A Place for Corporate.

Over this spring break, I got a change to go with a team of about 30 others to Chicago. Not really to evangelize or anything, but simply to strengthen the church there. We held a total of 6 prayer meetings, as well as having group devotional and worship times. One of the days, we went to a Onething regional in Rockford and ran a prophesying room, prophesying over 180 people in three hours.

 And in Chicago, not really for the first time, but for the first recognizable time, I got to see corporate encounter in full effect.

Every night, during our prayer meetings, and then also on the mornings where we held personal devotional times and then group worship, the Holy Spirit's presence was tangible. The later into the week we got, the thicker it became until finally, the day before we left, we held a prayer meeting in Zion. Now, Zion was the first town born out of the Azusa street revival. If you ever go there, pay attention to the street names; you'll find them all to be biblical. You can drive dow David and Gabriel street, etc. But since then, as often happens, people forget and time wears away at things... And it isn't really a revival town, any more.

But that doesn't mean the Spirit is dead. The Holy Spirit never dies, nor forgets.

Very few actually came to the meeting. But the ones who did came clearly had been interceding for this for a while. Actually, it turns out every church we went to had been interceding for someone to come from somewhere and bring a refreshing. And bring a refreshing we did. It's what we meant to do, and when you go into a situation willing for the HS to use you, consider yourself a tool.

By the end of the night, with many of the church members already drunk in the spirit, their pastor stands up and announces that, before we leave, he wants to pray over us. All of us. Individually. He wants his church to bless us... So could we please line up in front?

Not knowing what to expect, we shuffled up to the front an stood in front of the stage. Members of the church came forward and, one by one, each of us got prayer.

It was incredible. One of the women, she just went straight down the line prophesying and nailing each of us, hitting on personal stuff immediately. Not bad stuff. Just... Stuff only God would know. For instance, I'd been missing having close friends and family nearby because we all hug each other. In a group with 9 girls and 19 guys, hugging is a little more awkward and sparse. I'd been telling God all day how lonely I was and how I just needed a hug.

No one knew.

The lady comes to me, looks at me in silence for a moment, then says "You know what? I just want to hug you." And proceeds to do so.

God hears guys. Just btw.

 Anyways. By the time they were done, about a third of us had been filled with the joy of the Spirit and were on the floor. It took all we had to be able to tear ourselves away from the place and go home.

The next morning when we met, we were a totally different group. Everyone was visibly lighter and happier and more refreshed, even more so than we had been every other morning.

And that's when I figured it out.

What I was seeing was a corporate encounter with the Holy Spirit, and a corporate filling with new wine, unto a refreshing.

See, that's what I fell like we've lost sight of. It's easy to do. If there is a time for everything, then when denotes the times? Why do things happen when they happen?
I said the wine isn't bad, but I didn't give an example of when it wasn't. Well. Here is your example. We spent a week using our spring break, time given to us to rest, going to other churches and missions and serving them. Every church we left was refreshed by the HS, either filled with new wine or simply lighter in spirit. The joy of God affected a change of heart, a strengthening and a reminder. And it refreshed us. Instead of coming back to school worn out because we'd spent the week fighting to keep ourselves to a standard, we came back filled with life and only worn out emotionally because we'd been made so sensitive to the spirit over the week.

The spirit is given us to comfort and to teach. he is known as the Helper, as the Comforter. So when we become spirit filled, it is logical that we should have comfort at all times. But as humans always have and always will on this earth... We forget. Like Israel in the desert, we forget that we have the strength of God with us. We forget who made us and who loves us.

The Awakening brought revelation of who we were in God. It strengthened us, refreshed us when we needed it. We brought a sort of awakening to the places we went in Chicago, bringing a reminder of god's love a strength It is unto prophesy and healing, in that when we know the God who loves us and resides in us we can move in His power.

And that, in totality, is the place for corporate encounter. When, as a group, as the bride of Christ, we forget who we are and feel as though we have nothing left. When we are crying out as a group because all we have is revelation of weakness. When we need help.

Our God is good to us. He hears, He cares. He does. He send. We are never alone... We just need to be reminded once in a while :)

~Silver