Alpha-video08.2-transcript
The Alpha Course is called the “Inspiration Course” (启发 qifa 课程) on the Chinese language video.
Title: Who is the Holy Spirit (2 of 2)
(TR puts some wood in the heater at the weekend retreat) The Bibles stories about people being filled by the Holy Spirit at baptism are very Beautiful. TR tells about the first time he experienced filling by the Holy Spirit. He was at a baptism during his last year of college. While waiting, the Holy Spirit was poured out on him in a big way. My heart was deeply moved and I couldn’t stop crying. Tears of repentance and thankfulness were flowing. I cried in pain for half an hour, feeling like a well of dirty water inside was pouring out of me. Eventually it was all gone. Then sweet water started flowing out and I began to laugh. Later I realized that this was the joy of the Holy Spirit. I stayed in this condition for about 2 hours: “Even though I knew people were watching me, I did not pay any attention. I was completely wrapped up in the joy of the Holy Spirit. The mighty love of Jesus was filling me. There are absolutely no words to describe this wonder!”
1.23 (Image of fire) TR After that I made a 180 degree turn, 有了一百八十度的更新, I was thirsty for God’s word, going to meetings, and loved praying. The central focus of my life (我一生的重心) had changed. God gave us the Holy Spirit to always ways be with us, and to comfort and help us. He can give us the strength to change, to live a more wonderful life.
2:21 (Hosts walking along a mountain ridge) TR: Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the “Advocate”. In Greek that is the “Paraclete” which means “the one called alongside to help”. LZ: When a small boat in a storm runs into huge waves, when their lives are at risk, ( 岌岌可危时 ), people will send a large ship to escort (护送) them back to port. What that large does is similar to what the Paraclete or Advocate does. The Advocate receives Jesus’s call to come help us as our Comforter.
2:58 Question | What do you think the qualities of a good friend should be
The quality of a friend is that no matter how bad( 烂 làn ) I am, he can tolerate it….Eating, we can eat together….it goes without saying 不言而喻 , just one look 一个眼神... can understand you...one who can accept you as you are...there is a tacit understanding ( 有默契 mòqì )...and can talk with me...being sincere, genuine 真诚 is extremely important ...the word friend is quite vacant 空缺, I don’t quite know how to define a good friend...If I drink too much he’ll get a trash can for me, 就喝多了为我挑垃圾桶 lose when gambling 打赌输了…goes all night, does hair at 3 in the morning...If I yell at them, they are not mad, if they yell at me I am not mad...people with the same hobbies and interests, who can have fun together...its like the old saying, if things are good, I may or may not enjoy them, but if things are bad. I will certainly come help...scold me, some times I can be nagging or “splitting hairs” 钻牛角尖 about something and my best friend will yell at me like crazy 狗血淋头. Then my head clears.
4:02 (Testimony- Jia Songwei) I used to be completely ignorant of the Holy Spirit’s work. I was with my wife and child in Singapore. They had received Christ. Even though I didn’t believe in Christ, I went with them to church. I noticed that when my wife sang the hymns she would cry. I asked her why, since was singing the same hymn, but did not cry. She said: “Because I am deeply moved.” Later a brother in the church said, “Hey, maybe you are too closed up in yourself. If you remain closed, you cannot receive God. You should go and tell God you don’t want to be closed anymore. Then you should agree that he is our Savior. Try that.” Later that evening, lying on the bed, I prayed silently. Lord, dear Jesus, I know you are a God who truly exists. You are our God. If you truly exist will you make me feel deeply moved? The result was that not even 2 or 3 minutes later, I felt strange, the corner of my eyes (我的眼角) began to slowly drip, as if something was affecting me deeply. I just couldn’t get to sleep. Then suddenly I felt that something inside of me was heating up. I got out of the bed and stood at the window and prayed again to Jesus: “Lord, you are truly a great God.” At that time I was really, really moved. So from that evening’s prayer, I felt the reality that the Holy Spirit truly exists.
6:28 (Hosts walking in the mountains). The Holy Spirit is constantly misunderstood as a purely imaginary natural force. (虚无缥缈 xūwú piāomiǎo} Or as something weird 奇怪诡异的. But the Holy Spirit in the Bible is not like that. Instead he is One who you can come close to. TR: The Holy Spirit is not dispensable, he is central and basic. He is not something people made up.捏造 Niēzào From the beginning of time he existed. 亘古之初 Gèngǔ, All of creation was made through him.
6:50 Beginning of Creation story: The Bible says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning —the first day”
In the next five days God expanded (展开) his great work of creation with oceans, sky, earth, plants, and animals. God’s Spirit is the Creator’s spirit. From the midst of chaos he created the universe. From disorder 无序 wú xù) came order. From chaos came harmony, The incomplete turned into beauty, 残缺变出了美丽. God created the universe, galaxies 星系, sun, moonlight, and every star. He created different types of flora and fauna (形态各异的动植物), and let them spread 遍布 throughout the water, sky, and ground. Finally God created men and women in his image and granted them the breath of life. He also gave his Holy Spirit to the people whom he chose, to lead them. God gave people many gifts of grace so they could fulfill his plan for the earth. God gave his Spirit to a man named Bezalel (比撒列), bestowing (赋予Fùyǔ) him with artistic ability to create and decorate God’s dwelling. Gideon originally (原本) was a cowardly man (懦弱 nuòruò ), but when God’s Spirit came upon him he became a mighty warrior who saved Israel’s people. When Samson was captured by the enemy, God’s Spirit came upon him, and he was suddenly (顿时) filled with power and tore apart the ropes on his hands. God’s Spirit descended on certain people enabling them to speak prophecies which gave guidance and hope to God’s people. God’s Spirit came upon the prophet Isaiah empowering him to give messages full of hope and good news. one of these prophecies in in Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, “
God also spoke through the prophet Ezekiel (以西结 Yǐxījié) 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27
Through the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29): 28 “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
10:53 (A river surrounded by forested hills) The Holy Spirit will bring wonderful things into our lives. New attitudes, new hopes! God gave Bezalel the power to design God’s Holy Temple. In the same way, God will give you ability and creativity. God was able to make a weak Gideon into a mighty hero. Today, God’s Spirit can also make your weakness become strength! God once made Samson massively strong to tear off the ropes that bound him. Today the Holy Spirit will also help you to break free from bad habits or addictions. These kinds of things can hold people’s hearts captive. God bestows power and spiritual gifts. He is the Advocate, the one whom we call to accompany us. He is the Comforter, the Helper, the Guide.
Through the prophet Joel, God promises that the Holy Spirit is not only to be given at special times, for a special purpose, only to special people. No! God’s wants to give the Holy Spirit to everyone. However, it was many, many years afterwards that this promise was fulfilled. Following Jesus’s birth, every one of those who were involved in the birth of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit. The angel Gabriel said to Mary in Luke 1:35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
The Bible in Luke 1:41 says about John the Baptist’s mother and Mary’s sister Elizabeth: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
John the Baptist was the first one who connected the Holy Spirit with Jesus: John said in Luke 3:16: “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[ the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Baptise in its original meaning was: to submerge (淹没 Yānmò), to cover 覆盖 Fùgài), to immerse (侵入 Qīnrù), to soak (浸透 Jìntòu). This is what the Holy Spirit wants to soak and fill us. Sometimes TR feels that he is like a dry sponge (海绵 Hǎimián). A dry sponge put in water cannot absorb right away, because it’s surface is to too hard and dry. But after being in the water for a while. But after the surface layer is softened, it can begin to absorb water. Even more, it can absorb a really large amount of water. The sponge is in the water and the water is in the sponge. When you lift it out it will pour out water. That is what we were talking about when we mentioned being filled with the Holy Spirit.
LZ: When John was at the Jordan river baptizing Jesus, Jesus was then filled with the Holy Spirit: “and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22).
Jesus was at the synagogue in his home town Nazareth. He read out (宣读) Isaiah 61:1. This scripture was referring to him:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
21“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
There was also a time when Jesus went to celebrate the Jewish festival of Booths. There were thousands of Jewish pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the feast. They would thank God for the water and rain he provided that year and pray the next year would also have full rains. Jesus stood up at the feast and prophesied that the Holy Spirit would come down upon all. The final dayof the feast was the greatest one. Jesus loudly proclaimed:
“ 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37–39.
Jesus was glorified when he was crucified and rose from the dead. Jesus said that the prophecies of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and other prophets would all be fulfilled. Not at a place, but upon a person. That is Jesus Christ himself.
(The retreat group walks over) After Jesus rose from the dead, he ate with his disciples and told them not to leave Jerusalem until the Father’s promise is fulfilled. That is, that John used water to baptize them, but in not many days you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit shall descend upon you and you will receive power, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.
16:07 The disciples waited. They prayed and waited 10 days then suddenly a sound from heaven like a mighty wind filled the room. There were tongues like fire that appeared above each person’s head. Then they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They all spoke in different languages as the Spirit gave them ability. This was an amazing supernatural event. The people did not know what was happening. They tried to offer normal explanations, saying they were probably drunk. Then Peter, a disciple, stood up and said: “Let me explain what has just happened. These people are not drunk as you suppose, because it is only nine in the morning. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament prophet Joel had a prophecy about these events long ago” “God said that in the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” Then Peter continued:
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39:
In times past, God only sent the Holy Spirit at special times to specially chosen people. But now God gives his Spirit to everyone, no matter their position, age, sex, race or ethnic group. God wants to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to you and me.