My experience of the Holy Spirit seminary we had at UCT on 18 September 2010
Jacques Oberholzer & Steve Haines came in from Graham’s Town to impart to our students from UCT, CPUT & surrounding Southern Suburbs campuses on the Holy Spirit.
In the first session of two, they taught on the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. They then prayed for people who had never been baptized in the Holy Spirit as done in Acts 19:1-7.
In the second session, after God had set hearts on fire with His love groups of students went out to Rondebosch for an outreach. This outreach was different: in this one the guys met before going out and asked God to reveal to them specific people He;d like them to go minister to.
Treasure Hunting:
So they’d ask God to reveal what the person is wearing, where the person is and if there’s something specific god wants to say to that person. Hehehe scary! This by default leads us to trust wholly on God’s revelation because we can’t manufacture this in our our ability..
When the team returned it was incredible to hear how they met individuals that matched the physical outline they had and when they approached those people to share God’s word to them people were amazed at how accurate the words were. It was words that spoke into specific areas of their lives. People were blessed and felt hand-picked by God to receive from Him.
The team would then offer to pray for the individual or ask if they know God and have received Christ. Some would receive prayer right there on the road while some were shy, in the end we’ve seen that when we respond to God to “go” for with Him and only go with an agenda to love people, people get blessed.
My Side:
I went to this second session, but arrived 10 minutes late this time as I was delayed by two other guys I went to pick up. When we arrived, the outreach team had left but we didn’t know this. We found people there preparing to pray and we thought “OK, after the prayer we’re all going out for the outreach.”
The prayer was what we’ve termed ‘soaking’, it’s simply waiting on God to reveal Himself. Many times we go to God with many words of praise and requests, soaking is listening and receiving from Him.
Waiting on Him
| As we waited on Him I had such an expectation to encounter Him and it soon became clear that God had an agenda of His own for me... I can only sum up my experience as: for the entire duration of the soak God flooded me with revelation after revelation of His character, His love for me & for us. It was like minute after minute as I sat at His feet I’d realise that “Wow, this God loves us, He totally adores us! For example, I felt that He gave us the 5 senses and |  |
every time we touch something it’s like He’s saying:
“Did you feel that? I gave you touch so you can know me.
Did you feel that? I gave you love so you can imagine how the inventor of love is.
Did you feel that? Did you see that, Can you hear Me?”
Revelation flood
More than revelation I experienced His love like I’d never had before. I experienced His love as THE lover of my soul. To put in plain terms it was like feeling and knowing love/intimacy from one’s lover but this time experiencing it from the inventor of love Himself. I remember trying to explain to the guys there and the only words I could come up with to explain (un-manly as this sounds) is that I felt romanced by God.
Since then my daily experience of God has changed, it’s deeper & more real, hour to hour I anticipate Him and desire connection with Him in a new way. I feel like He keeps giving me pieces of Himself for me but this also simultaneously enables me to impart to others through the Spirit.
I think through this experience, God was saying: “If you allow Me I’ll reveal Myself. It doesn’t matter where you are in life or where you’ve been. I am God. Give me an ear and I’ll speak.” And, it’s the revelation of God, it’s the revelation of God’s word that makes salvation alive in us. It’s not what we do for Him - “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
While His revelation-flood was happening to me I felt to freeze some moments in pictures as worship to Him without making anyone there self-conscious of their Holy Spirit encounter. I hope they minister to you too: http://photohumphrey.blogspot.com/2010/09/scenes-from-floor.html
Psalm 19:1-3
"1. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard."
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