The "PRESENCE" of GOD

Psalm 91: 1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

1. There is a secret place
2. We can abide (live) there.
3. Then it can be found.

Matthew 7:7 -8 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened"

1. I have asked...And he has answered.
2. I have sought...And I have found.
3. I have knocked... And he has opened.

This aforementioned text is the basis for the following testimony of R.M. (Bob) Warehime. I have read many different testimonies concerning spiritual happenings in the lives of various people, and tried to understand just what they were attempting to reveal.

The reason for writing this particular experience of my life is to cause you to know that there is a realm of God which can be reached, but in my nearly thirty years of searching, no one I ever met had told me that this was available. I do not want to be guilty of the fact that I did not try to pass on what I have found.

There is a short story in which two persons were walking along one day and they came to a high wall. One person could not get upon the wall by himself but since there were two of them, one boosted the other up and he in turn pulled up his friend. The first hopped down into the most beautiful garden that they had ever seen. He then called his friend to join him in the garden but his friend refused. His reason being that perhaps there were some other soul traveling alone and if no one was there to help, then maybe the garden would not be found again.

If in all my years I have not been taught, then perhaps not many people have been there and seen. Pursuing this basis I will proceed to share a life changing experience.

Nearly nineteen years ago this month I had an encounter with God ! While pastoring a small church in the Florida Keys I became to a place in my relationship with God that I felt so inadequate to minister to a beautiful group of people in the congregation that I began to cry out to God for help. I didn't know what to ask for so I spent a lot of time reading and studying the Bible.

More or less I stayed in my room and searched. I believed in God, but didn't really know him on a personal basis. I knew quite a lot about him but had never been introduced. Would you be able to introduce me to God? Introduce me to God without telling me any of his attributes or any thing he has done! I believe you will agree with me that this is a very difficult position to be in unless you know him. My beloved reader I know him. I do not know all about him but I know how to find him, and I know where the secret place is and I know how to dwell there. My greatest fear is that you will think I'm beside myself or that I am someone special for I am not.

Returning to the time when I was searching with all that I knew how to in my heart. An experience happened to me one morning at 5:45 AM. I had just gotten out of bed and was walking toward another room, when before me stood a man who in all reality looked as I would imagine Jesus looks like. When I saw him immediately I felt as though I had been exposed to absolute truth. He did not speak but I knew that I was not able to stand in his presence.

That same day my life changed as well as the ministry that God had called me to accomplish. I so now knew my inferior qualities that my ministry now became one of total mercy. You see like so many I had been raised up in a fundamental Pentecostal denomination and in order to be licensed with their organization you were required to enforce or enact certain restrictions upon the people. I like to define that as referring to them as Pharisaic teachings or more plainly "religious bondage" Matthew 5:7 Jesus said "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." and friend that was good enough reason for me to become a minister of grace and mercy.

Now comes a very difficult part of my relating just exactly what I was going through. During the night time hours (remember I am writing from retrospect) I was awakened and for several hours each night the Holy Spirit would talk and reveal things and during this same time my body was (more or less) invaded by strange feelings and in my mind, I thought I was being translated, or changed into a glorified state. You must remember here that I had never experienced anything like this before and never heard anyone else describe such an experience. I suppose you might say I did not know that the Holy Ghost got so personal. I did not know him on a personal level. I have spoken in tongues and been moved by a prophetic anointing and given inspirational teaching revelation but never invaded like this.

I thought I was losing my sanity or as some of the senior church members said to me, that I was having a nervous break down. I can remember being awake almost all night for 4 or 5 days in a row. (Not sure). At the end of these days I still was not overly fatigued as if a new strength was given me. I so wanted this to quit happening to me that I put a small TV in my room and let it play all night to occupy my mind. During the daylight hours I kept a gospel tape playing all the time, and I can still remember the tape (We have overcome, by the word of the Lord and the blood of the Lamb, we have overcome).

The next thing that happened was that this tremendous spirit of fear overtook me and I couldn't find anyone to talk to who understood what I was going through. I called different pastors and talked to other Christians and no one could help me. I would call my dear wife and we would get in the car and drive from the keys up through the mainland of Florida and at night stop at a motel or friends house and sleep. After about an hour or so this would happen to me again, and I would get out of bed, wake my wife, and we would hit the road again. This went on for quite a few days or weeks (I don't know) and then began to subside. At some point I suppose it went into the recesses of my mind and life went on as usual.

POINT OF REFERENCE, VERY IMPORTANT
If I might do a little reference to other examples here to explain my plight. 1st meeting- Genesis 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. and he was afraid. 2nd meeting-Genesis 32:24-30 Jacob met God the second time, and wrestled with Him until God blessed him. You can go through the Bible from Moses to Paul or Peter and you will find none knew him at their first meeting and needed this POINT OF REFERENCE. Whether Peter or Isaiah or Daniel, when meeting him they were very afraid. When the angel came to them or Mary or the Shepherds or Zachariah, the greeting was always "FEAR NOT" (you want to know why) THEY WERE AFRAID! While reading Benny Hinn's book "Good Morning Holy Spirit", Benny said that the first time he recognized the Holy Spirit was in Kathryn Kuhlman's service. He said his body trembled and shook and he didn't know just what it was. That night after he got back to his home and in his room he began talking to the Holy Spirit and asked if he could meet him. Benny said immediately it seemed as though he was pulled from his bed onto his knees and this feeling he had experienced before came upon him. He was afraid to open his eyes and said either this is the Holy Spirit or else I am back in Pennsylvania at Kathryn's meeting. (POINT OF REFERENCE)

MY SECOND MEETING
After nearly thirteen years and about Passover season of 1993 I had grown cold in my spiritual life and became hungry for the reality of God in my life. I began a season of fasting, praying and seeking the face of God. The Spirit would speak at night and, when God is telling me something, It would go over and over in my mind until i went to the word and searched it out or would pray until he would bring the revelation of his word to me. Of course during this time my eyes were turned inward and he searched my heart diligently. Scriptures like, Jeremiah 17: 9" The heart is desperately wicked " and who can know it ? Revelation 3: 18 I counsel of thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed. I knew that I could not trust my own heart. I knew that my religion was as worthless as Adam's fig leaves, and I had no righteousness of my own. The revelation of all of this is that I exhausted everything that my mind could conceive or imagine and I still couldn't find him, so I died to my own flesh and was simply put, at the mercy of God. As long as we trust in anything we are able to do, we still have not found Him, we only have religion.

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