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I can update this one with out an Internet connection so I find it easier to do while I'm on the road
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Gary Indiana
We have been on the road for a while now. We passes through Idaho and stayed a night at salt Lake Utah. From there we went to a church in Colorado.
That church knows how to give. They have blessed both, Pastor Woods and myself. They clothed me, supported me financially, the LORD bless them!
We are planning on going back to that church this fall. By the way, if you want to see some of the services we have had you can go to Wheatridge's website at, denverwordchurch.com there are videos of the services we had there. My cousin was there for every service too!
Great little church. I believe that they have about 16 members there, but they have a heart to shake the state!
After we left the church in Wheatridge, we took about five days driving to Gary Indiana. On the way we went through Kansas and stayed in Missouri that night. Stayed there two days, went to several cemeteries and saw a lot of Pastor Woods' heritage. Then we went up through Illinois and saw Lake Michigan - Chicago (from there I was waving to Erika who is on the other side of Lake Michigan, she waved back-though I couldn't see her :D).
Now we have arrived in Gary Indiana.
We are at the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ! Wow! We are having great services.
Good music
Great testimonies
I am learning a lot, learning how to give up anything that hinders me, it's hard but worth it.
The LORD also spoke something to me. I have heard the verse from Jeremiah 29:11 quoted so many time. And let me tell you, I have a lot to say about that verse, but this isn't the time for that. I did notice something in that chapter though.
You see, the Israelites were captives here. In the land of the blood thirsty Babylonians. And there is some instruction that God gives them. He tells them to pray for the prosperity of the land that they are in.
Pray that your enemies prosper!
Why?
Because as long as the Babylonians were prosperous, the Israelites too, were prosperous.
I have learned to put my own wants and desires aside, praying for the success of my dear friends, the Woods, because as long as they prosper, That prosperity will overflow into my life.
I ask that you agree with me in that pray of prosperity for Pastor Woods his family and this ministry.
We have a few more days left here at this church before we head off to Henderson Ky!
That's what's going on as of now. Please keep me in your prayers. I am living completely in faith now, trusting for every need to be met. So please agree with me that God will bring the blessing for this ministry.
That church knows how to give. They have blessed both, Pastor Woods and myself. They clothed me, supported me financially, the LORD bless them!
We are planning on going back to that church this fall. By the way, if you want to see some of the services we have had you can go to Wheatridge's website at, denverwordchurch.com there are videos of the services we had there. My cousin was there for every service too!
Great little church. I believe that they have about 16 members there, but they have a heart to shake the state!
After we left the church in Wheatridge, we took about five days driving to Gary Indiana. On the way we went through Kansas and stayed in Missouri that night. Stayed there two days, went to several cemeteries and saw a lot of Pastor Woods' heritage. Then we went up through Illinois and saw Lake Michigan - Chicago (from there I was waving to Erika who is on the other side of Lake Michigan, she waved back-though I couldn't see her :D).
Now we have arrived in Gary Indiana.
We are at the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ! Wow! We are having great services.
Good music
Great testimonies
I am learning a lot, learning how to give up anything that hinders me, it's hard but worth it.
The LORD also spoke something to me. I have heard the verse from Jeremiah 29:11 quoted so many time. And let me tell you, I have a lot to say about that verse, but this isn't the time for that. I did notice something in that chapter though.
You see, the Israelites were captives here. In the land of the blood thirsty Babylonians. And there is some instruction that God gives them. He tells them to pray for the prosperity of the land that they are in.
Pray that your enemies prosper!
Why?
Because as long as the Babylonians were prosperous, the Israelites too, were prosperous.
I have learned to put my own wants and desires aside, praying for the success of my dear friends, the Woods, because as long as they prosper, That prosperity will overflow into my life.
I ask that you agree with me in that pray of prosperity for Pastor Woods his family and this ministry.
We have a few more days left here at this church before we head off to Henderson Ky!
That's what's going on as of now. Please keep me in your prayers. I am living completely in faith now, trusting for every need to be met. So please agree with me that God will bring the blessing for this ministry.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Leavenworth
Where has the time gone? Been a while since I have informed everyone as to what is going on.
Last Sunday night Our ministry was at the Spanish Assembly in East Wenachee. God moved in a mighty way there. The people seemed to receive the Word very well. During that service Pastor Woods encouraged us to write a list of things that we were wanting God to provide for us. Because God wants to prosper us. (Psalm 35:27, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 92:12, Psalm 66:12). One of the things that I wrote on my list were t-shirts. I was running short on them and just believing God to provide. I told no one though. Showed no one my list.
The next day as we were in town Pastor Woods, his family and I all stopped in a J.C. Penney’s. He told me he wanted to buy me some shirts. He felt the LORD tell him that he should buy some shirts for me. The LORD has blessed me with new dress shirts and casual shirts!
Well, after we ministered in East Wenachee, we went to Leavenworth. We have been here the remainder of the week. And we have had some fun. This is the first church I have been to that collects their offering in a wheel barrel. They have faith in big offerings.
We have spent some time driving around the town enjoying the beauty of the place. I have many good pictures and I won’t lie by saying I will post them. Every time I say that I find that I just don’t get around to doing it. I may one day.
The LORD has extended our stay here in Leavenworth for another week. We will be here through the end of this week and then we will head on over to the Spanish Assembly in East Wenachee again for a whole week revival. All of this is the LORD’s doing.
I have learned so much since I have been traveling with Pastor Woods. Learning so much every day. And not just from Pastor ,also from the revelation from God.
Last Sunday night Our ministry was at the Spanish Assembly in East Wenachee. God moved in a mighty way there. The people seemed to receive the Word very well. During that service Pastor Woods encouraged us to write a list of things that we were wanting God to provide for us. Because God wants to prosper us. (Psalm 35:27, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 92:12, Psalm 66:12). One of the things that I wrote on my list were t-shirts. I was running short on them and just believing God to provide. I told no one though. Showed no one my list.
The next day as we were in town Pastor Woods, his family and I all stopped in a J.C. Penney’s. He told me he wanted to buy me some shirts. He felt the LORD tell him that he should buy some shirts for me. The LORD has blessed me with new dress shirts and casual shirts!
Well, after we ministered in East Wenachee, we went to Leavenworth. We have been here the remainder of the week. And we have had some fun. This is the first church I have been to that collects their offering in a wheel barrel. They have faith in big offerings.
We have spent some time driving around the town enjoying the beauty of the place. I have many good pictures and I won’t lie by saying I will post them. Every time I say that I find that I just don’t get around to doing it. I may one day.
The LORD has extended our stay here in Leavenworth for another week. We will be here through the end of this week and then we will head on over to the Spanish Assembly in East Wenachee again for a whole week revival. All of this is the LORD’s doing.
I have learned so much since I have been traveling with Pastor Woods. Learning so much every day. And not just from Pastor ,also from the revelation from God.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Righteousness
Who do you see yourself as in the LORD?
I was listening to the radio just now. A christian station. And there was one of those three minute bible lessons that a pastor was giving. He was talking about the time in Luke 7, where the woman came and washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Then she anointed Him with ointment.
While she was doing this, Simon had spoke out against her. She was a sinner. "If Jesus was a prophet", he thought, "He would know who she is". Maybe any other prophet wouldn't have let her do this. But Jesus did.
Jesus replied with a parable. And then He spoke,
"Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, , the same loveth little".
And then this man who was speaking about this bible minute said something that many would accept, but would be wrong in doing so.
He said, "If you cannot admit that you are a sinner ['admit' in the present tense] then you are incapable of knowing the full love of God".
Essentially, I have to admit that right now, in this moment, I am a sinner.
Well, the truth of the matter is, I am not a sinner.
Someone says, "Have you ever sinned? Then you're a sinner".
My past sin doesn't make me a sinner now. It just means that I was a sinner.
What is the opposite of sin?
Righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21
"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin..."
One thing I find interesting is that Christ, knowing no sin, became sin. I like how Pastor Woods tells it.
If you needed brain surgery, but didn't have money for it, would you trust me to cut into your head and give you the surgery? It is free after all! And I have used a saw once.
I know nothing about the brain. I have not studied it. I know no medicine.
But that is part of the miracle. Because Jesus knew absolutely no sin, yet He became it. The verse goes on:
"... that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".
Look at that again,
"...be made..."
When you talk about something that has been made, you are talking about something that is completed. It's not something that can be progressed or digressed in, it's a position. You have become. You, being saved for 20 years, are not more righteous than someone who has just been saved today!
Why?
Righteousness is a position!
I am the righteousness of God. I am not a sinner. Can light and dark occupy the same space at the same time? Can hot and cold co-exist?
Likewise, you cannot be the righteousness of God and a sinner.
Look at the passage just a few verses before that;
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17
What are the old things? Sin!
What are the new things? Righteousness!
I am not a sinner!
I was a sinner.
I am susceptible to sin.
But I am not a sinner. When I admit that I am a sinner, I am conscious of sin. it's called sin consciousness.
Hebrews 10:2
"For then would they not have ceased to be offer? Because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscious of sins"
Hebrews 10:22
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscious, and our bodies washed with pure water".
Someone once said that 'a half heart repentance can keep you from experiencing all that God wants you to'. I can say the same of the sinful mind.
Romans 16:19
"...I want you to remain innocent about what is evil and wise about what is good".
Don't keep thinking about all of this 'sin'. You have been delivered from it!
Let's look at 1 John 3:8-10;
"He that committeth sin is of the devil..."
Well, if You are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) then you cannot be of the devil.
"...for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
"Whosoever is born of God does not committeth sin..."
So if you are of the devil, you are a sinner, if you are of God, you are His righteousness.
"...for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God"
"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother"
If I am of God, I am the righteousness of God. If I am of God, and claim to be a sinner, I know not who I am in the LORD Jesus, for He has rescued (redeemed) me from sin.
As a child of God, I must not be conscious of all this sin. I have heard of people who pray every night, "God, I don't know what I did, but I'm sure I did something wrong, so please forgive me".
If you can't remember what you did wrong, how much more does God not remember? Your sin is as far from you as the east is from the west.
We need to stop thinking about this sin and focus on 'righteousness consciousness'.
We are no longer slaves to the curse so let us stop admitting it! You tell yourself long enough that you're a sinner, and you're going to start convincing yourself of it. You'll start to believe it!
Praise the LORD I'm free from sin! I am no longer a sinner, I am the righteousness of God!
How do you think of righteousness? Please share with me your definition!
I was listening to the radio just now. A christian station. And there was one of those three minute bible lessons that a pastor was giving. He was talking about the time in Luke 7, where the woman came and washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Then she anointed Him with ointment.
While she was doing this, Simon had spoke out against her. She was a sinner. "If Jesus was a prophet", he thought, "He would know who she is". Maybe any other prophet wouldn't have let her do this. But Jesus did.
Jesus replied with a parable. And then He spoke,
"Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, , the same loveth little".
And then this man who was speaking about this bible minute said something that many would accept, but would be wrong in doing so.
He said, "If you cannot admit that you are a sinner ['admit' in the present tense] then you are incapable of knowing the full love of God".
Essentially, I have to admit that right now, in this moment, I am a sinner.
Well, the truth of the matter is, I am not a sinner.
Someone says, "Have you ever sinned? Then you're a sinner".
My past sin doesn't make me a sinner now. It just means that I was a sinner.
What is the opposite of sin?
Righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21
"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin..."
One thing I find interesting is that Christ, knowing no sin, became sin. I like how Pastor Woods tells it.
If you needed brain surgery, but didn't have money for it, would you trust me to cut into your head and give you the surgery? It is free after all! And I have used a saw once.
I know nothing about the brain. I have not studied it. I know no medicine.
But that is part of the miracle. Because Jesus knew absolutely no sin, yet He became it. The verse goes on:
"... that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".
Look at that again,
"...be made..."
When you talk about something that has been made, you are talking about something that is completed. It's not something that can be progressed or digressed in, it's a position. You have become. You, being saved for 20 years, are not more righteous than someone who has just been saved today!
Why?
Righteousness is a position!
I am the righteousness of God. I am not a sinner. Can light and dark occupy the same space at the same time? Can hot and cold co-exist?
Likewise, you cannot be the righteousness of God and a sinner.
Look at the passage just a few verses before that;
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17
What are the old things? Sin!
What are the new things? Righteousness!
I am not a sinner!
I was a sinner.
I am susceptible to sin.
But I am not a sinner. When I admit that I am a sinner, I am conscious of sin. it's called sin consciousness.
Hebrews 10:2
"For then would they not have ceased to be offer? Because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscious of sins"
Hebrews 10:22
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscious, and our bodies washed with pure water".
Someone once said that 'a half heart repentance can keep you from experiencing all that God wants you to'. I can say the same of the sinful mind.
Romans 16:19
"...I want you to remain innocent about what is evil and wise about what is good".
Don't keep thinking about all of this 'sin'. You have been delivered from it!
Let's look at 1 John 3:8-10;
"He that committeth sin is of the devil..."
Well, if You are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) then you cannot be of the devil.
"...for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
"Whosoever is born of God does not committeth sin..."
So if you are of the devil, you are a sinner, if you are of God, you are His righteousness.
"...for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God"
"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother"
If I am of God, I am the righteousness of God. If I am of God, and claim to be a sinner, I know not who I am in the LORD Jesus, for He has rescued (redeemed) me from sin.
As a child of God, I must not be conscious of all this sin. I have heard of people who pray every night, "God, I don't know what I did, but I'm sure I did something wrong, so please forgive me".
If you can't remember what you did wrong, how much more does God not remember? Your sin is as far from you as the east is from the west.
We need to stop thinking about this sin and focus on 'righteousness consciousness'.
We are no longer slaves to the curse so let us stop admitting it! You tell yourself long enough that you're a sinner, and you're going to start convincing yourself of it. You'll start to believe it!
Praise the LORD I'm free from sin! I am no longer a sinner, I am the righteousness of God!
How do you think of righteousness? Please share with me your definition!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Progression of the Tongue
James 3: 2
“For in many things we offend all. If any man offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body”
By words of our mouth we offend. Notice it says;
“If any man offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man”
If you have control over your tongue not to offend, you are a perfect man. Anyone who controls the tongue can control the whole body. We see this in the next few verses.
“Behold, we put bits in a horses’, mouth, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold, also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever, the governor listeth”.
The entire course of your life is determined by something as small as your tongue. The tongue has power unlike any other member of the body. I am focusing on the negative force of the tongue here to help teach the destructive power of it. I will write about the positive force you tongue has one day.
Now, let us look at the five progressions of the human tongue (negatively speaking) and how fast it can bring about destruction.
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue amongst our members that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell”>
The tongue starts small and if it is uncontrolled, can be a destructive force that can demolish anything in its path.
Here is what we have:
1. Little Member
2. Little Fire
3. A Fire
4. World of Iniquity
5. Fire of Hell
Scripture goes on to say that every creature can be tamed save the tongue.
By the way, when it says, “that it defileth the whole body” it is meant in the sense of physical sickness and disease. If Scripture was referring to sin it would have said ‘spirit’ and not ‘body’. As far as sickness and disease coming about through what we speak, I will write on that sometime later.
Now that we know what James has to say about the tongue let’s look at Ephesians 6, the armor of God.
“Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. “
“And above all”
If you’re reading from the NIV it says “in addition to”. Scripture really says “above all”.
Why?
Because like I just wrote, the tongue controls the whole body. You have to get the tongue under control in order to control the rest of the body. Proverbs 18:21 says:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof”.
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, where with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”,
It doesn’t matter if you have all the other pieces of armor, if you get knocked down with a fiery dart, nothing else will protect you.
Someone tells you that you are incapable of fulfilling your dream and if you don’t have the shield of faith and block it
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
Even though you have the helmet of salvation on, those thoughts are still going to get through your head, and eventually you will start telling yourself the same lie the enemy is telling you.
“I can’t do it”.
Make note that the end of the verse says, “of the wicked”.
NIV says “of the evil one”. That leads one to believe that Satan is the one who attacks you with fiery darts. Fiery darts are the words from the tongue. Satan doesn’t have a tongue. He can’t speak to you, he must speak through others. So these darts are the destructive words that people speak to you. And not just other people, yourself as well.
Again, you have life and death on your tongue, you shall eat the fruit you love. Be careful not to bring yourself down with the words of others. Be careful not to bring others down with your own words.
“For in many things we offend all. If any man offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body”
By words of our mouth we offend. Notice it says;
“If any man offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man”
If you have control over your tongue not to offend, you are a perfect man. Anyone who controls the tongue can control the whole body. We see this in the next few verses.
“Behold, we put bits in a horses’, mouth, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold, also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever, the governor listeth”.
The entire course of your life is determined by something as small as your tongue. The tongue has power unlike any other member of the body. I am focusing on the negative force of the tongue here to help teach the destructive power of it. I will write about the positive force you tongue has one day.
Now, let us look at the five progressions of the human tongue (negatively speaking) and how fast it can bring about destruction.
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue amongst our members that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell”>
The tongue starts small and if it is uncontrolled, can be a destructive force that can demolish anything in its path.
Here is what we have:
1. Little Member
2. Little Fire
3. A Fire
4. World of Iniquity
5. Fire of Hell
Scripture goes on to say that every creature can be tamed save the tongue.
By the way, when it says, “that it defileth the whole body” it is meant in the sense of physical sickness and disease. If Scripture was referring to sin it would have said ‘spirit’ and not ‘body’. As far as sickness and disease coming about through what we speak, I will write on that sometime later.
Now that we know what James has to say about the tongue let’s look at Ephesians 6, the armor of God.
“Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. “
“And above all”
If you’re reading from the NIV it says “in addition to”. Scripture really says “above all”.
Why?
Because like I just wrote, the tongue controls the whole body. You have to get the tongue under control in order to control the rest of the body. Proverbs 18:21 says:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof”.
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, where with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”,
It doesn’t matter if you have all the other pieces of armor, if you get knocked down with a fiery dart, nothing else will protect you.
Someone tells you that you are incapable of fulfilling your dream and if you don’t have the shield of faith and block it
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
Even though you have the helmet of salvation on, those thoughts are still going to get through your head, and eventually you will start telling yourself the same lie the enemy is telling you.
“I can’t do it”.
Make note that the end of the verse says, “of the wicked”.
NIV says “of the evil one”. That leads one to believe that Satan is the one who attacks you with fiery darts. Fiery darts are the words from the tongue. Satan doesn’t have a tongue. He can’t speak to you, he must speak through others. So these darts are the destructive words that people speak to you. And not just other people, yourself as well.
Again, you have life and death on your tongue, you shall eat the fruit you love. Be careful not to bring yourself down with the words of others. Be careful not to bring others down with your own words.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tongues
After about three and a half years of studying- through Berean: School of the Bible, - and asking countless amounts of Pastors, board members, deacons etc. I have come to a conclusion. Here is what I have discovered after countless amounts of hours studying.
I will start from the beginning and tell you how it all ties into this past week. When I was eleven years old I went to a camp. Many students sought and discovered God in a new and profound way. I was baptized in the Spirit. This baptism was accompanied with speaking in tongues, just like it was with the early church.
Unfortunately, it stopped there. Unlike the believers in the early church, I didn't continue to share my faith or the gospel of Christ for that matter. I was saved and that was where it stopped for me. I was led to believe that that was about as spiritual as you could get. So I stopped.
No one corrected me. No one told me that this baptism was an empowering to witness to others, so after about a week, I was back to my regular routine.
Until three and a half years ago. I was an intern at a church. And I had a conversation with a few people about the baptism in the Spirit. And the answers to the questions asked didn't add up. So I started to study it. I asked everyone what they believed about it. But I didn't ask anyone outside of the Pentecostal view. I figure, if they believe it, they must know why they believe it.
So for the next three years, I asked everyone I knew in a well know pentecostal denomination. It was sad though. There were Pastor's who had been Pastoring in this particular church for over twenty years who couldn't answer basic questions about it.
One of these Pastors I asked gave me a very tragic answer. Here is what I asked;
"If we believe that the baptism in the Spirit is for today, why do we never speak about it on Sunday? Why is it never sought?"
His answer;
"We don't want to scare people away!"
What?!?
The answer didn't sound right at all. So I studied it. And after a while I found this verse in 1 Corinthians 14:22
"Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers..."
Anytime there is a message in tongues (according to 1 Corinthians 12) it is because there is an unbeliever there. You will not have a message in tongues like this if everyone is saved, this type is specifically for the unbeliever.
After studying this I realized that there are different times and different manners in which people will pray in tongues. There are three actually.
First off is the baptism in the Spirit which is for all people. Then we have the gift of speaking in tongues and finally praying in the Spirit. Let me try to explain each one as best as I can.
Baptism in the Spirit
First, there is a difference between being filled with the Spirit and being baptized in the Spirit. Now, this pentecostal church doesn't recognize this difference. Here is one of the reasons why they don't,
"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them".
Filled, not baptized.
I have come to the conclusion that we have gotten lazy with our terminology. Look at Acts 1:5
"For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit"
When it happens in Acts 2:4 Luke doesn't say "baptize" like Jesus did, he says "filled"
We interchange the words. We have done it for so long that people don't even realize that there is a difference. My best guess -'cause that's really all it is- is that Luke was clarifying that you can not be "baptized" and not be "filled" with the Spirit. You can however be "filled" with and not have been "baptized".
Believe me, I have had so many people tell me that I'm wrong on this. Look at John the baptist, John 1:15
"...he will be "filled" with the Holy Spirit even from birth"
Literal Greek says, "... and of(with) Spirit [the] Holy he will be filled even from [the] womb..." (Translated in the 17th century, everything in "( )" or "[ ]" was added for clarification).
Same chapter different verse
(41) Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
(67) Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit
So you can be filled with the Spirit without speaking in tongues. Look at the old testament,
Samuel (1 Samuel 10:6, 10) Samson (Judges 14:6, 19) and I believe David was though I don't remember the exact passage.
Old testement says, "the Spirit came upon".
I have been told that in the old testament they weren't "filled" but the Spirit of God "overshadowed" them. The basis was that the Holy Spirit had not been given yet-which raises the question, "how then, could John, Elizabeth and Zecharais have been filled before the day of Pentacost"?
Maybe it was just a translation issue-the Old Testament was written Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in Greek.
We need to consider that the english language has around 100 to 200 thousand words. The Hebrew language- which is what the old testament was written in- only has 7,000 words. So you find a lot of words are interchanged. In the Hebrew one word could be used to describe several different things. So it could really be just a translational error. I have not studied that enough to know for sure though.
Let me give you an illustration that should help you to better understand the difference between being baptized and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
When you become a christian you become filled with the Spirit. It's like taking a glass and filling it to the top with water. That water represents the Holy Spirit. You are filled. However, when you become baptized and speak in tongues, it's like you immerse the glass in the ocean, it is completely surrounded with water/ the Holy Spirit.
Now there have been many people in my conversations who have said things like, "the baptism in the Spirit is not as important as salvation and there is no point in even worrying about weather or not people have been baptized".
Look at what Paul says in Acts 19:
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.
4Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.
The first question Paul asks after he realizes that they are saved is, 'Have you been baptized in the Spirit'?
The two heaviest thoughts on Paul's mind are, 'are you saved'? and 'have you been baptized in the Spirit'.
Why are those two questions so heavy on his mind? Because salvation is the greatest miracle, but you're not going far after salvation if you have not received the baptism in the Spirit.
Jesus set the order in which things should happen. First is salvation and then He says, 'You will receive power... and you will be my witnesses'
Right before that verse when Jesus is with his disciples He says to '...wait for the gift My Father promised...' Jesus doesn't even expect us to witness until after we have received the baptism in the Spirit because that is our source of power.
1. Salvation
2. Baptism in the Spirit
3. Witnessing
That is the established order. The baptism isn't more important than your salvation, but without it, you're not going to be going far in the mission field.
Now there are many people I talked to who said that there was an expiration date for the baptism in the Spirit and that it is no longer for believers today. We need to first see when this baptism started.
John 16:8
"Unless I (Jesus) go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you"
After Jesus left, we were given the Holy Spirit who comes upon us and empowers us. The baptism came after Jesus ascended unto the right hand of the Father.
There is an expiration date on speaking in tongues, check this,
"Love never fails. But where there are prophesies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled. where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
1 Corinthians 13:8.
The problem I find with that is that this particular passage doesn't stop there. We need to keep reading. As Pastor Woods has said, the numbers aren't anointed, the Scripture is, so we need to read it in context.
Now here is a question that I have to all of those who take that view, and I welcome any further explanation on the matter. Where is the expiration date on the gifts? How do you know that this is talking about today?
So many people tell me that it was just for the early church. But how do you come to that conclusion? All that particular passage says is 'one day' ! That verse doesn't say that today is the day when all of this will cease.
Keep reading that passage though,
"For we know in part"...
'In part' Our knowledge is imperfect and obscure.
"...But when the day of perfection comes..."
Is perfection here? Perfection doesn't come until Christ reestablishes His kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth. The passage finishes by telling us that the imperfect (our partial knowledge) will disappear.
Now, in reference to what Paul wrote in verse 9 (Know in part...) he explains what he means.
""11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. "
He relates the imperfect and the perfect to a child's knowledge vs. that of a mature adult. There is so much more to learn.
He goes on to say that what we see is but a poor reflection as in a mirror, But one day we shall see face to face.
We prophesy, we speak in tongues, and we are given words of knowledge. These gifts are gifts for us until the day of perfection comes. God does give an expiration date on these gifts: the day of perfection. Not a day sooner.
Now, earlier I mentioned that there is a difference between the speaking in tongues that is accompanied wih the baptism in the Spirit and the speaking in tongues as the spiritual gift. Here is how I came to that conclusion:
Let's look at the baptism in the Spirit that happened at the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:4.
"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them".
Now when it says 'all of them' this is a reference to the 120 believers. There were 120 believers in the upper room who were, 'all of them', filled with the Spirit. Let's look at the Spiritual gifts that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 14.
I am only quoting a part of this passage due to the relevance though I encourage you to read it all so you can get it in context. Paul is talking about orderly worship and he refers to speaking in tongues, keep in mind that he started talking about the gifts of the Spirit in chapter 12. I will quote verse 27,
"If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God".
See the difference? Paul is talking about the gift and there should not be more than three at most. Look back at Acts 2:4,
"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues..."
So there are three possibilities:
1. God Changed. He used to allow more that three to speak in tongues and now He doesn't. However, this contradicts God's nature. Look at Hebrews 13:8:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever"
Malachi 3:6
"I the Lord, do not change..."
James 1:7
"Every good and perfect gift, is from above coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows."
Since God can't change, reason number one is void.
2. The Scripture is not true, which contradicts 2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness".
So the Word of God is inspired by the Spirit of God, so that leaves number 2 void. The only thing that is left?
3. Paul is not talking about the baptism in the Spirit.
There is a difference between the gifts of the Spirit and the baptism in the Spirit.
But neither one of them (the gifts or the baptism) are irrelevant for today. According to Scripture. Because, like I stated before, we have not come to the day of perfection.
The Gifts if the Spirit
We can speak in another tongue as the Spirit enables us to. Now here is a common mistake, people who read 1 Corinthians 12 read about these Spiritual gifts and think that we all have one gift and not the other. You may have the gift of prophecy, I might have the gift of working of miracles.
That is not what this passage is saying.
The Spirit of God works all of these gifts through all believers as the Spirit wills.
Praying in the Spirit
The third type of tongues is praying in the Spirit. Like the other two types of tongues, we all have the right and ability to pray in the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:18
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests".
This praying in the Spirit is not the Spirit of God praying through us, rather it is us praising God. This is known as the highest form of worship.
This praying in the Spirit is to build ourselves up.
Jude 1:20
"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith (highest form of worship) and pray in the Spirit.
I will start from the beginning and tell you how it all ties into this past week. When I was eleven years old I went to a camp. Many students sought and discovered God in a new and profound way. I was baptized in the Spirit. This baptism was accompanied with speaking in tongues, just like it was with the early church.
Unfortunately, it stopped there. Unlike the believers in the early church, I didn't continue to share my faith or the gospel of Christ for that matter. I was saved and that was where it stopped for me. I was led to believe that that was about as spiritual as you could get. So I stopped.
No one corrected me. No one told me that this baptism was an empowering to witness to others, so after about a week, I was back to my regular routine.
Until three and a half years ago. I was an intern at a church. And I had a conversation with a few people about the baptism in the Spirit. And the answers to the questions asked didn't add up. So I started to study it. I asked everyone what they believed about it. But I didn't ask anyone outside of the Pentecostal view. I figure, if they believe it, they must know why they believe it.
So for the next three years, I asked everyone I knew in a well know pentecostal denomination. It was sad though. There were Pastor's who had been Pastoring in this particular church for over twenty years who couldn't answer basic questions about it.
One of these Pastors I asked gave me a very tragic answer. Here is what I asked;
"If we believe that the baptism in the Spirit is for today, why do we never speak about it on Sunday? Why is it never sought?"
His answer;
"We don't want to scare people away!"
What?!?
The answer didn't sound right at all. So I studied it. And after a while I found this verse in 1 Corinthians 14:22
"Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers..."
Anytime there is a message in tongues (according to 1 Corinthians 12) it is because there is an unbeliever there. You will not have a message in tongues like this if everyone is saved, this type is specifically for the unbeliever.
After studying this I realized that there are different times and different manners in which people will pray in tongues. There are three actually.
First off is the baptism in the Spirit which is for all people. Then we have the gift of speaking in tongues and finally praying in the Spirit. Let me try to explain each one as best as I can.
Baptism in the Spirit
First, there is a difference between being filled with the Spirit and being baptized in the Spirit. Now, this pentecostal church doesn't recognize this difference. Here is one of the reasons why they don't,
"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them".
Filled, not baptized.
I have come to the conclusion that we have gotten lazy with our terminology. Look at Acts 1:5
"For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit"
When it happens in Acts 2:4 Luke doesn't say "baptize" like Jesus did, he says "filled"
We interchange the words. We have done it for so long that people don't even realize that there is a difference. My best guess -'cause that's really all it is- is that Luke was clarifying that you can not be "baptized" and not be "filled" with the Spirit. You can however be "filled" with and not have been "baptized".
Believe me, I have had so many people tell me that I'm wrong on this. Look at John the baptist, John 1:15
"...he will be "filled" with the Holy Spirit even from birth"
Literal Greek says, "... and of(with) Spirit [the] Holy he will be filled even from [the] womb..." (Translated in the 17th century, everything in "( )" or "[ ]" was added for clarification).
Same chapter different verse
(41) Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
(67) Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit
So you can be filled with the Spirit without speaking in tongues. Look at the old testament,
Samuel (1 Samuel 10:6, 10) Samson (Judges 14:6, 19) and I believe David was though I don't remember the exact passage.
Old testement says, "the Spirit came upon".
I have been told that in the old testament they weren't "filled" but the Spirit of God "overshadowed" them. The basis was that the Holy Spirit had not been given yet-which raises the question, "how then, could John, Elizabeth and Zecharais have been filled before the day of Pentacost"?
Maybe it was just a translation issue-the Old Testament was written Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in Greek.
We need to consider that the english language has around 100 to 200 thousand words. The Hebrew language- which is what the old testament was written in- only has 7,000 words. So you find a lot of words are interchanged. In the Hebrew one word could be used to describe several different things. So it could really be just a translational error. I have not studied that enough to know for sure though.
Let me give you an illustration that should help you to better understand the difference between being baptized and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
When you become a christian you become filled with the Spirit. It's like taking a glass and filling it to the top with water. That water represents the Holy Spirit. You are filled. However, when you become baptized and speak in tongues, it's like you immerse the glass in the ocean, it is completely surrounded with water/ the Holy Spirit.
Now there have been many people in my conversations who have said things like, "the baptism in the Spirit is not as important as salvation and there is no point in even worrying about weather or not people have been baptized".
Look at what Paul says in Acts 19:
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.
4Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.
The first question Paul asks after he realizes that they are saved is, 'Have you been baptized in the Spirit'?
The two heaviest thoughts on Paul's mind are, 'are you saved'? and 'have you been baptized in the Spirit'.
Why are those two questions so heavy on his mind? Because salvation is the greatest miracle, but you're not going far after salvation if you have not received the baptism in the Spirit.
Jesus set the order in which things should happen. First is salvation and then He says, 'You will receive power... and you will be my witnesses'
Right before that verse when Jesus is with his disciples He says to '...wait for the gift My Father promised...' Jesus doesn't even expect us to witness until after we have received the baptism in the Spirit because that is our source of power.
1. Salvation
2. Baptism in the Spirit
3. Witnessing
That is the established order. The baptism isn't more important than your salvation, but without it, you're not going to be going far in the mission field.
Now there are many people I talked to who said that there was an expiration date for the baptism in the Spirit and that it is no longer for believers today. We need to first see when this baptism started.
John 16:8
"Unless I (Jesus) go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you"
After Jesus left, we were given the Holy Spirit who comes upon us and empowers us. The baptism came after Jesus ascended unto the right hand of the Father.
There is an expiration date on speaking in tongues, check this,
"Love never fails. But where there are prophesies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled. where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
1 Corinthians 13:8.
The problem I find with that is that this particular passage doesn't stop there. We need to keep reading. As Pastor Woods has said, the numbers aren't anointed, the Scripture is, so we need to read it in context.
Now here is a question that I have to all of those who take that view, and I welcome any further explanation on the matter. Where is the expiration date on the gifts? How do you know that this is talking about today?
So many people tell me that it was just for the early church. But how do you come to that conclusion? All that particular passage says is 'one day' ! That verse doesn't say that today is the day when all of this will cease.
Keep reading that passage though,
"For we know in part"...
'In part' Our knowledge is imperfect and obscure.
"...But when the day of perfection comes..."
Is perfection here? Perfection doesn't come until Christ reestablishes His kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth. The passage finishes by telling us that the imperfect (our partial knowledge) will disappear.
Now, in reference to what Paul wrote in verse 9 (Know in part...) he explains what he means.
""11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. "
He relates the imperfect and the perfect to a child's knowledge vs. that of a mature adult. There is so much more to learn.
He goes on to say that what we see is but a poor reflection as in a mirror, But one day we shall see face to face.
We prophesy, we speak in tongues, and we are given words of knowledge. These gifts are gifts for us until the day of perfection comes. God does give an expiration date on these gifts: the day of perfection. Not a day sooner.
Now, earlier I mentioned that there is a difference between the speaking in tongues that is accompanied wih the baptism in the Spirit and the speaking in tongues as the spiritual gift. Here is how I came to that conclusion:
Let's look at the baptism in the Spirit that happened at the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:4.
"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them".
Now when it says 'all of them' this is a reference to the 120 believers. There were 120 believers in the upper room who were, 'all of them', filled with the Spirit. Let's look at the Spiritual gifts that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 14.
I am only quoting a part of this passage due to the relevance though I encourage you to read it all so you can get it in context. Paul is talking about orderly worship and he refers to speaking in tongues, keep in mind that he started talking about the gifts of the Spirit in chapter 12. I will quote verse 27,
"If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God".
See the difference? Paul is talking about the gift and there should not be more than three at most. Look back at Acts 2:4,
"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues..."
So there are three possibilities:
1. God Changed. He used to allow more that three to speak in tongues and now He doesn't. However, this contradicts God's nature. Look at Hebrews 13:8:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever"
Malachi 3:6
"I the Lord, do not change..."
James 1:7
"Every good and perfect gift, is from above coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows."
Since God can't change, reason number one is void.
2. The Scripture is not true, which contradicts 2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness".
So the Word of God is inspired by the Spirit of God, so that leaves number 2 void. The only thing that is left?
3. Paul is not talking about the baptism in the Spirit.
There is a difference between the gifts of the Spirit and the baptism in the Spirit.
But neither one of them (the gifts or the baptism) are irrelevant for today. According to Scripture. Because, like I stated before, we have not come to the day of perfection.
The Gifts if the Spirit
We can speak in another tongue as the Spirit enables us to. Now here is a common mistake, people who read 1 Corinthians 12 read about these Spiritual gifts and think that we all have one gift and not the other. You may have the gift of prophecy, I might have the gift of working of miracles.
That is not what this passage is saying.
The Spirit of God works all of these gifts through all believers as the Spirit wills.
Praying in the Spirit
The third type of tongues is praying in the Spirit. Like the other two types of tongues, we all have the right and ability to pray in the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:18
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests".
This praying in the Spirit is not the Spirit of God praying through us, rather it is us praising God. This is known as the highest form of worship.
This praying in the Spirit is to build ourselves up.
Jude 1:20
"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith (highest form of worship) and pray in the Spirit.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
ST. Maries ID.
Well, I know it has been a while. It's hard to find the time and when I do, it's even harder to find a good internet connection. As of now, I have both.
There is a lot I have to talk about and I don't really know where to start.
The past few weeks Pastor Woods and I have been addressing letters to churches. These letter introduce Pastor Woods to churches he has never been to. A Pastor from one of the churches that we went to recently wrote a letter to help promote Pastor Woods Ministry. The Lord has blessed us with people to help address these letters and send them off to thousands of churches.
Pastor Woods, his family, and I all got back from St. Maries ID. just this past Saturday. We had fun quite the adventure there. On Wednesday Pastor and I went to a shooting range with a few of the people from the church. We shot off some powerful guns :D
Pastor Woods has been wanting to get himself a shotgun- he recently bought some property and wants some protection for he and his family when they go over there.
One who attends the church in St. Maries sells guns and he decided to give Pastor Woods a shotgun. A day later this same man wanted to know if I would like a gun. He bought me- or should I say blessed me- with a 22. I have yet to take it out and fire it off!
That very night when I got to the hotel I found out that my old apartment gave me my deposit back and it was bigger than I thought it would be. The blessings just keep coming.
We are planning on going to Levenworth this Sunday for a five day revival. There are some reasons that it might not work out so I ask that you keep this in prayer. I think everyone is wanting us to go there.
As far as writing about what I've learned I plan on posting some stuff. However, a lot of what I have learned Pastor Woods is putting into a book that he will soon be selling. I won't post anything up here without his permission first. But I plan on getting something up here by the end of the week.
There is a lot I have to talk about and I don't really know where to start.
The past few weeks Pastor Woods and I have been addressing letters to churches. These letter introduce Pastor Woods to churches he has never been to. A Pastor from one of the churches that we went to recently wrote a letter to help promote Pastor Woods Ministry. The Lord has blessed us with people to help address these letters and send them off to thousands of churches.
Pastor Woods, his family, and I all got back from St. Maries ID. just this past Saturday. We had fun quite the adventure there. On Wednesday Pastor and I went to a shooting range with a few of the people from the church. We shot off some powerful guns :D
Pastor Woods has been wanting to get himself a shotgun- he recently bought some property and wants some protection for he and his family when they go over there.
One who attends the church in St. Maries sells guns and he decided to give Pastor Woods a shotgun. A day later this same man wanted to know if I would like a gun. He bought me- or should I say blessed me- with a 22. I have yet to take it out and fire it off!
That very night when I got to the hotel I found out that my old apartment gave me my deposit back and it was bigger than I thought it would be. The blessings just keep coming.
We are planning on going to Levenworth this Sunday for a five day revival. There are some reasons that it might not work out so I ask that you keep this in prayer. I think everyone is wanting us to go there.
As far as writing about what I've learned I plan on posting some stuff. However, a lot of what I have learned Pastor Woods is putting into a book that he will soon be selling. I won't post anything up here without his permission first. But I plan on getting something up here by the end of the week.
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