Ligaya ng Panginoon Covenant Community ECLS September 2002

SESSION 7: Notes to Speakers and ECLS Team

New Life in the Holy Spirit

OBJECTIVES:
1. To witness to the fact that the good news is indeed good news.
2. To let the people know that a new life is available through a fuller reception of the
Holy Spirit.
3. To help them to see that this new life centers in an experiential relationship with the
Lord.
4. To give them a brief presentation on who the Holy Spirit is and the various gifts of
the Holy Spirit.

ESSENTIALS OF THIS TALK:

1. The Father wants ALL man and women to have a new life. This new life cannot be
achieved by human will power.
2. This new life with God, begins when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.
3. When the Holy Spirit comes to someone, he becomes a changed man; he comes to
know God by experience.
4. This new life in the Spirit also comes with spiritual gifts to help us live our Christian
way of life.
5. To be baptized in the Spirit, we must ask the Lord for it in faith.

COMMENTS ON THE PRESENTATION AND DYNAMICS OF THE SESSION:

1. The heart of this presentation is the personal testimony. You (the speaker) should
make the bulk of your presentation a personal testimony of how you came to be
baptized in the Holy Spirit and the difference it made in your life. USE PART B as
your main outline. In the course of the sharing, mention how items 1-5 happened to
you. Instead of speaking theoretically, use your own experiences (and maybe a few
of other peoples’ experiences as well.) People can have a lot of theory about what it
means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, but when they can hear a story of what
happened to someone when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit; they really begin to
understand what the baptism in the Holy Spirit is.

The point of the citing the passages: Acts 2 or Acts 19:1-7 is that some tangible
changes take place once baptized in the Spirit. The difference can even be seen
externally.

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to use you in stirring up in them expectant faith and an eager
desire for a greater working of God in people's lives through the Holy Spirit. If people
can see something has happened to people like themselves that has not yet
happened to them, they will begin to develop a hunger to have the same thing
themselves.

3. Explaining the spiritual gifts. In PART B # 5: This will be the only place in the
seminar where the spiritual gifts are spoken about. Explain briefly the spiritual gifts

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and how you experienced these gifts. You don’t have to describe each in great
detail; just enough for them to get an idea. You need not explain all the nine gifts,
but only the more common ones which they will normally encounter in prayer
meetings. i.e., prophecy, tongues, wisdom, faith, healing, miracles and discernment;
you may leave out interpretation and knowledge for the time being. See Attachment
“A” on Brief Presentation on the Spiritual Gifts as a guide.

In presenting gift of tongues explain it as a gift of prayer, usually a gift of praise.

Tongues can also be used with interpretation to build up a group of Christians, but
we do not want to go into that here. What is important for people to understand at
this point in the seminar is that tongues can be a great help to their prayer life. A
short description of what it is like to pray in tongues is very valuable at this point.

Recommend to the participants (and the speaker) for further reading the book
"Baptized in the Spirit and Spiritual Gifts" by Steve Clark. It is a good idea for
the team to read this and also to make this available to the participants.

4. In the INTRODUCTION: This part is meant to be a brief introduction.

 Its purpose is to recall the offer of new life that has been spoken about in the
previous talks and to connect that offer of new life to the Holy Spirit. We can
have new life because the Holy Spirit is given to us. And that it is Jesus who
gives us this new life. Jesus is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. He makes it all
possible.

 The impression or notion that the Church does not seem to be spiritually alive
has been presented already in the previous talks – you do not have to spend a
lot of time to expound it here. We simply want to communicate that the
Christianity today seems to lack the kind of spiritual vitality that attracts people to
be seriously involved in it. The reality, however, is that God is renewing His
Church today and many are actually getting more into living a more empowered
Christian life.

5. IN PART A: The way we talk about being baptized in the Spirit can make a big
difference in how people will approach it.

 Avoid thinking of being baptized in the Spirit as an “it,” a thing that we can “get”.
They might center on the experience, or “getting it”, rather than centering upon
the Holy Spirit and upon the new life we can have through a new relationship
with Him.
 Being baptized in the Holy Spirit, in simple terms, means being introduced to an
experiential relationship with the Holy Spirit. It is meant to be the beginning of a
new kind of life lived in a fuller power of God. Living in the Spirit has to be the
center of our concern, not being baptized in the Spirit.
 It is better to avoid using the phrase “the baptism in the Spirit.” It is better to
speak of being baptized in the Spirit. We do not receive the baptism in the Holy
Spirit. We enter into a new relationship with the Holy Spirit.
 In PART A # 2: When talking about the experiences of the early disciples, you
do not have to always read the biblical passages from the Bible. You may

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choose to read some for emphasis but the others you can simply paraphrase
and present in a story-telling manner.
 In PART C: Encourage people to have faith, not demand of them. Besides, God
will often work even in people who do not have much faith. This final section
prepares people for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. We should talk about what will
happen with maximum faith, encouraging them to expect the Spirit to work in
them powerfully. We should not speak to them about it cautiously, timidly, or
hesitantly. The Lord will meet their faith.

1. The details related to next session (Praying for Baptism in the Holy Spirit) may be
mentioned during the talk or after the discussion as may be more appropriate.
 Time, venue.
 DON’T FORGET about the dialogue with their discussion leaders
 The spiritual preparation before the next session.
 Distribute the "Commitment to Christ" form. See Attachment “B”. Ask them to
take time to read it through and get themselves behind the words so they can
pray it sincerely at the next session.

DISCUSSION STARTER

Share about your experience of God in your life.

SUGGESTED SONG(S) TO TEACH:

1. Make My Heart Your Dwelling Place
2. Taste And See
3. Salvation Belong To Our God

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Session 7: Expanded outline:

New Life in the Holy Spirit

INTRODUCTION:
1. The Father wants all men to have new life. However, oftentimes, the Christianity we
have come in contact with has not been spiritually alive. But today God is renewing
His Church by a fresh outpouring of His Spirit.
2. The Father sent Jesus into the world to bring us new life -- so that we could be given
the source of new life, the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:1 -5)
3. True Christian living is not just a matter of human willpower. We need God.
4. In this session, we will get to understand more about the new life in the Holy Spirit
and the power of the Holy Spirit.
C. Full life in the Spirit begins when we are baptized in the Spirit. Being baptized in
the Spirit allows us to experience fuller life in the Spirit.
1. When we are baptized in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes to us is such a way that we
can experience His presence and see it change us.
 This is not our first reception of the Holy Spirit, but a release of His power that is
already within us through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. But unlike
the other gifts we have received, we have not bothered to open this gift that God
has given to us. Thus, the Holy Spirit did not make much difference on our lives.
 Being baptized in the Spirit releases of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives so
that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit comes to conscious experience
and begins to take effect on an experiential level in our lives.

2. The experiences of the early disciples when the Holy Spirit came upon them:
 Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8, Luke 24:49)
 Disciples do as they are told. They stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit
to be given. (Acts 1:12-14)
 The day of Pentecost (a Jewish Holiday) (Acts 2:1-18, 37-47)
(1) The outpouring of the Holy Spirit created a big stir in Jerusalem. It was an
exciting event: wind, fire, speaking in tongues.
(2) Peter explained they were not drunk but that the Old Testament prophecies
were coming true.
(3) Peter and the other disciples were transformed from frightened, cowardly
men who had earlier deserted Jesus, into bold and powerful apostles who
were able to persuade 3,000 people to faith and repentance.
(4) The Spirit created bonds of love and unity among those new Christians.
(5) After that Christianity spread across the entire Roman Empire. The secret of
Christianity’s success was not the sword but its power to change peoples’
lives (conversion) for the better, and to satisfy a deep spiritual hunger. The
secret of the rapid growth of conversion – the power of the Holy Spirit!
3. We can experience what the early disciples experienced: the same relationship with
Christ; the same transforming power, the same power for speaking the gospel.

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D. When the Holy Spirit comes to someone, he becomes a changed man. (Acts 2 or
Acts 19:1-7) When a person receives the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit makes a difference
and brings a new kind of life. Common tangible changes are:
1. He comes to know God by experience.
 He comes to know God as his Father who loves him and cares for him.
 He experiences God’s love and presence in a new way.
 He experiences God speaking in his heart, teaching and guiding him.
 He comes to know Jesus as his Lord. The lordship of Jesus begins to be the
basic principle for his new way of life.
2. He can pray in a new way:
 His prayer becomes more centered on God, less on himself.
 His prayer is more often prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
 He discovers that he can pray in various ways (singing, meditating, etc.)
3. The Bible, the liturgy, the sacraments come to life.
4. The fruit of the Spirit develops within him (love, joy, peace, etc., -- Gal 5:22-23).
5. He can receive spiritual empowerment to serve God and others. The Holy Spirit also
gives us spiritual gifts to help us individually and as a body.
Explain briefly the spiritual gifts and how you experienced these gifts.
1 Cor 12. (Use ATTACHMENT”A” as a guide.)

E. Receiving the Holy Spirit. In order to receive the new life God is offering us, we must
ask Him for it in faith.
1. Jesus is the only one who can baptize us in the Holy Spirit.
2. We can expect that we will receive it because He said so. (Luke 11:9-13)
(1) Everything God says is true.
(2) He is all powerful and He can do what He says He will do.
3. We just need to ask in faith – meaning, rely on who God is and on what He
promised.
 We need to go beyond simply knowing this in our heads.
 We need to personally take the Lord up on His promises -- to ask Him to give us
what He promised to give us if we ask for it – the Holy Spirit.
 When we do, the Lord will fill us with His Spirit not because we earned it or
deserved it but because Jesus has done for us. He loves us, He wants it for us,
and He wants us to be united with Him.

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F. Next Session you will be able to pray with others to be baptized in the Spirit.
1. Mainly, we will pray with one another. We will pray with you to be baptized in the
Holy Spirit. And when you do, you will be.
 We will call upon the Father in prayer, claiming Christ’s promise to give us the
Holy Spirit.
 At the same time, members of our group and some community members will
pray for you by laying hands on you to ask the Father to fully release the Spirit in
you.
2. What we can expect to happen:
 What happened at the first Pentecost: “And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.) Acts
2:4.
(1) Something did happen. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.
(2) ALL were filled with the Holy Spirit, not only some.
(3) They themselves did something; spoke in tongues.
 We can expect the Lord to touch us personally with the power of His Spirit.

(1) Initial experience varies from individual to individual. Each is unique to God
and God comes to each one in a way He sees best.
(2) Some effects are: experiencing the presence of God in a new way, peace
and joy, tongues, etc.
3. While everyone, even beginners in the Christian life, can be baptized in the Spirit,
we should be aware of some obstacles to receiving God's gifts:
 Feeling unworthy. The truth is, we are all unworthy. No one can make himself
worthy. God wants to give it out of his generosity and love. What is needed, if
we are in sin is repentance. We cannot be fully restored without repentance.
 Doubt, temptation by Satan to not believe and not receive God’s gifts. Satan is
not happy with the reality that you will be coming more united with God. Do not
let doubt or some obstacles prevent you from coming here next week.
 Pride – feeling that we don’t need God's gifts.
 Fear of what others will think.

G. Closing exhortation.
1. The Holy Spirit does everything that Jesus promised. He leads us to all the truth. He
enables us to know God. He recalls to mind the words of Jesus. He helps us to pray.
He gives us assurance, experience, and confidence in being children of God. He
gives us the inspiration, guidance, and power to be His witnesses. WHAT A
STAGGERING, MAGNIFICENT THING THIS IS!
2. Luke 1:45 Be like Mary: the model for Christians receiving in faith the action of the
Holy Spirit into their lives.

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ATTACHMENT “A”
Brief Presentation on Spiritual Gifts (7 only)
1Cor 12:1, 4-11
H. Talks about various commonly experienced spiritual gifts for the building up of the body,
for the common good.
1. These are given as the Spirit wills. God wills it: Lk 11: 10-13
2. Difference from natural abilities.
 Natural abilities can be learned.
 Spiritual gifts are given and are instantly operational at time of need.
Illustration: Healing of doctors vs spiritual healing gift.
B. Some of the common spiritual gifts and their operation/description.

1. TONGUES: Speak in a language unknown to the speaker. Not learned. Just given
the grace to speak it. It is a gift of prayer which most receive when they are baptized
in the Spirit. (Language may exist here on earth, or not at all, but a heavenly
language.) Illustrate with personal experience.

2. PROPHECY: Speaking in the first person a message inspired by the Holy Spirit – a
way for God to speak to us, usually intended for “upbuilding, encouragement, and
consolation” of a Christian group or community (1 Cor 14:3). The person who
prophesies acts as a messenger/mouthpiece of God. He receives some kind of a
sense or conviction that the Lord wants to speak a word through him -- an inspiration
with an urging to speak for God. Illustrate with personal experience of the gift during
a prayer meeting – whether spoken personally by you or someone else speaking
and how it affected or influenced you.

3. WISDOM: A person is granted an insight to God’s plan in a given situation and is

enabled to put this into words of advice or direction. Illustrate by sharing an instance
where it was able to make a deep change in a person’s life (maybe yours).

4. FAITH: Enables a person at a given moment to believe that what he is inspired to

pray for will be granted by the Lord with certainty that excludes all doubt, and
actually calls on the Lord. Illustrate with an actual experience, if possible.

5. HEALING: Enables a person to be a channel of God’s healing.

6. MIRACLES: Enables a person to be a channel of God’s intervention in a very

powerful way like instant healing, or something quite impossible happening. It
manifests without any doubt that God’s hand and power definitely is the cause.

7. DISCERNMENT: A person is granted a special spiritual sense about the source of a

motivation or inspiration or action/activity. Even without much evaluation and
knowledge of complete information, he can sense whether the source is divinely
inspired or not --possibly come from God, the evil one, or simply of human origin.

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ATTACHMENT “B”

The Commitment to Christ

Do you renounce Satan and all wrongdoing?

Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died to free us from sins, and
that He rose to bring new life?
Will you follow Jesus as your Lord?

Commitment Prayer and Prayer to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit

 Lord Jesus Christ, I want to belong to You from now on. I want to be free from the
dominion of darkness and the rule of Satan, and I want to enter into Your
kingdom and be part of Your people.
 I will turn away from all wrongdoing, and I will avoid everything that leads me to
wrongdoing.
 I ask You to forgive all the sins that I have committed.
 I offer my life to You, and I promise to obey You as my Lord.
 I ask You to baptize me on the Holy Spirit.

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