Read with me 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 them utterance."
Something very powerful and specific happened on the day of Pentecost, in that upper room. A sound from heaven, yes. But what really happened that day was, every head got a flame.
Out of the 120 people that gathered in obedience to seek the Lord and wait for the promise, not one was left out. Every head got its own Flame. So it Follows today that everyone who has come into the house boss of faith, should have their own flame, that is to say... every child of God should have their own personal experience with, and connection to the Holy Ghost.
Jesus knew that the early church was going to need more than pageantry and speeches. He knew they were going to have to have power from on high. Jesus also knew that the Holy Spirit was the supernatural equipment that they needed. He knew that everything necessary to defeat the devil and establish the kingdom of God, would be furnished to them... through the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It is my conviction that, that has never changed. We must have power from on high.
Hell is on the rampage, demons are going crazy, the warfare is on a level we have never seen. And sadly much of the church is in a kind of a stupor. They are hypnotized, and under some kind of demonic spell. They stumble around like zombies, with no direction, no purpose and no power. When on the other hand, the devil and the hordes of hell, are very focused and unified in their purpose, to steal, kill, and destroy.
We are thankful for every patriotic Man or Woman, and their efforts to save America, but the fact is, this battle is spiritual, and it's supernatural, and it's going to take supernatural power to save this country. We have entered a time where every one in the house needs a flame. Every person who occupies a pew, needs the fire of the Holy Ghost operating in and through them.
Not one person was left out on the day of Pentecost. Young or old, rich or poor, black or white, butcher or baker. Every person in the house got their own flame. They had a personal encounter with the fire of God. When the flame touched their heads, something happened in their bellies. The Bible says... and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance.
Sadly the majority of the church world have not made the connection between Jesus words, and what happened in the upper room. In acts 1:8 Jesus said... 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 Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the Earth.
Jesus said that when the Holy Ghost came upon them that they would receive power. That word "power" in the Greek is dunamis... It means force, literally or figuratively. Specifically it means miraculous power, power for performing miracles.
On the day of Pentecost, the disciples and apostles knew exactly what had happened to them. They knew that when they were baptized with the Holy-Ghost, that miracle working power had moved on the inside of them. This is where I believe we have missed something. We have failed to connect the dots.
We think the baptism of the Holy Ghost is about speaking in tongues, so if we speak in tongues we think, Hallelujah, mission accomplished, I speak in tongues. And let me say, we do believe that the initial evidence of being filled with the spirit is speaking in tongues as the spirit gives the utterance.
But Jesus didn't say... you will speak with other tongues when the Holy Ghost comes upon you. He said, you shall receive power. Lu 24:49 Jesus said... But tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on High.
Believe me, I believe in speaking in tongues. I do it everyday. But my great concern, and I believe it is also the concern of the Holy Spirit, is that we have made speaking in tongues a substitute for the power from on high. I prophesy that something is happening in the true remnant church. I prophesy that there is an awakening taking place, and we are waking up to what the baptism of the Holy Ghost is all about.
This mighty baptism of fire is not just to comfort ourselves and convince ourselves that we're ok, because we speak in tongues. This mighty baptism is what Jesus said it is. It is a Baptism of power from on high. It is the power to destroy the works of the devil. To heal the sick, and cast out devils. To set the captives free. To open the eyes of the blind, make the deaf to hear and the cripples walk, and raise the dead.
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him.
John 14:12 Jesus said... 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 to my Father.
What does Jesus going to his father have to do with us doing the works he did, and greater? The answer is, He said that when he went to the Father that he would send the comforter = The Holy Ghost. Jesus knew that when we received the Holy Ghost, that we would then have the same power in us, that was working in him.
But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. Ro 8:11
He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living Waters. John 7:38
John said, I baptize you with water unto repentance, but there is one coming after me who is mightier than I, and when he is comes he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. What John was saying was this... yes my baptism is important, you need to repent of your sins and be saved. But my baptism is not enough, there is another baptism you need, and it's a baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire.
John said the one who is mightier than I will baptize you with the mightier baptism...The baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. I believe that I can say with a great deal of certainty, that most of us who have baptized in the Holy Ghost, don't really know the magnitude of what we have received. We think we got some kind of starter pack. Like, it's not the full package, but at least we got enough to get started.
It's like Jesus and Paul, and Peter had the full package, but we just got the introductory package, but sometime down the road, if we pray enough and fast enough, and pay our tithes, and if we read the Bible enough, maybe God will give us the rest. The problem with that is this... That kind of thinking diminishes what we have received. That kind of thinking limits and restricts, and hinders the operation of the Holy Ghost in us.
You know I could fill the trunk of your car with nitroglycerene, and you'd be loaded. You would have blasting power like nobody's business, but if I told you that all I did was to just throw a few fire crackers in your trunk, you wouldn't think too much about it.
You would be driving around with enough power to blow mountains into the ocean, but you would be acting like you had nothing... because you would be acting on the basis of what you believed to be true.Well that's what the Holy Ghost is saying today. When he came to live in you, he came in full strength. You are packing, you are loaded, there is supernatural, miracle working, mountain moving, devil busting power on the inside of you. But most of us are acting like we just got a couple of little fire crackers.
It's like most of us think... well you know it's not the power that I was hoping for, but at least I got some tongues, at least I got something to get me started. The devil loves that. That's exactly what he wants you to believe.
Jesus said that when you are baptized in the Holy Ghost, that you will receive power. But the devil wants you to believe that you didn't get the power, you just got some tongues. Well the tongues are the initial evidence that the power is there. Yes you have to cultivate it, and stir it up, and feed it, but it's there.
When John baptized them into the water, they were baptized. Then he said the mightier baptism is coming next, and it's a baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. You don't get the Holy Ghost today, then get the fire in 6 months or a year, it's the same baptism at the same time.
The devil has been very effective at making us believe that all we got is a Shakey hand and a quivering tongue. Because the devil knows that if we ever realize the power that is already in us, he is in trouble. He knows that the only power there is that can defeat him, is the power of the Holy Ghost, so he has been telling us for centuries that Jesus had the power, and Paul and Peter had the power, but we somehow have to earn the power... The devil has known all the time that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in you right now.
The thought that you might make this discovery terrifies the devil, because he knows that the very moment you believe the power is in you, you will start counting on, and drawing on that power.
Paul said... 2 Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessles, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Notice... we have this power. If you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you have the power. As a matter of fact, you have all the power that you can ever possibly receive, because there is no more. But now it's a life time of learning how to develop, and how to depend on, and how to draw on, and how to co-operate with that power.
The Pharisees were a constant thorn in Jesus side, they had no real desire to know God, or be obedient to his commands. They simply followed Jesus around and questioned him about everything he did. One day they began to say about Jesus that he was casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub the prince of devils. But Jesus told them that source of his power to do miracles, and cast out devils, was the Spirit of God. I bring that to your attention today to show you, that the biggest hindrance and offense to the Holy Spirit, and the manifestation of the power of God, has always been, and always will be, dead religion.
Religion can find a slot for many good things... feeding the poor, disaster relief, and the such. But religion doesn't have a slot for someone operating in the power of God, casting out devils, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, and raising the dead. So they have to attack them. The point is... if we want to walk in the same power that Jesus walked in, we have to be prepared for the same treatment Jesus endured.
I will be very direct with you today and tell you, that I believe the world, and specifically our America, is in the worst condition it's ever been. I don't say that to join the gloom and doomers. I say that because now more than ever, it is indisputably clear that the only hope for us is God. That's why like never before, the church must wake up, to the reality of the power of the Holy Ghost, that lives in us. We have got to quit looking and waiting, for some great anointing to fall on us, and instead, start tapping into the anointing that is already in us.
1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you."
Jesus said... Luke 10:19 "Behold I give unto you power, to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
The devils greatest fear is not a coming revival that will turn everything around, and make everything right. The devils greatest fear is that the church right here right now, will get a revelation of the power that they already have right now. Because as long as the devil can keep us putting everything off to the future, then he will continue to steal, kill, and destroy, and make a mockery of the church. But I prophesy that the true blood bought, fire baptized remnant church, is waking up, and tapping into the power source that is already in them. We've got the power, and we're learning how to tap into that anointing and that power.
Let me close by sharing some ways we can tap into this power.
*Prayer.
*Fasting.
*Reading the Word.
*Meditating on the Word.
*Boldly speaking the Word.
*Praise & Worship.
We've got the power, now it's time to release that power.
