept looking” (Dan. 7:2, 9, 13).
As I pray, I look for Jesus, and I watch as He speaks to me, doing and saying the things that are on His heart. Many Christians will find that if they will only look, they will see.
Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). It is as simple as that.
You can see Christ present with you because Christ is present within you. In fact, the vision may come so easily that you will be tempted to reject it, thinking that it is just you.
But if you persist in recording these visions, your doubt will soon be overcome by faith as you recognize that the content of them could only be birthed in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus demonstrated the ability of living out of constant contact with God, declaring that He did nothing on His own initiative, but only what He saw the Father doing, and heard the Father saying (Jn. 5:19,20,30). What an incredible way to live!
Is it possible for us to live out of a divine initiative as Jesus did? Yes!
We must simply fix our eyes upon Jesus. The veil has been torn, giving access into the immediate presence of God, and He calls us to draw near
(Lk. 23:45; Heb. 10:19-22). “I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened….”
It is getting more and more difficult to quiet my heart and I have so many giving advice and opinions. When I quiet my heart enough, I try to picture Jesus without the distractions of my own ideas and plans, then I can “keep watch to see what He will speak to me.”
I was coming to know the sound of God speaking to me (Hab. 2:2). Elijah described it as a still, small voice (I Kings 19:12). I have found that usually, for me, God’s voice comes as spontaneous thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions.
For example, haven’t you been driving down the road and had a thought come to you to pray for a certain person? Didn’t you believe it was God telling you to pray? What did God’s voice sound like? Was it an audible voice, or was it a spontaneous thought that came upon your mind?
The third key to hearing God’s voice is recognizing that God’s voice in your heart often sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts.
Therefore, when I want to hear from God, I tune to chance-encounter or spontaneous thoughts.
Finally, God told Habakkuk to record the vision (Hab. 2:2). This was not an isolated command. The Scriptures record many examples of individual’s prayers and God’s replies, such as the Psalms, many of the prophets, and Revelation.
I have found that obeying this final principle amplified my confidence in my ability to hear God’s voice so that I could finally make it a practice.
Only the unconditional love of the Lord expressed through an imperfect human can reach the heart of another human.
I needed confirmation from someone else whose spiritual discernment I trusted.
Write down the vision-write down what he is saying to you
When we slow down our work and enter His rest, God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10).
Why not try it for yourself, right now? Sit back comfortably, take out your pen and paper, and smile. Turn your attention toward the Lord in praise and worship, seeking His face.
After you write your question to Him, become still, fixing your gaze on Jesus. You will suddenly have a very good thought.
Don’t doubt it; simply write it down. Later, as you read your journaling, you, too, will be blessed to discover that you are indeed dialoguing with God. If you wonder if it is really the Lord speaking to you, share it with your spouse or a friend.
Their input will encourage your faith and strengthen your commitment to spend time getting to know the Lover of your soul more intimately than you ever dreamed possible.
- Don’t Be afraid God is with you.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:6-8
Matthew 28:8 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Isaiah 41: 10-13 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. 12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.13 For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.
St Augustine said, “ I spent my life trying to find him without only to finally discover he was within.”
Proverbs 20:27 The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.
Key: We are to focus more on what God is saying inside than what the devil is doing on the outside. When we are plugged into his presence, we will be obsessed and possessed by the knowledge of Christ.
Once I drink, rivers will begin to flow
1 John 22-26 The Power of the Truth
22 Who is the real liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is the real antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.[a] 23 Whoever rejects the Son rejects the Father.
Whoever embraces[b] the Son embraces the Father also. 24 So you must be sure to keep the message burning[c] in your hearts; that is, the message of life you heard from the beginning. If you do, you will always be living in close fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And he himself has promised us the never-ending life of the ages to come!
How do I cultivate his presence? Be realigning your allegiance.
Enter HIS gates with thanksgiving in your heart and his courts with praise.
Thankfulness and Praise is the passcodes to his presence.
5.) GIVE THANKS IN HIS PRESENCE:
LUKE 17:1-9 Ten Lepers Cleansed
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
- We worship when we give thanks.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
Genuine love and gratitude is always expressed.
In the O.T there are 11 Hebrew words to describe praise.
- TODAH- A thanksgiving choir
- BARAK- To kneel in thanksgiving
- TEHILLA- To sing a song of thanksgiving
- HALAL- To give thanks by being clamorously foolish (this where we get the word halleluiah)
- YADAH- to give thanks with extended hands
- ZAMAR- to give thanks with a musical instrument
- SHABACK- to give thanks with a loud tone.
It will always be difficult to fully express yourself in worship if you don’t have a great full heart.
Look at Psalm 100:4 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,(TODAH)
And into His courts with praise (TEHILLA). Be thankful (YADAH) to Him, and bless (BARAK) His name.
PBS Translation would sound like this:
Enter into his gates with a thanksgiving choir and into his courts with singing praises. Extend your hands to him and bow before his name.
Jesus 76 the first time I lifted my hands
- Miracles precede gratitude
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice (SHABACK) glorified God,
3.Obedience paves the way for the miraculous.
14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
The Law said, if I am healed then go show yourself to the priest. Jesus did not say, go show yourself to the priest and you will be healed.
He said, Go show yourself to the priest. (AS THEY OBEYED) they were healed
What is God telling us to do that we are questioning?
I want to live in the presence of God. I no longer want a drive through experience.
You can’t live off the trailer. You need to experience the entire movie.
HIS MANIFESTED PRESENCE: God started walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.
What did we lose when Adam and Even fell and what did Jesus come to restore?
Answer? His manifest presence.
Genesis 3:8 NKJV 8 And they heard the [a]sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [b]cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
NEXT I WANT TO CONCLUDE WITH UNPLUGGING FROM HIS PRESENCE
