Freidzon Urges Youth to Seek Presence of God

"How many know the Lord is going to touch you like never before tonight!"

Claudio Freidzon, with his interpreter by his side, immediately opened the General Council's combined youth/adult midweek service by preparing the packed auditorium to be ready and open for the move, power and presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the service.

"Open the heavens to this new generation," Freidzon prayed, "they are going to change the world!" In his extended opening, Freidzon challenged the more than 16,000-member crowd to receive the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives and pray for the same in those around them.

Freidzon, the pastor and founder of King of Kings church (Rey de Reyes) in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the largest churches in the world with more than 30,000, then poured himself into his message -- how to receive the power of God's presence in your life.

Revealing the vast difference between the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of the Holy Spirit in one's life, Freidzon explained that too often the emphasis is on the powerful and miraculous things God can do, but God is a God who wants to reveal His person so that believers can experience His presence.

A lot of people know the power of God, Freidzon said -- they are touched by God, they are healed, and can give a great testimony, but they only know a part of the glory of God. The presence of the Holy Spirit will reveal God to you, transform you on the inside, and dwells in a man's heart.

"You receive the power of the Holy Spirit," Freidzon explained, "you seek the presence of God . . . my prayer for this new generation is that everyone of you don't just know what God can do but also who God is!"

Freidzon also repeatedly returned to the issue of those who were in anguish, sadness and pain and how the presence of God would allow those battling those issues to defeat them. Stating that the presence of God in a person's life is what produces the power of God in their life, Freidzon challenged the audience to spend more time in seeking the presence of God.

"There's a new phobia," Freidzon said. "It's the fear of being outside of cell phone contact. We have to be at least as desperate as that to be connected to the God of heaven; to have that deep desire to be walking with God every single day of our lives."

During his message Freidzon also shared several messages he received from God: "I got to this platform, and the Lord placed on my heart, that He will use you in your home, you will be an instrument of unity, an instrument of salvation, and a reason for joy for every member of your family." He also stated, "I prophesy this land will be filled with the glory of God as never before because the Church is rising up, the Church is receiving the power of the Holy Spirit as Jesus has prophesied."

In bringing his message to a close, but not the service, Freidzon cited AG General Superintendent George O. Wood's referencing Elijah and Elisha on the opening night of General Council -- a message he also felt led to share.

"This is the generation that needs to know the power of God," Freidzon said. "[This is] the generation that cries out for double portion . . . this is the generation that will receive a new touch from heaven."

Freidzon then opened the altars for people wanting to receive the power and presence of God in their life. The altars were immediately flooded with a powerful and extended time of seeking God's ensuing.

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.