..The Greater Works Of The Holy Ghost

TEXT: John 14:12  - 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 unto my Father.

The church world so desperately needs the Holy Ghost to return to our foundations in these last days! Because Christ has gone to the Father, the Holy Ghost has now come to us for power, service, and anointing from on high! Without the Holy Ghost the church world becomes a machine void of any value other than grinding itself into a frenzied useless halt. That is what MOST activity today in the name of God does - it grinds men's souls into a life long pursuit of a lifeless goal - religion without God. How sad to think that as high a price the Lord paid with His own blood that we might be filled with the Spirit that our own religious pride and arrogance keeps the very source of our strength away!!!!

As Jeremiah the prophet cried so long ago, "there is a BALM in Gilead, that makes the wounded whole!" Yet because of our unbelief today in the church we must cry as Israel did at Jeremiah's rebuke, "there is no physician there and the health of the daughter of my people is not recovered." Without the Holy Spirit there IS NO Balm of Gilead in our midst, but He is outside the door knocking waiting to get in! Millions within the professing church, especially here in America, need healing today but healing can only come from the freedom and power of the Holy Ghost, who has come to help us do 'greater' works to glorify Christ and see sinners converted. The Holy Spirit is the One who Reveals CHRIST and the things of CHRIST to the Church and He alone can produce SPIRITUAL results!

Jeremiah 8:20-22
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. [21] For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. [22] Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
 

This journal is not a full expose' on the 12th verse of John 14 - that would take several which we may do should the Lord lead in the future. This journal is a plea for the church to return to the SOURCE where ALL greater works come - the dynamo of the HOLY GHOST, sent from heaven from Jesus Christ to accomplish HIS work on the Earth in these last days. When He says "he that believeth on ME," He is meaning that those who come to Him through FAITH and what He did at the Cross has been given ACCESS into this wonderful GRACE and power whereby we can receive the glorious benefits of SONSHIP through the work of the Spirit:

Jesus and what He accomplished at the Cross is always to be the object of one's faith, i.e. and not just temporal faith in the sense of a one-time drive by experience but a CONSTANT, LOOKING TO and DEPENDENCE ON, throughout our walk on this earth as believers! Hundreds of millions of people have FAITH, but most in the wrong thing. The works referred to in this passage are miracles, healings, signs, wonders, and mighty acts of power.

John 5:20
For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

John 5:36
But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

John 9:3
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

John 10:25
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

John 10:32
Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

John 14:10-12
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. [12] 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 unto my Father.

Mark 16:15
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

While on earth Jesus healed all manners of sickness and disease, cast out devils, raised the dead, cleansed lepers, and did innumerable acts of deliverance from all the works of Satan!

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.

Matthew 4:23-24
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. [24] And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Matthew 9:35
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

He controlled the elements, multiplied food, walked on water, restored a severed ear, turned water into wine, accomplishing anything He undertook to do in the material and spiritual realms. THIS SHOULD BE THE CRITERIA FOR THE MODERN CHURCH WORLD AND THE MODERN BELIEVER AS WELL! These things were accomplished in the life of Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost that worked through Him, as the Son of man, in the flesh, God "incarnate," Emmanuel, God with us.

Selfish and religious men make all types of excuses, claming that the events the early Church saw take place in the Book of Acts is "not for us today," or "it was only for the Apostles," or "it is not meant to serve as a spiritual guide," or the one my wife and I heard a great deal at a church we attended for the first few years we were married, "I tell you right we believe this book 'from cover to cover' with no exception," only to have the same preacher say five minutes later he didn't believe tongues and all those things in the book of Acts were real or meant for this generation. How stupid and moronic does that sound even on a natural level, forget the spiritual stupidity such statements record!

The book of Acts was written by the HOLY GHOST through Luke and is supposed to be the guideline for the Church, in ALL ages, and that means NOW, TODAY, in THIS HOUR, in these last days of apostasy before Jesus comes to keep us grounded and rooted in the TRUTH, which is found in Christ Jesus and the message of the Cross and the Resurrection!

Ephes. 3:16-21 -  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; [17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; [19] And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, [21] Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

When we KNOW CHRIST, who passes knowledge, we will be filled with the fullness of God, who wants to work "exceedingly" abundantly above ALL that we ask or think, according to the POWER that works in us - the POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. Neighbor, if we can accomplish what we think God wants us to do in our own strength and ability then God has not called us to that task! God always calls us to do things beyond ourselves so HE CAN SHOW HIMSELF MIGHTY THROUGH US to bring souls into the Kingdom of God before it is too late! His priorities are not the wicked and sinful ones the modern church is engrossed in as it sinks into greater apostasy, deception and darkness but HIS PRIORITIES is the preaching of the gospel i.e. CHRIST CRUCIFIED and the sending forth of those willing to lay down their lives for those who cannot pay them back with the message of the gospel of good news of the Lord Jesus Christ who came to seek and to save that which was Lost!


Matthew 10:36-42
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. [37] He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [38] And he that takes not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. [39] He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.

We live in an age where most preachers do not even believe God answers prayer, much less that these things written such as people getting saved and healed, delivered, set free from sin and the powers of darkness can be done in the name of Jesus presently! Through unbelief the modern church world is coming dangerously close to being rejected as Israel of old was for the same reasons. The Holy Spirit through Paul warned us in Romans 11 that if God did not spare the natural branches why would we ever think He'd spare us, who have been "grafted' into the vine?

The Greater Works of the Holy Ghost

John 14:12  - 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 unto my Father.

Jesus said that they who believed on Him would do "greater" works than Him. This has to do with quantity, rather than quality. We are the Body, HE IS THE HEAD and the FIRSTBORN OF ALL THINGS! The Works of Christ were confined to greater Israel during His first sojourn on Earth, but today,  because of the ministry of the Holy Ghost to the believer, the works of Christ THROUGH THOSE WHO BELIEVE and are willing to lay down their lives for His cause and name will affect and cover the entirety of the earth! The Spirit's work upon the earth does not depend upon the world's methods or methodology to get things accomplished. To be frank, if your church is embracing a worldly system of trying to embrace a goal - it's probably a church that is rejecting and resisting the move of the Holy Ghost! When the Holy Ghost backs away friend, we're left to our own devices which will always lead us to spiritual death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hear what I say to you today!

When Jesus went to glory, He had told the disciples He'd send back one who would "teach" them all things and take of the Father and "reveal" it to them. He also called the coming Spirit the Comforter for it would be the Holy Ghost who would carry on the works of Christ, as just stated, on a worldwide level, not just to those residing in Israel during Jesus' day. That is why we live in such a wonderful dispensation today. Had we lived during the time of Christ we would have had to be right there in Christ's presence to partake of the blessings of His grace and love! But today, with the advent of the NEW COVENANT, the NEW BIRTH, a better covenant, bulit upon better promises, we have the PROMISE OF THE HOLY GHOST living inside us as believers today which grants us the privilege and right to be baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues.

John said that John the Baptist came baptizing in water, but it was the Baptist who delcared One was coming "mightier than I," whose "fan is in His hand," and He will throughly purge His floor, gather the wheat into the garner and He shall baptize you with the HOLY GHOST and FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who was John speaking of there?????? What did he mean that HE would baptize us in fire??? He was speaking of Christ, who after we get saved, invites us to come to Him to be immersed and baptized in the Holy Ghost so we can become mighty witnesses upon the earth for Him!

Acts 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.

The day of Pentecost was the blessing for those who obeyed the Lord's command to tarry in Jerusalem before they be endued with power from on high! Jesus called this enduement of power, "the promise" of the FATHER and oh, what a glorious promise it is!!!!!!!!!!!! What a glorious event for the believer, the child of God, already saved and washed in the blood of Jesus to move into a deeper walk with the Lord by being baptized in the Sprit. No, one does not have to speak in tongues to be saved; I'm not talking about salvation, I'm talking about power, anointing, grace, revelation and giftings for service to carry on the work of God for His Kingdom in these last days. One person and One person alone can accomplish that through us - the person of the HOLY GHOST!

Acts 1:4
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

As I write these words in early Fall 2006 I am in the middle of researching events that led to the Azusa street outpouring on America in the early 1900s. Many believe this outpouring was the beginning of what James the Apostle referred to as the "latter rain" speaking of the end times and what the work of the Holy Spirit upon the Earth during that time of history will be. Friend, we are LIVING in the end of days; to be frank we are living in the LAST of the last days; Jesus is coming soon!

Frank Bartleman who was used mightily by God in intercessory prayer for this great outpouring  stated that the death of his  eldest daughter Esther, who was three at the time of her passing due to seizures and convulsions of an unknown nature, caused him to look inside his heart and pledge his life anew for God's service. As he states it "in the presence of death, how real eternal issues become." There is no more truer statement than that.  Bartleman said he made "fresh covenant" with God and promised the Lord the rest of his life would be spent "wholly for Him." And as Bartleman made the covenant with the Lord, the Lord made a covenant with him!! Bartleman states he prayed earnestly for a door of service to open quickly because he felt that working for God would be the greatest healer of the sorrow he felt over the loss of his daughter Esther.

One week after Esther's departure, he began preaching twice a day at the Peniel Mission in Pasadena, California where souls were saved during the month-long meeting. More importantly, as Bartleman testified in his memoirs was the spiritual growth of a company of young men attending there, many of them being called into full time future service for God.

His daughter had died on January 7, 1905 and in April of that year he head F.B. Meyer from London preach and describe what he had experienced during his visit to Wales, where one of the greatest moves of the Holy Ghost that nation had ever experienced was taking place. Bartleman also met Evan Roberts, another mighty man used of God in the early days of Azusa Street, which caused Bartleman's heart to be stirred even greater.

He prayed from his depths "Lord, if you can use me, have 'full right of way' with me." As the days went on Bartleman distributed tracts he noted in post offices, banks and public buildings in Los Angeles and also took tracks to many saloons. He mentioned one occasion where he visited 30 saloons in Los Angeles as well as houses of prostitution. He longed to know GOD in a MORE REAL WAY and to see the work of GOD go forth in POWER. A great cry and burden came up in his heart for a mighty revival and that cry would soon be answered. It's interesting to this writer that Bartleman's motive was in one sense to drown himself in the work of God to help ease the hurt of his heart over the loss of his daughter. I think MOST of us who have lost a loved one - be it a father, mother, child, grandchild - can relate to that. No matter the motive this entire ordeal caused Bartleman to do something the church needs to do - prepare our hearts for GOD and a move of the HOLY GHOST! He said that what the Lord called him to do could only come about by the realization of a deeper need in his own heart for God and real SOUL TRAVAIL for the work of God. This he said the Lord GAVE HIM! Whatever the Lord demands and asks of us, He always gives the grace and the power to carry it through. Praise God, Praise God. Never let it said the call of God on one's life is beyond obeying, for the obedience even of that call is made easy through the power of the HOLY GHOST!

The nation at the turn of the century was experiencing revival in other places but California stood out during the late 1800s and early 1900s as fertile ground as far as needing a move of God in a desperate way. The Lord was preparing to visit and deliver His people once more and the way He was going to bring it about was through intercessors who were the need! I want to say that again for it has the utmost relevance to today and the state of both America and the CHURCH in America. The need was NOT some seminar of workbook from the Purpose Driven Life or some self-help guru dressed up in a tie and jacket trying to get us to obtain a "better view of ourselves." It was NOT the smooth talking ramblings of a backslidden preacher telling you that "all you need for victory is success and consistency in what you're called to do." Neighbor, man is a sinner and for the powers of darkness to be broken over man's life will take more than just success in life and "consistency," as Joel Osteen said a few weeks back.

The need is NOT for the church to hire professional rock bands to come in and entertain our youth with demonic music parading in the name of God and purporting to be "Christian" music; Our need today is not for the church to bring in quartets, well known speakers, motivational gurus, weight-loss experts, worldly entertainers to draw a crowd! Our need today is not some message series on how to increase one's "self" view and make our lives easier, better and happier! Intercessors were the need in 1905 and they are the need in 2006!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isaiah 59:16
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Ezekiel 22:30
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

About a month later in May, a powerful revival broke out in the Lake Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Pasadena. Most of the young men who had come forth in the meetings in Peniel Mission attended this church. They had gotten under the burden for a revival there. In fact, we had been praying for a sweeping revival for Pasadena, and God was answering the prayers of a broken father who had lost his daughter months prior.

Bartleman said the meetings at Lake Avenue had no big preacher there, yet the altar was full of seeking souls; One night nearly every unsaved soul in the house was saved. It was a "CLEAN SWEEP" for God as he put it; conviction was mightily upon the people day after day, week after week. In just two weeks' time, 200 souls knelt at the altar truly seeking the Lord. The same boys called at the Peniel Mission were involved and wonderfully used by God.  It was right after the Lake Avenue revival that Bartleman and those same boys started praying for an outpouring of the Spirit for Los Angeles and the whole of southern California.

In his dairy Bartleman wrote the following that this writer feels is a rebuke to the modern church that resists the moving of this same Holy Ghost!

"Some churches are going to be surprised to find God passing them by. He will work in channels where they will YIELD to Him. They must humble themselves for Him to come; We are crying "Pasadena for God!" Some people are too well satisfied with their own goodness. They have little faith or interest for the salvation of others. God will humble them by passing them by. The Spirit is breathing prayer through us for a mighty, general outpouring. Great things are coming. We are asking largely, that our joy may be full. God is moving. We are praying for the churches and their pastors. The Lord will visit those willing to yield to Him."

And the same is TRUE TODAY.  Ultimate failure or success for God is always realized at the point where the church either humbles itself and REPENTS becoming "little" in our own eyes or get built up by a sense of our own importance and thus destroying ourselves through pride, arrogance and ego!

Martin Luther, the great reformer wrote:

"When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says REPENT, He means that the "whole life of believers on earth should be a constant and perpetual repentance. Repentance and sorrow i.e., true repentance - endure as long as a man is displeased with himself. The desire of self-justification is the cause of all the distresses of the heart!"

The depth of ANY revival is always determined by the spirit of repentance that is obtained through the hearts of those seeking it. Any true revival born of God will always be rooted in a forsaking of sin and self without question or debate; it's not a series of meetings where a man gets behind a pulpit and preaches doctrines that are not contrary to the denominational church he is preaching them in. Revival changes hearts and men; revival changes nations; revival changes cities; revival closes the drug houses; revival closes the beer halls; revival closes the prostitution houses; revival keeps our desire on heaven, not on what's playing at the local theater; revival keeps our hearts burning for Jesus, not burning for the latest fashion craze or fad hitting the world. Revival separates the church from the world and it angers the world at the church! The very fact the modern day church is doing everything in its power to be accepted by the world lets this writer know we need the same type of outpouring of the holy GHOST that took place because  a broken hearted father named Frank Bartleman began praying for revival.

As he prayed, the Lord began to bless him with a further spirit of exhortation to revival among the churches; He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat; he couldn't even spend much time with his family! The spirit of prophecy came upon him mightily; he said that he believes the Holy Ghost literally gave him the "gift of faith" for revival as day after day he would prophesy continually of a mighty outpouring.

Only the HOLY GHOST can bring 200 souls to the altar in two weeks! Some churches don't have TWO souls come to the altar in two YEARS!!!! WHY? Why do we not see these things today? It's because we've resisted the only power that can produce these type things - the power of the HOLY GHOST.

The church in Los Angeles were not depending on a great "one," or "speaker," or "well-known name," to stir the people. They were not bound by the same spirit of idolatry that has cursed the church of today and Israel of old that has hindered God in all ages. Like the children of Israel we in the modern church have transgressed God's command to "not have some other god before Him!" In the state churches in Europe the pastor was often known as "the little God," meaning he was looked on as the only one who could hear from God and tell the people what God was saying. IN the days of Azusa Street men like Frank Bartleman met and prayed and while they were waiting for the janitor with the key there were not gathering to meet a man, they were gathering to meet GOD! Some prayer services would last all night; some lasted days at a time, weeks and so on.

When God's church becomes what it should be, in love and unity, the doors will NEVER be closed or locked. Like the temple of old, it will always be open! God does not have many churches, all of different names! There is no division in a true Pentecost or in true worship.

John 4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

1 Cor. 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Ancient Israel, when right with God, was one; how much more should the church of today be???????????? How much more should we have priests enough to serve continually, and plenty of seeking, needy people to fill the church at all times!! How far we have fallen from the early pattern, even from the type of the church in the Old Covenant, Israel. We are so far from it that we scarcely recognize the real thing. Even the Catholic Church, as steeped in its idolatry as it is, is rarely divided. We Protestants are divided because we have rejected the HOLY GHOST and stopped preaching the gospel that asks the believer HAVE YOU RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST SINCE YOU BELIEVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Work of The Holy Spirit on Behalf Of The Believer Is Paramount To There Being Greater Works On Behalf Of The Believer!

The Holy Spirit's Ministry to the believer is multifaceted;  He convicts us of our sins; reproves us of error; and leads us into ALL TRUTH, which is several things by definition, but in the final essence of all things a person - the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul told the Ephesians' church that "all truth is in Christ Jesus," meaning that any truth that does not glorify Christ and the cross is not TRUTH!

The Word of God is TRUTH as well as but again still envelopes itself around a PERSON - The Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is a invitation of an encounter unlike ANY mortal man can take - a journey into the revelation of the Son of God, the Rose of Sharon, the Bright and Morning Star, the First and the Last, the Everlasting One, the Messiah of Israel, the Saviour of ALL mankind.

When Jesus went to glory He sent back the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to us through the Spirit's ministry! God the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Triune Godhead, empowers us for service, indwells us at Salvation and so deeply wants to intercede and travail through the believer with "groanings and mutterings" that cannot be uttered by mortal tongue. The Lord Jesus wants to endue us with power after we get saved so we can be witnesses for Him and sinners be converted to saints as a result of the Holy Spirit's travail and work on this earth!

Ephes. 4:21
If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Romans 8:24-27
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? [25] But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. [26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [27] And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
 

When we are "baptized" in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues, it's more than just a "goose-bump" experience or the "end" of a means; on the greatest of contraries, it's just the beginning! Sadly, many non-Charismatics feel salvation is the end of their pursuit of God while Charismatics and Pentecostals think the experience of receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial physical evidence of tongues is an end for them. NEITHER is right! The HOLY Ghost's work is eternal in the life of the believer friend and we'd do very well to never forget that. The day one ceases to allow the Holy Ghost to deal, work, lead, change and transform us into the image of Jesus, we are headed for backsliding or worse! Only those with arrogant hearts develop such a foolish and deluded view of God!

The Holy Spirit through Paul says these "groanings and utterings," which cannot be uttered are part of the Spirit's work of "helping" our infirmities through intercession according to the will of God! When we pray according to the will of God we know from scripture that the Lord hears AND answers what we ask! ONLY THE HOLY GHOST PRAYING THROUGH US GUARANTEES 100% of the TIME that we are 100% praying the will of God! That's really the greatest reason one needs the baptism in the Holy Spirit when they get saved! WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE SHOULD PRAY FOR NOR DO WE NOW "HOW" TO PRAY! We need an enduement of Holy Ghost power in our hearts and souls to get a burden for a revival beyond our human endeavors of abilities. ONLY THE HOLY GHOST CAN DO THAT as He did 100 years ago through Frank Bartleman and those who prayed in the Azusa Street outpouring. Greater works than these SHALL we do, according to Jesus. He didn't say we "might," or "possibly," or "you who are alive now but not those later to come in future generations," but greater works shall WE DO in the name of Jesus! Those greater works can only be accomplished by a greater power than ourselves - the HOLY GHOST!

As we stated in our last message "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed," there is a great controversy as to what measure of the Holy Spirit one receives at conversion. The answer to that question is actually somewhat complicated yet very simple if one reads the Word of God and allows the Spirit of God to show them the truth.  Only religious hearts bound by religious spirits seek to hinder the work of the Holy Spirit and allow Him total free course. NONE OF US HAVE REACHED THAT POINT YET for should that day come - God help the devil and his kingdom - this world will not know what hit it! But despite what looks like a bleak picture outwardly at the present in the church this writer's heart burns hot with the expectation that there is STILL a remnant of people praying for revival and a glorious outpouring of the Holy Ghost unlike this world has ever seen before we are taken in the rapture. I believe that day is coming. There may not be many who receive what is coming and that is to be expected. God has never had a ton of folks on His side anyway in history's past. To be frank the less God has the better He likes it so He can show HIMSELF mighty, not the so-called "vaunted" wisdom of what man brags he has in place of God.

The Holy Spirit does come into our hearts and lives at salvation but there is a big difference in being BORN of the SPIRIT and being Baptized IN the Holy Ghost. Two separate experiences - one for the sinner (Salvation) and one for the believer (Enduement).

As we humbly tried to point out in the last message, Luke recorded in the 19th chapter of Acts that when the Apostle Paul came to Ephesus he asked some new disciples a very significant question that really needs to be asked for those living in our day as well as those who lived in his: "Have ye received the HOLY SPIRIT SINCE you believed?" These were NOT sinners but believers who had been baptized by John the Baptist (the baptism of repentance) but who were completely unaware of the Holy Spirit. Paul told them fully of the redemptive work of Christ, and they were then baptized in water unto repentance.

Acts 19:1-3
And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, [2] He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. [3] And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

Acts 19:6
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

 

Following this, Paul laid his hands on them and they were instantly baptized IN the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues and prophesied. And this case, as in ALL other recorded cases in the book of Acts, the baptism IN the Holy Spirit, NOT the baptism of repentance into the Body of Christ, took place subsequent to and AFTER salvation. Call it a separate work, call it a second baptism, call it what you will theologians, but this experience is REAL and for today because the ONE who baptizes us in the HOLY GHOST IS REAL and the HOLY GHOST HIMSELF is REAL - JESUS IS GOD and the HOLY GHOST IS GOD! Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God! Someone needs to help me shout while I'm writing this out there. This writer has a hard time keeping his words straight sometime because while he writes he has to pause sometime and just praise God - THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES!

One day when I was lost, Jesus died upon the Cross, and I know it was the BLOOD that was shed for me; and because of HIS BLOOD, because of HIS WORK of redemption, I can now be a temple of the LIVING GOD, a temple of the HOLY GHOST, a temple of divine power and glory that will flow through me as I allow the Holy Ghost "reign" in my heart, soul, mind and body. He wants 100% of us neighbor! He don't just want us to get saved and sit. If that is all He saved us for then He'd have the preacher baptizing us in water dunk us and drown us. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When we get saved, we are saved by faith through grace through the precious blood of Christ so that we can be a temple of Holy Ghost glory to be witnesses of this great redemptive work of Christ on the cross and bring others into the kingdom of God through our sacrifice! But we must allow the HOLY GHOST FREE reign to do so!

So many today, just as many did in the Azusa Street outpouring 100 years ago, become so ambitious for a "church" or "organization." It's what Israel's greatest problem was in the wilderness and it's ours today - we want to be "be like the other nations."

Deut. 17:14
When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shall possess it, and shall dwell therein, and shall say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;

Israel fell into rank unbelief and apostasy and failed to enter into her Promised Land seeking to be like the other nations and the modern church will fail for the same reason and is falling into the SAME unbelief and apostasy as Israel of old! Human organization and human programs leave VERY LITTLE ROOM for the free Spirit of God! Having Him reign free and clear of our hindrances means much to be willing to considered a failure, while we seek to build up a purely spiritual kingdom, instead of a natural, earthly one! The Kingdom of God cometh NOT by observation, but it is WITHIN every single born again child of God who has been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ! it is very easy to choose second best but friend in these last days before Jesus comes second best will mean the loss of MILLIONS of souls into the pits of hell itself!

The prayer meeting and intercessory travail of our church bodies is much more needed than buildings or organizations yet the LAST thing most churches are concerning themselves with right now is praying, fasting and interceding in lieu of BUILDING and BUILDING and BUILDING and BUILDING more hay, wood and stubble. God help us in this last hour to get a vision of both the eternal destiny of those saved and those lost. Heaven and hell are both real! We ALL are but one breath away from eternal contempt and condemnation or eternal bliss. As believers we are ONE breath away from having our lives end without any further chance to work to build the Kingdom of God instead of building our own kingdoms!

It is for this reason that there is such a horrible sectarian spirit in the Body of Christ today! So many churches have so little time for anything else but building and as a result SEE NO REVIVAL! No souls are saved, no sick bodies healed, no believers are baptized in the Holy Ghost, none that are bound by alcohol, drugs and lust are ever set free, no broken marriages are restored, no love is given to the hurting, dying, the sick, the afraid, the destitute, the widow, the orphans, the fatherless, the hopeless, the LOST, the LOST, the LOST, the LOST. God help us.

Let the reader be clear of this writer's heart cry today - we as the New Covenant Church of the Living God has been called to do one thing and one thing alone and this love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, love our neighbors as ourselves and EVANGELIZE the world for Christ! If our church budgets included as much money for outreach and missions as we do our fall festivals the world might change around us! If we had people sitting on our pews actually born again we wouldn't have to have witnessing classes teaching people how to witness - neighbor when you full of the Holy Ghost and full of Jesus Christ in your heart and soul no one has to tell you to tell others about HIM - YOU WILL DO IT WITHOUT THINKING! HE WILL BECOME SO PART OF YOUR HEART AND NATURE it will truly like rivers of living water FLOWING out from within your heart and soul!

God help the modern church world today. We know what the college football scores are from Saturday night, the Sunday NFL football scores, who won American Idol, who is in the latest MTV video and all the other garbage Hollywood has to offer; we know who won the Oscar or the Emmy or who is marrying and divorcing who in the glitz and glamour of this sinful wicked world - BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS AND AS A RESULT MILLIONS AROUND US ARE DYING AND GOING TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S TIME WE START ALLOWING THE HOLY GHOST TO BREAK US AND CHANGE US AND MELT US AND TRANSFORM US INTO THE IMAGE OF JESUS SO OUR HEARTS TRAVAIL AS HIS SOUL DID ON THE CROSS FOR THE LOST AND HURTING OF HUMANITY HE CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE. OH' NEIGHBOR ARE YOU HEARING WHAT THIS WRITER IS CRYING OUT TO YOU ABOUT TODAY? ARE YOU HEARING THE WORDS OF THE HOLY GHOST THROUGH THIS TO YOUR HEART AND MIND TODAY!?


While the ministries of the Holy Spirit are MANY and VARIED, one of His MOST important offices of the Holy Spirit is His work of conviction in the process of salvation and regeneration in drawing those who do not know the Lord to Himself. Our Lord said in John 6:44 that NO ONE could come to Him except the Father "draw him." Let me tell you something neighbor - that don't "just happen!" It must be prayed through and asked for by the church!  That is why intercessory prayer is so important and vital in the life of ANY church no matter the title on the front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Instead of praying for souls, we're building up another sect or party. Most churches today are set up for their own advancement, interest and glory instead of being set up to be a place where the Lord draws those lost in sin and in mortal need of HIM!

John 6:44 - No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The person who acts as the Father's instrument in DRAWING us to Christ is the Holy Spirit. Paul further states in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that NO MAN can call Jesus Lord except BY THE HOLY GHOST. This demonstrates WITHOUT question that the Holy Spirit is involved in bringing the sinner to conviction, repentance and salvation.

We Pentecostals tend to get accused of not majoring on salvation and that may be a valid point in some denominational arenas these days. But this writer don't march to their beat no more than he marches to the beat of the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians or Episcopalians. He marches to the heart beat of the Lord Jesus Christ! I'm ashamed and vomiting sick of what I see in our mainline churches today. I can't stand it when I hear churches laud the "church," instead of pointing men to Christ! Jesus didn't say "if the Baptist church you attend be lifted up He'd draw all men to Himself."

He said, "IF I BE LIFTED UP," then HE would draw all men unto "ME (speaking of Christ)." That "me" tends to get confused by some arrogant pastors who think they are what men need to be drawn to. Neighbor, no offense and it's none of my business where you feel led to attend church - that is between you and God; but if your pastor is such a man - get out of that church and pray whoever is in charge kicks the hireling out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is a WOLF in sheep's clothing, a false prophet, a destroyer of God's flock, a tyrant and an abusive shepherd that needs more than likely to get saved himself or at the very least REPENT of his backslidings and come back to CHRIST! Is that blunt enough for you? I hope it is. I don't mean to sound harsh but this is burning in my soul today as I write this! It's burning in my soul! We've been called to go greater works in this last hour but the greater works is the WORK OF THE SPIRIT of GOD, not the work of some humanistic drawn up plan or purpose. It's a sovereign act of God worked through the willing heart of every believer who will allow the HOLY GHOST to crush them and "kill" off even the garment "spotted" with flesh!

When we get saved it's just the beginning; when we get baptized in the Holy Ghost it's just the beginning! The Lord Jesus Christ wants to "IMMERSE" us in His power and glory!!!

Let's draw an analogy I heard a fellow minister make recently which I felt was very powerful. A person is walking in the wilderness on a warm day. Off in the distance that person hears the bubbling of a brook. The sound DRAWS this person approaching the stream. At this point he has been INFLUENCED by the "living water" and spiritually affected by it, but that person and that stream remain two separate entities. But now if this person decides to ENTER that stream, immerses him in it, and swims along WITH the stream, (becoming in effect PART of the stream,) the relationship of the stream and man is a totally different one. And so it is in the difference with the Holy Spirit's role in salvation AND in what I am referring to 

I want to stop here and make some very important statements here before I go on. Read what I have to say carefully! I have some dear brethren in the Lord (whom I respect and love dearly - this is not a personal issue with me and them) who disagree with what I am writing. Many of these brethren who disagree with me have not received the baptism in the Holy Spirit as I am talking about in this lesson and our previous lesson in this study "The Promise Of The Father." Usually those who have received the mighty infilling of the Holy Spirit have little trouble understanding this concept of what I am trying to get across.

I'm not saying that to draw a sword nor am I using terminology to draw me into a theological argument with men who even if someone came back from the dead trying to convince them this experience was real and for them today would still not believe or accept it. I'm not writing this journal or any of our upcoming journals on the Holy Spirit to get into a fight. I believe MUCH of the problem between the various denominations that don't see eye to eye on this subject IS terminology. If using the word "endowment" or "enablement," would not offend you then I will use that instead of saying the "baptism" in the Holy Spirit. Quite honestly, the term "Baptism in the Holy Spirit," is a doctrinal title most Pentecostal and Charismatic denominations attach to the experience I am talking about. Please understand again - I am in no way insinuating that one has to speak in tongues to be saved. I AM stating and unashamedly saying that MILLIONS of well-meaning Christians have short-changed themselves because of their own tradition, denominational standing, and fears concerning this subject and the blame for much, if not ALL of this, can be laid at the doorsteps of MOST PASTORS!!!!!!

NEIGHBOR YOU NEED THE BAPTISM, OR ENDUEMENT OF POWER IN THE HOLY SPIRIT! I don't care what name you call it or what term you want to use for it but you need to receive the anointing of God on your life and receive the infilling as those gathered on the day of Pentecost received. A supernatural prayer language will be the INITIAL, not final, result of this infilling. The tongues are a sign of the DYNAMO, or the POWER, that the Lord wants us to have. Sadly and I say this to the shame of many in the Charismatic world - the very prayer language that God gave us to destroy the devil's kingdom, has either been abused or neglected by many in the 'movement' that even in Charismatic and Pentecostal circles very little is preached any more about speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance.

The abuse and foolishness of a few in the gifts of the Spirit has caused many in the non-Charismatic world to shun this experience all together. Furthermore, the pride and ARROGANCE of those who have received this precious gift has also been a turn-off. I'm not trying to be one of those arrogant ones believe me. I have nothing to be arrogant about - but I am THANKFUL I have received this precious experience from the Lord as well as my nine-year old son Brandon.

But no matter the abuse or the foolishness, that STILL doesn't give anyone the right to deny this experience is valid for today and needed in the heart of every single BORN AGAIN child of GOD on Planet Earth. Right now as I speak those claiming to be Pentecostal comprise one of the LARGEST groups in the entirety of the Body of Christ. MORE AND MORE people are being baptized in the Holy Spirit each day and the numbers are just going to get larger. Listen friend, your denomination and your pastor may tell you that you don't need this experience but I say to that to "let every man be a LIAR and let GOD BE TRUE." He said in the LAST DAYS He would pour out His Spirit upon ALL FLESH and your sons and daughters would PROPHESY and your young men would DREAM DREAMS and the older men would see VISIONS. Peter would quote Joel on the Day of Pentecost, as showing that what was being heard and seen by those around the Temple was a direct fulfillment of this prophecy!

Acts 2:16-33 - But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; [17] 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: [18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I've never been sure what is worse. A pastor who through ignorance gets up and demeans this experience claiming it is not valid or even worse calling it of the devil, or a pastor who knows better and knows this experience is real and seeks to control it and hinder his people from operating freely in the Holy Ghost and in the Gifts of the Spirit. BOTH are hindering the enablement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of their sheep! What is happening on Planet Earth today is bigger than your church sir. It's bigger than the Baptists, the Pentecostals, the Presbyterians, the Assemblies of God, the Foursquare Movement, the Word of Faith, the Catholics. Dear God I feel the anointing of the Holy Ghost as I write this. The greatest threat to God's Kingdom has never been the prostitute or the drug addict or the pornographer. NO! The greatest threat to the power of God is mossy-back Pharisaical religion that seeks to manipulate and deny the supernatural power of God in these last days and to relegate speaking in unknown tongues down to man's pitiful ability to learn some foreign language he's never spoken before. HEAR ME MAN OF GOD. As Peter told Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8 - YOU HAVE NO PART IN THIS! AND MAN HAS NO PART IN THIS EITHER!!!!!!!!!! SPEAKING IN TONGUES IS FROM HEAVEN NOT MAN!!!

Acts 8:9-21 - But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

Oh, Glory to God. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, believe me, we will not be able to take credit for what is happening and what is being said. Simon saw what was happening when Peter and John laid their hands on these Samaritan believers (ANOTHER JOURNAL!) He wanted to purchase this power to have this same thing take place when HE laid hands on other people. Peter said "your money perish with you," "you have no part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God."

This power comes when the Holy Ghost comes at Salvation then Jesus immerses you in power and immerses you in His glory and immerses you in a current of grace that NO CHURCH, NO DENOMINATION, NO MAN, NO WOMAN, NO BOY, NO GIRL, NO movement can create neither can they stop it. All the preachers in the world can get up and stick their finger in the face of God's word and say, "well we don't believe it's real" or "it's of the devil." Many can try to argue it away with theological verbiage such as "those things passed away with the apostles," "there is just ONE baptism, not two," or the favorite among most preachers today - "well brother, I just can't let that go on in my church, you know Paul said let 'everything be done decently and in order' and I just know that if this took place in our church it would just cause confusion." WHY WOULD IT CAUSE CONFUSION????? I TELL YOU WHY! IN THE HARDNESS OF YOUR HEART AND WILLFUL IGNORANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT YOU'VE TAUGHT AGAINST IT SO MUCH THAT IF GOD DID SHOW UP I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU IT WOULD BE TOTAL CHAOS!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT all these things will NEVER NEVER change the fact that untold millions have received this glorious experience and have never been the same again. And as I close this message in this ongoing series of sermons on the work of the Holy Ghost I invite the believer today to this glorious stream of God's grace and power! Let me change that - the LORD JESUS invites you today to HIS glorious stream of POWER and enduement of service for the work ahead. Some of you reading this have ministry calls on your lives and have not surrendered to that. Let an old gray headed writer who has been broken time and time again for his refusal to do just that in years past warn you that the path you take without God is a path that will lead to death if you don't cease and give up your rights and obey HIM! He may let you walk free for a season but friend the call of God is so precious words cannot pen how important it is on the life of those He touches. Only the Holy Spirit can fulfill that call in you today! Only the HOLY GHOST can set you free to walk in obedience to that heavenly vision! Obey the Lord today if you have not in going on and being baptized with the Holy Ghost and power.

I want to leave you with the words of a beautiful song I came across this past weekend while visiting my wife's precious mom and dad. They are actually Baptists who I can guarantee would not agree with some of what I've wrote but in their hearts I know they love Jesus and want to serve Him. They handed me an old BAPTIST HYMNAL that I opened up and sat down at their piano with and started picking out various songs to play and sing. I came across a song written in 1912 by a man named Charles Gabriel called "Pentecostal Power."

As I began to play and sing the song never knowing it existed before this past Saturday the tears began to flow down my cheeks as the presence of God entered the room I was sitting at. I couldn't play at times for the glory of God that came over this writer. Lisa's mom just sat and looked at me not knowing what to say and I looked at her not being able to speak for the power of God that was on me. I just turned back to the song and kept singing and the tears kept flowing as the Holy Ghost came like a river of living water as promised by the apostle John in John 7:37-39; As I looked at this old hymn in the Baptist Hymnal of 1936 it made me realize that there was a time neighbor when evidently the Baptists knew the power of God which makes those who resist the HOLY SPIRIT so ardently and religiously today  without conscience and with such rancor and anger so hurtful in the sight of God and so detrimental to the souls of millions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And before you post and say you're picking on the Baptist let the writer be clear the Baptists are not the only one's resisting and rejecting the Holy Spirit - the Assemblies of God which once boasted as the largest Pentecostal organization on the planet has done just the same as has the Church of God, Foursquare and the Pentecostal Holiness; We've exchanged darkness for light and light for darkness; we've taken the precious power of heaven and exchanged gold for brass. It's not been a good trade off friend believe me. All this has done has sickened the world to our offer of dead cold religion and instead of lifing up Christ, we have lifted up man-made building projects and movements. A few weeks back the Lord graciously allowed us to baptize six people who had been saved at some recent inner city meetings and bible studies He has opened the door for us to be part of; a few days after we baptized, my wife was testifying of what the Lord had done when a pastor of one of the largest churches in the city looked without any joy or care and said "well WHAT were they baptized into?" meaning "what church do they belong to??" Neighbor, I'm not lessening the value of being part of a New Covenant fellowship but the BODY we better care about being baptized into is the BODY OF CHRIST - HIS BODY - not the body of a backslidden congregation of people who don't even know the Lord and are probably not saved themselves!

The Holy Ghost wants to come back to the CHURCH, be it the Baptists, the Pentecostals, the Charismatics, the Episcopalians, the Lutherans, the Catholics or whatever movement we belong to. He wants to come back and endue us with power today!

The words of Charles Gabriel's song are my invitation to you today as well as my heart's cry to God as I write these words before Him today, Him seeing my heart and soul - to receive the enduement of power from on high for service so we can do the greater works we've been called to do in these last daysfor Jesus Christ:

Lord, as of old at Pentecost, Thou didst' Thy power display

With Cleansing, Purifying Flame, Descend Upon Us Today

 

For Mighty works for Thee Prepare, and Strengthen Every Heart

Come Take Possession of Thine own, and never more depart

 

All Self consume and sin destroy! With earnest Zeal Endue!

Each waiting heart to work for thee, O Lord Our Faith renew!

 

Speak Lord, before thy Throne we wait! They Promises We Believe!

And Will Not Let Thee Go Until the Blessing We  Receive!

 

And the the chorus that I couldn't stop singing and one which still rings in my heart three days later is my prayer today for you and ALL who read this journal:

 

Lord, send the old time power, the Pentecostal power;

Thy floodgates of blessing, on us THROW OPEN WIDE!

Lord, send the old time power, the Pentecostal power

That sinners be converted and they name be glorified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

To hear the midi tune of "Pentecostal Power," click here

 

MAY GOD BLESS YOU TODAY AND FILL YOU WITH HIS POWER SO

WE CAN DO THE GREATER WORKS OF JESUS IN THIS FATEFUL PERILOUS HOUR WE LIVE!

 

 

He Shall Baptize You With The Holy Ghost

He Shall Baptize You In The Holy Ghost Part 2

The Evidence of the Holy Spirit

He That Speaks In Other Tongues

We Have Received The Spirit Of God

 

 

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