Have You Received Since You Believed: Quest for the Holy Spirit

By Brian Hollins

When Jesus said "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;" ( John 14:16). He was very clear, however, we have somehow managed to apply standards and methods to receiving the Holy Spirit that Jesus said would be given to us Freely.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9780997354515

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© 2016, Brian G. Hollins. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by Brian Hollins Ministries, LLC. February 2016.

ISBN: 978-0-9973545-1-5

Printed in the United States of America.

Table of Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1: I don’t want anything to do with that Holy Spirit

Chapter 2: My Path

Chapter 3: Identifying the Deep Itch

Chapter 4: Study to Show Thyself Approved

Chapter 5: Get Understanding

Chapter 6: Seeking in Prayer

Chapter 7: Establishing a Relationship with the Holy Spirit

Chapter 8: Responding to the Void

Chapter 9: Bishop I. V. Hilliard and the Holy Spirit

Chapter 10: Denying the Pride of Life

Chapter 11: Did I Just Waste My Time?

Chapter 12: Words of Encouragement

Chapter 13: Meeting the Holy Spirit

Chapter 14: Receiving the Holy Spirit

Chapter 15: The Fullness of the Holy Spirit

Chapter 16: The Plea

Chapter 17: Prayers

Verses on the Holy Spirit

About the Author

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my wife, Henrietta; my children, Oliver, Adrienne, Jordan, Jade, and Lauren; and my grandchildren, Brian Christopher, Londynn, and Jordan Christian.

I love you.

To my mother, Mary C. Hollins, who introduced me to Christ Jesus, thank you for always being God’s hand extended into my life. Your labor was not in vain.

I love you.

To the wonderful saints at Abounding Grace, thank you for your prayer and support. The best is yet to come.

I love you guys.

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart,

which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

—Jeremiah 3:15 KJV

FOREWORD

There is a burning desire for me to share this experience with you, simply because I know that many face the same challenges in their hunger for a righteous walk with God. This book will serve as my testimony of receiving the Holy Spirit in my life, and the beginning of fullness only available after receiving the Holy Spirit. I pray that your hunger will somehow be fed as you realize there is more, so much more, that awaits a thirsty soul.

At the peak of my frustration, my confidence in the word of God gave me the knowledge needed to hold on to God’s promises. Many times I dreamed of being a man God could always depend on to do whatever he needed. How frustrating life can be when we know that we are doing what we believe is the very best we can, yet it continues to seem as though we are operating alone.

As a pastor for more than 12 years, I have proven that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) and that without the Holy Spirit fully realized in your life, emptiness will exist.

When Jesus said, And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (John 14:16), he was very clear. However, we have somehow managed to apply standards and methods to receiving the Holy Spirit that Jesus said would be given to us.

After many years of lacking the knowledge of how to receive the Holy Spirit, I finally got it, and life has not been the same since. Never before have I known the assurance that surrounds my thoughts, emotions, decisions, will, and desires. It’s an assurance that gives me the confidence to know that I am on track and that my tomorrows are held by the vision of the Holy Spirit. The question that rings out in my spirit as I write this account of my experience to you is, Have you received since you believed or are you searching for the Holy Spirit? I praise God in advance for this writing and the impact it will have on your life.

Brian G. Hollins

INTRODUCTION

I wrote this book in 2009, a year after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I’m sharing it with you now because I believe it will help you find and understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As a pastor, I am ashamed to say that for the first five years of my ministry I never really preached on the Holy Spirit. Looking back, I realize how uncomfortable I was with the topic, so I just avoided teaching on it altogether.

One day I found myself at the end of my rope, and I was