By Pastora Monique Lopez Ong
God is good. And all the time, God is good. That should be your firm foundation. If your foundation is wrong, you will always blame God for everything that happens to you, good or bad. Did God give sicknesses? Did God give debts? Nobody can change that. He cannot be good today and bad tomorrow. But when something bad happens, God can turn it for good.
The problem of believers to day is that they have Attention Deficient Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). They are physically in church but their mind is somewhere else. They have no focus. You worship God in church but the moment you get out of its doors, you get swept away by your daily problems. You become busy because of all the worries of the world and you get disconnected with God. You lose your focus and God suddenly takes the back seat.
Luke 10:39-42 says, “Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Martha was so busy preparing the food while Mary simply sat at Jesus’ feet. Just like you, what is the one thing that you cannot give up whenJesus is already there?
The kingdom culture focuses on the presence of God. Your first ministry is to Him. A lot of people come to church and are confused about which ministry they can go to. Music ministry? Kids ministry? These are all secondary. How is your personal walk with Jesus? Do you talk to Him everyday? Or do you only talk to Him at church? David says in Psalms 27:4, “The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.” Do you know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit? Where is the temple? It is in you! Do you meditate about how good God is to you? Do you see Him in everything? There is no separation the church with your everyday lives. There is no such thing as being good in church and the moment you step out, you are a totally different person. If your first ministry is to God, what does it look like? How do you do it? The kingdom is available to all. God is just waiting for you. You simply need to know the kingdom culture.
Kingdom culture is a daily worship and fellowship with God, all throughout the day. There is no separation between secular and sacred. God is with you 24/7. And you can talk to Him all the time. He is everywhere. Even in Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok! It is impossible that you do not feel your presence.
Everything comes form the Lord. But people focus too much on the presence of darkness. Depression. Low self-worth. Loneliness. The presence of God emanates within you and people will be drawn to you. They will feel the presence of God around you. Many miss out because they are focused on something else. God delights in you and He always desires to be with you. It is not a question. He formed you in your mother’s womb. He knows how much hair is on your head. He knows everything about you. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” He enjoys every part of you and He is happier when you are joyful in Him.
In the kingdom culture, you have the powers of Jesus Christ. You can heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. But you need to cultivate a hunger for God’s manifest presence. If you want to see and feel God’s presence, you need to want it so bad that you hunger and thirst for it. Isaiah 55:1-2 says, “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.” God calls you to experience His manifest presence.
There are three expressions of God’s presence.
Omnipresence - God is everywhere. Psalm 139:7-10 says, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” If you cannot feel His presence, that is on you; because God is here all the time.
Indwelling Presence - when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit immediately comes and dwells in you. So where is God? He is in you! 1 John 4:4 says, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” He is and never will be away from you.
Manifest Presence - this is the power of the Holy Spirit moving in you. Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The manifest presence is your awareness that God is with you. Sensing the presence of the Holy Spirit moves body, soul and spirit. You get goosebumps, gold dust in your palms, and oil in your hands. It also manifests in your soul. When you read God’s word, the Holy Spirit teaches you all things. And the things you did not use to understand becomes clear as day. He gives you knowledge and wisdom. In the spirit, your eyes are opened and God speaks to you in visions and dreams.
How do you do that?
Whatever you focus on becomes your reality. Be careful on what you focus on. That is why God is asking you to focus on Him. If you focus on the problem, you cannot see the answers tot he problem. When you focus on the darkness, you give the enemy space to work. But when you are aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in whatever situation you are in, then He will show you the solution. Partner with God.
What you hold internally affects your environment and surroundings. It is scary to stick with people who are sad, depressed and angry. They spread it to those around them. Be careful of these people. How can you make sure that you can internally change your surroundings? Change your inner self. Carry Jesus in your heart and in your life.
Every step you take, keep Jesus in mind. Be conscious that the Holy Spirit is in you. Make all your movements be to protect and honor God. Only then can you change the environment. There are people who are gravitated towards certain individuals. Why? Because they feel the manifest presence of God in you. Even if you do not say anything, they can fee it in you. But your relationship with Jesus is very important. Jesus models habitation. Isaiah 61:1-3 says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.” Because the Holy Spirit is with you, God’s power can be seen.
John 5:19-20 says, “So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.” This has to be a lifestyle. Attempt to say what God is saying and do what He is doing when you minister to others. Jesus is the only example to what the Father does. Everything Jesus did, that is your focus. He recognized God’s presence wherever He went.
Everyone can do great things. Whatever overshadows you will be shadowed to others. If you are overshadowed by the power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit, it will come out. Focus on His presence. You can do more for the Lord. He is telling you that you can host His presence. Just focus on Him.