There are moments in life you just can’t shake—the kind that etch themselves deep in your soul that even decades later, they still burn bright. For me, one of those moments happened on a Sunday morning when I was eighteen. I was a rookie preacher with more passion than polish, thrilled when my dad asked me to fill in for him. I prayed like never before that weekend—studied for hours, wrestled with Scripture, and begged God to help me. When Sunday came, I got up early to pray again. I treasured each chance I had to preach.

Our little church was modest—a shotgun-style building with a handful of faithful families. People trickled in as usual, but something felt different on that morning. I could feel power—yes, actual power—swirling around my chest and even my hands. It’s hard to describe, but I could not deny the unusual feeling of God’s presence literally on my physical body. I could relate, in some small way, to those Bible characters of old when it stated that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon” them. (Num. 11:25, Judges 3:10, 6:34, 14:6, 1 Sam. 10:10)

As Sunday morning service began, a complete calmness came over me, almost as if I was watching myself from the outside. I don’t fully recall the details of my sermon, except that it carried an urgency to follow Jesus. When I finished preaching, I didn’t give an altar call. I simply closed the message. But then, something unexpected happened.

A young man in a cowboy hat, boots, and jeans walked straight down the aisle. Tears filled his eyes as he said, “I need to get my life right with the Lord.” I didn’t know him. He didn’t know me. Then the Holy Spirit’s presence on me intensified. Tears streamed down the man’s face as I shared what it meant to follow Jesus. Right there, he prayed and decided to follow Jesus.
And then it happened.

Without even thinking, I placed my hands on his shoulders, and the power I had been feeling all morning surged out of me like an electric pulse. Before I could process what was happening, that cowboy was flat on his back, completely overwhelmed by the presence of God. His body trembled under the surge I had been feeling. I knew He was encountering the Holy Spirit.

The few in the audience who saw what happened immediately rushed forward for prayer, and it happened again and again. The Holy Spirit made His mark on their lives. I had only seen things like this on TV or at big conferences. But this time, it wasn’t some well-known evangelist—it was me, an eighteen-year-old kid who really didn’t know what was happening. Shocked and a little overwhelmed, I moved from one person to the other and prayed for them.

That morning marked me. It provoked a hunger in me that has never left my soul—a longing for more of the Holy Spirit. Over the years, I’ve seen blind eyes open, cancers healed, addictions broken, demons cast out, marriages healed, depression broken, and lives transformed.

And yet, even after all these years and the numerous miracles I’ve been blessed to experience, I find myself desperate. Not for a thrill. Not for a spectacle. But for Him—the Holy Spirit. Because He is the only One who heals the broken in body, soul, and spirit.
Last night, I sensed a similar stirring, like I felt twenty-four years ago. I have felt His pull on my soul more and more these past few months. I find myself growing restless as I hope for another defining encounter with the Holy Spirit. As Paul beautifully expressed from a Philippi prison, I am moved to “know Him and power of His resurrection…”

This is the journey I am on. This is also the hope, I believe, our Church family is racing to find. We are a rag-tag rural community of Jesus lovers who want only one thing. We want the Spirit of Jesus to show up and make His life-changing power known.

As I look toward this coming Sunday, I believe we are on the edge of another encounter—one that will mark you. Don’t settle for a nominal life of mere lifeless piety. Come pursue Jesus and make it your passion to find Him and be changed by His Holy Spirit. Come and run hard after Him until His kingdom comes and His will is manifest in your life just as it is in Heaven.