In a remarkable piece of scripture we find that when God poured out His Spirit on mankind, He also revealed His face. “And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD” (Ez. 39:29 NKJV).
When the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes upon you, there are all sorts of ways that His face is expressed. My newly converted Christian friend finds herself weeping uncontrollably every time she is prayed for. I knew a long-time pastor who went through a similar season where he started weeping every time he went to pray for someone. He simply acknowledged that God was doing something in him and he didn’t resist the move.
Other people will shake and tremble in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Others see visions or dreams. In my house church today we heard about a jaw-dropping vision of heaven. Others will prophesy. Others see healings. At different times, most people filled with the Holy Spirit will see these displays.
All of these things are acts of God and it is up to us not to seek the gifts, but the Giver. We need to recognise God’s face in the midst of all these expressions. How we perceive the face of God in these acts will depend largely on what is in our hearts.
If we seek the acts and show no concern for who God is, we will fail to see the face of God. Unbelief hardens us to God but faith will make us more receptive to who He is.
God offers us these encounters in the Spirit realm in order to communicate with us and reveal to us who He is and invite us to work with Him. We need to live expecting to hear the voice of our Shepherd. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27 NKJV).