What do you think?
Rate this book
Experiencing the Spirit: Developing a Living Relationship With the Holy Spirit
The Christian life is not a set of rituals or teachings, but a relationship with God through His Holy Spirit. No matter how much you know about the Bible, no matter how strong your self- discipline is, no matter how hard you try to serve and please God, if your relationship with the Holy Spirit is weak, the Christian lfe will not work for you. In this book, Robert Heidler shows how God wants to unleash His power in your life, to bring you into dynamic, life-giving relationship with the Spirit of God. We were given the Holy Spirit to make the Christian life experiential, to make Jesus real in our lives. So stop struggling to survive from week to week, and start living every minute in the power He has given you. 240 Pages
- GenresChristianityChristian
259 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1998
33 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 27, 2025
Chuck Peirce and Robert Heilder are connected to the New Apostolic Reformation which is important to know prior to reading this-it gives a lot of insight into how/why they are relaying the information they are.
Also, they run the Glory of Zion ministry outside of Dallas and according to MinistryWatch.com "Pierce, president of Glory of Zion International Ministries, is one of the highest paid Christian ministry executives in the country. His salary from all the affiliated ministries in which he is involved totals $1.7 million.
According to the ministry’s Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service, Pierce receives a base salary of $84,000 from an affiliated ministry and another $1.58 million from “bonus and incentive compensation.”
The form explains, “[Glory of Zion International Ministries] receives revenues from the sales of books, CDs, and DVDs authored by the ministers. Royalties and bonuses are subsequently paid to the respective ministers.” https://ministrywatch.com/apostolic-g...
The book begins by using divisive language making a distinction between their beliefs and "most other churches" with statements like "Some teach that God...has cut off all communication with his people...that we cannont experience Him ourselves." That's not the definition of a cessationist church's beliefs which would be on the opposite end of the spectrum from their belief system.
Scripture and quotes are used incorrectly and out of context, manipulating their meaning. Robert Heidler uses a quote from Charles Spurgeon to say that even he "eagerly anticipated the later turn-of-the-century Pentecostal outpouring and its release of prophetic giftings in 1855"--a commonly misused quote. Spurgeon died in 1892 and the birth of the Pentecostal movement was in 1906. His quote Heilder used was an expression of hope for revival- not in the context of signs & gifts but in the context of gospel proclamation.
Heilder makes a distinction in the work of the Holy Spirit that "the Spirit's indewelling work takes place totally apart from the empowering work of the Spirit". He seems to take parts of verses and create entirely new, often out of context, thoughts from it which makes this book dangerous to read if you take his thoughts as truth. He talks about the Thessalonian church and that "the display of the Spirit's power made them uncomfortable"-which is nowhere in the book. Heidler says that "Because the New Testatment so stresses the importance of tongues, we should examine carefully the biblical teaching about this gift.". Speaking in tongues does not seem to be what the New Testament stresses the most. Heidler goes on to provide techniques to speaking in tongues including "simply choose to stop speaking in words your mind can understand. Simply allow your mouth to make sounds." It's all his own thoughts and very concerning.
Almost every other well known Christian author has written a book about the work of the Holy Spirit and this one should not be on the list of books to read.
Also, they run the Glory of Zion ministry outside of Dallas and according to MinistryWatch.com "Pierce, president of Glory of Zion International Ministries, is one of the highest paid Christian ministry executives in the country. His salary from all the affiliated ministries in which he is involved totals $1.7 million.
According to the ministry’s Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service, Pierce receives a base salary of $84,000 from an affiliated ministry and another $1.58 million from “bonus and incentive compensation.”
The form explains, “[Glory of Zion International Ministries] receives revenues from the sales of books, CDs, and DVDs authored by the ministers. Royalties and bonuses are subsequently paid to the respective ministers.” https://ministrywatch.com/apostolic-g...
The book begins by using divisive language making a distinction between their beliefs and "most other churches" with statements like "Some teach that God...has cut off all communication with his people...that we cannont experience Him ourselves." That's not the definition of a cessationist church's beliefs which would be on the opposite end of the spectrum from their belief system.
Scripture and quotes are used incorrectly and out of context, manipulating their meaning. Robert Heidler uses a quote from Charles Spurgeon to say that even he "eagerly anticipated the later turn-of-the-century Pentecostal outpouring and its release of prophetic giftings in 1855"--a commonly misused quote. Spurgeon died in 1892 and the birth of the Pentecostal movement was in 1906. His quote Heilder used was an expression of hope for revival- not in the context of signs & gifts but in the context of gospel proclamation.
Heilder makes a distinction in the work of the Holy Spirit that "the Spirit's indewelling work takes place totally apart from the empowering work of the Spirit". He seems to take parts of verses and create entirely new, often out of context, thoughts from it which makes this book dangerous to read if you take his thoughts as truth. He talks about the Thessalonian church and that "the display of the Spirit's power made them uncomfortable"-which is nowhere in the book. Heidler says that "Because the New Testatment so stresses the importance of tongues, we should examine carefully the biblical teaching about this gift.". Speaking in tongues does not seem to be what the New Testament stresses the most. Heidler goes on to provide techniques to speaking in tongues including "simply choose to stop speaking in words your mind can understand. Simply allow your mouth to make sounds." It's all his own thoughts and very concerning.
Almost every other well known Christian author has written a book about the work of the Holy Spirit and this one should not be on the list of books to read.
October 10, 2017
Some really good stuff in here, but can’t recommend it based on a lot of misuse of Scripture and reading too much experience into a text. Somewhat disappointing for someone who, from his bio at the beginning, is very well versed in the Word. He never pits the Spirit and the word against each other, but simply doesn’t exposit well enough for my liking. Sam Storm’s work is far better on the Spirit.
Read
January 16, 2022It is a very important book on how to experience the person of The Holy spirit in your life .contain a lot of testimoney on the role of the Holy Spirit in christian life.I recommend it to anyone eager for a comforter ,a helper and a person who is so kind and compassionate
March 20, 2012
This book helped bring a fullness of truth into my life. The religious denomination I grew up in did not teach me this truth, and therefore the power of God was absent from my life. And I was looking for the power of God in the earth. I read this book because I was on a spiritual journey with God and I was beginning to become awakened to Him in new ways. I knew a lot ABOUT Him, but I did not know HIM, from the standpoint of a dynamic relationship. This book gave me new insights as to why that was. It gave me truth to let God change me. It's well written from the perspective of love. It will enrich your understanding of who God is and who you are. I have given this book to many "seekers" over the years. Many of them have similar experiences as mine, in that this book awakened them to some truth they were missing.
August 29, 2011
I loved what the purpose of this book and what it wanted to teach 5 stars. The writing was not very good and I felt like some scripture was taken out of context. That was a bummer because there were better scripture that could of been used. However, I am glad I read it with friends. It was a great book to talk about.
July 30, 2019
What an amazing book! I like that Robert Heidler was not a "spiritual insider" growing up, and that God appeared to him, in such a way that was not and could not be taught by man.
Robert Heidler's insight is impeccable, a must read if you want to grow and learn how to walk with the spirit on a daily basis.
Robert Heidler's insight is impeccable, a must read if you want to grow and learn how to walk with the spirit on a daily basis.
April 13, 2012
I very straight forward explanation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There isn't the usual avalanche of emotional language and mysterious, hyper spiritual vibe. Recommended for people that do believe and for those that don't, but are curious as to what the other side thinks.
May 21, 2012
great book...a teaching about the Holy Spirit...i highly recommend!
December 6, 2012
One of my favorite books about the Holy Spirit & the gifts. Love how he lays it out naturally.
April 13, 2015
excellent book! Very well put together, can honestly say it has most definitely changed my life.
January 13, 2017
Incredibly insightful and helpful. Gives good guidance and scripture to understanding the Holy Spirit in a deeper way.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews