Why we’re doing this series?
1.We were made for encounters with God.
Being a Christian is not just about having an explanation of God, it is about having experiences with God that change everything. Heart for the World’s mission is to be a church that people don’t just hear about God but they experience God. A top value is a passion for His presence.
2. God isn’t just a distant Being who sent prophets to tell us about life.
He is a God who came and comes by the Holy Spirit to show up in our lives. People don’t need more laws and advise; they need more God in their life. In fact, it is the time our hurt is the greatest, He draws the nearest.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
— Psalms 34:18 (NIV)
3. We were made to have a relationship with Jesus
Sadly, so many millions hear about Jesus and know about Jesus, but few experience Jesus on a regular basis. This series is about principles for learning how to lean in and receive all of the amazing encounters God has planned for our lives.
“When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” — Genesis 28:16 (NIV)
Checklist of some of the kinds of the encounters with God mentioned in the Bible
Salvation.
Encounter of comfort, peace, love, joy.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Reconciliation.
Speaking in tongues.
Worship encounter.
Healing.
Miracle intervention.
Prophetic (dreams, vision, words).
Awakening/revelation/refreshing.
Deliverance from oppression.
Divine guidance.
Impartation of a gift.
Calling and commission.
Faith.
Angelic.
4. God never planned for us to think of a radical, supernatural revival life as something weird but as something normal (supernaturally natural).
“A miracle a day keeps the devil away.” God wants us to begin to expect and press into something more than just the practices and routines of our faith. He wants us to experience the power of our faith by encountering Jesus in all we do. Not just reading the Bible or going to church, but encountering Jesus when we read the Bible and go to church. Don’t settle for “normal” Christianity!
We need to learn how to encounter God through the infilling and outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our life.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere -in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
— Acts 1:8 (NLT)
Let's consider the story of an average citizen who became a powerful king by receiving an infilling and impartation of the Holy Spirit. (I Samuel 10:1-6, 20-23 NLT)
some observations about how this encounter impacted Saul, and how we will be changed by being filled and anointed with the Holy Spirit:
The anointing of God made him a completely different person, able to be and do what he could’ve never done. “At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.” — I Samuel 10:6
God doesn’t change us by fixing us but by filling us. Freedom isn’t the absence of struggles; it’s the awareness of the presence of God being in us and with us in a way that’s greater than our struggles. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 NIV).
As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the gifts and callings of God are ignited and God begins to fulfill His purpose through our lives in ways only He can.
To come into our anointing, we have to be willing to come out of our baggage.
“So they asked the Lord, ‘Where is he?’ And the Lord replied, ‘He is hiding among the baggage.” So they found and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.” — I Samuel 10:22-23 (NLT)
The issue is not getting more of the Holy Spirit but letting Him have more of us. What He possesses He blesses.
The good news is that Jesus handled our baggage on the cross; through His grace we can let go and walk out of whatever grave our baggage put us in. He gives forgiveness for guilt.
Coming out of our baggage means:
Confronting our past.
Exposing our secrets.
Releasing our hurts, fears, and doubts.
Giving Him possession of our ambitions.
Claiming His victory.
“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” — 2 Corinthians 6:16-17 (NIV)
Coming into God’s anointing means receiving the gift of His Spirit, resetting our relationships, and prophesying our praise.
“When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw a group of prophets coming towards them. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he, too began to prophesy. When those who knew Saul heard about it, they exclaimed, ‘What? Is even Saul a prophet? How did the son of Kish become a prophet?’” — I Samuel 10:10-11 (NLT)
The gift of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is free and available to anyone.
It flows out of us with praise and powerfully flows through us in fellowship with others who want to be filled. As the praise goes out the Spirit fills us up.
“In the last days,” God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants-men and women alike-and they will prophesy.” — Acts 2:17-18