Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
John 16:13....But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.
When we enter into Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ there is great joy and happiness in our souls. The heavy load of sin is lifted and it is light all around us. We start to see things more clearly. But soon we find out that we are lacking strength to overcome weaknesses and perhaps bad habits.
Salvation is not the end, but the beginning of our walk with God. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and God is not giving this Gift unless we really want it. We have to ask to receive. Just as we have to ask for forgiveness and salvation.
Luke 11:13... If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him ?
Psalm 80 the psalmist speaks to the Lord; verse 3... Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved! Verse 4....O Lord God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people ?
The Lord is not forcing anything on us. He wants us to surrender our will to Him. He wants us to speak out our mind and heart. The Lord wants us to co-operate with Him.
Isaiah 1:18...Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Psalm 81:10...I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt (your lost state); Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Luke 11:9...Ask and it will be given unto you...
At the time the Lord healed my sister, through which I found salvation, my life was just a shambles. But, I was so happy about this new life, I promised the Lord I would start cleaning up my mess and bad habits. I soon found out I had no strength. So, I said: Lord next week it will be better. After that week: Lord, perhaps the next week.
This went on for a while, until I discovered and admitted to the Lord that I could not even keep my promise to Him. In my desperation I surrendered my "Mess" and cried unto the Lord to deliver me. Praise God, I received instant deliverance from certain habits and I never touched it again, neither did I ever have any desire for it.
Now, I needed the strength to walk in the Spirit and to keep the flesh crucified.
Galatians 6:8...Walk in the Spirit. and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Romans 8:13...For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
I had never heard about the infilling of the Holy Spirit, neither about speaking in tongues. During a prayer meeting, a sister spoke about the Holy Spirit and His purpose in our lives. Although I did not understand it fully, I knew that this was what I needed and wanted.
I asked for prayer, believers laid hands on me and I was filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues and started to prophesy over everyone in the room. I thought for a moment that I was talking nonsense, but a sister said: "What you were just saying was straight from the Lord, because you couldn't have known that."
Nobody ever told me ... I should have this or shouldn't have that. I wanted to do God's will and I needed ALL He had in store for me. I was never brought into confusion through religious doctrines, I had no hang-ups, I only had an open mind and a hungry soul to receive from Him.
My life had been a mess anyway, I had nothing to lose only to gain. I then discovered I had received Power to overcome and Strength to conquer. I prayed in tongues to edify myself and whenever my mother tongue was not sufficient enough to praise His Name.
Later on, when I started to read the Bible I came across the scriptures explaining that which I just had received. How wonderful are the ways of the Lord!
Mark 16:17...And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues.
Acts 2:4...And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Speaking in tongues was the initial sign.
Believers filled in Cornelius' Household.
Acts 10:44...While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. Verse 46....For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Believers filled in Ephesus.
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.
1 Corinthians 14:4...He who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself.
1 Corinthians 14:2...For anyone who speaks in an unknown tongue does not speak to men but to God.
1 Corinthians 14:14...For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
Some may say that speaking in tongues was for the first Church, and that the Gifts are not for today. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit include the speaking in tongues, tongues and interpretation, prophecy, the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the Gift of discerning, the Gift of healing, and the Gift of miracles.
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
If tongues have ceased, then all Gifts have ceased.
Paul explains that the speaking in tongues is for self edification and that the speaking in tongues with interpretation is for the edification of the congregation. These are Gifts which are still in operation in the Body of Christ, the same as the other Gifts of teaching, discernment and prophecy. We cannot separate the Gifts from the Holy Spirit, for these are all part of Him.
The following scriptures are incorrectly used to support that the Gifts of God have ceased.
1 Corinthians 13: 8-10... Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
NOTE : Verse 10...But when that which is PERFECT is come, ... WHEN DID THIS COME? It has NOT yet! Thus for now we still have tongues, prophecy and knowledge, healing etc. This does not demand any further clarification.
If you believe that the Gift of Tongues have been done away with, then all other Gifts have passed also. But they haven't. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are in operation in the lives of them that are filled with the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 13:1,2... Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal ...and though I have the gift of prophecy and understanding of mysteries...
The above scripture does not say that we must not speak in tongues or not prophesy, but ... rather the opposite ... It encourages the believer to have charity besides the Gifts of speaking in tongues, prophecy and understanding. This is only to show the believer that the combination of the Gifts and the Fruit of the Holy Spirit are needed in one's life, so that the Gifts will function properly and have its effect.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:39 ... Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
One morning, my husband had left for work and the children were still in bed, when the Holy Spirit urged me to pray. I did not know what to pray for, but His Spirit started to pray through me in tongues while I felt an urgency.
Then the doorbell rang and I went down the narrow hallway and opened the door. Right away I saw a foot between the door and a man forced himself through the door opening. I had to walk backwards into the living room. His shirt was torn and bloody and he was drunk. He looked at me in bewilderment and then I knew why the Holy Spirit had urged me to pray just a few minutes before.
We had preached to this man previously and provided him with lodging for about a year. He was an alcoholic and ex-convict, being charged with manslaughter. He had followed the Lord for a while but went back to his old lifestyle of sin. He then had left our home.
Herman looked around the room as if he had lost something and I asked why he was here. He looked around again and then he stuttered: "I don't know why I came here." The Lord had put his mind on blank because the intention of his coming was evil, and the Lord wanted to protect me from injury. So, I made him some coffee and he asked me to call a cab. Shortly after he left.
Praise the Lord, I have never had any fear for this man, nor his threats because I knew that He who is within me is stronger than he that is in the world. My prayer in the Spirit had called upon Angels for protection.
I have had many experiences through praying in Tongues - supernatural communication with God - that I myself have been protected from harm; our daughter was saved from near drowning (I did not know about); God intervened in a marvelous way keeping us from accidents and The Lord provided revelation about very important issues.
Praying in tongues enables us to pray for the unknown. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night with an urge to pray in tongues, because the Spirit knows exactly what is needed, only to learn later what I had prayed for.
Romans 8:26-27...In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
Speaking in tongues is an attribute of the Holy Spirit. He wants to use your tongue... This means that YOU have to start speaking, because you stay in control. If the Holy Spirit and the utterance of Speaking in Tongues is given just to some and not to others, then the Lord would be a respecter of persons.
If Paul needed this Gift how much more do we need The Holy Spirit in this hour?
Just as I wrote earlier, Luke 11:13... He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask...This also includes the Gift in Speaking in Tongues.
Another very important aspect of having received the Holy Spirit is, that He functions as a seal, a voucher...a trade off...a guarantee.
Ephesians 1:13b-14... Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the Redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His glory. (NIV)
The speaking in tongues is not really where one should be looking for. It is the Holy Spirit Who we need. You see, one cannot receive the utterance of speaking in tongues, as referred to in the scriptures, outside the Holy Spirit. Once you have received the Holy Spirit, the "speaking in tongues " is no problem. It is the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit.
We do not have to be perfect in order to receive the Holy Spirit. We are perfect through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher, Comforter, and our Guide, who will lead us into perfection. But there are rules to follow this lesson: Don't lean on your own understanding, obey His word, walk in His footprints and be baptized by immersion.
1 John 2:6...He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
We are responsible for Our Walk with Him, our obedience toward His voice and His Word, and the development of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
It is important to empty oneself so as to make room for the Holy Spirit. You have to come into more freedom... more openness... more emptiness... This all may sound strange, but it works. You also have to be a fool to the world to be wise in God's eyes.
We can compare the Holy Spirit, who strengthens our innermost being, with the following: You've been working hard and you are hungry, your body needs to be fed. The meal is ready and you're walking around the table saying, that looks good and it smells good.
If you keep looking at it you will never receive nourishment from it. Right? You have to take it, put it in your mouth and eat it. The food will be transformed into strength for your body.
Don't look at negative examples around you, look to the Lord Jesus Christ, Your Lord and Savior, Who left this earth so He could send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
Let the Holy Spirit take over completely or else you will lose the battle. I am not trying to give you a fast fix, but a TRUE fix. Your flesh cannot stand up against the powers of darkness.
I have literally seen demons standing and crawling in my bedroom, while they were putting their claws on my throat, almost choking me. I became already stiff and could not move a muscle. I tried to touch my husband to wake him up, but I couldn't. My ONLY hope was: Praying in the Spirit. I started to speak in tongues with my lips, but my voice was already gone.
Praise God, the demons had to let go. Instantly I jumped up a couple of feet in a laying position, right out of bed and very loudly cried from exhaustion. The Lord lifted me up from the bed, since I was still in a horizontal position before I landed on my feet on the floor. AMAZING.
For the next couple of hours the Spirit prayed through me, as I spoke in tongues, while pacing the bedroom floor. The Lord showed me through this experience what our battle is against, and who is after our lives... Satan himself.
Ephesians 6:12...For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
1 Peter 5:8...Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.
Who do we think we are? Without the power of the Holy Spirit we are nothing, we don't even know how to pray! Although we may be saved, we have to fight a fierce battle, even in our personal lives.
Others may not see anything wrong with us, but God knows the secret corners of our hearts. He knows what still needs to be conquered and He makes the Holy Spirit available to us. We cannot say: " We are still human" and that way giving room for errors, sins and so on. The "Human" in us is exactly that which we need to crucify, for it is the old flesh.
In all this, we WILL be His Witness. Even when we live in the rural areas, we can be His Witness in the heavenly region, in our battle against our flesh, bad habits, wrong attitude, tempers. We need the Holy Spirit in our lives to overcome, and live for His Glory.
To be out there, preach and reach people for Christ is nice and most needed, but what the Lord is looking for in our personal life is the fruit of the Spirit. That is where we should be working on in the first place.
Galatians 5: 22,23... But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance; against such there is NO LAW.
Colossians 3:12-15... Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Develop your trust in the Lord. Just like a little child: Daddy puts her on the corner of the table and he tells her to jump. Do you really think that the little girl frowns...and thinks... I'm just wondering what would happen if daddy decides to put his hands in his pocket while I jump.
No... she trusts her daddy 100%, that thought does not even come near her little mind...she jumps... Have FAITH of a little child.
Be open to God's will and His purpose for your life. Don't limit the Lord because of your own understanding or misunderstanding. He will not give you anything which is not good for you, believe me!
If the early church needed the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the utterance of Speaking in Tongues how the more do we need it now! Don't let anybody tell you that it was only for the early church. How come then that I received it, and many others? Only through the Holy Spirit can we please God, crucify the flesh and conquer the world. Praise the Name of Jesus!
Come sweet Spirit I pray
Come in Your strength and Your power
Come in Your own gentle way
Come as a rest to the weary
Come as a balm for the sore
Come as a dew to my dryness
Fill me with joy evermore
Copyright © Dr. Trudy Veerman, 1996-2016, All rights reserved.
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