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This is life of faith.net today.

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Let's begin today in John chapter 1. John chapter 1. And I'm going to begin in verse 32. This is John the Baptist here in this passage. And it says in verse 32, John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom you shall see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. The same as he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and I bear record that this is the Son of God. So John the Baptist is testifying, and he's testifying specifically to the fact that the one who sent him, the one who called him, the one who gave him his assignment, gave him an advanced alert that he would see one. And when he saw this one come, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him, that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And so he's testifying to that. It's on record. Glory to God. So heaven has on record, and now we have an establishing witness on the earth bearing record that there is one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Do you think this baptism with the Holy Spirit is something important? Do you think it's something vital to the church today? Do you think it's something that every believer should receive this working of the Holy Spirit, this manifestation of the Holy Spirit, this baptism in? If God thought enough to orchestrate the baptism in the Spirit, and thought enough to establish Jesus, the head of the church, as the one, the only one, the established one who does this work, glory to God, then I think every member of the church should give a new, fresh heed, earnest heed, a very close attention to what importance does this baptism in the Holy Spirit mean to me? How is it supposed to affect or change my life? Let's see the administration of this in Acts chapter two. Acts chapter two and verse one. Acts chapter two, verse one. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven. There came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. It was not a wind, it was a sound. A sound from heaven that filled all the house where they were sitting. And we know that it wasn't just in the house because if we go further, uh verse 6 says that when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together. So there were people who it wasn't just in this one room where they heard the sound. Heaven sent a sound. There was a sound that accompanied the entrance of the Holy Spirit coming into the earth. A sound from heaven. It says in verse 3, there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire, and it set upon each of them. Did John the Baptist say, the one who I see the Spirit descend upon? So he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus. Perhaps it was the ability to see in the Spirit. Perhaps God gave him discerning of spirits for that moment. You know, discerning of spirits is a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit. And we know the uh John the Baptist was anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon him in his mother's womb, right? And so the anointing was on him. Perhaps he was seeing, but he saw the Holy Spirit, not a bird, not a shadow, not a cloud. He saw the Holy Spirit from God. We saw in our last teaching the heavens were rent. It didn't say the clouds moved. It didn't say clouds parted. It says the heavens, talking about the atmosphere above the earth, were torn, clothen, one uh center column reference says, rent or torn. The heavens were torn, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven to Jesus and landed upon Jesus, rested upon Jesus. And now we see the a sound from heaven, and the Holy Spirit is resting upon each of them. The Holy Spirit upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues. And as a conjunction, it connects the two boxcars. Remember, conjunction, junction. What's your function? And you see the two train cars connect. The conjunction connects them. So they were filled and they spoke. They were filled, and what happened when they were filled? They spoke. How did they speak? The Holy Spirit gave them utterance. The Holy Spirit gave them utterance. This should have as much emphasis in our lives as the blood washing, as the freedom from sin. Why? Because Jesus is just as much the baptizer in the Holy Spirit as He is the cleanser of sin. As He is the life giver, as He is the one who redeemed us, as He is our Savior, He's our baptizer in the Holy Spirit. And a lot of times it has been given a lower place in the teaching, in the understanding as a result, because how can they hear except it be except they be preached? How can you hear the vitality and the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit if it's not preached? Faith comes by hearing. Faith in my need for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and my participation in the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes from hearing it preached. Hallelujah. So Jesus, the head of the church, is the one, the only one that scripture ever records, has been or ever will be the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. And I want to know him for all he is. I want to know him in every aspect. I want to have everything he is desiring to have placed in my life. Amen. So he is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. And Jesus did this. Jesus did this. Jesus did this. And we know that because when Peter is preaching in verse 33 of the same chapter, he gets up and he's preaching because everybody comes to see what's happening. And he says in verse 33, therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, that's Jesus being exalted, having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost. So the Father delegated to Jesus the promise for Jesus to be the one who releases the flow of the Holy Spirit, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He is the baptizer in the Holy Ghost. So he, having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear. And from the description in this chapter, what did they see and hear? Well, they could hear them speak with tongues. Verse 4 says, they began to speak with other tongues. It goes on and says, uh, it says in verse 6 that the people, the multitude that came together to see what this noise was and what was happening, they were confused. They were astonished, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And so they're asking each other, I know that this man, this Galilean, doesn't know my language. How is he speaking in my language? And it says, verse 12, they were all amazed and they were in doubt, saying to one another, What does this mean? And then others began mocking, saying, These men are full of new wine. Well, why would you say that? To say that they're full of new wine. I mean, we use that phrase new wine to talk about the freshness of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But back then they weren't talking about anything pleasant. They were saying, it's nine o'clock in the morning and y'all are drunk. They are drunk. Why would they assume, why would they come up with this mocking to say they are filled with new wine? They are drunk. Because would you just say that if I looked at you right now and I said, Gloria al Señor, Dios es fiel, sumisericordia, permanente para siempre? Do you think I'm drunk? How many of you understood that? I know, I know one did. Anybody understand what I just said? But did you think I was drunk because I spoke in another language?

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No.

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So just speaking in another language isn't going to make people think they're drunk. What was this that gave them the idea that they were drunk? And then Peter had to get up and say, these men are not drunk, as you suppose. Why? Because they thought they were drunk. So why is he thinking that? Because they're under the influence of the Holy Spirit. And most of the time when you see, when you think of someone uh drinking, they're they're laughing, right? Maybe a happy drunk. Right? And and they have lost all inhibition. And they are they are they are louder than normal. They're doing more than they would normally do if they were just under their own influence. But now they're under the influence of something. And that in their the influence of that alcohol is is is causing them to react in such a way. But these men weren't under the influence of alcohol, but they were under an influence. Under an influence of the Spirit of God, the spirit of peace, the spirit of joy. They were under an influence that gave them supernatural joy and gave them supernatural uh uh boldness. And so they are worshiping God and they are they are expressing their praise. We know that from this verse here it says they could hear them in their own tongue speak the wonderful works of God. Verse uh 11 says that. So they they heard them speaking praises and and acknowledging God. Hallelujah. But they were under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Having received the baptism in the Holy Spirit once doesn't mean you live under that level of influence without some participation, without some revisiting and some refilling. And that's why the Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians to be being filled. I think that's the amplified version. Be filled with the Holy Spirit to people who've already been filled once, but be being filled. And that means present progressive. Don't don't ever stop. Keep maintain a filling up and a filling up and a filling up. Not just maintain the fullness, but maintain the the filling up. Hallelujah. It is possible for a ship on the ocean or even a plane in the air to be refueled in the air. In mid-flight. They have tanker planes that can come up alongside those other planes and connect the fuel tank and fill their tank so that they don't have to land and then take off again. But they can just maintain course and stay full. On the ocean, it's possible for them to pull up next to and never slow down. They just maintain a speed, they get a speed, and the other vessel comes up alongside of them and gets the same speed, going in the same direction on the same course, and they fill them up and they don't have to stop, they don't have to set anchor, they don't, they they just maintain, they keep them full. Glory to God. They don't have to turn around and go into a port and go off course to try to get some fuel because the fuel has come to them. And God has supplied you with an ever-present help, an ever-present supply of his fullness, but you have to go through that participation of connecting and letting him fill you. Hallelujah. Glory to God. So it says here, Jesus received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, and he has shed forth this which they could now see and they could hear. Glory to God. Now, from this point on, we never see anyone again pray for God to send the Spirit because He has. And the Holy Spirit is here, and the Holy Spirit has been given. From this point on, the the way that people would address encountering someone who had been saved and had not yet received this fullness, this baptism in the Holy Spirit, they would pray for the person to receive. And so let's look at this because Acts chapter 8 is our first example. Philip is preaching in Samaria, and they have received the word of God. It says in chapter 8, verse 4, he went, it says verse 5, he preached Christ to them. So they've heard. Verse 8 tells us there was great joy in the city, which is evidence of salvation, because to have joy is a fruit of the Spirit. And so there's great joy in the city. And it says that they believed, because verse 12 says, when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, they were baptized concerning the kingdom of God, the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized. So they've believed, they're baptized. And in verse 14, I want you to see the reaction of the leaders of the church. When the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. So they'd receive the word, and immediately the church says, Well, then they need the Holy Spirit too. They've received the word, they're saved, they're born again, and yes, the Holy Spirit is indwelling them. They have a relationship with God, but they have a fullness yet to be received. And so we see here that number one, their immediate response was they need the fullness. They need the Holy Spirit too. And the second thing that we see from this verse is how they prayed. They prayed that they would receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon. So when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in Matthew 3, Matthew, uh Matthew 3, 11, Mark 1, 8, Luke 3, 16, and uh we saw it from John 1. Those are all four of the examples where the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus, and we see the word upon. The Holy Spirit descended upon him. Upon. And then we saw in Acts chapter 4 that the Holy Spirit rested upon them, upon each one of them. Hallelujah. And so now it's using this word upon again. Yes, the Holy Spirit dwells in you in the new birth. The well of water, John 4, that Jesus spoke of in John 4, that well of water springing up in you. There's a supply of the Holy Spirit in you, but there's a working of the Holy Spirit that is designed to work upon you, a coming upon you. Jesus said it this way in Acts chapter 1, verse 4. He said, You shall receive power. You shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And that's Acts 1.8. I'm sorry. Acts 1.8, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit. And we found out that the Strong's Concordance records that as the miracle worker. After the miracle worker has come upon you. Glory to God. So when you are standing in front of someone who needs the power of God to move in their life, and you're like, Lord, I'm about to pray for this person. I'm so glad the miracle worker is with me. I'm so glad he is upon me because I'm not on the spot here. Amen. Because I have the miracle worker. The Holy Spirit has come upon me. So a pawn gives us an understanding of how to recognize when when he's ministering through this means with us, how when he's moving in this way with us. Because it's it's uh a sensing. When we were worshiping, many of you may have have recognized uh uh the presence when the when the presence of the Lord came in. Glory to God. He was here when we came in because he came with us, but he b he came in a different measure. He came in in uh A moving and a flow as we were worshiping. And he rested upon us. Hallelujah. Glory to God. It says, as of yet, the Holy Spirit had not fallen upon any of them, only they were baptized in the name of Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them and they received. They received. So it wasn't a begging for God to send, but it was asking for them to praying for them to receive. And they prayed and they received. They laid their hands on them and they received. And again in Acts 10, which is in Cornelius's house, because Cornelius had called for Peter. Peter had had that vision. God said, Don't call anything unclean that I've cleaned. And so he calls for Peter Cornelius calls for Peter to come. And Peter goes, and some of the people from the leadership in the church there in Jerusalem, they go with him. And Peter is preaching Jesus to them. And Acts 10, 44. While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word. So the Holy Spirit, they're believing and receiving, because what were they, the whole reason they had this meeting was to find out how to get saved. They weren't being talked into it by this sermon. This sermon was just their how-to. And so every time he that Jesus was crucified for me, okay, Jesus rose again, okay. I believe that too. And so as they're pre as Peter's preaching this, they're receiving, and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word. And it says, they of the circumcision which believed, those people who came with Peter, they were shocked. They were shocked because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit, for because they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. So it was evidenced to them, it was proof to them, it was to them a solidification. It went across what they thought could happen. They didn't believe the Gentiles could get saved. But not only did they get saved, they got filled with the Holy Spirit. And what was it that they heard that gave evidence? They heard them. It says they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. So they heard them receive this fullness, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So speaking in tongues is not weird. It's natural to you, the believer. It is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And the baptizer, Jesus, is your head. And so if he thought it would, he didn't, he's not gonna give you anything that's weird. It's not weird, it's natural to you. This is for you. This promise is for you. This is the promise of the Father. I have this privilege, I have this equipping, I have this participation with God's own spirit. The Spirit of God Almighty is upon you and I by God's design. Hallelujah. And speaking in tongues is a part. This is not a denominational thing. The Bible did not set this in denominations. The Bible did not set this teaching as something only certain people in certain denominations, if you go to that kind of church. The Bible didn't do that. Men did that. Men separated that. Men separated this from the flow of the establishing of the church. If you follow the book of Acts process for establishing a church, the moment they got saved, we need to make sure they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And if you read through the letters to the churches with that understanding, you'll understand all of the letters to the churches, they just assumed they had the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They weren't addressing people. Well, I know y'all don't, but we do. No, everybody does. Everybody speaks in tongues. Why? Because we want you all to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They didn't stop until they they made sure. No, wait, wait, you got saved? Well, then you need the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Right? And then we have our our uh testimony from Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19, and let's look at verse 2. This is Paul. He's just encountered people in the upper coast. Uh he passed through the upper coast, came to Ephesus, and he found certain disciples. And he said to them, Have you received? What an interesting question. One of the first things that he establishes in meeting this group of believers, have you received? Not have you been given or have has God sent you? Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said, We didn't know about the Holy Spirit. And then he asked them, How are you baptized? And they, this explains it. They were baptized under John's baptism. So he preaches Jesus to them. And he preaches Jesus and they get baptized in Jesus' name. And then what happens? It says in verse 6 or verse 5, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them and they spoke with tongues. Now they were saved. They were saved in verses 4 and 5. Verse 6, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and and prophesied. They just got saved, y'all. They've been living under John's baptism, under John's preaching. They just got saved. They just received Jesus. And the Holy Spirit came on them and the Holy Spirit began to move through them with gifts of the Spirit. The gift of prophecy is a supernatural working of the Holy Spirit, a gift of the Spirit from 1 Corinthians chapter 12. This cannot happen just out of a person by themselves. It takes the utterance of the Holy Spirit to prophesy. And they got saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and a gift started working right away because the gifts aren't reliant on certain processes of time to operate. The gifts operate as the Spirit wills. The gifts operate as the Spirit wills. And you know, Jesus operated in all of the gifts except the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues. Because that was for this church age. That wasn't operative under the dispensation before the cross. But Jesus operated in the working of miracles. Jesus operated in the gift of the word of wisdom. He operated in the gift of the word of knowledge. Jesus operated in the discerning of spirits. He operated in the gift of faith. Hallelujah. Why? Because he has the fullness of the spirit. Why? Because the work of miracles was on him. Everything Jesus did, he did as our example. What he did on the earth. When you see his earth ministry, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is your example. Don't read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and identify with Peter. You are not built like Peter was built before the cross. Don't look and say, well, Peter on the water and Lord bid me to come. And he gets out on the water and he begins to sink, looking at the wind and the waves, and he begins to sink. And then, you know, we're just like Peter. No, we're not just like Peter. We are built like the one who's on the water book and saying, Come, given the word. We're built like him. Why? Because what he did, he did as a man anointed by the Spirit of God. What Jesus did in his earth ministry, he did to show you how you can do it. He was here modeling for you. This is how you deal with lack. You break it and bless it and offer it to God. Amen. This is how you deal with sickness. You lay hands on them, release the power of God into them, command them to rise and walk. He was giving us an example. So we don't, we're not built like Peter was before the cross. We're built like Peter after the cross and after the Holy Spirit had come upon him. But you and I follow the example of the head. And the head had the Holy Spirit operating through him because Jesus, 100% the Son of God, legally operated on the earth as the Son of Man. You are 100% a child of God. You're a son, you're a daughter. But the way you operate here on the earth is because God delegated to man authority. Behold, I give unto you the authority. Have dominion. The authority is in your lineage of that human aspect. I have the right here. Jesus did not heal anybody after his resurrection. Why? Because keeping it legal, keeping it legal. That's why, listen, when those demons confronted Jesus and said, We know who you are. You are the holy one. You've come to torment us before the time. They were, they thought. And one of it, it says, uh he he reprimanded him, he rebuked him. He's trying to scold him in God's name. For we know who you are, sneaking around here. Sneaking around here, the holy one of God. What are you doing here? And Jesus said, Shut up and come out. Why? Because he said, I've been given authority because I am the Son of Man. Man had authority. And so Jesus legally came so that the authority that God had given to Adam, that Adam had submitted, when Adam submitted himself, his authority came under subjection to Satan. But Jesus, he said, the enemy has come and he's found no thing in me. Why? I'm set apart. I am a man unto God, a man alive unto God. He had the life of God in him. He was 100% legally in a human body so that he could operate the authority over the wind and the waves. He could operate the authority over the flows of the the world. Hallelujah. And you have that authority. You have that authority. But Jesus, with that authority, was baptized. The Holy Spirit came upon him. If Jesus needed the Holy Spirit, if he was led by the Spirit in the direction God wanted him to go, how much more do we need the help of the Holy Spirit? How much more do we need? The leading of the Holy Spirit. Glory to God. So this is vital. This is important. This needs our attention. This working, this participation. What do you need from me, Holy Spirit, so that I can remain full? What time do you need from me? What do you need me to look at? What do you need me to do so that I can participate and yield to your fullness and follow what you have? The Holy Spirit, He's like the best trainer you could ever get. You know, the Bible says that God will not allow you to be tempted above what you're able to bear, right? Well, God's not the one tempting, but He's the one that's preparing you. So He He won't allow you in the ring to fight a heavyweight if you're a middleweight. He's going to no, no, no, don't put them in that situation. They're not equipped for that. But the Holy Spirit, He's the one training and preparing you and getting you ready. He knows what you're able to do, what you're able to take, what you're able to overcome. And He's there to prep you, He's there to get you ready. But you know, I paid for a trainer once, and you know what I found out? If I don't get up and go to the gym, they're no help. They can't help me from my bed. They can't help me when I'm in my pajamas on the couch. In order for the trainer to help me, I've got to be where the trainer is and where the equipment is. And so there's a lot that the Holy Spirit wants to prepare us for, but we've got to get in the Spirit. We can't do it from being in our head. We can't do it living out of our emotions. We can't prepare for what He has for us when we're scrolling. The preparation that needs to take place is a spiritual preparation. So we've got to get in the Spirit. Hallelujah. We've got to spend time in the Spirit with Him. I love this example that Pastor Nancy Dufrain gives. She says, if if you want to, let's say, for instance, that you were visiting and you said, I want to see some of the sites around town. And so a person comes and says, I'm going to take you, I'm going to show you around to my sites, around, I'm going to show you all of the things that are so great to see around my city. And so the person comes and they get in the car and they say, Okay, I've got 20 minutes. 20 minutes. Oh. Well, for me to take you where I need to take you, if you've only got 20 minutes, we can only go 10 out and 10 back. Because I got to have you back in 20 minutes, right? So you can only see what I can get to within 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back, because that's all the time you're giving me. And there's a lot the Holy Spirit wants to prepare us for, but we've got to give him the time to take us far enough into an understanding or far enough into a revelation or far enough into a place in the Spirit. Hallelujah. So how do we do that? What is our part? What can we do to prepare? What can we do to cooperate with him and participate with him? Well, we saw that when the Holy Spirit came upon them, the result was that they spoke with other tongues. And so let's look first at this. And Jude 20 gives us an indication. And I know some of you are saying, Pastor Michelle, you did some of these same verses in your last two messages. You know, when I had to learn the multiplication tables, they didn't pull out something new next week. They said we hadn't got the multiplication tables yet. Guess what? We're going to be studying today. We're going to be going over two times two is four. And two times six is we're going to go through the multiplication because that's the way that we get it instilled in us. So Jude, Jude is just one chapter. Let's look at verse 20. But you beloved, so we're talking to Christians here. Building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Building up yourselves. The Amplified says, build up yourselves founded on your most holy faith. Make progress. Rise like an edifice, higher and higher, praying in the Holy Spirit. Praying in the Holy Spirit builds you up. It doesn't give you faith, but it'll supercharge your faith. Why? Because you're bringing a spiritual supply into your spirit. You're charging your spirit with a supernatural energy of the Holy Spirit so that when you are taking the faith that's come by hearing the word, now you're going to have an energy to apply that with. So it says, building up yourselves on your most holy faith. You know, just to keep yourself in a place where you're praying in the Holy Spirit, you use your faith to do that. It's faith that keeps you there because your mind keeps telling you you're rambling, you're just mumbling, you're just, that's just, that's just, you're just making funny noises. Right? But but you know something that your mind doesn't know. You know something with your spirit. You know that when I pray in tongues, I am praying with my spirit. Glory to God. So, and it says, according to Jude, that I'm building myself up. Do you think you need that? Do you think you need that more than you know? More than you realize sometimes. Sometimes you like, whoo, I'm tired. I need a nap. No, we need to pray in the spirit. Because it's not just a physical tired all the time. Most of the time, what people are sensing is they've been drained. They've had so much pulling on their spiritual energy, so much demand placed on their spiritual account. They are are being overdrawn in the spirit realm. There's so much that we're trying to put out and trying to believe for and trying to change and trying to do for the kingdom and pay something off and dealing with things, but we can't just deal with it out in this area of our ability naturally. We've got to start tanking up, building our spiritual energy up so that we're dealing with it out of a spirit that is uh fully equipped to hear from God and respond to Him. Hallelujah. So building up yourself. Now, let's go on over to 1 Corinthians 14 because I've made reference to it, but I want you to chew on the verses. 1 Corinthians 14. Verse 2. For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God. He that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God. When you're speaking in tongues and your mind wants to tell you you're just making noise, what are you doing? This sounds, this feels foolish, and your mind starts going off on to other things and wanting to think about your grocery list and what you need to get on the way home from work tonight and all that other stuff, you've got to take The revelation in your spirit, and you've got to pull it up and renew the mind. I'm talking to God. I'm talking to God right now. Pay attention, mind. You got to discipline your mind because your mind will try to pull you over there and say, Don't you want to check and see what's on the news, what happened overnight on the news, you know, whatever. No, no, no. No. I want to talk to God. So when you pray in tongues, when you speak in tongues, you are speaking to God. You are speaking to God. He understands you. You don't understand you. And that's okay. You need to learn to be okay with that. You need to learn to trust in the help of the Holy Spirit. I don't have to understand what you're saying through me to believe that you're speaking through me. I don't have to know the details. But I am asking, Lord, because it does say that he that speaks in tongues, asks that he may interpret. Lord, I'm asking you to show me. Hallelujah. I desire to interpret. But notice, you speak to God. For no man understands him. Howbeit, in the Spirit, he speaks mysteries. Mysteries. The Amplified says, because in the Holy Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things not obvious to the understanding. Secret truths. Hidden things not obvious to the understanding. And that's what we need. That's what we need. Because my understanding is a lot of the problem. It doesn't have enough to know what to do. It doesn't have enough to know the full details of what's happening and why those people are acting the way they're acting and why they're doing what they're doing. And what's going to happen. But I don't need to know those to be able to deal with them. When I know that when I pray in tongues, I am praying things that my understanding doesn't have. So this scripture builds your faith to keep you on target while you're praying in tongues. Because your faith does need to be engaged. And what does your faith need to be engaged in? What I'm doing is profiting because I'm praying things I don't even know. I'm telling the truth. I'm praying out the answer without even having full mental knowledge of the answer. I'm still getting it. Amen. So notice here, this scripture strengthens us when we put faith in this scripture to maintain that praying in tongues. Because if I'm only giving him five minutes out and five minutes back, he can't take me far. If I'm only giving him ten minutes of my day, and if ten's what you got, give him ten, but work on more. Well, I pray in tongues for an hour every day. What we're looking for is a response. What we're looking for is a participation. So an hour's good. An hour's good, but it's not about a set formula of time. You understand what I'm trying to say here? My purpose is that I want to seek him until I have a green light, that I've got something accomplished. I want to stay with that praying in tongues until I sense a release that I've moved that thing forward in prayer. So when I'm praying, I'm I've got to stay engaged. I can't let my mind, I can't just pray in tongues. I can pray in tongues and iron my clothes. And still keep my focus on that's my spiritual hand on the wheel. Okay? So you can do things, you can drive your car, you can iron your clothes, you can wash your dishes, you can mow your yard while you're praying in tongues, but keep your spirit engaged. Don't don't just pray in tongues out of your mouth and and and lose interest and think about other things. Make your make your mind stay over there focused. Why? Because you need your faith engaged. I'm praying answers. I'm praying mysteries. I'm speaking to God. God is listening to me. If if let's say, for instance, that I walked over and said to Brother Chris, Brother Chris, I need to talk to you. And you know, Brother Chris, I need to tell you about something over here. And you know, oh, what a beautiful purple outfit you've got on. That is so nice. And I just I heard it was your birthday today. Happy birthday. And and and brother Chris is still over there, like uh were you talking to me? Right? When I'm praying in tongues, I'm talking to God. So I want to maintain my reverence. I want to maintain my focus. Like, Lord, I'm here to talk to you. And I'm here to talk to you, and my mind's not employed right now. My mind is not engaged necessarily with all the details that are in my mind, but my spirit is engaged, and so I'm gonna keep my focus on who I'm talking to and what we're talking about. Don't have to know in my mind, but I know in my heart that I am praying out things my mind doesn't understand, and they are truths. Okay? Now, verse 4. He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself. Well, that sounds like building yourself up, doesn't it? This word edify means to charge like a battery. He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself. Charging like a battery. Glory to God. Everywhere you go, there's a charging station. Right? I mean, you walk into a coffee shop and they've got charging stations. You get on the plane, they've got outlets on the plane. You get at the airport, they've got charging stations. And why? Because everybody's got devices that are demanding power. Your relationship with the Holy Spirit is a charging station for you. But you've got to plug in. Your speaking in tongues is charging your spirit with the supernatural power. He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself. Let me see this one in the Amplified. The Amplified says, uh, he utters with let me see if you've got do you have the Amplified there? I'm not seeing it on the screen for me, but I'm gonna read it over here. He who Yeah, we changed that. We're gonna have to change that back. Okay. He utters with his human spirit as energized by the Holy Spirit. He utters with his human spirit as energized by the Holy Spirit. Divine revelation's not explained. Is that the right one? He prophesies into the teaching, edifies and improves the church. Do you have it? Thank you. I apologize. We worked on the pro-presenter, and it's not gonna work for us what changes that were made there. So, okay. Umplified on the right. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but one who prophesies edifies the church. And so the edification, he speaks in a tongue, he edifies himself. Hallelujah. Is that amplified classic or amplified?

unknown 52:39

I think it's classic.

SPEAKER_01 52:40

Okay. Glory to God. So he that speaks in a tongue edifies himself. He he charges himself like a battery. Do you think you need that? I think we do. Do you think we could use a little bit more of it? Glory to God. I do too. So this edifying myself. The wisdom translation, the Amplified says improves. I was reading the Weast. He utters with his human spirit as energized by the Holy Spirit, divine revelations not explained. That was verse 2. So he edifies himself and improves himself. Glory to God. So that's one of the benefits that we're going to receive. That we would not receive if we don't participate. It's not going to happen because you were baptized in the Holy Spirit once. It's going to happen as you pray in tongues, as you yield to him, as you as you give your voice, and he gives you his utterance. Praise God. Now let's look at verse 14. Verse 14. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays. If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. So when I'm praying in tongues, my spirit is praying. Hallelujah. My spirit is praying. Notice he's making a distinction between praying in the spirit and praying in the understanding. And then he goes to say in verse 15, what is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. Ephesians 6.18 says, praying with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. So, yes, praying in the understanding is vital. We don't despise that. We don't neglect that because now we have the Holy Spirit. So we just pray in the Spirit in tongues and then neglect. No, we'll do both. We'll pray in the understanding. We'll pray the verses we know to pray. We'll pray the promises we know to pray. We'll take authority when we know to take it. We'll do what we need, know we need to do with the understanding, but we're not going to stop there. We're going to pray in the spirit. And it says, When I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. That's why I'm going to pray with both. And then he goes on and says, I will sing with the spirit. I will sing with the understanding also. Hallelujah. The amplified of verse 14 says, My spirit by the Holy Spirit within me prays. When I pray in tongues, my spirit by the Holy Spirit within me praise. Glory to God. My spirit is praying, and he's giving me the words to pray. Y'all, I prayed a long time. I really thought it would just be great if God could just give me Spanish like that, you know. Because I've worked to learn the verbs in Spanish, right? But I have a language that gives me a supernatural way to talk to God that God Himself understands. And the one who has been placed in my spirit as an ever-present help to live in my spirit is there giving me the words. So that I can speak directly, accurately. The exact thing that needs to be communicated. Hallelujah. I mean, it takes all the limits off. The only limit is when we don't participate. When we we're not giving him enough time in the spirit. So it says, when I pray in tongues, my spirit by the Holy Spirit within me prays. Hallelujah. So the Holy Spirit is there to help you, to give you those words to pray. Now let's look at Romans chapter 8, and we'll close with Romans 8. Romans chapter 8, let's look at verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit also helps our infirmities. He helps. The Spirit helps our infirmities. What is the infirmity? Well, we don't have to make it up. We don't have to surmise what it is because He tells us what the infirmity is. Do you see the colon right there? Now the colon is a representation that what's about to follow is an example of what was described on the previous side of that colon. So notice, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. So it's set apart right there. Definition include, be like parentheses right there. Here's your definition. Infirmities is not a sickness, it's not a uh a difficulty, it's not a trial. He helps us when we don't know how to pray as we ought. Why? Because we don't have all the details, we don't know the future, we don't have uh the clear understanding of what's in that person's heart. When we don't know, he helps us. And the amplified says, or the wee says he lends us a helping hand. He lends us a helping hand. You have had a pinto, remember me tell you you had a pinto? Listen, y'all, I've owned a pinto and a vega. Both. I have been there, done that ball fat t-shirt. Both of them. But that pinto, it didn't have a starter and it was a stick shift, and so I had to park it in a way that you would have to roll it a little bit so I could pop the clutch and it would start. Yeah, I know. And and so sometimes I couldn't find a hill to park on, and so I'd have to push it to get it going enough fast enough that I could pop the clutch. And and it was always a welcome sight to see somebody saying, Here, I'll help you. I'll lend you a helping hand. And them come and help me push. That's the Holy Spirit. You go to start praying for something, and he says, Hey, hey, I'll help you. I'll help you push that. I'll help you push that forward. You don't have to push that on your own to get it started. You don't have to push that situation through on your own. You don't have to push that breakthrough on your own. I'm here to help. Hallelujah. Let me help. You remember that's how I can help. Just let me help. Right? Let me help. That's what the Holy Spirit. That's why I'm here again today on this same verses again today, because the Holy Spirit said, Go tell them again, they need my help. Tell them again, you need help. I need help. We need his help. We can't do this without him. We can't do this in our own thinking. We can't do this in our own strength, our own power. We need the energizing that he brings to us when we pray in tongues. We need to charge like a battery. We need to have him lend his helping hand. Glory to God. So it says, He will help lend us a helping hand, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the heart knows what is the mind of the spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. So the intercession where he's going between with us in prayer as we're praying and he's giving us the answer, he's telling us what to say. The enemy doesn't know it. And I think that's one of the greatest reasons why God wants us to depend on the Holy Spirit. Have you ever heard of the Code Talkers? Anybody ever heard of the Code Talkers in World War II? They kept having difficulties because the Japanese were intercepting and decoding all of the messages that the Allied forces were sending. And so they would go to something, a battle, go to do something, and the enemy already had an idea of what was happening because they had intercepted the correspondence between the Allied forces, and they had decoded all of their plans. So they would try to change what they were using to try to code their messages, and they kept finding out how to decode them until the Navajo Indians began being used on the radios. And they would have a Navajo on each side of the radio, and they would say, tell them this, and the Navajo Indians would say it in Navajo to the other Navajo, and then they would translate it on the other side. So the radios, all of the communications between the Allied forces, they stationed Navajo-speaking people at those radios, and they they were the ones that were able to communicate, and the Japanese could not decipher their language, they could not decode the messages, and they had no clue what the Allied forces were doing. And so finally we're able to do something, and the enemy's not getting a head start. And so you began speaking in tongues, and he's giving you the words to say, and it's going across the airwaves, and the enemy's sitting there saying, What are they saying? What are they saying? I can't figure out. Now, wait a minute. I I don't understand. What are they doing? And you're praying, and it's he can't decode it, he can't figure it out. Glory to God. And so God's able to move some plans forward. He's able to move some things through. He's able to see that breakthrough. Why? Because the Holy Spirit's lending you a helping hand in prayer, and you're praying according to the will of God. And verse 28, and we know that all things work together for good. And connects verse 28 to verses, the previous verses to it. Without the praying in tongues, there are some things that are not working out for good. How are they working out for good? I've been praying in the spirit. And the reason they're working out for good is because I prayed the perfect will of God. I've been able to make the connection that frees the hand of God, that liberates the hand of God, that gives God the legal entry into my situation. And I bypassed my understanding and I bypassed the enemy's understanding in the process. He doesn't have a clue. I have faith. That's enough. I don't need the clue if I've got faith. I don't need the understanding if I know that what I've prayed is the will of God. And so I heard Brother Copeland say this, and I'm going to repeat it to you again as well. When he first began praying in tongues and yielding himself to pray for extended times, he would stop every once in a while and say, Father, according to Mark 11, I believe I receive what I just prayed. I believe I receive. I don't have to know it to believe I receive it. But I believe I prayed the perfect will of God. So I lay hold of it with my faith. And so he would stop, and that would help him stay engaged, keep that hand of faith on what he's doing. I believe I receive what I just prayed in the Spirit. Glory to God. We need this help. And the only way for him to help us this way is for us to allow him to pray through us. He can't do it for us without us. He can't do it for us while we're asleep. You know your voice has a signature that can unlock a door. I mean, they they have natural locks that are voice activated, and you can walk up and nobody else can, but my voice can be recognized. Well, in the spirit realm, there are things that your faith and your voice are registering to receive in the spirit realm. The registering to be on record. God has record that you believed you received when you prayed. He has record of the day you accepted Jesus as Lord. You believed with your heart, you confess with your mouth, and it's on record. And God can take you back to that moment on record and replay it. Glory to God. Well, when we're releasing our faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, your voice is required. Your voice is required. You can't pray in tongues silently. You can pray in tongues under your breath. It doesn't have to be loud, but you can't do it without your voice. Why? Because your voice is on record. And God can pull it back up and say, I have legal right to do that because they prayed it right here. Well, they didn't even know what they were praying. Yeah, but they released faith for it. They believed that they were praying the perfect will of God and they prayed the words that were given to them. We speak in tongues, he gives us utterance. He gives us utterance. I want you to be comfortable with him. I want you to be comfortable yielding to the Holy Spirit. I don't want you to feel like, oh, that's just we that's one of those denominational things. It's for you. The promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. Father, I pray for each of those who have heard your exhortation today. That you would give them a boldness to follow through, to give the Holy Spirit time to take them into the understandings and take them into the places in the Spirit. To get done the assignments in prayer that need to be accomplished. To stay with those things that need to be prayed out. Father, I pray for an endurance to be built within the hearts of your people. I pray for a hunger, Lord. Make us hungry for more of what you have for us in the realm of the Spirit. Teach us how to enter into that place, how to move in that place, how to flow with the Holy Spirit in that place. Hallelujah. I want to give an opportunity today if you're here and you've never accepted Jesus as Lord. Just give the opportunity. That's you, and you would say, Pastor Michelle, I need to accept Jesus and to know him as my Lord and Savior. I'm not walking with him where I should be walking today. I want to make that change. Would you just lift your hand right where you are? Hallelujah. If you would agree with me in faith, I'm going to pray for those who are joining us. If that's you and you would say, Michelle, I need to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I want you to pray this with me. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross. And I believe the Father raised him from the dead. And today I ask Jesus to be my Lord and to be my Savior. Hallelujah. Glory to God. The only requirement to receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that we first be born again. It is the promise of the Father to the children. The children of God. Jesus, the head of the church, is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. If you're here today and you've never received the fullness of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, I want to give you the opportunity today to be filled. Hallelujah. If that's you, just lift your hand right where you are. I want to pray with you. If you're joining us online, just lift your hands right where you are and receive the promise of the Father. If you've accepted Jesus as Lord, the Holy Spirit is for you. And he desires to fill you. And as he fills you, you will speak with other tongues. Just let him fill you. Hallelujah. For all of you who have already received of the Holy Spirit, your instruction is to be being filled, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, letting the Holy Spirit speak through you in tongues, giving yourself more time in his presence, cooperating with him. Hallelujah. Would you stand with me to your feet today? Did you receive? Hallelujah. Glory to God. Your life will benefit. The whole church family will benefit by the time each one of us are individually spending with the Holy Spirit. Because as we come together, there will be greater flows. And there will be a greater preparation. So that when we come together, we're at a different place in the Spirit. We're at a place farther along where He can He can speak some things and move us into some things. Hallelujah. And that's what we want. That's what we want. We want to be with where He's taking us. We want to see what He's trying to show us, and we want to go where He's trying to take us.