How God Anointed Jesus With The Holy Ghost and Power - Part One

He Shall Tell You What To Do Part Six- The Message of Peter to the Gentiles Regarding Salvation And The Holy Spirit

Peter's message in the house of Cornelius speaks to an apostate church of this hour that has refused and rejected to deal with the ministry and operation of the Holy Ghost. If we misinterpret or misunderstands His manner of working, as many do, they we are then left with noting but human devices and schemes. Tragically most of the Religious denominations have denied the Word of God and the Working and Operation of the Holy Ghost simply because of not rightly dividing the Word of Truth and/or upon hearing the truth rejecting this truth because of a hardened heart of unbelief! When this takes place that which is God is pushed aside for that which is either of man or Satan. To be frank if it is of man Satan is behind it. The modern church system has become very adept at calling that which is God of "Satan," and that which is Satan "God." Unless we have revival in the church our fate is going to be apostasy as it is in many camps at present time. God has anointed JESUS CHRIST with the HOLY GHOST and for those who seek the mighty baptism in the Spirit the Lord Jesus Christ wants to anoint them as well!

 

By Chris McDonald

 

TEXT: Acts 10:37-38 -  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; [38] How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

 

Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and ALL things done in His Name is THROUGH the Person, Agency, Office, and Ministry of the Holy Spirit. Even though He was God and has always been God, Jesus the Son walked on this Earth as a man, anointed by the Holy Spirit, which is why we cannot separate the great office of the Holy Spirit from our understanding of the Finished Work of Christ on the Cross. In dealing with the Spirit of God, it's also important to understand one cannot separate the work of the Holy Spirit from His gifts and power, which include a variety of operations, ministries and diverse functions as found in the 12th Chapter of 1 Corinthians. We cannot randomly choose which we elect to accept and embrace and that which we reject. The Holy Spirit is not a buffet table; we either accept ALL that He has and wants to do in our life as believers, or we are in essence REJECTING Him! This is the basic theme of Peter's message to the house of Cornelius - that God anointed Jesus with the HOLY GHOST and with power, and as a result of that anointing, He went about "doing good, healing ALL those who were oppressed of the devil. "

 

If one misinterprets or misunderstands the manner the Holy Spirit works that individual, church, or ministry is then left to human devices and schemes, which is why so many ministries embrace 12-step programs, and the like as avenues of "deliverance," which will never provide true deliverance but put those involved in greater bondage. Simply put, where the SPIRIT OF THE LORD is, there is LIBERTY but if He is ushered out the door, there will be no liberty and one can be very sure that darkness will be ushered in as a result of the rejection of light!  When one is in spiritual darkness it is a horrible condition since darkness is always related to spiritual blindness which causes one to not recognize their actual state and in many cases make one feel secure when in fact one's soul is in serious spiritual jeopardy. 

 

There is only ONE LIGHT and that is the LIGHT of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the last message Jesus is seen delivering to the church in the book of Revelation He has been pushed outside, knocking waiting to get in imploring individuals among the corporate church to HEAR HIS VOICE and open the door for Him to come in. This tells us that the call of Jesus to the church in this last hour is an individual call, not a corporate one. Sadly, many don't even realize the Lord is no longer in their midst yet they continue in their religious activity without giving even a thought to the fact the Spirit of the Lord has departed and ICHABOD has been written on the threshold of their efforts or church. Neighbor, hear this writer; we have gotten the church "business," down to the proverbial "T" to the point that if the Holy Spirit doesn't show up and control our church services, we have plenty enough of machinery in place to proceed without Him. That INSULTS the third person of the Godhead beyond measure and most don't even care.

 

This passage within the Peter's message to Cornelius and his household concerning the anointing of the Holy Spirit is precious to this writer for he knows just a little bit of the price many have paid for the anointing ever since the Day of Pentecost, including many in the Early Church, such as Peter, John and the Apostle Paul. Throughout the centuries since, the message of the baptism in the Holy Spirit has been lampooned, mocked, slurred, made fun of and equated with "ignorant" and unlearned people by those who willfully don't understand the things of the Spirit and by human nature attack that which they either don't understand or don't want.

 

Let me state this up front before we go any further concerning the anointing of the Spirit. We do not believe one iota that one has to speak in tongues to be saved; we further do not believe that the experience of speaking in tongues in itself will produce a more consecrated Christian. This is a walk of FAITH and the faith we have MUST BE IN THE CROSS, not speaking in tongues or any other spiritual gift one may embrace or have. Growing in grace has much more to do with a person's HEART and their inclination to repentance and change at the hands of the Spirit than it does in the experiences one may encounter on this Christian sojourn.

 

We totally understand that many born again Christians for a varied number of reasons will never go on and receive the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues as recorded in Acts 2:4. We do teach and believe that the initial physical evidence one has been filled with the Spirit, which we also believe is a subsequent work AFTER Salvation, they will speak with other tongues, which we believe is a VITAL part of the believer's walk with God and their personal prayer life as well as the use of tongues in corporate worship and utterances. Tongues are the INITIAL evidence, not EVERY evidence that follows one being filled with the Spirit. These tongues are not gibberish, babble, or chatter as some who reject and mock this experience claim. Tongues are a language or dialect spoken somewhere in the world  but not spoken or understood by the person speaking them.

 

Many reject this work of the Spirit for a variety of reasons - some because of religious tradition; some because of ignorance - whether that ignorance is willful or just a lack of knowledge; some reject knowing that tongues are real and still reject the truth; while others viciously oppose this great experience and equate it along side demonic activity.  The Holy Spirit is God and in this writer's humble opinion, if one is happily "fighting" against the baptism in the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, they are resisting the work of the Holy Ghost.

 

Now I know those may be fighting words for some, especially those in denominational circles, but neighbor we can't pick and choose what we wish to believe concerning the Holy Spirit and expect the Spirit of God to endorse what we do and say. If there is a resistance in one's heart to ANYTHING the HOLY GHOST does there will more than likely be resistance to other things the Spirit seeks to do as well! Unbelief tends to be very contagious! We've said it a million times before but will say it a million times and one - the issue is not the tongues - the issue is the power of the Holy Ghost.

 

I'm asked often, "why tongues," why didn't God choose a more clear cut path for one to receive the infilling of the Spirit than for the individual who receives the mighty baptism of the Spirit to speak in another language other than their own?  There is no clear cut answer but I will say this. Sometimes God uses offensive things to our flesh to cut and expose the true motives and true nature of our hearts! I heard someone say many years back which is totally correct that God offends the mind to get to our hearts. How true a statement that is. The great prophet Isaiah declared nearly 2700 years ago that   "with stammering lips and unknown tongues, I will SPEAK to this people, YET THEY WILL NOT HEAR." The Holy Spirit repeated this passage in 1 Cor. 14 during the Apostle Paul's great discourse on tongues and prophecy concerning the New Covenant Church. God uses the ministry gift of tongues and interpretation to "speak" to His people, YET THEY WILL NOT HEAR!

 

Isaiah 28:11-12
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. [12] To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
 

All of this was incorporated in Peter's message concerning the anointing of the Holy Ghost upon Christ in his great message to the house of Cornelius, the first Gentile to hear the great message of redemption and the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost. What took place at Cornelius' house is actually the pattern for all New Testament evangelism - get them saved and get them filled with baptism of the Holy Ghost. We will deal with this more in a future journal in this series but as Peter preached Jesus to the house of Cornelius the HOLY SPIRIT fell and they in Cornelius' house were baptized or filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues almost simultaneously.

 

Those with Peter heard Cornelius and his house speak with tongues," and declared, "they have received the Holy Ghost as we." When did they receive the Holy Spirit? On the Day of Pentecost when again, it is stated, 'they were all FILLED with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit of God gave the utterance."

 

Acts 10:46-48
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, [47] Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? [48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
 

Peter's team wanted to baptize Cornelius in water indicating these men had been saved but they ALSO had been gloriously baptized in the Holy Spirit "for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God." Let me make some folks mad here for a few minutes. When one speaks in tongues they are not uttering gibberish, chatter, babble, or any other "incantation," that comes from the heart of men or of Satan which preachers and other Christian leaders try to claim. The Bible says that when one speaks in tongues the individual doing such is "magnifying God"  and praising His Holy Name.  It was the same on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost first fell upon the 120 gathered on the Temple step - they heard them declare "the wonderful works of God!"

 

Acts 2:1-11
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. [2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. [5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. [6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. [7] And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? [8] And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? [9] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, [10] Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, [11] Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

 

Tongues are part of the anointing of the Spirit and are a vital part to the service and work of the believer yet the modern church world tries so hard to separate them along with the other gifts of the Spirit from such. The issue is not the experience but the ANOINTING of the Spirit that MUST rest upon the believer if true Spiritual growth is to take place in one's Christian walk and true Spirit-produced ministry takes place.

 

One cannot live for God without the help and power of the Holy Spirit - pure and simple - no exceptions - no questions and no debate. If one rejects or has a hard time believing what the Word of God says about the Spirit's ministry concerning tongues and prophecy, what makes us think we'll believe the Word of God on other things? A favorite phrase in many churches is "we believe the Bible from cover to cover," but mention Acts 2:4 and see half the pastors and people run for the door! One pastor told a friend of mine who had just received the baptism in the Spirit that he needed to "skip over" the book of Acts and not read that book as it relates to today. This pastor, who had degrees from here to Texas, told my friend that the things in the book of Acts "are not relevant to the modern church." They're not????

 

 If the Book of Acts, which was written by the HOLY GHOST and records the ACTS of the HOLY Spirit is not relevant then neighbor the HOLY GHOST is not relevant. Let this writer scream this at the top of his lungs: THE HOLY GHOST IS AS RELEVANT TO CHURCH AS WATER IS TO A FISH, AS AIR IS TO US FOR BREATHING, AS HEAT IS TO FIRE, AS ELECTRICITY IS TO LIGHT, AS CHRIST IS TO SALVATION. Take the fish out of the water and the fish dies and CHURCH if we get out of the STREAM AND FLOW OF THE HOLY GHOST then THE CHURCH WILL DIE NEIGHBOR, DIE< DIE< DIE< DIE< DIE! Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead - that's the state of many churches because the RIVER and flow of the SPIRIT has been stopped because of unbelief and theology just like this pastor. We need the POWER of the HOLY GHOST just as God had to anoint the Lord Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with POWER.

 

The Holy Spirit is VITAL to the walk of the believer, NO exceptions. Let me change that - the HOLY SPIRIT is the believer's LIFE LINE and source of power, life, grace, mercy, deliverance and freedom! Where the SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS THERE IS LIBERTY!  STAND FAST in the LIBERTY that Christ has brought us through the Cross and sent back through the ministry and outpouring of the mighty Holy Ghost!

 

Galatians 5:1-2  - Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 

2 Cor. 3:17 -  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty

 

Jesus knew Himself how vital and important the Holy Spirit's ministry would be to His disciples and us today now that He is at the RIGHT HAND of the Father in heaven. He understood the Spirit of God in THIS AGE who would be the revealer of CHRIST and all things that pertain to Godliness to all those who came by FAITH and accepted what the Lord would soon do on their behalf and our behalf at Calvary's cross.


John 16:7-11
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. [8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] Of sin, because they believe not on me; [10] Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; [11] Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

 

John 14:16-22
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. [19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. [20] At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

 

John 16:14
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

 

Jesus said the Spirit would:

Without the Holy Ghost and His work in our hearts and lives as believers there will be little revelation of Jesus Christ and most of the time very little revelation of what was accomplished for the believer at the Cross! The SPIRIT OF GOD takes that which is OF CHRIST and reveals it to the church; He is the SPIRIT OF TRUTH, which points men to THE TRUTH - the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the Spirit of God there is NO drawing, no conviction, NO revelation and there is no exaltation of Jesus Christ! HE SHALL GLORIFY ME! That is why our total dependence and FAITH in Christ as well as our total acceptance of what the Spirit of God does for us and through us is so vitally important.

 

The Spirit comes to "abide," with the believer upon saving faith in Christ and we "know him," for He "dwells" within! The ONLY way we know that Christ is in the Father and we are IN HIM and He is in US - is through the MINISTRY of the HOLY GHOST.  That is how important the work of the Spirit is in our lives and that work cannot and should not ever be tampered with if we are to grow in grace as the Lord commands us to do.  Let the reader be clear however, that the Spirit's work is JUST beginning when we get saved, He's not finished and what He intends for us is not yet complete! Yes, we're ready to go to heaven if we're born again and never go on and receive the infilling of the Spirit. There is no argument on that whatsoever. Jesus however wants to endue us and baptize us IN HIS SPIRIT after we get saved so we can become a living dynamo, a living martyr for His name sake that He can touch untold lives of those we come around in the process!  At Salvation the Spirit comes to abide within; the baptism in the Holy Ghost is He comes UPON to anoint in power! Look at the last thing Jesus told the disciples before He left this Earth to return to glory:

 

Acts 1:4-5
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence

 

Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

Jesus was not talking to sinners here; He was commanding those who had seen Him after the resurrection (about 500) to NOT DEPART from Jerusalem until they receive "the PROMISE of the Father," which they had heard of Christ many times before. The Promise of the Father was the promise of the mighty infilling of the Holy Spirit which, as Jesus said, would flow through the disciples as "rivers of living water."

 

John 7:37-39
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [38] He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Luke 24:49
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
 

Jesus told the disciples in Luke 24:49 that the promise of the Father was an "enduement of POWER" from on high, not an event where they would gather to get saved again! This promise was to those already saved and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, just as this promise today is not for the sinner, but for the BELIEVER, at least the believer who wants this promise and ASKS. Before they were to start churches, evangelize, teach, preach, heal the sick, cast out devils, or any other ministry of the sort they were to be endued with power from on high!!!! That friend, is what the CRITERIA for New Covenant ministry should be today! The question today is how much seminary training and education does the preacher have; the Bible criteria for ministry is whether the preacher of the gospel or the teacher, evangelist, prophet or apostle is FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD according to Acts 2:4???!

 

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said when the Holy Ghost comes UPON you, you shall receive POWER, or "DUNAMIS,: which comes from a word that means "dynamo," or "dynamite," which make those who receive this glorious infilling "WITNESSES" UNTO CHRIST! The term "witness," comes from the Greek word "martus," or "martayoo," where we get the word, "martyr," meaning that when the HOLY GHOST comes upon the believer IN CHRIST, that believer will literally be ANOINTED as Jesus was anointed and become a MARTYR for CHRIST and to have the DUNAMIS, or POWER, to DIE to one's self and flesh, and live for God through the power of the Spirit. There is no OTHER formula for victory and Godly Christian living neighbor. NONE. Many want to take the word "witness," and claim that it means we are supposed to go door to door and pass out our church bulletins to the neighbors down the street who don't come to church. Actually the term "witness," does have a SMALL part of it's meaning in that sense that we are to be ambassadors for Christ but it goes way beyond what the New Covenant church has made this word "witness" into today.

 

Not to be unkind but most of the "witnessing," the church system claims today to do in the name of Jesus promotes  the church system instead of pointing people to the Cross. Of course if one is not born again to begin with, that's really all most can do if they attempt to witness about a Christ they've never met themselves; many know facts about the Lord; many sing songs "about" the Lord; many even pray to Him and say words that come from head knowledge of Him instead of having Him living, breathing, and MOVING in their heart, the result of true salvation and anointing! The result of such an individual who tries to witness about a Christ they do not KNOW is they point people to a system of religion or a church denomination!

 

Not all witnessing is like that but most is! Neighbor, we cannot give something away we don't have ourselves. If the blind lead the blind they BOTH fall into the ditch! We compass sea and land to make "proselytes" of people only to make them two-fold more the child of hell than they already are. Being born again means the Spirit of God forms CHRIST within the heart of the one placing faith in the Cross!

 

Scores of people in the church, including many preachers, preach about a God they have never met.  That's why there has been this damnable substitution for the true gospel message for every fad under the sun in these last days prior to the rapture. Many love to witness about their denomination and church but they do NOT KNOW CHRIST and thus what they witness to is NOT Spirit-produced or Spirit-condoned or Spirit-anointed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The Holy Spirit was sent back to the Church to get it to do more than go door to door and pass out a church bulletin and invite folks to weekly church services.  It has always amused this writer churches conduct witnessing "seminars," for their members who claim they are afraid or don't know how to witness for Christ. I wonder if our fear is because Christ has never truly come into our hearts and lives and we have nothing to tell a lost and dying world of what He has done for us. Neighbor, hear this writer: If we will get saved and filled with the Holy Ghost believe me we won't need to be taught how to witness for Jesus! The HOLY GHOST will endue us with such power that when we walk on the scene demons will tremble, hell will shake, sin will scatter, sickness will leave, bondages will be broken, and the gates of hell shall NOT PREVAIL against the church of the Living God. There is no mention the first church needing anyone to tell them how to "turn this world upside down," for Jesus. They had the anointing of the Holy Ghost on them in POWER and shook the powers of darkness from continent to continent, city to city, town to town, synagogue to synagogue, heart to heart, without fear or favor.

 

Acts 17:4-9
And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
[5] But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. [6] And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; [7] Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. [8] And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. [9] And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

 

Jesus is called the "faithful witness, " in Revelation and by the power of the Spirit of God we too can be a "FAITHFUL witness," OF HIM, not a witness to our church system or denomination or some godless program or fad we are trying to push.

 

Rev. 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness (martyr), and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Without the anointing, which is the same anointing Peter would address in this great message to the house of Cornelius, or enduement of power of the Spirit, one can never be this "FAITHFUL" witness unto death for the Lord. The anointing of the Spirit can change the hearts and souls of men and set the captive free.

 

Isaiah 10:27
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

 

How do we get this anointing and power that Peter spoke of that was in reality a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in part of the coming ministry of the Spirit of God? Well, I can tell you this without blinking - we DON'T get this power because we find the right 'purpose' in this life or we are connected to a certain church or movement. We don't get this because we even say the right things or try and set the right "atmosphere," for the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God don't act on "queue," neighbor. He comes to those with a hungry and thirst heart seeking more of Jesus and willing to accept ANYTHING the Spirit may do in their lives.  Jesus declared that "blessed" are they who 'hunger' and 'thirst' after righteousness and THEY SHALL BE FILLED.

 

Matthew 5:6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
 

The Holy Spirit through Paul says "be not DRUNK with wine, wherein is excess, but be FILLED with the Spirit." The Day the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, the scripture says they were all FILLED with the HOLY GHOST and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit of God gets the utterance. Salvation comes to those in sin as a result of faith in Christ and the Cross; the baptism in the Holy Ghost comes to those who are saved ad ASK the Lord Jesus to be filled! One must ASK for the mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of God gives the utterance.

 

Ephes. 5:18-19
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; [19] Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

 

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.
 

Luke 11:13
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
 

When one is initially FILLED with the Spirit, the Bible is clear that same individual WILL speak in tongues. Jesus said among the "signs," that shall follow them who BELIEVE is they will "speak with new tongues," which tells us the Master endorsed the mighty baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of speaking with tongues because HE would be the ONE DOING THE BAPTIZING!

 

Mark 16:17-19
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; [18] They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. [19] So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
 

Tongues are a spiritual utterance that helps one build up their most holy faith. Jude calls this "praying in the Holy Ghost," i.e. or praying in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance. You don't need an interpreter for this or the church world's approval to let you do it. The Southern Baptist Convention has forbid their missionaries from speaking in tongues on foreign fields in their private prayer time. One Maryland pastor wrote a column recently where he said the SBC did not have "room" for such experiences. Well they sure have room for the Purpose Driven Life fad and psychology and every other ungodly fad under the sun. If we don't have room in our private prayer time for the Holy Ghost then who pray tell me what do we have room for??? Someone told me recently "I don't need to pray in tongues in order to pray." Their answer is half right but it also shows the naiveté of their heart. I'm not dumb enough to think God only hears the prayers of Spirit-filled believers. ALL those who are born again can seek the face of the Father, which should be obvious. God answers prayers not based on whether we speak in tongues but on the basis of His everlasting LOVE and COVENANT He has made with us through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The idea however that if we reject the Spirit's power and wish to operate in our own strength then believe that results are going to come in full we're fooling ourselves. Friend we need the Holy Ghost IN EVERY aspect of our lives - praying, preaching, singing, living, breathing, getting up in the morning, going to bed at night, reading the Word of God and above all things - we NEED HIM TO HELP US PRAY!

 

Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [27] And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

 

The Spirit of God HELPS our infirmities the Scripture says. How does He do this?? Through intercession for us with "groanings that cannot be uttered," because we know NOT what we should pray for as we ought to in our human abilities! Let that verse sink into your heart friend. Let the words vibrate and echo to the halls of churches long sense given over the humanistic psychology and new age humanism and every false doctrine under heaven that will allow wickedness to reign in their church but they won't let the Holy Ghost come in and do what He so wishes to do. He MAKES intercession for the SAINTS, according to the will of God.

 

Some argue that the term "praying in the Holy Ghost" doesn't mean one prays in tongues but I ask you friend what else COULD IT mean? Paul says I "pray in the Spirit,"  AND I "pray with my own understanding," meaning those baptized in Spirit have the power and ability to pray in other tongues AND pray in their own native language. When we pray in the HOLY GHOST we are building our faith! Let me say it another way - when we pray in tongues or in the Holy Ghost, we are literally supernaturally communicating with God the Father and these prayers can never be interfered with by the enemy and we are affording ourselves the Spirit's help.

 

Jude 1:20-21
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, [21] Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

 

1 Cor. 14:13-18
Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. [14] For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. [15] What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. [16] Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupies the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? [17] For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. [18] I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:

 

If we don't want the Spirit's help in assisting us to pray He, like the gentleman He is, will back off and grant us our desires. That is why all the fleshly efforts in the world produced by a man-made program don't hold a flicker of a flame to one moment of true HOLY GHOST POWER. Satan knows this fact very well, in fact Satan knows it better than untold scores within the professing church know it.  That is why he is committed to stopping anything related to the baptism in the Spirit and spiritual utterances by the believer in tongues.  He knows when the child of God gets filled with the Spirit that child of God is a lethal enemy to his kingdom and if the HOLY GHOST is granted freedom to pray through that believer in tongues then Satan's kingdom is going to take a beating!!! Paul clearly says when we speak, or pray, in an unknown tongue, we do not speak to MEN, but to GOD!

 

In 1 Cor. 14:4 Paul brings the same conclusion to the table as Jude that the one who speaks in tongues "edifies himself," which is not a bad thing. People who don't accept the baptism in the Holy Ghost try and make it out to be something bad claiming that if someone speaks in tongues in a church service they are not edifying the church and don't need to do it. Well, if that individual is giving a "message" in tongues and does not have an interpretation for that message I will totally agree with that. But if the Spirit of God comes on me in worship and I began to worship God in tongues which I do often and daily - neighbor I don't need an interpretation for what is being said - the HOLY GHOST is not speaking something anyone needs to hear anyway but GOD!

 

1 Cor. 14:1-10
Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. [2] For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. [3] But he that prophesies speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. [4] He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifies himself; but he that prophesies edifies the church. [5] I would that ye all speak with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesies than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. [6] Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?

 

1 John 2:20
But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

1 John 2:27
But the anointing which ye have received of him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

 

The anointing of the Spirit is tied in many ways to spiritual utterances. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that if he came to them speaking in tongues (this tells us that the great Apostle who wrote 2/3 of the New Covenant and was given the great message and revelation of the Cross spoke in tongues) through supernatural utterances they were in essence receiving: revelation, knowledge, prophetic words, and doctrine, by the Spirit of the Lord (1 Cor. 14:6). These supernatural utterances PROFITS those who receive such GREATLY! Yes, all things are to be done for the edifying or "building up," of the church, and we should not use tongues as a tool to bring attention to ourselves. God forbid. But the anointing along with all supernatural utterances of the Spirit are also for the "building up" of the individual believer which is in reality "THE BODY," or the True Church.


Again, let us state this so there is no misunderstanding, of which there has been a lot lately among those who have taken great issue with what we write on this website recently. This writer does NOT believe that just because one speaks in tongues that makes that person or individual a better Christian or more "special" than the individual who don't. There are NO quick nor easy formulas for Christian victory or growth in Christ - even for those who speak in tongues. Victory comes by abiding faith in the Cross of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost. But friend, I state it again; we cannot live for God outside the power, help, and anointing of the Holy Ghost! We who are saved have FULL access to this great power source because of the blood of Christ and what He did for us at the Cross, yet very few actually embrace Him in fullness because of ignorance, unbelief or worse.   It scares this writer greatly when individuals sarcastically take pot shots at the work of the Spirit when it comes to tongues or any other ministry of the Spirit and act like they know everything there is to know about it because they quote one scripture or maybe two.

 

These type statements may very well come from a heart of ignorance but ignorance is not an excuse! Israel blasphemed the Spirit yet did so without the revelation of the New Covenant; many blaspheme the Spirit today in light of the FULL revelation of the New Covenant and millions of testimonies of people who have been gloriously filled with the Spirit and speak in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance.   When Peter stood and proclaimed, "God has ANOINTED Jesus," to the house of Cornelius - he was echoing those words to us who live in this generation that without the anointing that rested on Jesus, the church is lost, dead and will not produce ANYTHING that is of God. EVERYTHING JESUS DID HE DID ANOINTED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD AND WE CANNOT EXPECT TO PRODUCE ANYTHING TRULY OF GOD TODAY WITHOUT THAT SAME ANOINTING! The modern church has no excuse for not believing!

 

In the past there may have been a bit of reason for unbelief and ignorance; the Holy Spirit even said through a message of Paul that "in times past," God "winked" at such ignorance but NOW commands ALL men to repent!

 

Acts 17:30
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Acts 7:53
Who (Israel) have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
 

Israel received the revelation of God by the disposition of ANGELS, yet did not believe and died a horrible death because of unbelief. (Romans 11) How greater a death will we in the modern church die if we reject the same. That is why Paul warned us not to "boast," but "fear." Cornelius was hungry for God yet lacked saving grace and knowledge of what true salvation was really about. As a result of that hunger, God sent the Apostle Peter to preach Christ and the relation of Christ to the Holy Ghost. Had Cornelius rejected Peter's word, there would have been then been no excuse then for Cornelius to not understand the things of God in fullness. Cornelius did not reject the Word and as a result, "the HOLY GHOST FELL," as Peter preached Jesus to the first Gentiles!

 

Acts 10:44-47
While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. [45] And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. [46] For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, [47] Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
 

There is a difference between one who is ignorant and seeking more of God and one who is willfully ignorant and conscientiously rejecting something that is of God having no desire to embrace the truth of the Word of God on the matter at hand. This type person would not believe "even if someone came back from the dead to tell them it is right!"  If the HOLY SPIRIT is not endorsing and anointing the work then neighbor what is being done may be good and religious and on the surface seem very spiritual - but IT'S NOT OF GOD!

 

Those outside of Christ and faith in the Cross cannot really tell Who Jesus actually is, thereby not really understanding the Incarnation, or His Supreme Role in Redemption. Even when one is born again, the Spirit's work is just beginning, not complete!  That is why there is such false doctrine spewing forth from pulpits like a fountain that is damning millions to an eternal hell. Neighbor without the Holy Ghost anointing on the Word of God there will be no conviction of sin and no drawing of men to Christ - the ONLY way one can be saved! Once we are saved we then have access to this power source or anointing of the Spirit - the same anointing that was on Christ during His earthly ministry. However, if we reject the Holy Ghost and His ministry and operation among us we literally cut off the power source for all godly living, victory, holiness, and righteousness!

 

John 12:32
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

 

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

John 16:7-11
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. [8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] Of sin, because they believe not on me; [10] Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; [11] Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

 

1 Cor. 2:1
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

 

1 Cor. 2:14
But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

 

Neither excellency of speech or natural understanding will give one a true revelation of Jesus! He must be revealed through the ministry of the HOLY GHOST. This writer cannot stress this enough. When the ministry and operation of the Holy Spirit is pushed aside for that which is either of man or Satan we are left with this mixture we see today of half Christianity (and that percentage may be stretching it) and half new age humanism. Get mad at this writer. Get mad and accuse us of attacking the church which is not what we're doing. We love the church, the TRUE Body of Christ, the TRUE fellowship of believers, purchased by the blood of Christ. What we loathe and feel is sending people to hell in a hand basket is this apostate SYSTEM most Americans look to called "church," which is not "church," but a center of demon spirits that have deceived millions of people thinking they are saved when in fact they've never been born again. It is the anointing of the Spirit because we know it is ONLY the anointing of the Spirit on the Word of God that convicts hearts and brings men to Christ.

 

The Word Which Was Published Throughout ALL Judea, And Began From Galilee

 

Acts 10:37
That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
 

Luke records in Acts 10:37 that "the word which was published," throughout all Judaea began from Galilee, "after the baptism which John preached." This means that Peter's Word to Cornelius was no longer pertaining to a "Jewish" religion, but the entire world! John the Baptist proclaimed, "behold the Lamb of God which TAKES away the SIN of the World!"

 

John 1:28-29
These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
[29] The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

One day EVERY knee - both Jew AND Gentile - will bow and CONFESS that Jesus Christ is LORD! One day, the Messiah of Israel will reveal Himself to His Own who rejected Him so long ago but in doing so He will also reveal Himself in PERSON to the entire World!

 

Those who study their Bibles know that Israel is very important in the plan of God - both past, present and future - because she was the cradle and the womb if you will for the Messiah to come, but because of unbelief she rejected the Lord's ministry. As a result of her unbelief she was pushed aside for a season which we know opened the door for we as Gentile believers to be grafted into this great Covenant of Salvation. Most of the "rejection," Israel exhibited over Christ's ministry was related to the anointing of the Spirit and the power He displayed proclaiming Himself to be the Son of God.

 

As a result of this rejection the religious of Israel many times sought to connect His miracle working power that was produced by the Spirit of God to that of demon spirits. Jesus in turn connected their unbelief to hardness of heart and warned them many times that they were on the brink of blaspheming the Spirit and facing total destruction as a nation if they did not turn back and repent. Sadly, the religious of Israel never did and the nation suffered a horrible death as a result. How apropos are those statements to the modern times we live? If America goes down we have no further to look than to the unbelief choking the modern American church!

 

Many in other parts of the world sadly look at Christianity and equate it with the American church which is far from the norm of Christianity. The true church  in other parts of the world, especially in nations like China, Indonesia, Pakistan and other Muslim hotbeds, literally live day to day under a sentence of death because of the testimony of Jesus. These same believers however have a burning heart a flame for Christ with no thought or care for their earthly prosperity or preservation. Death to Christians in other parts of the world is an honor; here in America we're so selfish the idea of laying down our life for Christ flies in the face of all that is being taught as "gospel" in the Western Church.

 

That is why some lay the claim that true Christianity is a "western gospel," and has no influence or origins in the hotbed of Islam, the Middle East. Others claim this is just a "white man's religion," as many in Islam also claim!  The First Century saw the spread of Christianity to both Europe and Asia, but with greater success in Europe - ALL THROUGH THE POWER of the HOLY GHOST.  By the Third Century, however, it had begun to apostatize, which greatly weakened what Bible Christianity truly is. Through the times of the Dark Ages, the Word of God was taken out of the hands of the common man and placed solely in the hands of the religious leadership which sought to then become the "voice" of God to those under them. This system was birthed in the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which Jesus declared in Revelation, was a doctrine He "hated."

 

Rev. 2:6 -  But this thou hast, that thou hates the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

 

When the Reformation under Martin Luther began in the 16th Century, the door was opened again somewhat to the greatest move of God the world has ever known, at least after the days of the Early Church.  Luther's statement, "the JUST shall live by faith," sent shockwaves through Rome and broke the hold of paganistic Catholicism, with the Bible once again becoming the Standard and Criteria, instead of the Church "system," being the standard upon which the state and church were married together instead of the church being the church and declaring the Word of the Lord concerning the great gospel message to a world without God.

 

I don't care how great the "system" may make itself out to be in church circles, there is "no salvation" in the Church friend, but only in Christ. The True Church, bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus, recognizes this fact! Those who belong to the true church NEVER point men to the BODY as the church being the source of salvation, but ALWAYS point men to the HEAD of the CHURCH, the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone can save the souls of men.

 

The apostate whore church is so full of the devil and false doctrine that has so abandoned the Cross a mouse could not even get saved in most of these buildings that have the name "church" on the outside. You can be sure this writer is 100% against that because he knows the LORD is against such! When we say "saved," we're not talking about people coming down and repeating a prayer they don't mean or understand just to get them on our church rolls, but I'm talking about being BORN AGAIN, changed by the power of Almighty God through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we're not even preaching the Cross as the source of man's salvation, how can we expect people to be truly saved???? God help us. In His last message to the Church, Jesus rebuked the church at Laodicea saying, "you think you are rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing," yet you are MISERABLE, POOR, BLIND and NAKED."

 

He said this standing "outside," the door knocking waiting to get inside. He rebuked Laodicea and pleaded with her to "anoint" her eyes with His eye salve - which is the HOLY GHOST.

 

Rev. 3:17-22
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: [18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. [19] As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. [20] Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. [21] To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. [22] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

 

If you notice, His admonition to the Laodicean church was to "any man," not the church at large! Could it be that Christ is quite possibly no longer speaking corporately to us as both a nation AND a corporate system the world calls "church," for we have rejected that which He has said to us so much that as Hosea declared of the Lord's warnings to Ephraim of his idols who after admonition after admonition finally declared, "Ephraim is joined to his idols, leave him alone." Those words should send us all to our knees to seek God and beg for mercy on our nation and the professing church.

 

Hosea 4:17
Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
 

It's either the anointing of the Spirit friend or it's idols! The Spirit of God doesn't produce the harlotry and idolatry of new age humanism that has taken root in the American church today. When the Spirit is pushed aside however, idols are always the result!  John the Baptist was a forerunner of Messiah's first coming who preached "REPENT." When the Spirit of God is in charge of what is being preached, Repentance will always be foundation of the gospel message - no exceptions. Of course repentance is never popular and it don't draw big crowds to our events, yet, if we look at the words of the Spirit to the Church at Laodicea, a prophetic picture of the church of THIS HOUR,  we will see the SAME MESSAGE - "BE ZEALOUS AND REPENT!"

 

Rev. 3:19 - As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

 

As a result of John's preaching in preparing Israel's heart to receive Christ, many did truly  believed on the Lord when He appeared, releasing consequently the greatest move of God ever known to the world that began in Galilee. Some 800 years before John Isaiah prophesied:

 

Isaiah 9:1-2
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. [2] The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

 

Sin brought vexation and dimness to the human race which is "grievously afflict," by its effects; those who are still in its grasp today sit in darkness. But thanks be to God, 2,000 years ago, the Lord Jesus came in the power of Spirit such as Israel had never seen bringing Words of Life not only to hear but eventually for the ENTIRE WORLD who would receive and believe that which He would accomplish at the Cross. His WORD, which is the LIGHT to bring men out of darkness, was published throughout the land through the preaching of John the Baptist, whose "baptism of repentance," was first published in Galilee.

 

The same message was being heard once again in the house of Cornelius - the first Gentile to hear this glorious gospel and receive the baptism in the Holy Ghost. Neighbor, if you're a Gentile believer you are saved today because of the events that took place at Cornelius' house! The door was swung wide open to all those who now will but believe and come to Christ in faith - both Jew AND Gentile. Oh, Praise God. I feel the anointing of the Spirit come all over me as I write those words. All men were at one time in darkness before the revelation of Christ who as the LIGHT OF THE WORLD shined the GLORIOUS LIBERTY of the freedom only He could bring through the blood of the Cross!

 

We will pick up the theme of what Peter said about the anointing as we continue this journal in part two. We pray you know this Christ today. This the purpose of Spirit Journals - to shine the LIGHT of the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

 

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This journal is continued in part two