Honoring the Presence of The Holy Spirit 

Honoring the Presence of The Holy Spirit 

2 Corinthians 3:16 But when one[a] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord[b] is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 

• If you seek freedom first, you may miss the Spirit’s power to break the yoke of sin from your life by struggling to be free in your power.

Don’t seek freedom first; seek the Spirit first. 

• If you want success, learn to put first things first! 
  •  Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
• What is the Kingdom? 
  • Romans 4:17….the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
• The seeking of the presence of the Holy Spirit defeats every addiction. 
• Every emotional illness is healed by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
• Every destiny and destination of God’s will is found in the presence of the Holy Spirit. 
• Every blessing, achievement, promotion, and pursuit begins with favor found in the presence of the Holy Spirit. 

THE PROBLEM: WE ARE SEEKING EVERYTHING BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT! 

In the Old Testament, God placed Adam and Eve into His presence in the Garden of Eden. 

1. When God created humanity, He placed humanity within His presence, 
2. But when He saved us, He placed His presence within us.

The Ark of God: In Four Places: A Lesson in The Presence of the Holy Spirit 

Lesson #1 The presence of the Holy Spirit serves God’s purposes, not ours.

We begin with Eli and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. (I Sam. 4)

• They are sleeping with the temple servants and getting fat off the burnt offerings.
• The place of worship is Shilo, and the ark is there.
• Israel has just lost a battle with the Philistines and sent for the ark at Shilo.
  • However, Israel sinned against God and began to treat the ark as a good luck charm in battle. 
  • They did not have a relationship with God but thought the ark would save them. 

God’s presence is not being revered or respected by the home of Eli. 

• Hophni and Phineas carry the ark and lead Israel back into to battle with the Philistines.

The ark doesn’t turn out to be a good luck charm at all!

Israel is beaten like a rental car. 

• Hopni and Phineas die 
• And the ark is lost to the enemy: the Philistines 
• Eli gets the news, falls from his chair like the godfather, and the fall breaks his neck.
• The Enemy, the Philistines, take the Ark home with them. 

Lesson #2: The Presence of God and Breaking the Yoke. life. (1 Sam. 5)

The Holy Spirit means trouble for your idols. 

1. Meanwhile, the Philistines are having some trouble with the ark.
   1. Ashdod – Dagon’s temple. We heard of Dagon in the story of Samson. (Judges 16:23) The name Dagon means “fish,” and the idol was part fish and part man, the body of a fish and the face and hands of a man. 
   2. They wake up, he falls down, the next day he wakes up, he falls again, and his arms and head are snapped off. 
   3. Good news: The people no longer worship Dagon.
   4. Bad News: The people of Ashdod are covered in tumors and are dying– they are like: What do we do with this golden box? (Ark)
2. What the Holy Spirit Breaks, You Are Empowered to Remove. 

Isaiah 10:27  In that day his burden shall be taken away from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck; and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing oil

The Ark of the Covenant broke Dagon, but didn’t remove him from the temple.

• When we come to Jesus Christ, God forgives our sins and breaks their power,
• But God gives us the responsibility to remove their presence by changing our habits, 
• 2 Cor. 6:14 Light has no fellowship with darkness.

God cannot take up residence in you to cohabitate with other gods or your idols. 

• The Philistines thought they could control God’s presence, but God will not share you! 
• You don’t get what you want with God—you either get God and He gets you, or you get nothing. 

God is not a vending machine; you come to him and order what you want. 

• He will not stay in a place that forces Him to cohabitate with other gods. 

He will defeat these other “gods” in your life, but He will ask you to clean out the garbage.

• You must repent: (Greek-metanoia) means to change your mind concerning these idols and sin and hate them enough to remove them and cut your ties to them.
• The Story of Zacchaeus: God’s Presence Causes Other Gods to Fall
  • The story of Zacchaeus is a perfect example of how God’s presence causes other “gods” to fall.
  • Zacchaeus was a tax collector, despised and considered a sinner, yet when Jesus came to his house, Zacchaeus’ life was transformed.  He gave away his wealth and repented, showing that God’s presence broke the hold of greed and selfishness in his life.

2. So they move it to Gath – Goliath is from Gath. At this point, Goliath would have been just a little boy when he first encountered the presence of the living God.
   2. While the golden box is in Gath, the people are again covered in tumors, and then panic and fear break out in the city.
3. So the Philistines moved the ark to Ekron, but they cried out Don’t bring that thing here!

The bible says: A spirit of death has filled the city with panic, and the outcry went up to heaven. 

• So the enemy, the Philistines, do something interesting: They place the ark on a cart to be pulled by two cows that have never been yoked and send this golden box back to Israel. (Remember this part is important)

Lesson #3 The Presence of the Holy Spirit and Ignorance. 

The ark ends up back in Israelite territory in a town called Beth Shemesh. 

• The people rejoice at the sight of the ark returning. They place the ark on a rock and sacrifice the cows, and use the cart as fire for a burnt offering. 
• Next to the ark, they find a box from the Philistines filled with gold rats and golden tumors. 
• This was a peace offering from the Philistines. 

They open one box – wonder what’s in the golden box! Like a game show. Let’s see what’s behind box number 2?  

• When they open that box, 70 of them die instantly for looking into the ark.
• God instructs through the Word how to worship Him and in what ways to approach His presence. 
• The Bible must be followed, WE WORSHIP THE LORD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH TODAY. 

Lesson #4 The Presence of the Holy Spirit and Indifference. (1 Sam. 7:1) 

The Ark remained at Abinadab’s house for a considerable period, described as “twenty years in all”. 

• Later, King David decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. 
• He orchestrated a procession to move the Ark from Abinadab’s house. 

Despite having God’s presence in his home, nothing supernatural happened because the family became indifferent to it. 

• Abinadab’s sons, including Uzzah, became so accustomed to the ark that they developed irreverence toward it. 
• They even transported it on a cart instead of carrying it on their shoulders as God had commanded.
• This way of transporting it was the way the Philistines sent it back to Israel. 

When the oxen stumbled, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark without caution, showing complete irreverence that cost him his life. 

• This irreverence was the result of 20 years of indifference. 
• They had the ark in their house like a microwave or refrigerator—something ordinary they got used to, with no sense of sacredness.

This reminds us of many Christians who have the Holy Spirit inside but lack intimacy and reverence. 

• After a while, we develop indifference, not hatred or rejection, but a casual attitude where we act as if He’s just there, doing nothing. 
• The Spirit will cause no difference in our lives if we are indifferent to Him.

Indifference to the Holy Spirit leads to irreverence. 

Lesson #5 The presence of the Holy Spirit and Honor. 

The Blessing of Obed-Edom: Honoring the Presence of God (1 Chronicles 13:12)

• After the tragedy with Uzzah, who died for irreverently touching the Ark, King David was afraid to bring the Ark of God into Jerusalem. 
• Instead, he decided to leave it at the house of a man named Obed-Edom. 
• This moment marks a dramatic shift in the story of the Ark and teaches us a powerful lesson about the presence of God.

Unlike Abinadab’s household, where the Ark sat for twenty years with little effect due to indifference, Obed-Edom’s home was transformed. 

• The Bible says that the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his entire household because of the Ark (2 Samuel 6:11-12). 
• Everything he had began to prosper—his family, his possessions, and his land.
• This blessing was so evident that the word quickly spread to King David, 

The story of Obed-Edom illustrates that the Holy Spirit’s presence is not just about proximity, but about posture. 

• When we honor, revere, and welcome the Holy Spirit, 
• He brings transformation, blessing, and life. 
• This is in contrast to indifference or irreverence, which can lead to spiritual stagnation or even danger, as seen with Uzzah.

David says, “Excuse me, Obed Edom. I want the presence back.” 

He carries the ark right and dances before it.

• • Comes into Jerusalem, and Michael is concerned about the position, not about the presence 
  • She is watching and says, ”How can you do this?” I am dancing before the Lord, not the people 
  • She is struck barren and never has a child because of not respecting the presence of God. 

Obed Edom Factor: Put first things first! You have got to learn to put the presence of God first in your home.

• While the Ark is in the presence of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phineas, they are killed, and Israel loses the war.
• While the Ark is in 3 Philistine cities, people are covered with tumors and die
• While the ark comes back to Israel, the Jews look into it, and 70 die
• While the Ark is en route to Jerusalem, Uzzah touches it and dies
• While the Ark is at Abinadab’s house for 20 years, there is no mention of blessing sat on a hill, but while in the home of Obed Edom for just 3 months, he and his entire family are blessed

Eli’s sons: In 1 Samuel 2:17, Hophni and Phinehas are called “good-for-nothing priests” who “treated the Lord’s offering with contempt” by taking their portions of the sacrifices before they were offered to God

Jesus, our high priest, has paid the ultimate price for our contempt. He took our place and was broken for us so that we could have the presence of His Spirit.