How many enjoyed that as good starter exercise? It wasn't to hard was it aye? See, so what we'll do is we'll gradually grow the experiences you have, but it all works off the same thing; activating your spirit, settling your mind, listening for the spontaneous, identifying it, and then sharing what you have, and allowing if there's more comes to let the more come, and then when you feel it stops flowing just stop. We'll get you to do more and more of that. You might be quite surprised how easily you'll receive. Remember, you're made for this. This is not foreign. This is only a little unusual because you haven't done it, but it's actually how you are designed - that's why we laid the Bible foundation, you're designed for this, okay? I had the privilege of praying for a dear lady here tonight, and you got quite touched too didn't you? Yeah, felt the presence of God. Why don't you come up and just share with everyone what happened? Come on, just come on up here where everyone can see you, that's right. You were telling me how you're a new Christian, is that right?
[Female participant 2] Yes, I am, yes. I did an alpha course at the Village Baptist in Havelock North, and I was brought up a Catholic.
[Pastor Mike] Wow.
[Female participant 2] I had a faith that never really grew. I believed in God from being born...
[Pastor Mike] Right, yes.
[Female participant 2] ...being a little girl, and I was in a strict family, and never quite good enough. I was married and again, in that relationship, I could never quite match up to what I was expected to be. As a new Christian I've now got a faith that's a living faith, and it's within me, rather than fear of hell and damnation and it's alright...
[Pastor Mike] Wonderful.
[Female participant 2] ...if you give to charities and live a good life, but that's not what it's all about. It's a warm contented feeling now...
[Pastor Mike] With God, yeah. So she was sharing with me how she's a Christian for 18 months and had been praying to hear the voice of God and experience Him, for 18 months. She's come tonight wanting to hear the voice of God and experience His love, and she was feeling emotional after I prayed for someone else, so I offered to pray for her, and when I prayed for her God began to give me some words of knowledge.
[Female participant 2] I'm getting very hot. [Laughter]
[Pastor Mike] Hot is good. [Laughter and applause] Hot is good, hot is the spirit of God resting on you, yeah. Okay - and the word that the Lord gave me, was that she struggled to be good enough, and that from when she was very young she was criticised and was never found to be good enough and had struggled all her life to be good enough. God wanted her to know He accepted her and loved her. Isn't that wonderful? Now only God could know those sorts of things, and of course as I spoke then she began to be quite touched - and you're still being touched at the moment...
[Female participant 2] I am, yes.
[Pastor Mike] ...yeah.
[Female participant 2] Apart from the fact that I've got the most beautiful and caring and loving husband now that's helped me find the Lord, given me peace and contentment which I've never known, and he has helped the Lord...
[Pastor Mike] Let's give him a clap shall we? That's fantastic. [Applause] Good on you. I'm so glad you came - so undoubtedly over tomorrow there'll be a lot more of this happen, and that's what we came for. We came to hear the voice of God, and to be able to flow with the Holy Spirit, and you see the tremendous blessing you can be, if you can interact with people and get something from God, that only God knows, that can touch their heart. I'll practice with you tomorrow and whatever I ask you to do I'll do it for you first, so you can see it operating, then you practice and have a turn at it, okay?
Well we're getting near the end of the evening, so perhaps rather than do any more, perhaps we'll just give an opportunity if any of you had some questions you wanted to ask. We may cover it tomorrow of course, but some of it we may be able to cover just right now, so if you have any questions you wanted to ask - I think one or two had some. In the break they came up to me, so if you had a question to ask and if you could stand and speak it out, and I'll repeat it so that the camera picks it all up, and do my best to answer it. There's no bad questions, but there can be inadequate answers, so I will do the best I can to answer well, as best I can. So anyone who had some questions they wanted to ask before we finish this session? Yes, okay then, thank you.
[Male participant 1] My question is about the soul.
[Pastor Mike] Yes.
[Male participant 1] When you were talking, you interchange the words soul and mind...
[Pastor Mike] Mm-hm.
[Male participant 1] ...and memory. Now to me mind means brain...
[Pastor Mike] Right, yes.
[Male participant 1] ...which is where memories are stored.
[Pastor Mike] Yes.
[Male participant 1] But when you die and your brain dies and goes into the ground, that means your memory's gone, but according to scripture it persists.
[Pastor Mike] Exactly.
[Male participant 1] So presumably then the memory is somehow bound up in spirit.
[Pastor Mike] Yes.
[Male participant 1] So that means soul is spirit, so that man has to...
[Pastor Mike] No, no. No, the Bible - yeah...
[Male participant 1] ...so could you explain what happens to memories when a person dies? Is it material, or is it spirit? If it's material that's gone forever, if it's spirit and those memories are in your soul, then a spirit is soul and its like two spirits. Can you explain a bit more about that?