THE RIVER OF GOD

Enter The River of God as we Worship

I am very thankful to be part of a church where the worship is anointed, dynamic, where the Spirit of the Lord flows as we worship. 

Before getting into this message, think back to times and places you’ve been where the worship was different, in a good way. Have you been at a church that was “In Revival”, places like the Ramp, or Brownsville, or Toronto or other places where there was a great outpouring of the Holy Ghost? We’ve heard some stories of a move of God here years ago, when the church was packed and worship was exuberant. Share what it was like.

The Lord wants to provoke us to enter into a higher realm of His Spirit when we come together to worship. My wife and I were spiritually birthed in the Fire; we thrive on extremely anointed and exuberant worship. We didn’t need to go to a gym for a workout, we rejoiced in the Lord with dancing and whirling, shouting and making music, with all our might as King David taught us to. For awhile there was so much Spirit prompted laughter. Such an experience is the greatest stress release you could ever imagine. The following verses became so real as we were all “drunk in the Spirit.”

 

Psalm 126:2   Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Proverbs 17:22   A merry heart does good, like medicine…(There’s healing in this kind of laughter)

Job 8:21   He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.

Eph. 1:3   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

Psalm 2:4   He who sits in the heavens shall laugh…

Now that we’re much older we’re still eager to use whatever strength we have to worship the King.

Entering into this place requires some heart level understanding of the River of God, where’s its head waters are, where it flows, what it means to get in and get wet.

Psalm 46:4   There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

5   God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

John 7:37   On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

38   He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

1 Corinthians 3:16   Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Let that connection between these verses churn around in your brain for a minute.

With that in mind, let’s look at Ezekiel’s vision that shows us some of what happens in worship and when we are walking in the Spirit. Turn to Ezek. 9. I’m intentionally leaving out portions of the verses for the sake of time and to stay to the point.

Ezek. 47:1   In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side.

2   The man brought me outside the …and led me …to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the … gateway.

3   Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 583 yards…The water was up to my ankles.

4   He measured off another 583 yards and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 583 yards, it was up to my waist.

5 Then he measured another 583 yards and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

6   He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank.

7   When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river.

8   Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty… Dead Sea fresh and pure.

9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. (NLT)

This river and the trees are referred to again in Revelation,

Rev. 22:1   And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2   In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

So we see that these trees with roots in the riverbank. There’s life, there’s healing wherever the river goes. Do you see that the Lord is the source of the water of life? We are the conduit that brings those waters from heaven to earth. Miracles and healing are the norm wherever the River is flowing. This is more evident as you look again at Ezek. 47:1 where we see the water flowing out from under the door of the temple. Where to you ever see water flowing out from under a doorway? From a flooded room. There is a flood in the temple as the rivers of living water flowing out of believers hearts, come together forming this mighty river. Here is the headwaters of the River of God.

I grew up on the beach at the western end of Coney Island, Brooklyn NY and swimming in the ocean. As a teen I would swim out about 50 yards from shore into the deep water, out into the current. There I was passed the crowds, passed the rocks and could swim the ¼ mile or so from one end of the beaches to the other. Reading this passage in Ezekiel I see myself swimming out, getting to where the river reaches the sea and just keep on going effortlessly. In a similar way, look at what Jesus told the disciples to do:

John 5:3   Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4   When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5   But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net.”

6   And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

There is an application of this concept of launching out into the deep. I love praying for people at alter calls because it is where I have to launch out into the deep and experience a very special anointing. This stepping out is not exclusive to when we come together to worship the Lord in the congregational setting, nor is it exclusive to “the 5 Fold Ministry,” but that’s where tonight’s focus is. Do you have an experiential understanding of “entering into worship?” Launching out into the deep is to enter the Presence of God with “Reckless Abandon” When you do, anything can happen. Allow God to touch your spirit, just yield yourself, body soul & spirit, to the flow of the river, to the winds of the Spirit, to the Manifest Presence of God. When you do, there will be some outward expression. We may laugh, or weep, or shout praises, or manifest some gift of the Spirit, or run around the sanctuary shouting praises to the Lord, or get on the floor with face down and linger there for an extended period of time. There’s no limit to what such expressions may be. Remember there is healing in that river. There is a reason we Pentecostals were called “Holy Rollers”, and from our perspective, there is nothing negative in that. The manner of the expression is not what we seek, but experiencing the Manifest Presence of God is what is critical.

King David set the example for worship when bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem:

2 Sam. 6:12   Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.

13   And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep.

14   Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod.

15   So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

16   Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

David worshipped the Lord with Reckless Abandon. He took off his outer Kingly attire, danced and shouted praises to God, leaping and whirling as they publically paraded down the main drag into the city. Those who entered in this worship were greatly blessed. We were in a church of about 1,000 in Long Island for about 2 years. Men on the platform where required to dress in ties and jackets, but during worship the jackets came off. The large alter area was stuffed full with people doing the Pentecostal Jig and all our shoes were in a big pile. The River of God was flowing at Love Church. Miracles and healing was the norm. People living in the deepest pits of sin came and were saved very often.

Before I met Johanna, I was living in an apartment towards the north end of Main Street in Cortland, a small college city in the geographic center of NY state. Main St. had its share of shops, bars and restaurants, many catering to the students. I don’t remember if it was a vision or a dream, but I saw, in the Spirit, the river flowing. There was a spontaneous Christian parade down the middle of Main Street. We went down the stairs, into the street and, with reckless abandon, began to praise the Lord while walking south. The further we walked the bigger the crowd of excited believers grew. There where hundreds of us, walking and leaping and praising God. You could see the progression in the depth of the river. Maybe someday it’ll happen there but we need to experience such excitement when we come together to meet with King Jesus with healed, purified hearts.

POSTSCRIPT: Additional Biblical References to the River of God

Source of God’s Provision:

Gen 2:8   Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.

9   The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10   A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.

11   The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found.

12   The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there.

Looking at several maps that attempt to locate Eden and Havilah, it appears that Havilah is was near Kuwait and Eden west of there. Someone got the gold many centuries ago, perhaps Solomon, but now they have found black gold, Texas tea; Oil; another source of great wealth. Just like the wise men brought the wealth for this area to Mary and Joseph that financed their life in Egypt, the God’s river should flow through the garden of our hearts.

Psalm 65:9:  You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so.

There is life wherever the River flows. The rest of Psalm 65 expounds of verse 9, read it at your next opportunity.

OVERCOMING HINDRANCES TO WALKING IN FAITH

Feed your faith, starve your doubt, HEAR FROM GOD.

Is there anyone here who doesn’t struggle with doubt? Do you struggle with uncertainty about decisions you need to make? Are you one of those people who don’t think the Lord has ever spoken to them? Do you understand the difference between real faith and presumption? Do you struggle with double mindedness? Tonight we’re going to leave with a better understanding of the way out of these dilemmas. You’ll also have the opportunity to share how you found that way out.

Last Sunday we were taught a great Biblical definition of the the word believe. I looked it up in Strong’s online, the Greek word is pisteuō. It is translated:

believe (239x),	be committed unto (1x),
commit unto (4x),	be put in trust with (1x),
commit to (one's) trust (1x),	believer (1x).
be commit to one's trust (1x),

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walking-in-the-spirit

I think we can say that for most Christians, all the verbs listed in this definition are beyond doubt or question concerning the love of God and our salvation. But there is so much more to life, beyond those two things, where the struggles I just listed get very real. There are things in our minds and hearts that can be inhibitors to believing, inhibitors to clear decision making that is based on knowing where the Master is leading. Doubt, presumption and the lies of the enemy are probably the top 3. If Jesus is the Lord of our lives than we have to continuously follow His leadings, we must consistently be walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

Think about what it took for you do the actions listed in this definition concerning accepting salvation and God’s love. Take this a step further concerning the other most important commitment in life – who you marry. Anyone going into full time ministry, especially foreign missions, must be able to say that they believe God has called them to whatever that ministry is. An intellectual decision will never get anyone there.

To take the actions of believing is often referred to as “steps of faith” So this begs the question, where or how did you get such faith in something or someone that you would stake your life on it? Sometimes it takes a SUDDENLY from God.

Acts 2:2   Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

3   Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

Did you ever have a suddenly when in prayer? Suddenly you had knowledge and wisdom about from God, you know you should do something, perhaps outside your comfort zone. Talk about Grace Episcopal

John heard from the Lord that day in Patmos. Part of this “Suddenly” was a direct instruction to:

Rev.1:11   It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches…

Obviously he did what the Lord instructed, we’re reading and studying it now, 2,000+ years later. John understood that the Lord was the leader of his life and he knew that his leader loved him. I’ve said for many years that it is imperative that we, as disciples of Jesus, learn to hear His voice so we can follow where the Master is leading us.

Rev. 1:10 emphasizes the need for us to live in the spirit. There are countless verses with this same admonition. We need to be in the continual communication with God in whom we have our life, our being. God most often communicates with us at the heart level, in the spiritual realm. We are constantly making decisions and we should want His direction in everything. Sometimes His leading does not make sense to us because we it evaluate carnally or without our Father's infinite wisdom.

There are many forks in life’s road; we need Father to let us know which way to go. Spectacular manifestations however, are the exception, not the usual way God speaks to our heart.

Isaiah 30:21   Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

Such spectacular events were rare in the lives of the great prophets or the patriarchs, or any other Bible characters. They were few and far between in proportion to the ages of these people of great faith. I have had a few such experiences, although not as dramatic as John’s, and each has changed the direction of my life, or sometimes just my day. Elijah’s experience was very different and it shows this beautifully,

I King 19:11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;

12       and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

13       So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

We see, from in these encounters with God, that John and Elijah experienced the spectrum of God communicating with people. It is as vast as there are different people. How wonderful it is when suddenly we just know that we know that we know something. We experience that special something from God, that gentle nudge in our Spirit, that gentle touch on the heart that is His leading. We understand that the Lord makes ordinary grace for ordinary life stuff, and extraordinary grace for those extraordinary situations. God communicates with us in just the right way at just the right time.

These extremes from the lives of Elijah and John are examples of men who heard from God in a personal, life changing way. They heard what God said at the heart level and they believed. Sometimes we experience this while reading the Word, or in church, or when fellowshipping with other believers in Christ centered conversation, or more often just in our time talking with God. You are probably familiar with the following verse,

Romans 10:17   So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

That’s what it takes for you to have that personal first hand faith, the personal conviction April talked about Sunday. The Lord will provide direction your for life, or just wisdom to deal with a particular situation.

OK, let’s edify each other with some testimonies. Write in the comments area below about some time in your life when you “Knew that you knew that you knew” the Lord spoke something to your heart, you believed and acted on it. What was your SUDDENLY like. Maybe it was something pretty dramatic or simple but, importantly, it met your need. Maybe you stepped out in faith and exercised any of the Gifts of the Spirit or you were convicted of some area of your life you needed to repent of. 

With the GRACE AND PEACE FROM GOD You Have FIRM FOUNDATION

GRACE AND PEACE UNTO YOU

Farewell Message to Glad Tidings Tabernacle, Greer SC

Although our assignment at Glad Tidings is complete and they now have a permanent Pastor, this Blog will continue. This was my final message to the wonderful saints at that church and we will be in each other’s hearts forever. The Lord has a great future for that church and we are honored to have had a part in paving the way for the things God will be doing. 

Ecclesiastes 7:8   The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

The theme I shared in several messages when I first started at Glad Tidings was on Grace and Peace unto you. The expression, “Grace to you and peace” is used in eleven epistles in the New Testament. Such frequent repetition is worthy of lengthy meditation. The Lord knows how desperately we need these two in order to get through the realities of life on planet Earth.

Rev 1:4   John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come

Heb 4:16   Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace; that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I have wonderfully watched many of you receive this grace as you’ve gone through some tough trials of life over the past year. There is something very powerful about grace, and something so wonderful about the fact that God wants to give it to us when we need it.

Peace starts with Jesus, the Prince of Peace,

Isa 9:6   For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The complete fulfillment of this verse is hard to see if you look at the condition of the world today. Let us ever remember that we have dual citizenship as born again believers. Though we may be Americans, our eternal citizenship is in the Kingdom of God.

Rom 14:17   for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Peace is a key attribute of the Kingdom of God, it is ours as we walk in the Holy Spirit.

Matthew Henry said:

What blessing it is which he pronounces on all the faithful in these churches: Grace and peace, holiness and comfort. Grace, that is, the good-will of God towards us and his good work in us; and peace, that is, the sweet evidence and assurance of this grace. There can be no true peace where there is not true grace; and, where grace goes before, peace will follow. 

Philippians 4:5   Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6   Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

7   and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I urge you to continue to yield to, continue to experience, God’s grace and peace no matter what life throws at you.

My wife reminded me that part of our call in life is to lay foundations. Looking back over the past year we’ve done that. I’ve always tried to bring spiritual truths down to where we live, where the rubber meets the road. You’ve been taught the 16 Fundamental Truths, exhorted to walk in the Spirit, to be a people who hear the voice of the Lord and walk in loving obedience to the Lover of our Souls.

Over the year you were taught those fundamentals of what we believe and the application of them to life. I taught on the Tabernacle in the Wilderness exemplifying our roles as priests and kings. We talked about worship as detailed in the 1^st 7 chapters of Revelation. We talked about the gifts of the Spirit and God’s gifts of the 5 Fold ministries to the church. The love and respect you have demonstrated to Johanna and I are indicative that, as Melody once said, that you put what you are taught into practice. What a wow for a pastor to hear that.

I want to remind you of this prophetic message the Lord spoke to my heart about 4 years ago. At the time I was uncertain about the application so I just wrote it down. I ran across it a few months ago and saw how it applied to Glad Tidings and the rich history of revival in the church.

Dig wells for revival is coming. Dig wells for my glory will be poured out. Prepare your hearts for the blessing of the Lord that makes rich and adds no sorrow. For sooner than you expect you shall find fulfillment says the Lord. Your dreams, your visions, and the desires I put in your heart shall come to pass. Dig wells for the river shall flow for a time and the rain of heaven shall fall for a time, so dig wells to contain it for a long time.

Clean out the hard drive between your ears and make room for wisdom and knowledge of the Lord.

Proverbs 11:30   “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. “ 

In closing I exhort you to blend in with the new congregation, serve and love the new pastor as you have us. May there never be a distinction between those folks and y’all. You, plus all the Lord sends here, are Glad Tidings. Your roles will change but your servant hearts will grow.

Also, may desperation for real revival burn in your hearts. Those of you have experienced it in the past, like us, can’t stand the smoke. 

Always desire the real stuff, not the fluff.

Finally, you are a rare and wonderful bunch and we will always love y’all. You, Glad Tidings, have a firm foundation and we know you will be a great blessing in the future. Y’all are just too deep in our hearts and always welcome in our home.

GOD’S PROMISE OF POWER TO BE HIS WITNESSES

THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

GOD’S PROMISE OF POWER TO BE HIS WITNESSES

 If you prefer, the 30 minute audio file of this message is:  https://1drv.ms/u/s!AorNyYbt-j75aQwfPJ_gLw9Nbhs

Try to imagine what life would be like if we had something we really wanted—and even needed—yet could not possibly obtain on our own. Do you ever ask yourself questions like:

·         “If only there were a way...”

·        “I’m such a shy person; if only I could witness better”

·        “I sure wish I could help that coworker who is struggling at home, but I just don’t know what to say”

·        “Sometimes I struggle in myself, not living up to what I know God wants me to do.”

 Almighty God wants everyone to know Him as more than some vague concept, more than God way up there in heaven, more than some spooky mystical bunch of garbage that people fall into and end up worshiping some fancy piece of wood or stone. 

 Well, how do people find this out?

It’s usually by someone telling them. Just spouting out a bunch of nice sounding words you learned from a book or someone told you is pretty ineffective in bringing about the change of heart that has to happen for someone to come to Christ. Coming to Christ transcends the intellect; it is not a mind game. We are saved by grace through faith and faith is not an intellectual decision. Remember how we get that faith? Rom 10:17 says that it is the result of personally hearing from God.

The capability to communicate with God, and for Him to inspire you to speak in such a way as to build up someone, exhort or comfort anyone, in a way that goes beyond the intellect, starts with receiving His gift of the Holy Spirit. This goes beyond the indwelling of the Spirit that happens at salvation, it is an immersion, a saturation of your now alive spirit man in the power of God. 

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5-just-ask-jesus-into-your-heart/

The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a promise from God to every believer. It should be emphasized that this supernatural power is a promised gift for every believer. Because it is a gift, it is received, never earned. 

Some verses about the promise:

Indwelling

John 14: 15   “If you love me, obey my commandments.

16   And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.

 17   He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.

Baptized into

Luke 24: 46   He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

47   and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48   You are witnesses of these things.

49   I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1: 4   On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 

5   For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:8   But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Does Acts 1:8 sound like a wishy washy, maybe kind of thing? Of course not, it is as definitive statement as we saw in Gen.1 when God said, “And let there be…” and there was

The Promise is for all believers:

29   Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Peter was speaking to a group of people, not long after he received this gift, and take note of their reaction and what he says to them. It shows how God moved through the spoken word of a believer who was baptized in the Holy Ghost:

Acts 2:36   “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37   When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38   Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

What Happens when you receive this gift?

The pattern for what happens when experiencing this gift is spelled out through the book of Acts. In chapter 2 we see the very dramatic event on the day of Pentecost, from which we get our label as Pentecostals. There are several additional examples of believers receiving this gift. These include:

Acts 2:1   When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

2   Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3   They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 

4   All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The Baptism in the HG provides people with the supernatural capability to do things you could not ordinarily do, starting with speaking in tongues.

Acts 8:14   When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.

15   When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

16   because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Here we see another way the Lord gives this gift.

Acts 8:18   When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money

19   and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20   Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

What was it that Simon the sorcerer saw that provoked him to act with such ignorance (or was it stupid selfishness trying to maintain his control over the people?).It is a safe assumption to say that they spoke in tongues, especially in the light of these other verses.

Acts 10:44   While Peter yet spake 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.  

Acts 19:1   And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

2  he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

3   And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

4   Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

5   When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6   And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. (NKJV)

Results in the believers lives of receiving this gift

The gift is not just for you to have fun with it, or just to build yourself up in faith (1 Cor. 14:4). Remember we talked about Acts 1:8. Being filled with the spirit is God’s gift of power to be a witness of Jesus. This requires power over temptation so that your life is the evidence of God changing lives.

 Most importantly we are given this power to be witnesses of Jesus. Our lives change as we are empowered by the Spirit of God. We should be intensely motivated to share the Gospel and praying for every opportunity to do so with more than words.

Remember, all you have to do is ask in faith, understanding in your heart that the Father wants you to experience Him in a supernatural way that will change your life for good and forever.

Luke 11:11   If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?