Manifest Presence 09 Conference – Session 2

Manifest Presence 09 Conference

• Harbourside Church
• Declaring the Kingdom
• 24 August 2009
• Bill Johnson

Session 2

• One of the biggest problems of boredom in the church occurs because we continuously pray for what we already have.
• If we do this, we cannot rejoice when it comes, because it’s already here.
• Answered prayer is meant to be the key to continuous ongoing experience in joy.

For example

• “Lord, be with us today.”
• Is it harmless or powerless?
• Relationship or religion?

The Lord will do sovereign acts

• (e.g. miraculous healings, multiply food)
• in order to reveal himself
• He’s trying to bring us into partnership with His Spirit
• so that we can do those things also
• in order to multiple the effect
• in order to set more people free

We pray for things we already possess

• “Rend the heavens and let rain come down”
• Meaning we want the blessing of God to fall all over our city
• In order to convert others
• This is asking God to do what he has already given us to do in seed form.

Matt 11:10

• The Spirit descending like a dove
• Through a torn heaven
• Therefore we already live under an open heaven.

“None of me, all of you”

• This is false humility
• God had none of you before and didn’t like it
• That’s why He made you
• He values you
• We wants all of you, covered with all of Him

Hosea 3:5

• “They shall fear the Lord and His goodness, in the latter days.”
• It’s easy to convert people when they face great difficulties.
• But he (Bill) believes a day is coming when people will be converted through the manifest blessings in the lives of God’s people.
• It’s the goodness of God which changed the face of Moses.
• It will be the goodness of God which will change the face of His Church.

The example of the Apostles

• Acts 3: healed the cripple, faced persecution because of it
• Acts 4: imprisoned, set free, prayed for more boldness
• It was the boldness which attracted the Holy Spirit to authenticate the apostles preaching with miraculous signs.

We have access to unlimited strength

• The Devil doesn’t
• The great thing about demons is, they’re not making them anymore.

Whatever you become aware of, you can broker.

• The Devil doesn’t want you to live as if you understand you are living under an open heaven.
• The Holy Spirit is in every believer; He’s not upon every believer.
• If you imagine the dove is upon your shoulder, how do you walk down a flight of stairs without frightening off that dove?
• You walk, aware of that dove.
• So, your walk in life should constantly be aware of the spirit of God upon you.
• Our aim is to host that presence continuously.

Apostle Paul says

• “You are restricted by your affections.”
• Learn to tap into Godly affection.
• Look to where your heart is drawn.
• Then your anointing will be released (towards where your affection lies).

The depressed Christian

• Looks inside and finds nothing good.
• (My) real concern is me.

From servant to friend

• From legal to love
• From workers to lovers
• From doing the bare minimum, to doing what moves Him (my friend)
• Friends have insights to the inner working of their friend.

Matt 10

• If you cultivate the presence, then miracles can just happen, without great prayers for healing.
• But, don’t prostitute his presence for personal gain.
• That measure of openness over every believer can increase through cultivating his presence.
• E.g. 83 people healed of deafness.
• Verse 8: “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast off devils.”
• Verse 12: “When you go into a household, greet it. Let your peace remain on the house.”
• How?
  • Peace in the world is the absence of noise, conflict, war.
  • Peace in the kingdom is the presence of a Person.
  • “And the Prince of Peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
  • It’s a military move against the power of darkness.
  • The affirming, encouraging, encompassing presence to those in the kingdom.
  • It’s this two edged sword that (a) heals and (b) destroys at the same time.
• Shalom means
  • Sound mind
  • Divine health
  • Prosperity
• Release that into the atmosphere.

The passage about Noah and the dove

• is establishing the context that the Holy Spirit is constantly looking for places to rest
• not out of weariness, but out of desire to establish dominion
• the dove returning, is an illustration of the peace returning to the Christian, from a house that isn’t ready to accept the peace

Honour is

• how you access what another person carries in the Spirit
• recognizes that God is working through that person

The call of the Christian life

• Learn to recognize the presence and release it over others
• Whatever moves me will move Him.

Prophecy

• Should be done out of faith
• But, it doesn’t take any faith to see the human condition and prophecy disaster
• Don’t prophecy anything that you aren’t willing to believe God for