Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit » Spiritual Gift

Question:

Answered on 07/19/06:

You don’t need to pray with a minister to get born again. God doesn’t require that you pray with anybody to be born again. All that He requires is Romans 10:9, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. That’s what it means to be born again. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and savior, God supernaturally takes the old heart out of you and gives you a brand new heart.

And are you filled with the Holy Spirit when you get born again? Yes, The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you when you are born again. But there’s a difference between when the Holy Spirit coming to live inside of you and you being baptized in the Holy Spirit. That’s a different experience after you get born again. It doesn’t save you, but what saves you is making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. And for more information on being baptized in the Holy Spirit, you can go to our website at www.changinglives.org or you can call our prayer line at 847-645-9700 and we’ll be happy to talk to you more about being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Question:

Some churches say that in order to know that you have the Holy Spirit, you have to prove it in certain ways – like speaking in tongues or dancing. What do you think about that?

Answered on 04/26/06:

Now tongues is one of the gifts that is contained in the Holy Spirit and that gift is available to anyone who desires it and asks God for it. But the two best evidences of the Holy Spirit in someone’s life is that there’s power in their life to live for God and that there’s love in their life for others.

If someone says, “I’m filled with the Holy Spirit, but I hate that brother over there,” that sure proves that he can’t be filled with the Holy Spirit. If you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, you’re going to treat others right. If you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, you’re going to be kind. If you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, you’re going to walk in the fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit of the Spirit? It is found in Galatians 5:22-23, “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law”.

Having said that, tongues is definitely a gift that God wants to give us, but it’s not something we need to speak in to prove that we have the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to dance either. Tongues is a precious gift. It’s a private prayer language between you and the Lord. It’s something that God wants to give you if you’re open to that.

This is way I look at it: When my kids come down on Christmas and they go to that Christmas tree where there are 15 presents for each of them, they want every one. Why? Because they love getting gifts from their Daddy. That needs to be our attitude with God. If He’s provided and offered gifts to us, then we should take advantage of receiving every gift we possibly can receive from Him and not reject them or push them off on someone else. Imagine my kids saying, “Thanks, Dad, for thinking of me, but I don’t really want your gifts.” In the same way, we should be thankful and receptive to all of God’s gifts.

Question:

Answered on 04/26/06:

So we really don’t have evidence that the people who were speaking in tongues were actually speaking those different languages. We have evidence that the people who were listening, each of them heard them in their own language. So the logical conclusion to be made from that Scripture is that they were speaking in tongues, just like we speak in tongues today. There’s no way that one of the disciples was speaking in French and one of the disciples was speaking in Persian and one of the disciples was speaking in Medes, because they were all speaking in tongues. But yet each individual from a different country was hearing the tongues interpreted into their own language.

So that’s what happened in the book of Acts regarding speaking in tongues and people hearing it in their own language. And that’s happened throughout history where people have spoken in tongues and listeners heard in their own language. I’ve done that. I’ve been in church and I’ve spoken in tongues and people that spoke Spanish actually heard me speaking in Spanish and told me exactly what they heard. Now I don’t speak Spanish, but I was speaking in tongues and they were hearing me in their own language. God gave them the interpretation in their own language.

There are two types of tongues mentioned in scripture. There’s tongues in 1 Corinthians 14, where we speak in tongues to speak mysteries to God and no one understands. In our spirit we’re speaking mysteries to God and God understands us. That’s 1 Corinthians 14. That’s our personal prayer language called the gift of tongues.

Then there is the public gift of tongues, when somebody speaks in tongues in a church setting. In a meeting setting, when you do speak in tongues, there should absolutely be an interpretation. Either the person speaking in tongues should interpret what it is that they’re speaking, somebody else should interpret what it is they’re speaking, or the people that are listening will hear an interpretation, just like in Acts 2. In Acts 2, the people that were there heard them and heard the interpretation and were able to receive that interpretation.

So it’s important to make the distinction between two different types of tongues. There’s the tongues where we edify ourselves and build ourselves up with by speaking our prayer language to God, 1 Corinthians 14; and then there’s the tongues with interpretations, 1 Corinthians 12. Both of them have a different application. One is to build ourselves up. And one is to build up the other members or the other people in the meeting or in the church service.

Question:

Answered on 04/26/06:

You know, it is a gift. I don’t want to turn down any gift in the Bible. There’s the gift of salvation, the most important gift. There’s the gift of wisdom. I don’t want to reject that gift. There’s the gift of the word of knowledge and the gifts of prophecy, the gifts of healing and miracles. I want all of those gifts available to me because I need those at different times in my life. I need a miracle sometimes. I need a healing sometimes. I need a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge sometimes; a piece of information that I could not have conjured up or gathered myself but something that God releases by His power, and by His Holy Spirit and by His Word.

So I receive and welcome all of the gifts, including tongues and interpretation of tongues. But it’s not something that God ever gave us to divide the body of Christ. It’s something that God gave us to empower us to have a supernatural prayer language, according to Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Corinthians 12.

In Mark 16 it says, “These signs will follow those who believe, in My name they’ll cast out devils and they will speak in new tongues.” Well, as soon as devils cease then probably tongues will cease, too. But as long as there are devils in this earth, we’re going to probably need tongues, too. We’re going to need the power of God to cast out devils and we’re going to need tongues.

Question:

Answered on 04/26/06:

So the first thing that I would do is I would humbly ask Him. Say, “Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit.” God’s going to give you a new power and a new anointing that will enable you to not just speak in tongues, but enable you to witness and enable you to love like you’ve never been able to love before. The number one evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is walking in love.

I want you to go to the Life Solutions section of our website. There are some great Scriptures on the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit so you’ll be able to look those up and they will really help you. That’s what I would encourage you to do. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and don’t worry about anything else.

Question:

Answered on 04/17/06:

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a subsequent gift after we are saved. In Acts 1:5, Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses.”

So your question is. “When does the Holy Ghost come to live inside of you?” And the answer is, as soon as you’re saved. The Holy Spirit releases a power after He is inside people, called the gift of the Holy Spirit, if they ask Him for it.

Question:

Answered on 04/17/06:

We shouldn’t be speaking in tongues and praying in tongues in situations when people aren’t going to understand. Paul the Apostle said, “I’d rather speak five words in my own language than 18,000 words in tongues if somebody doesn’t understand. The point is, when I speak with a microphone to the congregation, I need to speak something that they’re going to understand. If I speak in tongues, I need to interpret what I’m saying. Or, like in Acts chapter 2, everybody was speaking in tongues and everybody heard them speaking in their own language. But everybody was speaking in tongues at the same time. It’s just that everybody was hearing them speaking in their own language.

The Bible says, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” There is a time and a place for everything. Just because somebody misuses a gun doesn’t mean that guns are bad. Just because somebody misuses tongues doesn’t mean that tongues are bad. What I would encourage you to do is to search our website on changinglives.org. We have a whole Bible study on the subject of tongues in our Life Solutions section. It goes through the Scriptures so that you have clear understanding of what it means and when it should be applied and when not.

Question:

Answered on 04/17/06:

1 Corinthians chapter 12 talks about nine gifts called the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Remember there are nine of them and the one of them that gets so much attention is the one that’s called speaking in tongues because it seems to have been controversial over the years with many Christians. It is a gift where God gives us utterance or God gives us what is called the gift of speaking in tongues and we are able to communicate to God in an unknown language. It is a language that is not spoken in known languages where you’re speaking in words that do not make sense to the human mind.

1 Corinthians 12 says, “When I speak in tongues, my spirit prays, but my mind or my understanding is unfruitful.” So in the simplest explanation, tongues is a prayer language between a believer and God and where no one can interfere with that prayer language, no one can understand what that prayer language is. It’s a holy, pure, intimate communication between me and God or between you and God.

And it’s a gift. It’s something that God gives to whoever asks for that gift. I guess the best definition is it’s a prayer language similar to a hotline. I like to refer to it as a “hotline” to God. Like back in the day, when Batman was on TV, he would go to the red phone, the “Batphone” that would go directly between him and the police commissioner. And no one else could get on that line. It was a hotline directly from Batman to the commissioner. As silly as that illustration is, tongues is a “hotline” to God; it’s a prayer language to God that edifies us and draws the deepest desires and concerns in our soul and in our heart and is able to express those to God in a language that we don’t understand.

We are all capable of communicating in that manner because it is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Every believer has the Holy Spirit living inside of them when they’re born again. The Bible says when we’re born again, it’s the Spirit that quickens us. It’s the Spirit that gives life to us. So when the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, He has all of those gifts in Him and He distributes those gifts as we have need.

Now, having said that, there are those that will say, “Well, that’s a gift and I believe that that’s a gift in the Bible, but it’s not for everybody.” There are two types of tongues in 1 Corinthians 13. It talks about tongues of men and tongues of angels. And there are tongues of men or there are tongues of angels where when we speak in tongues directly to God, no one understands. 1 Corinthians 14 says, “No one understands, but in our spirit, we’re speaking mysteries to God.” That’s one form of tongues.

But there’s another form of tongues where somebody will speak in tongues in public and in that public setting, the Bible demands that there be an interpretation when a tongue is given in a public setting in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. When a tongue is spoken in a church service or in a meeting setting, then an interpretation should be given to interpret what that tongue was.

Now, again, here’s and example of how God takes the foolish things to confound the wise as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. If you say, “Well, gosh, that doesn’t make sense. Why don’t we just speak in English? Or why wouldn’t we just speak in whatever language?” But yet, God has chosen the foolish things to confound the wise. He’s chosen the weak things to confound the strong.

And the greater evidence of the Holy Spirit being inside of us is not tongues, but the greater evidence is the love of God being in our life. The most important manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives is not speaking in tongues. The most important manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives is walking in the love of God. Romans 5:5 says, “For the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who’s been given to us.” The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts.

So many Christians want to argue about different things. We’re not here to argue or to offend anybody or to alienate anybody. I know that there are some preachers that believe in speaking in tongues, but don’t talk about it because they don’t want to lose their audience or lose their credibility with the media or with different groups. But the fact is, we live by the Bible. We believe the Bible and we don’t force that. That’s a gift.

The tragedy of it all is that every gift that God gives, Satan is out there trying to pervert that gift – from the gift of Salvation to the gift of wisdom to the gift of blessing and prosperity to the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues. All the gifts that God wants to give His people, Satan is out there trying to destroy and Satan is out there trying to discredit. And he doesn’t do it with Satanists; he does it with other Christians.

The devil doesn’t need a lot of demonic people to spread his stuff. Sometimes he’s good at using us: Christians to fight with one another and to cause strife with one another. And we need to walk in love. That’s the greatest manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

But, I’d be happy to talk with anybody about the gifts of the Holy Spirit even those that have been taught that it’s not something that is for everybody. It certainly is a precious gift that we should not tread upon or take lightly as “that’s just for weird Christians.” I’m not weird. Paul the Apostle can’t be weird. He wrote most of the New Testament after the book of Acts and he said, “I thank God I speak in tongues more than all of you guys.”

But in order to get the message across, I’d rather speak five words of intelligible language than ten thousand words in tongues if I’m communicating to you. But if I’m communicating to God, boy sometimes, I just run out of what to say to God and all I know to do is just to cry out in my heart to Him and that’s where the language of the Holy Spirit is a precious gift.

I hope that you understand that. I hope that those that are maybe of faiths that you don’t adhere to that gift that you would at least be open and respectful of those who do as I am respectful of those who don’t and love those that don’t and want everybody to experience the love of God.

I’ve got some more information about that on our website at changinglives.org. We talk about the power of the Holy Spirit. It is available to everyone, but God will never force it on anybody.

I think that it is so important that we speak intelligently about these things and not refer to what other people have said or what our previous experiences have been. We’ve got to stick to the Scripture. We’ve got to stick to the Holy Bible.

Question:

Answered on 04/17/06:

We don’t always feel that touch or that river like we did when we were first baptized in the Holy Spirit. But, we live by faith. Just like you don’t always feel loved but you know that God loves you. You don’t always feel like loving your husband, wife or neighbor, but you walk in love by faith. So we must pray in tongues by faith.

You build yourself up in your most holy faith by praying in tongues. The Bible says your mind won’t understand but your spirit is praying. So, keep doing it. Ask God to re-visit you in a similar way to that first experience. In the meantime, continue to pray the words of that heavenly language that God has given you and you will continue to grow in that area of your life.

So don’t stop because it doesn’t feel the same. Can the feelings come back? Yes. Will they always? No, just keep praying and believing that God says when you pray in tongues your spirit prays and you are building yourself up in your most holy faith. 1 Corinthians 14: 1-2 and Jude 20.

Question:

What is the Charismatic Movement, and is it a good or bad thing?

Answered on 04/12/06:

The word charismatic comes from the word charis in the New Testament. It is the Greek word for gift or grace. The so-called Charismatic Movement really dates back to the Book of Acts, but it got its roots in our modern society in the ’60s when churches started to go beyond the traditional church services of preaching and teaching and got into exuberant worship, praying for the sick, laying hands on people and trying to follow what Jesus said in Mark 16: “Lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Cast out devils.”

There’s been a swelling of this power of God and the gifts of God around the world, and there is no stopping it. Now, are there excesses? Yes. Are there people who have abused the gifts of the Spirit? Yes. Are there people who have used it to manipulate others? Yes. Are there people who have mishandled the gifts or misunderstood them or taught them incorrectly? Yes. Are there people who acted as if they were better than others because of the gifts? Yes. But you can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. God gives us gifts because He loves us and because He wants to encourage us in as many ways as He possibly can.

I encourage you to be in a church that believes in that – not one that will shove it down your throat, but a church that encourages it, one that says, “We are not here to judge anybody that doesn’t speak in tongues or doesn’t operate in the gifts of the Spirit, but we want you to be in an environment where you can have and operate in those gifts without feeling like you are an outcast.” When everything is done in an atmosphere of love, people are going to receive the gifts of the Spirit. . . the power of God is going to continue to flow . . . and we are going to change this world.

Question:

Answered on 04/10/06:

Now, there are two types of tongues by the way. There are the tongues that are for personal edification, 1 Corinthians 14:1-2, where you’re speaking mysteries to God. No one understands, but in your spirit you’re speaking mysteries. And then there are the tongues that are designed for the edification of other believers that is found in a church service where a person gives a tongue and then there is an interpretation of that tongue. Sometimes that person hears another language, sometimes it’s the language of men, sometimes it’s the language of angels. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about the tongues of men and of angels.

So the point is, the nine gifts, tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits, gifts of healing, gifts of faith, and gifts of miracles. Those nine gifts of the Spirit are for the Holy Spirit to distribute through believers as there is a need in somebody else’s life.

So as you are yielded to want to serve other people, then God will release those gifts through you. Sometimes you’ll use one gift, sometimes you’ll use another. And then there are people who have specific callings to operate in one or more of those gifts more times than not.

Holy Spirit » General

Question:

Answered on 04/17/06:

Question:

Answered on 04/17/06:

But what really matters most is that we have the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit is love. The real evidence. And so, is it possible that somebody can shake and then even a year later shake? Yes, it’s absolutely possible.

But the way to measure whether the power of God is really in that person is did that person’s life change? Is there love flowing in their life? Are they walking in the fruit of God’s spirit? And that’s the most essential evidence of God’s presence and God’s power in somebody’s life. And it doesn’t mean that it’s not the Holy Spirit causing somebody to shake. There was a whole movement, a whole denomination that came out of people shaking under the power of God, called the Quakers years ago, so it is very possible. It’s just not something that is typical.

Question:

Answered on 04/17/06:

According to Isaiah 10:27, the Bible says that the anointing removes burdens and destroys yokes. It removes burdens and destroys yokes. And it sets the captives free, according to Luke 4. So the way that we know if something’s anointed is very simple. If it removed a burden, if it destroyed a yoke, or if it set a captive free, then you know that it was anointed.

If it just gives us goose-bumps and give us feelings, or somebody lays hands on us and we fall down and we feel like, “Wow, weren’t we anointed?” -- There is nothing wrong with laying hands on people. We believe in that. The Bible is clearly supportive of that, and teaches us to do that -- But unless it removes a burden and destroys a yoke, all it was, was a nice experience, but it wasn’t anointed unless it removed somebody’s burden and destroyed somebody’s yoke.

Question:

Answered on 04/14/06:

David prayed in Psalm chapter 51, “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” But David was not a born again believer. He was a believer in God through the old covenant, but not through the new covenant. In the old covenant or Old Testament, people were right with God because God came upon them. But in the New Testament, God comes to live inside of us by the Holy Spirit.

Now, if somebody backslides, does God leave them? No. In Hebrews chapter 13, God says, “I will never leave you and I will never forsake you.” He doesn’t say, “I’ll never leave you as long as you don’t leave me.” He says, “I will never leave you and I will never forsake you.” Period.

Now, does that mean He’s happy with somebody that backslides? No. He wants them to come back to Him. But He’s not going to take His Holy Spirit from them. In fact, He leaves His Holy Spirit as the deposit of our future inheritance in heaven. And He wants us to know that He is going to be faithful to us. Even when we’re not faithful to Him, He’s going to be faithful to us nevertheless.

When a person is backslidden, they need to be free from the guilt of thinking that God has left them. And they should come back to God, not because they feel guilty, but because He loves them and because He hasn’t left them. When a person backslides and knows that God still loves them and God hasn’t left them and God’s still with them and even when we’re not with Him, He’s with us, that does something to somebody’s heart. That makes you want to draw closer to God rather than running away from Him.

Question:

Answered on 04/07/06:

God’s presence is not something that should be only emphasized during praise or worship. The presence of the Holy Spirit should be emphasized at all times because He lives in us. Because we put our faith in the blood of Jesus, the blood removes the veil between God and man. So we can be in the holy place and the holy one can live inside of us through His goodness and grace because of the blood of Jesus. Now we can be in the presence of God for ever and ever.