The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit

Jeremy Riddle

“Revival is just a buzz word UNTIL we as the church can learn to say a corporate ‘yes’ to the Holy Spirit again”

• We are proud to know God as Father. We understand and embrace the true qualities of Fatherhood in God
• We have learned to be unashamed of the gospel and Jesus. We are quick to talk about him to unbelievers 
• BUT when we talk about the Holy Spirit there is a trepidation that rises in the church

Revival can be reduced to a simple statement of “Come Holy Spirit.”

• Jeremy talks about how the entire Vineyard movement was basically launched with that phrase. A worldwide movement born with a phrase. 

• “Lonnie Frisbee (an American evangelist in 1960s-1970s) comes in on Mother’s day and says this, “The Holy Spirit has been grieved at the church for a long time, but he’s getting over it. Come Holy Spirit.”

• This was the moment where the Holy Spirit exploded in their service

Sometimes we think of the Holy Spirit only as a comforter (peaceful) 

“The Holy Spirit is the comforter who comes like a mighty, rushing, roaring wind, and fills a room and places tongues like divided fire over people’s heads and causes them to burst out in the praise of the acts and the signs and the miracles and the wonders of God. In all kinds of different languages and in all kinds of different tongues and it’s such a spectacle that a city gathers to gawk at them and they think that they are drunk. That’s our comforter.”

• “The “business” of the church has left me longing for more. I love these aspects (small groups and routines) but I know there’s more”
• We have experiences with things in our lives where we are forever changed, how often do we have these experiences with the Lord?
• When we understand that heaven is looking for partners (a yes to whatever holy spirit wants to do) all of Heaven breaks in. When heaven invades Earth, you are ruined for anything else

We, as a church, are hungry for the Holy Spirit. The #3 song on CCLI is Holy Spirit. We are hungry to see the Spirit of God move. There is great thawing. We aren’t totally over our fear but we are more hungry than scared. 

The church is a spiritual house, made up of spiritual people, with a spiritual purpose

• “I think it’s time for the American Church to embrace our Spirituality”
• The church is a spiritual house, made up of spiritual people, with a spiritual purpose
• We need to stop being freaked out by basic spirituality 
• There is a spiritual realm and a natural realm 
• There are angels in this room
• There are principalities (Paul in Ephesians) 
• Embrace your spirituality
• You were made to be spiritual, to commune with the Holy Spirit 
• The normal Christian life is moving in powerful signs and wonders. It’s not for the elite Christian force

Earnestly desire a move of the spirit

• Spiritual gifts
• 1st Corinthians 12 (list of the spiritual gifts)
• This passage is usually used as a reason to stop speaking in tongues publicly (it was meant to encourage us to desire the gifts)
• The spiritual gifts have become a cautionary tale

• Jeremy compares the spiritual gifts to opening presents on Christmas. He uses the names, Ungrateful Susan and Cautionary Bob. Susan opens her gift and looks very disappointed with what she is given (Oh.. tongues). Bob acts like the gift is an explosive (Miracles?! These are dangerous!).

• They are gifts to the body of Christ from our Father! He gives good and perfect gifts!

Let’s just actually embrace the gift and worry about clean up if we need. We don’t need to caution the cautious child, we need to encourage them to try it.