HOLY SPIRIT ENCOUNTER

The Holy Spirit appears 59 times in the book of Acts, and in 36 of those appearances he is speaking. “But wait,” some say, “we can’t use Acts as a pattern for our time! The apostles were a unique group.” And understand that Acts represents a special epoch of apostolic history. But you cannot convince me that the only book God gave us with examples of how the church walks with the Spirit is filled with stories that have nothing in common with our own. As John Newton put it, “Is it really true that that which the early church so depended on—the leadership of the Spirit—is irrelevant to us today. How then do we experience his presence? We certainly have seen this question greatly abused. As noted, many equate his movements with emotional flurries, irrational impressions, or random confluences of events. As study Scripture, see six ways we experience his presence: in the gospel, through the Word of God, through the community of the church, in our various spiritual giftings, in our spirit by communion with him in prayer, and through his sovereign control over our circumstances. The Spirit’s primary vehicle for moving and speaking in our lives is the Scriptures. The Spirit works in us to shape us into being the kind of people God wants us to be, because then we will do the things God wants us to do. Almost every time we see the phrase “will of God” in the Bible it refers to shaping our moral character in response to the gospel.not sure this is the kind of thing you can put a percentage on, but I’d say that about 99.4 percent of God’s direction for us can be found in the Bible. The Spirit conforms us to Christ’s character (Rom. 8:29; 12:1–2) and helps us walk the paths of wisdom (Prov. 2:20–22). As we do, we accomplish the will of God. Out of all the books own on the topic of being filled with the Holy Spirit, would rate Apostle Maldonado’s new book, Divine Encounter with the Holy Spirit, at the very top of the list because it is the most practical and helpful for understanding the realities of ministry related to the Spirit. It is a great book, one that will highly recommend to anyone wanting to grow in their understanding of the Holy Spirit, especially in regard to how to be led by the Spirit and how the Holy Spirit helps to create faith in our lives. love a book that illustrates its truths with contemporary stories of people whom God is using. The truth creates in me knowledge and wisdom, and the stories create in me inspiration and hunger for more of God. Thank you for giving us wonderful insight into the things of God the Holy Spirit. The greatest desire we should have as Christians is an encounter with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit does not want to be a puzzle or riddle than needs to be solved. He desires to reveal Himself to us and to be known by us. When we begin to see the Holy Spirit as a Person, and not merely an experience, we will have a much unique perspective on living in the fullness of the Spirit or being baptized in the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost, we read in Acts 2, Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. Sometimes people confuse the sights and sounds of the Spirit’s arrival with the Holy Spirit Himself. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He’ll go only as far as you allow Him to go. Of course, salvation, deliverance, and emotional healing are works of the Holy Spirit. But we must allow Him to do more than what we think makes us look good in front of our secular onlookers. We must permit Him to go further than just what allows us to maintain a savvy or sophisticated image. When was the last time a demon was cast out in your church? When was the last time you laid hands on the sick. Don’t mean when did you offer a corporate prayer for someone sick mean when was the last time you laid hands on the sick with the expectation that they’d recover right then and there in front of many witnesses?