Nearly 2000 years after Pentecost, the church still has not received the latter rain. Why is God waiting? Or is He ready to pour out the Holy Spirit, but we’re not? Who is waiting on whom? Discover what it takes to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Not just for a moment. Filled until Jesus returns.

GYC 2011: Fill Me

<p>Nearly 2000 years after Pentecost, the church still has not received the latter rain. Why is God waiting? Or is He ready to pour out the Holy Spirit, but we’re not? Who is waiting on whom? Discover what it takes to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Not just for a moment. Filled until Jesus returns.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Generation. Youth. Christ. (GYC)

Wes Peppers

GYC 2011 Seminar: If I Go, He Will Come

What On Earth Is HE Waiting On, Part 1

What On Earth Is HE Waiting On, Part 2

What On Earth Are YOU Waiting On?

What On Earth Are WE Waiting On?


This message was presented at the GYC 2011 conference. For other resources like this, visit us online at gycweb.org. It's supposed to be Q&A time now. So maybe you have a question, maybe you, about the presentation, maybe you have a question about anything from the Bible, I think this microphone is set up for that. And maybe we'll take a few questions and then the organizers asked us to spend some time in prayer.

So after we take some time for questions, we will break off into groups of 2 and then we'll pray together. And then we'll be out for lunch. So does anyone have a question? If you do, just come to the microphone. This is where I get nervous because then no 1 comes.

So please come with a question. All right. Thank you. My question is, in the Adventist church, there is a big focus on baptizing. But I'm wondering why, like in the times of the apostles, they were baptized and then they prayed, laid hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit.

Why is that not being done after baptism in our church? That's a good question. I think that it's important. 1 of the things that I also find that I'll add to that is that many people today, when they are baptized, that they're also not praying daily for the Holy Spirit themselves. And Jesus said, ask for the Holy Spirit.

And I'll tell you, in my own life, when I pray for the Holy Spirit consistently in my life, I can sense a huge difference. I can sense that he works in my life in a different way than he had before. And so 1 thing, let me say before I address the issue of the church, is that you yourself have to daily be praying for the Holy Spirit. Jesus said ask. He's not going to give it unless you ask.

And we have to ask and we have to make sure that all the obstructions in our life are clear so that He can fill us with the Holy Spirit. So, our tendency at times is to put the responsibility or the blame on the church. Well, friends, who is the church? We are the church, right? Every believer is a part of God's church, right?

And so sometimes we can say, well, why didn't the pastor put hands on that person and ask them to be filled with the Holy Spirit? And in my own, when I've baptized people in the past, I always have a prayer for them. I put my arm around them and I pray for them and I ask God's spirit to lead their life. So I think many pastors are doing it, but it's also our own responsibility to go to that person and pray with them and ask God to continue to fill their heart with the Holy Spirit. And so we, as the church, when we think of the church, we think of pastors and elders and conference presidents, but the body of Christ is the church, amen?

So it's not their responsibility, it's Our responsibility. Does that make sense? Alright. Yes? I think because of the recording they want you to talk into the mic.

When the Bible says that the gospel will be preached to all the world, do you think that, like, when everyone's supposed to hear the Gospel before Jesus comes again, is it the Adventist message that they're supposed to be hearing, or is it just the Gospel message in general that Jesus died and rose again? What message is it referring to? Well, I hope that the Adventist message is preaching that Christ died. You know what I mean? But in the Bible, it talks about in Revelation 14, you find a very interesting scenario.

I know you guys know this, but I just want to break it for you. In the first 5 verses of Revelation chapter 14, you find the people of the end time. If you want to know what God's people will look like in the last days, Revelation 14, verses 1-5 tell you. Then, verses 6-13 talk about the message of the end time. So you have the people of the end, the message of the end, and then you have verse 14 and on, the end, which is the second coming of Jesus.

So the message that's preached in the last days, yes, it is the Gospel, but it's the everlasting Gospel which encompasses the entire 3 Angels messages. And so the complete message, the 3 Angels messages, everything that's in there, everything that we believe, the 28 fundamental doctrines of the church, you can trace in Revelation 14. I wish I had time to do that. Why do we preach a certain order in our evangelistic series? The blueprint for preaching an evangelistic series, the subjects and the subject order, is actually found in the 3 angels Messages.

Very, very powerful, but that's a whole other topic. And we won't do that today. But yes, it'll be the Advent message, the 3 Angels' Message, and all the world. Yes, ma'am? You're gonna have to talk louder.

Say it 1 more time. Talk louder. Sorry, I didn't understand your presentation, but it's a question in my head. How exactly do you test the impressions of the Spirit? Say it 1 more time.

How do you test the impressions of the Spirit? Okay, that's a great question. If you look in John 16, she said, how do you test the impressions of the Holy Spirit? Is that right? How do you know if it's an impression from the Holy Spirit or from the devil?

Or if it's just your own thought, right? 1 thing, the main thing is that any impression you receive from the Holy Spirit should never go against what the Word of God already says. In other words, I've actually counseled with people, I've actually counseled with a man before who was married. And he and his wife were having marital problems. And he told me that he met this other girl at work.

And he said that, You know, I can't get along with my wife, and I sincerely believe that God is leading me to be with this other woman. That's what He told me. I mean, not every example is that clear cut and dry, but that's a very good example. Now, does God's Word endorse that? Yes or no?

So would the Holy Spirit ever influence you or impress you to do something that was contrary to the Word of God? Not at all. So John chapter 16 says very simply, let me look here at verse 13. He says, However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak." So the Holy Spirit will never tell you anything that is contrary to the Word of God. Does that make sense?

So that's the number 1 test is the Word. You know, the Holy Spirit only works... If you have the Holy Spirit without the Word of God, if you try to use the Spirit without the Word of God, you have Pentecostalism. Does that make sense? Because they want to go by what the Spirit says, not by what the Word says.

If you go by the Word without the Spirit, then you ultimately have legalism. Does that make sense? Or fanaticism. So it takes the Spirit to understand the Word, and it takes the Word to be open to the Spirit's impressions. Does that make sense?

So the number 1 test that I can tell you is, the Holy Spirit will never influence. So If you feel like the Holy Spirit is impressing you with something, and you're not sure if it's from Him, then you need to study the Bible until you find the answer. Because the Bible will address every situation in life with some kind of principle. Now, what's the difference between an impulse and the Holy Spirit's conviction? What's the difference between those 2?

Very simply this, that an impulse is something that comes and goes. Does that make sense? You know, for instance, I may go to the store, and I may see this really nice piece of cake on the counter, and I want to buy that cake, and I'm what? I receive an impulse. Now is that probably the Holy Spirit convicting me, yes or no?

Probably not, okay? Because I walk out of the store and does that conviction continue to grow within me? Yes or no? That I should go back and buy that cake? Not at all.

But if the Holy Spirit's convicting me to, let's say, come to AAFCO, the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, And I may have that thought, and if that thought is from the Holy Spirit, is that in harmony with God's Word, yes or no? Sure, because Jesus said what? Go and preach the Gospel, right? So if I get training to do that, that's in harmony with God's Word. Now how do I know if it's my own thought or the Holy Spirit's thought?

If it's my thought, it's probably going to go away. It's going to fade in a short amount of time. If it's God's thought, if it's conviction from Him, it's going to continue to grow. And the only time it will stop growing is when I what? When I fight against it.

When I resist it. When I say, no, I'm not going. There's a difference when the Holy Spirit convicts you. There's a difference in saying, I'm going to pray about this, I'm going to study and continue to see if God continues to convict me. There's a difference in that and saying, no, I'm not going to do it.

Does that make sense? If it is God's Spirit and you say no, then it will go away. But you're grieving the Holy Spirit, right? But if I continue to study, God will continue to help me grow in that and the conviction will deepen. Does that make sense?

So, For instance, if I'm thinking about dating someone, if I'm thinking about a relationship with a young man or a young woman, and you're trying to discover if this is God's will, you need to listen to what everyone else is telling you, not just your friends who tell you what you want to hear, but your parents and godly wise counselors that can guide you in that decision. And do not jump into a relationship. Do not rush into something. Because what happens when you rush into something, a relationship that's not the will of God, you do things that are really dumb. You know what I'm talking about?

If you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about, right? You make mistakes, and then you regret that, and then who's the first person we want to blame? God, why did you allow this to happen? Well, it's because you didn't follow God's plan, and you didn't follow His directions. Does that make sense?

So if there's someone you have your eye on, you're thinking, maybe this is the person God asked for me, don't rush into it. Let time develop, and see if that conviction deepens as you pray twice as much and study God's words twice as much. Because we're told, Ellen White says, if you're thinking about marriage, whatever amount of time you were praying you should pray twice as much, right? Alright. Does that answer your question?

Alright, let's see what time it is. Maybe we have time for 1 more question. Anyone else? Going once? Yes.

Sorry, I didn't get the answer. But, so, in the waiting period, because it seems as if that's truly a joke, in our organization, we're not really trying to joke. But is that waiting just a state of mind? Or is it... No, it's not a state of mind.

It's not like, well, I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for God. The waiting time should be an active pursuit of Him. Doing all the things that I talked about, humbling our hearts, spending time in His word every day, praying for His spirit, spending time in His presence, asking Him to transform our lives. It's an act of pursuit. All right.

At this time, I'm trying to follow the program as best as I can. We're supposed to pray together. And I think this is a wonderful thing. And so what I'd like to do, technically you're supposed to be here until noon. So what I'd like to do is if you find a partner, and let's do this, let's find somebody that you don't know, okay, like not your best friend sitting beside you.

Find someone else that you don't know and let's begin to pray. Amen? Let's get in the habit of praying together and beginning to ask God to humble us, ask Him to change us, ask Him to forgive our sins, ask Him to fill us with His Spirit. And maybe you have an issue that you're struggling with. You want to share it with that person and ask them to pray for you about that issue and do the same thing for them.

If you're comfortable doing that. If you're not, you can just say, I have an issue. Please pray for it. But let's find someone that you do not know, and let's spend 10-15 minutes, 5 10-15 minutes, praying with each other and for each other. Can we do that?

And then we're going to be back at what time is it? 245? Or 215? 215 I think. So, please come back if you don't.

I know that I talk too much and too long. But I hope to see you back here at 215. We're going to go through the sanctuary. It's an exciting study. You're going to love it.

So let's pray and then you can go whenever you're finished praying. Please when you finish praying don't start talking. Get up and go out and talk in the hall, but allow the people that are still praying privacy to do that. And equip young people to be vibrant, Bible-based and Christ-centered Christians. To download or purchase other resources, visit us online at gycweb.org.

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GYC 2011 Seminar: If I Go, He Will Come

What On Earth Is HE Waiting On, Part 2

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What On Earth Is HE Waiting On, Part 1

What On Earth Is HE Waiting On, Part 2

What On Earth Are YOU Waiting On?

What On Earth Are WE Waiting On?

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