This is huge to me. I want to do more than simply have a knowledge of God. I think that knowing God is biblically mandated and a good idea. In fact, Paul often prays for churches that they would 'grow in the knowledge of God(Colossians 1:10).' So having a right understanding of what God is a great thing but it cannot be devoid of experience. Think about the pharisees and their intense knowledge of the Law... But, they did not have the experience of intimacy with God. They knew about him, but they did not intimately know him.
I want to see evidence of Power. I want to see a baptism of the Holy Spirit and a result of Power. We can talk about God a ton and even describe him pretty accurately but what I want and what I think we need in our youth group is his presence falling on our group. We need to be completely immersed in his spirit. That is what baptism means... a covering over of water. But in this case it is a covering over of the Holy Spirit. I am not sure if you have felt this before? Can you look in the mirror and tell yourself that you have seen enough of God's Spirit? Are you content with the amount that the Holy Spirit has achieved in your life? One reason we do not see enough is because we are stiff-arming God with the attitude that, 'I can achieve this on my own. I have this covered God, thank you very much.' Let's fall back on the Holy Spirit and say, "I want to see you move so mightily that I could never get the credit. Do something so miraculous that the only way it could have happened is by your Spirit."
"Our Gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. (1 Thess 1:5)" I don't want to simply play youth group. I want to see the Spirit move in and among us in a way that is not explainable without saying, "God did it!"
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