Encounter the Holy Spirit – Pastor Robert Ssesanga – Malaysia’s Christian News Website

30 Nov 2013 by Jason Law CM –

The room was filled with the presence and glory of the Holy Spirit even before the speaker went up to give his message. At one time, the presence of the Spirit was so strong that everyone in the whole room removed their shoes in His holy presence, and knelt down in worship. And when the speaker gave his message, there was such vibrancy and excitement that the night ended in a glorious miracle and worship session.

The speaker, Pastor Robert Ssesanga, hails from Uganda, and he is in Malaysia for a Miracle Rally gathering three churches; DUMC, SIB KL, and Hossana Church, USJ. Last Wednesday night, 27^th of November 2013, Pastor Robert Ssesanga started off his rally at DUMC with a session on the Holy Spirit.

The pastor’s message, ‘Encountering the Holy Spirit’, is a message to educate Christians about the true understanding of who the Spirit is, so that they are empowered in their identity as God’s people and for His Kingdom work. Pastor Ssesanga explained that many Christians lack the power and strength because they do not understand who the Spirit is. They misunderstand the Holy Spirit as the ‘power of God’, or as some other immaterial ‘It’. Many try their whole lives to ‘master’ the Holy Spirit as if He is a subject.

The fact is, explained Pastor Ssesanga, the Holy Spirit is a fully distinct manifestation of God. Christians recognize God as the Triune One. What this means is that God is One but manifest Himself in 3 dispensations. We know God as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, God’s dispensation is as God the Father and it was a time of Law and Blood Sacrifice carried out by priests. Jesus was already with God in the beginning (John 1:1-5), but in the New Testament, God’s dispensation as Jesus became the ultimate act of Grace and Sacrifice for us. When Jesus was about to return back to God’s right-hand in John 14:15-18, Jesus promised His people that God the Father will send a Helper to us. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit numerous times as ‘He’ and not ‘It’. The Holy Spirit is coequal with the Father and Son.

Pastor Ssesanga explained that the Holy Spirit of God was also already there in the Old Testament. In Exodus 40:33-34, when Moses finished building the tabernacle, a cloud covered it, and the glory of God filled the whole tabernacle. In 2 Chronicles 5, when Solomon built the tabernacle as directed by David, he was building an immovable tabernacle. David was a man after God’s heart who had the desire for God’s Holy Spirit, and in 2 Chronicles 5:13, a cloud descended once more upon the temple after it was completed. Pastor Ssesanga explained that this cloud was the manifestation of the Spirit of God in those days. Today, the Holy Spirit still manifests as the Glory of God.

In Exodus 13:21-22, we find that the Spirit of God went before the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, and never left them. Exodus 14:19-20 elaborates further that the pillar of cloud hid the Israelites by day and guided them as a pillar of fire by night. This act was remembered ages later and found in Isaiah 63:9-14. God protects His children from evil, and if the Holy Spirit is with us today, we need to cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

The manifestation of God brought reverence and fear of the Lord to His people. This is not the fear that we usually mean, but has the meaning of an indescribable awe and reverence. When Moses returned from Mount Sinai after his encounter with God, the glory of God’s presence shined out so much from his face that he had to veil his face in order to protect the Israelites who were enveloped in sin (Exodus 34:29-35). When the tabernacle was built, there was a bronze altar for burnt offerings (Exodus 27:1-5) and only the high priest could encounter God’s direct presence in the Holy of Holies.

Progressing from the time of the Exodus, after the crucifixion, the temple veil tore signifying Jesus as the only way to the Father, and that God was through with the religious system (http://www.gotquestions.org/temple-veil-torn.html) The Holy Spirit came upon Christians on the Day of the Pentecost (Acts 2). This act empowered the 120 followers of Christ in that small room, and many manifested this empowering by speaking in tongues.

In the current day, we’re living in, Jesus has returned to the right hand of God. Any divine moment such as visions, miracles, gift of tongues, and so on in the current day is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who brings us into the presence and our walk with God.

We are now partakers of His better priesthood, and can enter the Holy of Holies through Him. In 2 Corinthians 6:16, we find that God call us the temple of His living presence. Being temples of the living God, there are certain things we need to be mindful of. The Holy Spirit empowers us, but it is the Holy Spirit doing His work in us, not us having the power.

Just as the ancient Israelites offered their sacrifice to God, we also need to learn to respect the Holy Spirit and offer ourselves as living sacrifices. What this means is that we die to self and we subject ourselves to every will of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit asks us to go and do His work and be a blessing to His people, we go, in spite of any inconveniences. We need to go beyond comfort.

It also means that we need to persist in prayer. Really effective and powerful people in God develop prayer to such an extent that they no longer become a mere routine, but a real intercourse with God. This is why we find real prayer warriors being able to spend huge amounts of time in continuous prayer.

From there, we also learn to stay in the presence of the Lord. This entails learning to be quiet, and learning to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. We become so sensitive to the Holy Spirit that we are able to hear every prompting from the Holy Spirit and obey His guidance.

Pastor Ssesanga encouraged that the Bible tells us that if anyone is thirsty, they only need to turn to the Holy Spirit and drink. Love God and the Holy Spirit for who He is. God is the reason we’re created and the Holy Spirit is the one that helps us to fulfill our life’s destiny and purpose. Our soul longs for God (Psalm 42:1-2). We raise our hands in surrender to the Holy Spirit when we worship today. The presence and glory of God is real! Take time to rest in the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Ssesanga did not end the service with the message. He encouraged the congregation to pray in tongues, and the whole room resounded with the speaking of tongues. Pastor Ssesanga then called out specific cases he received from God that God wanted him to heal. Many people were healed and slain in the spirit on that night. Pastor Ssesanga had a prophetic ministry on the 29^th of November 2013 in DUMC, and will have sessions on the 3^rd-5^th of November 2013 in SIB KL at 12.30-3pm, and 1^st and 8^th of December 2013 in Hossana Church, USJ at 8pm.