In what ways does the Holy Spirit act in you?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
11,887
8,696
113
#41
Cool so how does the Spirit help you understand the Bible? I'm hoping by asking these type of questions and getting real life testimony, it can help new believers or older believers who have not had much contact with the power of the Holy Spirit.
My experience is best described by this verse;

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It is easy for me to believe that, because I have experienced it firsthand. I now understand that Jesus wants us to know Him and His will. He has no desire for any good thing to be hidden from His children. If you at first don't understand, keep seeking. He is a rewarder of diligent persistence. The Bible is not something reserved for Greek and Hebrew scholars.

A humble and childlike spirit is far more precious and useful to Him than training in the most prestigious of religious schools. Just seek to be clay in His hands.

1 Corinthians
1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]:
1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
 
T

TheIndianGirl

Guest
#42
"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:25

Why did God send the Holy Spirit, when we already have Jesus? How is the role/person of Jesus different from the role/person of the Holy Spirit?
 
0

0000000

Guest
#44
In what ways does the Holy Spirit act in you?

Gifts? Fruit? Actions? What to speak? Or something else? Do you know who the Holy Spirit is and what all He does?

I'm curious to see how the Holy Spirit is affecting your life.
The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you,
and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,
and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
 

2ndTimothyGroup

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2021
5,434
1,855
113
#46
No one can really understand the Bible unless they have the indwelling Holy Spirit. Unbelievers without the Holy Spirit can understand some aspects from a human wisdom point of view and see the moral value of following its teachings, but they have no understanding of how it all fits together to show the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ that leads to salvation.
100% - And as you know, convincing those who are deceived that they don't understand . . . more than likely, it isn't going to turn out well. I once thought I was a "master" of the Bible regarding a few doctrines. Pft . . . what a joke. I had no clue at all. It wasn't until I felt the Raw, Almighty Power of God that I began to take His Holy Word seriously. In fact, I was so pathetic, that I would refer to myself as a sort of "master," yet I hadn't even read the Old Testament. Yep . . . it [is] pathetic, but sadly, this Old Testament negligence is what today's "church" is mostly made of.
 

2ndTimothyGroup

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2021
5,434
1,855
113
#47
So you do not believe that all mankind are born wicked and would not turn to God in less it was due to the Spirit of God? I believe the Spirit of God draws all of mankind in some form or fashion giving everyone without excuse. Because some took what the Spirit revealed and ignored or rebelled against it.

So even though they may not understand 98% they are accountable to the 2% like the need for a Savior due to their sins or the knowledge of sin.
That's an interesting and good point, my friend.
 
Mar 17, 2021
560
165
43
#48
It is interesting to me what evidence that people have for the moving of the Holy Spirit either in them or in a meeting.

In most services that I have been in, when people have said that the Spirit moved, it could have been explained by just people feeling good, the sermon encouraging; which could have happened in a secular environment, or watching a movie at a cinema.

It seems to me that people say the Holy Spirit moved when I saw no evidence of it other than people enjoying themselves in the meeting. Seeing that the Holy Spirit indwells believers, and not a indeterminate mist that hangs over the meeting, and those believers sit like wooden indians in the meeting while the guy at the front yells like a Commanche Indian, how is the Holy Spirit moving through them? Are they not pretending that the Holy Spirit is moving, and are therefore presumptuous?

So, what is the real evidence that the Holy Spirit is moving in a person or group?
 
T

TheIndianGirl

Guest
#49
So, what is the real evidence that the Holy Spirit is moving in a person or group?
During Easter service, unlike other services, many people are weeping. I think the Holy Spirit is moving the group in this case.

Also, if many people are speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit is likely moving the group.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,616
7,651
113
#50
It is interesting to me what evidence that people have for the moving of the Holy Spirit either in them or in a meeting.

In most services that I have been in, when people have said that the Spirit moved, it could have been explained by just people feeling good, the sermon encouraging; which could have happened in a secular environment, or watching a movie at a cinema.

It seems to me that people say the Holy Spirit moved when I saw no evidence of it other than people enjoying themselves in the meeting. Seeing that the Holy Spirit indwells believers, and not a indeterminate mist that hangs over the meeting, and those believers sit like wooden indians in the meeting while the guy at the front yells like a Commanche Indian, how is the Holy Spirit moving through them? Are they not pretending that the Holy Spirit is moving, and are therefore presumptuous?

So, what is the real evidence that the Holy Spirit is moving in a person or group?
Ask Him for His clarification and await His answer, He has told us we are to take everything to Him for His confirmation. God keeps His promises. we are clearly to not lean on our own understanding.
 

2ndTimothyGroup

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2021
5,434
1,855
113
#51
"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:25

Why did God send the Holy Spirit, when we already have Jesus? How is the role/person of Jesus different from the role/person of the Holy Spirit?
Amazing question. And since it is, I will ask for pre-forgiveness if what is written below is confusing.

Example: My spirit has a task to complete, and that task is to jump-start the battery of my car so that I, my body, can get to work. My spirit uses my brain, my mind, to send my body to work so that the spirit remains in this world. If my spirit doesn't use my mind to send my body to complete this task of jump-starting my car so that my body can get to work so that my body can eat food and live . . . the body and mind will die, but my spirit still remains.

Question: Who jump-started the car? Which one of me did it? My physical body did the work! Not my mind . . . my mind cannot turn a wrench, but my physical body can. So again . . . who jump-started my car? My spirit, mind, or body? Yes . . . my body completed the work . . . but here's the thing . . . all three are me! My spirit is David. My mind is David. My body is David. All three are separate, but all three are still me . . . which is one. All three are actually one . . . all three are together in full unison right now as I write this to you.

I am not an expert on the Bible, but would more say that I am a reporter of my studies. What I have found in my numerous readings of the entire Bible in a timeline, chronological order, is that Jesus has four basic forms of Holy Work.

1. He enables a person's heart so as to repent, turn to Him (desire for Christ), and begin a new life that contains less and less sin.
2. Cuts away the Sinful Nature, that element of the Curse that Adam and Eve set in motion all the way back in the Garden. Colossians 2:9-15 issues a clear description of this Holy Operation (why Jesus is only known as a Healer is baffling . . . He's also Head Surgeon).
3. Pays for the debt of our sins by putting an end to animal sacrifice, and offering Himself as a Purified, one-time Sacrifice for all-time.
4. Sends the Gift of the Indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called a Gift because this Gift is a Gift on its own that keeps on Giving!

As you probably remember, there are the passages that describe the "Fruits of the Spirit." These Fruits are the Gifts that come from the Gift of the Indwelling Holy Spirit. So it seems clear that Jesus sends the Gift, but once the Gift has placed His Holy Seal upon your Heart (after being Circumcised by Christ), that same Spirit will place these Spiritual Gifts into your Heart, soul, and mind . . . and you will begin to change! One of these incredible Gifts will even be the ability to suffer for His sake. No . . . that isn't pleasant to think of, but this particular Gift is a Gift that ensures that even when things are intensely rough, you will still have True Faith and you will never, never turn away from God again! This means that if a person dies for the very name of Jesus Christ, it will be because the Lord enabled his Heart to do so! That's JUST how Powerful our God is . . . and He is most real . . . believe it.

So . . . I hope that I gave new scope to the question that you asked. I hope that I showed how it is that we can refer to God as God, Jesus is God and that the Holy Spirit is also God . . . that they are all one, but all completely different. Yes, this Trinity concept makes the Holy Word difficult to understand. I've read this book so many times that if I didn't have this generally understood . . . I'd be stupid.

Blessings to you . . .
 

2ndTimothyGroup

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2021
5,434
1,855
113
#52
It is interesting to me what evidence that people have for the moving of the Holy Spirit either in them or in a meeting.

In most services that I have been in, when people have said that the Spirit moved, it could have been explained by just people feeling good, the sermon encouraging; which could have happened in a secular environment, or watching a movie at a cinema.

It seems to me that people say the Holy Spirit moved when I saw no evidence of it other than people enjoying themselves in the meeting. Seeing that the Holy Spirit indwells believers, and not a indeterminate mist that hangs over the meeting, and those believers sit like wooden indians in the meeting while the guy at the front yells like a Commanche Indian, how is the Holy Spirit moving through them? Are they not pretending that the Holy Spirit is moving, and are therefore presumptuous?

So, what is the real evidence that the Holy Spirit is moving in a person or group?
I once went to a small rally where the "pastor" actually met with us before the big "event" and prepared us (our minds) with what was going to happen. Oh yeah, I felt the electrical current flow through my arms . . . just as the "pastor" said would happen. Sure, I fell to the floor along with everyone else and began laughing like a total dork.

Then one day, the Lord decided that He'd Purify me by "fire" and then Indwell me with His Holy Spirit. Folks . . . the Power I felt that day wasn't some lame electrical current. No. I knew that this Power was the Source for all that is. If I had felt any more of God's Holy Power, I would have been physically altered (at minimum). This Power was Pure Peace and Love. That's all it was. That Peace and Love was so strong, that again, if I had felt more of it, my physical body would not have endured it. (It's been years, but still makes me weep and shutter at this moment.)

You are right . . . I shake my mental head when people speak about how the Lord "moved" them. They don't even know . . . that this "movement" could have come from their true Father.

John 8:44 NLT - 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
 
Mar 17, 2021
560
165
43
#53
During Easter service, unlike other services, many people are weeping. I think the Holy Spirit is moving the group in this case.

Also, if many people are speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit is likely moving the group.
I know that I'm being difficult here, but I want to test your Scriptural knowledge concerning the Holy Spirit.

A sad movie can cause many in the audience to weep, so weeping in church could be put down to a normal emotional response, so to make weeping an evidence of the moving of the Holy Spirit could be challenged.

Also, members of the heretical Bethel and Hillsong churches, along with the Prosperity type conferences, and Mormons, all speak in tongues as well. So, those people claiming that they are moved by the Holy Spirit could be challenged because of the shonky Christless theology underpinning those cults.

So we need to look deeper into Scripture to find out how we can know that the Holy Spirit is really moving in a group of people.
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
5,875
1,674
113
#54
I thought I had a rather intimate relationship with Jesus and Holy Spirit until recently when the question of my relationship to God as Father was revealed. A dream with letters spelling "FATHER'S BOSOM" waking me promptly, compelled my searching scripture for these terms and found John's reference to Jesus in 1:18, "...The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declare Him." From there, I search out further study on the subject of Father where I encountered the observation that Jesus is "The Way" (means to an end rather than the end) and many (Christians, including myself) stop short at Jesus without actually going on to know The Father, Him which Jesus came to reveal and provide us free access, and to provide Father access to us as much as He sent Jesus to fulfill Father's desire for that intimacy with us....

As I pursued this theme of study with numerous sources of insight, I was led to a guide to the differentiation of dwelling 'in the Son, and so in the bosom of the Father, and abiding under the ministry of condemnation and, considering the environment that is often generated with varying degree, I think I should share a few points to remember while navigating through these forums...

Some signs you may listening to the ministry of condemnation- MDeJesus
#5 Judgment is used before mercy
#6 Guilt and shame are common motivating factors
#8 Correction is not done through redemptive love and grace
#10 The emphasis becomes more on how things "look" than how they really are
 
Mar 17, 2021
560
165
43
#55
So you do not believe that all mankind are born wicked and would not turn to God in less it was due to the Spirit of God? I believe the Spirit of God draws all of mankind in some form or fashion giving everyone without excuse. Because some took what the Spirit revealed and ignored or rebelled against it.

So even though they may not understand 98% they are accountable to the 2% like the need for a Savior due to their sins or the knowledge of sin.
Ah! Now we are getting somewhere! You have hit on a major form of evidence that the Holy Spirit is involved with a group of people. When there are unconverted folk present and they hear the gospel, become convicted of their sin and turn to Christ, this is a major evidence of the presence of the Spirit, because this is the mission Jesus sent Him. Paul said that the gospel of Christ is the power of God leading to salvation to those who believe it.

Conviction of sin works in two ways: turning to Christ, or angrily rejecting Him. In both cases, it is because of the influence of the Holy Spirit.
 
Feb 21, 2016
758
175
43
#56
Dreams, visions, transfigurations, healing, words of knowledge, prophetic, pretty much all of them.
I think a lot of people are bound by a past sin/sins they may have forgotten,or want to forget.It can even be generational sin that prevents them from receiving these gifts.They can also fool themselves into thinking they have the Holy Spirit because they go by thoughts of the mind and not the heart.
 
Mar 17, 2021
560
165
43
#57
I once went to a small rally where the "pastor" actually met with us before the big "event" and prepared us (our minds) with what was going to happen. Oh yeah, I felt the electrical current flow through my arms . . . just as the "pastor" said would happen. Sure, I fell to the floor along with everyone else and began laughing like a total dork.

Then one day, the Lord decided that He'd Purify me by "fire" and then Indwell me with His Holy Spirit. Folks . . . the Power I felt that day wasn't some lame electrical current. No. I knew that this Power was the Source for all that is. If I had felt any more of God's Holy Power, I would have been physically altered (at minimum). This Power was Pure Peace and Love. That's all it was. That Peace and Love was so strong, that again, if I had felt more of it, my physical body would not have endured it. (It's been years, but still makes me weep and shutter at this moment.)

You are right . . . I shake my mental head when people speak about how the Lord "moved" them. They don't even know . . . that this "movement" could have come from their true Father.

John 8:44 NLT - 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
I'm going to be difficult here as well. I'm not trying to be contentious, but to get you to look closely at the book of Acts, because it is there where we have the evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit. Actually Acts could be named, "Acts of the Holy Spirit".

So, can you compare your sensory experiences with how the Holy Spirit worked in the book of Acts? If you can't find anything like "electricity" or any other sensory experience, even peace and love, then you have to question what you are experiencing.

My view is that if we conclude that the Holy Spirit is moving in us because we feel electrical current, peace or love flowing in us, then we are not concluding on the basis of faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and without faith it is impossible to please God. The definition of faith is the evidence of things not seen (or felt), and the assurance of things hoped for. Therefore faith is trust and dependence on the written promises of God in the Bible.

Faith based on sensory experiences tends toward New Age mysticism. We know that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, patience, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control. But these are not sensory feelings and somehow flow through us. These are how we conduct ourselves as we walk in the Spirit. They are what we practice, ie: acts of our will. We can feel like we do when we trudge off to work on a cold, grey, Monday morning, and yet practice love, joy and peace in spite of how we feel.

If our love, joy and peace is based on how we feel, then when we stop feeling these things, we stop doing them. We get grumpy, depressed and discordant in our actions. But when our love, joy and peace depends on our faith in Christ, then we can feel like what comes out of the backside of a horse, and yet be loving, joyful and peaceful.

Also the true test of walking in the Spirit is what we do at work on a cold, grey, Monday morning when everything goes wrong and the boss comes and chews us out. If you can do love, joy, and peace under those circumstances, then you are walking in the Spirit. Therefore having all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings flowing through you on Sunday at church is really no indication that you are walking in the Spirit.

Of course, the real power of the Holy Spirit working through you is your workmates seeing your love, joy, peace, and patience when your work turns to effluent and the boss is angry at you, and they think to themselves, "Now that guy is a real Christian and the next time he talks to us about the Gospel, we will listen to him."
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,616
7,651
113
#58
"I think",.... we are not to lean on our own understanding, but in ALL things acknowledge Him, and He promises to make our path straight. Leaning on ones own understanding is exemplified but "I think".
He promises to give His confirmation and He always does.
best wishes
 
Mar 17, 2021
560
165
43
#59
I thought I had a rather intimate relationship with Jesus and Holy Spirit until recently when the question of my relationship to God as Father was revealed. A dream with letters spelling "FATHER'S BOSOM" waking me promptly, compelled my searching scripture for these terms and found John's reference to Jesus in 1:18, "...The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declare Him." From there, I search out further study on the subject of Father where I encountered the observation that Jesus is "The Way" (means to an end rather than the end) and many (Christians, including myself) stop short at Jesus without actually going on to know The Father, Him which Jesus came to reveal and provide us free access, and to provide Father access to us as much as He sent Jesus to fulfill Father's desire for that intimacy with us....

As I pursued this theme of study with numerous sources of insight, I was led to a guide to the differentiation of dwelling 'in the Son, and so in the bosom of the Father, and abiding under the ministry of condemnation and, considering the environment that is often generated with varying degree, I think I should share a few points to remember while navigating through these forums...

Some signs you may listening to the ministry of condemnation- MDeJesus
#5 Judgment is used before mercy
#6 Guilt and shame are common motivating factors
#8 Correction is not done through redemptive love and grace
#10 The emphasis becomes more on how things "look" than how they really are
I had much the same experience. I woke up in the middle of the night with a Psalm reference going through my mind. It was so insistent that I had to turn on my light and look it up. It was exactly what I needed at that time.
 
Mar 17, 2021
560
165
43
#60
"I think",.... we are not to lean on our own understanding, but in ALL things acknowledge Him, and He promises to make our path straight. Leaning on ones own understanding is exemplified but "I think".
He promises to give His confirmation and He always does.
best wishes
I got all my information and impressions by what I read in the book of Acts. I don't see any of the sensory experiences of "electricity" or feelings of love and peace described anywhere in Acts, and therefore, if it ain't in the New Testament then it ain't of the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean that having these feelings is necessarily against the Holy Spirit, but defining Christian faith by them is putting faith into something other than God's written Word.