Summer
2008
Follow the Anointing P-1
From the earliest days when I first came
to Jesus Christ at age 14, I found myself drawn to a certain
house meeting in Bronxville, New York.
I was drawn to the worship, I was drawn to the people, I was
drawn to the things that were spoken, but I was not conscious
in any way of the reason why, nor could I have told anyone
for years to come why exactly that was.
I was a Lutheran going through
confirmation class and attending Church on Sunday. Yet, when
I sat in those classes and in those church services, and their
Sunday morning adult Bible study, all of these felt empty
and hollow. I did not feel any inner drawing to these.
It was the presence of God, the
anointing of God that I was sensitive to even without the
baptism of the Holy Spirit and, even after having come in
a weak and beggarly way to Jesus Christ. (What I mean by that is: looking back at my coming
to Christ, it was quite tepid, I had repeated a bunch of words
with a woman that came over to the house and prayed for me
one day when I was home sick from school. I did so to be polite,
not that I had at that time any real interest in one teaching
of Christ over another [It was all just words to me, while
at the same time I found myself unwillingly being dragged
to some meetings in Rye and Bronxville. What happened in my
life should never be used as any kind of measuring stick or
standard for one’s success in witnessing, or that one is a
believer.) Looking back, I am amazing that I sensed the presence
of God in that kind of condition - that I felt
His presence and anointing, and most importantly, that I was
drawn to it, – while at the same time not being privy to what
was going on. Just as the child Samuel did not know yet the
Word of the Lord. –
The voice of the Lord – The voice of the Holy Spirit, The
Witness of the Spirit, - the
anointing of the Lord had not yet been revealed unto me as
a child.
Nevertheless, shortly after I
completed confirmation and was accepted now as an adult and
a full fledged Lutheran (And handed a paper certificate to prove it),
I announced that I was going to leave the Lutheran Church.
The Pastor hearing of this demanded that I appear before him
in his office on a weekday and explain to him my intentions.
I walked alone to his office,
which was miles from my school and house, feeling nervous
about the coming confrontation. When I arrived and was admitted
to his office, he had me sit down, lit his pipe and we talked
for some time. Then he came to the point that put me on the
spot, wanting to know why I wanted to leave, and telling me
that he would not let me leave. By that time, I was trembling and my voice was
trembling as I spoke of the meetings I was now attending,
and how they were so different and how I was drawn to them. (At that time, I still did not know the voice of the Lord,
the voice of the Holy Spirit, the witness of the Spirit, or
the anointing of the Lord, as I believe that I had not yet
received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.) I was
not, by any tangible means, able to explain myself. At that
time, I had a very poor knowledge of Scripture, so I may have
read a few passages as part of my reasoning for leaving, but
as I spoke, all that I said appeared to me as if I were holding
up wet tissue before this man as my defense of my intentions,
which he, with a few swift strokes, tore to shreds before
my eyes. He pressed me, and perhaps even made light of what
I thought I saw and felt. He was able to bring me to silence
in his office. The Pastor recounted all the reasons that I
should continue with the Lutheran Church
and with all my peers that I was friends with and had gone
through confirmation class with. So after giving me a compelling,
well-trained argument, in which he had committed me step by
step along the way, getting me to agree with many statements
he made; the Pastor demanded of me my decision, and my commitment
to Him and the Lutheran church. By this point I felt bound
by his words, bound by his commitments and I squirmed in the
chair – And in trembling words said to him, “All that you
say may be true, but I can no longer go to church here. I
must go where I believe God wants me and that is in these
house meetings. (In particular the
one in Bronxville) I felt drawn to those meetings,
to their worship, to the love of the brethren that was so
evident in these meetings, and to the teaching that was given
there. To say that the Pastor was angry would be an understatement;
he concluded the meeting and demanded that we speak more,
to which I would not agree.
I then left never more to return
to what had been a big part of my life, since my father had
died when I was 10 years old. I just knew in my heart that I could no longer
be there. As I walked home alone for some 5 -7 miles, I wondered
if I had done the right thing, still hearing in my ears my
pastor’s words. I sought to comfort myself with limited success;
so as to stop second guessing myself, and go back and continue
as a Lutheran.
Looking back, this was an extraordinary
event in my life. I was put to a complete test as to my coming
to Jesus Christ - my unknowing desire to follow His voice,
the leading of the Spirit, and to partake of the presence
of God and the anointing of the Lord in the meetings I attended
in Bronxville. When all that I said was squashed, I did not
surrender and submit to this Pastor, but instead, stood my
ground and chose to separate myself from my church home and
church family to follow Christ into the wilderness and uncertainty.
Looking back, I can see the Lord having his hand heavily
upon my life. This was a very important pivotal moment - I
was confessing Jesus Christ, and would not deny Him. I was
going to follow Christ no matter what the most “Spiritually”
powerful man in my life said. The Lord took great delight
and honor in that day and hour – even though I did not know
it or sense it at the time.
I suspect that the Lord is having
me speak of this for the first time for the benefit of some
that are reading these words to confirm and strengthen them
in their obedience to follow the Lord from wherever they may
find themselves hitched to that is not meeting their spiritual
hunger or needs.
What I was drawn to in those meetings
was the anointing and presence of God that was manifest in
their free and open worship, as it was manifest in the lives
of many of those that attended that meeting. I was receiving
spiritual impartation from fellowshipping with them, as well
as from the teaching in this meeting. Everyone was allowed
to share what God was speaking to them, what He was doing
in their lives, or what He had given them to teach in the
meeting. (What was going on there in 1972 was phenomenal and far above
in quality of Spirit, and its affect on an individual level
from meeting to meeting, was even more than any place that
I have ever attended since then, including sitting under brother
and sister Gamble at Lake Street Full Gospel, [1975-76 While
the church was in revival] and at Pinecrest Bible Training
Center. [1976- 81])
I so wish I could share those
things that I heard, saw, and that my hands handled in those
early days that so clearly marked me, and spoiled me spiritually.
Thereafter I was unconsciously drawn by the anointing, by
the presence of God, and the witness of the Spirit - from
place to place like the wind, having been taught of man none
of these things - seeking out and fellowshipping with those
with a quality of spirit, sniffing out those that had this
invisible, unseen anointing and the presence of God in their
life. I was partaking and eating of this wherever I could
find it in meetings, in worship, in teachings, in fellowships,
and in reading testimonial type books.
In those days I was truly not
drawn to a certain set of doctrine or teaching. I was drawn
to something Much Higher, The Anointing, The Presence of God,
and The Witness of The Spirit. It was much later that I came
to know that I had been in fact seeking out Spiritual substance;
receiving and partaking of the very life of God, as well as
asking this anointing and presence of God to lead me and guide
me.
1 Corinthians 13:11 When
I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child,
I thought as a child –
And yet contrary to all
the Pentecostal and Charismatic negative superstitious stories
about the dangers and deception in so walking; the Lord greatly
blessed me, honored me, carried me, and guided me as well
as performing signs and wonders and bringing a good many souls
to Christ in those days. Now that I have become a man, the
Lord desires to add to this mix, Another Witness to which the Holy Spirit and all gifts and manifestations of the Spirit must
conform to -- that is The Witness of the Written Word
of God.
For most of us, we really are
not acquainted with the Manifest Presence of God, neither
do we know the Word that Proceedeth out of the Mouth of the
Father, and neither do we know The Written Word of God. Our
life and walk in the Spirit are hazy and murky at best, as
are our spiritual experiences. One of our goals in writing
and teaching about the things of the Spirit is to show where
these things can be found in The Word of God so that we can
know we are founded solidly upon the rock, and not based solely
upon just feelings, emotions, and personal experience.
John
14:15-17 If ye love me, keep my commandments. (Here Jesus Christ makes a conditional promise
that entails our individually and personally reading of and
saturating ourselves with the written word of God. [How else
can we truly know His Words and Commandments to obey them?]) And I will pray the Father, (This is a result
of our Love and Devotion to Jesus Christ and our obedience
to Him – Why are so many people’s baptism of the Holy Ghost
weak and beggarly? It is directly attributable to their lack
of Love for Jesus Christ and their lack of submission and
obedience to His Words and Commandments because these have
never even read the word of God cover to cover even once.
So how, pray tell, can the Holy Spirit bring all things to
these people’s remembrance when there is little or nothing
for them to remember?)
and He shall give you another
Comforter, (See that the reception
of this Another Comforter is based upon us fully embracing
Jesus Christ as our First and Primary Comforter.) that He may abide (Meno) with you forever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth Him not, (He is invisible and hidden,) neither knoweth him: but ye know Him; (Intimately know Him. How so?)
for He dwelleth (Meno) with you,
(Here, the Greek
is very specific in that this dwelling with you is without, Jesus is Citing Isaiah
30:21 And thine ears [This
is the Holy Spirit dwelling without]
shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk
ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn
to the left. This is our acquaintance, and coming to intimately
know the Spirit of Truth, even before our receiving the indwelling
of the Spirit or what is elsewhere call The Baptism of the
Holy Ghost. Psalm 24:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
[This outward dwelling is supposed
to be our time of tasting and seeing the goodness of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father]
blessed is the man [That from having so tasted – and that
has so seen the goodness of the Lord] that trusteth in Him.)
and shall be in you. (This blessed goodness that you have seen and tasted of shall
then move from without, and being occasional in nature between
the times the Spirit so speaks to the Holy Spirit taking up
permanent residence in you even as He so did with Jesus Christ
at the baptism of John [Meno-ing] within you.)
Some may wonder at our use of the word Meno. Meno in the Greek
Lexicon is defined as: To
Dwell, To Lodge, To Sojourn.
Meno is used some 55 times in the Greek Septuagint.
In Genesis 24:55 we find the first
use of this word:
Genesis 24:55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel
(Rekekah) abide (Meno) with us
a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.
Here we see that the word Meno does not carry the meaning in the Greek Lexicon alone (Which is not uncommon)
Here Rebekah already clearly dwells with her family, and yet her family
asks that she might "Abide"
or "Stay" with them. What they are seeking is that Rebekah
would stay: “Under
their rule”, or
stay “Under the influence of” Laban and her Mother. (This same thing
also occurred with Abraham when his father and Lot “Abided” with him and were seeking to influence and have decision making
power over what God was speaking to Abraham.)
So that in correctly
dividing the word of truth the true biblical meaning of the
word Meno is
not just To Dwell, To Lodge, To Abide, or To Sojourn.
But Meno
carries with it the meaning of “That
Dweller, Lodger, Abider, and Sojourner -- coming under the rule and under the influence
of the one who owns or has the rule over that house.
So that when we come unto
Jesus Christ and take His yoke upon us, in so doing we are
Meno-ing Christ.
When
the Holy Spirit comes to take up His abode in us – our body,
being the temple of the Holy Ghost, in so doing we Meno The Holy Spirit.
So also, when Christ’s words abide
(Meno) in us – The meaning is that
we have come, not to the place of knowing scripture intellectually,
or having memorized the words of Jesus Christ – but that we
have come under the influence and rulership of Christ’s words
in our life.
So that the meaning of the Holy
Ghost abiding with us is – our coming under the influence
and rulership of the Holy Spirit in our lives day by day,
hour by hour and minute by minute.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit
is not some passing fancy – this indwelling Christ said would
be forever. It is a complete reordering of one’s life in that
they have given up their own rulership, their will, their
wants, and their personal desires and have taken the will,
the wants, and desires of Jesus Christ as their own.
1 Peter 2:2-3 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word (The written word
of God, as well as the Word that Proceedeth out of the Mouth
of the Father, as well as the Word, the speaking, teaching,
and guidance of the Word of Truth, even the Holy Ghost.),
that ye may grow thereby: If
so be ye have tasted (And from which you will now know intimately and personally) that the Lord is gracious.
The
real problem among most believers is there is a fear to trust
Jesus Christ with your life, and to absolutely surrender
yourself to Him, much less to disciple yourself to Him alone
and follow after Him.
Likewise,
there is also a fear to trust in The Anointing of God, The
Presence of God, The Witness of the Holy Spirit, and especially
for the Holy Ghost to lead you and guide you into all truth.
How
different would this be if one had a teacher like Abraham,
Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Jesus Christ, Peter, Paul, or
John; all of which taught and spoke from that which our eyes
have seen which our ears have heard, which our hands have
handled concerning the word of life that speak we unto you?
How different would this be if
you had a teacher that was truly concerned with your Meno-ing Jesus Christ, and seeing
to it as much as possible that in your Meno-ing of Jesus
Christ that you would taste and see that the Lord is good.
This will come. – This shall indeed
come to pass. – But we must look at where we are, and what
we have been handed and entrusted with in this day of small
things.
If you are at all humble before
the Lord, and the Lord has been speaking to your heart, you
can see yourself to some degree in those two statements above.
These two statements are the battlegrounds
in your heart, your mind, your soul, and your spirit, which
Jesus Christ seeks to, in truth, rule over, to purge and cleanse,
and to conform to His Image and His Likeness, and to even
rule over our every thought.
These things would be impossible,
except for the fact that we are able to partake of the anointing
of the Lord, of the Presence of God, and the Witness of the
Spirit, so that these can flow through us, to cleanse us,
to change us, and to gradually permeate our entire being so
as to swallow up the death that is in us with the very life
of Jesus Christ.
The application of the blood of
Jesus Christ both to cleanse us and protect us from the enemy
– is not a physical application by a spiritual application.
Our being made partakers of the cleansing power of Jesus’
Blood, and the protection the Blood of Jesus Christ offers
is an operation of the Holy Spirit.
The peace, the cleansing that
one feels when they first come to Jesus Christ is not a physical
operation based on the power of one’s soul, but it is a spiritual
operation of The Holy Spirit.
For an Evangelical or Fundamentalist
to except the operation of the Holy Ghost applying the blood
of Christ to them, and then reject the Holy Ghost that applies
the cleansing and peace that one can physically feel, and
say that these feelings of peace, joy, and happiness, when
they receive The Baptism of the Holy Ghost are completely
illegitimate, is completely illogical, as well as wholly unscriptural.
Mark 1:8 (John the Baptist
speaking) I
indeed have baptized you with water: but
He (Jesus Christ) shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost.
Luke 3:16 John
answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with
water; but one mightier than I cometh, (Jesus Christ) the
latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with
fire:
According
to John the Baptist, Jesus Christ’s stated purpose in coming
was to baptize every individual believer with the baptism
of the Holy Ghost.
Protestant theology which is from
the writings of John Calvin and Martin Luther takes no account
of this.
In other words, God’s plan of
redemption for mankind in sending His only beloved Son Jesus
Christ into the world ,entailed not just Jesus Christ dying
on the Cross, and shedding His oh so precious blood for you
and for me, not just Jesus being raised from the dead and
ascending to be seated at the right hand to the Father – But
John the Baptist declares that the Divine purpose in Jesus
being the Lamb of God that came to take away the sins of the
world – was to baptize each individual that comes unto Him
for salvation, and to also, in a separate experience, just
as in the lives of the Apostles – have the Holy Spirit take
up His Abode, to Meno them.
Numbers 11:29 And
Moses said unto him, (Joshua) Enviest
thou for my sake? Would God (God wants -- God’s hearts desire is) that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and
that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them! (All of His children individually and personally)
John the Baptist is declaring that the coming of Christ was
for the fulfillment of His children, individually and personally,
each and everyone having the Holy Spirit indwelling them,
so that his children, individually and personally would all
become prophets – that is, to know individually and personally
the voice of the Lord, to know individually and personally
the Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Father, and
to know individually and personally the voice of the Holy
Spirit, even the Spirit of Truth so that He might individually
and personally lead, and guide all His children to all truth.
In The Book of Numbers, God further elaborates on prophecy
and prophets.
Numbers 12:7-9 My
servant Moses is not so, who is faithful (Filled with faithfulness unto the Lord – even
as he was filled with the Holy Spirit) in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, (My mouth speaking
through his mouth)
even apparently,(And with my manifesting
Myself to him) and
not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: (I will also visibly
show Myself to Moses)
wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant
Moses? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them;
and he departed.
This is the kind of personal friendship
and personal relationship that the Lord desires with not only
Moses, or Abraham, or Isaiah, or Jesus Christ, but with all
of His children.
Would God (God
wants -- God’s hearts desire is)
that
all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would
put His Spirit upon them! (All
of His children individually and personally)
Jeremiah 31:33 But
this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, (After the days of Jesus Christ having died on the Cross and
shedding His blood to make this New Covenant with God’s children) I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; (How did God accomplish this? – With the indwelling of the
Holy Ghost – Jeremiah is prophesying of all God’s people becoming
prophets) and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
(In
a first person deep abiding personal relationship via this
infilling and indwelling of the Holy Ghost)
Joel
2:28-29 And it
shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,
your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants
and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
Joel prophesies of the same event.
In this passage, the Prophet Joel declares that those that
partake of this outpouring of the Spirit, this immersion in
the Spirit, this Baptism of the Holy Ghost – that those that
have received it shall what? They shall prophesy the word
that proceedeth from the Mouth of the Father, they shall dream
dreams with God speaking to them, and they shall have visions
in which God speaks to them.
Demonstrating the intimate and personal relationship
that God had with Moses, and of God manifesting Himself through
various means to those that have been so baptized, these men
and women individually are being taught of God through the
Holy Spirit and guided into all truth – so that “They shall no longer teach every man his neighbor saying
know the Lord but they shall all know me (Intimately, individually and personally, just
as Abraham and Moses did)
from the least of them unto the greatest.
John 7:38-40 He
that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that
Jesus was not yet glorified.) Here, John the Apostle declares that the meaning of Jesus saying
“Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” – is
speaking of the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and this Baptism
of the Holy Ghost – he is describing this communication and
relationship with God shall be as the torrents of a river
flowing mightily out of anyone who is so in-filled, so imbued,
so Baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Both to Nicodemus and the woman
at the well, Jesus was indeed speaking about the coming of
the Holy Ghost and this in-filling, imbuing, and baptism being
a mighty river to quench our every spiritual hunger and thirst,
and to be such a river and torrent that it will also so quench
the spiritual hunger and thirst of all those around us.
John 14:26 But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will
send in my name, He shall teach you
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever
I have said unto you.
Acts 1:5-8
(Jesus
Speaking) For John
truly baptized with water; but
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked
of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again
the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It
is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the
Father hath put in his own power. 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.
Here, we see that Jesus Christ,
at the conclusion of His ministry after having died on the
cross and having shed His precious blood, after the Father
raising Jesus Christ from the dead and after appearing to
the Apostles and disciples for 40 days – Call them back to
the divine purpose of God as to Jesus Christ’s mission – to
baptize all that believe in Him with the Holy Ghost – Repeating
the Words of John the Baptist - that their being so anointed
so imbued that these shall individually and personally become
prophets so that they might become witnesses of Jesus Christ
prophesying and proclaiming, speaking forth the words and
mighty acts of Jesus Christ as a mighty river.
Acts 2:1-21
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all
with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound
from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all
the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them. (There
appeared visible fire, reminiscent of Moses on the Mount that
burned with fire, and the flaming furnace that appeared to
Abraham) And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (The meaning, usage and explanation of the gift of tongues
– here and as its use continued in the Church is given by
Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians, chapters 13 – 14 [We need
to understand that the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts
were commission by Paul the Apostle and written by Luke his
faithful physician. – The meaning of this is that Paul in
1 Corinthians is answering questions, and teaching concerning
questions posed about if the gift of tongues could be found
in scripture? What was the nature of the gift of tongues in
Acts 2:4? Does the gift of tongues still have any place in
the church? And what
value does the gift of tongues have in the life of the individual
believer?]) And there were dwelling
at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together,
and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak
in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled,
saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak
Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein
we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the
dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in
Pontus,
and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt,
and in the parts of Libya
about Cyrene, and strangers
of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians,
we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of
God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another,
What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing
up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them,
Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this
known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not
drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of
the day. But this is
that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come
to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my
Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old
men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens
I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall
prophesy: (Despite all that has been written and taught
by Evangelicals and Fundamentalist [Beginning in 1910 in direct response to the Azusa Street revival] to deflect significance of the Baptism of
the Holy Ghost and the gift of tongues. To declare this was
only a one time event.
[This Claim is refuted in the Book of Acts]
To declare that all of this ended with the death of the last
apostle John in 90 AD [This
Claim is refuted by the Apostolic Fathers –
which are listed in http://www.alaskandreams.net/ekklesia/ancientart.htm] From the
words of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, the purpose of
Jesus Christ’s coming was to bring to those that would believe
on Him a separate life-changing Spiritual experience, The
in-filling, The imbuing, The Baptism of the Holy Ghost – with
the gift of tongues playing a central roll in it. – Which testified of in the Book of Acts, and upheld by Paul the Apostle
in 1 Corinthians chapters 13-14.)
And I will shew wonders in
heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire,
and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day
of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts
2:32-33 This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed
forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Acts
2:32-33 (A better rendering) This Jesus hath God raised up, and then being by the
right hand of God and exalted whereof we all are witnesses
and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost (Given by the Father and testified of by Jesus
Christ), He (Jesus) hath shed forth this, (Taken of the same Spirit that rested upon Him,
and placed that same Spirit now on us), which ye now see and hear.
Acts 2:37-39 Now when
they heard this, (Those that had seen and heard The cloven tongues of fire,
the fire of God, and had heard the Apostles glorifying and
testifying of the mighty works and deeds of Jesus Christ and
the Father in both the tongues of men and of angels [1
Corinthians 13:1 ] )
they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and
to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (What shall we
do with all that you have seen and heard – The Holy Ghost
not speaking of Himself, but testifying of Jesus Christ and
the Father.)
Then Peter said unto them, (First) Repent, and be baptized every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and (Separate from believing
and coming unto Jesus Christ as your Lord, Master and Savior,
and Separate from then going and being baptized in water,
just as what occurred in the lives of the Apostles and Disciples
of Jesus Christ.) ye shall (In a separate, individual personal experience) receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise
(Of
the in-filling, imbuing, of the Holy Ghost – that was promised
by Jesus Christ Himself to as many as would believe on Him
[John 7:38-40 ]) is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar
off, (All over the world)
even
(To) as many as the LORD our God shall call.
What we have laid out here by the Lord is
incontrovertible. Once one looks at
this biblical record, no amount of explaining away, no amount of beguiling God’s children
from partaking of these things by any pastor, teacher, church
or denomination can be understood in any other light than
these men and women are acting as surrogates of the serpent
so as to beguile their hearers of their spiritual inheritance
– even the promise of the Spirit and the manifestation of
the gift of tongues.
Make no mistake here that the
battle lines drawn against the baptism of the Holy Ghost operating
individually and personally in the lives of believers is no
accident. And make no mistake that the most reviled and hated
of all things about the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the
gift of tongues is no accident.
The Lord is indicating that this
is to be the end of part one here and that I am to pick up
from this point in part two.