Let me preface this by saying that there was a time when I would not talk about my most intimate times with God because I was too concerned what other people would think — but not any more. I was afraid that someone might think — that I think I’m somebody really special. Well guess what? I AM!
Guess what else? YOU are too! If you have been “born again” by accepting and receiving Jesus as YOUR personal Savior and King then YOU too are a — Child of God — with all the rights, gifts and privileges that go with that relationship! And my purpose for writing this is NOT to boast — but to share the kind of experiences that I believe — you too can receive.
When I was a small boy, my Dad would turn up the volume when Patsy Cline would come on the pickup radio. Back when she would sing, “… And, He walks with me — and He talks with me — and He tells me — I am His own…” — I NEVER DREAMED that a thing like that was EVER actually possible. And now — God the Father — through the Holy Spirit — “speaks” to me. I put that in quotes because I don’t “hear” Him with my ears and it doesn’t seem to come from my head either. It’s Him, (the Bible says that He is Spirit), speaking to my spirit. Well I could go on for page on that alone, but that’s not my purpose here. God and I just converse — mostly when I go for quiet prayerful walks.
During one of these morning walks God said, “Tim I have a special gift for you today!” Well, I was like a little kid at Christmas! I was really excited! I actually waited by the mailbox until the postman came and went — but there was nothing special. I then started watching for the UPS truck, until it passed us by. Later, when someone came to our door, I fully expected them to come bearing that gift — but they had none. The morning passed into afternoon and I still waited expectantly — but nothing. By 4:30 that afternoon, I was beginning to think that I had heard God wrong.
A little later I felt very strongly compelled to come to God in prayer. I went into my bathroom, knelt down with my elbows on a low countertop and began to praise and pray. I heard the voice of God more strongly than ever before say, “Tim, give me your hand,” to which I responded, “Father take both my hands!” And, as I raised my hands toward the heavens — the power of God fell on me like I had never experienced before. My knees could no longer hold my weight and buckled under me and I sat down upon my legs and slid back till I was seated on the floor. Then that power seemed to increase by magnitudes, and I was not able to hold myself upright. I collapsed back against the wall with my eyes closed and hands palms up on the floor at my sides.
It felt as if I was a little child again — being wrapped and bundled up in a thick and cozy pre-warmed satin blanket — then came a long, loving, caressing hug. In response I attempted to reached out to return the embrace only to end up hugging myself — so I just relaxed — and received it. The presence of God was so strong that I was speechless and all I could do was weep. I can’t tell you if they were tears of joy or a long overdue emotional release — but God just held me — until I was done. Then, God, gently let me go as I thanked Him and expressed my love for Him, Jesus and His Holy Spirit.
I have been a lot of exciting places through out this world, and I have had many great experiences — but none before or since (so far) as awesome as this one I have just tried to describe to you. Now, I didn’t ask for that awesome hug — but I want to encourage you to go before your Heavenly Father and ask Him for one. Now He has repeatedly instructed me that HIS gifts are HIS to give to whomever HE will. But, His Word says that He is “no respecter of persons” so, I believe that if He did this for me — he will do it for you too.
What is in a hug anyway? Why is it – that when we see a lost child found that the parents hugs the child so hard that the child says, &”Mommy, Daddy, You& ‘re SQUISHING me!&” Why is it that when husband and wife intertwine in passionate embraces that they can& ‘t seem to be able to get close enough to one another?
We are trying to pull that loved one inside of us and make him or her part of us. God put that desire into all of us at creation & – because it is something that is in Him. You see at that moment that I received that hug from God, I felt that my spirit was enveloped in His Spirit and His Spirit was enveloped in my spirit. At that moment & – I knew that we had become ONE. Recently I had two other revelations from God. In the first, the simple phrase, &”Spirit Envelopes Spirit&” and then a short clip or flash of the &”upper room&” during the impartation of the Holy Spirit. And later a few short clips of when the Holy ghost arrived. I’m going to mash them all together for you.
Now let me say here and now that I’m not teaching some new doctrine. I’m simply a witness relating what I saw and heard. You are free to believe it or not. It really helped me and my hope is that it will help you too. The Holy Spirit showed me only a few short visions of that day of Pentecost. But it was awesome! Acts 2:1-2 says, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”
What I saw first in my spirit was from the outside. A big, bellowing, fast moving con-trail similar to something that I saw in a movie about an astroid hitting the earth, but roaring almost straight down out of the sky, seemingly aimed right for this nondescript building right in front of me. At still some distance away, the con-trail emmitted one or more huge, earth shaking, sonic booms directly over the building where I knew the hundred and twenty were. It was hard to tell if there was actually more than one boom or if it was just a series of loud echos coming back on the wind.
But, the noise was loud enough to bring people running from every direction carrying digging tools of all descriptions, all expecting to save survivors out of the rubble of some monumental disaster.
Acts 2:3-4 says, “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The people inside the large room were all half sitting, half reclining on mats and pillows when the boom sounded. I noticed two things. One was that some of the people grabbed their necks just below their ears leading me to believe that their ears had just popped due to a change of air pressure. The other was that the room lit up in a flash which colelessed into who I recognized in the vision to be the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He was translucent to me but evidently invisible to them, with what appeared to be flickering iridescent purple to blue flames on His torso and half-way down His arms, simular to what had the moment before filled the entire room.. The people in the room didn’t have tiime to react other than a few which sat up straight and shielding their eyes, but most didn& ‘t dare to even move. The Spirit of Jesus, moving very quickly, came first to a man there, half knelt down to him, almost sitting in his lap, hugging him in a bear hug. I couldn& ‘t tell who was who, but the man sat up straight and responsively hugged back seemingly hugging air and then himself. This is kind of hard to explain, but the man’s hug seemed to pull an entire copy of Jesus& ‘ Spirit into himself & – which seemed to split out of Jesus& ‘ Spirit, who was just releasing his hug. Even before the Spirit completely divided, Jesus& ‘ Spirit quickly got up and moved directly to the next person and repeated the process and so on. I only saw three, but in every case He was being &”received&” by each person, with an enveloping hug & – into them. i.e. the Spirit didn& ‘t sweep in and possess the people, the people& ‘s spirits enveloped His Spirit as He enveloped theirs.
By the next scene, all visable evidence of the form of Jesus’ Spirit was gone, most of those in the room were on their feet laughing, shouting, singing and hugging each other, most drunk in the spirit and jumping around with uplifted arms, I assume, praying in tongues but very loudly. And, just as all the different groups of would-be rescuers converged around this building, and seeing the exterior still intact, begin asking each other “what has happened here!?” as they moved in mass to the entrance. And before they could rush inside, several of the disciples, trying to hold each other up came stumbling out onto what I assume was a large, open front porch. Someone in the crowd said, “It’s just a bunch a drunks!” And as the people begin to turn away, Peter spoke up and told them what had just happened by quoting the Prophet Joel. And each stopped and listened until they realized that each was hearing him in their own native language. And that was the end of that vision. As an aside: I found it interesting that the 3000+ all came expecting to save someone else, but ended up getting saved, themselves.
The Holy Spirit showed me that God and all of mankind desires total contact in expressing our love with each other. This is why God designed our spirits to be able to simultaneously envelope and be enveloped by the Holy Spirit. Now with this in mind, lets read just a few of the scriptures from John& ‘s writings that have this &”full contact of envelopment&” in mind. I think John really &”got&” this early on. John 15:5-7 – I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
How about this one…
1 John 4:15-16 – Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.
The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit envelope one another the same way:
John 14:10, 17 – Believe thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he doeth the works. …
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.
I fact, in the last vision I had on this subject I saw a two or three second view of Jesus with out- stretched arms being embraced and totally enveloped by Father God. Oh, now get this one! It could change the way you &”receive&” communion:
John 6:56 – He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. There& ‘s just not enough room here to quote all of these exciting &”in him, in whom&” scriptures!
How about spending some time with God today? If you give Him a hug, I KNOW that He will hug you back!
Isn’t God GOOD?
Amen! Yes He is!