Robert Morris - The God I Never Knew: How Real Friendship with the Holy Spirit Can Change Your Life

Praise for
The God I Never Knew

In an hour when spiritual hunger is increasing and practical clarity is needed to avoid the confusion to which too many are vulnerable, it is a delight to affirm the wisdom, truth, and integrity with which Robert Morris speaks, teaches, and lives. I know no leader today who exceeds the trustworthiness and genuine love for people than Robert, and you will find no better person to introduce you to friendship with the Holy Spirit of the living God.

J ACK W. H AYFORD , founder and president of The Kings University

I have learned more about the Holy Spirit from Robert Morris than any other pastor. His insight into this very important topic will motivate, teach, and equip us to embrace the third person of the Trinity, as well as launch all of us into a fresh new season of worship.

B RADY B OYD , senior pastor of New Life Church and author of Fear No Evil

So much controversy and confusion has surrounded the topic of the Holy Spirit. In fact, most people dont understand who He is at all. In The God I Never Knew, Robert Morris brilliantly clears up the misconceptions and introduces the Holy Spirit as someone you will want to be your best friend.

C HRIS H ODGES , senior pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama

The God I Never Knew gives life-changing insight into the mystery of the Holy Spirit. If you have questions about the Holy Spirit, Morriss book will put you at ease and lead you to know and love our comforter, helper, and friend.

C RAIG G ROESCHEL , senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author of Weird

In The God I Never Knew, my friend Robert Morris captures the magnificent power, friendship, and treasure that God has given us in the person of the Holy Spirit. He effectively demystifies the common misperceptions associated with this part of the Godhead and will evoke a deeper passion and love for God within every reader. No matter where you are in your walk with God, this book will intensify your relationship with Him.

S TOVALL W EEMS , lead pastor of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and author of Awakening

Pastor Robert Morris describes the Holy Spirit in a way that doesnt make you want to run from Him or think He is somehow the unimportant, scary part of the Trinity. The God I Never Knew does an amazing job of not only describing who the Holy Spirit is but also making you desire more of His work in your life. This is one of the most balanced approaches to the role of the Holy Spirit that Ive ever seen. You have got to read this book!

P ERRY N OBLE , founding and senior pastor of NewSpring Church

Other Books by Robert Morris

The Blessed Life
From Dream to Destiny
The Power of Your Words

T HE G OD I N EVER K NEW
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( CEV ) are taken from the Contemporary English Version. Copyright 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked ( NIV ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Copyright 2011 by Robert Morris

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morris, Robert (Robert Preston), 1961
The God I never knew : how real friendship with the Holy Spirit can change your life / Robert Morris.
p. cm.
Ebook ISBN: 9780307729712
1. Holy Spirit. I. Title.
BT121.3.M67 2011
231.3dc22

2011014029

rh_3.1_c0_r1

This book is dedicated to two of my spiritual fathers, Pastor Olen Griffing and Dr. Jack Hayford, who showed me through the Scriptures and their everyday lives that we can have a vibrant, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, and that people who believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit can be doctrinally sound, genuinely humble, and not weird!

T he knock at the door startled Irene Adkins. The seventy-nine-year-old great-grandmother wasnt expecting any visitors. A cautious peek through the peephole revealed a well-dressed silver-haired gentleman with a kind face that struck her as vaguely familiar. It was something about the eyes and nose. As she opened the door, her certainty grewthe stranger definitely reminded her of someone. But who?

It would take her a while to realize that the mans face indeed bore an uncanny resemblance to one she knew better than any otherher own. Irenes seventy-three-year-old brother, Terry, had come for a surprise visit. It was quite surprising because Irene never knew she had a brother.

Back in 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, a desperate and confused young English couple unhitched their tattered camper trailer on the side of the road and drove away. Police later found three small, hungry children inside. Irene, at ten months of age, was the youngest. The three were placed in separate foster homes and grew up unaware of the others existence. Meanwhile, the young couple eventually achieved some stability a few years later and had another childtheir son, Terry.

When Terry was fourteen, his parents revealed their shameful secret. They told him of the desperate straits in which theyd found themselves and of the wrenching decision to abandon the trio of hungry mouths they could not feed. Shortly thereafter Terry began a lifelong quest to find his siblings, especially the sister his parents had named Irene. He searched in vain for almost sixty years. Then came a breakthrough. He learned the name of the agency that had placed Irene and her siblings in foster homes. Not long thereafter came the dayApril 3, 2010when Irene Adkins discovered the wonderful brother she never knew. In the discovery the rootless orphan found a source of answers to questions she had carried around in her heart all her life.