Last week, we began our journey talking about the Holy Spirit. If You were not here our You are just joining us, I’m going to do a quick recap of what we learned. You may recall six different things that the Holy Spirit does in our lives which are:
1) Our Comforter
2) Our Advocate
3) Our Intercessor
4) Our Counselor
5) Our Strengthener
6) Our Standby
We briefly explained each one and how the Holy Spirit works within these parameters. I’m very excited to see what God does! Let’s open up tonight’s teaching with a word of prayer.
I want to first bring Your attention to Acts chapter 1. Acts is the 5th Book of the New Testament. It is important to remember that this book is where You first begin to see what is known is the church today. This book has been part of my foundation has well as our church’s foundation. It is one of my favorite books of the New Testament.
Luke had a hand in Authoring Act. You may recall that Luke was a Physician. This adds another layer of power to this book, because most Physicians do not believe in God nor His Power.
Acts 1:1-5 is very powerful. “In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit was a direct promise to us from Daddy-God. Let’s look at Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”
I want to make one thing Crystal clear to You tonight: the Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift from our Father (I call Him Daddy).
Next, we are going to read verses Acts 2: 2 – 4: “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”Let’s read verses 3 – 4 in the Amplified version: There appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were being distributed [among them], and they rested on each one of them [as each person received the Holy Spirit]. And they were all filled [that is, diffused throughout their being] with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (different languages), as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out [clearly and appropriately].
This provides us with powerful imagery here! Let’s talk about this for a bit. This portion of scripture (specifically Acts 2:1-31) is commonly referred to as the day of Pentecost. This day is forever marked as the day that the Holy Spirit came down to us.
This brings me to my third and final point of the night which is being filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
Speaking in tongues is one of the most precious gifts that Daddy-God has given us besides His One & Only Son, Jesus Christ.
Speaking in tongues is a prayer language that only God can understand. Most of the time, our human mind cannot even comprehend it. However, it is one of the most powerful weapons we have in our arsenal! The other one is the Word of God, by the way!
You see Church, we are in an outright war in the Spirit. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
The King James Version puts it like this: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
How do we engage in the battle? Well, first, You must read Your Bible daily. Secondly, I believe You should pray in the Holy Ghost.
Tonight, I have two questions for You.
First, do You have a Relationship with Daddy-God? If You died tonight, where would You go? Heaven or hell? If You have never accepted Jesus into Your heart, no matter how good You are, the Bible is very clear. You will spend eternity in hell, no if, ands, or butts about it.
My second question tonight is this: Do You want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues? I believe with all of my heart that it is the Will of our Father that will all have this wonderful gift. If this is You, I want You to come up to the front and I would like to pray for You.
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