Does this sound like your story? You've been following Jesus for a while, but then—maybe through a dramatic spiritual encounter or perhaps a quiet, nagging desire for more—you realize you've been missing out on a personal, intimate friendship with the Holy Spirit.

But what next? 

In this episode, Joey offers encouragement to the believer who is just beginning a friendship with the Holy Spirit, as well as three simple practices to receive and sow into what the Spirit is doing.

Links
Kylie White Episode

Is your prayer life more like a monologue with words sent up to a silent, but theoretically listening, God? Or is it a back-and-forth dialogue between you and God? In this episode, Joey shares how prayer can shift from being burdensome isolated speech into a delightful conversation with the Father. 

It may take practice and patience, but when we open our heart and mind to God’s agenda during prayer, we get to experience new covenant prayer—that is, Spirit-led dialogue with your Creator.

Links
Opening to God (Thomas H. Green)
Praying with Paul (DA Carson)
A Praying Life (Paul E. Miller)

How do we biblically and faithfully anticipate, discern, and interpret dreams? In this episode, we hope to offer a comprehensive resource on how Christians should approach dreams. Joey covers six key questions to consider as we learn how to walk faithfully Jesus even as we sleep: 

1. What are dreams? (09:04)
2. Where/who do dreams come from? (11:10)
3. Why does God give dreams? (23:20)
4. How do we discern whether a dream is demonic or from God? (33:10)
5. How do we understand and  interpret dreams? (50:18)
6. What role do dreams play in our pursuit of Christ? (01:07:00)

Duty can be a divisive word—some people are driven by duty, others may balk at the idea of being morally obligated to do something. In this episode, Joey explores Matthew Henry’s three daily duties to God—consecration, conversation, and closing—and how these duties can actually bring much joy and refreshment to our lives.

In consecrating our time to the Lord, we distinguish ourselves from the world by eating, working, playing, resting with Jesus and to his glory. In conversing with God through the day, we demonstrate our friendship status with our Creator. And in closing the day with God, we book end our daily work in gratitude and joyfully accept his gift of nightly rest.

Links
Matthew Henry’s Directions for Daily Communion with God

Does being "Type A" equate to having the gift of administration? Though an online gift test may tell you so, that's not quite it. Administration is just as much "charismata" as prophecy or speaking in tongues.  

In this episode, Joey explores this invaluable gift by walking through three questions:

• What is the gift of administration? 
• How do you know if you have it? 
• How do you practice it? 

Links
Use Your Gift

How much of heaven do we experience now? The tension between the "already" and the "not yet" goes back all the way to the church at Corinth. Jesus has already won the battle over death and the Holy Spirit has already been generously given to the church. Yet, sin, pain, and darkness still lurk so closely.

 In this episode, we'll explore which promises we can expect to be fulfilled in the "already" and which ones will only come into their full fruition when Christ returns. And, ultimately, we'll show why maintaining charismatic nuance—humbly asking for what Christ gives now, waiting for what he gives later, and tending to the Spirit in the in-between—is critical to the church growing in maturity.

Links:
Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians, 12-14

The phrase “baptism in the Holy Spirit” can stir up controversy and confusion in the Church. 

Those who have experienced it find it to be an extremely influential moment in their lives. Those that haven’t may, at best, question why they need it and, at worst, question their salvation. 

Highlighted through the life of evangelist, pastor, and writer R.A. Torrey, this episode clarifies what Holy Spirit baptism is, why every believer needs it, and why baptism may not be the best way to describe it. 

Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, an accountant, a teacher, a preacher, a student, we hope this episode encourages all believers to seek deeper power from the Spirit.

Links:
R.A. Torrey PDF
Sam Storms Article
Fee PDF

What did the most influential evangelists of the 19th and 20th centuries have in common?

It wasn’t strategies or teaching styles—but a desperate need for the power of the Holy Spirit. 

And as Joey lays out in this episode, their paths to receiving that power had helpful similarities that we can all learn from. Whether you’re in full-time ministry with the gift of evangelism or a hardworking accountant gifted in mercy, or anywhere in between, we all must go through the process of getting low and being emptied before receiving the Holy Spirit’s power.

Links:

A Passion for Souls: The Life of D. L. Moody
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham (out of print but used copies available)

If the gift of prophecy is a “take-it-or-leave-it” part of following Jesus—as the western Church often treats it—why would Paul instruct us to earnestly desire it?

In this episode, Joey dives into the what, why, and how of the gift of prophecy:

What is it?
Why do we need it?
How do we earnestly desire it?

By earnestly desiring to prophesy, we shift from a “self-conscious” way of life to an “others-conscious” posture towards brothers and sisters in Christ. And through practicing this gift, we develop an awareness of God’s heart and the specific encouragement he has for others.

Resource Links:

Spirit and Sacrament
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Do you know what God is speaking to you in your current season of life? Can you confidently distinguish his voice among the other noise? 

In this episode, Joey shares his “margin notes” on Gordon T. Smith’s powerful book, The Voice of Jesus, on confidently hearing and following the God. He highlights eight key insights from the book—including how emotions play into hearing, when to avoid making a decision, and what it looks like to hear for others. 

Reference Links:

The Voice of Jesus
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
Showing the Spirit
Spirit and Sacrament