The Baptism In The Holy
Spirit
Lesson Fourteen: The Promise Of The Father
TEXT:
Acts 1:4-5 - And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,
saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Luke 24:49 - And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye
in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is NOT just an experience for those who belong to
a movement or denomination. It is the "PROMISE OF THE FATHER" that
Jesus said
was available to all those willing to believe. The Promise of the Father and the
baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues are the same thing. Speaking in tongues does not qualify one for entrance into heaven.
Let me say that again - you don't have to speak in tongues to be saved. But speaking in tongues
is the
initial (NOT EVERY) evidence that one has been filled with the Holy Spirit. The
term "initial," is the key to this.
The
church world disagrees on that last statement and is basically divided into two parts right now. The Protestant side (Baptists,
Methodists, Presbyterians, etc.) of the church preaches the Cross without the
Holy Spirit, while the Pentecostal and
Charismatic side preaches a message that reeks with arrogance bragging it knows
about the Holy Ghost while pushing out the message of the cross, which is the
root of the very power most brag about. Many in the Charismatic movement who have this precious gift
have abandoned their dependence on the Holy Spirit for psychology, education and
materialism. Paul said "QUENCH NOT" the Holy Ghost! The Holy Spirit is the
third-person of the Godhead on earth today doing the work of the Kingdom. He is
not a "thing" or an "it," HE IS GOD. And He, the Holy
Spirit, is the PROMISE OF THE FATHER!
Acts 1:4-5 - And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,
saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Luke 24:49 - And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye
in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
February 2006 marks nearly 20 years
since my own personal
experience with the Holy Ghost. In February 1987 I had journeyed to Atlanta,
Georgia to find answers to an ever-growing conflict inside that there was
something more to Christianity than going to church on Sunday and hearing 3
songs and a sermon. I grew up Southern Baptist that just didn't expose us to
this type experience. Most of what I heard about tongues and the gifts in the
Spirit was very negative and taught in a manner to shun tongues at all costs!
I remember the first time I ever heard anyone speak in tongues was during the
years I stayed with my late Aunt Florence, who is with Jesus now, and who baby-sit my brother and I when we were
young. I would remember us half asleep for our afternoon naps upstairs then hearing our Aunt Florence praying downstairs. She would be praying in a normal
language at first, many times calling each of our names to the Lord, then all of a sudden
we would hear something that was not of this world as she began to speak in
languages we didn't understand. Paul said in 1 Corinthians that there are "tongues of angels," and I firmly believe that at times my Aunt
Florence prayed in those languages
I tell you this. I'm 42 years old now and that took place over 30 years ago, but I
still remember those occasions just like it was yesterday. My Aunt Florence was
not ashamed of the Holy Spirit. She was not ashamed to speak in tongues while we
listened. She was not ashamed to lay hands on us when we were young and pray
over us in the Holy Ghost. I know now that those years with her were
seed-planting years in my heart for what the Lord would do for me in February
1987. In the fall of 1986 the Lord touched my heart and started a hunger within
me to find out more about Him. I was 21 at the time and had been through several
changes in my life. I was like most American church kids. We grew up in church
thinking we were saved and being a preacher's kid made it that much worse. There
is such a danger in being around something without ever partaking of it and
that summed up my relationship with Jesus before then. I had heard about Him, read about Him,
talked about Him - but I NEVER KNEW HIM. In the summer of 1986, I had reached a
point that I wanted to make things right with God
and leave no question in my heart that I was ready for heaven.
I remember writing my Aunt a letter asking her for information on the Holy
Spirit. At that time in my life I had moved back in with my dad for a while. I
remember getting up early on Sunday mornings and tuning in to a well-known
evangelist who taught on the baptism of the Holy Spirit quite often. I would
remember hearing what he had to say and think, "wow, I want that; I want more of
God." Again, you must realize that the only exposure to the Holy Spirit I had
had up to that point was during my early childhood when I visited mom's side of
the family (Aunt Florence was her sister).
Other than that I had been convinced that speaking in tongues was of the devil,
it was not for today and it was not a necessity in your Christian walk. I was
not just getting that from home any more, but from the Baptist church I attended
too. I remember a Bible study group one Sunday afternoon when several other
younger people got together to discuss this and other issues relating to the
Holy Spirit. Believe me - there was enough unbelief in that room to choke a mule
- and I was the ringleader!
Early in 1987 I started attending a full-gospel church and I was nervous as a
cat! I remember every time they talked about tongues my old feelings of fear,
unbelief and anxiety would rise quickly within me. A few times the pastor would
call people to the front who wanted to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit
that just made me more nervous. I was hungry, but I was not ready! I actually
went up a couple of times to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and nothing
happened. Then I got desperate. I had gotten the courage to seek more of God and
now I was not going to be denied.
I went to my Aunts house the first week of February and spent all day Saturday
talking with her about this. I was open and honest with her and laid out to her
my fears about what I had heard. I told her that there was something that was
churning inside me though at the same time that made me KNOW that I needed this
experience. This discussion went on all day long. I had started studying the
Bible and seeing for myself that what the Bible said about this experience was
not lining up with what I was hearing behind the pulpits I had listened to over
the years. This is not a personal swipe at my dad believe me. The Lord has
opened his heart to this experience more in the last 5 years than in the past 35
since I was born in 1965. He has not been experienced this yet but he has shared
with me several times over the past few years that he has seen the validity of
speaking in tongues and that it is for today. That is at least a step and I know
the Lord will do the rest in His own timing one day in the future.
Getting back to February, 1987. I had
spent all day long talking with Aunt Florence about the Baptism of the Holy
Ghost. I was fighting through nearly 30 years of traditional teaching, most of
which was negative in nature concerning the Holy Spirit.
About 11:00 PM my Aunt said "Chris, we can talk about this all day and all night, let's just pray and ask the Lord to do the rest." She got behind me and laid hands on my head. I remember hearing her pray in English and then she began to pray in tongues. I can't explain much more of this because the rest is almost a blur. I do remember finding myself on the floor in her house, crying, weeping deeply from within, and feeling the Lord's hand literally crush my heart and spirit. I heard myself moaning words and praying in English asking the Lord Jesus to forgive me of my sins. A prophetic word came forth from my aunt concerning unforgiveness that was rooted in my heart and the Lord wanted to cleanse me of that first before filling me with the Spirit. That's the beauty of the Lord. He wants to do more than give us a thrill or quick fix sensation. He wants to change our hearts. The last words I heard myself say in English were, "Lord, forgive me for harboring unforgiveness in my heart, cleanse it and take it from me." The next thing I heard coming from my mouth was literally like a "river" of words that were NOT in English. After such a long search for the truth concerning tongues had ended in their reality, I just let the Holy Spirit flow and flow and flow and flow through me in tongues all night long.
John 7:37-38
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If
any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [38] He that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
I laid on the floor till nearly 3 in
the morning before going into my mother's room, waking her up, telling what had
happened, and asking her to forgive me for harboring unforgiveness in my heart
towards her. At that moment I wanted to find everyone that I felt I harbored
something against and get it straight. That's what the Holy Ghost does to our
hearts! He changes us and convicts us of sin. He sets us free from the powers of
darkness and leads us into ALL TRUTH.
John 16:7-11
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will
send him unto you. [8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] Of sin, because they believe not on
me; [10] Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
[11] Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
I just fell off to sleep after speaking to my mom, then woke back up about 8 the next morning speaking in tongues again. I remember feeling a sensation in my spirit man of a "river" that was flowing, just like Jesus spoke of in John 7. I could literally "hear" this river! It was powerful! As I came home that afternoon two things have never happened again since that day. I have never again told ANYONE that speaking is tongues is of the devil AND I have never told anyone that the baptism in the Holy Ghost is NOT REAL.
And friend that is the bottom line. Many of you reading this may not believe in this experience because of what you've been taught but to those of us who have experienced this glorious infilling - there is NOTHING any of your doctrinal statements or denominational theology could state to make us believe this experience isn't real. It's the same thing as someone not believing in hell. Five seconds in the PIT will cure your theology friend! Five seconds in the PIT and those who don't believe in hell will all of a sudden believe! That may be a crude comparison to the Baptism in the Holy Ghost but it's very similar in many ways. Once you experience the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost you will never be the same again. To be frank, life will not get any easier and your Christian walk with Jesus will be just as needed as before. The devil will actually begin fighting you harder and attacking more than before you ever believed the Lord for this glorious experience.
I learned some hard lessons in the months that followed this night in February
1987. Receiving the Baptism in the Holy Ghost will only help you in your
Christian walk if you're willing to be LED by the same Spirit! One's integrity
and character are far more important to God and only the HOLY SPIRIT can develop
those areas of our lives in the image of Jesus as we yield our hearts to Him.
Sadly, instead of most who receive this experience walking in greater humility,
they succumb to greater pride and arrogance and that opens the door to
tremendous onslaughts of darkness that most never withstand. I can tell you that
from experience. It happened to this writer and I pray better things accompany
your salvation and walk with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
My Teenage Son Brandon Received The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit
A few years back in 2002, I was driving my family to dinner
and talking to my
nine-year old son Brandon. I told him that weekend about my deep desire for him
to be filled with the Spirit. I told him I was praying for him daily that the
Lord would anoint him for service with the baptism in the Holy Ghost. As I spoke
these things to him he just smiled and said "Dad, I have something to tell you."
He told me that about a week or so before I had mentioned this to him, that he was in a local church in North Georgia
and went down front to be prayed for to receive this endowment of power from on
high. He just lifted his little hands "and something felt like it was touching
my hands when I did," he said. He said he began to praise God in English and all
of a sudden his little voice started speaking in another language. It was just a
few words but he said, "It sounded like Spanish dad." I just wept in my front
seat as he told me this. I reached over and laid my hands on his little leg and
just asked God to increase that power in his life. I talked with him to make
sure what he had received was real and was touched by my sons' excitement over
what had happened.
As I listened to his child-like interpretation of what happened it hit me that
if us old crusty adults would embrace the HOLY GHOST as my nine-year old did -
we'd turn AMERICA UPSIDE down just like the early church turned their WORLD
upside down in the first church!
Acts 17:6 - And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren
unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside
down are come hither also;
The baptism in the Holy Ghost is real and it is for TODAY! It is more than just
an experience; it's an encounter with a HOLY God that wants to endue us with
power. Does this encounter make you perfect? No. I have had tremendous
difficulty in my life over the years. I realize now that my problems were a
direct result of me putting my faith in this "experience," without giving my
life totally to the Lord and being controlled by the Holy Ghost more than I
allowed Him to do so. I learned the hard way that this experience is not and was
not a cure-all for godly Christian
living This experience WILL help you however, if you will allow the Holy Ghost
latitude to do the work inside your heart He wants to do. He wants to take you
to the CROSS and bring DEATH to the flesh so that Christ can live! I didn't
understand that in 1987. I, like many others, thought this experience was some
type of mystical magic wand that would make all my flesh problems go away.
Jesus didn't say you shall "speak in tongues," and that will set you free. He said you will KNOW THE TRUTH and the TRUTH will set you free! The Holy Spirit's job is to LEAD us INTO ALL TRUTH, which is the message of the Cross! If the Holy Spirit is given the latitude he seeks in our hearts, He will make us more like Jesus and birth a nature of righteousness in us that we've never known before!
Does this experience 'zap' you into Christian
perfection? Absolutely not. You still have to READ THE WORD and allow your faith
to grow in Christ! You STILL have to be part
of fellowship and lean on the Lord. YOU STILL have to have faith and make Christ
part of your DAILY walk, not just a temporal experience. Is this experience
necessary to get you to heaven? No. You don't have to speak in tongues to be
saved, but friend, if God has something more for us to make your walk here on
earth a victorious one instead of a defeated one - wouldn't you be interested in
that??? I sure would!
This journal is for those who are hungry for more of God. I can't make you
hungry for God. I can't make you believe this is real. I can't make you believe
that this experience is for YOU. Only the power of the Holy Spirit
can do all of that. But I pray if nothing else those of you who have not received
the baptism in the Holy Ghost will be motivated to learn more about the Holy
Ghost and desire the FULLNESS of God in your life. We as the church need ALL OF
THE HOLY GHOST WE CAN GET!!! The church needs the HOLY GHOST to empower it. The church
needs the power of the HOLY GHOST to set captives free. The church needs the
HOLY GHOST to deliver it from its own darkness. Hear what I am saying to you.
I'm not glorifying an experience or am I even glorifying the Holy Ghost - He
wouldn't take the glory even if I did - because when HE CAME He didn't come to
glorify HIMSELF -but He came to GLORIFY CHRIST and what Christ did at the
Cross! The Promise Of The Father and
the baptism in the Holy Spirit are one and the same.
John 14:16, 26 - - And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth;
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:
but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [18] I will not
leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 26] But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 - But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me: [27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me
from the beginning.
John 16:13-22 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. [14] He shall glorify
me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. [15] All things
that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and
shall shew it unto you. [16] A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again,
a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Jesus said the Holy Ghost would:
• Teach us all things
• Bring all things to remembrance
• He will testify of me (Jesus)
• He will not speak of himself
• He will GLORIFY me (JESUS)
He came to point us to the source of our salvation - the Lord Jesus. He DID not
come to give us goose bumps or to put on a show - He came to make the death,
burial and resurrection power of Yeshuah REAL to us in these latter days! So
come with us now and take a journey to learn more of the PROMISE of the FATHER!
HE wants to fill you to overflowing in these last days!
Jesus' command to the apostles in Acts 1:4 to "wait" for the Promise of the
Father is a command to all believers of THIS age as well. The PROMISE OF THE
FATHER or the promised Holy Spirit and the baptism IN the Holy Ghost are the
same. Yeshuah reminded the apostles that He had spoken of this Spirit baptism on
several occasions: (John 7:37-39; John 14:12-17,26; John 15:26; John 16:7-15).
Luke 24:49 - And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye
in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Yeshuah said I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city
of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power on high. This was the 54th and last
New Testament prophecy in Luke (Luke 24:49, fulfilled, Acts 2) so it bears
noting that Jesus must have been talking about something BIG. I mean the very
LAST thing Jesus told the disciples to do before they preached, before they
started ministry, before they started Bible schools was to go to Jerusalem and
tarry to be ENDUED with power from on HIGH.
He called this the "PROMISE OF THE FATHER." This was the Spirit baptism that was
promised to all believers and something Jesus spoke of OFTEN during His
earthly ministry:
Matthew 3:11 - I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that
cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
John 1:31-33 - And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to
Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. [32] And John bare record,
saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
him. [33] And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the
same said unto me, Upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining
on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.
John 7:37-39 - In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [38] He that
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe
on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus
was not yet glorified.)
John 14:12-17 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father. [13] And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] If ye shall ask any
thing in my name, I will do it. [15] If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16]
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 14:26 - But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will
send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 - But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me:
John 16:13-15 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. [14] He shall glorify
me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. [15] All things
that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and
shall show it unto you.
Acts 1:4-8 - And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,
saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. [6] When they
therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this
time restore again the kingdom to Israel? [7] And he said unto them, It is not
for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own
power. [8] But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Jesus told them to tarry, or wait for the endowment of power. In South Georgia
English - "DON'T GO ANYWHERE BEFORE YOU RECEIVE THIS IMPORTANT ENDUEMENT OF
POWER!" This is what early disciples were told to do to get the Spirit baptism
or the full endowment of power from on high to do the works of Christ. The word
"endued with" comes from the Greek: enduo (GSN17460), which means to "put on"
(Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:20; Luke 15:22); be clothed with (Mark 15:17; Rev.
1:13); be clothed in (Rev. 15:6; Rev. 19:14); and arrayed in (Acts 12:21).
Anyone clothed with this power will be able to confirm what he preaches, and
this is the only normal New Testament program (John 14:12; Mark 16:16-20).
The POWER Jesus spoke of the apostles would receive comes from the Greek:
(GSN-1411), inherent power; the power of reproducing itself—from which we get
the English dynamo. This endowment of power is the same as receiving the promise
of the Father or the promised Holy Spirit in baptismal measure. Jesus was
telling them they would be able to do HIS WORKS once they received this power.
Without it - they would NOT be able to! (John 14:12; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 1:4-8).
The Promise Of The Father Was Sent By Jesus Himself, NOT Man
Acts 2:33 - Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this,
which ye now see and hear.
Peter's message on Pentecost makes it clear that the source of the Holy Spirit
is the Lord Jesus Himself. That is why it is so ludicrous for the church to
fight against the Holy Spirit - HE COMES FROM YESHUAH! He is PART OF YESHUAH!
When Yeshuah went back to glory He went to the Father having been exalted as our
PRIEST and KING. His blood purchased us the Holy Spirit so that men could not
just be born again but be FILLED with the HOLY GHOST. Some teach that the Holy
Spirit's work at conversion is His only work - that is not true. The Holy
Spirit's work is JUST BEGINNING at conversion, not stopping, just as much as the
Holy Spirit's work during the INFILLING is not an "end" of our walk with God -
but also a beginning. Peter said "HE HAS SHED FORTH THIS." Glory to God. "THIS"
is the PROMISE He gave the apostles prior to His ascension. He told them to
tarry in Jerusalem until they be "ENDUED" with power on HIGH.
Friend, the power of the HOLY GHOST is being shed forth even as I write these
words today. HE has not stopped shedding forth His power on earth. Yeshuah has
NOT ceased to pour out the gifts of the Spirit on the church. He has NOT
selected just a few to receive these gifts but He as given us ALL the
opportunity to RECEIVE the fullness of the HOLY GHOST! My Lord I am getting
excited as I write this. Yeshuah did not go to Calvary and shed His blood so we
as His Church would be divided over the HOLY GHOST. And He didn't go to the
cross and shed blood so that men could stand behind pulpits and demean and
degrade the very POWER OF HIS GLORY - THE HOLY GHOST. Hear me preacher, when you
spew your unbelief concerning the Holy Spirit to others you are standing up
against something bigger than you'd ever dare to consider. You may "think" you
know it all about Jesus and what the word says about it - but read the words
above - "HE SHED FORTH THIS!" And when you stand in opposition to the moving of
the Holy Spirit you are opposing GOD! You may find people who agree with your
point of view - that's where we get denominations. But in the end we had better
not worry about whether MAN agrees with us - it will matter what GOD thinks of
us. Peter said you NOW see and HEAR. What do you HEAR?
Well the day the Holy Ghost fell on those gathered on the temple square that
morning there was something that was being HEARD! They SPOKE WITH OTHER TONGUES
as the SPIRIT OF GOD gave them the utterance. The PROMISE of the Father is a
promise you can HEAR and SEE! You can see the results in people being set free,
souls saved, bodies healed and captives delivered. The Promise of the Father can
set you free lady from your depression. The Promise of the Father can set you
free sir from your lying. The Promise of the Father sir will set you free from
your dirty jokes and pornography addiction. The Promise of the Father can set
you free ma'am from that gossiping tongue and backbiting spirit. The Promise of
the Father preacher can change your church from a funeral home on Sunday morning
and Sunday night to a place where people are actually ALIVE with something in
their hearts more than Saturday night's baseball scores! Dear God help this
generation of churchgoers.
The powers of darkness parade their power on television each day to our children
and youth while the church fights with everything in it to keep the Holy Spirit
from moving in His fullness. We will get what we want if we don't cease from
this! God will give us exactly what we are seeking - a LIFELESS CHURCH. But if
we have a lifeless church then we can be sure of this - our children will be
destroyed by the powers of darkness!
Jesus received from the Father the promise He had given the apostles. And that
Promise is available for all those who will RECEIVE it today. It's not about
"getting" the Holy Spirit - HE'S ALREADY BEEN GIVEN! It's about RECEIVING! And
we will deal with that a little later.
The Promise Of The Father Is Available To ALL Who Will Believe
Acts 2:38-41 - Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children,
and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And
with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from
this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:
and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Peter said the promise is to YOU, YOUR CHILDREN, and to all who are afar off.
Three classes of people that represent three groups of history - the past, the
present and the future. The "you" Peter referred to were those in his day - the
past. YOUR CHILDREN - those in the future generations who would follow the ones
listening to his sermon. And those who are afar off - THE PRESENT - that's US!
Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, a Princeton Seminary professor, popularized the
argument that miraculous gifts of the Spirit, including the baptism in the Holy
Spirit, went away with the apostles. He taught that these gifts were given only
to a few, namely the apostles, and Stephen and Philip. The purpose of these
gifts, according to Warfield, was to authenticate the apostles as trustworthy
teachers of doctrine. When the apostles died, therefore, the gifts necessarily
passed away with them. Warfield wrote in 1918:
It is very clear from the record of the New Testament that the extraordinary
charismata were not (after the very first days of the church) the possession of
all Christians, but supernatural gifts to a few. These gifts were not the
possession of the primitive Christian as such; nor for that matter of the
Apostolic Church or the apostolic age for himself or herself; they were
distinctly for the authentication of the Apostles as the authoritative agents of
God in founding the Church. Their function thus confined them to distinctively
the Apostolic Church, and they necessarily passed away with it.
Even today Warfield's modern theological descendants are still arguing the same
way. A well-known theologian who teaches in a well-known Texas seminary says
this:
"Every example of healing (by the instrumentality of a person) in the book of
Acts is performed by an apostle, or an apostle's deputy, and if we go STRICTLY
by the Biblical record, the only three deputies who had any involvement in
healing were Stephen, Philip and possibly Barnabas if Acts 14:3 includes him.
Outside these groups there are no "gifted" healing activities actually recorded
in Acts or the epistles. In these days of charismatic confusion we need
constantly to draw attention to the texts which prove that signs and wonders
were peculiar to the apostolic band, and were not bestowed generously."
That is what is being taught to our young men and women at most Bible colleges
in America. Granted, not all Bible colleges are this way but even the ones who
teach the fact the gifts are real today seek to control the atmosphere and the
way people operate in the gifts. Paul must turn over in his grave to hear the
words "in decency and in order,” quoted so many times in churches to quench the
moving of the Holy Ghost today. Friend, when the Holy Ghost starts moving in our
services we had better get out of the way and let Him do His work.
I have news for Mr. Warfield and this other so-called theologian. My nine-year
old son has more sense of God than they do because if what he received last week
isn't real then I don't know what is. I don't know how these men could look my
son in the face and say, "what you have received isn't real." You may laugh at
that statement but that's exactly what is happening today in most churches. We
are convincing people that what they have received isn't real or we are trying
to make sure we put a lid on it so it won't offend our rich Protestant friends
who don't believe in the power of God.
I can tell you this. My son is not ashamed of what he received. He raised his
little hands in service last Sunday we were together and I heard his precious
prayer language for the first time. His dad wept thanking God for baptizing my
son in the Holy Ghost. This promise is to YOU and TO YOUR CHILDREN! Parents, God
help us. We tear up everything that is Godly and vital to our children's well
being while we applaud and uplift things before our children that will destroy
them and send them to hell! We have no problem degrading those we know who speak
in tongues but then we'll take our children to the local video store and fill
them with violence, hate, rape, murder, sex, lying, corruption and greed - and
will spend tons of money doing it. The power we are fighting is the power that
will set our children free.
I will warn you. The Holy Ghost doesn't act on QUE. He doesn't come to our
beckon call. He doesn't do things the way we want Him to do them all the time.
He doesn't keep things "neat" and "nice" and "proper" all the time. Look at the
gospels. Jesus went around healing the sick, casting out devils and making the
religious around Him so made they couldn't see straight. I heard a friend of
mine recently say that Benny Hinn was "over the top." Benny Hinn may not be
perfect but if we will criticize him for being over the top then believe me - we
would most certainly criticize JESUS if He were here among us today. Jesus was
more than "over the top," JESUS was THE TOP!!! Most mainline churches today to
say the least would not accept his methods!
What do you think most churches would do if someone bound by demons came into
our fellowship foaming at the mouth, naked, cutting themselves with needles????
Uh, let's be frank - he wouldn't make it in the front door. But if someone who
believes in the power of God lays hand on that person and Jesus delivers Him, we
want to start questioning by what power that person was using to heal and
deliver. The reason we don't see the supernatural today is not because the
PROMISE OF THE FATHER isn't for today - it's our own STINKING UNBELIEF!
A Word To My Charismatic Brethren
I'm writing quite a bit about the denominations that don't believe but I want to
talk a bit to those of us who DO. We can boast of the fact we believe but if we
seek to quench the moving of the Holy Spirit - IN LIGHT OF KNOWING HE IS REAL -
our judgment will be greater! How many Assembly of God churches, Foursquare
Churches, Word of Faith, etc. have degenerated into sanctuaries that are so void
of the power of God you wouldn't know whether you are in a Baptist church or
Methodist church unless the sign said something different on the outside. Friend
these things ought not to be. Granted some Charismatic people go to extremes in
their freedom that is not good but I have found that freedom is better than
bondage. Freedom usually gives place to greater abuse but I'll ask you a simple
question - would you rather be FREE or in BONDAGE? Paul said for us to not let
our freedom be used as a cloak for the flesh but to use that freedom to LOVE one
another. But what greater love can we show others than to allow the Holy Spirit
to move through our lives and allow His power to touch those who are oppressed
and bound by the enemy?
We're so afraid God is going to take over something that we have control over it
kills us. We're so afraid our people are going to be motivated to seek so much
more of God that they will not be satisfied with our stale sermons on Sunday any
more. We're so afraid our people are going to get a taste of something REAL that
they won't want to come back to a dead, lifeless church but will want to find a
place where the gifts of the Holy Spirit are practiced and allowed to operate.
THE LETTER KILLS but the SPIRIT GIVES LIFE. The promise of the Father is for US
today and it has never NOT been for us today.
The Promise Of The Father Is Received Through Faith
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
You cannot receive the Holy Spirit any other way except through simple
child-like faith. To repeat something my son said to me last week - he said,
"daddy, I just lifted my hands to heaven; I felt something touch my hands and
then I just started speaking in another language, it sounded like Spanish." To a
nine-year old - that was what it felt and sounded like. I thought to myself "My
Lord, my nine-year-old rebukes me without knowing it." How many times has God
wanted to "TOUCH US ON OUR HANDS" but He can't because of our unbelief?
Mark 6:1-6 - And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his
disciples follow him. [2] And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach
in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath
this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that
even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? [3] Is not this the carpenter,
the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and
are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. [4] But Jesus
said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and
among his own kin, and in his own house. [5] And he could there do no mighty
work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. [6] And
he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages,
teaching.
Unbelief in the church will cut off the flow of God more than we may care to
admit. People die and go to hell because they don't believe in Jesus as their
Savior. But the church DIES too when it ceases to believe in Jesus as their
source of POWER and the GIVER of the HOLY GHOST and HIS GIFTS. Those around
Jesus at his hometown were "offended" at Him. How many of us are OFFENDED at Him
as well? We may say "I'd never be offended" at him but when we stand against
what HE DOES - HEAL, DELIVER, EMPOWER and ANOINT - THEN WE ARE OFFENDED AT HIM!
The promise of the Father was given to the church for this hour to be a source
of deliverance to a hurting and dying world. AND ALL THE WARFIELDS AND HEATHEN
SEMINARY TEACHERS IN THE WORLD WILL NEVER STOP THAT. As my good friend Neal
Baggett from Cairo, Ga. told me many years ago, "We as individuals can believe
and receive or we can doubt and do without!"
He was MARVELED at their unbelief - and I am sure ours hurt Him today. He asked
His disciples that when He comes to earth the second time would He find "faith
on the earth?"
Luke 18:8 - I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the
Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
That's a really good question. It really is. Signs are to follow "them that
believe," not them that doubt, disbelieve, constantly deny such possibility and
use every excuse of unbelief to evade doing these things. This means literally
what it says—"even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). This does not
mean that one cannot be saved or get other benefits from God if he cannot do
these things, nor does it mean that one is an unbeliever in salvation if he
cannot do them. It simply means that he has not attained to faith sufficient to
appropriate the benefits promised.
The Bible gives us five signs that will follow believers: They will:
1. Cast out devils (Mark 16:17; Luke 10:19; Matthew 10:7-8; Matthew 17:20-21;
John 14:12)
2. Speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17; Acts 2:4; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7; 1
Cor. 12-14; Isaiah 28:11)
3. Take up serpents (Mark 16:18; Luke 10:19; Psalm 91; Acts 28:1-5
4. Be Immune From Poisons (Mark 16:18; Psalm 91; Luke 10:18; 2 Kings 4:41)
5. Heal the Sick (Mark 16:18; Matthew 10:1-8; Luke 24:49; John 14:12; Acts 1:8)
We need to be doing the works of JESUS!
The Promise Of The Father Is Called The Holy Spirit Of Promise
Eph 1:13-14 - In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Paul said that AFTER we had heard the word of truth that we were SEALED with the
Holy Spirit of PROMISE. In other words the work of the Holy Spirit just began in
our hearts and lives. The Spirit of God has many offices and many works in the
life of the believer. To state it again, we are not in any way insinuating that
a person has to speak in tongues or prophesy to be saved. The Holy Spirit is the
EARNEST of our Inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto
the PRAISE of His glory. In common language- He's going to PERFECT us!! He's
going to do a work in us so great that when we are presented to the Father we
are going to be presented FAULTLESS. He is working on His workmanship right now!
Our lack of patience with others is very evident sometime - but the Lord's
patience with us is not easily understood in human terms. The Lord is not in the
microwave religion business. The work He does inside of us is eternal and it
carries with it an eternal prize - THE GLORY OF GOD. We can constantly fight the
Holy Ghost’s work in our life and it will lead us to shipwreck on this journey.
I can tell you this one thing - it will NOT lead us to the abundant life Yeshuah
spoke about. (And abundant life is not necessarily a life full of pleasures and
money - missionaries on mission fields who struggle to eat can have the abundant
life of Yeshuah in their hearts even though they don't have great riches) Our
lives don't belong to us anymore - our lives belong to HIM.
The Promise Of The Father Is The Anointing We Must Have In These Last Days
I Jn 2:25-27 - And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal
life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But
the anointing which ye have received of him abides in you, and ye need not that
any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is
truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Yeshuah equates the promise here in John's epistle with eternal life. Some may
read that and say "oh no, I have to have the anointing to be saved." Again,
being saved has very little to do with what I'm talking about in this journal.
Many Christians will go to heaven but they will go saddened when they see what
their lives could have accomplished for Yeshuah had they been anointed with the
HOLY SPIRIT and baptized in HIS POWER. John said that the ANOINTING (THE PROMISE
OF THE FATHER) ABIDES in us and that we don't need any man to teach us. That is
not a call for us to do away with Bible teachers. It's a call for the church of
the last days to be endued with so much power of God that no matter what ANY man
tries to say to us or teach us we will be so in tune with the SPIRIT OF GOD we
will not be "seduced" and led astray.
In that vein - our eternal destiny IS tied into the PROMISE OF THE FATHER. We
need the HOLY GHOST to survive in this hour. We need so much of the HOLY SPIRIT
that words cannot express that to you any stronger than I have in this journal.
I'm not a "Holy-Ghost" expert and believe me there are not any out there even if
they claim they are. I can tell you this. I know He is REAL today and His power
is real today. I know that the baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of
speaking with other tongues is a VALID experience FOR TODAY and FOR YOU! You
need this promise! You need this anointing. You need to have a prayer language
known only to you and God. One reason Satan fights this anointing so much is
that he can't interfere with your prayer life when you are praying in tongues!
DID YOU KNOW THAT? Some do, and they still don't pray in tongues like they
should.
That's another journal for another time. I encourage you to hear the words of
Jesus - BE ENDUED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH in these last days. With the entire
Bible preaching and teaching on this subject you'd think there would be no need
for this type message but there are many out there who have NEVER received the
baptism in the HOLY GHOST. This experience is real today and it's for you! We
encourage you to read our other journals listed below on speaking in tongues and
prophecy. They will help you and encourage you. Praise God for the PROMISE OF
THE FATHER! HE'S REAL!!!!!
Father in the name of Yeshuah, I
pray for those reading this study course right now that they will be endued with
power from on high. I pray something we have written has quickened a heart and
they have seen their need to be baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of
speaking with other tongues. I thank you that the power of God that resides in
the hearts of many who are reading this already will become real to others.
Father forgive us who HAVE received this precious anointing for taking it for
granted and NOT praying in tongues constantly building ourselves up in our most
holy faith. Forgive us for our apathy towards the gifts of the Spirit. Forgive
us for no laying hands on the sick so they will recover. Forgive us for not
casting out devils and walking in deliverance as the Holy Ghost has been put
inside of us to make real. Anoint us afresh and shake us free from our apathy
and unbelief here in America. In Yeshua’s name! AMEN