This is a book that is addressed to the Christian community about the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune God, known as the Holy Trinity. It is so titled because this author's objective of this book is to help Christians see that having the Holy Spirit living inside them and working actively in them, is superior to having the Person of Christ's actual physical presence next to them. The first part of his book illustrates what he sees as the "missing part" of the Christian Church, which is the neglect and misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit and what His role in the life of a Christian is. The second part of the book is devoted to how Christians can actually experience the Holy Spirit's work in different parts of their lives, from the objective Scriptures to knowing how to interpret ad relate to His work in one's spirit and in one's circumstances. The third part of the book is meant to show the reader, through stories and illustrations, how to "seek the Holy Spirit" and interact with Him as a Person, tapping into His power.
This book was written to correct many misconceptions about the Holy Spirit and to give the facts on Him. First of all, He is a Person and not a "force," an "it" or spiritual magician who has Christians engage in goofy practices like whoop, holler, jump up and down, or get "slain in the Spirit." This book brought to mind my growing up experiences with peers of "the Jesus movement." Many of hem were sincere, committed Christians whose zeal for Jesus was commendable. Their prayer meetings were full of healings and "words" of knowledge" and words of wisdom." People often were "slain in the Spirit" and spoke in tongues. (Yes, as long as speaking in tongues is done with an interpreter present in an assembly, it is Scriptural but this is a bit off-topic). The author, in his book, says little about these matters, except to affirm that he believes in signs and wonders, especially supernatural "words of knowledge" and "words of wisdom." He gives examples to prove his point, such as the story of how his wife, as a college student, came to realize her need for Jesus as her Savior and Lord. He also gives the example of a Muslim to whom Jesus supernaturally appeared in a dream. Throughout other parts of the book, he gives stories showing God's intimate involvement in his life and in the life of his family. I found myself wistfully wanting to hear supernatural "words of knowledge" and "words of wisdom" for my own life and the lives of my family and church, but I sadly realize that I belong to a local church that, in my opinion and like so many others, seems to be more dominated by tradiion than by the authority of the Scriptures or the Holy Spirit. This is not a put-down of my church, for my church is made up of people like myself, and our leadership comes from us. It just proves this author's point, that not realizing the Holy Spirit's ministry to us robs us and the world around us as we do not have power to witness apart from the Holy Spirit. I found this book easy to read in a literary sense, as well as interesting.But I was challenged and convicted, as far as the author's assertion that one "cannot claim to be Spirit-filled" if one does not witness in face-to-face settings. Really? Where does that leave many people on the autism spectrum who have social differences? Are they doomed to not know the happiness that he refers to? What about those with "nonverbal learning disabilities" or who are nonverbal?
Despite this book's few weaknesses, I recommend it for all Pastors. They need to learn about the Holy Spirit's ministry to them, to their families and to their congregations. They need to see that the revival they long for may just happen if they would let go of traditions that don't put God first, and to be open to the Holy Spirit. This may be risky for them. I recommend this book for every Christian, so that they will be grounded in Who the Holy Spirit is, what His role is in their lives and what His role is not. Our churches may be much more effective if we would be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in our worship services, in our leaderships, in our small groups, and in our own lives. Who knows? We may even see revival.
I received a free copy of this book through Booklook Bloggers in exhange for this honest review. I was not required to give a positive review of this book.
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