TALK No.

9: AWAKENING THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Objective

To lead the participants to be aware of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and to experience the power to
manifest these various spiritual gifts.

Expanded Outline:

A. What does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit?

A breath is the most immaterial reality we perceive; it cannot be seen; it is intangible; it cannot be
grasped by the hand; it seems to be nothing, and yet it is vitally important. The person who does
not breathe cannot live. The difference between a living person and a dead one is that the former
has breath and the latter no longer does. Life comes from God. And the manifestation of life is
breath. Seeing breath in this way, we came to understand that life depends on a spiritual principle,
which was called by the same Hebrew word, ruah.”

1. Many people during the prophet Ezekiel's time were enmeshed in sin and spiritual
lifelessness, like many Christians today. This is what God said to them:

a) God's promise of the Holy Spirit. (Ez 36:26)

b) God's promise of help and power to do what is right. The Holy Spirit gives us the power
(Ez 36:27)

2. At the Last Supper Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-8).

1 “I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will put you out of the
synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are
offering worship to God. 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4
But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told
you about them.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am
going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have
said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to
your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I
go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong…

2 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of
truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak
whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me,
because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this
reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

3. And He promised that "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you."
(Acts 1:8)
 4. The Holy Spirit that God promised through Ezekiel, Jesus gave to His disciples. With the
Holy Spirit, people gain:

a) A new nature, spiritual power. (Gal 5:16-23) The inward dimension ('call to holiness')
b) Power to serve. Acts 1:8. The outward dimension ('call to mission')

5. The Holy Spirit did come at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4}

6. The order of the three divine persons in the Trinity, in relation to man's salvation,
required such a method to be observed; that the Father should first be especially
manifested; next the Son, and then the Spirit: besides, our Lord has given a reason
himself, why the Spirit "was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified", (John
7:39 ) ; And the coming of the Spirit was to be through the intercession, and by the
mission of Christ;

God wants all of us to have this new life. God sent His Son into the world so that we
could be given the source of the new life, the Holy Spirit.

B. We are here to claim God's promise of the Holy Spirit

1. Ask and the Lord will give us what we need.. (Lk 11:9-13)
2. In the Sacrament of Baptism we received the Holy Spirit and in the Sacrament of
Confirmation we received the gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding,
knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety, and reverence of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:2-3).
3. Today, we will pray over you for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the charismatic
gifts (wisdom, knowledge, discernment, faith, healing, miracle, tongues, interpretation
of tongues and prophecy (1 Cor 12:4). The purpose of the pray over is to awaken the
gifts of the Holy Spirit within you and for you to experience the power to manifest
these spiritual gifts.

C. Awakening the Power of the Holy Spirit and manifesting God's gifts

1. Ask God for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

a) More courage to live the Christian life, strength to fight temptation, more knowledge of
God, etc.
b) God ls offering you charismatic gifts as previously mentioned. (1 Cor 12:4-11). Be open
to whatever God wants to give you.

2. Receiving the gift of tongues

a) Tongues is a gift of praise. It is one of God's gifts. It is directly manifested and is also
the gateway to other gifts (i.e. healing, prophecy/interpretation). That is what makes it
important. God wants you to have this gift.
b) Yielding to the gift.
During the pray over, when the ones praying over you have asked for this on your
behaIf, ask for the gift of tongues.
Yield to the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit.
 Begin by vocally praising God in your own words. e.g. Halleluiah, Thank you Lord,
Praise you Jesus. Continue with your vocal praising. The gift of tongues may manifest.
It may sound strange at first (e.g. la la la). The Holy Spirit will form these sounds into
tongues (and may be words - not necessarily your own language) as your praise gains
momentum.
Focus on the Lord and offer Him your utterance as prayers of praise. Resist the
temptation to think that it is just you and not the Holy Spirit forming the sounds.

c) To sum up: First, desire the gift of tongues, because it is a gift from God. Then ask for it
in faith. Finally, cooperate with the Holy Spirit by opening your mouth and speaking
out.

D. Explanation prior to praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit

1. Procedure of the prayer session

a) Commitment to Christ
b) How we will pray over you

2. We will lay hands on you and pray with you. This spiritual experience is basically
between you and God. We are simply His instruments.
Thus, ask God to give you what He promised and expect to receive them.

3. Different things may happen to different people.

a) Don't seek a particular kind of experience.

b) Trust the lord and open your heart to receive the new life in the Holy Spirit.

4. Some important right attitudes.

a) Relax. The more relaxed you are, the easier it is to receive God's gifts. Jt is harder to
put something in a clenched fist than in a relaxed and open hand.
b) Don't be afraid. The Lord is here with us, and He loves you very much. He wants you to
experience His love in a new way.
c) Don't be concerned about how you might act as you respond to the Spirit's promptings.
Don’t entertain thoughts that you might look or sound foolish if you begin to praise
God in a new way, by raising your hands or speaking in tongues.
We won't laugh at you. We will rejoice and be glad with you. We love you.
5. After the pray over, please return to your seat. We will have some closing remarks.
a) While waiting for others to be prayed over, please continue to pray silently in your seat.
Pray also for the other brothers and sisters.
b) Please maintain an atmosphere of solemnity, prayer and reverence.

6. Final words:

a) God wants you to receive His gifts because He l.o v es you and wants His Holy Spirit to
dwell in you. Desire God's gifts!
b) Accept His gifts and be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

E. The pray over session

 1. Explain the procedure quickly
2. Sing a song (Create in Me)
3. Do the prayer of "Commitment to Christ”
4. Pray over for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
5. End the pray over by inviting the participant to join in praising the lord in songs and
tongues e.g. Spirit of the Living God.

F. Closing exhortation

1. Different people have different experiences.

a) Feeling is not the important thing. Rather, look for the new way that God is at work in
you and respond to it (e.g., a new desire for prayer, for Scripture, etc.).
b) Do not worry if you did not speak in tongues today. Do not equate the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit with getting the gift of tongues.
c) In your prayer time this week, give plenty of time· for praise and thanksgiving.
d) Do this aloud without necessarily disturbing others. Continue to be open to the Lord
forming your praise into tongues.

2. Be aware that Satan can tempt you to doubt

a) Satan will seek to rob everyone of God’s gifts. He does not want you to have nor use
these gifts.
b) Do not let feelings of doubt bother you. Remember that God promised these gifts and
you asked for them.

3. Do not expect all your problems to go away at once, though many will. The Holy Spirit will
make a positive change in your life, and you will experience it. Not everything will change
and some things will take a while to get worked out. Bear in mind that you now have a new
power to use in working them out.
4. Be faithful to a regular time of daily prayer. Spend a good portion of your prayer time in
praise and thanksgiving in your own words. Try to pray in tongues every day.
5. What happened today is just a beginning of your new life in the Holy Spirit.

G. Session, close

End the session with full praise and worship encouraging active participation from the
participant s.