At different times in my life God has made Himself known to me but I was never constant with my faith. I have been to many different kinds of churches, but I never heard about God’s active presence, The Holy Spirit. I would hear about the Bible, Jesus, and the Father but not about the Holy Spirit. I can see now how that it was a huge piece I was missing.
When we started to come to the Vineyard, once again God was working on my heart. I took the Holy Spirit class and it changed everything. I had always thought the Holy Spirit was only for priest, pastors, or really holy people. At the class, I learned that I could feel Him and personally experience him myself.
While taking this class I decided to try out some of what I was being taught. I thought I would get alone at work and ask the Holy Spirit to “come” and see what happens. I work construction and I just happened to be working alone that day, so I sat down, clasped my hands, bowed my head, and begin to pray. I asked God to fill me up with His Spirit. What I said was “ Dear father, please fill me up with your Spirit. I am a sinner, would you exchange my sins for your Spirit?”
As soon as I was finished, I was overwhelmed with joy. Tears begin to roll down my checks and pretty soon I was sobbing like a baby but filled with pure happiness. This went on for a while and when I was done my shirt was drenched with tears. This was a huge experience for me and I could not wait tell people about it. The Vineyard and specifically this class taught me how to experience God in a real way.
—Rob Spratford