You might have heard of Catch The Fire as the slightly wacky people that love the Holy Spirit. In 1994, the Holy Spirit moved in a small church in Toronto in a way that was totally unexpected. He took control of the meeting, and people started to respond. They shook, laughed and cried, and they came away different.
It wasn’t just one meeting. Or even just a season. Every Sunday in Catch The Fire church services around the world, believers say “Come, Holy Spirit” knowing that anything could happen, and it’s going to be amazing.
Catch The Fire has become a movement that is centred around the presence of God, the person of the Holy Spirit. We’re known mostly around the world for the manifestations and the miraculous things that happen. But the manifestations are actually not that important: it’s about a relationship with the Holy Spirit and the fruit that comes from that.
So, why is it important to know the Holy Spirit for yourself? Here are 6 reasons:
1. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON
The Holy Spirit is God; He’s part of the Trinity. That means that we can have a relationship with Him, just as Jesus did.
The Holy Spirit isn’t a force to be used, a ghost, or even the manifestations that we see. He is a person, He communicates, and He has feelings. The Bible shows us that the Holy Spirit speaks (Acts 13:2), loves (Romans 15:30), and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27). He can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29), and He can become sad (Ephesians 4:30).
2. HE’S ALWAYS BEEN HERE AND ALWAYS WILL BE
The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters in Genesis and is described crying out with the Bride in Revelation. He’s not a new phenomenon that turned up in the 1990s or someone that comes and goes momentarily in church meetings.
Duncan Smith, President of Catch The Fire, says, “Presence is the communicated love of God himself, the very person of the Holy Spirit, who has eternally flowed between the lover, the Father, and the beloved, the Son.”
The Holy Spirit was constantly present during Jesus’ life on Earth. He overshadowed Mary at conception and came upon Jesus like a dove at the baptism. As believers, we will always need the Holy Spirit, every day and in every season.
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT TRANSFORMS OUR LIVES
“When I’m in the presence of God, I know and have an expectation that things are going to change,” says Kate Smith, President of Catch The Fire.
As we build a relationship with Him, we can expect that the Holy Spirit will work in our lives and make a difference. In John 14, He’s described as the comforter, the truth, the one that remains with us and helps us recall things we’ve learned about God. In John 16 we learn that He’s the counsellor, that He guides us and convicts us of sin. Romans 8 describes how He teaches us how to pray and helps us not to sin.
4. HE FILLS US AND EQUIPS US
Throughout the New Testament, people were filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him. John the Baptist was full of the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb. Jesus was filled with the Spirit and led by Him into the desert. The disciples were filled with the Spirit in the upper room, leading Peter to preach the gospel.
That’s the same for us today, as Steve Long, Senior Leader of Catch The Fire Church in Toronto says, “When I’m in the presence of God, I’m full of optimism, I realize that anything is now possible, that we’re in this zone where miracles can take place, where lives can be transformed, where I can meet God.”
Ephesians 5:18 says that we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s a non-negotiable: the Holy Spirit wants to be deeply involved in our lives.
5. A LIFE LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IS FRUITFUL
When we get to know the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work in our lives, we’ll always see the effects. Galatians 5 describes how followers of Jesus become more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self- controlled. Any area that you lack those qualities is an opportunity to invite the Holy Spirit into your life.
6. IT’S ABOUT EVERYDAY LIFE AND ENCOUNTER
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25 NIV)
You’re invited to know the Holy Spirit and walk with Him daily. But you can also open yourself up to the opportunity to have dramatic encounters with God’s presence, just like Saul did on the Damascus road. Just like the Toronto church did back in 1994.
John Arnott, Founding Pastor of Catch The Fire, put it this way, “It’s the very thing Moses said: unless your presence goes with us, do not lead us up from here. That presence in Hebrew means the faces of God or the expressions of God when he looks at you and talks to you. It’s a living presence, it’s a life-changing presence.”
We’re all designed to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, and the Father is glad to give Him to us. Take time today to acknowledge His presence in your life, and how much you need Him.