Jim's World

As originally posted on Jim's World at http://www.alloftheanswers.com

Oh the glory, of His presence

By Author James Regan

There is a Christian song that starts off, just like that. Yet, are these just empty words that make us feel good? Do they only provide a nice decorative touch on the altar’s banners? Or is there something to the glory of His presence? And what constitutes His Glory? Can we tangibly perceive His presence? Is He a God that indeed loves us, but only from afar? The, so called; long distance relationship. From what I am aware of, it takes quite a bit for a long distance relationship to last, and many will trade what they have for a relationship that is more proximal or tangible. Is God really so far away living in the heavens beyond the universal heavens where all the galaxies, stars, and nebulas reside?
The first reference I would turn to, even if I did not believe in God, would be the bible as the bible contains written clues, information, and instructions, that point me to the potential truths that I could perceive and experience myself or be a witness of. What do I mean by that? Well, we can take a short look at the difference spoken about when we look at the subject of one being diligent or of one being lazy. In proverbs 10:4 it says:
“He becometh poor that worketh with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”
Even if we only take a glance at real life we can see that this statement is true. Those that are diligent in life will clearly outdistance those that are satisfied with mediocrity, as they lounge with their snacks in front of the tube that touts, of heroes, distant lands, and adventure. There is also a declaration here, that it seems to be ok with God that one obtain riches in this life. It is the LOVE of money that is the real root of all evil. One obtaining riches or having riches in itself is not evil. There are many people who are rich that use their money for good things.
So now, if we apply this principle to the glory of God, and His Presence, we would find out the following information, and then we could see if there are examples of this in life that are being demonstrated. For instance we know by the bible that God the Father sits on his throne in heaven. We know that God the Son sits at the right hand of the father. Yet when we speak of God the Holy Spirit we are told in the word that He is our helper that is with us and even in us. ( John 14:16-17) Even though All three persons of God are One, the person of the trinity that we are in direct contact with is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is compared to the wind in (John 3:8). We can not see the wind in itself but we can feel the wind, and we can see what the wind does, as it stirs things up on the earth.
The Holy Spirit was there in the beginning hovering over the earth which was like an untouched canvas before the artist hands. The Holy Spirit is also said to have been hovering over, rather, overshawdowing Mary, as He performed the will of God by placing God’s Son into her womb. This was a tremendous manifestation of God’s Glory as Mary was a virgin. Her own engaged (betrothed) husband Joseph to be had decided to divorce her quietly so he could avoid the public embarrassment of the apparent disgraceful action that Mary had seemed to have committed (Matthew 1:18-23).
You will see as you read those verses in Matthew that it was not just a great manifested miracle of God, done through the Holy Spirit, but it was also foretold in the book of Isaiah the prophet 700 years prior to this actually happening. (Isaiah 7:14). It was the Holy Spirit who moved upon Isaiah to cause Him to write a prophetic saying that declared that one day in the future, from Isaiah’s perspective, there would come a miracle child born in a virgin whose name would be “Immanuel” or God with us. Yes, that’s right, God with us.
That means as you see the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching you can appreciate that God’s full intent is that He be with us. That means that some how we are to be able to tangibly percieve His power which reflects that He (God) is present. He does this in many ways. He does it through; arranging circumstances, by causing certain people to come into our lives at a particular time, or by setting up little events or coincidences about us that really causes us to think.
For instance one particular time I was having a real hard time emotionally in my soul and I considered giving up and not following Jesus anymore. I remember passing through a big department store and hearing the piped-in music and the song that was playing. The words of the songs seemed to speak to me. As I heard the song say, ‘You’ll never get to heaven if you break my heart...”. Even though it seemed a mere coincidence, it really struck me! Was God was trying to communicate with me? Through it, it seemed as though He was pleading with me, "don’t go...". So was it just a coincidence, or a Divine Incidence?
One time I had prayed to God to let me win a contest at Magic 105 which was a free trip to Washington D.C. to participate in earth day. I was on the phone and it was ringing and the announcer Sony Melendrez got back on the air and he was counting 101, 102, 103, 104, and 105. When he got to 105, my phone clicked and there I was on the air and I won the contest. Off we went on an expensive weekend while I was still trying to figure out how I had gotten the through the phone lines at the right time to be the 105th caller. Was it coincidence or divine incidence?
Funny, one of the things I was supposed to do was observe the event and call in to “play the role of a radio reporter”. This event happened probably at least 8 years ago. Yet what am I doing now. Am I not in the act of reporting now? Just a coincidence or divine incidence? My God is a very efficient God. He can use one event in preparation to set up another. This efficiency is easily displayed in the wonderful biochemistry patterns scattered throughout the human body (Romans 1.20).
Finally, in the New Testament, the apostle Paul stated, that he did not come sharing the gospel in eloquent words, but thorough a demonstration of His power (1 Corinthinans 2:4-5). If you go to dictionary.com and look up the word demonstrate, you will see that the words To demonstrate means to prove, manifest, show, exhibit or display. That means you may see it, hear it, feel it, taste it or even smell it. God did miracles by the hand of Paul and the apostles so people could see it.
God still works through people today, but only through those Christians who are willing to believe it, that God works the same as He did, Yesterday, Today, and forever. A pastor or even just a believer would have to believe that the Holy Spirit still manifest Himself and God’s glory in the same way that He did when Jesus walked the earth and as the apostles did. This means that the Holy Spirit can and does operate through a believer in the area of miracles and healing through prayer. The essential ingredient to this mix is faith. One must believe that it is possible to happen, and with God all things are possible. All things.
Most Pastors have faith, and some have great faith, and it is demonstrated in their preaching of God’s word. But some Pastors and believers have faith in the area of healing and miracles. God chooses to work through belief and so if a Pastor or a believer has faith in this area, manifestations and displays of God’s power will occur in plain sight. It is not magic, it is not a trick, it is simply, God displaying His glory and power through a believer.
There are many Pastors that operate in this gift and you can go their website to see visual examples of God displaying his power. Pastors such as Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, and Jessie Duplantis, are just a few names among many, that God is presently operating through in this way in these last days before his return. I have seen countless examples of healing including my own, myself. This week in San Antonio, there is a special treat of Benny Hinn coming to the ATT center. November 9, and 10th.
If you can make it I urge you to come and enjoy seeing these things live. You can sense God’s presence and you can see God manifesting His glory with your own eyes. If not, find a time when you can make it and see these things for yourself. The proof is in the pudding. The first time I saw a person operating in this gift on T.V., I laughed in unbelief thinking that people were falling over like it was some kind of game or deception. But when you experience yourself God’s power, and feel your own body going out from under you, you will think again, and begin to mean it when you sing:
Oh the glory of your presence, we your temple, give you reverence.
So arise, to your rest, and be blessed by our praise, as we glory
in your embrace, as your presence, now fills this place.