Leon Fontaine - His Presence Within Us - Part 1
Hey, everybody! It is so good to have you with me today. I love diving into the Word and learning the principles and doctrines of the Word but in an experiential way. I'm always wanting to help people to be practical with God's Word. It's not just about a bunch of head knowledge. It transforms our lives every day. So today, I want to talk to you about some of the things that I learned in my life about Holy Spirit and His presence within me. What it did in me, and then Holy Spirit and what it was like as He flowed out of me into situations as I was leading for God or ministering to people. And I think it's going to help you immensely because God's called everyone of us to partner with Holy Spirit who is within us as believers. And then how do we walk literally like these superhumans because we are not children of men, although we are. We are called the sons and daughters of God. And so this changes everything.
So let me dive in and let's just begin to talk as we look at all these different areas. Now, Jesus when He came to the planet. This is a really interesting thought. That when He took on a physical body, did you know that Jesus change forever His form. Now, I don't know exactly what He looked like or what His form was like in the God head before He came to the planet and took on a human body. But Jesus today is in this human body. And even when He rose into heaven, He didn't just rise into heaven as a Spirit. He rose into heaven still in this human body. There's so much teaching around that that I love to dive into, but I want you to know, the sitting at the right hand of the Father isn't just a Spirit. It's Jesus in the shape of a human body. He forever took on this likeness. And so He forever is with the human race. He has brought us together. There is a covenant between Jesus in a human body representing the human race and God the Father.
And because of that, the Bible just opens up into this tremendous understanding of, "Oh, that is why He can do all of these things for us". All right, now in Acts 10:41, it says here that Jesus, He appeared, and He ate and drunk with the disciples after He rose from the dead. And it shows us that this is the body that rose into heaven. This is a look. This is kind of a pre-look at what your body will look like in heaven. Where Jesus could walk through walls. He could eat and enjoy food. He could drink. He could hug. He could touch. He could have doubting Thomas put his fingers in the nail holes because His body was uniquely different. When we get to heaven, we are literally going to have a glorified body, walks in tremendous health and power. That can literally dematerialize and walk through walls, lock doors. I don't even know how to get into that other than to say it's going to be tremendous. He could just disappear and reappear someplace else as the Bible is teaching.
So heaven is going to be a stunning place when you and I get there and all of our family and friends, etcetera. So this is exciting. Now, the Holy Spirit. He is within us and then He is upon us, flowing through us. It's interesting that when you study the Old Testament. That all of the mighty men and women, the prophets, the kings of old that God used. There would be different terms like that the Spirit of God was upon them. Like when Samson shook himself, the Spirit of God would come upon him and he would take out the city gates. He would wipe out all of the enemies of God's people by the thousands. I mean, incredible things. The mighty men the same thing. The presence of God would come upon them. And today, I know that there are callings on all of us and that the presence of God. He'll flow out of you. He'll come upon you for remarkable things, for miracles.
If you are a leader. If you have got tremendous responsibility and you begin to refellowship and know Holy Spirit as a believer. There is a way that you can move in incredible ability. An ability that keeps you healthy and strong on the inside because the indwelling presence of Holy Spirit will keep you just phenomenally strong. I'm going to show what that looks like and then His outflowing power. So John 14:16 says, "And I'm going to pray the Father," Jesus says, "And He's going to give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, knows him not, but you know Him for He dwells with you, and shall be in you".
Holy Spirit is dwelling. He's around you and He is inside of you. We're talking about Jesus. You know, and how that He was in a human body and that is why He needed to go to heaven. There's a number of reasons but a couple of quick ones. He needed to represent the human race at the right hand of the Father where He is and in an intercessory position as our lawyer, as our representative and He's there. And because He ever lived to make intercession for us some people think, "Well, Jesus is praying for me. So I don't have to pray". No, that's not what that means. It means that He's an intercessory position representing you through all that He's done. Then it's up to you and I to believe on that and to fellowship with Holy Spirit. Now, and because Jesus, He literally took on the shape of a human body. He was limited to that human body. Yet Holy Spirit was omnipresent. So although He could help the twelve disciples. He could help the seventy, the five hundred. He could walk amongst the crowds and heal people but yet He got tired.
And the Bible teaches us, He would be at a well and they needed to get Him some food, to help Him energize His human body because He was limited to that human body. But Holy Spirit isn't. He is omniscient, omnipresent. He is everywhere. And so we must, we must have this relationship with Holy Spirit who will continually reveal to us what Jesus done for us because this is our identity. This is who we are. Some of you who are new in the Lord need to listen at this message over and over, as I dive in and really peel apart how Holy Spirit can radically change your life. So what does Holy Spirit feel like when He's on the inside of you? We have really weird Christians who act crazy and they think Holy Spirit makes them weird, makes them, you know, crazy. And yet Holy Spirit, you know, was upon Jesus and Jesus was never like that. He was within and upon the disciples and they were tremendous.
The more the presence of God rises up within you. The more you will be like Jesus. Not the more you will be like some crazy holy man. Some crazy intercessory prayer person. The more you will be like Jesus. And many leaders who attend churches who believe in Holy Spirit and the move of Holy Spirit. They shy away from all things spirit-filled because somebody has modelled for them at craziness. And they think that that's the presence of God rising up on them that makes them do these weird things. But we must look to Jesus as our example. It teaches us this in Galatians 5:22-26. It talks about the fruit of the Spirit. Now, this is Holy Spirit who is in your human spirit. And so some people would say, you know, often they'd say like, "Leon, what does Holy Spirit feel like when you sense Him? When He rises up on the inside of you"? He reveals things and shows you things.
Well, the Bible says He's the Spirit of truth. And so there's just things that you know this is the truth. This is what I need to know for this situation. I need to be aware that something is about to happen because that's the truth. Holy Spirit is always revealing truth. But what He feels like is the fruit of the Spirit. And so as you learn and develop as a believer and become mature in the Word. Holy Spirit's job is to reveal the Word to you. Every layer more beautifully deeper and deeper. And you will grow in love. That means that you have this tremendous outer focus. You're not self-centered. You're not looking on yourself all the time, but you're focused outwards. And you have this desire to help others, to advance His kingdom, to bring the Gospel to a world, to love people because Jesus wants to love people through you. And so love is a predominant factor. Now, that doesn't mean you walk around with hazel eyes that are big and dripping with tears. Oh, I just love you.
Now, I mean, there's times I feel that way for sure. But it's more as to what I value. As men around me value their career, as they value their position, as they value money, as they value what people think about them, as they value all these things, and it's not wrong to value them. But the first thing you must value is to advance His kingdom. To seek first the kingdom of God. Which is His way of doing things and His righteousness. Tremendous teaching in those two areas. And then this love, outflowing, outward focused. Then the other thing that as we go through this beautiful, the powers or the power, the strengths let say of the Spirit of God in your human spirit. You have joy. Now, I'm not talking about this kind of shallow. That makes you look irresponsible. That makes you look like you're high on drugs or alcohol. But the very same feeling that people who get drunk, people who get high. People who take meds to calm them down. All of those feelings. They are in a born-again believer.
I remember as a young man, and I had to have some dental work done. And they had a hard time freezing me for some reason. And so the doctor said, "Please take two of these little pills and then come back tomorrow". And so, he said, "Do not drive". And I was just newly married at that time and Sally says, "Well, the doctor said don't drive. Don't drive". I thought, "Well, what can two little pills hurt me". So I remember one hour before taking these two little pills so they could work on my teeth. And I got up and she goes, "Leon, call your dad. He'll drive you". Because she had two little babies. And then I said, "Nah". I said, "I'll be fine". And then a half an hour later, the room started to move a little bit. And I kind of had this, um I don't know how the feeling. It's just kind of this numbness, kind of a weird feeling. I didn't like it because it left me a little bit out of control.
And Sally says, "See, I told you". So she called my dad and he came over, and we're driving to the dentist. Then I, I had never been drunk. I had never been high. I'd never touched alcohol or drugs. I had seen the destruction that it did in my friends' lives and I just decided not to. But I looked over at my dad and I remember this very clearly and I said, "You know dad, I've never been high before but this med, it's made me high". But I said, "I don't feel joyful and peaceful". I said, "I just feel numb. I feel like something is kind of just creating a barrier or that I just removed my mind from all my troubles. And it was just a weird feeling". And I said, "It's nothing like the joy that the Lord brings. It's nothing like the peace that I had before I took these pills that I had developed with Holy Spirit".
And so I want you to understand, the very thing the world is dying for. They're getting drunk. They're going out and others are doing death defying things. And I thought, "What is it they're looking for? I don't get it". And the reason I didn't get was because this incredible sense of adventure in life and excitement and purpose. I had it because Holy Spirit was flowing through me. It was His joy that they were looking for. This little, this little adrenaline spike doesn't come anywhere near this sense of joy in just getting up every morning. This joy that I had. That wasn't attached to any action like jumping out of an airplane, or you know, or flying one of those squirrel suits or racing with your vehicle at too fast the speed and risking all this hurt and pain. I didn't need it. I already had it. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy doing things like skiing, and you can break a leg there, and just enjoying some of the things. But there was not this need in me to get up and, because Holy Spirit was there.
We need our children to know Jesus and to know Holy Spirit. His presence is within them. So that they can have this joy and not destroy their lives with drugs and alcohol, doing stupid things because they need to feel alive. That's what many of them would tell me. I needed to feel alive. I feel so alive when Holy Spirit is within me because that is the Zoe life of God. It's the life that is in heaven. Heaven is not going to be this, you know, get harp lessons while you sit in the lotus position. And for millions of years and billions of years we'll be kind of bored wondering what's next. Are you kidding me? The Spirit of God is this alive feeling. That is so unique and powerful and you just, "Oh, man"! That whether I was playing dolls with my little girls or playing catch, you know, with them or my little guy. That I felt so alive if I was reading the Word and meditating on the Word.
You know, it wasn't, "Oh, this is so boring". I felt so alive. If I had my feet up chatting with Sally or, you know, there wasn't this, "Oh, I'm so bored. I've got to stop doing this". My entire life had this sense of being alive. Alive with love. Alive with joy. You know, the Bible says at His right hand are pleasures forever more. He doesn't just mean in heaven. Because the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is here within us now and we are to experience. And it will be better when you die and go there, but you can experience the life of God now on this planet. And so many people have asked me about, you know, growing up and they'd say, "Well, Leon, did you ever try getting drunk"? No. "Did you ever try sex"? No. "Did you ever try smoking dope? Did you ever do crazy stupid things? Did you break the law"?
Now, I was far from perfect. Okay? I mean, you're a man. You had a really boring teen life. Actually no. I was taught in God's Word. I played baseball and basketball and I waterskied and my friends, and we camped out and went camping and drove trucks in the fields and trap. And I mean, like oh, my hunting. My life was so filled with stuff. It just wasn't filled with the life-taking stuff of getting drunk, getting high, and messing up my mind through a whole bunch of sex. And people don't realize the consequences. And so with our kids, you say, "Well, you don't, your children Leon. They just have to experience the world". No, they don't. I can't give you experiences of all the crazy things of sowing my wild oats. And I don't feel anyway that I need to go do that now because I missed it. Counselors are often counseling with, in marriages sometimes where a woman...
I remember a woman tell me, "I just feel like I was raised so religious that I didn't get a chance to really be me and experience myself. And they just told me that if I really want my marriage to work, I need to go back into the world and experience things". And they literally meant drugs, sex, other men, etcetera. It was the most ridiculous thing. And she's been lied to because the strengths and the attitudes of the Holy Spirit which is a stunning love. Now, within that love is this romance. This sense of connecting to somebody. Within this joy and love is also a sense of beautiful sexual union between a husband and a wife. Like these fruits of the Spirit are completely and amazingly lightyears beyond any experience you can have on the planet without Christ. And you need to teach your kids that. They need to know that. You need to model that.
So the fruit of the Spirit. The strengths of the indwelling Holy Spirit is love. And within that isn't just loving people and loving life and loving God and loving His church and loving others around you. But within that is the romance that is needed in your marriage. Within that loving is the romance and the union between man and wife. Within that is the joy that makes you get up every day. And others will go bowling and have fun. I went bowling and I was having fun at a whole another level. Everything I did was an experience because Holy Spirit was with me lighting up my life. We need to get back. Parents, if you want to teach your kids with incredible depth and accuracy and change their life forever. The fruit of the Spirit and Holy Spirit and who He is must be taught to them at a young age. And I don't mean in a deep way they don't understand. But just in a way that God's got everything under control. That there's so much more than any kind of temptation. That when, you know, the hormones start to flow when whether it's 10, 11, 12 years old and you... We just can't expect.
One lady told me, "Well, when my girls turn 12, I'm just putting them on the pill because anybody that thinks they can control their teenagers is naãve". And I looked at her and said, "No. That's believing that they're going to go make messes with their lives". Now, if you're watching this and you had made a mess with your life. Don't feel like, "Well, and now I feel so bad about myself". No, recognize that this is the way you want to treat your kids. I remember as a young man, as a youth pastor. They asked me to share my testimony at a youth function. I said, "I don't have a testimony". And they said, "What do you mean"? I didn't kill anybody, rape anybody. I didn't try sex, drugs, alcohol. I didn't go out and lie, cheat, rob, steal. Go to jail. Go to, you know, juvenile court. I don't have a testimony". Well, what did you do? I said, "I just knew Jesus as a young man. As a kid my dad taught me to pray in the Spirit and laid hands on me and showed me the beauty of knowing Him, and the excitement of serving Him and the passion of following Him. I saw him heal people through the presence of God and know things by the Spirit of God and he modelled the life that was so exciting and so far beyond what my teenage friends were doing. I kind of laugh at them. It was hardly even a temptation. Of course, it was. And they just said to me, 'Well, we want you to teach us that".
That's what every parents wants for their kids because they don't want their kids to live their life like they did. They want something new and better to raise their kids with. This lesson today will help you immensely as you understand Holy Spirit's role in the lives of our marriages, our families, our careers, and our future. As you look at the fruit, the strengths of the Spirit. It talks about love, joy, peace. People have often accused me of not caring enough in the middle of an emergency. They said, "You don't get it". They want me to freak out like them. Even when I was a paramedic. I would step unto the scene of horrific accidents that were so brutal. And I would see this, you know, these the guys are working with me and the ladies working with me almost lose it and their eyes get big and they could hardly handle what they were smelling and the screams they were hearing and what happened to children and women and bodies and body parts.
I mean, I could draw a picture. And they could hardly, most of the people I worked with are divorced. I think there's only one that I'm aware of that still has their marriage. And they struggle with addictions in their lives because of the things they saw year after year after year. But there was a peace that I had. That I had to process them in the Bible, shows us how to process things. But so many people, I guess today we would call it post traumatic stress disorder. I didn't have that because of His indwelling peace. I would often step into an accident scene and when my brain wanted to overwhelm me because I didn't know where to start with the disaster that was in front of me. I would just say, "Jesus".
And for me the name Jesus wasn't a magic word. It was just my way of going back to being led by the Spirit. And the spirit of peace would just come over me and all my training would come back. And I would begin to direct, as I was supervising how to control the scene, maximize survivors. And all the keys I was taught. I could literally handle the scene. And when I was done, I didn't, you know, curl into a ball. I would just pray in the Spirit. Thank God for His love, and Holy Spirit would help me to have peace through all of this. Well, this is going to be a two-part lesson. So don't miss this next time I come back, as I guide you through how His indwelling presence what it does for you. Because we haven't even got to the rest of that or even His outflowing hour, what that looks like. And so I want to encourage you, if you don't know Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, then only you can make that decision.
You see, the human race is autonomous. Every single person is sovereign. Meaning, you have complete control over how you want to live, every decision that you want to make, how you feel, how you think, whether you give your life to Christ or you don't. Because you're made in the likeness and the image of God. You make this decisions and you take the consequences. Now, the consequences could be blessings and they could be curses. But you make this decision. And so God's never going to force Himself into your life. But if you'd like to know Him and you'd like Him, and you'd like to accept this incredible gift that Jesus did by dying in your place and paying the ultimate price for you to be qualified. You don't have to clean up your own life. Be qualified to be in God's family just say this. Pray this to Him. Just say:
Dear, God. Thank You for sending Jesus. He died in my place, took my punishment. And now I am forgiven for everything I've ever done wrong. I accept You, Jesus, as my Saviour, my Lord. Come into my heart. I'm following You the rest of my days, amen.
Welcome to the family of God. Let us know you did this. Keep following us because you've just started the most amazing life you could ever imagine. Let's see you again next time as we finish this series.