Part
Two
One of the greatest needs for ALL believers is to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit. You can't fill a bottle that is already full. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a valid experience that is so needed today. There is much controversy on what it means to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Some teach that to be filled with the Holy Ghost is to be filled with joy or become more Christ-like. Some teach being filled with the Spirit means one speaks in tongues. All of these evidences are right. We must understand that even the baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues is not an END to our walk with God nor is it an end to our need to continually be FILLED with the HOLY GHOST! We need to walk in the anointing of the Lord and be sensitive to his moving in these last days. Only the power of the Holy Ghost will keep us on the path of life and safe from the enemy's work.
By Chris McDonald
Isaiah 28:11-12 - For with
stammering lips and another tongue will
he speak to this people. [12] To whom he said, This is the rest
wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they
would not hear.
1 Cor. 14:21 - In the law it is written,
With men of other tongues and other lips
will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not
hear me, saith the Lord.
We teach according to the Word of God that the INITIAL (UNDERLINE THAT WORD INITIAL) sign one has been filled with the Holy Spirit is the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance. There are any number of ADDITIONAL signs one is WALKING in the Spirit-filled life, but the initial evidence is speaking in tongues as God supernaturally touches our lives. We will look at some of the evidences of a Spirit-filled walk in this journal and deal with why tongues are very important to our walk as a believer. The Spirit baptism after one gets saved is not a Pentecostal experience; it is a BIBLICAL experience and one that is needed for all who are born again. No, it's not what you need to get saved; you're as saved as you can be through the blood of Christ. The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is for POWER and to help us receive MORE OF GOD in this prophetic hour we live! You need the baptism in the Holy Spirit!
Before you stop reading this right here let me tell you we are not just going to talk about tongues in this journal. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SIGNS A PERSON IS SPIRIT-FILLED and tongues are not the only one. I think we as Pentecostals tend to major on that because it is an outward sign but many tongue-talking Christians do NOT walk in the Spirit-filled life while many God-fearing people who have never spoken in tongues exhibit a TON MORE of the nature of Yeshuah in their lives than even those who claim to be "full of the Spirit." To state it again, we're not drawing a sword in these journals, we're seeking to encourage, edify and yes exhort in some cases. If what we says come across as a rebuke just know that the Holy Ghost has rebuked US FIRST! It's a rebuke that has been given to our own life that we know will be life to you as well. The Holy Spirit has come to keep us on the path of life and that is HIS MINISTRY to the believer in these last days. So don't get your theological feathers flustered by the first section of this journal/article. We are fully aware that speaking in tongues is but ONE of the evidences of the infilling of the Holy Spirit- but we believe it is the INITIAL evidence!
There are five separate incidents in the book of Acts which describe individuals being baptized in the Holy Ghost. These incidents cover a time period of over 20 years. Then, there is a lengthy dissertation in the 14th chapter in 1 Corinthians concerning the use of tongues. You can read more in 1 Corinthians 14 by checking out the journal "Stammering Lips and Unknown Tongues."
Acts 2:4
This particular verse states that "And they were ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, and began to SPEAK with other tongues as the SPIRIT OF GOD gave them utterance." This is as clear and concise and to the point as you can get when it comes to being filled with the Spirit.
Acts 8:16-23
In the 8th chapter of Acts, Peter and John came from Jerusalem and prayed for the Samaritians to receive the Holy Spirit. It doesn't say anything about them speaking in tongues as such BUT it does state (in v. 18 and 19) that Simon the Sorcerer saw that through the laying on the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given. He then offered the apostles money that he might also have this power - THAT HE MIGHT LAY HANDS so that they would RECEIVE the HOLY SPIRIT. It seems obvious that this greedy individual would not offer money if there weren't SOME TANGIBLE manifestation of results. If the laying on of hands had no visible evidence following it, why would he offer to pay the apostles for their "secret?"
The logical conclusion to this is that the Samaritans "spoke with other tongues as the Spirit of God gave them utterance," as those did in Acts 2:4.
Acts 9:17
When Ananias laid hands on Paul (who was later to become of the greatest apostles who ever lived), he was filled with the Holy Spirit. And, to be sure, it doesn't say anything about speaking in tongues. However, in 1 Corinthians 14:18 - Paul says, "I thank my God, I speak in tongues MORE THAN YE ALL." So the evidence is there that the Apostle Paul DID speak with other tongues as he was baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:44
The Bible describes, in the 10th chapter of Acts, the circumstances as the Holy Spirit fell upon the household of Cornelius. The Bible says that the Jewish brethren were astonished because "on the GENTILES also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." HOW did they know that? They answered that question in v. 46 - "for they heard them SPEAK WITH TONGUES and magnify GOD."
Acts 19:6
This pasage states, "they spake with tongues and prophesied." Now, in these five passages given - where experiences are related to being "FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST," it says that they SPOKE with other tongues. And the Word tells us that "at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall the matter be established." (Deut. 19:15). Joining this with the implied evidence discussed above, in relation to the other two incidents in Acts 8 and Acts 9, we can properly conclude THEY spoke with other tongues also.
Any honest seeker after more of God and the TRUTH, upon studying this, would could to the conclusion that SOMETHING tangible (AUDIBLE, FELT) happened when these individuals were FILLED with the Holy Spirit. That "something" obviously had to be speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God gave them the utterance.
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Acts 2:4 - "they....began to speak."
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Acts 10:46 - "they heard them speak."
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Acts 19:6 - "they spake."
And Ephesians 5:18-19, our text for these two journals says "SPEAKING TO YOURSELVES!" That is not that hard to understand that being FILLED with the HOLY GHOST involves utterances of the Spirit to others and to ourselves.
Why Tongues?
The question is asked many many times by people who don't understand this experience "why tongues." "Why did God choose 'tongues' to use as the sign for the initial infilling of His Spirit?" Some have spoken disparagingly of this great gift by saying it is nothing more than babble, chatter or incoherent jabbering. Of course people who say such things again are usually people who are just seeking to argue about this great experience instead of receiving it. It's sad that God has been relegated down to an argument in the American church today. That's very sobering and sad.
Tongues are generally a language somewhere in the world and known by some people in the world OR in heaven. We are given insight in the 2nd chapter of Acts that there were devout men from every nation under heaven (and, of course, this referred to the world known in those days). It says they had come together and were confounded because "how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" It then goes on to list the people who were there. This included Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and at least 13 different nationalities. Yet all this disparate people said, "WE DO HEAR THEM SPEAK IN OUR OWN TONGUES THE WONDERFUL WORKS OF GOD." (v. 11)
Now, to state it again - the apostles were not preaching to these individuals to GET SAVED! They were merely praising the Lord in other tongues. They were speaking a language they had not learned. Some skeptics have tried to explain this away as some language the 120 had just learned. In other words, they had suddenly become linguists and were praising God in languages other than Aramaic, Hebrew or Greek - the common local languages. That is not true. These were uneducated Galileans who were NOT students of languages.
This is how it is when people speak in tongues today. There are hundreds, perhaps THOUSANDS, of languages and dialects in this world, and many of them sound very strange to our ears. They are not strange of course, to the people who routinely converse in them. So it is not just jabber of chatter of babble - it is always a language that is spoken or understood SOMEWHERE in the world, but NOT spoken or understood by the individual who has been filled with the Holy Spirit.
If you notice in this story when the time came for Peter to preach to these people about the Lord Jesus and give an invitation to be saved, Simon Peter (Acts 2:14) did not continue speaking in tongues but then preached in the common language of the day, which was either Aramaic or Hebrew. Of course, all those present understood.
It is easy to see how so many people could know that Hebrew language (being Jews themselves) and also the language of the country in which they resided. This is common among many people today. And it is also possible that SOME of the 120 had learned more than one language - but the language spoken as they were baptized in the HOLY GHOST was NOT a language that was known to them. It was a SUPERNATURAL UTTERANCE, given by the Holy Spirit, which always accompanies this baptism. So tongues refers to languages known either on this earth or in heaven.
Tongues Of Angels
In 1 Corinthians 13:1 the Apostle Paul said, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love." He is talking about speaking in OTHER tongues - on which he gives an extensive dissertation later in the 14th chapter. And he uses the term "of angels" implying the possibility that sometimes a language that is spoken could be an ANGELIC language. So without sounding contentious let's just say that there are NUMEROUS utterances that we as humans may not understand. Many utterances may sound so strange you just wince at the sound - BUT YOU HAD BETTER BE CAREFUL HOW YOU LABEL SUCH UTTERANCES AS BEING FROM THE DEVIL! If you don't have knowledge of a matter, it's best to keep your mouth shut about it than to open it and stick your foot inside. I have had more than a hundred apples out of that bag believe me.
It was prophesied by Isaiah (and quoted in 1 Corinthians 14:21) that men WOULD speak with "stammering lips and unknown tongues." Isaiah went on to say that even though the Lord would arrange this mighty sign, men would not listen to HIM.
Isaiah 28:11-12 - For with
stammering lips and another tongue will
he speak to this people. [12] To whom he said, This is the rest
wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they
would not hear.
1 Cor. 14:21 - In the law it is written,
With men of other tongues and other lips
will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not
hear me, saith the Lord.
That is a terrible indictment but one that is true today. So much controversy, so much division, so much anger over the precious Holy Spirit is a sign that the words of Isaiah have been fulfilled in THIS generation. We need to repent!
The following are some reasons why we believe God chose tongues as the INITIAL sign someone has been baptized in the HOLY SPIRIT.
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Supernatural - First of all, speaking in tongues is ALWAYS a SUPERNATURAL utterance. It must be exercised by FAITH, but it is not of the individual's doing. It comes from the Lord Jesus Christ and was promised long ago by Isaiah. YOU CANNOT TEACH SOMEONE TO SPEAK IN TONGUES! If any of my Pentecostal friends are reading this - please read that last statement again. YOU CANNOT TEACH OR MAKE SOMEONE SPEAK IN TONGUES. This is a SUPERNATURAL utterance! It comes from heaven. There "came a SOUND from HEAVEN," as of a rushing, mighty wind. The outpouring of the Holy Ghost is something man cannot and will never take credit for here in the earth.
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Given By God - Careful reading of 1 Cor. 14:21 and Isaiah 28:11-12 (above) would infer that when men speak with other tongues it is actually God speaking THROUGH them to the people. When we realize that when a person is speaking in tongues - it's not really "them" speaking but God, we will change our resistance to this great experience.
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Universal - This is a single evidence the world over. It is not one evidence for one country and something else for another (as some erroneously teach in some circles) It is the same evidence everywhere. It was the same evidence in the first church and it's the same evidence TODAY. It is the same across the world and across the years - which makes EXCELLENT evidence - if one is willing to view it without prejudice.
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Instantaneous - The MOMENT the baptism of the Holy Spirit (the second work of grace, not salvation), he/she starts to speak in other tongues. It happens that same way with everyone. It's not something that involves an interaction with other individuals. It is strictly a PERSONAL experience between the individual and God. It always happens instantaneously, the moment the infilling occurs. There are many other reasons why the Lord chose this precious gift. To be quite frank there is no answer to the question why God chose tongues. God doesn't have to get our permission to move in any certain way here on Earth like some believe. HE IS THE FATHER! WE are His Son's BODY - HIS SON IS THE HEAD! And the power of the Holy Ghost is real today!
What Good Does It Do?
Some may ask, "well I believe in tongues but really, what good or help can it be or service to anyone?" Some preachers say this and laugh. Of course those who could ask such a question are really revealing their lack of knowledge and in some cases resistance to it. There is MUCH good that speaking in tongues will do for the believer.
What About Other Signs That One Is Spirit-Filled?
Ephes. 5:17-21 - Wherefore be ye not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord is. [18] And be not drunk
with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; [19]
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; [21]
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
As
wonderful as speaking in tongues may be to the believer our walk with in the
Spirit is JUST beginning. Sadly, so many abuses and neglectful practices among
Charismatic type people have been a HUGE turnoff to those in the non-Pentecostal
world who are sincerely wanting more of God. It's not easy to discuss speaking
in tongues with someone without the issue always being brought up of the
extremes in the Charismatic movement and the huge number of people who fall into
just as much sin who DO speak in tongues as those who DON'T speak in tongues.
Stephen Strang wrote an excellent article in Charisma magazine's April issue stating that many spirit-filled people are leaving Charismatic churches because of the craziness and foolishness going on exchanging an atmosphere of life for an atmosphere where NOTHING happens yet the pastor and leadership don't act like nuts. I can relate. But if we will obey the word of God in Ephesians we will see that walking in the Spirit-filled life is JUST as, if not MORE important as receiving the initial infilling of the Holy Spirit. So many have degenerated this experience into a one-time event in their lives without walking in the fullness of what the Lord wants for them.
Understanding What The Will Of The Lord Is
Spirit-filled people
are people who know the will of God for their lives. They don't go off on
tangents and whims but wait on the Lord and HEAR what the Spirit of God is
saying in a matter. When I was young I boasted a great deal about the fact I
spoke with other tongues but would then go out the next day and get myself in
more messes than there are fish in the Atlantic Ocean. A lot of that "zeal" I
thought was being led of the Spirit was Chris's own desires to be seen and
heard. When you allow the HOLY GHOST to pray through you to God you can be sure
you are ALWAYS praying the WILL OF GOD!
Romans 8:26-27 - Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:
but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. [27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the
Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God.
When the Spirit makes true
intercession for us and we're walking in the FULLNESS of His power - we will
always be praying "according to the will of God." When we pray according to the
will of God our Father in Heaven will honor our prayer and grant us the
petitions we ask. He will keep us in His will is we walk in the SPIRIT and not
fulfill the desires and whims of our flesh.
Rom 12:1-3 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith.
The will of God for our lives is
GOOD, ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT. There is a popular teaching out today that we can
be in God's permissive will and not His perfect will. I don't believe that. I
believe the Holy Spirit's drive and passion is to keep us in the PERFECT will of
God at all times. If we're not there - then we are not walking in the fullness
of the SPIRIT. That's not to condemn us - it's to encourage us to GET THERE!
There is no such thing as a permissive will. When we're in union with our Father
- no matter where we're at in our lives - we're in His will - if we are walking
after the SPIRIT, not after the FLESH!
Our flesh seeks to promote us. The Spirit of God seeks to promote YESHUAH! Our flesh wants everyone to see how spiritual we are to others. The Spirit of God wants to KILL our flesh and allow the world to see how much YESHUAH is in us! Our flesh wants to be busy "doing" something for God. The Spirit of God crushes our fleshly desires and teaches us to WAIT on the Lord and be patient for the fullness of His purposes to come forth in our lives. Spirit-filled people UNDERSTAND and walk in the will of the Lord. Spirit-filled people don't go divorce their spouse and then say "God gave me a peace about this." Baloney! If God gave you a peace about divorcing your mate you may want to check the spirit you're listening to - it was not God's Spirit! The Spirit of God never contradicts the Word of God which states the Will of God for all of us. The Spirit's purpose is to reveal the will of God to us individually. His will for your life may not be the same design He has for mine. The Word tells us what His purposes are in the Earth, the Spirit makes those purposes REAL in US! Glory to God.
Be Not Drunk With Wine
Spirit-filled people are not drunk with the cares, desires and suffocating materialism from this world. Wine is a mocker and strong drink rages within us. Solomon said whoever is drunk and deceived by wine is not that wise. Solomon is speaking of a condition of many in the church today - DRUNK. Not drunk on the "new wine" of the Holy Ghost - but with a pursuit of everything else BUT Yeshuah.
Prov 20:1 - Wine is a mocker, strong drink is
raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Prov 21:17 - He that loves pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loves wine and
oil shall not be rich.
Isa 28:7 - But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are
out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they
are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err
in vision, they stumble in judgment.
Spirit-filled people are PASSIONATELY pursuing JESUS with all their hearts, souls and minds. Nothing else satisfies them. Nothing can quench their thirst but Him. He must INCREASE, We must decrease. We can brag to others that we speak in tongues all we want to but if we are hooked into this world's system and have one foot in the kingdom of God and one foot in the world - WE are NOT WALKING IN THE FULLNESS OF THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE!
1Thes 5:7-8 - For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken
are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith
and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
Rev 17:6 - And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
admiration.
John saw the apostate whore
of religion "drunken" with the blood the saints. That is a perfect picture of
the church of this hour. Religion kills true saints. Religion always seeks to
stop the move of God in the Body of Christ. Religion always resists the Holy
Ghost and the life that is sold out to God in fullness and submission. Religion
and mediocrity are the greatest dangers to your walk with the Lord. We need to
get DRUNK on JESUS! We need to get DRUNK on the Holy Ghost! We need to get DRUNK
on the red wine of the Lord. We need to get SLOSHED with a dose of the mighty
outpouring of the Holy Ghost. When we do that - we won't want what the world
offers us in pitiful exchange for our efforts and resources. We won't want to go
spend our blessings on worldly entertainment and the devil's industry. We won't
want to spend our time seeking worldly recognition and praise. We will just want
to BASK in the presence of our MASTER and allow His new wine to fill us to
overflowing.
There is a little song we used to sing that is churning in me right now. It goes like this:
"He will fill your hearts today with overflowing
Bring your vessels not a few
As The Lord commanded you
He will fill your hearts today with overflowing
With the Holy Ghost And Wine (And Fire!)"
Speaking To Yourselves....Songs, Psalms And Spiritual Songs...Making Melody In Your Hearts
Paul said "speak to yourselves" in songs, psalms and "spiritual songs." Those "spiritual songs" are songs of the Holy Ghost. Spirit-filled people are people who daily speak to themselves and pray in the Holy Ghost! Spirit-filled people are not people who get an "experience" and then neglect it for years but keep bragging their spirit-filled. NO NO NO. Spirit-filled people are people who have a SONG in their heart! Glory to God. When the going gets tough- the SONG gets going. When the night storm rages - the SONG gets going. When all of hell is fighting to destroy them - a SONG IS GOING in the night. Paul said "speak to yourselves." Jude said "BUILD YOURSELVES UP!" Build yourselves "up" in the MOST HOLY FAITH. You do that by praying in the Holy Ghost every day. You do that by speaking in tongues every day as the Spirit of God gives the utterance. Spirit-filled people are people who CULTIVATE the gift of the Holy Spirit within them and allow Him to mold them and make them into the workmanship of the Lord's hand.
Giving Thanks Always.....
Another key evidence of the
Spirit-filled life is the fact we are THANKFUL and not resentful. Many so-called
'spirit-filled' Christians are as sour and bitter as a bad lemon. They will
trumpet to the loudest mountain they speak in tongues but be just as bitter and
resentful at life. THOSE PEOPLE ARE NOT SPIRIT-FILLED! They may have had an
experience in their past but friend pepole who are WALKING after the SPIRIT OF
GOD are THANKFUL people. They thank God for what they DO have instead of blaming
God and others for what they DON'T HAVE! They thank God for their health, their
spouses, their families, their children, their home, their job, their car, their
possessions, their soul. Spirit-filled people thank God every day for just being
GOD and sending Yeshuah to earth to die for us and save us from our sin.
Spirit-filled people thank GOD for the mountains and thank God for the valleys.
They don't lose faith and get angry at God when things don't go their way. They
are thankful that the Lord in Heaven is a GOOD God and gives GOOD GIFTS to His
children. Spirit-filled people are people who are thankful that EVERYTHING is
working out together for their good and not bad. Spirit-filled people are
looking at the positive and not the negative. Spirit-filled people see that
EVERYTHING they have - they really DON'T HAVE! It all belongs to God and they
become thankful for the fact the Lord has made them a steward over His blessings
to them.
Spirit-filled people are not selfish people. A person may have spoken in tongues but if they are selfish and self-seeking they are not walking in a Spirit-filled way! Spirit-filled people give up their lives for the sake of others. Spirit-filled people look to the GOOD of others and seek the betterment of those AROUND them, not just themselves. Spirit-filled people are thankful to God they have fellow brethren and sisters in the Lord. Spirit-filled people are not rude or obnoxious to others. They are lovers! They are lovers of God and lovers of their fellow man. They are THANKFUL!
Being thankful is a command of the NEW COVENANT.
Ps 100:4-5 - Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts
with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his
mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.
Rom 1:21 - Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened.
Col 3:15 - And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye
are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Paul said that a sign of the end
times is that men would no longer be thankful. As a result their imaginations
became VAIN and their foolish heart darkened. If you want peace in your home in
these last days - BE THANKFUL. If you want to walk in the blessings of God in
these last days - BE THANKFUL. If you want to be a servant of the Lord and
embrace the favor of God - BE THANKFUL! If you want to know the fullness of the
Spirit's power in your life - BE THANKFUL. If you want to see the Lord move in
your circumstances - BE THANKFUL. STOP COMPLAINING about the things you
don't have and you think you ought to have and rejoice in the fact you are alive
today. Rejoice in the fact we have a Lord in heaven who is GRACIOUS and
LONGSUFFERING towards us and LOVES US with a love that reaches beyond
comprehension. REJOICE oh, saint of God in the fact that the LORD is able to do
ABOVE that which we seek Him to do. But the key to all of this is walking in the
Spirit-controlled attitude of thankfulness. A person who is always complaining
about their life is a person whose life will probably never change!
When we are walking in the Spirit-filled life - we are thankful people.
Submitting Yourselves One To Another In The Fear Of God
Spirit-filled people are submissive people. We are to submit ourselves to God first, then to others the Lord puts in our lives second. That's why it is very important to be part of a local fellowship where we can be submissive to authority over us. We need to have someone who is able to speak life into our lives and help us overcome the attacks and traps of Satan. I know this is very hard to some of us to do at times. I know it's hard for me to do at times - to open up and become transparent before those I'm under.
When we submit to God first, then we can be sure the enemy will FLEE from us. Spirit-filled people are people who walk in this type submission. They are humble people. They are broken people. They are God-fearing people. They are not arrogant people. They are not people who like to be "lone" rangers in the Body never having fellowship with anyone except themselves. (That could be really boring)
God has created in us a deep sense and need for family and interaction with others. That's why many modern-day churches have failed so miserably I believe in their mandate from the Lord. The church is not the building we worship in - the church are the PEOPLE inside! And those people need to be compassionate, loving, outreaching, understanding, resolved and caring to others - not just those on the inside of the church - but those on the outside. Instead many are inconsiderate, unloving, inward seeking, harsh, cruel, judgmental and non-committal to the needs around them. Let me tell you something preacher. God did not bless your church with thousands and thousands of dollars to sit in a bank and collect interest while the hungry in your community go starving to death.
There is a place to be good stewards over what God has given us but being a good steward means we are doing the works of Jesus and GIVING of our resources to help those in need. Those outside our walls who have found themselves in need know they are in a mess. They don't need our sermons- they need our love and compassion. The Holy Spirit will correct them and deal with them. He can do a much better job of that than we can believe me. Our job is to be conduits of His grace and power to a lost and dying world. Spirit-filled people are submitting, giving people. They know what it means to lose "their" rights for the sake and rights of others. That's what living the Spirit-filled life is about. These are a journal in themselves for another time.
In Closing
Man was made for fellowship with God. Due to man's fall in the Garden, fellowship with God was severed. The presence of God is of extreme importance to His people. When the people of Israel were led out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land, they were instructed to build the tabernacle. It was a movable place of worship, and within it (in the Holy Of Holies) the Shekinah (or glorious presence of God) dwelt.
In the gospel of John we are told that Yeshuah (the WORD) became FLESH and DWELT (literally "tabernacled) among us. (John 1:14). God WILL communicate with us. Jesus promised the HOLY SPIRIT would come after He returned to the Father. And He did come - ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST in which this study is dedicated to. The promise of the Spirit had previously been given by the Old Testament prophets. Ezekiel said "And I will put my SPIRIT WITHIN you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and You shall KEEP my judgments and DO them." (Ezekiel 36:27).
When His Spirit indwells us, He will show us the way to walk. It is also stated in John 14:17 that the Spirit of Truth will be IN US. We are His dwelling place, His temple: (1 Cor. 3:16). The body of believers is to be a holy habitation of the Spirit. Not only are we called to collectively the temple of the Holy Spirit, but we can be a temple of the HOLY GHOST individually too!
1 Cor. 3:16 - Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
John 14:17 - 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.
The abiding presence of the Holy Ghost within one is wonderful and PRECIOUS. But the Holy Spirit comes ONLY WHEN HE IS WELCOMED! We are warned NOT TO GRIEVE the Holy Ghost. The Spirit never uses force or coercion, but is always meek and gentle. You can be "renewed in the spirit of your mind" by HIM! (Eph. 4:23). This is, in fact, a COMMAND; and many others, by way of exhortation to Spirit-filled believers. It is HIS PRESENCE that makes the difference if one's life is to develop in purity, holiness, and in the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. (Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 4:23-32).
The Holy Spirit in the believer gives not only power for service and witnessing, but victory in one's life. The Holy Spirit's presence in one's life is transforming. Spirit-filled believers experience a greater love for God's Word than ever before. New insights and applications replace the former blindness. The REALITY of Jesus Christ is much greater as He is REVEALED by the Holy Spirit. There is a new joy, a new liberty, a new happiness - plus an enhanced response in praise and PRAYER! The key? Being baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with tongues and WALKING in the Spirit-filled life as the Spirit of God leads us, fills us and indwells us. As my dear dad says to me many times and he is very right - ONE Baptism into the Body but MANY fillings. We may not use the same words or theological terms on the "many fillings" but we are saying the same thing. Get saved today and be FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST AND FIRE! In Yeshuah's name! AMEN.
Father in the name of Yeshuah I thank you for the WORD of God that flows into these journals as we write. Sometimes our fingers are typing and we don't even know what we are typing at times. Take these words of Your Spirit and implant them on hearts today. FORGIVE YOUR CHURCH for its bickering and arguing over Your precious gift of the Holy Ghost. FORGIVE YOUR CHURCH for its anger and resentment over the very purpose Yeshuah came to die - that we as fallen creatures could be made FIT habitations for the SPIRIT OF GOD and WALK in the victory You ordained before the foundation of the world. FILL THOSE WHO ARE READING THIS JOURNAL WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT and fire! Set the captives free and break us free from religious bondage and blindness. In Jesus name we pray Amen!
Read Our Other Journals On The Holy Spirit:
Handfuls On Purpose: Ruth Part Two
Filled With The Holy Ghost Part One
Filled With The Holy Ghost Part Two
The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit To The Believer
Which Have Received The Holy Ghost As We
Some Questions About Speaking In Tongues
Stammering Lips and Unknown Tongues
Our Children Will Be Our Judges