Holy Spirit Presence
An all-creatures Bible Message

Holy Spirit Presence
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
31 May 2020
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 1:1-2
1 Samuel 10:9-11
Psalm 51:10-12
Isaiah 63:10-11
John 7:37-39
Acts 2:1-6, 17-18
 
Holy Spirit presence is something that most Christians seem to believe is something that only born again Christians can experience, most likely based upon what they have been taught by their pastors and what the early Christians experienced when Peter was talking to them after Jesus’ departure into heaven, but this is not true, because the Holy Spirit has always been present.
 
The Holy Spirit is really the Spirit of God, and He has been around since the creation of the heavens and the earth.
 
Note what we are told in Genesis 1:1-2…
 
1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
 
This is a statement of fact, but not that the earth was originally created in its present form and appearance.
 
This could very likely mean that God had created it in His mind or perhaps in some non-physical form, which would explain what we are told next.
 
2. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
NASB
 
The Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) was watching over everything that was created for some reason that only God knows; perhaps it could also mean that He was making sure that everything that He had created was ready to bring forth in some physical form, again, that we are not told about, but the important thing for us to remember is that the Holy Spirit was present since the creation of the heavens and the earth.
 
Not only has the Holy Spirit been present since the time of creation, He has also been interacting with people such as Saul, the first human king of Israel; note what we are told in 1 Samuel 10:9-11…
 
9. Then it happened when he (Saul) turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day.
 
God changed Saul’s heart so that he would be, or more accurately, that he could be sensitive to the presence of the Holy Spirit, but in order to have this ability with us at all times, we must be willing to attune ourselves to the heavenly will of God and not our own will.
 
And everything that Samuel had told Saul would happen began to happen, but Saul, like us today, had the responsibility to keep it going.
 
10. When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him (Saul); and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.
 
This does not necessarily mean that he spoke in another language, but that he spoke in a way that the prophets spoke.
 
11. And it came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
NASB
 
This is the way the people spoke about Saul, but it definitely doesn’t mean that they followed what Saul spoke for the Lord.
 
And somewhere along the way Saul also turned his back to God, for God replaced him as being king over all of Israel and anointed David as being king.
 
This should be a lesson to all of us; if we stop listening to the unction of the Holy Spirit, and are not truly repentant, the Lord may also reject us.
 
Note what David wrote in Psalm 51, his repentant prayer…
 
Psalm 51:10-12
 
10. Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
 
David knew that he was thinking and acting like the ways of the world and not in the heavenly will of God and he knew that he needed God’s help to cleanse him so that he once again would hear and listen to the Holy Spirit and the heavenly will of God.
 
This is something that Saul never did.
 
11. Do not cast me away from Thy presence,
And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.
 
David was afraid that God wouldn’t forgive him and would cast him aside as He had done with Saul, and note carefully that David is fully aware of the Holy Spirit presence, and this was more than a thousand years before New Testament times.
 
12. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
NASB
 
And David continued in his repentant prayer, as all of us should be willing and able to do, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
 
And while we are talking about Holy Spirit presence and sin in our lives, think about what Isaiah wrote some 700 years before New Testament times in Isaiah 63:10-11…
 
10. But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy,
He fought against them.
 
11. Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.
Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,
NASB
 
Isaiah is speaking about the vast majority of the nation of Israel turning their backs on God and the presence of the Holy Spirit, and to remember the days of old is not the same as truly repenting, and this is the same kind of things we are seeing in the world today.
 
We cannot keep turning God off and on like a light switch; we must truly desire to live in His heavenly will here on earth as it is in heaven and listen to the presence of the Holy Spirit.
 
In John 7:37-39, Jesus says something very interesting about the Holy Spirit presence…
 
37. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
 
This apparently took place on the last day of Passover, which was a solemn assembly followed by a great feast.
 
During the solemn assembly, which was also a fast day, the people would likely become thirsty.
 
38. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" 
 
Jesus was really declaring Himself to be Messiah, but most specifically He was referring to water as being the Holy Spirit
 
39. But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
NASB
 
We know from the other verses we looked at that the Holy Spirit was indeed present before that time, so when it says that the Holy Spirit was not yet given, it could only mean the indwelling which only happens to true believers.
 
This, however, does not mean that every true believer responds to the unction of the Holy Spirit, for most of them still seem to be living in the corrupt ways of this world, most obvious of which is the death on their plates.
 
In the beginning of our discussion today, I mentioned a misinterpretation about the miracle that occurred after Jesus rose into heaven; so let’s close our discussion by looking at Acts 2:1-18, and see if we can spot the misinterpretation and why it is not correct.
 
1. And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
 
We are not told who all the people were, but they all seem to have been directly affected or witnessed the event.
 
2. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
 
This is the beginning of the miracle.
 
3. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
 
This is the second part of the miracle.
 
4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
 
This is the completion of the miracle, and I have never heard of anyone today seeing a miracle like the one described here, have you?
 
Now note carefully what happened next.
 
5. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
 
6. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language.
 
In other words, the other tongues they were speaking were known languages of one or more of the people assembled there.
 
I hope that all of us have seen where the false teachings and misinterpretations have come from.
 
There has been a false teaching going around for years that everyone who is born again has to speak in tongues as proof that they are really born again, and to not be left out these people will utter sounds that are not a language, and that no one can truly understand, even though some may try.
 
What happened on this Pentecost was a true miracle, and we believe that what happened then are the true ways that people speak in tongues, and such speaking is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, but also it can be in the ways we live.
 
If we are truly born again, people will know we are because we are living in the heavenly will or God and our lifestyles reflect the life of Jesus and His teachings.
 
And even though most of the people who were present saw what was happening as a true miracle, some others thought that these men were just drunk, so Peter counters their disbelief by quoting from the Joel 2:28-29, which follows as part of this passage.
 
17. 'And it shall be in the last days,' God says,
'That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
 
This prophecy may have been meant only for this Pentecost experience, but much of it still seems to be occurring, and even non-believers have experienced a Holy Spirit presence in what we refer to as our conscience.
 
The other thing we need to understand is that prophecy doesn’t always have to be spoken in another language or be about some future event, all it has to do is be something that reflects the way God wants us to live here on earth or about the everlasting peace and love of heaven, which we should all reflect here on earth.
 
18. Even upon My bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
NASB
 
We also believe that in this verse Joel was referring to those non-believers in our midst, but that most of their prophesying will be based upon what they see and hear from the true children of God who live in the heavenly will of God.
 
This brings us to the question we all need to ask ourselves: “Am I ready to be one of these examples in the world around us?”
 
I pray we are.
 
Amen?

Amen.

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