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Handley WORLD SERVICES™
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realmiraclessm Handley WORLD SERVICES™
Foundation
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HOW
TO RECEIVE GOD'S POWER
Continued from Part I In Acts Chapter Two (verses 1-4) we read what happened as the followers of Jesus waited in the city of Jerusalem. As a result of their being "filled" with the Spirit they began to SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES.
As a result of this power from above that came down on them, people from different geographic regions (15 countries or areas) heard them speaking in their own languages about the mighty works of God. The people from the different nations and areas understood the tongues being spoken; however, the people doing the speaking (those filled with the Spirit) thought they were STRANGE LANGUAGES, or "other tongues": they did NOT understand them. Some people hearing and seeing them were in doubt, saying "What does this mean?" Others were mocking and saying, "These men are full of new wine." But peter, full of the Holy Spirit, said, "These are not drunk with wine ... it is only 9:00 in the morning; but this is what the prophet Joel said would happen [800 years before]:
Peter, preaching to the crowd, explained to them what they were seeing and hearing. He told them Jesus had "poured out" the Holy Spirit on his followers.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the "gift" of POWER which God promised! The baptism in the Holy Spirit is NOT the same as baptism into the body of Christ (read 1 Corinthians 12:13). When a person is saved (at that very instant), the HOLY SPIRIT of God is the AGENT who places that person into the body of Christ: the brotherhood of all believers in Jesus. In Acts 2:33 you can see that the baptism in the Holy Spirit happens when JESUS, as the AGENT, NOT the Holy Spirit, "pours out", or sheds forth, the Holy Spirit upon believers. This can happen at the time a person is saved or after they are saved. It can happen before water baptism or after. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the "gift" of POWER which God promised! In Acts Chapter Ten (verses 44-46) we read of another case where the Holy Spirit was "poured out". The Apostle Peter was sent by God to preach the Gospel at the house of a man named Cornelius, a centurion in the Italian band of the Roman army. "While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit FELL on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision [the Jews] which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles [non-Jews] also was POURED OUT the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them SPEAK WITH TONGUES, and magnify [praise] God." In Acts 19:1-6 we learn of an interesting case. The Apostle Paul came to the city of Ephesus and found some followers of John the Baptist. He said unto them, "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" They answered him, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit." These 12 men had been followers of John the Baptist and had been baptized by him, but they had never believed "on him who should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." Paul explained the way of salvation to them ... they believed on Christ Jesus and Paul baptized them in water. After this, "When Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they SPOKE WITH TONGUES, and prophesied." In Acts 2:4 (the first case we studied) when the followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES. Now read the verses below (cases #2 and #3 we just studied), and notice what they have in common with Acts 2:4:
In every case we have studied, we see that as a result of the power of God coming down upon them, they SPOKE IN TONGUES! Remember the preacher, Paul, we just studied about? (Before he was saved, his name was Saul.) When he was saved, a bright light out of Heaven blinded him for three days. Just after he was saved, God sent a man named Ananias to pray for him. When Ananias laid hands on Saul, he prayed for two things:
Even though we don't read in the passage above about Paul speaking in tongues as a result of the Holy Spirit coming down upon him in power, we do know that Paul was a "tongues-speaker". In the book of First Corinthians, Paul said, "I thank my God, I SPEAK WITH TONGUES more than all of you." This was after Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. [1 Corinthians 14:18] Paul was not talking about a language he had studied such as Hebrew, Latin, Greek, or Aramaic, for then he would have understood what he was praying. When Paul prayed in tongues he did NOT understand it. We know this because in 1 Corinthians 14:14 he said, "If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding [my mind] is unfruitful." What one thing seemed to happen each time the Holy Spirit came down upon people? THEY SPOKE IN TONGUES! Have you ever been "baptized" in the Holy Spirit? If not, ask the Lord Jesus to baptize you right now. Pray and wait on God until you receive this POWER! Tell the Lord how much you love him. Praise Him! While you are praising Him, simply shut off your own language or dialect and start praising Him in a NEW language the Holy Spirit will give you. You will not understand your new language, but don't let that bother you. "He that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God: for no man understands him; in the spirit he is speaking secret truths [to God]." [1 Corinthians 14:2] Pray to God much in your new language. It will build you up. and then you will be able to build others up. 1 Corinthians 14:4 says, "He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies [builds up] himself ..."
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