Lu 24: 49 Jesus said: (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.
Lu 3:16-17 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with (the Holy Ghost and with fire:)
17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
Jesus looked at his disciples his faithful students and he recognized that they had received his instructions, they had studied, they had passed the course, but he said they were not fully equipped to carry on his ministry, they must have power from on high (they must be baptised in the HolyGhost and Fire).
For Many years the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and the ministration thereof has been going through a process of disintegration, Certainly not from Gods perspective, but from mans perspective. In particular (Full Gospel churches).
Disintegrate =break apart, dissolve, powderize, break up, crumble.
We have reached the place where even within the full Gospel churches of America The Baptism of the Holy Ghost has been reduced to the mere acknowledgment of an indwelling presence of Jesus experienced by all believers.
There is today within the full Gospel churches, not only a depreciation for speaking with other tongues as the spirit gives the utterance as the initial sign and evidence of being spirit filled, There is tremendous opposition against speaking in tongues period.
We are told that it is unnecessary to speak in other tongues to be filled with the Holy Ghost,
I do not want to argue with these great theologians and bible scholars but I have learned over a period of time that our experience and our relationship with God is built upon the Word of God, and when I build it upon the Word of God I am going to be safe no matter what the trend of the day is.
I'm going to agree with Smith Wiggles -worth, one of the most powerful men of God who ever lived, He was known as the Apostle of Faith, He cast out devils, healed the sick and raised 19 people from the dead,
He said:The baptism will always be as at the beginning, it has not changed, if you want a real baptism expect it just the same way as they had it at the beginning.
Acts 2:1-4 ¶ And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and (began to speak with other tongues) as the Spirit gave the utterance.
Then when Paul encountered new believers the bible says:
Ac 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and (they spake with tongues,) and prophesied.
When the door of grace opened to the gentile nation, They received this same gift and spoke with other tongues.
Ac 10:44-47 ¶ While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For (they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
John said this Holy Ghost Baptism came with fire
Lu 3:16 he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
Fire Speaks of life, of energy, of intensity, of passion.
He shall baptize you with the HolyGhost and with fire, this fire is the devouring nature of God ( our God is a consuming fire, )
When i was growing up in church, it seemed every testimony had the fire in it somewhere, every message had the fire in it somewhere,
and now i look around in our churches and i wonder (is the fire in it anywhere?)
The favorite songs of the church were about the fire:
*It's the Holy Ghost and fire and it's keeping me alive
*It's just like fire shut up in my bones
And it wasn't just words, about the third or fourth time through, the song leader would go to jerkin, her head would jerk back, it looked like it would break her neck,
Then all of a sudden one of the ladies up on the platform would start shouting, and then it was holy pandemonium, shoes came off, hair pins went flying, One of the brothers jumped up and started shaking like he was on fire,
Grandpa jumped up and took off running.
The closest person to the outside Isle joined grandpa's train, I call it a train cause grandpa used to hold his hand up to his ear and holler like a train whistle.
Today many of our full gospel, pentecostal churches would say, that was just excessive emotions, it was not necessary
I will agree that there was a great deal of emotion in it, but when you got a fire in your feet it's hard to stand still.
it may have been extremely emotional but in the middle of that dancing and shouting and running, people got saved healed delivered, filled with the Holy Ghost and fire and many received their call into the ministry ( Including me)
Today our churches have become so seeker sensitive that we have become Holy Spirit insensitive.
We're so concerned about creating an environment that is conducive to the seeker, that we've ignored the one we're suppose to be seeking.
I'll just be honest about it, i would rather risk offending a seeker than offending the Holy Spirit, Cause I can make it without you but I can't make it without him.
But the truth is: a true seeker is not going to be scared off by the power of God, a true seeker is looking for truth, they are looking for something real, and when they see the genuine power of God in action they will want it.
We have a responsibility to show our generation the true manifestation of the power of God (uncensored) Undiluted, full strength,
Listen to what David said: It should be the prayer of every true believer, and especially every minister of the gospel.
Ps 71:18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
Jesus First Miracle was that of Turning The Water Into Wine
First Full of Water = Salvation
Then Full of Wine = The Spirit.
The progression is salvation,
Then Being filled with the Spirit
Lev 14:14-18 We find (The law of the leper). When the leper came to the priest to be cleansed the priest would slay a lamb and take the blood of the lamb and apply it to the right ear, right thumb of right hand, and big toe of the right foot, then the oil was applied over the top of the blood. Leprosy=sin, the blood of the trespass offering = the blood of Jesus, The oil = The anointing of the Holy Spirit.
The blood prepares us for heaven The oil prepares us for service on the earth
Water is symbolic of Salvation, Wine is Symbolic of The Spirit.
Jn 7:37-38 Jesus Said: If any man Thirst let him come to me and drink = Salvation, Then he said that out of his belly will flow rivers of Living water = The Holy Spirit.
I know that we are in an advanced age, and i know that technology has made tremendous strides, and we have access to information on a scale our forefathers could only dream about, and we can go to the internet, or the radio, or television, or mp3 players, or i pod, and we can access tremendous truth in a moments time
And i know that grandpa and grandma didn't have a lot of the advantages we have today, but grandma and grandpa could teach the church a few lessons.
They knew the power of the blood of Jesus
They knew how to pray,
They didn't have the access to the medicines and the emergency room like we have today, they'd be out on the backside of a mountain somewhere and someone would get deathly ill, They would pray until they prayed through and heaven invaded earth and the victory came.
They knew you need the Holy Ghost, those old timers believed that if you didn't have the HolyGhost you were'nt gonna' make it, They said without the Holy Ghost you weren't getting off the launching pad when Jesus Came back.
They knew the HolyGhost was the power to conquor sin and live a Holy Life.
(Those old timers would get you to the altar and once they got you to the altar, it was get filled with the Holy Ghost or die trying.
One was pushing, the other was pulling, One said (say thank you Jesus), Another one said (say praise the Lord,) Then One said hold on, the other said turn loose.
and it might have been a little confusing, but somewhere in the middle of all that, God saw the purity of the hearts and the hunger and the zeal to get everything he promised (and all of a sudden the spirit of God started stirring in their belly and a river came rushing through them and they started speaking in a tongue they never learned and it changed their lives forever, it gave them boldness to be a witness and live for God.
I'm not just talking about something my Grandpa told me about, I'm not talking about second hand information of something that happened to somebody somewhere sometime.
I got it the same way, I got that same old fashioned baptism (I layed on my face, I layed on my back, I stood, I laughed, I cried, ) I said thank you Jesus till I thought my tongue was going to fall off.
and somewhere along the way God saw my heart and knew that I was serious, and all of a sudden at 4:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, it was like a streak of lightning hit me in the top of my head and went through my body and shot out my finger tips and I started speaking in tongues by the unction and power of the Holy Ghost and my life has never been the same since.
I came to tell somebody tonight, You need the Holy Ghost
If you plan on going to heaven tonight, The Blood of Jesus has Qualified you to get in, but if you plan on getting up tomorrow and facing life, and dealing with a real devil ( You need the Holy Ghost)
We are not fit or properly suited or prepared and equipped for Christ’s ministry until we are full of the Spirit.
Lu 24: 49 Jesus said: (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.
Ac 1:8 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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Ye shall recieve power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you, not before (after) There are no short cuts to the power of God, You must be filled with the Spirit.
You must not only be filled: You must keep being filled.
Paul Said:
Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be ye filled with the Spirit.
(literally, it means to be filled and keep being filled)
It really doesn't count for much what you had 15-20 years ago, or last year or last week.
What matters is where is the HolySpirit Thermometer reading right now?
How fresh is your oil?
Are you full of the Spirit or are you running on fumes?
Be ye Filled with the Spirit means, be full of the spirit at all times
When you are full of the spirit sometimes you will run over, it might run over in church, it might run over in wal-mart, it might run over while your driving down the road.
But if your full it will run over sometime.
One of the ways you keep yourself full is to pray in the HolyGhost
Jude 20 But ye beloved building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the HolyGhost.
The Spirit Filled Life is one of being led by the Spirit, Taught, Guided, Helped, Comforted, Corrected, Convicted, Empowered by the Spirit.
That is why wine is such a fitting illustration of the Spirit, As wine exercises a controlling influence over a persons life, When we are filled with the Spirit our entire lives will be under his influence.
Tell your neighbor: I just want to warn you (I'm under the influence) I might shout any minute, I might dance, I might run. I might start laughing or crying.
It may be here at this altar tonight, it may be on your way home tonight, it may be laying on your bed, or on your job.
You can receive the HolyGhost anywhere anytime, all you have to do is ask and receive.
If you have not received the HolyGhost since you believed, you need to lift your hands and ask God to fill you, and if you have received the HolyGhost but it's been a while since you have really felt him moving in you, and you haven't been experiencing the freedom and the liberty of the Spirit, speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives you utterance, lift your hands and tell him you want a fresh baptism.
Recieve the HolyGhost
Receive Power from on High, in Jesus name.
