I received the Holy Spirit in 1979 at age 30 after a heartfelt repentance about the way I was living my life. The experience was like Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. I was not looking for Jesus or God but was simply saying to God that I was sorry (I did not even know for sure that God existed). God recognized my sincerity and led me on a three-day and three-night conversion. It culminated in my becoming a believer in Jesus as well as my receiving the Holy Spirit. My life changed forever at that point.
In the years since I have rarely met anyone who has had a similar experience. When I mention the daily connection with the Holy Spirit to fellow Christians I know that they for the most part don’t know what I am talking about. It truly does “passeth all understanding.” I cannot explain why some believers feel the Holy Spirit and others not. It may be tied to my conversion experience, which began with my repentance.
Those who do not feel the presence of the Holy Spirit should not be discouraged. Jesus said in John 20:29, “Blessed are those who have faith yet have not seen.” What a wonderful Savior we have to have said such words. Being a sheep in the flock of Jesus is a great blessing with or without feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit.
My experience was inextricably tied to Jesus who said he went to be with his Father so that the Holy Spirit could be given to believers (Acts 1:8). Doctor Visser incorrectly asserts that the Holy Spirit is the “same Spirit at work in people of other faiths”. It may be a spirit but it is not the Holy Spirit.
