Somehow this one didn’t get posted.
I am leaving Guatemala today after a conference composed of Spirit-filled churches, their pastors and leaders. In two services, we prayed for people to be filled with the Spirit and receive the capacity to speak with tongues. The youth service had 60 in attendance, and more than half were filled with the Spirit. The Sunday morning service had around 400, and by all appearances more than half of them were filled. Among so many of our “Spirit-filled” churches today, the baptism of the Holy Ghost is in our doctrine but not our practice. It breaks my heart. At the risk of boring you, I feel impressed to share our simple process and encourage you to try it if you are not already doing so.
- Read Acts 2:1-4. Point out the following:
- They all spoke with tongues. It is the will of God that every believer has this capacity. (If time allows, reference the episodes in Acts 8, 9, 10, &19.)
- It was the people who did the speaking. The Holy Spirit provides the words, you provide the mouth, the tongue, the vocal cords, and the breath. You will have to speak.
Read Luke 11:9-13. Point out the following:
- Jesus said that everyone who asks receives. He said this in the context of asking for the Holy Spirit.
- If God is your Father, you will not receive a wrong Spirit.
- The Father wants you to have the Holy Spirit much more than you want your kids to have food. You don’t have to beg!
- Jesus gave only two requirements for receiving:
i. God must be your Father; you must be born again (Reference Romans 10:9, Jesus is Lord)
ii. You must ask Him. For the Spirit.
- Lead them in a brief prayer acting on what you just taught. Something like: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that I am your child because Jesus is my Lord. I am born again. Jesus said that if I would ask You, You would fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I ask You now to fill me to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. I thank you that I speak with other tongues just like they did at Pentecost.
Instruct them to lift their hands to heaven as the Spirit comes upon them and begin to speak what comes up from their heart. (Remind them not to speak in their own language, because it is impossible to.speak 2 languages at once.)
Lay hands on them with the words, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Many will begin speaking as soon as you pray. Others will start when you lay hands on them. Encourage them to speak out loud enough that you can hear them. Stay in faith. They asked, so God gave. We know because Jesus promised. He does not lie.
Somebody Said: “Because we have shut out the Holy Spirit in so many ways, we are stumbling along as though we are spiritually blindfolded.” – A.W. Tozer, Tragedy in the Church
Scripture Reading: 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:4, 5, 8 NKJV
If we who have been so blessed by his wonderful Pentecost experience don’t pass it on, it will be lost to a generation. I shudder to think of a church facing the last days without the power of the Spirit. If you have not experienced Him yourself, then follow these simple steps right there at your computer. He will do what He said He would.
vls
Click here to watch the class “Is There an Interpreter in the House.”
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