SPEAKING MINISTRY: CHI ALPHA UD- DEC 2021
We had a powerful service together at a local gathering of Chi Alpha students at the University of Dayton. About forty students gathered together to worship and hear the Word of God.
I felt led to share about the person and working of the Holy Spirit. I spoke primarily from John 16, when Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure from the earth. He advises them that it would be better for them if He were to leave because He would send the Holy Spirit. I am certain that did not make much sense to the disciples at the time, but as we look at all of the incredible benefits of becoming temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), we can understand why Jesus would make such a statement.
I challenged the students to allow the Holy Spirit to lead them in their lives. I told them that if I could go back to my college days, the number one thing that I would want to change would be to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit more wholeheartedly. We discussed how the Holy Spirit communicates with us, how He is working to convince unbelievers about their need for a Savior, how He brings to mind the Words of Jesus and how He guides us into all truth.
I left them with practical application about how they can learn to incorporate the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We discussed the importance of developing an intimate prayer life, studying the Word of God and learning to practice His presence. I also shared my own story of pursuing the baptism in the Holy Spirit, how I experienced this as a young Christian, and the impact it has made in my relationship with God.
During the response time, two young ladies came up for prayer and as we laid hands on them and prayed, they were baptized in the Holy Spirit! One of them shared with me that she had become discouraged because she had been crying out to the Lord for it for some time, but hadn’t been able to receive. Seeing her begin to pray in tongues for the first time, tears streaming down her face, was a beautiful and blessed moment.
After I left, the leader of the ministry sent me a testimony via text message about a girl who had left the meeting halfway through the sermon to go out and party that night. As I was speaking about how the Holy Spirit brings conviction to our hearts and helps us to stay free from sin, this young lady got convicted about her intentions, and came back to spend the evening with Christian friends rather than go out and be in the world. It was an illustration of how the Holy Spirit works in real-time!
It was a great night of ministry. I got to speak with one young man who did not believe in God, and had a chance to pray with him to ask that God would reveal Himself to this young man. I believe the Lord is doing something in his life and that he will come to saving faith in Jesus.
Thank you for your prayers and support! God has been so faithful to minister His love and grace to people as we go out and share from the Word of God.
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DUSTIN RENZ is the President of Make Way Ministries, a non-profit organization that exists to see the world changed one Christian at a time. He has a passion to see the Body of Christ find rich intimacy in their relationship with Jesus and step out in faith to share the Gospel with the world around them. He is the author of Pile of Masks: Exposing Christian Hypocrisy and Something Better. He resides in Dayton, Ohio with his wife and three daughters.
