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Yes.
An example to help you understand:
A glass on the table partially filled with oil. You are the glass, the oil is the Holy Spirit, which came into you upon your new birth.
Now, God wants you to be filled, and again, it takes a step of faith. Seeking for, asking of God for this.
Notice the context for which Jesus spoke the following:
Luk 11:9 And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Luk 11:10 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Luk 11:11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
Luk 11:12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
Luk 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
So, when you get filled with the Spirit, there is evidence to this, and it is in the form of tongues and/or prophecy.
I will show you several examples in Acts to prove this. BRB
An example to help you understand:
A glass on the table partially filled with oil. You are the glass, the oil is the Holy Spirit, which came into you upon your new birth.
Now, God wants you to be filled, and again, it takes a step of faith. Seeking for, asking of God for this.
Notice the context for which Jesus spoke the following:
Luk 11:9 And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Luk 11:10 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Luk 11:11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;
Luk 11:12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
Luk 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
So, when you get filled with the Spirit, there is evidence to this, and it is in the form of tongues and/or prophecy.
I will show you several examples in Acts to prove this. BRB
Continuing the example above,
Now God comes over to you, the glass with some oil in it, and begins to pour more of Himself into you such that the oil is overflowing the rim of the glass. The oil pouring over the rim and flowing over, down the glass, onto the surface of the table, is evidenced in real life by tongues and prophesying.
NOTICE, how in every single recorded instance of this event in the book of Acts, people knew something significant had happened BECAUSE there was evidence - and that evidence was tongues, prophesying, extolling of God.
Now God comes over to you, the glass with some oil in it, and begins to pour more of Himself into you such that the oil is overflowing the rim of the glass. The oil pouring over the rim and flowing over, down the glass, onto the surface of the table, is evidenced in real life by tongues and prophesying.
NOTICE, how in every single recorded instance of this event in the book of Acts, people knew something significant had happened BECAUSE there was evidence - and that evidence was tongues, prophesying, extolling of God.
In ACTS 19:1-7, notice how these disciples that Paul meets on the way to Ephesus, had not even heard of the Holy Spirit.
What's really important here, too, is that when they did in fact get the Holy Spirit and were speaking in tongues and prophesied, there was not a "stranger" among them. They all knew each other, all spoke Aramaic (most certainly, having been disciples of John the Baptist), and there was "no interpreter among them" for which they were speaking in tongues!
These dozen received the Holy Spirit's power, and it was evidenced as such, and the thinking that people only spoke in tongues to evangelize people from other cultures who spoke a different language, is simply UNTRUE.
These guys were not speaking in tongues to one another! Who were they speaking tongues to? We know the answer intuitively, and Paul supplied the answer in his letter to the Corinthians:
1Co 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
And again, there was not a single interpreter among them, as they all spoke in tongues.
What's really important here, too, is that when they did in fact get the Holy Spirit and were speaking in tongues and prophesied, there was not a "stranger" among them. They all knew each other, all spoke Aramaic (most certainly, having been disciples of John the Baptist), and there was "no interpreter among them" for which they were speaking in tongues!
These dozen received the Holy Spirit's power, and it was evidenced as such, and the thinking that people only spoke in tongues to evangelize people from other cultures who spoke a different language, is simply UNTRUE.
These guys were not speaking in tongues to one another! Who were they speaking tongues to? We know the answer intuitively, and Paul supplied the answer in his letter to the Corinthians:
1Co 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
And again, there was not a single interpreter among them, as they all spoke in tongues.
You might rightly ask, "If what Todd says is true, can it be demonstrated of the original disciples?", and the answer is, YES IT CAN!
I doubt that there is a single "christian" who would not agree with the statement that the disciples got filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). This is true. This is clearly, obviously, when they got the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus told them to wait for (back in Luke 24):
Luk 24:49 And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high."
Luk 24:50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
Luk 24:51 While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.
Luk 24:52 And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
Luk 24:53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Okay, if it is true that the disciple got filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, WHEN, if ever, did they get Born Again???
Great question!
As I have been telling you, that getting born again is a different event from getting Filled with the Spirit. These are 2 different things.
ANSWER:
John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
John 20:20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
This is the "upper room" scenario that we just read a little bit ago in Luke's gospel when Jesus told them to wait in the city for the power of the Holy Spirit. Both gospels have a little bit more information, different from one another, but are describing the same event when Jesus appeared to them in the room with the doors having been locked.
When Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit", this is different than Acts 2. Here, in John 20:22, is when those disciples got born of the Holy Spirit, i.e. born again.
Great news, isn't this!
I doubt that there is a single "christian" who would not agree with the statement that the disciples got filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). This is true. This is clearly, obviously, when they got the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus told them to wait for (back in Luke 24):
Luk 24:49 And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high."
Luk 24:50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
Luk 24:51 While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.
Luk 24:52 And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
Luk 24:53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Okay, if it is true that the disciple got filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, WHEN, if ever, did they get Born Again???
Great question!
As I have been telling you, that getting born again is a different event from getting Filled with the Spirit. These are 2 different things.
ANSWER:
John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
John 20:20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
This is the "upper room" scenario that we just read a little bit ago in Luke's gospel when Jesus told them to wait in the city for the power of the Holy Spirit. Both gospels have a little bit more information, different from one another, but are describing the same event when Jesus appeared to them in the room with the doors having been locked.
When Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit", this is different than Acts 2. Here, in John 20:22, is when those disciples got born of the Holy Spirit, i.e. born again.
Great news, isn't this!
Wait! There is more! This passage is extremely significant!:
Act 8:14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
Act 8:15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit;
Act 8:16 for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 8:17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Wow! There are Christians in Samaria, who have been water baptized, but they lack something significant! So the apostles sent them Peter and John to minister this important thing that they were lacking.
Again, pay attention! They were already Christians! They had been water baptized. But they lacked something.
Act 8:14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
Act 8:15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit;
Act 8:16 for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 8:17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Wow! There are Christians in Samaria, who have been water baptized, but they lack something significant! So the apostles sent them Peter and John to minister this important thing that they were lacking.
Again, pay attention! They were already Christians! They had been water baptized. But they lacked something.
Now, how do we know that they did in fact receive this newer, in-filling of the Holy Spirit?
In this chapter, it's to be deduced from the sentences before and after that reading. Namely, that in v.18 Simon who had already been witnessing miracles and signs and wonders from the hands of the Apostles (v.13), saw something happen to these Christians in Samaria and attempted to buy the ability from Peter and John (v.19, 20).
Tongues and Prophesying, no doubt, were what he witnessed.
In this chapter, it's to be deduced from the sentences before and after that reading. Namely, that in v.18 Simon who had already been witnessing miracles and signs and wonders from the hands of the Apostles (v.13), saw something happen to these Christians in Samaria and attempted to buy the ability from Peter and John (v.19, 20).
Tongues and Prophesying, no doubt, were what he witnessed.
Yes, there is still more, and the amazing thing in this next example, is that it breaks certain "rules". God will not be constrained!
In this next example, we have Peter ministering to Gentiles about Christ, and Peter has along with himself some Jewish Christians (believers from among the circumcised).
We typically see and experience people becoming Christians (born again, i.e. born of the Holy Spirit) as their first step in faith toward God, and then we instruct them that they need to be water baptized and also get filled with the Holy Spirit, too.
But in this case, the people that were hearing the Gospel message from Peter, were believing in their hearts while listening to the message, standing there on their feet, and so the miracle birth was already going on inside them when next, they began to speak in tongues and extol God. All this happened PRIOR to being water baptized!
Acts 10:44 While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
Acts 10:45 And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
Acts 10:46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
Acts 10:47 "Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
In this next example, we have Peter ministering to Gentiles about Christ, and Peter has along with himself some Jewish Christians (believers from among the circumcised).
We typically see and experience people becoming Christians (born again, i.e. born of the Holy Spirit) as their first step in faith toward God, and then we instruct them that they need to be water baptized and also get filled with the Holy Spirit, too.
But in this case, the people that were hearing the Gospel message from Peter, were believing in their hearts while listening to the message, standing there on their feet, and so the miracle birth was already going on inside them when next, they began to speak in tongues and extol God. All this happened PRIOR to being water baptized!
Acts 10:44 While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
Acts 10:45 And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
Acts 10:46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
Acts 10:47 "Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
A personal word.
Now, when I teach all this to people I am ministering to, of course it seems a bit fantastic. The flesh (their soul) cannot comprehend or understand spiritual things. CANNOT. It is a divine fact.
1 Cor 2:14 The soulical man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Other English translations say "The natural man", or "The unspiritual man", or "The sensual man", but the absolute best translation is not in any of our English translation, at least not to my knowledge.
The Greek word that has been translated "natural, unspiritual, sensual", is psuchikos, which is the adjective form of the Greek psuche (soul). So the adjective form of the word soul, would be SOULICAL, or "man of the soul".
Therefore, God is telling us (via Paul) that the soul cannot understand the things of the Spirit, because spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
What this means, is that there is a big CANNOT about the soul energy attempting to do or come into the heavenlies. Yes, we will gain or keep our souls, and they are being renewed, but we are NOT to attempt to do God's work through the energy of our soul (mind, heart, will power). This is the mistake Adam & Eve made in the garden of eden.
So in my helping people to cope with "how to receive the Holy Spirit and not be afraid of speaking in tongues, etc.", I tell them this:
Let us pretend that you are to be a person who gets the gift of healing. Can you imagine this just for a minute with me? Imagine that God is going to give you this gift such that anybody you lay hands on, will get healed.
So let's pretend that a few feet away from us is a man in a wheelchair, and it is God's will that you are going to heal that man so that when you lay hands on him he will get out of that chair and be able to walk. Can you imagine this now, just for a minute, please?
Okay. So now, how do you think this gift of healing would be imparted to you? Really now. Try to imagine the mechanism, or manner, in which you receive this gift.
Would it be like this? We are sitting here in this room, and all of a sudden a rushing noise comes against the windows, and they burst in and all the glass breaks, WOW, and then a type of tornado begins to spin inside this room where we are, and all of sudden you are lifted up out of your seat and begin to levitate across the room to where the man in the wheelchair is, and then you feel a force from God forcing you to extend your arm and hand and touch the man in the wheelchair, and again, somehow you know to speak some words to the man, and wahlah.. he is healed!
Do you think that is how it would happen? Do you think God would force Himself and this gift upon you to do His will?
Everybody I have used this illustration on has replied "No", and they are correct in saying so. God would not force the situation like that.
So how then? How does a person receive a gift?
ANSWER: Just like everything else in God. A step of faith.
We got born again because we stepped out in faith and believed the message.
We cannot please God without faith. (Hebrews 11:6)
To receive the Holy Spirit and get born again, we step forward in faith.
To receive the Filling (or baptizing) of the Holy Spirit, we step forward in faith.
Yes, to receive the gift of healing, if it is the Holy Spirit's choosing for you, it would be by faith. He would not spin you around and force Himself on you. You would be seeking the gifts of the Spirit
1 Cor 14:1 Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts,
and more than likely, the Holy Spirit would give you a prompting inside your spirit, such that it came into your conscience that God was wanting you to do something.
All these things, gifts of the Spirit, are received and acted upon in faith.
Now, when I teach all this to people I am ministering to, of course it seems a bit fantastic. The flesh (their soul) cannot comprehend or understand spiritual things. CANNOT. It is a divine fact.
1 Cor 2:14 The soulical man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Other English translations say "The natural man", or "The unspiritual man", or "The sensual man", but the absolute best translation is not in any of our English translation, at least not to my knowledge.
The Greek word that has been translated "natural, unspiritual, sensual", is psuchikos, which is the adjective form of the Greek psuche (soul). So the adjective form of the word soul, would be SOULICAL, or "man of the soul".
Therefore, God is telling us (via Paul) that the soul cannot understand the things of the Spirit, because spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
What this means, is that there is a big CANNOT about the soul energy attempting to do or come into the heavenlies. Yes, we will gain or keep our souls, and they are being renewed, but we are NOT to attempt to do God's work through the energy of our soul (mind, heart, will power). This is the mistake Adam & Eve made in the garden of eden.
So in my helping people to cope with "how to receive the Holy Spirit and not be afraid of speaking in tongues, etc.", I tell them this:
Let us pretend that you are to be a person who gets the gift of healing. Can you imagine this just for a minute with me? Imagine that God is going to give you this gift such that anybody you lay hands on, will get healed.
So let's pretend that a few feet away from us is a man in a wheelchair, and it is God's will that you are going to heal that man so that when you lay hands on him he will get out of that chair and be able to walk. Can you imagine this now, just for a minute, please?
Okay. So now, how do you think this gift of healing would be imparted to you? Really now. Try to imagine the mechanism, or manner, in which you receive this gift.
Would it be like this? We are sitting here in this room, and all of a sudden a rushing noise comes against the windows, and they burst in and all the glass breaks, WOW, and then a type of tornado begins to spin inside this room where we are, and all of sudden you are lifted up out of your seat and begin to levitate across the room to where the man in the wheelchair is, and then you feel a force from God forcing you to extend your arm and hand and touch the man in the wheelchair, and again, somehow you know to speak some words to the man, and wahlah.. he is healed!
Do you think that is how it would happen? Do you think God would force Himself and this gift upon you to do His will?
Everybody I have used this illustration on has replied "No", and they are correct in saying so. God would not force the situation like that.
So how then? How does a person receive a gift?
ANSWER: Just like everything else in God. A step of faith.
We got born again because we stepped out in faith and believed the message.
We cannot please God without faith. (Hebrews 11:6)
To receive the Holy Spirit and get born again, we step forward in faith.
To receive the Filling (or baptizing) of the Holy Spirit, we step forward in faith.
Yes, to receive the gift of healing, if it is the Holy Spirit's choosing for you, it would be by faith. He would not spin you around and force Himself on you. You would be seeking the gifts of the Spirit
1 Cor 14:1 Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts,
and more than likely, the Holy Spirit would give you a prompting inside your spirit, such that it came into your conscience that God was wanting you to do something.
All these things, gifts of the Spirit, are received and acted upon in faith.
John 16:12 "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
So, as has already been typed above, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Spirit which began at Acts 2, and Peter told the listeners that what they were witnessing was for all those who believed, even to the events regarding the 2nd coming of Christ (moon turning to blood red) and that the promise was to all who were afar off, and to their children and children's children.
So, yes, if you believe that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are One.
2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
So, as has already been typed above, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Spirit which began at Acts 2, and Peter told the listeners that what they were witnessing was for all those who believed, even to the events regarding the 2nd coming of Christ (moon turning to blood red) and that the promise was to all who were afar off, and to their children and children's children.
So, yes, if you believe that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are One.
2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
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John 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Friends, you should get excited about the Holy Spirit. He is awesome, powerful, wonderful.
Your life will become far better and more pleasing to God, because you allow the Holy Spirit to have more government in your life.
When we live in our souls, God is not pleased and He is not on the throne in our life. But when we turn over the leadership of our lives to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to reign (denying our self), THEN Jesus can begin to move through you.
Friends, you should get excited about the Holy Spirit. He is awesome, powerful, wonderful.
Your life will become far better and more pleasing to God, because you allow the Holy Spirit to have more government in your life.
When we live in our souls, God is not pleased and He is not on the throne in our life. But when we turn over the leadership of our lives to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to reign (denying our self), THEN Jesus can begin to move through you.
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God cannot fill full vessels. He can only fill empty vessels. We need to be emptied of ourselves.
But this is not something that we can do in our strength (flesh). We must move forward by faith, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit by embracing the Cross.
Y'see, the Cross (all types of hardships) bring us to the Holy Spirit (for power and deliverance of any and all kinds), and the Holy Spirit brings us back to the Cross (for it is the power of God. Christ crucified from the foundation of the world!).
These 2 things go hand in hand. The Holy Spirit and the Cross. The Cross ever keeps us humbled, and the Holy Spirit in power always brings us back to more of the Cross, such that we LEARN to glory in the Cross.
But this is not something that we can do in our strength (flesh). We must move forward by faith, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit by embracing the Cross.
Y'see, the Cross (all types of hardships) bring us to the Holy Spirit (for power and deliverance of any and all kinds), and the Holy Spirit brings us back to the Cross (for it is the power of God. Christ crucified from the foundation of the world!).
These 2 things go hand in hand. The Holy Spirit and the Cross. The Cross ever keeps us humbled, and the Holy Spirit in power always brings us back to more of the Cross, such that we LEARN to glory in the Cross.
Jay, I did answer your question, but you were not seeing. In the flesh, Jesus did do such a thing, nor command, during His earthly ministry, but He did speak of things to happen after He left, which the record is full of.
So, do you or don't you believe the rest of the bible after the 4 gospels?
Do you believe that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are One?
Do you believe the gifts of the Spirit, are in accord with God's will?
Do you deny or accept the teaching of the apostles?
So, do you or don't you believe the rest of the bible after the 4 gospels?
Do you believe that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are One?
Do you believe the gifts of the Spirit, are in accord with God's will?
Do you deny or accept the teaching of the apostles?
J
how do you know its not a demon working through you? if your free will is not governing your life but you are directed by the Holy Spirit then you are not glorifying the Lord, you can not love the Lord because it is not you making the decisions it is the Holy Spirit.
we need our free will to worship or there would be no point in being here, no point in being tested, no point in learning.
we need our free will to worship or there would be no point in being here, no point in being tested, no point in learning.