Awakening: The Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit
In the late 1960s and early 70s, something unexpected began to sweep across American culture. In the middle of counterculture, music scenes, and spiritual searching, what became known as the Jesus Revolution erupted. One of the most unlikely figures to emerge from that movement was a man named John Wimber.
Before becoming a pastor and church leader, Wimber lived a very different life. He was deeply embedded in the music industry, a member of The Righteous Brothers, and immersed in the drug and nightclub scene. But after friends invited him and his wife to a simple Bible study, something ignited inside him—an insatiable hunger to know Jesus. That hunger led him to give his life to Christ, eventually stepping into pastoral ministry in a Quaker church.
It was there that Wimber famously asked his pastor a question that would change church history:
“When do we get to do the stuff?”
Confused, the pastor asked what he meant. Wimber clarified: the stuff Jesus did—healing the sick, casting out demons, moving in the power of the Spirit. The response he received was discouraging: That kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore. It’s enough to believe it happened once.
Wimber couldn’t reconcile that answer.
That question pushed him deep into Scripture. He encountered Jesus’ promises—“Anyone who believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and even greater”—and the teachings about the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. Eventually, Wimber couldn’t ignore what he saw in the Bible. He began praying for the sick and inviting others to do the same.
For two years, nothing happened.
People left the church. Leaders questioned him. And yet Wimber persisted, convinced that God’s promises were real. Then, slowly, something shifted. People began to experience healing. Deliverance happened. Prophetic words were spoken that strengthened and encouraged others. A movement was born—what we now know as the Vineyard Movement—centered on one simple conviction:
Everyone gets to play.
Not everyone has the same gifts, but everyone gets to experience the Holy Spirit’s presence and power.
Word and Spirit, Not Word or Spirit
This movement arose in part as a correction. Many churches had emphasized Scripture to the exclusion of the Spirit—God has already spoken; we don’t need to hear His voice anymore. While Scripture is absolutely our authority for theology, doctrine, and holy living, the Bible itself teaches that the Holy Spirit illuminates the Word, empowers believers, and actively works in and through the church today.
The Word and the Spirit were never meant to be separated.
The Spirit’s presence means we can tangibly experience God with us.
The Spirit’s power means God still acts supernaturally and invites His people to participate in His work.
Why the Holy Spirit Makes Us Nervous
For many Christians, the Holy Spirit feels like Bruno from Encanto—the one we don’t talk about. Conversations about the Spirit often get weird, fast. We’ve seen the videos. We’ve heard the stories. People misuse the Spirit’s name to control, manipulate, or draw attention to themselves.
That kind of behavior is human weird, not Holy Spirit weird.
Human weird manipulates and harms.
Holy Spirit weird may stretch us beyond our comfort zones, but it produces the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, faith, and deeper intimacy with Jesus.
Throughout church history, genuine revivals have often included unfamiliar or uncomfortable expressions of God’s work. Instead of learning to discern what is truly from God, many churches have responded by distancing themselves altogether—throwing the baby out with the bathwater and slowly falling asleep to the Spirit’s presence and power.
Filled… and Filled Again
Jesus promised His disciples a Helper—the Holy Spirit—who would not just be with them, but in them (John 14). That promise exploded into reality at Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Spirit arrived in a way that was undeniable, tangible, and communal.
But Pentecost wasn’t a one-time event.
Throughout the New Testament, believers who were already filled with the Spirit are filled again. Paul commands the church in Ephesians 5:
“Be filled with the Spirit.”
Not once. Continually.
The language Paul uses describes an ongoing, passive reception—allow yourself to be filled again and again. Just as we need daily food, we need daily dependence on the Spirit’s presence and power.
There is one baptism in the Holy Spirit when we come to faith, and there are many fillings throughout our lives.
Empowered Love: Why Spiritual Gifts Matter
When the Spirit fills believers, He empowers them. That empowerment takes shape through spiritual gifts—God-given abilities meant to love and serve others.
Spiritual gifts are not natural talents.
They aren’t earned or achieved.
They are gifts—manifestations of the Spirit given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12).
Healing, prophecy, wisdom, tongues, discernment, teaching—all of them matter. When churches elevate certain gifts and minimize others, Paul says it’s like a body rejecting one of its own limbs. The result? A limp.
We don’t need an either/or approach.
We need a both/and church.
Quenching the Spirit—and Desiring Him
Paul warns the church: Do not quench the Spirit.
Quenching doesn’t mean overpowering God. It means resisting Him—placing restrictions on how we believe He’s allowed to work. Like kinking a garden hose, the flow isn’t gone, but it’s restricted.
But avoiding quenching isn’t enough.
Paul goes further:
“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.”
Not politely open.
Not cautiously curious.
Earnestly desire.
The language he uses is intense—like a hunter pursuing prey, like water boiling over with heat. Revival doesn’t come from passivity. It comes from people who hunger for God’s presence and power while anchoring everything in love.
Setting the Table for Awakening
We can’t manufacture revival. Only God can awaken hearts and churches. But we can posture ourselves—removing resistance, cultivating desire, and creating space for the Spirit to move.
That’s the prayer before us:
- God, awaken us to how we may be quenching Your Spirit.
- God, awaken us to earnestly desire Your gifts.
The table is set.
Now we invite the Holy Spirit to bring what only He can.