THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
written by Fr. Yohanes Indrakusuma O.Carm
(translated from the Indonesian version)
1. The role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian Life
Although every day we make a sign of the cross and said, "In the name of the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Spirit", but we still do not know the Holy Spirit that we mentioned every time. Of course we recognize the image of the Father through pictures or drawings that depict the Father as an old father with a bright face and compassion-love. We know the Son through all sorts of paintings, sculptures, icons, and so on. But how about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit does not have a face.
In the Bible it is not mentioned that the Holy Spirit has a face and there is no mention about him that reveal a look that can be compared with humans. In all languages, his name is a common name. In Hebrew, he is called Ruah, in Greek called pneuma, and in Latin called Spiritus. All names or terms are borrowed from a reference to the general elements of nature, namely: wind, breath, and air.
The Holy Spirit really is a private, mysterious, enigmatic; and you hear his voice, know that He passes by because the wonderful signs that He leaves behind, but we do not know where he comes from nor where He is going (cf. Jn. 3:8). Therefore, we will never be able to reach the Holy Spirit with our thoughts and His works often transcend all our understanding. Even so, it is clearly stated his defining role in our lives:
· "No one, who can confess: "Jesus is Lord ", except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3)
· We do not know how to pray, but the Spirit helps our weakness and He who prays in us (cf. Rm 8:26).
· Before Jesus ascended into heaven He left behind His message, "Stay in the city until you are baptized with the Holy Spirit, and ye shall receive power ...." (Acts 1:4-8).
To be able to recognize Him we need humbleness and lively faith. Moore over, this Holy Spirit is the One that always inspires the Church. He is the One that develops the Church. Where ever there is the Holy Spirit, there the Church is formed, constructed, and developed. Conversely, where there is the Church, there is the Holy Spirit. He too, is the One who empower every Christians, and do great works in them. When the Holy Spirit is poured over men, men are brought back to life; even they were dead and dried up like the dry bones beforehand (cf. Ezekiel 37). Therefore, the Holy Spirit’s duty is to turn man back to life, turn his heart, soften the hard, straighten the crooked, warm the cold, and turn the hearts of the "rock" and replace it with a heart of flesh, that can feel and can love (cf. Ez 36:26).
The Holy Spirit always works both in the Church and through her members. He always works through someone: to master him and change him. He also shows His presence through the signs of wonders, but all His work always comes from the inner depths of man. There man recognizes him. "You know Him, for He lives in you" (Jn 14:17). The symbols used for the Holy Spirit (fire, water, wind) includes natural elements, the elements of the universe, and does not have a specific face. All of these indicate a presence that pervades all things, which fills all and always grows into the inner.
2. Living in the Spirit
When the Holy Spirit is the Presence pervades all things, even appearing as a Personality in ourselves, we are supposed to know Him, as expressed in the Gospel of St. John above, "You know Him, for He lives in you" (Jn 14:17) .
Saint Paul was aware of this profusely. He realized that the Holy Spirit should work in ourselves and only thus can we be true Christians, when we are guided by the Spirit of God Himself. Therefore, it is not enough for us to just knowing that the Holy Spirit is present, but we must submit ourselves to Him to allow Him working in us. When He truly works in us, we will experience Him.
For the ancient Christians, the experience of the Holy Spirit was common ones. For them, firstly the Holy Spirit was an experience, only then as a doctrine, but to us quite often the opposite happens. The Holy Spirit is more of an understanding , we never experience His presence nor His works. So, it is no surprise that the lives of many Christians seem to have no power nor strength.
In the life of the first Christians, the experience of the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit is a normal case. When the Christians in Jerusalem prayed asking for courage, "When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness." (Acts 4:31).
Some examples:
· To express the purity of Stephen, Scripture says that he was "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5). The Holy Spirit was what gives a lot of grace and power to him, so he could perform signs and wonders (cf. Acts 6:8). He was also filled with wisdom, so that the Jews "are not willing to fight his wisdom and the Spirit drives him speak" (Acts 6:10).
· Philip was ordered by the Holy Spirit to reach out to the car the Ethiopians, "Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go there and approach the car!'" (Acts 8:29).
· Paul and Barnabas were set aside by for the Holy Spirit: "On a day when they may serve the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: 'Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me, for the task that I set aside for them'" (Acts 13:2).
· Probably for most of us, these examples sounds like a fairy-tale but today are a lot of people, who understand and are open to the works of the Holy Spirit, experiencing things like that.
From those examples it is obvious, there were a lot of things done by the Holy Spirit in the first Christians and through them by His gifts. There are many and infinite numbers of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit Himself does not limit His manifestations. Saint Paul in his letter to the congregation in Corinth mentions the availability of varied gifts of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7-11). However, there are many more of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are not written by St. Paul. But the greatest gift is to experience God's own love, expressed through a variety of gift or the other way.
When the Holy Spirit is present and works actively in a person, it can be said that the person is living in the Spirit. So, we earnestly live in the Spirit when we experience that the Holy Spirit is actively working in us, as St. Paul said in his letter to the church in Rome 8:14, "The sons of God are those who are moved by the Spirit of God . "Indeed, all of these were a reasonable and normal way of life for ancient Christians.
Yet today many Christians have not been living in the Spirit. We are often taught and probably also teach about Christ, about our Christian obligations. We intend to do so, but many do not have power and strength to do it heartily, many are not able to appreciate the Christian ideals. Many also do not have a real relationship with Christ, or experience His presence and works. We often hear about God's love for us, but do not experience it. It is just like a hungry person hears stories about good food and the abundance of it, but cannot enjoy it.
However, when a person earnestly lives in the Spirit, then his life would be different. He knows and experiences that the Holy Spirit is in him. He does not only listen and believes in God's love, but he also experiences it, although everything happens in faith. He is not only hearing and seeing the delicious food but also enjoying it. When this happens, our lives will change deeply: we will be able to earnestly praise God freely; the Scripture becomes even more alive for us, Jesus becomes more and more apparent; peace and joy be more profound: we become happy, and even prayer will grow deeper. If so, life will become more meaningful and nervous breakdown, inner wounds and soul diseases will disappear.
Live like this should be something normal, common, for Christians. Not to say that all will experience it, but it should become the norm or measure of Christians’ life. There are many who want to live in the Spirit, but do not know how. How to find a contact or a living relationship with the Holy Spirit that enables them to experience His presence?
Perhaps one asked himself, "Is it possible to have such experience or living in such a way of life for us nowadays? Is the possibility open for us who usually are very busy, who are afflicted with all sorts of issues?" Without the slightest doubt all of those can be answered positively, that for all of us all those are possible. Also, for us, right now, for those of you reading this, that possibility is open for you.
And living in the Spirit will begin when we receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is true that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Spirit has a close relationship with the Charismatic Renewal. However, here we need to distinguish the Charismatic Renewal in terms of the sociological and theological. In terms of the sociological it has indeed very limited meaning, known as Prayer Meeting (in Indonesian: “Persekutuan Doa” or PD) with a special style, many noises, and it is not for everyone. So, not everyone should join the “PD”. From the view of the theological side, the renewal is nothing other than the renewal of the Holy Spirit, who would bring to us, that our whole life depends on Him, and that we all need to be open to His work and all His gifts. The openness to the will of the Holy Spirit and His grace is all important and necessary for all Christians. Therefore, for the latter I prefer to call it by the term of Living in the Renewal of the Spirit, as the term emphasized more on the renewal of life than just the charisma, although the charisma is also important.
3. Experiencing the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
To understand what is meant by the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit let us see what happened to the people who have experienced it. The Scripture also gives some examples of this, for example, when Paul arrived in Ephesus and met with several students. After talking to them, Paul felt that they were still lacking of something and they were asked, "Have you received the Holy Spirit when you believed?" From their answers, Paul knew that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, that they had not been full Christians and he began to talk about this, "On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit descended upon them and they began to speak in tongues and prophesied "(Acts 19:1-6).
At that time they knew that they received the Holy Spirit and Paul and his followers already know. The same thing we found on the occasion of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48), even in those in Samaria (cf. Acts 8:18). So, when a person experiences an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, people will know it. Nowadays many people are experiencing similar things.
So, what is the true meaning of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Actually it is nothing more than the activation and actualization of the fruits of the Sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation, which in the lives of many are often not much effective. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a sacrament, it is just sort of intercession prayer to activate the already received grace of baptism.
When the grace of baptism has earnestly been activated, people will experience the presence of the Holy Spirit which is truly working in them. And this is a starting point of a new life. So, it is indeed clear that such experiences already happened since the beginning of the Church, it's just that many people have forgotten them. Currently it is rediscovered by the Life Renewal in the Spirit with a new dimension which is of a deep consciousness that these experiences are open to all Christians who earnestly believe.
So, if it can be said that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the releasing power of the Holy Spirit we receive in the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Chrismation in particular. This is nothing more than the activation of the grace of baptism.
Everyone experiences the outpouring of the Holy Spirit differently. Some are experiencing much, others are very few. One might feel deeply touched, others barely feel anything. Most have only experienced a deep peace and great love of God. Actually whatever one experiences at that time is not that important, although those experiences can be a good asset for a renewed life. The most important thing is that there are changes in the one’s life because of the presence of the Holy Spirit who is renewed in him. Because of this renewed presence of the Holy Spirit, there is a new relationship between him and God.
When someone receives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit creates changes in him, one person could be more than the other. His life becomes different, because of his relationship with God has also changed. He enters into a new relationship with God, experiencing His ever new presence. He will also experience the Holy Spirit works in him. These changes can be:
· Liberation from all kinds of sins bondage and weaknesses.
· Healing of all kinds of inner stress, fear, and anxieties.
· New strength to embrace life as a Christian, so that the virtues will grow in him.
· New strength to overcome all kinds of temptations and weaknesses that until now could not be overcome.
· Greater joy of living, discovering the true meaning of life.
· Deep happiness and great joy.
· Awareness that he is really loved by God and that God is alive and earnestly close to him.
· The Holy Scripture also becomes more alive, more interesting, so his passion for the Bible is increased.
· From all of these consciousness rise up a desire to praise God spontaneously.
· And finally, day after day the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives will be more obvious in our lives, namely: kindness, patience, love, tenderness of heart, self-control, humility, and so forth (cf. Gal 5:23; 1 Cor. 13:4-7 ).
In other words, to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the first step of a new life, life in the Spirit, life in the powerful service. This is just the beginning, not the peak. Which allows one to live and work in the Spirit is the renewed presence of the Spirit, who do all things in us. It is indeed He who does all things that we cannot do ourselves.
So, receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit does not show a purity, chastity but it is only the beginning, a new path of holiness. This also means the beginning of a new life that is centered on Christ, in the strength of the Holy Spirit, a happier, more peaceful, more harmonious, more sacred life. This means also works that rely on the Holy Spirit and His power, which then usually also produce more fruits. Consequently, people who live and work in the Spirit will grow more quickly in love and their works in building the Kingdom of God in this world are even more effective. They can do things that cannot be done by others that are less open to the Holy Spirit.
This development follows various patterns. Some receive dramatically changed experiences until at a certain point. These people experience from the so-called peak experience or critical experience, meaning a rather deep experience that change the direction of their lives immediately. These changes occur rapidly once it reaches a certain time, but then later they follow the normal laws of growth, which is followed by ups and downs, light and dark. Others, perhaps, experience more gradual changes and development, there are no surprising changes, but more constant, more steady ones. I think in this case each one of us should follow our own path, and submit ourselves to the guidance of God who knows what is good for each of us.
How can we get this Renewed Life in the Spirit? There are certain conditions:
1. We must repent, must earnestly willing to change, willing to face a new life according to the will of God. We should be willing to change the direction of our lives, leaving all things contrary to the will of God. In short, leaving all sins.
2. Believe earnestly that it is all possible, that God is able to release the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
3. Believe that God had promised the Holy Spirit, and truly God longs to give us His Spirit (cf. Lk 11:9-13).
4. Believe that this is by grace alone, not provided because of one’s merits or because he is worthy to receive it, therefore this cannot be obtained because of our deeds.
5. However, believe and certain that God would grant this to anyone who believe and ask Him.
Although theoretically one will be able to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit when he requests it directly to God, and it sometimes does happened, but in reality we rarely meet people who have such lively faith, so most people receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the help of others, or in the context of a retreat. Therefore an initial retreat is one of the means to prepare and obtain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
(translated from the Indonesian version)
1. The role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian Life
Although every day we make a sign of the cross and said, "In the name of the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Spirit", but we still do not know the Holy Spirit that we mentioned every time. Of course we recognize the image of the Father through pictures or drawings that depict the Father as an old father with a bright face and compassion-love. We know the Son through all sorts of paintings, sculptures, icons, and so on. But how about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit does not have a face.
In the Bible it is not mentioned that the Holy Spirit has a face and there is no mention about him that reveal a look that can be compared with humans. In all languages, his name is a common name. In Hebrew, he is called Ruah, in Greek called pneuma, and in Latin called Spiritus. All names or terms are borrowed from a reference to the general elements of nature, namely: wind, breath, and air.
The Holy Spirit really is a private, mysterious, enigmatic; and you hear his voice, know that He passes by because the wonderful signs that He leaves behind, but we do not know where he comes from nor where He is going (cf. Jn. 3:8). Therefore, we will never be able to reach the Holy Spirit with our thoughts and His works often transcend all our understanding. Even so, it is clearly stated his defining role in our lives:
· "No one, who can confess: "Jesus is Lord ", except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3)
· We do not know how to pray, but the Spirit helps our weakness and He who prays in us (cf. Rm 8:26).
· Before Jesus ascended into heaven He left behind His message, "Stay in the city until you are baptized with the Holy Spirit, and ye shall receive power ...." (Acts 1:4-8).
To be able to recognize Him we need humbleness and lively faith. Moore over, this Holy Spirit is the One that always inspires the Church. He is the One that develops the Church. Where ever there is the Holy Spirit, there the Church is formed, constructed, and developed. Conversely, where there is the Church, there is the Holy Spirit. He too, is the One who empower every Christians, and do great works in them. When the Holy Spirit is poured over men, men are brought back to life; even they were dead and dried up like the dry bones beforehand (cf. Ezekiel 37). Therefore, the Holy Spirit’s duty is to turn man back to life, turn his heart, soften the hard, straighten the crooked, warm the cold, and turn the hearts of the "rock" and replace it with a heart of flesh, that can feel and can love (cf. Ez 36:26).
The Holy Spirit always works both in the Church and through her members. He always works through someone: to master him and change him. He also shows His presence through the signs of wonders, but all His work always comes from the inner depths of man. There man recognizes him. "You know Him, for He lives in you" (Jn 14:17). The symbols used for the Holy Spirit (fire, water, wind) includes natural elements, the elements of the universe, and does not have a specific face. All of these indicate a presence that pervades all things, which fills all and always grows into the inner.
2. Living in the Spirit
When the Holy Spirit is the Presence pervades all things, even appearing as a Personality in ourselves, we are supposed to know Him, as expressed in the Gospel of St. John above, "You know Him, for He lives in you" (Jn 14:17) .
Saint Paul was aware of this profusely. He realized that the Holy Spirit should work in ourselves and only thus can we be true Christians, when we are guided by the Spirit of God Himself. Therefore, it is not enough for us to just knowing that the Holy Spirit is present, but we must submit ourselves to Him to allow Him working in us. When He truly works in us, we will experience Him.
For the ancient Christians, the experience of the Holy Spirit was common ones. For them, firstly the Holy Spirit was an experience, only then as a doctrine, but to us quite often the opposite happens. The Holy Spirit is more of an understanding , we never experience His presence nor His works. So, it is no surprise that the lives of many Christians seem to have no power nor strength.
In the life of the first Christians, the experience of the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit is a normal case. When the Christians in Jerusalem prayed asking for courage, "When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness." (Acts 4:31).
Some examples:
· To express the purity of Stephen, Scripture says that he was "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5). The Holy Spirit was what gives a lot of grace and power to him, so he could perform signs and wonders (cf. Acts 6:8). He was also filled with wisdom, so that the Jews "are not willing to fight his wisdom and the Spirit drives him speak" (Acts 6:10).
· Philip was ordered by the Holy Spirit to reach out to the car the Ethiopians, "Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go there and approach the car!'" (Acts 8:29).
· Paul and Barnabas were set aside by for the Holy Spirit: "On a day when they may serve the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: 'Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me, for the task that I set aside for them'" (Acts 13:2).
· Probably for most of us, these examples sounds like a fairy-tale but today are a lot of people, who understand and are open to the works of the Holy Spirit, experiencing things like that.
From those examples it is obvious, there were a lot of things done by the Holy Spirit in the first Christians and through them by His gifts. There are many and infinite numbers of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit Himself does not limit His manifestations. Saint Paul in his letter to the congregation in Corinth mentions the availability of varied gifts of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7-11). However, there are many more of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are not written by St. Paul. But the greatest gift is to experience God's own love, expressed through a variety of gift or the other way.
When the Holy Spirit is present and works actively in a person, it can be said that the person is living in the Spirit. So, we earnestly live in the Spirit when we experience that the Holy Spirit is actively working in us, as St. Paul said in his letter to the church in Rome 8:14, "The sons of God are those who are moved by the Spirit of God . "Indeed, all of these were a reasonable and normal way of life for ancient Christians.
Yet today many Christians have not been living in the Spirit. We are often taught and probably also teach about Christ, about our Christian obligations. We intend to do so, but many do not have power and strength to do it heartily, many are not able to appreciate the Christian ideals. Many also do not have a real relationship with Christ, or experience His presence and works. We often hear about God's love for us, but do not experience it. It is just like a hungry person hears stories about good food and the abundance of it, but cannot enjoy it.
However, when a person earnestly lives in the Spirit, then his life would be different. He knows and experiences that the Holy Spirit is in him. He does not only listen and believes in God's love, but he also experiences it, although everything happens in faith. He is not only hearing and seeing the delicious food but also enjoying it. When this happens, our lives will change deeply: we will be able to earnestly praise God freely; the Scripture becomes even more alive for us, Jesus becomes more and more apparent; peace and joy be more profound: we become happy, and even prayer will grow deeper. If so, life will become more meaningful and nervous breakdown, inner wounds and soul diseases will disappear.
Live like this should be something normal, common, for Christians. Not to say that all will experience it, but it should become the norm or measure of Christians’ life. There are many who want to live in the Spirit, but do not know how. How to find a contact or a living relationship with the Holy Spirit that enables them to experience His presence?
Perhaps one asked himself, "Is it possible to have such experience or living in such a way of life for us nowadays? Is the possibility open for us who usually are very busy, who are afflicted with all sorts of issues?" Without the slightest doubt all of those can be answered positively, that for all of us all those are possible. Also, for us, right now, for those of you reading this, that possibility is open for you.
And living in the Spirit will begin when we receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is true that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Spirit has a close relationship with the Charismatic Renewal. However, here we need to distinguish the Charismatic Renewal in terms of the sociological and theological. In terms of the sociological it has indeed very limited meaning, known as Prayer Meeting (in Indonesian: “Persekutuan Doa” or PD) with a special style, many noises, and it is not for everyone. So, not everyone should join the “PD”. From the view of the theological side, the renewal is nothing other than the renewal of the Holy Spirit, who would bring to us, that our whole life depends on Him, and that we all need to be open to His work and all His gifts. The openness to the will of the Holy Spirit and His grace is all important and necessary for all Christians. Therefore, for the latter I prefer to call it by the term of Living in the Renewal of the Spirit, as the term emphasized more on the renewal of life than just the charisma, although the charisma is also important.
3. Experiencing the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
To understand what is meant by the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit let us see what happened to the people who have experienced it. The Scripture also gives some examples of this, for example, when Paul arrived in Ephesus and met with several students. After talking to them, Paul felt that they were still lacking of something and they were asked, "Have you received the Holy Spirit when you believed?" From their answers, Paul knew that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, that they had not been full Christians and he began to talk about this, "On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit descended upon them and they began to speak in tongues and prophesied "(Acts 19:1-6).
At that time they knew that they received the Holy Spirit and Paul and his followers already know. The same thing we found on the occasion of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48), even in those in Samaria (cf. Acts 8:18). So, when a person experiences an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, people will know it. Nowadays many people are experiencing similar things.
So, what is the true meaning of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Actually it is nothing more than the activation and actualization of the fruits of the Sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation, which in the lives of many are often not much effective. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a sacrament, it is just sort of intercession prayer to activate the already received grace of baptism.
When the grace of baptism has earnestly been activated, people will experience the presence of the Holy Spirit which is truly working in them. And this is a starting point of a new life. So, it is indeed clear that such experiences already happened since the beginning of the Church, it's just that many people have forgotten them. Currently it is rediscovered by the Life Renewal in the Spirit with a new dimension which is of a deep consciousness that these experiences are open to all Christians who earnestly believe.
So, if it can be said that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the releasing power of the Holy Spirit we receive in the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Chrismation in particular. This is nothing more than the activation of the grace of baptism.
Everyone experiences the outpouring of the Holy Spirit differently. Some are experiencing much, others are very few. One might feel deeply touched, others barely feel anything. Most have only experienced a deep peace and great love of God. Actually whatever one experiences at that time is not that important, although those experiences can be a good asset for a renewed life. The most important thing is that there are changes in the one’s life because of the presence of the Holy Spirit who is renewed in him. Because of this renewed presence of the Holy Spirit, there is a new relationship between him and God.
When someone receives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit creates changes in him, one person could be more than the other. His life becomes different, because of his relationship with God has also changed. He enters into a new relationship with God, experiencing His ever new presence. He will also experience the Holy Spirit works in him. These changes can be:
· Liberation from all kinds of sins bondage and weaknesses.
· Healing of all kinds of inner stress, fear, and anxieties.
· New strength to embrace life as a Christian, so that the virtues will grow in him.
· New strength to overcome all kinds of temptations and weaknesses that until now could not be overcome.
· Greater joy of living, discovering the true meaning of life.
· Deep happiness and great joy.
· Awareness that he is really loved by God and that God is alive and earnestly close to him.
· The Holy Scripture also becomes more alive, more interesting, so his passion for the Bible is increased.
· From all of these consciousness rise up a desire to praise God spontaneously.
· And finally, day after day the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives will be more obvious in our lives, namely: kindness, patience, love, tenderness of heart, self-control, humility, and so forth (cf. Gal 5:23; 1 Cor. 13:4-7 ).
In other words, to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the first step of a new life, life in the Spirit, life in the powerful service. This is just the beginning, not the peak. Which allows one to live and work in the Spirit is the renewed presence of the Spirit, who do all things in us. It is indeed He who does all things that we cannot do ourselves.
So, receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit does not show a purity, chastity but it is only the beginning, a new path of holiness. This also means the beginning of a new life that is centered on Christ, in the strength of the Holy Spirit, a happier, more peaceful, more harmonious, more sacred life. This means also works that rely on the Holy Spirit and His power, which then usually also produce more fruits. Consequently, people who live and work in the Spirit will grow more quickly in love and their works in building the Kingdom of God in this world are even more effective. They can do things that cannot be done by others that are less open to the Holy Spirit.
This development follows various patterns. Some receive dramatically changed experiences until at a certain point. These people experience from the so-called peak experience or critical experience, meaning a rather deep experience that change the direction of their lives immediately. These changes occur rapidly once it reaches a certain time, but then later they follow the normal laws of growth, which is followed by ups and downs, light and dark. Others, perhaps, experience more gradual changes and development, there are no surprising changes, but more constant, more steady ones. I think in this case each one of us should follow our own path, and submit ourselves to the guidance of God who knows what is good for each of us.
How can we get this Renewed Life in the Spirit? There are certain conditions:
1. We must repent, must earnestly willing to change, willing to face a new life according to the will of God. We should be willing to change the direction of our lives, leaving all things contrary to the will of God. In short, leaving all sins.
2. Believe earnestly that it is all possible, that God is able to release the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
3. Believe that God had promised the Holy Spirit, and truly God longs to give us His Spirit (cf. Lk 11:9-13).
4. Believe that this is by grace alone, not provided because of one’s merits or because he is worthy to receive it, therefore this cannot be obtained because of our deeds.
5. However, believe and certain that God would grant this to anyone who believe and ask Him.
Although theoretically one will be able to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit when he requests it directly to God, and it sometimes does happened, but in reality we rarely meet people who have such lively faith, so most people receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the help of others, or in the context of a retreat. Therefore an initial retreat is one of the means to prepare and obtain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.