Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit

Last night I went to a seminar that had a speaker who talked about the Holy Spirit. The seminar started off with praises and songs for an hour or two. The music kept playing in the background while the charasmatic preachers and teachers spoke to the congregation. At the end of the night all the deacons, male and female, lined up at the front of the altar to give healing. The whole congregation lined up in cue down the middle of the isle. As I walked up the deacons guided us through the crowd. I got up to the front and one man with oil anointed my forehead. Then another man (maybe a deacon) directed me to a heavy-set man who laid his hand on my head and started to prophesy. I couldn't hear what he was saying, nor would I understand if I could because he was speaking Portuguese. I heard one person ranting "Shalalala," from the side of me for a moment. I hear this so often. It doesn't sound like a language at all. So, I ignored it and focused on trying to direct some prayer and receive God's blessings through this man who laid his hands on me. He put one hand on my stomach and I could feel a slight push. I noticed I was leaning back a bit, so I stepped back a little to support myself. After he had finished I opened my eyes and turned toward the crowd and looked around. I saw some people on the floor with white sheets on them, not covering their heads. Then I saw my friend. She pointed out that her sister had fallen down. I could feel that everyone was caught up in the emotion of what was happening. As I walked back to my seat I didn't know what to feel about it. I just kept quiet and felt out of place. For me, it was terrifying.


During the seminar prior to the laying of hands there was a lot of standing. The whole time the music played and people sang, we stood up. I could imagine how weak the knees got. I had to sit down for a while to rub my knees and rest my feet. Some of us made some ear plugs out of tissue paper because the music was so loud. So, I can imagine how after being overcome with emotion or getting into a trance-like phase plus the weakness in the knees can make people fall down. I'm not saying it's not possible that the Holy Spirit can make us feel this way, but people can influence the experience and manipulate the feeling with long periods of loud music and using scripture to back up their speech. I believe that some can experience the Holy Spirit in those situations but it can be fabricated or made by us. The Spirit comes by God, not from our doing. It felt like they were just trying to do it. Satan can use our emotions and stray us away from the real thing. We can be swept up by good words and he can use the scripture against us; speaking truth, yet cleverly distorting it.

I've sensed the Holy Spirit before and there was an overcome of feeling of peace and joy. I've also seen a person be filled with the Spirit with her face full of joy, smiling, and praising God. I've heard a man speak in another language that I haven't heard before. I could identify it as a language, not just jibberish (Shalala). This experience that this church was thrilling but it made me think that this could not be God's work. The Holy Spirit is supposed to bring people peace and joy. Not people acting scary. For me, I wouldn't want to return to a church like that. It just felt wrong. I have the idea that people just return for that feeling again; that feeling they got when they first experienced God in their lives, when they first felt the Holy Spirit in them. People want to be swept up again. Especially sensitive people.

You don't have to go to a ceremony to experience His Spirit. Ravi Zacharias said, "There are some bitter long-term disappoitments in short-term indulgence."

The thing is, just like a relationship, that buzz from the beginning fades. So, people keep chasing that feeling again and again. They are given a placebo that brings them back for more. They try to feel that sense of wonder again by re-creating that same experience. The danger with this is that as these ceremonies and rituals are woven into the fabric of one's routine, they're soul is captured by a belief that is rooted in falsehood. It's a human means of getting close to God.

John MacArthurt said, "Keep telling them a lie and they'll believe you. But start telling them the truth, and they'll either come after you or leave."

Note:  Just be careful about your emotions!