Gabriel - Simply spirit-filled: experiencing god in the presence and power of the holy spirit

PRAISE FOR SIMPLY SPIRIT FILLED

Whether youre curious about who the Holy Spirit is, just encountered Him for the first time, or are completely burned out on the subject, this book balances the more charismatic experiences of God with a thoughtful and thorough theology lesson, delivered from an honest and often humorous firsthand perspective. The Holy Spirit is the very manifestation of God in His people and this book will help the church encounter Him in a powerful new way.

SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE; TV HOST OF TBNS THE LAMBS AGENDA

Andrew Gabriel encourages readers to be discerning but also open to experiencing the Spirit. Gabriel writes with pastoral insight and personal experience while drawing on the depths of scholarship in a way that all Christians can benefit. I am pleased to recommend Simply Spirit-Filled to you.

GEORGE O. WOOD, CHAIRMAN OF THE WORLD ASSEMBLIES OF GOD FELLOWSHIP

Andrew has a wonderful way of blending theology and application so that each reader will be more aware of the Holy Spirit in both the scriptures and daily living.

SARAH BOWLING, COHOST OF THE TV SHOW TODAY WITH MARILYN AND SARAH

This marvelous book will help you make sense of how God by his Spirit works in our lives. Gabriel allows us to follow his life experience and walk with him as he touches base with the biblical text and helps us understand how the experiences of a Spirit encounter is what God has for us all. Im so grateful for this book. It will bring clarity to confusion, and it will explain the legitimate life in the Spirit to those afraid of excess.

BRIAN C. STILLER, GLOBAL AMBASSADOR, THE WORLD EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE

Andrew Gabriel presents a skeptic/junkie dialectic concerning the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the twenty-first-century believer in a novel manner. He describes the synthesis of the polarities in terms of a refreshing spiritual maturity that engages the Spirit without abusing Him.

JIM CANTELON, TV HOST OF JIM CANTELON TODAY

I appreciate Dr. Andrew Gabriel as a colleague who shares his insight and perspectives with wisdom, honesty, and a good sense of humor. In Simply Spirit-Filled Andrew brings wholeness, passion, and wisdom to a readers understanding of life in the Spirit. It is enhanced by being couched within the crucible of his own journey. There is a practicality and openness regarding the Spirits person and work that will contribute to both the experienced believer and to those who are seeking to understand life in the Spirit.

DAVID WELLS, GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLIES OF CANADA

We have long needed a biblically rooted, pastorally sensitive, and theologically well-informed evaluation of experiences of the Holy Spirit and Andrew Gabriel has provided precisely that. This book is clearly and concisely written and should prove immensely helpful to all believers, even those who remain unpersuaded by his arguments. I highly recommend it.

SAM STORMS, LEAD PASTOR FOR PREACHING AND VISION AT BRIDGEWAY CHURCH, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

In his new book Simply Spirit-Filled, Andrew Gabriel writes with focus and scriptural balance. This book will be an appreciated resource to the Pentecostal church.

TIM HILL, GENERAL OVERSEER, CHURCH OF GOD, CLEVELAND, TN

Andrew Gabriel writes with depth and yet simplicity, here clearing away the brush that plagues the contemporary pentecostal-charismatic movement. All pentecostal and charismatic believers should read this book for a more informed yet relevantly and biblically vibrant Spirit-empowered life. All their friends who have been burned by high-voltage charismatic experience or hurt by pentecostal churches should read this book to see how the Holy Spirit can revitalize their spirits. All pastors across this movement in all its diversity should read this book so they can lead their congregations more effectively into the twenty-first century.

AMOS YONG, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR MISSIOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AND MISSION, FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

2019 Andrew K. Gabriel

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ISBN 978-0-7852-2362-7 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-2361-0 (TP)

Epub Edition December 2018 9780785223627

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018962472

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

To Adelyn, Mylah, and Rayelle:

May you seek to live each day filled with the Spirit.

W hen I was eight, my family packed our boxes again and drove eighty miles to live near the Air Force Base in Greenwood, a town with just enough farming and military families to support a small mall with a Walmart. We were always moving because of my fathers work, and so I grew up singing and praying in a number of different Baptist, Salvation Army, and primarily Pentecostal churches. Each church was unique in how they worshipped God, and each had distinct perspectives regarding what it meant to experience the Holy Spirit. The first time I remember having a real experience of the Holy Spirit was in Greenwood, in a modest Pentecostal church with brick and white siding and gravel in the parking lot. This is where the Spirit called me to put my faith in God.