When and how were you aware of the Holy Spirit acting in your life?
My first and most significant time was at a retreat after 6 hours of praise and worship. I had fasted for four days, asking God to make himself known to me. I was aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit when a magnificent sense of peace and love overcame me to the point I could barely move...actually, I didn't want to move. I felt an incredibly powerful love for the men who were at the retreat, a love for Jesus that was tangible, and a desire to be closer to Him.
It has been my experience that the presence of the Spirit is most noticeable after an extended period of praise and worship (refer to my first posts concerning how I got there) and asking God to be known. I have also found that fasting for several days helps and that confessing my sins openly does as well. Its like God wants us to clean away the muck of our lives so He has room to inhabit us as we praise Him. This is just my experience, I am sure it is different for others.
But I would like to hear about your experiences with the Spirit. How are you aware of the Spirit? What to you do to make this possible?
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Thursday, July 9, 2009
How to Speak in Tongues
This spiritual gift is probably the most misunderstood and controversial gift of the Holy Spirit. Many people are raised thinking that speaking in tongues is just "crazy talk" gibberish that means nothing...other than getting attention (at best) or Satan talking through people (at worst). I am no expert on speaking in tongues but I can at least share my experience and what helped me....take it for what its worth.
Now any rational person can agree that speaking in tongues was a part of the Holy Spirit anointing on the day of Pentecost, right? So, that part is not in dispute because of what we read in Acts and I Corinthians 12 and 14. With me so far? For me, growing up in the Church of Christ, it is hard for me to picture Paul and the Apostles sitting around speaking in tongues...I thought they spoke King James English (heh, heh). Any way, all jesting aside, speaking in tongues was a regular part of a 1st century Christian's life.
And it can be a part of a present day Christian's life. Now, before you revoke my lifetime membership card to the Churches of Christ, there are many closet tongue speakers out there...they are just afraid of the rejection and torment of public rebuking so they keep it to themselves. I have talked to 6 such persons (2 in conservative fellowships) and they regularly speak in tongues in the privacy of their own homes (3 said their spouses don't even know).
So if you want to speak in tongues, here are some helpful hints:
1. All Spiritual gifts must be practiced and used to gain some sort of proficiency at them. Our flesh doesn't want us to speak in tongues...most of our training to be "Good Christians" didn't include tongue speaking class. It is not natural, especially if you have been told that it is wrong or crazy for 35 years. A person can learn to exhibit a spiritual gift.
2. Eagerly seek. Read I Cor. 14.1. Be eager in asking God for spiritual gifts...including speaking in tongues. Ask daily (or several times daily). Say, "God, if you want me to speak in tongues, then it is going to have to come from you. I ask for more of your Spirit, so your will can be done on earth. Lord, in the name of Jesus, loose my mouth to speak the words of the Spirit. Loose my tongues to speak your prayer language, place your language on tongue. Give me the courage and desire to exhibit your gifts."
3. Get your flesh used to speaking in tongues but saying nonsense words. This just helps you not to suppress the Spirit when it actually happens. In my first experience in speaking in tongues, I uttered about 5 words then totally shut down...it scared me half to death to not be in control of what I spoke and took me months to do it again.
4. Be patient. Allow the Spirit to move instead of forcing yourself to do it. Wait upon the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5. Before you stand up in church and "let 'er rip," try doing it by yourself at first. Try these exercises in your car or when no one else is around. It is difficult enough without the scrutiny or pressure of someone else watching (or the horrified looks of small children and conservative brothers and sisters).
6. Get someone to pray over you, lay hands on you and pray for the Spirit to speak through you. I appreciate my "tongue speaking" brother's prayers on my behalf to speak in tongues. It helped me to hear them speak in tongues and gave me the courage to try for myself.
Well, there you have it. If you have questions about my experience, ask me. I will not claim to have any of the answers but I can at least share more of my experience with you. ENJOY!
Now any rational person can agree that speaking in tongues was a part of the Holy Spirit anointing on the day of Pentecost, right? So, that part is not in dispute because of what we read in Acts and I Corinthians 12 and 14. With me so far? For me, growing up in the Church of Christ, it is hard for me to picture Paul and the Apostles sitting around speaking in tongues...I thought they spoke King James English (heh, heh). Any way, all jesting aside, speaking in tongues was a regular part of a 1st century Christian's life.
And it can be a part of a present day Christian's life. Now, before you revoke my lifetime membership card to the Churches of Christ, there are many closet tongue speakers out there...they are just afraid of the rejection and torment of public rebuking so they keep it to themselves. I have talked to 6 such persons (2 in conservative fellowships) and they regularly speak in tongues in the privacy of their own homes (3 said their spouses don't even know).
So if you want to speak in tongues, here are some helpful hints:
1. All Spiritual gifts must be practiced and used to gain some sort of proficiency at them. Our flesh doesn't want us to speak in tongues...most of our training to be "Good Christians" didn't include tongue speaking class. It is not natural, especially if you have been told that it is wrong or crazy for 35 years. A person can learn to exhibit a spiritual gift.
2. Eagerly seek. Read I Cor. 14.1. Be eager in asking God for spiritual gifts...including speaking in tongues. Ask daily (or several times daily). Say, "God, if you want me to speak in tongues, then it is going to have to come from you. I ask for more of your Spirit, so your will can be done on earth. Lord, in the name of Jesus, loose my mouth to speak the words of the Spirit. Loose my tongues to speak your prayer language, place your language on tongue. Give me the courage and desire to exhibit your gifts."
3. Get your flesh used to speaking in tongues but saying nonsense words. This just helps you not to suppress the Spirit when it actually happens. In my first experience in speaking in tongues, I uttered about 5 words then totally shut down...it scared me half to death to not be in control of what I spoke and took me months to do it again.
4. Be patient. Allow the Spirit to move instead of forcing yourself to do it. Wait upon the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5. Before you stand up in church and "let 'er rip," try doing it by yourself at first. Try these exercises in your car or when no one else is around. It is difficult enough without the scrutiny or pressure of someone else watching (or the horrified looks of small children and conservative brothers and sisters).
6. Get someone to pray over you, lay hands on you and pray for the Spirit to speak through you. I appreciate my "tongue speaking" brother's prayers on my behalf to speak in tongues. It helped me to hear them speak in tongues and gave me the courage to try for myself.
Well, there you have it. If you have questions about my experience, ask me. I will not claim to have any of the answers but I can at least share more of my experience with you. ENJOY!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Wet Dogs, Rainbows, and the Holy Spirit
Do rainbows exist? We see them many times in the midst of a storm or fight after the hardest of rains. Red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, violet. Beautiful colors, vivid stunning...bending across the sky. Each display represents the promises of God, of stunning grace, mercy and redemption.
But guess what. Dogs cannot see rainbows. If they look into the sky, they can not see it. Try hard as they can, they cannot because they are color blind. All that beauty God has placed in the sky, missed, because they do not have the eyes to see it. To them, the rainbow does not exist, has never existed, and will not exist in the future because they cannot see it.
But it is there. The light reflects through each solitary rain drop, billions of drops each reflect the colors, like tiny prisms, creating a masterpiece of God. But to dogs, it is nothing but rain, sunlight and wet fur. Nothing but wet dog smell. That’s it. That is all they will ever know about rainbows. Just because they can’t see them does not mean they don’t exist.
Are we this way with the Holy Spirit, the presence of God? Is it any wonder dogs are often used to illustrate us in the New Testament? Examples: Matthew 7.6 states ‘Don’t give dogs what is holy and don’t throw your pearls to the pigs. If you do they may trample them under their feet, then turn and attack you.’
Want more? Revelation 22.15, Phillippians 3.2, and II Peter 2.22. Who are the dogs? Those who aren’t changed by God. They are those who can’t see or hear God, like dogs, are blind to something that is right there, tangible to those who can see. Dogs ignore what they can’t sense. ‘Dog faith’ must see empirical evidence before belief.
I grew up with the statement ‘I’ll believe it when I see it." I like the reformulates statement, ‘I’ll see it when I believe it.’ That is the problem with dogs. They won’t respond to what they can’t see (or smell). The whole point of faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ Depending on empirical evidence is not faith. If you can see it it is not faith. Believing things through the eyes of faith is different than understanding things when there is tangible evidence to support it.
On a similar note, infants and toddlers must be exposed to countless colors, shapes, patterns and textures or their brain will never develop the ability to perceive those things later in life. We must be exposed to those things to actually develop our ability to see them. Once exposed, our brains are able to make the necessary neural connection to perceive it in the future.
Perhaps as spiritual toddlers, we were not exposed to see things from spiritual eyes. We were not trained to experience the presence of God. Many (me included) were trained to rationally understand God and to good for others, but I was not trained to experience the Holy Spirit. And maybe that keeps us from believing what is obvious to those who have been trained to see Him. Be very careful criticizing those who can see the Spirit or exhibit spiritual gifts outside your comfort zone.
But guess what. Dogs cannot see rainbows. If they look into the sky, they can not see it. Try hard as they can, they cannot because they are color blind. All that beauty God has placed in the sky, missed, because they do not have the eyes to see it. To them, the rainbow does not exist, has never existed, and will not exist in the future because they cannot see it.
But it is there. The light reflects through each solitary rain drop, billions of drops each reflect the colors, like tiny prisms, creating a masterpiece of God. But to dogs, it is nothing but rain, sunlight and wet fur. Nothing but wet dog smell. That’s it. That is all they will ever know about rainbows. Just because they can’t see them does not mean they don’t exist.
Are we this way with the Holy Spirit, the presence of God? Is it any wonder dogs are often used to illustrate us in the New Testament? Examples: Matthew 7.6 states ‘Don’t give dogs what is holy and don’t throw your pearls to the pigs. If you do they may trample them under their feet, then turn and attack you.’
Want more? Revelation 22.15, Phillippians 3.2, and II Peter 2.22. Who are the dogs? Those who aren’t changed by God. They are those who can’t see or hear God, like dogs, are blind to something that is right there, tangible to those who can see. Dogs ignore what they can’t sense. ‘Dog faith’ must see empirical evidence before belief.
I grew up with the statement ‘I’ll believe it when I see it." I like the reformulates statement, ‘I’ll see it when I believe it.’ That is the problem with dogs. They won’t respond to what they can’t see (or smell). The whole point of faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ Depending on empirical evidence is not faith. If you can see it it is not faith. Believing things through the eyes of faith is different than understanding things when there is tangible evidence to support it.
On a similar note, infants and toddlers must be exposed to countless colors, shapes, patterns and textures or their brain will never develop the ability to perceive those things later in life. We must be exposed to those things to actually develop our ability to see them. Once exposed, our brains are able to make the necessary neural connection to perceive it in the future.
Perhaps as spiritual toddlers, we were not exposed to see things from spiritual eyes. We were not trained to experience the presence of God. Many (me included) were trained to rationally understand God and to good for others, but I was not trained to experience the Holy Spirit. And maybe that keeps us from believing what is obvious to those who have been trained to see Him. Be very careful criticizing those who can see the Spirit or exhibit spiritual gifts outside your comfort zone.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Experience the Spirit Exercises 26 - 38
26. While half the group is singing Jesus is Lord, have the other half pray out loud what God is laying on their hearts.
27. Teach people how to speak their heart to God. I turn to how David spoke his heart to the Father in the Psalms as an example of this. One of the reasons I think David was so special to God was because David, while watching sheep alone for days or weeks at a time, was constantly singing and talking to God as his life unfolded before God. In doing so, David became the man after God’s own heart, a friend of God. It helps to think about saying this to someone who deeply loves you as you say or sing them.
Most people are not used to speaking deeply nor do many have the language skills to do so. So what I do is hand out a list of sample intimate statements for them to say. I have them say each of these statements several times so they can get used to saying them without their flesh blocking it. Worship is saying these intimate things before God, to express our longings and desires, needs and deep felt emotions to God. Say these things only after a time of praise and worship, when we want to engage more of our hearts with God. In my experience, singing these statements makes me feel much more vulnerable than just thinking them or saying them. Here are some heartfelt statements we have said to God during worship time:
I receive your love Father
I receive your acceptance of me.
Thank you Lord for you love (kindness, goodness, peace, joy, presence, etc.)
Draw me into you, Father.
Your love is important to me, it is life and breath.
I delight in love
I feel happy when you are near me, Father
Thank you for choosing me, Lord, for making me one of your own
Thank you for your favor, Lord
Change me, Father, so I can give what you want from me
Thank you, Lord, for being inside me and filling my heart
Expressing Love
I long for you, oh Lord
My heart smiles when your presence is here
I delight in the time I spend with you, Father
I delight in my relationship with you, Jesus
I am pleased that you enjoy me
I need you
I need your love (Wisdom, Guidance, care, friendship, discernment, gifts)
Your love makes me a better man
I am desperate for you
I am glad you are my Father
It gives me pleasure to talk to you
I bless you through this trial, as you guide me and give me wisdom that I may be found pleasing in your sight.
I want you in my innermost being
My heart aches to be in your presence.
28. Use the word GLORIFY and sing it in harmony several (or many) times. Then sing the same word in harmony several (or many) times. Then layer that melody with other melodies and words that come to mind while many are singing the original word and melody.
29. While laying on hands and praying over someone (for healing or whatever) have half the people sing a prophetic song while the other half prays.
30. Sing a prophetic melody without words.
31. Half the group sings their desires, longings and yearnings to Him while the other half sings praise and worship songs.
32. Have half the group sing praise songs while the other breaks into two or threes (with people they don’t know) and give their testimony of how Christ has worked in their lives.
33. At the beginning of the group, tell people that no matter what they have done in their lives (give horrific examples) that they will be loved and accepted in this place.
34. What to do when the presence of God does show up. Usually there is a pleasant feeling that accompanies the presence of the Spirit of God. But, I have noticed, if I focus on the feeling, it goes away pretty quickly. Why? Feelings are flesh and if I focus on my feelings, I am not focusing on presence of Jesus. If I want to keep the feeling, I must focus on what got the feeling there in the first place, focusing on praising and worshiping God. So, when I sense God, I am going to continue praising God for His goodness, or declaring him Lord, or saying intimate loving things to Him so my heart can continue to stay in his presence.
35. For people who struggle with shame, guilt, fear or habitual sin, have them confess it out loud while the rest of the group is singing praise and worship songs. Have the singing be so loud that no matter how loud they confess it, the praise and worship drown out their confession.
36. Don’t allow discussions of a religious nature. Period. The best sure-fire way of running off God is to have a discussion about whether or not one should be baptized, whether or not churches should have weekly communion or whether or not Adam had a belly-button. Engaging the mind during a worship session has the opposite effect on connecting with God for a time. Intellectual discussions, religious arguments, and esoteric discussions on some religious point runs God (and people) off. I am sure you will have to experiment with this point (as most do) but as a rule, just do praise, worship and prayer.
If religious discussions happen (because sometimes people want to avoid the presence of God) reassert the purpose of the meeting and ask that discussions of that nature be held until the meeting is over, or ask them to discuss it on another day, away from the group. Or if you are of a more passive aggressive sort, just start playing praise music and singing....real loud.
37. During prayer time, have members who need prayer to state what their problem is. As a general rule, prayer is, first of all, for the people present at the meeting or for members not present because of illness or some other person there. We laid on hands on members, declared the lordship of Jesus, then asked God for the words to pray. Instruct members to speak what God lays on their heart.
38. During the meeting, time should be allowed for people to confess sins as the Holy Spirit convicts their hearts. This could happen at anytime during the meeting but I encourage leaders to ‘strike while the iron is hot,’ meaning ‘sooner rather than later.’ I have seen God convict men’s hearts about affairs, porn, murder, stealing and other sins during worship time. Allow them to speak so they can be free of that burden. If this has not happened during a meeting (spontaneous sin confession) then, near the end of the meeting, there should be a time set apart for confession of sins. Confession is good for the soul and if the group is going to be a healing place for people, then confession must be allowed.
An effective method of getting people to open up about themselves is to make a statement similar to this: "We want you to find healing in this group. If there is anything burdening you, please tell us so we can pray for you. If you have stolen a 100 grand from your work, had an affair, are addicted to porn, drugs, alcohol, had sex with your grandmother, dog or whatever, this is a safe place to confess it and be free from it. You can’t scare us with your story, whatever it is, we want to help you, not judge you." This statement creates a safe place for people to talk.
27. Teach people how to speak their heart to God. I turn to how David spoke his heart to the Father in the Psalms as an example of this. One of the reasons I think David was so special to God was because David, while watching sheep alone for days or weeks at a time, was constantly singing and talking to God as his life unfolded before God. In doing so, David became the man after God’s own heart, a friend of God. It helps to think about saying this to someone who deeply loves you as you say or sing them.
Most people are not used to speaking deeply nor do many have the language skills to do so. So what I do is hand out a list of sample intimate statements for them to say. I have them say each of these statements several times so they can get used to saying them without their flesh blocking it. Worship is saying these intimate things before God, to express our longings and desires, needs and deep felt emotions to God. Say these things only after a time of praise and worship, when we want to engage more of our hearts with God. In my experience, singing these statements makes me feel much more vulnerable than just thinking them or saying them. Here are some heartfelt statements we have said to God during worship time:
I receive your love Father
I receive your acceptance of me.
Thank you Lord for you love (kindness, goodness, peace, joy, presence, etc.)
Draw me into you, Father.
Your love is important to me, it is life and breath.
I delight in love
I feel happy when you are near me, Father
Thank you for choosing me, Lord, for making me one of your own
Thank you for your favor, Lord
Change me, Father, so I can give what you want from me
Thank you, Lord, for being inside me and filling my heart
Expressing Love
I long for you, oh Lord
My heart smiles when your presence is here
I delight in the time I spend with you, Father
I delight in my relationship with you, Jesus
I am pleased that you enjoy me
I need you
I need your love (Wisdom, Guidance, care, friendship, discernment, gifts)
Your love makes me a better man
I am desperate for you
I am glad you are my Father
It gives me pleasure to talk to you
I bless you through this trial, as you guide me and give me wisdom that I may be found pleasing in your sight.
I want you in my innermost being
My heart aches to be in your presence.
28. Use the word GLORIFY and sing it in harmony several (or many) times. Then sing the same word in harmony several (or many) times. Then layer that melody with other melodies and words that come to mind while many are singing the original word and melody.
29. While laying on hands and praying over someone (for healing or whatever) have half the people sing a prophetic song while the other half prays.
30. Sing a prophetic melody without words.
31. Half the group sings their desires, longings and yearnings to Him while the other half sings praise and worship songs.
32. Have half the group sing praise songs while the other breaks into two or threes (with people they don’t know) and give their testimony of how Christ has worked in their lives.
33. At the beginning of the group, tell people that no matter what they have done in their lives (give horrific examples) that they will be loved and accepted in this place.
34. What to do when the presence of God does show up. Usually there is a pleasant feeling that accompanies the presence of the Spirit of God. But, I have noticed, if I focus on the feeling, it goes away pretty quickly. Why? Feelings are flesh and if I focus on my feelings, I am not focusing on presence of Jesus. If I want to keep the feeling, I must focus on what got the feeling there in the first place, focusing on praising and worshiping God. So, when I sense God, I am going to continue praising God for His goodness, or declaring him Lord, or saying intimate loving things to Him so my heart can continue to stay in his presence.
35. For people who struggle with shame, guilt, fear or habitual sin, have them confess it out loud while the rest of the group is singing praise and worship songs. Have the singing be so loud that no matter how loud they confess it, the praise and worship drown out their confession.
36. Don’t allow discussions of a religious nature. Period. The best sure-fire way of running off God is to have a discussion about whether or not one should be baptized, whether or not churches should have weekly communion or whether or not Adam had a belly-button. Engaging the mind during a worship session has the opposite effect on connecting with God for a time. Intellectual discussions, religious arguments, and esoteric discussions on some religious point runs God (and people) off. I am sure you will have to experiment with this point (as most do) but as a rule, just do praise, worship and prayer.
If religious discussions happen (because sometimes people want to avoid the presence of God) reassert the purpose of the meeting and ask that discussions of that nature be held until the meeting is over, or ask them to discuss it on another day, away from the group. Or if you are of a more passive aggressive sort, just start playing praise music and singing....real loud.
37. During prayer time, have members who need prayer to state what their problem is. As a general rule, prayer is, first of all, for the people present at the meeting or for members not present because of illness or some other person there. We laid on hands on members, declared the lordship of Jesus, then asked God for the words to pray. Instruct members to speak what God lays on their heart.
38. During the meeting, time should be allowed for people to confess sins as the Holy Spirit convicts their hearts. This could happen at anytime during the meeting but I encourage leaders to ‘strike while the iron is hot,’ meaning ‘sooner rather than later.’ I have seen God convict men’s hearts about affairs, porn, murder, stealing and other sins during worship time. Allow them to speak so they can be free of that burden. If this has not happened during a meeting (spontaneous sin confession) then, near the end of the meeting, there should be a time set apart for confession of sins. Confession is good for the soul and if the group is going to be a healing place for people, then confession must be allowed.
An effective method of getting people to open up about themselves is to make a statement similar to this: "We want you to find healing in this group. If there is anything burdening you, please tell us so we can pray for you. If you have stolen a 100 grand from your work, had an affair, are addicted to porn, drugs, alcohol, had sex with your grandmother, dog or whatever, this is a safe place to confess it and be free from it. You can’t scare us with your story, whatever it is, we want to help you, not judge you." This statement creates a safe place for people to talk.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Exercises 16-25 for Worship Groups
Here are some more exercises groups can do that will help in cell group worship or large group worship.
16. Give an explanation of the difference between praise and worship. (Refer to Vivian Hibbert’s book Prophetic Worship.) Simply put, praise is acknowledging the aspects of God that are praiseworthy verbally. It is expressions of the greatness of God and the nothingness of me. Here is a list of sample praise statements:
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
You are worthy of praise.
You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
You are my strong tower, my Deliverer and Redeemer
I glorify your name
Jesus is Lord
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Light. In you is life and salvation.
You are the Rock. (Gate, Door, Rose of Sharon, Bright and Morning Star, Good Shepherd, Great Physician, Creator, Author of our Salvation, Living Water, Bread of Life)
You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are the God of David, Elijah, and the prophets. You are the God of the disciples and the God us today.
You never change, you are constant, everlasting, the Alpha and the Omega.
You are the God of Love, Joy, Peace, and Grace.
I am nothing and you are everything, Lord
Worship is slightly different. Worship is our response to the praiseworthy aspects of God. Worship has an aspect of soaking in the presence of God. The following are samples (not exhaustive) of worship statements:
Father, I love you, and need you in my life.
All I need is you Lord.
I receive your love, Father.
Father I want you inside of me, to change every part of me.
Father I invite your healing work inside of me.
Help me Father. I can’t live without you. I need you to work in my life.
I am your, Lord. Take me to the place you want me to be.
Father, you are better than Blue Bell ice cream.
Holy Spirit, fill me with your presence, place in me your gifts, let your light shine in me.
Thank you, Lord for.....
Jesus, fill me with your compassion and love.
Father, God of Love fill me with your love.
Spirit I ask you to fill me with Wisdom and discernment.
As a deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you oh Lord.
17. At the beginning of each session, verbally invite the Holy Spirit to the meeting. Say something along the lines of, "Father we invite you here tonight, you are our honored guest. Father, we are here for you, to praise your name and devote ourselves to. Lord fill this room with your presence." It’s like inviting Him to the celebration where he is the guest of honor. If you start with no agenda other than allowing God to work through you, He will bless your coming together and His agenda will be done.
18. The Holy Spirit is caught, not taught. Trying to convince someone that they need something they think they already have is beating your head against a concrete wall. Instead, demonstrate the presence of the Holy Spirit to the group. Lay hands on people and pray with authority. Go ‘all out’ in praise and worship. Show people the Holy Spirit. Create teachable moments within your meetings.
Be patient. "Holy Spirit Arrogance" will make most people run screaming into the night away from the presence of God. Be gentle. Be real. Demonstrate the presence and people will be drawn to God. If you build it, people who are genuinely seeking the presence will come.
19. Every meeting, give people homework/experiments to try during the week. Most people, once they have a genuine taste of the Holy Spirit, they will want more. Have people practice at home what they have tried during the praise, worship, prayer session. Have them practice their spiritual gifts (practice makes competent) regularly. Give those on fire for Jesus and the presence of God something to do, something to risk, something to try and see how well they respond. This gives the leader a good indication of the spiritual maturity of the group and how to start slow and simple with them.
20. There are so few leaders who are willing to help people find themselves spiritually. To gently instruct on the Holy Spirit and create a safe place to practice gives people the latitude to try and fail and try again. If people know they can try and process what they experience, they will take chances and push themselves...exactly what the Lord wants from them, for him to begin his work in their lives.
The space created must allow people to take risks, make mistakes and listen for God’s direction for the meeting time at any time during the week. God gets excited when we come together to worship and praise Him with all our hearts.
21. Sing a simple tune like ‘Jesus is Lord,’ but just repeat those three words. Then, as the song is repeated several times, allow new words to be sung and new melodies to layer on top of the main melody. If you tell people what you want to do, then let an organic worship experience develop and grow.
22. During praise, worship, and prayer session, let different people lead (training others to do the leaders job) and give them feedback. Each session together should have a feedback time to find how people responded and what could be improved or done differently.
23. Scripture says that as a group comes together, that every person has a word, a tongue, a prophecy, song, hymn or spiritual song (prophetic song). Tell people that you want them to take chances and speak what is on their hearts, sing that melody that is placed in their mind, pray for individuals God lays on their hearts, read scripture or whatever God is urging them to do. The parameters are that it agrees with scripture and encourages or exhorts growth in the individuals attending.
24. During each session, after the worship period, there should be a time of quiet reflection and listening. Three to five minutes of silence feels like an eternity to a leader, but the time is necessary for God to minister to people in His way. Allow it may be OK for soft instrumental music to be played, usually silence brings a clearer "hearing" of what the Lord is saying.
25. There are percussion instruments available in each meeting we hold including tambourines, drums, shakers, bells, sticks and triangles. I think each person should be responsible for the execution of the music and singing.
16. Give an explanation of the difference between praise and worship. (Refer to Vivian Hibbert’s book Prophetic Worship.) Simply put, praise is acknowledging the aspects of God that are praiseworthy verbally. It is expressions of the greatness of God and the nothingness of me. Here is a list of sample praise statements:
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
You are worthy of praise.
You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
You are my strong tower, my Deliverer and Redeemer
I glorify your name
Jesus is Lord
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Light. In you is life and salvation.
You are the Rock. (Gate, Door, Rose of Sharon, Bright and Morning Star, Good Shepherd, Great Physician, Creator, Author of our Salvation, Living Water, Bread of Life)
You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are the God of David, Elijah, and the prophets. You are the God of the disciples and the God us today.
You never change, you are constant, everlasting, the Alpha and the Omega.
You are the God of Love, Joy, Peace, and Grace.
I am nothing and you are everything, Lord
Worship is slightly different. Worship is our response to the praiseworthy aspects of God. Worship has an aspect of soaking in the presence of God. The following are samples (not exhaustive) of worship statements:
Father, I love you, and need you in my life.
All I need is you Lord.
I receive your love, Father.
Father I want you inside of me, to change every part of me.
Father I invite your healing work inside of me.
Help me Father. I can’t live without you. I need you to work in my life.
I am your, Lord. Take me to the place you want me to be.
Father, you are better than Blue Bell ice cream.
Holy Spirit, fill me with your presence, place in me your gifts, let your light shine in me.
Thank you, Lord for.....
Jesus, fill me with your compassion and love.
Father, God of Love fill me with your love.
Spirit I ask you to fill me with Wisdom and discernment.
As a deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you oh Lord.
17. At the beginning of each session, verbally invite the Holy Spirit to the meeting. Say something along the lines of, "Father we invite you here tonight, you are our honored guest. Father, we are here for you, to praise your name and devote ourselves to. Lord fill this room with your presence." It’s like inviting Him to the celebration where he is the guest of honor. If you start with no agenda other than allowing God to work through you, He will bless your coming together and His agenda will be done.
18. The Holy Spirit is caught, not taught. Trying to convince someone that they need something they think they already have is beating your head against a concrete wall. Instead, demonstrate the presence of the Holy Spirit to the group. Lay hands on people and pray with authority. Go ‘all out’ in praise and worship. Show people the Holy Spirit. Create teachable moments within your meetings.
Be patient. "Holy Spirit Arrogance" will make most people run screaming into the night away from the presence of God. Be gentle. Be real. Demonstrate the presence and people will be drawn to God. If you build it, people who are genuinely seeking the presence will come.
19. Every meeting, give people homework/experiments to try during the week. Most people, once they have a genuine taste of the Holy Spirit, they will want more. Have people practice at home what they have tried during the praise, worship, prayer session. Have them practice their spiritual gifts (practice makes competent) regularly. Give those on fire for Jesus and the presence of God something to do, something to risk, something to try and see how well they respond. This gives the leader a good indication of the spiritual maturity of the group and how to start slow and simple with them.
20. There are so few leaders who are willing to help people find themselves spiritually. To gently instruct on the Holy Spirit and create a safe place to practice gives people the latitude to try and fail and try again. If people know they can try and process what they experience, they will take chances and push themselves...exactly what the Lord wants from them, for him to begin his work in their lives.
The space created must allow people to take risks, make mistakes and listen for God’s direction for the meeting time at any time during the week. God gets excited when we come together to worship and praise Him with all our hearts.
21. Sing a simple tune like ‘Jesus is Lord,’ but just repeat those three words. Then, as the song is repeated several times, allow new words to be sung and new melodies to layer on top of the main melody. If you tell people what you want to do, then let an organic worship experience develop and grow.
22. During praise, worship, and prayer session, let different people lead (training others to do the leaders job) and give them feedback. Each session together should have a feedback time to find how people responded and what could be improved or done differently.
23. Scripture says that as a group comes together, that every person has a word, a tongue, a prophecy, song, hymn or spiritual song (prophetic song). Tell people that you want them to take chances and speak what is on their hearts, sing that melody that is placed in their mind, pray for individuals God lays on their hearts, read scripture or whatever God is urging them to do. The parameters are that it agrees with scripture and encourages or exhorts growth in the individuals attending.
24. During each session, after the worship period, there should be a time of quiet reflection and listening. Three to five minutes of silence feels like an eternity to a leader, but the time is necessary for God to minister to people in His way. Allow it may be OK for soft instrumental music to be played, usually silence brings a clearer "hearing" of what the Lord is saying.
25. There are percussion instruments available in each meeting we hold including tambourines, drums, shakers, bells, sticks and triangles. I think each person should be responsible for the execution of the music and singing.
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