 there's nothing more precious than the presence of the Holy Spirit. So I want to give you four ways to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. If you're a believer, then you have the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. So it's important to remember that the Holy Spirit doesn't leave us, but his influence can either be strengthened or weakened depending upon how we live our lives. So I want to give you four ways to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Number one, holiness. Ephesians 4.30 says, And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. We don't avoid sin just to avoid punishment. We avoid sin because it breaks the Holy Spirit's heart. Have you ever been somewhere that you didn't feel welcomed, somewhere that you felt uncomfortable? Maybe the way that people were treating you or looking at you made you feel like you weren't wanted there. Maybe you could hear them having a conversation on the side about you, negative things, insults, maybe they were making fun of you, or maybe someone at their home was watching something that made you feel uncomfortable, or maybe they were doing things that you didn't really want to be involved in. That discomfort is what the Holy Spirit feels when we allow sin to permeate our lives. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Think about this. Your body is the host of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Your hands are his hands, your eyes, his eyes, your mouth, his mouth, your ears, his ears. What are you doing with the Holy Spirit's hands? What are you saying with the Holy Spirit's mouth? What are you looking at with the Holy Spirit's eyes? Does the Holy Spirit truly feel at home in you? His presence abides there. And so when we live lives of holiness, we make the Holy Spirit feel at home in us. When we live lives according to the Word of God, according to his standards, we live in such a way that the Holy Spirit doesn't become uncomfortable by inhabiting our being. That's number one. Number two, faith. Romans chapter eight verse 14 says, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Remember this, sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit isn't just about how clearly you can hear him, but about how quickly you respond when he speaks when the Holy Spirit speaks to you. Do you move or do you hesitate when the Holy Spirit gives you an instruction? Do you obey by faith? Do you take that step or do you wrestle with him, hoping that he'll leave you alone? Something I've learned about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit doesn't change his mind. If he tells you something, if he instructs you to do something, if he gives you an act to obey or a command to obey, then you must obey. And it's only by faith that we can obey the commands of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes he'll ask you to do things that will require much faith. Sometimes you may not understand what he's asking you to do. Sometimes you may feel like you're too shy to do what he's asking you to do. Sometimes you may feel like you're not qualified to do what he's asking you to do, but the Holy Spirit will not change his mind. True children of God are led by the Holy Spirit. What does that mean to be Spirit-led? Well, it's quite simple. It's to follow his leading. When he speaks, you obey and you don't delay, for delay is disobedience. You respond and you do what the Holy Spirit says, how the Holy Spirit says to do it with the attitude that the Holy Spirit desires and in the timing that the Holy Spirit desires. That's what true faith is. Faith is action. Faith is movement. Faith is response and trust in the promises of God. When you respond to the promises of God with obedience, that's faith. So if you want the Holy Spirit to be welcomed in your life, and again, I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit comes and goes. I'm not saying that a single act of disobedience can cause him to abandon you. I'm talking about either strengthening or weakening that influence depending upon how you live. If you want to strengthen the influence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in and upon your life, then you must learn to walk by faith. Respond quickly to his voice without hesitation, without reservation, without cynicism or doubt, without second-guessing what he's asking you to do. Step out in faith. So, hosting the presence of the Holy Spirit. Number one, we saw its holiness. That's the removal of sin and impurities. Number two, we see faith. That's quick responses to instructions from the Holy Spirit. Number three is awareness. Awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit. John 14, 16 says this, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you. Here the scripture is telling us that the Holy Spirit abides with us faithfully. What a privilege that we can have the friend, the Holy Spirit abiding with us moment by moment, day by day, minute by minute, faithfully remaining with us despite our many flaws. What a wonderful truth that he is a faithful friend who is near to us the problem. Though the Holy Spirit is always near to us, we're not always aware of him. People say things that are quite interesting to me, and to be honest with you, I used to use this kind of lingo, and sometimes it still slips out because that's how I was raised when I was growing up in church. But we say things like, oh, during the worship, the presence of the Holy Spirit fell. Oh, we began to pray, and the power of the Holy Spirit showed up. Again, sometimes we use this kind of lingo because we're used to describing the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in that way. But do you realize that during worship, it's not that the Holy Spirit is coming closer, rather it's that you're becoming more aware of its presence. When you begin to pray, it's not that the power of the Holy Spirit is suddenly coming into the room, rather it's that you're becoming aware of that power. In your awareness of that power, you have the faith to receive from that power. And it is that awareness that really brings the difference. It is that awareness that truly transforms your life. The Bible says in Psalm 139 verse 7, I can never escape from your spirit. I can never get away from your presence. The Holy Spirit is the everywhereness of God. He's the omnipresence of God. There's nowhere that you can go, that you can escape the presence of the Holy Spirit. Do you realize that he abides with you? And so we must honor that faithful abiding of the Holy Spirit through our acknowledgement of his presence. Sadly, many times the pace of life is too fast to allow for those moments of pause that you might consider the presence of the Holy Spirit. All too often we live so quickly. We live so distracted. We're so busy that we cram all of these things into our schedules, leaving not so much as a tiny space for the Holy Spirit to fill. The Holy Spirit can only fill that which is empty. The problem is, some of us are so full of ourselves that we rarely ever acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit. But do you realize that when you're on your way to work, he's there? That when you're spending time with your family, he's there. When you're studying for a test, he's there. When you're trying to overcome some habitual sin, he's there. When you're frustrated, he's there. In times of sorrow and joy, peace and chaos, certainty and uncertainty, he is there. We have a picture of his presence in the Old Testament, the cloud by day and the fire by night, guiding the children of Israel through the wilderness. So the presence of the Holy Spirit abides faithfully and guides you. Truly, the Holy Spirit is that cloud by day, that fire by night, who goes with you and before you, honor him, welcome him, by slowing down the pace of your life, by slowing down the pace of your schedule, by slowing down the pattern of your thoughts, just so that you might acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit. Really, the key, I should say one of the keys, to intimacy with the Holy Spirit is walking continually in that awareness of the Holy Spirit. So number one, so far we have holiness, remove sin, faith, respond quickly to his voice, awareness, slow your pace and be aware of him in every moment. Number four, atmosphere. And this right here is a revelation that absolutely transformed my life. I remember one time I was ministering in the city of Chicago, preparing for a service that night. And as I was getting ready in my hotel room, I sensed a tangible, weighty presence of the Holy Spirit manifest in my room. I became aware of the weight of his glory. And I could sense his presence on my physical being. I felt like a weight and electric currents and heat moving all about me. And so in that moment, I said to the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, let me take this to the service. I don't want to miss this moment. I don't want to become so distracted that I let this pass me by. And so I go downstairs into the lobby where my team is waiting for me, we're waiting for the car to come and pick us up and take us to the service. They're all having conversations. And there was nothing inherently evil about their conversations. They were talking about sports and where they were going to eat afterwards and so forth. But even those conversations, as they began to distract my mind from the presence of the Holy Spirit, caused that sense of the tangible touch of the Holy Spirit to weaken. I began to sense that weight lifting, those electric currents weakening. And so I walked away and I looked over on one of the TV screens in the hotel lobby and there was nothing evil on TV. It was nothing sinful. It was just like a news show or something like that. But even as I looked at that screen, I sensed a weakening of the tangible touch of the Holy Spirit. So I put my headphones on, started listening to worship music, got in the car and said, I'm not going to allow for any distractions to weaken what I'm sensing on my physical being. As we're driving down the street on our way to the venue, I'm looking out the window and I can see billboards. I can see advertisements for law firms and restaurants and people walking about the sidewalk. And even those seemingly mundane distractions were enough to weaken what I was sensing. And so I just closed my eyes, began to worship. I'm listening to worship music on my headphones, trying to preserve this beautiful, glorious touch that I'm sensing on my physical body. We get to the service. I go straight to the prayer room and from the prayer room, I go to the pulpit and that sense of the manifested presence of God that I was feeling in the hotel room, in the car, filled the room. Like the sense of his presence filled the room. It was as though I was carrying an ember and when I got to the service, it became an inferno and people could sense that physical touch. Now I'm not talking about legalism and I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit is afraid of distraction. But the thing is this, even though the Holy Spirit is not afraid of distraction, you and I are heavily affected by distractions. It's not that the Holy Spirit needs an atmosphere to move, it's that we need an atmosphere sometimes to receive. And it's important to also note that I'm specifically here talking about the tangible, manifested presence of the Holy Spirit. These first three keys, holiness, faith, awareness, these have to do with the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life that you feel or don't feel. But I'm talking now, as I talk about atmosphere, I'm talking about that physical, tangible touch that produces the miraculous in ministry or in meetings or as you pray and minister to people. That requires atmosphere. Acts chapter two says this, and when the day of Pentecost was 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 all the house where they were sitting. I love that about the presence of the Holy Spirit. He comes suddenly and from seemingly nowhere and he changes the ordinary plain settings of any atmosphere into a heavenly atmosphere. Here we see that the church was united. Here we see that the church had come together as one. What was it about this atmosphere? It was an atmosphere of unity. That's one way to set the atmosphere for the presence of the Holy Spirit, unity. But think about also avoiding ungodly influence, ungodly conversation, ungodly imagery, atmosphere is unique in that it's not a need of the Holy Spirit. It's not even necessarily a desire of the Holy Spirit. Rather, atmosphere is key for us to receive from the Holy Spirit. It builds faith, it makes you more aware and it makes you more susceptible to receiving from the Holy Spirit if you set that godly atmosphere. So four ways to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Number one, holiness. Number two, faith. Number three, awareness and number four, atmosphere. I want to pray for you now. I want to pray that you would be one to welcome the Holy Spirit in your life and ministry. Father, I pray for that one receiving now and I ask you Lord to cause them to be aware of the Holy Spirit. Let them be more aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit than they've ever been in their lives. I pray give us the faith to see and to be aware of that beautiful presence which faithfully abides with us. Holy Spirit, we welcome you. I want you to make that a public declaration. Write that in the comments. Write, welcome Holy Spirit. Father, we mean it. We mean it with our hearts. We mean it with all that we are. Help us to welcome you. We pray this in the name of Jesus. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say Amen. Well, if you enjoyed this message, don't forget to leave a like and also make sure that you're subscribed to EncounterTV and click that notification bell when you do subscribe. 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