When many Christians think of the Holy Spirit, they imagine overly emotional fanatics speaking in unknown tongues, faith-healers working miracles that can’t always be verified, and celebrity prophets making predictions about national elections, the way that football prognosticators regularly tell us who is going to win the big game.
For these reasons and more, it is understandable why many Christians hesitate to speak and think about the Holy Spirit, but that is a HUGE mistake.
According to the Bible, the church was born on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ original disciples. According to our oldest creeds, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and as the Korean Creed affirms, the Holy Spirit is, “God present with us, for guidance, for comfort, for strength.”
So, what is the Holy Spirit? A hoax? An exotic add-on that some Christians talk about? Or an essential part of our Christian life?
I am persuaded that the answer is the latter. The Holy Spirit is essential to our Christian walks, and yes, miracles do happen (God still does exceptional “stuff”), but beyond that, God is with us through the person of his Spirit in such a way that we truly can know Him and walk with Him, just as much as if we were literally walking with Christ in the flesh. The question is, “Do we want that?”
If you hunger for more of God, then listen to and watch this week’s video message in which Rev. Barnes share the perspectives of Dr. Stephen Seamands and the testimony of one of his colleagues in ministry. There are also questions that can help you to process your thoughts available here or on the comment section of the YouTube video.
Speakers: Rev Robert Barnes, Dr. Stephen Seamands (Asbury theological Seminary), and Rev. Sarah (a United Methodist minister from Central Illinois).
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