Surprised by the Holy Spirit

By Edgar Mayer

Surprised by the Holy Spirit—There Is More for You Than You Think, provides eye-opening and soul-stirring biblical truths illustrated with real-life experiences that reveal the Holy Spirit’s role in every believer’s life.

After His resurrection, Jesus promised His disciples that they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). What was Jesus promising the disciples—and you? He promised that the Comforter, the Joygiver, the Advocate, the Encourager, and the Spirit of Truth would infuse you with power to boldly and victoriously live a more abundant life.

Surprised by the Holy Spirit is for everyone who is:

- Eager to learn more about the Holy Spirit.
- Battling for victory in spiritual warfare.
- Curious about speaking in tongues.
- Hungry for the benefits of the Spirit baptism.
- Skeptical about Holy Spirit manifestations.

The interactive study guide in the back of the book is an empowering, personal or small group tool designed to strengthen your spiritual life and reveal the depth of God’s love for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edgar Mayer
• Release date: Apr 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370409495

Edgar Mayer

Edgar Mayer is an ordained minister of the Lutheran Church of Australia and currently serves as the senior pastor of Living Grace in Toowoomba, Australia. He graduated from the Australian Lutheran College in Adelaide and completed doctoral studies in Germany, where he was born. Edgar and his wife, Tatjana, are blessed with two daughters, Dominique and Francisca.

Book preview

Surprised by the Holy Spirit

There Is More for You Than You Think

Edgar Mayer

© Copyright 2012—Edgar Mayer

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. This book is protected under the copyright laws. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. All emphasis within Scripture is the author’s own.

Please note that Evangelista Media’s™ publishing style does not capitalize the name satan and related names. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules.

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Word Alone Is Not Enough

Chapter 2 The Bible Describes the Spirit Baptism

Chapter 3 Receiving the Holy Spirit Is for Everyone

Chapter 4 Will You Still Serve Him?

Chapter 5 The Foolishness Continues

Chapter 6 The Battle Is On

Chapter 7 Speaking in Tongues Is a Gift

Appendix A Practical Encouragement

Appendix B Study Guide

Study Guide: Chapter 1 The Word Alone Is Not Enough

Study Guide: Chapter 2 The Bible Describes the Spirit Baptism

Study Guide: Chapter 3 Receiving the Holy Spirit Is for Everyone

Study Guide: Chapter 4 Will You Still Serve Him?

Study Guide: Chapter 5 The Foolishness Continues

Study Guide: Chapter 6 The Battle Is On

Study Guide: Chapter 7 Speaking in Tongues Is a Gift

About the Author

DEDICATION

Dedicated to Tatjana Georgette, and our daughters, Dominique and Francisca.

FOREWORD

When Edgar Mayer drove up on his motorbike in front of our motel room, I could never have dreamt what depth and yet childlike faith was in the man who parked his bike. He was smiling and walked over to greet us. There was something different about him. Maybe it was the gentle way with which he conducted himself or maybe it was the sparkle in his eyes, clearly to be seen as a man who loves the Holy Spirit of God. I could not put my finger on it, but I knew here stood an extraordinary man before me. This was not the first time I met him. No, our roads had crossed several times before, and every time I was impressed by the humility, yet openness for the things of the Spirit, that radiated from this man.

Edgar Mayer had studied theology as a Lutheran in Australia and Germany and yet experienced the most amazing manifestations in his church that others long and pray for. However, it was when I held the manuscript of this new book, Surprised by the Holy Spirit, in my hands that I knew I was in for more than a treat. This was going to be a classic. I could hardly put it down. Sometimes I looked up the Scripture passages and theology clearly stated, and at other times I actually laughed out loud, enjoying some of the humorous ways in which God dealt with him, preparing and bringing him to renewal and an amazing outpouring of the Spirit in his church.

When I read the following statement, I knew that I just had to read this book: As it happened, my hunger and desperation for God were greater than any feelings of caution, and to be precise, the Spirit came to me and our congregation not so much as the result of an active search but divine intervention. God took us by surprise.

This book will take you on a journey that is much more than theology, though it clarifies the theology in an excellent way. It will take you into the depth and excitement of an adventure with the Holy Spirit that is remarkable. It will spark within you a hunger for more of the Holy Spirit and certainly leave you with a clear impression of what can happen to the heart and a church that starts seeking for more of God and His Holy Spirit.

I not only recommend this book, I, if at all possible, urge you to read it and let God inspire you into new dimensions in God. Be ready for a few surprises in this book that might confront your way of thinking; but also be ready for the wonderful and exciting way that God might open your life for a fresh move of the Spirit in your life and church.

Welcome to the adventure of Surprised by the Holy Spirit—There Is More for You Than You Think!

Suzette Hattingh, Evangelist

Founder, Voice in the City

INTRODUCTION

After almost nine years of full-time study, three theological degrees, a published thesis, and six years of parish experience in a mainline church, I should have been in a good place—but I was not. All my learning did not satisfy my hunger for God. I was hoping for more, and there was more. This book is the result of what God did in the life of our congregation and at home in our family. He surprised us with the Holy Spirit and experiences that were promised in the Bible but never understood by me.

Jesus had confirmed to His disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). When this finally happened to them on the day of Pentecost, the disciples explained that the same gift of the Holy Spirit was now available to every new believer (see Acts 2:38-39). The Bible account was not complicated; therefore, the basic Christian experience of the Holy Spirit should have been familiar to me as a Bible preacher—but it was not.

At first, I had many questions and found the whole subject matter rather confusing. Every book seemed to come from a different angle, and I could not put all the pieces together. My suspicion is that others share my initial confusion. Thus, I have attempted to explain from the Bible what it means to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). Is it the same as being baptized in water? What are the benefits of the Spirit baptism? How can it be attained? How does it relate to spiritual manifestations, suffering, spiritual warfare, and the gift of tongues? Throughout this whole book, the Bible teaching will be illustrated by real-life experiences that confirm the Bible truth.

May you, dear reader, discover and enjoy more of God.

Chapter 1

THE WORD ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

The Holy Spirit Infilling

When I was growing up, I did not mind reading books, but my passion was sports. Every day we would kick the football around outdoors. At school I was not ambitious in getting good marks; but, at the same time, I was always curious about the meaning of life and seeking answers. From my earliest childhood, I had been a Christian; but confusion came in my teenage years because the truth of the Bible was contested even within the church. What was I to believe?

For some reason, I never doubted my call to be a pastor and was blessed when God took me out of Germany and placed me at Luther Seminary in Adelaide, Australia. I had found a place where Bible scholarship was combined with faith, and I began to immerse myself in the study of the Scriptures. More and more of my time would be spent in the library and, in later years, I was even trusted with my own key to the building. One of the tables was mine to use, and I would stack the table with piles of books.

At the seminary, the understanding was that an accurate interpretation of the Bible would yield the truth about everything—this was exciting! There were so many discoveries, but hidden beneath the surface there was also an omission in my learning. The Bible alone is not enough even though Lutherans, together with other Christian denominations, subscribe to the ancient slogan sola scriptura (Latin), which means in English that the Word alone is the sole source and authority over any teaching matter in the church. The slogan served a good purpose and is not in dispute; but at least in my personal understanding, there has nevertheless been an omission. I also needed something else.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He explained once again the purpose of His suffering and confronted the disciples with clear Bible teaching. In His own way, He confirmed the slogan of the Word alone:

He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:44-47 NIV; see also Luke 24:25-27).

Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to the Bible truths about His person so they would recognize that everything about Him was already foreshadowed and foretold in the Scriptures. They could trust the Word alone, and on the basis of the Word preach sound sermons. They were in good shape when Jesus left them later on:

…he left them and was taken up into heaven…[they] returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God (Luke 24:51-53).

After Jesus had instructed the disciples and left them praising God with joy, many of us would have considered them ready for action. When I finally graduated from our church seminary, I myself seemed ready for action because I also praised God, and there was enough learning in me to preach a solid exposition of the Scriptures. Therefore, with enthusiasm, I began to serve my first parish. The honeymoon period was great, and I may have looked like a young and promising pastor—but was I ready? I was not.

For all of my knowledge, plans, and programs, I presided over an aging and declining membership in an area that was younger than the national average. In six years, there was not a single convert.¹ No one blamed me for the lack of results, because my colleagues did not fare better and the denomination had become used to the decline. Yet, I became desperate and with good reason—for I was not ready.

When the first disciples had understood the Bible with much joy, Jesus cautioned them not to rush into preaching but wait in Jerusalem. Something else was needed besides knowledge and praising God. The Word alone was not enough. This is what Jesus said to them:

…Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:4-8; see also Luke 24:49).

It had never crossed my mind that I might need a greater measure of the Holy Spirit in my life. Pursuing knowledge and one theological degree after another, I valued the Word alone and assumed that the Word alone would get me across the line, irrespective of anything else. If the sermon was sound and true, it would not return empty. Yet, according to Acts 1, Jesus begged to differ and explained to His disciples that the Word of God alone was not enough but required the Spirit of God for power to unfold. Thus, the early church picked their ministers on the basis of Word competency and Spirit quantity:

…choose seven men…who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom… (Acts 6:3).

I was not used to this kind of thinking and it posed questions for me. How can you know that someone is full of the Spirit? Does the Spirit come with an experience and produce evidence that can be measured? Over the years, Lutherans like me have been quite uncomfortable with any personal reflection on Christian experience. This had not been part of my seminary training. I remember that in 2007 our congregation studied a resource with the title Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. One Sunday, an older and respected church member stood up in the worship service and said, When we began the course, I felt like throwing the manual across the aisle. Don’t you know, Pastor, that for us Lutherans the words ‘experience’ and ‘obedience’ are offensive? He only expressed what we all felt. Around the same time, a colleague publicly thanked our president for allowing me to address Christian experience at the Lutheran Pastors’ Conference. He had been waiting for this kind of debate for thirty years.

When I was a student at the church seminary, I did come to a point when I paused in my studies for reflection and began to wonder about the presence of the Spirit in my life but another one of the recommended books put my mind at rest. Its title was The Holy Spirit: Shy Member of the Trinity, and one of its core theses was that those persons are most filled with the Spirit who are least conscious of it.² This quote put me at ease again because up to then I had not enjoyed any tangible experience of the Holy Spirit and, according to the book, this was okay. I was doing fine. In fact, my lack of experience had already placed me on a higher level of Spirit intensity in my life. Thus I felt free to go back to the library and fill my mind with knowledge, rather than the Spirit.

Confused by Baptism

There was another reason that blinded me to my need. I assumed that the fullness of the Spirit had been given to me in my water baptism. Lutherans have a high view of baptism in water, and any suggestion that there was another baptism in the Spirit would not be welcome because it would seem to undermine the gift of salvation, which is received in the first baptism (see 1 Pet. 3:21).

However, neither the Bible nor personal experience confirmed my traditional thinking. When another pastor baptized me with water, it was done, according to Jesus’ command, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). I have no doubt that in this baptism I was born of the Spirit (see John 3:5), became a new creation (see 2 Cor. 5:17), was raised to live a new life (see Rom. 6:4),