Has this ever happened to you?

[Jacqueline]

I went to my sister's child care provider church last Sunday. I don't know this person, but she invited my sister and my sister invited me so I went. They had a guest speaker. After singing a few songs this woman stated that she could feel the presense of the Lord in the building. I sat there watching her and the congregation and sure enough everyone seemed to feel His presense to. She told us if we had this or that in our lives that was holding us back from what God wanted for us to stand up and almost the whole church stood up and got into a line.

I watched as she said something to each one and placed her hands on them and their bodies seem to jerk a few times before they fell to the ground. This process took up the whole church service. I sat there watching amazed at what I was seeing and for a moment I felt as if I was somehow left out of the loop. I didn't feel the Holy Spirit in the building. I didn't feel any thing other then amazement at what was going on before me.

I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit wasn't there. Maybe He was, maybe He wasn't, but this got me thinking about something that happened to me before I came to Christ. I went to a concert with my cousin at Disneyland. It was a Kirk Franklin concert. I knew that Kirk was a gospel singer and thats it. I just went because I was asked if I wanted to go. Any way during the concert something really odd started to happen in side me. As in the church last Sunday I watched the people around me. This experience was different however. I actually felt the Holy Spirit at the concert. He seem to consume the whole place. I wasn't saved. I was living life the way I wanted to and yet I felt Him. I felt Him so strongly that He brought tears to my eyes.

This made me think back on last Sunday. It started a lot of questions rolling around in my head. If the Holy Spirit was there why didn't I feel Him? How could I miss something so big? Is there something wrong in my life where I would be kept from feeling the Holy Spirit? So many question, no answers. What do you think? If I felt Him when I wasn't saved why wouldn't I feel Him when I am? Have anyone else went through something like this?

God Bless You

Jacqueline

[his-servant-too]

I went to my sister's child care provider church last Sunday.  I don't know this person, but she invited my sister and my sister invited me so I went.  They had a guest speaker.  After singing a few songs this woman stated that she could feel the presense of the Lord in the building.  I sat there watching her and the congregation and sure enough everyone seemed to feel His presense to.  She told us if we had this or that in our lives that was holding us back from what God wanted for us to stand up and almost the whole church stood up and got into a line.

I watched as she said something to each one and placed her hands on them and their bodies seem to jerk a few times before they fell to the ground.  This process took up the whole church service.  I sat there watching amazed at what I was seeing and for a moment I felt as if I was somehow left out of the loop.  I didn't feel the Holy Spirit in the building.  I didn't feel any thing other then amazement at what was going on before me.

I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit wasn't there.  Maybe He was, maybe He wasn't, but this got me thinking about something that happened to me before I came to Christ.  I went to a concert with my cousin at Disneyland.  It was a Kirk Franklin concert.  I knew that Kirk was a gospel singer and thats it.  I just went because I was asked if I wanted to go.  Any way during the concert something really odd started to happen in side me.  As in the church last Sunday I watched the people around me.  This experience was different however.  I actually felt the Holy Spirit at the concert.  He seem to consume the whole place.  I wasn't saved.  I was living life the way I wanted to and yet I felt Him.  I felt Him so strongly that He brought tears to my eyes. 

This made me think back on last Sunday.  It started a lot of questions rolling around in my head.  If the Holy Spirit was there why didn't I feel Him?  How could I miss something so big?  Is there something wrong in my life where I would be kept from feeling the Holy Spirit?  So many question, no answers.  What do you think?  If I felt Him when I wasn't saved why wouldn't I feel Him when I am? Have anyone else went through something like this?

God Bless You

Jacqueline

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I felt the same way at a Rolling Stones concert back in the early 1970s

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To be one's self, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity.

Irving Wallace

[EricH]

Hi Jaqueline,

The problem I have with statments that the Holy Spirit was or was not present when believers gather together is that it goes against what Scripture teaches about the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst NASB

I guess my take would be that the issue is not whether or not the Spirit is present, but whether we are open to the guidance that He is giving. His presence is not based on our feelings, but on His promises

[Christ's Free Servant]

I went to my sister's child care provider church last Sunday.  I don't know this person, but she invited my sister and my sister invited me so I went.  They had a guest speaker.  After singing a few songs this woman stated that she could feel the presense of the Lord in the building.  I sat there watching her and the congregation and sure enough everyone seemed to feel His presense to.  She told us if we had this or that in our lives that was holding us back from what God wanted for us to stand up and almost the whole church stood up and got into a line.

I watched as she said something to each one and placed her hands on them and their bodies seem to jerk a few times before they fell to the ground.  This process took up the whole church service.  I sat there watching amazed at what I was seeing and for a moment I felt as if I was somehow left out of the loop.  I didn't feel the Holy Spirit in the building.  I didn't feel any thing other then amazement at what was going on before me.

I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit wasn't there.  Maybe He was, maybe He wasn't, but this got me thinking about something that happened to me before I came to Christ.  I went to a concert with my cousin at Disneyland.  It was a Kirk Franklin concert.  I knew that Kirk was a gospel singer and thats it.  I just went because I was asked if I wanted to go.  Any way during the concert something really odd started to happen in side me.  As in the church last Sunday I watched the people around me.  This experience was different however.  I actually felt the Holy Spirit at the concert.  He seem to consume the whole place.  I wasn't saved.  I was living life the way I wanted to and yet I felt Him.  I felt Him so strongly that He brought tears to my eyes. 

This made me think back on last Sunday.  It started a lot of questions rolling around in my head.  If the Holy Spirit was there why didn't I feel Him?  How could I miss something so big?  Is there something wrong in my life where I would be kept from feeling the Holy Spirit?  So many question, no answers.  What do you think?  If I felt Him when I wasn't saved why wouldn't I feel Him when I am? Have anyone else went through something like this?

God Bless You

Jacqueline

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The person who stated that the scriptures teach that where two or more are gathered together in his name, there he is in the midst of them is right. So, if they were believers, the Holy Spirit was present. Another thing I think this person said was that you can not rely on your feelings. That is also true. Some people say they "feel" the Holy Spirit, when all they are feeling is the emotion of the music or whatever. The Holy Spirit can be present and you can feel nothing and a room can be void of the presence of the Holy Spirit and you can feel wonderful. Feelings are based upon your experiences, not necessarily upon whether or not the Spirit is present.

Now, the Holy Spirit can be grieved, quenched, etc. by the conduct of the believers present. The Holy Spirit is present among believers, but to what extent he is evident is dependent on the lives and conduct of those present. At the day of Pentecost, you saw a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit, because those who were waiting on the Holy Spirit had been continuously in prayer, waiting on God. I'm certain they were all confessed up and were clean vessels waiting to be empowered with the Holy Spirit for God's service.

Another thought to consider is the meaning of "in his name." It is like putting a king's stamp on a document. It means it has his approval. So, just because a bunch of professing Christians are together in a meeting, does not necessarily mean that what they are doing is truly "in his name," with his stamp of approval. But, we do carry the Holy Spirit with us in our hearts always. But, sometimes he is shoved down into a dark closet in our lives, so he would not be real evident.

The last thing I think is important here is that the scriptures teach us to "test" the spirits to see if they are of God. I would check out what you saw against the word of God to see if it measures up. I would listen for the words that are said, etc. One thing really important here is this: One of the fruits of the Spirit is "self-control." If someone says they did something in the power of the Holy Spirit and they had no control over their words or actions, then that was not the Holy Spirit. Evil spirits can possess the lives of non-believers and can force them to do things against their will, but the Holy Spirit does not work that way. You should always be in control and have the ability to allow the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit or to refuse them. That in mind, I would definitely check out any kind of manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit against the word of God to make sure what you saw is of the Holy Spirit and not of demonic spirits.

[O'Dannyboy]

The times that I have felt the Holy Spirit move in me I felt opened up and what hardness there was of my heart was healed and I did weap. Glory be to him who washes away my sins and in his glory shall the Father receive glory in him. There are many references to the "laying of hands" where the Holy Spirit is concerened.

Titus 3:5  not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

I know whenever I am overcome by the Holy Sprirt, in those moments while I weap, I recall the humility and joy so powerful you can't help by think "take me now lord".

[Trinity]

You don't need Church for to be Spirit filled No need to feel left out.

[irishcowboy]

we need to be Spirit filled continuously, not just at a church service.

some of what we see is just for show... unfortunately....

mike

[jc49]

SHALOM

The Holy Ghost is ...EVERYWHERE...because HE IS GOD,just like THE FATHER IS GOD and JESUS IS GOD.

And we all know that one of the main attributes of God is OMNIPRESENCE ( from latin omnis=all,everywhere present). He,the Holy Spirit IS ALWAYS with us,independently from our awareness of Him ....The Lord doesn't limit Himself or restrain Himself ,because HE IS THE LORD,I mean He owns everything and every living being on the planet and the entire universe,I repeat THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE ( they say that there are 500 BILLIONS galaxys....)in the HOLLOW of HIS HAND....

We,born again believers by grace through faith in Jesus,have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of God as a purchased possession by the Blood of the Lamb...and the Holy Spirit abides in us,becuse we belong to Jesus and so we belong to the Father and so we belong to the Holy Spirit..God CARES for His possession to an extent that is unphatomable to us...i mean WHO CAN SAY TO KNOW GOD PERFECTLY?

He is INFINITE and HIS WORKS and OPERATIONS are infinite too..and ALWAYS PERFECT....because GOD HIS PERFECT and HIS WAYS are PERFECT TOO What stops us to be AWARE of HIS PRESENCE is our sinfulness and imperfection...God had to wash us in THE BLOOD of HIS PRECIOUS BELOVED SON JESUS to accept us graciously and righteously....without JESUS the best of us would be BURNING in HELL for eternity and thats it!

The PRESENCE of GOD IS OVERWHELMING...I really don't care of how religious people try to box and limit the Holy Spirit or want to hype up other people...but I know by the Scriptures and also by limited but recurrent personal experiences that the Holy Spirit is gentle and kind but also THE POWER of GOD because HE IS GOD.....He was there at creation or recreation of the planet and He is there to re-create us when we believe in Christ as THE ONE AND ONLY WAY to be reconciled to THE FATHER.....Oh,wouldn't be wonderful to walk with God like Jesus did all the days of our lives,so pure and clean and always I mean always conscious of His presence an ready to move in His power?

Yeah,GOD IS GREAT and the beautiful thing is that HE LOVES US SO MUCH to have DONATED HIMSELF to us..WOW...

PRAISE THE LORD,bless you all

[Guest Bro David™]

we need to be Spirit filled continuously, not just at a church service.

some of what we see is just for show... unfortunately....

mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ahhh Mr Mike I so agree with you Sir.

All lining up and falling down sounds like a act.

Some will question why so many people can fall, but they must not have heard of the Domino effect in a persons mind.

God Bless.

[irishcowboy]

we do have to remember also, that there are times that the Lords presence is so strong that even the priest could not stand in His Glory.

remember Moses and the Israelites, they could not even look upon the FADING Glory of God, Moses had to cover his face when he was in the presence of the people, and that was just the fading Glory of God from his backside... not even His Face

mike