There was one such service in August 1995 at the conclusion of a week of meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The atmosphere had been very difficult, and that day I sensed that we had finally experienced a breakthrough. The presence of the Lord filled the building, and several people laughed as His joy flowed. This continued for ten to fifteen minutes; then there was a pause followed by another wave of God’s presence. More were touched. Again, there was a lull, then another wave of God’s presence washed in with a joy that permeated the sanctuary until nearly everyone was refreshed and laughing. Then there was yet another break.

It was then that I heard the Lord say, “I am coming in one last wave, but it will be different than the others.” I kept silent and waited. Within minutes a very different manifestation of God’s presence permeated the building. It was awesome and almost frightening. Yet I was drawn to it. The atmosphere became charged. The same people who had been laughing only moments earlier began to weep, wail, and cry. Some even screamed as though they were on fire. Yet these were not the tormented screams of demonic activity.

As I paced the platform, this thought went through my mind: John, don’t make one wrong move or say one wrong word … if ‘you do, you’re a dead man. I’m not certain that would have happened, but this thought relays the intensity I felt. I knew irreverence could not exist in this awesome presence. I witnessed two different responses that day-either the people were afraid and drew away from His presence, or they feared God and drew close to His awesome presence. This was definitely not one of those times when God was whispering, “Come, jump in my lap!”

We left the meeting shrouded in awe. Many felt completely transformed by the awesome presence of Gad. One man who was mightily touched by His presence said to me afterward, “I feel so clean inside.” I agreed, for I felt purged as well. Later I found this scripture: “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever” (Ps. 19:9).

Excerpted from The Fear of the Lord by John Bevere, Charisma House 1997, p76-77. Www.charismahouse.com . Used with permission.