change the atmosphere. A room may be quiet, but when someone enters in,
courage.
Brethren who have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit can be grouped into two categories: one category of people are thinskinned and still timid; the other category of people are thick-skinned and unafraid. Before I received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit I would sometimes follow a gospel friend for one or two miles but dared not witness to him. I had the courage to pray and to read the Bible on the train, but I had to exert some effort to distribute gospel tracts. Once I had received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, however, I did not care anymore about the way I dressed (see below, at point 3) and I had great boldness. I could now be classified as not only being thickskinned but as having no skin as well!
3. Removes self-consciousness. Self-consciousness is bad for Christians. A self-conscious person is aware of his clothing, whether good or bad; he is sensitive to people's reaction. When invited to eat out, he finds no liberty to preach the gospel to his host. When he meets a newcomer, he cannot talk to him unless he has first carefully prepared himself. These conditions exist because he always is conscious of himself. He can pray by himself in the room, but he cannot pray as freely in public as he can in his room. Before the public he has to change his tone, words and attitude for fear of displeasing men. These symptoms indicate deep self-consciousness. Such a person's spirit is encircled by the soul, and thus he is not free.
Once there was a meeting in a brother's sitting room. The Holy Spirit was poured forth at the meeting; everybody was set free. Such freedom is not license, but liberty of the spirit. Sometimes in a gathering, people are so cautious that no one dares to speak. God used Evan Roberts to save many souls. Many testified that he was the one person in the world who had no selfconsciousness. He could laugh when he felt to laugh. He could look at people when he wanted to do so. Only a person devoid of self-consciousness can work for God. To be delivered from self-consciousness we need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for by it we are set free.
4. Changes the atmosphere . A man filled with the Holy Spirit can change the atmosphere. A room may be quiet, but when someone enters in, immediately it becomes noisy. Or the room is noisy, but at his entrance it suddenly becomes quiet. What was quiet becomes noisy, and what was noisy becomes quiet. A person such as this can affect the room atmosphere. Our failure to have an impact lies in our inability to bring in a spiritual atmosphere. We simply follow what others are doing. We cannot influence them, but are