INTRODUCTION
"...get churchgoers to ignore the Holy Spirit. The degree to which this has happened (and I would argue that it is a prolific disease in the body of Christ) is directly connected to the dissatisfaction most of us feel with and in the church."
"And perhaps the core issue is really about our holding back from giving ourselves to God, rather than our getting "too much" of Him."
CHAPTER 1
"Had I ever sat down with the Bible and sought after its self-evident truth? Or had I passively ingested what I heard from other people...?"
CHAPTER 2
"Fear has a way of channeling our thought process. Fear of stepping outside of a certain theological framework causes us to be biased in our interpretations. We work diligently to "prove" that our presuppositions were correct (another example of eisegesis) rather than simply and honestly pursuing truth."
"There is a huge difference between believing what God has promised and praying for things you'd like to be true."
"When we become overly concerned about our appearance, our spiritual reputation, our coolness, and our acceptance, we are living as citizens of this world rather than as ambassadors."
CHAPTER 3
"I believe that if we truly cared about the Holy Spirit's grief, there would be fewer fights, divorces, and splits in our churches. Maybe it's not due to a lack of belief but rather a lack of concern. I pray for the day when believers care more about the Spirit's grief than their own."
CHAPTER 4
"The Spirit desires to use us when our hearts are aligned with this vision, when we are filled with genuine love for the church, and when we desire to see the church grow in love for God and others."
"I honestly believe that most of us - while we might say we want to be led by the Spirit - are actually scared of this reality."
"Do you believe you exist not for your own pleasure but to help people know the love of Jesus and to come fully alive in Him? If so, then that will shape how you live your life in the place where you are."
"We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and acts in and through us in ways that on our own we are not capable of. This is our purpose for living. This is our hope."
CHAPTER 5
Gal. 3 "Christ redeemed us from the curse we were under so that we could receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. The"promised Spirit" is not a small promise. Jesus suffered a grueling death so that I could have the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit. How dare I take this for granted?"
"I wanted to develop a good track record before pursuing my relationship with Him again. I wanted God to see that I could be a good servant. Then I felt good enough to talk with God again. But God didn't want a good slave who tried really heard. He wanted me to see that He was a good Father. He wants intimacy."
CHAPTER 6
"I think a lot of us need to forget about God's will for my life. God cares more about our response to His Spirit's leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit right now, in today's decisions."
"To be honest, I believe part of the desire to 'know God's will for my life' is birthed in fear and results in paralysis."
"My hope is that instead of searching for 'God's will for my life,' each of us would learn to seek hard after 'the Spirit's leading in my life today.' May we learn to pray for an open and willing heart, to surrender to the Spirit's leading with that friend, child, spouse, circumstance, or decision in our lives right now."
"You don't need the Holy Spirit....
...to live a semi-moral life
...to attend church regularly"
"You do need the Holy Spirit if you...
...truly want to follow the Way of Jesus Christ
...desire to "obey everything" He commanded and to teach others the same
...genuinely repented and believe
...understand that you are called to share in Christ's suffering and death and resurrection
...truly believe and have turned from the way you were headed and joined a different Way of living"
" 'Taking up my cross' has become a euphemism for getting through life's typical burdens with a semi-good attitude."
"I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn't be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through."
CHAPTER 7
"I don't believe God wants me (or any of His children) to live in a way that makes sense from the world's perspective, a way I know I can 'manage'...He wants us to walk in step with His Spirit rather than depend solely on the raw talent and knowledge He's given us."
"God is not interested in numbers. He cares most about the faithfulness, not the size, of his bride. He cares about whether people are lovers of Him."
"Sometimes I leave Christian events wondering if we resemble the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 more than Elijah, the prophet of God"
SYNOPSIS
Prophets of Baal had a loud, passionate worship gathering that lasted from morning till evening but 'no one answered; no one paid attention.'
Elijah prayed. God hard his prayer, and fire came down from heaven.
People experienced the power of God and praised HIM not Elijah.
QUESTION: When people leave a Christian function, do they talk about the people who
led the event or the power of God?
"What disturbs me most is when we're not really bothered that God living 'in' us has not made much of a noticeable difference."
"We focus on what God wants us to do and forget the kind of people He wants us to be."
"Instead of mustering up more will power, let's focus our energies and time on asking for help from the One who has the power to change us. Let's take the time to ask God to put the fruit of His Spirit into our lives. And let's spend time with the One we want to be more like."
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