The Alpha Day is an amazing time for us to come together and take some time to understand who the Holy Spirit is, what He does, why He is so important for our lives, and how we can be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Traditionally, this is done as a weekend away. But if it can also be done, online and we call this Alpha Day. Below you will see the video from Session One of the Alpha Day - Who is the Holy Spirit? I've also added some extra notes and Bibles verses, and then at the bottom of this page, you will also find the links to some extra videos you can watch that would normally be shown on the Weekend away.
Enjoy. The Holy Spirit is amazing.
Feel loved. That’s what it’s all about. You are loved. God wants you to know that you’re loved. He wants you to feel his love. That’s what the Holy Spirit does.
For a long time in the church, the Holy Spirit has been ignored. There’s been a much greater concentration on God the Father, God the Son – Jesus – but not so much on God the Holy Spirit. He’s also been misunderstood. You know, in the Authorised Version it talks about ‘the Holy Ghost’, and that sounds a bit weird, scary: a ghost!
So who is the Holy Spirit exactly?
The Holy Spirit goes right back to the dawn of time, right back to the beginning of creation. He is talked about in the very first verses of the Bible.
And right here. in the beginning, you get a sense of the Holy Spirit and His character: He brings order out of chaos. He turns something that is dark, and without form into something amazing, something beautiful. He does the same with you and me. He turns fear into faith, and worry into hope. He turns darkness into something beautiful and amazing.
For example, he comes upon Bezalel - a craftsman in the Old Testament. I have filled him with the Spirit of God... to make artistic designs. This is an amazing statement. We learn that the Holy Spirit FILLS us and gives us gifts and talents.
Sure, you can be a talented musician without the Holy Spirit, so imagine what you could be with Him. He brings a whole new dimension to everything we do. And you see that in the course of history, how in extraordinary ways the Holy Spirit has filled people: like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Johann Sebastian Bach. Handel.
Think of Handel’s Messiah. In 1741 Handel had suffered a stroke. He had a paralysed right arm, blurred vision, he was not in good health, his sight was deteriorating, work had dried up. He was asked to set some bits of the Bible to music, and he composed the music for The Messiah – the whole thing in twenty-four days. And of the Hallelujah Chorus, he said: ‘I did think I saw heaven open and I saw the very face of God.’
His biographer wrote this: ‘Handel’s Messiah has probably done more to convince thousands that there is a God than all the theological texts ever written, and perhaps the works of no other composer so largely contributed to the relief of human suffering.’
Israel, as a nation, had been overrun by the Midianites and God called Gideon to lead the nation out of their desperate need. Gideon's response is the same response many of us would have:
I can't do this. I am too weak.
But remember, the Holy Spirit specialises in creating something out of the voids, the nothingness, the weakness. How did this work for Gideon?
I often try and remember this when I am in the gym, struggling to lift a weight from the floor! You may well have heard the story of Samson, where he had been captured and his eyes plucked out. He was in bindings holding him in bondage. So often in Scripture, we see what the Holy Spirit does in a physical way happens in the New Testament in a spiritual way. The Holy Spirit breaks the chains that bind us, the habits, the addictions, the fear, the anxiety - the stuff that keeps us bound.
This is an amazing thing that the Holy Spirit does in our lives. He gives you the ability to help other people, to set other people free. It’s not just about having a warm feeling; it’s about making a difference to the world.
I always found it frustrating before: so many times I wanted to be a help to people, but I didn’t really feel I had anything to give them. When the Spirit of God fills you, you can help people, the poor. You can bind up the broken-hearted. People will come to you who are broken-hearted, because they know that there’s something about you that enables you to bind them up.
So in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit comes on particular people at particular times for particular tasks. But as we go on through the Old Testament there’s a kind of rising sense of anticipation: that something new is going to happen.
And then it does.
Something amazing happens in the New Testament. First, we see the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus, even right at the beginning - notice what the angel says to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
‘Baptism’ literally means ‘to drench, overwhelm, immerse, plunge’. It’s like a ship being sunk. And Jesus will baptise us with the Holy Spirit. And if you carry on reading this passage in Luke, you read the John baptised Jesus in water, and as Jesus came out of the water, ‘the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form’ (v22). Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. Chapter 4, verse 1: ‘Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit’. Chapter 4, verse 14: ‘Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit’. He went into the synagogue and he read these words that we read before from Isaiah 61:
And then he sat down and he said: ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ He says: ‘I’m the key to all of this.’
We see this in the early church too. In the book of Acts - which is really a story about how the church began after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus we read some incredible stuff about the Holy Spirit.
Right at the start of the journey, the risen Jesus is eating with the disciples. It is a few days before he ascends to Heaven. And Jesus tells His disciple not to leave the city but rather...
You can feel the sense of anticipation rising amongst the disciples. Jesus has been talking about the Holy Spirit for three years. For three years, the disciples had witnessed first hand the power of the Holy Spirit in all the miracles that had happened. And here they are, sitting with Jesus, having a conversation about waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, and what will happen when the Holy Spirit does fill them: they will receive power...
It’s almost like a champagne bottle being shaken: there’s this building anticipation. And then, chapter 2, verse 2, the cork flies off:
All of them.
Not just particular people at a particular time. All of them. Men, women (including Mary - the mother of Jesus) were in that room and the Holy Spirit came on all of them.
And when people saw this happening, they were all amazed. And the best explanation they could come up with was that they were drunk. Then Peter stands up, and tells them what really happened and how the Holy Spirit came upon all of them, just as God has promised would happen...and then he gets to the heart of the matter. If you are a Christ Follower, someone who has received the forgiveness of Christ for your sins, then you - yes You!...
What are you waiting for?
This video is technically the introduction to the weekend, but you will find it super helpful to watch as it has some great insight into the Holy Spirit
This is the video that we didn't watch on the day, and it goes into much more detail about the work of the Holy Spirit. It's the same study that was done in small groups.
A must watch! This video is the second session video of the Alpha day and it explains how you - yes, you! - can be filled with the Holy Spirit
If you could also watch this video, How Can I Make the most of the Rest of My Life before the next session, that would be amazing!!
