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the holy what?
top questions answered...
The Holy Spirit is God (remember God is three; Father, Son and Holy Spirit). He is the way we know, experience and grow in relationship with God. Paul, in the New Testament tells us that to be able to say ‘Jesus is Lord’ is a sign that we have that Holy Spirit working in us. Before his crucifixion Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit to be with his followers to guide and help them as they lived out their lives (John 16v5ff).
At Pentecost, after Jesus had ascended to heaven, this promise was fulfilled with a literal outpouring of God’s Spirit on the early disciples (Acts 2). The disciples spoke in other languages and went on to perform some amazing miracles, all of which seemed to lead others to know Jesus too. In one of Paul’s letters to a first century Church congregation in Ephesus he encourages his readers to continually be filled with God’s Spirit (Ephesians 5v18)… so it’s obviously something we can’t ignore.
We believe the Holy Spirit is at work in us today. His job is to encourage us and to empower us to live lives that glorify, please and show others God. He also brings us God’s healing, forgiveness and direction. Like many of you, at Soul Survivor we always take time when we gather together to invite the Holy Spirit to have his way and to lead us.
This usually means that we try to listen to what God is saying and respond by encouraging people who would like to, to be prayed for. Often these people have felt God is doing something in them, or that there is an issue they’d like to bring before God… so the best thing is to invite more of God’s Spirit into their life to meet with them.
So, that’s a basic overview of the theory. But let’s face it. We’re human, God is God. He is Holy, meaning He’s very different (or other) from us… and sometimes stuff to do with his Spirit can seem a bit weird or strange. Some of us might find it all a bit confusing… we may have prayed for someone for healing and seen nothing happen. We may have asked the Holy Spirit to be in our lives and felt very little at all. Alternatively, we may have had experiences of God’s Spirit that have been really powerful and bought us closer to Jesus.
There are loads of questions like this, and let’s face it, none of us have all the answers. We’re all different and God meets with us in different ways. So, if you’re thinking through stuff on the Holy Spirit, don’t worry, most of us are too.
To help you we thought we’d ask a few people about their experiences of God’s Spirit and what role they think the Holy Spirit plays in their relationship with God.
1. what happens when you ask God to fill you with his spirit?
"When we first become a Christian, God fills us with his Sprit, He comes and lives in us and with us. But the Bible reminds us to be continually filled with the Spirit and when we ask for that, all sorts of things might happen depending on what God has in mind. We might know more of his peace, clarity, encouragement, a greater knowledge of the forgiveness we’ve received, a conviction of sin, a physical healing, or a sense of God’s pain for the poor. Anything can happen. Being filled with his Spirit might look and feel different each time we ask – and sometimes we might not feel anything at all – but God is always at work, always wants to meet with us, and always wants to give us more of what we need in order to live for him and reflect him to his world”.
Ali
“As a Christian I believe that I am filled with the Holy Spirit all the time. However there are times when we can ‘experience’ the Holy Spirit working in us and through us and we can ask God to make us aware of His Spirit in us too. Personally this tends to be a really gentle, peaceful experience – like all the clutter and stress gets cleaned out of me."
Sarah
“I’m not a shaker, or a screamer. I don’t fall over. I don’t roar like a lion. Mostly I just experience a real sense of peace and of being loved, and sense God speaking to me. Sometimes it’s so overwhelming that I cry. Not a lot, just a few little tears. It feels like the most natural thing in the world, the place that I should be, a place I don’t want to leave. God whispers to me how much He loves me, how much He has in store for me, how much He cares about the things I’m going through, how much He cares about His world."
Simon
2. what is the point of the holy spirit?
"The Holy Spirit has loads of jobs – He shows us Jesus in the first place and helps us live in a way that pleases God. He empowers us to do the stuff of the Kingdom (praying for the sick, telling others about Jesus – that kind of thing). He encourages us, comforts us, stands with us, changes us, challenges us and lets us know when we’re heading in the wrong direction. He is God in us and with us at all times. That’s the point, and it’s an amazing one.”
Ali
“It says in the Bible that God gives us his Holy Spirit as our guide, our comfort and our inspiration (John 14 v 16-18). God reveals his truths through his Holy Spirit in us (John 16: 8-11)and gives us strength and power in God’s name (Acts 1v8). In addition Paul says the Holy Spirit ‘seals’ the promise that God has made to everyone who believes (Ephesians 1v13).”
Sarah
“The Holy Spirit is the tangible presence of God in our midst, the person of God when He meets with His people. He is the difference that you can see in every Christian. But He is loads of other things as well. The Holy Spirit is our counselor. He will teach us all things and remind us of the things Jesus taught. He is our peace. He is our guide. He is the courage we need to speak up. He is the conviction we feel when we mess up. He is the power for every healing. He is the one who pleads with God on our behalf. He is the fire of our passion for God. He is the guide for our feet. He is the mark of our salvation. He is the one who stirs in people and leads them to Jesus. He is our inner change and our outer wholeness. He is our comforter. He’s everything. And His presence will change you forever (in a good way!)"
Simon
3. what about speaking in tongues… what is that all about?
"Speaking in tongues is one of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us to pray. Romans 8v26 says ‘We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.’ Sometimes we can’t find the right words but praying in tongues means we can express what’s on our hearts anyway! Speaking in tongues, therefore, is a gift from God, but it isn’t a badge we wear as a sign of holiness or God’s approval. Speaking in tongues is on the whole just between you and God whereas there are many gifts that build up and encourage the whole church, and those are to be more ‘eagerly desired’ as Paul reminds us in 1Corinthians.”
Ali
“Speaking in tongues is about finding ways to keep saying ‘I love you’ to God when we run out of words”
Sarah
“I remember the first time I spoke in tongues. I was in a meeting where God was really tangible; people were falling over, shouting and worshipping in response to the presence of God. It was amazing. I know I was meeting with God, but hadn’t really been a part of things like that before. It was all a bit bizarre. But a friend prayed for me that God would be with me and allow me to feel safe. The Holy Spirit really met with me, and suddenly I was speaking in a language that I thought was gibberish. It sounded like nonsense to me. But when I spoke it I felt really safe, really close to God, like we had a secret that was just ours.
I’ve since learnt that I was speaking in tongues. Something that many, many people do every day. It is a gift from God that speaks the groans of our heart when our words can’t convey what we want to say. It’s an overflow of the love that we have for God, expressed in a new language when our own English words just won’t do. And even though it’s something that is for everyone, it still feels like it’s just mine and God’s secret.“
Simon
4. and falling over, laughing, crying, shouting or all that other stuff… is that God?
"When the Spirit of God meets with us there is sometimes an obvious reaction. I know there have been times in my life when the Holy Spirit has been at work in me to release pain and sadness and as He’s been meeting with me I’ve cried as that pain has surfaced. There have been other times when He’s been releasing a Holy frustration – perhaps over issues of injustice – and that has come out in a shout or a groaning. It wasn’t something I realized I needed to do until God started meeting with me.
Are these sorts of manifestations always God? Probably not. It might be sometimes that someone just fancies having a cry or a laugh. But it’s important that we don’t get hung up on the physical manifestations – either hung up with wanting them, or hung up in judging them. God will do what He wants to do. He will meet with his people in all sorts of ways. The important thing is that when God meets with his people we are changed as a result, and that’s what we should be hungry for: His presence and changed lives."
Ali
“I think most of the time the falling over is God, but sometimes it might not be. When you see all that stuff happening to other people, you don’t know what’s going on – but you can find out! It’s really good to ask people about their experiences and to share your own. I’ve never laughed or shouted as a result of prayer, but I have wept, cried and been really effected by what happened. Usually this might happen when I focus peacefully on God and clear out of my mind all the junk and distractions of my own life. It gives space to see a little bit of how God sees me, my friends and the world that I live in. It’s pretty breathtaking and I can see why people react in very different ways to that. I think a lot of people’s own character comes out at times like this – so calm, quiet people are often peaceful in prayer, and extrovert, noisy people are… noisy!“
Sarah
“Yeah, I think most of it is God. I don’t know why people would do it if it weren’t. Personally I don’t do much of the weirder stuff, but I have prayed for loads of people who do. When an amazing, different, wholly Holy, pure, perfect, loving, kind, entirely gracious God meets with a sinful, broken life there is bound to be a response. Not to diminish the presence of God, but think of the power of a hurricane when it hits houses; there has to be a reaction. When our infinitely powerful God meets with us, sometimes there is a massive reaction. When people are screaming, shouting, falling over, running around, growling, laughing it is a reaction to God’s presence, and a sign that God is working in people; putting them back together, making them whole, healing them, speaking new life into them. But the best thing about God is that rather than destroy, He puts back together. He doesn’t do anything that you won’t let Him do.
I used think I wasn’t doing it right, because I wasn’t noisy or shaky like other people. But I know the Holy Spirit works in me in the way that is right for me. So now, I don’t worry about it and just try to let God do whatever He wants to”
Simon
5. what if I don’t fall over or feel anything much at all?
"I can’t remember the last time I fell over or felt much when being prayer for. That’s OK. It’s not about feelings, it’s about knowing that God always wants to meet with his people. Always, always, always. Falling over is not a sign that God is more at work – just at work differently. If we don’t feel anything, let’s just choose to keep waiting on him and receiving from him knowing that He’s near.”
Ali
“Not feeling much is totally okay. It can be a real distraction when other people are going nuts and it can be difficult to feel that God ‘cares’ about you in the same way if you’re not getting that experience… but you and God might just do stuff differently. And that’s okay. Just take the time to really focus on him and try not to get distracted by what is or isn’t going on around you."
Sarah
“No matter, God doesn’t mind. He cares about what happens in your heart. The outward signs are good to see for us, but God wants to see what happens on the inside.”
Simon
and finally…
So, that’s just a few thoughts. It’s far from a fully developed theology, but more a reflection of people’s experiences and thoughts. The important thing to remember is there is no ‘right and only’ way of receiving God’s Spirit. What matters is how we live out our lives involving God’s Spirit in all we do… the Holy Spirit isn’t just for us in our church meetings, but is here to help us live out Jesus focused lives that deal with our own - and our world’s - brokenness.
If you’re still thinking through stuff on the Holy Spirit then you might find the videos of some of Mike P’s seminars on the how to pray for others really helpful (it’s in our TV section here, they are the one's called 'The Holy Spirit and His Gifts').
Check out the video talks from Mike...
Remember, it’s totally cool to ask questions of a youth leader or church pastor you know, and why not get together to pray with some friends if you’re not used to this stuff!
We're also running a short 3 day event on how to live Naturally Supernatural lives that depend on God's Spirit. You can find out more about that event and book to come along here (there's also some cool vids there too):
More on Naturally Supernatural...
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