In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of questioning and testing the teachings we encounter. He encourages listeners to examine whether the teachings align with God's word and the spirit of Christ. The speaker also highlights the danger of being slaves to prejudice and choosing to remain in a self-made prison rather than embracing the revelation of God's word. He addresses the controversy over different terminologies used to describe the experience of becoming a child of God, emphasizing that the key is to love and obey Jesus. The sermon concludes with a warning about the downward spiral that occurs when people reject the truth of God and pursue false experiences in the name of the Holy Spirit.

We rejoice that God has made such tremendous provision for our life on earth. Paul speaks in one passage in 2 Corinthians 2.14 that God always led him in triumph. There was never a moment when Paul was living in defeat. I don't believe that is God's will for us. We may go through it for a period, perhaps for a long period, to teach us our own inability, to humble us, to make us compassionate towards others who fail, because naturally we are so hard. But it's not God's will that we should be living in failure forever. It's God's will that we should walk in triumph. For the Bible says in 1 John 2.6, he who says he abides in him must walk as he walked. I think it was John Wesley who said that when he first read that, or when the truth of that came home to his heart, that he could walk as Jesus walked, it thrilled him that a mere human could walk as Jesus walked. Many look at that verse as something which is so demanding. John Wesley looked at that as a thrilling possibility. We can look at it in two different ways. The law could never help us to do that. Jesus came that he might open a way for us to walk as he walked on earth. For Christ did not come on earth merely to die for our sins, but he lived on earth for thirty-three years to demonstrate to this world how God wanted man to walk. And yesterday we were considering repentance, grace, and God as a Father. Today I want to talk about the Holy Spirit, God's gift to us. And I want to turn, first of all, to Matthew 1. I don't know if you know what the first two promises in the New Testament are. The first one is here in Matthew 1.21. It's the very first promise in the New Testament, something that was not possible under the old covenant. He shall save his people from their sins, not he shall forgive their sins. That David could thank the Lord for in Psalm 103, a thousand years before Christ came to earth. Bless the Lord, O my soul, who forgives all thine iniquities. This is more than that. He shall save his people from their sins. Not just forgive us for our sins, but save us from our sins, which is far more than forgiveness. That's what we thought about a little yesterday. Sin shall not have dominion over you, because you're not under law, but under grace. He not only forgives, he saves. Many when they think, when they say, I'm saved, they only talk about being saved from the guilt of sin, or from the wrath of God, or from hellfire. There is another salvation which makes that word complete in its meaning, and that is salvation from the power of sin. When it says here, he shall save his people from their sins, it means he's going to save us from our anger, and from our lust, and from our jealousy, and from our immorality, and from our impurity, and from our passions that are sinful, etc. The second promise in the New Testament is also a distinctive New Covenant promise. It's in Matthew chapter 3, verse 11. It's good for us to know the first two promises in the New Testament. As you know, there were so many things, three-quarters of the Bible is the Old Testament. You go through the whole Old Testament, and then you come to the pages of Matthew, and the New Covenant begins with two wonderful promises. One, he shall save his people from their sins, and second, the last part of verse, Matthew 3, verse 11, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Now, it's not surprising that these two promises with which the New Testament begins have been the points of greatest controversy throughout the history of Christendom. First, the teaching of victory over sin, of overcoming sin, is hardly ever preached these days. The devil has blinded the minds of people so they don't see this truth, and then the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the devil has made that such a tremendous point of controversy. He's got one group of people who've gone to such an extreme, a fanatical extreme, I would say, majoring on minors, and missing out the main purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and then going into many controversies, and never questioning whether all these are manifestations of the Holy Spirit. And then he's got others who see all this and react against it, and go to the other extreme, and who are scared of the Holy Spirit altogether. Now, which group do you think the devil's happy with? Both of them. He's perfectly happy whether you fall over the cliff this side, or fall over the cliff this side, so long as you go to the bottom. He's not bothered which side you fall over. Many years ago, the Lord said to me, don't let your life be a reaction to the extremes that you see in some Christians. I want to say the same word to you. In any area, there are extreme teachings on holiness, like the eradication of the flesh, and things like that, which are not true. We have sin in us till our dying day. It'll never be eradicated. We shall be like Him only when we see Him. But we can overcome, and progressively get more and more light on our sin. It's like climbing a mountain, becoming like Jesus. It's like climbing a mountain. I reach the top when Christ comes again, but I don't have to be down at bottom level all my life. I can keep going up. He who has this hope in him, 1 John 3.3, purifies himself as he is pure. So we are to become purer and purer and purer, from one degree of glory to another. It's not just one step from here all the way to the top, but it's one degree of glory to another, it says in 2 Corinthians 3.18. It's the same with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. As I've understood it, there are different degrees of fullness. When a person comes to Christ initially, he can be filled with the Holy Spirit. But his capacity is like a little cup, that's all. And that's full. You can't make it more than full. Then after a little while, it becomes a little bigger, its capacity. It can be filled again. Then its capacity becomes like a bucket, it can be filled again. Or like a tub, it can be filled again. Then like a little pond, it can be filled again. Then like a river, that can be filled. Then like Jesus said, many rivers. All starts with a little cup. So the newborn believer can be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul, at the end of his life, was filled with the Holy Spirit. There's a vast difference between the two fullnesses. One is the fullness of the cup, the other is the fullness of many rivers. And the thing that increases our capacity is if we take up the cross and follow Jesus every day. And I believe the greatest lack in charismatic Pentecostal Christianity today is a lack of the preaching of the way of the cross. That's why the capacity doesn't increase, and twenty-five years later you're still the same size. And sometimes even that's got holes in it, and there's nothing left inside. It's all leaked out. That's a tragedy. But that doesn't mean that there's no such thing as being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Just because some people had a counterfeit, as I said, nobody counterfeits a brown paper. It's only valuable things that are counterfeited. And if there's anything that's been counterfeited in Christendom today more than anything else, it's the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So I presume Satan must consider them extremely valuable to counterfeit it so much so that some people are satisfied with the counterfeit, and some people react against that altogether and don't have anything. But the fact still remains that these were the first two promises in the New Testament. He shall save his people from their sins, and he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. It's not a man who's going to save me from my sins, it's Jesus Christ. It's not a man who's going to baptize me in the Holy Spirit, it's Jesus Christ. It's not a doctrine that's going to save me from my sins, it's Jesus Christ. It's not a doctrine that's going to baptize me in the Holy Spirit, it's Jesus Christ. And when I'm not afraid of Jesus, I may be afraid and scared of a doctrine, but I'm not afraid of Jesus. He's the friend of sinners. I'm not afraid to come to Him to save me from all my sin. He won't lead me to extremes. Jesus Christ was the most balanced person that ever walked on this earth. There was not a speck of impurity in Him. There was not a speck of bitterness or hatred in Him. It was pure love, it was holiness, it was humility. He was saturated with it. I'm not afraid of Him. And to me, Jesus Christ is the perfect example of the Spirit-filled life. When I'm filled with the Spirit, if I'm filled really with the Holy Spirit, I'll be like Him. Are you scared of that? You want to be like Him? It's impossible to be like Him without being filled with the Holy Spirit. A lot of Christians are in a self-improvement program. They come to church, they hear a lot of good things and a lot of, I want to tell you something, Another thing which is true in both anti-charismatic and charismatic Christianity is the teaching of psychology. There's a lot of human psychology being preached from pulpits today, which is not from the Bible. It's closer to New Age teaching than the Word of God. Jesus, there is a lot of difference between the teaching of Jesus on faith and the teaching of positive thinking. It's not the same. Don't confuse it. There's a lot of healings going on today, which are psychological tricks. It's not healing from Jesus. There are many people who are frightened, who are made to be afraid by people who say, don't blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Don't question that, which you see there, because that may be from the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, don't, if you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, you won't be forgiven. And people are afraid of that verse, and don't question anything. People have told me that. And I say that it is also written, Beloved, believe not every spirit, 1 John 4.1, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. So I don't believe that we should just walk into a meeting and not question anything. If you don't question anything, you're pretty sure of getting a counterfeit. Any meeting I go to, I want to test the spirits. It says that in 1 John 4.1. Is this according to God's word? Is this in line with the spirit of Christ? This man who is speaking, is he drawing me to himself, or is he drawing me to Christ? Is he drawing me to his testimony, or is he drawing me to the word of God? These are good questions to ask ourselves whenever we go to any meeting. Is that teaching founded in God's word, or is it something so similar, but the teaching of psychology? Yeah, I believe we need to ask these questions. What is the word baptism? Baptism is not an English word. It's unfortunate that in 1611, when they translated the King James Version, they did not translate the Greek word baptizo, and transliterated it as baptism or baptizing, so that it wouldn't cause confusion in those churches which practice infant baptism. But baptizo and baptism just means immerse. That's all it means in the Greek. Go into all the world and make disciples and immerse them, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If those people who translated the scriptures, these scriptures, had translated like that, there would have been tremendous confusion in the church, and more light and truth. But they were told not to confuse and disturb existing traditions, so they were very clever. They translated it as baptism, which nobody knew what it meant. The same with baptizing the Holy Spirit. What does it mean? It will immerse you in the Holy Spirit. The Bible speaks of a river flowing from the throne of God in Revelation chapter 22. He said, I saw a river, pure as crystal, flowing from the throne of God, and it flowed down from the throne of God on the day of Pentecost into Jerusalem, on a hundred and twenty people who were waiting there. And can you imagine when a river falls, it's like the Niagara Falls. And when you stand under the Niagara Falls, you get immersed. That's baptism. That's immersion, standing under the river of God that flows from heaven, saturating and drenching me through and through. That is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And it's also called here a baptism of fire, because that's from the Old Testament symbol of the pillar of cloud and fire that came down from heaven. That was a huge pillar of fire that came and rested on the tabernacle in Israel, the Shekinah Glory. And that tabernacle is a picture of God tabernacling with men. It's a picture of Jesus Christ. John 1.14 in the original Greek says, And the Word was made flesh and tabernacled in our midst, dwelt in our midst. And it's also a picture of you and me, for our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the tabernacle of God. And the distinctive feature of that Old Testament tabernacle was not its pattern. The pattern is described in Exodus, chapters 25 to 40, and anybody can make a tabernacle like that, even today. The Philistines could have made a tabernacle exactly like that. But there's one thing in that tabernacle they could not have duplicated, and that was this pillar of fire. How do you produce that? That's the distinctive mark of that tabernacle. And that's the distinctive mark of the child of God, and that's the distinctive mark of the Church. This spirit of fire dwelling in our life, purifying everything, burning with glory, bringing the presence of God, bringing a reverence and a fear of God into the midst of God's people. I believe we need that more than anything else in all of our churches, whether we're charismatic or anti-charismatic or neutral. What we need is that pillar of fire. And when God was angry with His people, that pillar of fire departed. It says, Ezekiel saw the glory departing step by step by step over the threshold and finally leaving. That's what's often happened to Christian churches that were once filled with genuine experience and power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, they moved off into other extremes, they played the fool with sin, and the glory departed. It's happened to Christians, it's happened to churches. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was like the wind. Man born of the Spirit is like the wind. You can hear its sound, but you can't control it. You can't explain it, and I find it's like that. We can't dictate to the Holy Spirit how He should work. Many people think that the Holy Spirit should work in only one particular way. You know what Jesus said in Nicodemus, The wind blows where it lists, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit, John 3.8. So the Holy Spirit is like wind. When we read in the book of Job, in chapter 38, then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. So does God speak out of the whirlwind? He certainly does. But we read in Job chapter 1 that there was another whirlwind. Job 1.19, a great wind from the wilderness came and smote the four corners of the house where Job's children were living, and that smote them and killed all of them. Where did that whirlwind come from? From the devil. So is every whirlwind from heaven? From God? No. Is every movement that we see in a church from God? Not necessarily. There are whirlwinds from the devil, and there are whirlwinds from God. We need discernment to know where this one came from. God speaks through a whirlwind, and we also read in 1 Kings chapter 19, that when Elijah was all by himself in the mount, it says here, there was a mighty strong wind, 1 Kings 19.11, that rent the mountains and break in pieces the rocks. But the Lord was not in the whirlwinds. Don't think that every mighty storm that rents the mountains and mighty powerful preaching of people who march up and down the platform is necessarily from God. The Lord may not be in it at all. And after the wind and earthquake, the Lord was not in an earthquake. And after the earthquake of fire, the Lord was not in the fire. There was a fire in the book of Job chapter 1 that came from heaven. Elijah brought fire down from heaven on Mount Carmel, and Satan brought fire down from heaven in Job chapter 1 that burnt up Job's property. Don't think that every fire is from the Holy Spirit. There was a fire. The Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still, small voice, a gentle voice, and the Lord was in that. You see, some people have locked up the Holy Spirit in a box that He can only work in a certain way. He won't stay in the box. They think it's only if there's fire and thunder and shouting and banging the table and all that. That's the Holy Spirit. It's not necessarily. He could speak in a gentle, still, small voice that cuts deep into our heart, exposes our sin, cleanses us, encourages us, lifts our spirit, and sends us home rejoicing. And it could come in a still, small voice. Very often it does. So I mention that so that we don't get confused by all the teaching that's going on in the world today about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But I do want to mention this fact. If you're a careful student of the New Testament, you would have noticed. In the beginning of the first five books of the New Testament, you notice this promise. I showed you in Matthew 3.11. I want to show it to you again in Mark 1, verse 8. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. There it is. At the beginning of the first gospel, at the beginning of the second gospel, at the beginning of the third gospel, Luke chapter 3, verse 16, the last part, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. And at the beginning of the fourth gospel, John chapter 1, verse 33, the last part, the same as he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost, the beginning of every gospel, it begins with this promise, and then the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, where Jesus himself said to his disciples, Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verse 5, John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. What shall we do with a promise given at the beginning of the first five books of the New Testament? Surely it must be important. I don't see any other promise mentioned so frequently at the beginning of the books of the Bible. And if I were in Satan's place, I certainly would make this a point of controversy, so that people go to one extreme and counterfeits, or go to the other extreme and ignore it altogether. That's exactly what he's done. It says he's wise, he's more subtle than everything God has created in Genesis 3. But we're not ignorant of Satan's schemes, Paul said, and I'm not going to be made a fool of by Satan. To me the answer is this. How is it with Jesus? People try to argue about the Holy Spirit from logic. Don't we have the Holy Spirit when we are born again? We certainly do. Then what do you mean by being baptized in the Holy Spirit? I say, brother, I can't explain it. There are many things about the Trinity I cannot explain. How can three be one? I don't know. If I could explain it, God would be a man just like me. The fact that I can't explain it proves that it must be true. Don't you think there are a few things we as human beings understand which dogs can't understand? Have you ever tried explaining multiplication to a dog? Try it. Try and teach a dog that one multiplied by one multiplied by one, that's three ones, is one. Is it true? That three ones are one? One multiplied by one multiplied by one equals one. And even if you can teach addition to a dog by putting three bones there, one plus one plus one is three, you got him really confused when you say one into one into one is one. Why? But that twelve-year-old dog can't understand what my seven-year-old son can understand. How's that? Because that's a human being and that's a dog. You got to be a human being to understand multiplication. You got to be God to understand the Trinity. You got to be God to explain all the workings of the Holy Spirit, and I'm not. I don't understand. I only believe what God's Word says. So I don't try to explain and logically try to explain to people because I can't. I would have to twist scriptures to suit my theology and I don't want to do that. I found that God meets with those who have a need in their heart, not with those who want a clear understanding in their minds. Bible says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on to your understanding. I thank God for that verse in Proverbs 3, 5. When it comes to things in the world, mathematics, science, my intellect is more reliable than my heart. But when it comes to the things of God, my heart is more reliable than my understanding. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean to your understanding. Use it, but don't lean upon it. I use my understanding when I study the scriptures. And I say, Lord, the things here in my understanding God grasps. And I trust my heart where the Spirit witnesses with my spirit what is right. And when I'm confused, I find that the best thing to do is to look at the life of Jesus. You know, people are confused about this being born of the Spirit and anointed with the Spirit. I say, let's look at Jesus. He's the Word made flesh. And to me that means that He's the dictionary. See, when I read an English book and I come across a word I don't understand, I take an English dictionary and I turn over to that word and I understand its meaning. When I come to the scriptures, the New Testament particularly, and I come to a truth which I can't understand, I turn to the Word made flesh. That's my dictionary. And I say, Lord, let me look at your life and see how this doctrine worked in your life. And I get the answer. And just like in an English dictionary, you can hear a word, you don't know the meaning of it, and you think it means this, because all your life you believed it meant that, and you turn to the English dictionary and you discover the dictionary says something else. What will you believe? Will you believe what you've always believed, maybe what your father believed that that word meant? Or will you believe what the dictionary says? I'm sure all of us will believe what the dictionary says. Now, this is the same here. We've all had a certain tradition where we have believed certain things about the Holy Spirit. I had it too. But I turned to the dictionary. I turned to the Word made flesh. And I say, Lord, if it's like that in your life, I'm willing to set aside every opinion I had, because that could be prejudiced, and see, believe the truth today. It's exactly like looking at an English dictionary. And if I see the truth in Christ, and I turn away from it, the chances are I'll be deceived all my life. So when it comes to the Holy Spirit, what do I see in the life of Jesus? I see he was born of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came upon Mary, and he was born of the Holy Spirit. And then I see at the age of thirty, the Spirit coming upon him. What's that? He was anointed. All my logic is confused. Doesn't matter. I want to follow Jesus. I don't want to follow my logic. That one who was born of the Spirit, was later on anointed by the Spirit. And he never dared. He never dared to go into the ministry his father had for him, without being anointed with the Spirit. Even though he was born of the Spirit. Why? Is it because he didn't know the Scriptures? He knew the Scriptures at the age of twelve. Better than anyone in Israel. If it was just knowledge of the Scriptures, he could have gone out preaching at the age of twelve. And many people think today, well what we need is the knowledge of the Scriptures. I agree. But I also say that's not enough. I spent years studying the Scriptures, and I discovered that's not enough. Was it, is the important requirement living a holy life? He lived a holy life for thirty years. He'd never sinned. If there was anyone qualified to serve God with a holy life, it was Jesus. Do we need to have a holy life to serve God? Sure. But that wasn't enough for Jesus, and can't be enough for me. What did Jesus have? Knowledge of the Scriptures. Holy life. But he still needed to be anointed with the Spirit. Do I have knowledge of the Scriptures? Good. Do I have a holy life? Good. I still need to be anointed with the Spirit. But you say, I'm born of the Spirit. So was Jesus. You say, I know the Scriptures. So was Jesus. You say, I've lived a holy life. So was Jesus. He still needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That's my dictionary. Are you willing to admit that perhaps your understanding could have been wrong for many years? A day came in my life when I was willing to admit it, and it changed my life. But some people, when they hear that, they can be such slaves to their prejudice, that they'd rather live in their prison, which they've made for themselves all their life, than ever come out of it, into the glorious liberty of the revelation of the Word of God. But that choice is yours. I can't force you there. But, if you have a little hunger in your heart this morning, and if you have a little thirst, then I believe God has something to say to us. You know, the other thing is, a lot of people get into controversy over terminology. We can get into controversy over terminology about becoming a child of God. Here's one brother who says, I was converted. Here's another brother who says, I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Here's a third one who says, I was born again. Here's a fourth one who says, I became a child of God. Four different experiences? No. All had exactly the same. But they expressed it in different ways. And I, for one, am not going to get into an argument over terminology. You can take a vegetable, probably called by a hundred different names in a hundred different countries, but it's the same vegetable. I'm not going to argue about names. It's the same thing, brother. What are we arguing about? Words? Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6, he says, be careful about all these people who get into arguments about words. Arguments. He calls it, 1 Timothy 6.4, stripes of words. That's the expression, 1 Timothy 6.4. Stripes about words. And he says, stay away from that. Get away from all that. Perverse disputings of men, of corrupt minds. I don't want to have anything to do with that. I want reality. Call it whatever you will. I want to be converted, if that's what you call it. Somebody else says, you got to accept the Lord. Yeah, I want that. It's the same thing. Another fellow says, you must be born again. Yeah, I want that. It's the same thing. I was born again, I was converted, I accepted the Lord, I became a child of God. It wasn't four experiences, it was one. Different people expressing it in different ways. So somebody says, baptism in the Holy Spirit. Somebody says, being filled with the Spirit. Somebody says, anointed in the Spirit. Brother, call it what you like. But Jesus said, and this is what I want. John chapter 7, verse 37 to 39. This is the verse I went to. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man, ooh, praise God for that. Any man or any woman, thirst. What's the requirement? Not understanding, thirst. Not understanding, thirst. You can have understanding and no thirst. You won't get it. You don't qualify. If any man thirst, let him come to me. Who said anybody could come to Jesus? Anybody cannot. He only invited those who thirsted. Come to me those who are weary and heavy laden. That's not anybody. A lot of people are not weary and heavy laden. They are quite satisfied. He didn't say, come to me all of you who are satisfied. No. Those who are satisfied cannot come. Are you satisfied with your Christian experience? Sit where you are. The Lord is not inviting you. He is inviting those who are weary and heavy laden. Those who are sick and tired of their defeated life. Those who are sick and tired of their dry ministry. I was. I was sick and tired of my dry ministry. Sick and tired of my defeated life. Weary and heavy laden. Not sick and tired of some denomination or group. I remember one man came to us and said, Brother Zach, Yeah, I've also not been happy with this Pentecostal church. And I'm leaving it and I want to join you. I said, Brother, If you're sick and tired of a Pentecostal church, You come to us after a few months, You'll get sick and tired of us too. Because we're a bunch of imperfect people too. We're not perfect. But I said, if you're sick and tired of yourself, Ooh, come and join us. Because we're a bunch of people who are sick and tired of ourselves. We're sick and tired of our defeated life. We're sick and tired of our dry, unanointed ministry. And we're seeking God. We're not sick and tired of each other. We're sick and tired of ourselves. And Jesus said, Come to me, all those who are weary and heavy laden. Means come to me, Those who are sick and tired of themselves. Not sick and tired of this group, Or the other group, Or this church, Or that church, Or this doctrine, Or that doctrine. But those who are sick and tired of their defeated life. The dryness and emptiness of their ministry. The strife in their homes. The dryness in that church. People are sick and tired of that and say, Lord, I'm coming to you. I have problems in my life. I have problems in my home. I have problems in bringing up my children. I'm not sick and tired of anybody else. I'm just sick and tired of myself. I've been a failure in my life. I've been a failure as a father. Maybe you say, I've been a failure as a mother. The Lord says, come. All such people are welcome. I decided years ago, That I was not going to build a church of people who were sick and tired of other groups. But only those who are sick and tired of themselves. Not even people who are sick and tired of their wives. Or their husbands. But people who are sick and tired of themselves. Not even people who are sick and tired of their children. All these children. Brother, please go to some other church. We're gathering people who are sick and tired of themselves. Not children who are sick and tired of their parents. But those who are sick and tired of themselves. Come to me, all those who are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest. If any man thirst. Let him come to me. Not to a church. Not to a preacher. Not to somebody to lay hands on them. Jesus says, come to me. He's the only baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Let him come to me. And if you thirst. If you're honest. You can come to him. When I looked at my life. Those early years. My ministry was like a hand pump. We have many places in India where there's no water. They dig a well into the ground and put a hand pump about. Pump and pump. And sometimes very little water inside. A few trickles of water come out. And that was my life. Struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle. Few drops come out. Sometimes it's dry. Yeah, I was thirsty. I said, Lord, here it says that. Rivers of living water shall flow. From his innermost being. As the scripture has said. And the qualification is he that believeth on me. It's not just for the apostles. It's not just for some prophets. It's not for evangelists. It's for mothers. With many children. It's for young people. It's for 12 year olds. And 70 year olds. Anyone who believes. He who believes on me. As the scripture has said. Out of his belly. From his innermost being. Shall flow. Not just a cup. Not a bigger cup. Not a bucket. Rivers. Not one river. One river this way. Blessing people everywhere they go. Those rivers flow. You know. If you study the history of these ancient civilizations. Where they congregated. Maybe from the tower of Babel. They got scattered in the different parts of the earth. And you notice one thing. They always gathered round where there was a river. You know why? Because they couldn't sustain life without water. They always congregated round the rivers. And that's how it is. Where the rivers are flowing. People will congregate. People will travel hundreds of miles. To listen to a man who's got something to say. And you can be that man. If a river flows out of your life. They'll congregate there. That's how it is. That's how Jesus said it should be. Out of his innermost being. Shall flow rivers of living water. I want to turn now to the. Places where Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit. You know. Just before he went up to heaven. Just before he went to the cross. On that last night. At the last supper. He opened up. About the Holy Spirit. Things he had never said to his disciples earlier. You read Matthew 5, 6 and 7. The Sermon on the Mount. Not one word about the Holy Spirit. Amazing. You read all the teaching of Jesus. He spoke about humility. He spoke about faith. He spoke about so many things. Not one word about the Holy Spirit. But when it came to that last night. He spoke so much. He said, I'm going now. And you people are feeling insecure. You don't have to feel insecure. I'm not going to leave you orphans. I'm going to send another comforter. I've been a comforter for you until now. I'm going to send another comforter. Just like me. John chapter 14. And verse 16. This is the first time. Jesus is speaking about. The coming of the Holy Spirit. The very first time. He mentioned rivers of living water. As we saw in John 7. But he didn't mention the Holy Spirit. But here he makes it clear. He says, I'm going. And I will pray. Verse 16, John 14. The Father and he shall give you another comforter. Helper. One who comes alongside. That he may abide with you forever. Even the spirit of truth. Whom the world cannot receive. Verse 18, I will not leave you. Comfortless. Or I will not leave you orphans. As the margin says. Right now I'm with you. And you're insecure. Because I'm going away. But I won't leave you orphans. I will send the Holy Spirit. And that will remove all insecurity from your life. Orphans are insecure. Think how secure your children are at home. How peacefully they sleep at night. Because they're not orphans. They've got a dad and mom. To take care of their needs. They're at rest. Think if there was no money in your house. Your bank account is empty. And you don't know where the breakfast is going to come from tomorrow morning. And to top it all you've been sacked from your job. You don't know where you're going to get a job tomorrow. And maybe your landlord has asked you to vacate your house as well. You toss and turn and toss and turn and toss and turn in your bed at night. But you go and look at your five year old and he's fast asleep. He's not bothered. Because there's no breakfast. No job. No house. You wake him up. And say, don't you know? There's no food in the house. We've got to vacate this house. There's no job. He'll say, go and tell dad. Turn over and sleep. That's rest. I will not leave you orphans. But orphans. Think if that child was an orphan. No father and mother. And he's being turned out of the house. There are orphans in India who live on the streets. Insecure. They had to pick food from the trash can. Isn't it wonderful that Jesus said? I will not leave you orphans. You don't have to go around picking food from the trash can. Spiritual food. I'll give you the best. I'll make you sit at my table. I praise God for that. I don't have to go to the trash cans. The spiritual trash cans. A lot of churches today are like trash cans. What do they get there? Garbage. I thank God that Jesus has not left me an orphan. He makes me sit at his table. He gives me the very best. And when I read his word, he feeds me. The fatted calf. Not what the pigs eat. That's how it is. He will not leave us orphans, he said. And how is it we are not going to be orphans? He said, I'll give you. The spirit will come. That's the answer. The Holy Spirit will come. And I will not be an orphan anymore. Don't you want this Holy Spirit? Don't you want this one who will bring you to rest? Who will reveal the Father to you? Who will meet your needs? Who will water your garden? So that it isn't dry, but green. Why should anyone be scared of this? The same as Jesus. Another comforter. He didn't say a comforter. I'll give you another comforter. Another means there was one before that. Who was that? That was Jesus. And he says, exactly like me. You know, I sometimes thought when I was younger, a little child. Boy, it would have been wonderful if I had lived in Palestine. In those days when Jesus was walking around. If I could have been among those apostles. And walked with him. My cup would have been full. And the Lord said to me. That's exactly what you can have. When you have the Holy Spirit. Praise God. Another comforter. It's just like having Jesus with me all the time. I'm not surprised that the devil has made this a point of controversy. He will teach you all things. John 14, 26. He will bring all things to your remembrance. Whatever I have said to you. I thank God for the Holy Spirit. Who teaches me. When I come to his word. Things I don't understand. Who brings to my remembrance. The things I read in his word years ago. In the time of my need. You know how you may have. Kept the medicine on your shelf. And then in the time of need. You remember, there it is. That's the thing that will heal this sickness. That's how the Holy Spirit has brought to my mind. Scriptures that I read 20, 30 years ago. Which exactly answer my need right now. He will bring to your remembrance. What I have said to you. It's wonderful to have the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus said. John 14, 26. And he said. About giving the comforter. I want you to notice this. Which I didn't myself notice for a long time. You know in the Old Testament. Keeping the commandments. Was on the principle of the carrot and the stick. You know the meaning of the carrot and the stick. When you want a donkey to move forward. Donkeys can be quite stubborn like we are. You put a carrot in front of it. And you keep pulling. You put a stick in front of. Over the donkey's head. And hang a carrot in front of him. And he reaches out to that carrot. And every time he moves towards the carrot. It's moving forward. That's how they make donkeys move. Anyway. That's the principle of reward. You follow. I'll give you a carrot. The other is the stick. If you don't follow. I'll give you a whack. And you have to move. That's how we bring up our children. Because they are under law. I'll give you a chocolate. I'll get you a bicycle. If you do this. And they do it. That's the reward. The carrot. And the other is the stick. If you don't do it. Well. I've got a stick. These are the only two ways. We can get children to obey. The carrot and the stick. It's the only two ways. You can get donkeys to obey as well. The carrot and the stick. It's the only way. God could get Israel to obey under the Old Testament. If you obey me. I'll bless you. That's the carrot. Deuteronomy 28. And the latter part of Deuteronomy 28. If you don't obey me. I'll give you the stick. Okay. They obey. And it was always that. And anyone who's obeying God. For reward. Or a fear of punishment. Obeying God and the carrot and stick principle. That's the law. How do you know you're under the law? One way is this. You obey God. For reward. You type. Because you think you'll be blessed. Oh. I will open the windows of heaven. Bring your types into the storehouse. And I will open the windows of heaven. And pour you out a blessing. Which you will not have room to receive. People forget that that's in the Old Testament. It's in Malachi chapter 3. And they say. Oh. I want to type. What for? Because I want the carrot. It's not New Testament Christianity. What if God said. I'll give you nothing. Would you still give to God? I say. Sure. I say. Lord. You gave me everything on Calvary. What do I want more than that? No. Don't serve God for a carrot. The other. If you serve God. And if you do the right things. Because you're afraid God will punish you. Again. You're under law. That's the state. But Jesus said. Something quite different. Here in John 14. In verse 15. He said. If you love me. Keep my commandments. Not if you want a carrot. Or you're afraid of the stake. No. Forget those. That's the law. It's gone. We are under grace now. If you love me. Keep my commandments. If you don't love me. Forget it. Go and do something else. If you love me. Keep my commandments. You say. Lord. I love you. I want to keep my commandments. But they're so difficult. How in the world. Stop lusting with my eyes. How in the world. Can I control my tongue. That I never get angry. With other people. And give them a piece of my mind. How in the world. Can I keep my heart pure. How in the world. Can my yes always be yes. And my no always be no. Always speak the truth. It is impossible. In every command I look. How in the world. Can I be free from the love of money. When I'm handling it everyday. And I know. And he says. In the next verse. Yeah. There's a solution for that. I'll pray the father. And he'll give you a. A strengthener. Comforter means a strengthener. See in the middle of that word. F.O.R.T. In comforter. You know what F.O.R.T. means. Strength. Comforter. Strengthener. I'll give you. Someone who will come and. Help you. And then you'll be able to overcome the lust of the eyes. And then you'll be able to control your tongue. And then you'll be break free from the love of money. It was spoken in the context of. Someone who loved Jesus. Verse 15. And wanted to keep his commandments. And found it. Unable to do so. And the Lord says. I'll give you a helper. I wish people had. Remembered that. In relation to the Holy Spirit. Then I want to show you another verse. In John chapter 15. In verse 26. And Jesus said. When the Comforter has come. Whom I will send to you from the Father. Even the Spirit of Truth. He shall testify of me. See the Holy Spirit hasn't come here. To teach us a doctrine. He's come to testify of Jesus Christ. Please remember that. And I love that. Because. I say. When a man is filled with the Spirit. He'll lift up Jesus. He won't lift up himself. He won't lift up his experience. He won't lift up the gifts. He'll lift up Jesus. That's the way you know. Spiritful man. He shall testify of me. And. You also. Verse 27. Shall bear witness. I love this. You shall bear witness. And the Holy Spirit shall bear witness. And the way I understand it is. The Holy Spirit helps me to be a witness. Jesus said. When the Holy Spirit's come upon you. You shall receive power. Acts 1.8. And you shall be witnesses unto me. In Jerusalem. That's your home. Judea. Your immediate locality in your local church. Samaria. Surrounding districts. And the outermost parts of the earth. It's got to start at home. If the Holy Spirit doesn't help you at home. Please don't export that doctrine outside your home. If it doesn't work at home. It won't work anywhere. I'll tell you that. If your vacuum cleaner doesn't work at home. You think it's going to work somewhere else? If the gospel doesn't work in your home. You think it's going to work somewhere else? In Jerusalem first. Then Judea. Samaria. The outermost parts of the earth. But we got to be his witnesses. His witnesses. And. Here. It says. I'm going to bear witness. And the Holy Spirit's going to bear witness. And then there's going to be a spark. Have you ever tried this? Putting two electric wires together. You can't get a spark with one. Never. You put two together and there's a spark. That's how it is. And that's what I pray for. Whenever I preach. I say Lord. I want to speak. Testify of Jesus. And the Holy Spirit testifies Jesus. And says listen to that. That's from God. There's a spark. And that's how we're supposed to witness. And if you try to do it all alone. Everything you say may be correct. But there won't be a fire. You need the Holy Spirit backing you up. In everything that you say. You shall testify of me. And he shall testify of me. The Holy Spirit's not going to do it alone. And I'm not supposed to do it alone. Have you understood that? Even Jesus. Didn't dare. To go into the ministry. Before he was anointed with the Holy Spirit. What difference did the anointing of the Holy Spirit make in Jesus' life? Was he holier when he was 31? Compared to what he was when he was 29? He was anointed when he was about 30. That's why I asked that. No. He was just as holy when he was 12, 25, 29. As he was when he was 31, 32, 33. His holiness was the same. He overcame sin when he was 25. He overcame sin when he was 32. Did he know more of the Bible? He knew the Bible when he was 12. And he knew the Bible when he was 32. What was the thing that changed in his life when he was anointed with the Holy Spirit? His ministry changed. He had never cast out a demon for 30 years. Now he cast out demons. And he says, if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you. That's what he said. He never healed the sick before that. He never prophesied. He never preached before that. He never dared to serve. He could live without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But he did not dare to serve without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. You shall bear witness and the Holy Spirit shall bear witness. John chapter 16 we read. And verse 13. The Holy Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth. There's a lot in that. To show me all the truth in the scriptures and about myself. Do you want to know all the truth about yourself? Do you want to know how selfish you are? Do you want to know how proud you are? The Holy Spirit is like these guided tours, you know. There are guided tours of Israel. They show you this place, that place, the other place. The Holy Spirit will take you through a guided tour of your flesh. And say, this is the zoo where the lions roar at other people. And this is the palace where the king sits. Lording it over others. And we discover many areas of our life. Where we harm others, hurt others. It's a guided tour. He'll guide you into all the truth. I praise God for that ministry of the Holy Spirit. That's shown me so many rotten things in my flesh. That I can cleanse myself, like it says in 2 Corinthians 7.1. From all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Get rid of the lions from the zoo. And get rid of the kings from the thrones. And be like Jesus. The Holy Spirit will lead you into all the truth. And He shall glorify me, verse 14. He shall receive of mine and will show it unto you. That's the other thing He does. He shows me the truth about myself. And then He shows me Jesus. And says, this is how Jesus is. And I say, Lord, I'm the chief of sinners. I'm less than the least of all the saints. But I see Jesus. And He'll make me like Him. I believe that's the greatest ministry of the Holy Spirit. And that's why I'm not afraid. Because the Holy Spirit has come to make me like Christ. To me, the verse that describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit. More than any other verse in all the scriptures. For myself. Is in 2 Corinthians 3.18. 2 Corinthians 3.18. It says, we all with an open face. Beholding as in a glass. A glass means a mirror. Beholding as in a mirror. And the mirror is God's word. We read that in James chapter 1. I think it's verse 21 to 25. Somewhere there. He who beholds his natural face in a mirror. Looks into the law of liberty. This is the law of liberty. God's word. We behold as in a mirror. What do we behold? Not a doctrine. Not a teaching. This mirror. The New Testament especially has been given to us. To see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it says here. So I look into the mirror. And I see the glory of Jesus. I don't see the glory of Jesus anywhere else. It's not in visions and trances and all that. That I see the glory of Jesus. It's in God's word. It's in God's word. If I read God's word. Meditate on it. The Holy Spirit will show me the glory of Jesus Christ. In this word. He will take of the things of Christ and show it unto me. He will show me the humility of Jesus. He will show me the love and compassion of Jesus. The goodness of Jesus. He will show me the purity of Jesus. From his word. He will show me the glory of Jesus. Full of grace and truth. And then. It says we are changed. That's the second thing. We're changed into that likeness. Praise God. That same glory. He wants to give to me. And from one degree. It doesn't happen all of a sudden. It doesn't happen in one night. It takes a whole lifetime. From glory to glory. By the spirit of the Lord. That is it. By the spirit of the Lord. And when I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me into all the truth. To take of the things of Christ. And show them to me. The next thing he does is if I want it. He changes me. I cannot change myself. I cannot get rid of these lusts that have ruled my life. But by the power of the Holy Spirit. I can put them to death. How did Joshua and Caleb kill the giants in Canaan? Not because they were muscular. They were 80 years old. But they brought the giants down by the power of God. That's why the Holy Spirit has come. So these verses teach us a lot. I want to show you another verse in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Where Paul says. If he that comes to you. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Verse 4. If someone comes to you and preaches another Jesus. Than the one we preached. Is there another Jesus than the one preached in the gospel? Sure. There's plenty of it in Christendom today. It's another Jesus. Or if you receive another spirit. Is it possible to receive another spirit? Sure. I think lots of people in the world today are receiving another spirit. Not the Holy Spirit. And we must be careful. That's why I say. Be alert. Jesus said that. Be alert. There are many deceiving spirits operating in the world. So it's easy to receive another spirit. Or another gospel. Is there another gospel being preached in the world today? Sure. In Christendom. Another Jesus. Another spirit. Another gospel. And he says. I'm afraid. I fear. Verse 3. Now if you ask me. Why has God allowed all these deceiving spirits to produce another Jesus. Another spirit. Another gospel in Christendom. I say. I don't know the answer. But I think one reason is. He wants to sift out among those who say they are Christians. Those who are sincere. From those who are not sincere. Those who will follow his word. And those who will follow their feelings. Those who are seeking their own. And those who are seeking the glory of God. God is in the business of sifting. And that sifting takes place. It's happening today in Christendom. And it's not enough that our doctrines are right. When you listen to a man for years. For 25 years. In our church in Bangalore in India. I've told the brothers and sisters there. Whenever you listen to a man. Don't just listen to his doctrine. Listen to his spirit. Try and gauge his spirit. And then you'll never go astray. See if it is the spirit of Christ. Is he a lover of money? He cannot be a servant of God. Impossible. I read a little booklet. It's only a little 10 page booklet. That was written in the 2nd century. It's one of the earliest writings. After the Bible. It's called the teaching of the apostles to the Gentiles. And one of the things they mentioned. You see remember in those days in the 2nd century. People didn't have a new testament. I mean the new testament was written. But there were very few copies of Paul's letter to the Galatians and Ephesians. And there were thousands of Christians who didn't have a new testament. And how could you protect people from wrong doctrine. And even with a new testament it's so difficult. Can you imagine how difficult it was in those days. There were no printed Bibles. Nobody had an old testament in their home. There were no printed Bibles in those days. And it was all by word of mouth. It was so difficult to protect people from false preachers. From people who took advantage of them. And there were a lot of people roaming around those days in the 2nd century. Claiming that we are servants of God. We are prophets. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit. And the apostles had laid down some instructions before they died. And this is what they said. It interested me what they said in that letter. In that little small little booklet. If someone comes to you. Claiming to be a servant of God. And asks you for your money. He is a false prophet. He asks you for your money. To support him. He is a false prophet. If people had followed those instructions in 20th century. We would have been saved from a lot of false prophets. And a lot of wastage of Christian money. If people would listen to that today. When they watch television. And listen to those evangelists. Two things would happen. Those deceivers would not be able to survive. And you would have a little more money to give. To what is genuinely God's worth. But do you think people listen? Listen to the spirit of the man. You find Jesus standing up and saying. Give me your money. Send me a check for so much. No. How in the world are believers deceived by all this? It is another spirit. Listen to a man's spirit. Is he trying to lord it over you? Is he trying to get authority over your life? Is he taking away the connection between you and the head Jesus Christ? That's another spirit. The Holy Spirit is glorifying Christ. But this fellow is glorifying himself. He is glorifying his organization. He is not leading you to Christ like the Holy Spirit does. He is leading you to himself. That's not spirit of Christ. He is leading you to experiences. Not to Christ. And when people follow that. You know what happens? You know when people don't listen to the truth of God. Three times in Romans chapter 1. It says God gave them up. God gave them up. You notice that in Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1 it says. Three times. Verse 24. God gave them over. God gave them up to the uncleanness of their minds. Verse 26. For this cause God gave them up to vile affections. And again in the middle of verse 28. God gave them over. Three times. Romans chapter 1 describes this downward step. They did not receive the truth of God. And so God gave them up. And then again God gave them up. They changed the truth of God into a lie. Verse 25. They corrupted the truth of God. God gave them up. And then they gave up the truth of God. God gave them up some more. If you don't love the truth. You will find you are going downward, downward, downward. And I have seen that. Today in a lot of things that have happened in some parts of the charismatic movement. Where you find they started out with one thing. And then they wanted another experience. And they went to another thing. Each time it looks as though they go into something baser and baser. And today you have people barking like dogs. And saying that's the Holy Spirit. People falling in the ground. Kicking their legs. And laughing. And saying it's the Holy Spirit. Do you see how they become so blind? There are ladies lifting up their legs as assistant pastors. And anointing people with their left legs. I have seen it in a video myself. It's not second hand. This is what's happening. It's to me. It's a clear indication of what I see here. God gave them up. God gave them up. And they have gone down there now. It didn't start like that. They didn't love the truth. They loved money. They didn't glorify Christ. They glorified themselves. They drew people to themselves instead of to Christ. They built up their organizations instead of building the church of Jesus Christ. They spent more time fighting for their doctrines instead of fighting the devil. What happens when you do such things? It's another spirit. It's not the spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus received money too. Luke chapter 8 verse 3 says certain rich women supported Jesus and his apostles. But he was so faithful with that money. Because it was God's money. That he did not even use that money to rent a room in an inn to sleep. He slept in the open. He had no place to lay his head. Didn't he have enough money to rent a room in an inn? Money given for God's work? He wouldn't use it. He used it to buy very simple food. Sleep outside. There was no need for a room in an inn. He could sleep outside. That's how he lived. What do we see today? People give money. And see how these people use it. To travel around in their private jet planes. And to buy houses and lands for themselves. And there are so many dumb believers who just keep giving. This is how deception has come in. And very often it's done in the name of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ. It's all a deception. Be warned. But don't let your life be a reaction against all that. That you dump everything about the Holy Spirit and live your dry life. Because that's not the answer either. I remember 37 years ago. When I was seeking God for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I was born again. I was baptized in water. And I was seeking God for power. I said, Lord. I know the word. I'm baptized in water. But I don't have power in my life. There are no rivers flowing through my life. And I didn't know what to do. I was a young Christian. 23 years old. And people said to me to go to some Pentecostal church. And I went there. And I heard such a lot of noise. And to me it was like confusion. It's exactly like what it says in 1 Corinthians 14. If you all speak in tongues, won't they say you're mad? It sounded like that. And I came away from there. And I said, Lord. I don't want that. But I do want what Peter, James and John got on the day of Pentecost. That I want. The real thing. A real baptism of power. That changed Peter from one who was afraid of a maidservant. To witness to her. Denied Christ before her twice. Thrice finally. And changed him into such a bold man that he could point to the whole Sanhedrin. The Jewish leaders and the high priests and say, you crucified Christ. And didn't bother him anymore whether he was jailed or beaten or anything. He became a bold witness for Jesus. And I said, Lord. I want that. And when Peter and Paul spoke when they were filled with the Spirit. Rivers flowed out from them. I said, Lord. I want that. I just don't want noise. I thank God. That I did not react against that and turn away to my dry life and say it's all wrong. It was wrong. That was counterfeit. I sought for the genuine. And God met with me. And it changed my life. And my ministry. And it says here in 1 Corinthians 14. That we must do something. There's something we must covet. Earnestly. We're not to covet money. You know that. There was a commandment in the Old Testament. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. We're not to covet our neighbor's wife. Or our neighbor's property. Or our neighbor's wealth. We're not to covet money generally. We must be satisfied, content. With what we have. But do you know that the New Testament says you are to covet something. Don't covet this but covet this. It's not enough that you say I don't covet my neighbor's wife. But do you covet what the Word of God says you should covet? I saw here in 1 Corinthians 12.31. Covet earnestly the best gifts. And I found I hadn't done that. And chapter 14 verse 1. Follow after charity. That's love. And desire spiritual gifts. But rather that you may prophesy. And there I was urged. To covet. To prophesy. Now prophesy. As soon as people hear the word prophecy. They've got only one meaning in their heads. Because again they don't read the scriptures carefully. And that is foretelling the future. Well that's true. That's what the Old Testament prophets did. Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. Micah prophesied about the birth of Jesus. And the Old Testament prophets. A lot of them spoke about the future. But here we don't have to go far to understand what this means. Here it's not talking about foretelling the future. The Holy Spirit through Paul explains. I'll explain what I mean by prophecy. Just hang on. Verse 3. He who prophesies. Speaketh unto men. To edification. Exhortation. And comfort. Not foretelling the future at all. What is prophecy? If you're willing to get rid of all the concepts. You have in your mind and allow. Yourself to be poured into the mold of scripture. Instead of pouring scripture into the mold of your prejudices. Then change your opinion. This is what prophecy means in the New Testament. It is to speak to men. To edify them. That means to build them up. It is to speak to men. To exhort them. That's to challenge them. To rebuke them. To correct them. And to speak to men. To comfort them. Encourage them. Console them. What you're hearing right now is prophecy. What you heard yesterday was prophecy. Don't think prophecy is lifting up your hand. Closing your eyes. And then a funny voice. Saying something for one minute. Thus said the Lord. That's not prophecy. That's all pretense. Covet to prophesy. God is my witness. That for more than 35 years. I have done that. I did it yesterday. I did it today. What? Covet to prophesy. You don't get it. Unless you ask God for it. Now of course that depends on whether God has called you to a public ministry. But I feel sorry for all those people who have been called to a public ministry of God's word. Who do not covet to prophesy. We need to covet that the anointing of God will be upon us. To prophesy. It's not only for prophesy. It is to build the body of Christ. You see we are different members. It says in 1 Corinthians 12. One is the hand. One is the tongue. One is the eye. One is the body. The ear. The leg. So on. So to be filled with the spirit doesn't mean prophesy only. It doesn't mean evangelism. If you are a mother. You need to be a spirit filled mother. If you are a father. You need to be a spirit filled father. If you are a helper in the church. You need to be a spirit filled helper. If you are called just to share an occasional word. That needs to be spirit filled. If you are called to be a teacher. You need to be a spirit filled teacher. See to me. I could use this illustration. If my right hand is paralyzed. Let's say my whole right side is paralyzed. My eye. My ear. My hand. My right leg. This whole right side of my body is paralyzed. Are they still members of my body? Yes they are. Are you a member of the body of Christ? Yes you may be. But are you a useful member of the body of Christ? Is this a useful hand right now? No. It's a passenger in the body. It's useless. Is this leg a useful member now that it's paralyzed? No. It's a useless member. It's a member but a useless member. Is this eye a member of the body? Yes. But it's useless now because it's paralyzed. I can't see through it. This right side is paralyzed. Lots of believers are like this. Oh yeah. They are members of the body of Christ. They have communion with us. They break bread together. But what are they lacking? Power. And when power comes into this hand, it suddenly becomes useful. It doesn't become a member of the body of Christ, of that body. It was always a member of the body but now it got power. And when this eye gets power, it doesn't become a hand. It becomes a better eye. And when the ear gets power, it doesn't become an eye or a hand. It just becomes a better ear. And if you're a mother and you get filled with the Holy Spirit, you won't be an evangelist. You'll be a better mother. And if you're an evangelist and you get filled with the Spirit, you'll be a better evangelist. And if you're a teacher and you get filled with the Spirit, you'll be a better teacher. That's how it is. Yeah, that's God's way. You begin to... The Holy Spirit shows us things in the Scriptures that we never saw before. That's what happened to me. I began to see things in God's Word that I'd never seen before. I began to understand it. The Spirit of Revelation began to open up things in the Scriptures. What did Jesus have? I feel the great lack in Christendom, the great problem in Christendom is the lack of balance. The fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit. I see two groups in Christendom. There are people who say the fruit of the Spirit. Brother, that's what we need. I agree. There is another group that says the gifts of the Spirit. That's what we need. I agree. Let's go to the dictionary. What did Jesus have? The fruit of the Spirit or the gifts of the Spirit? What did He have? Both. So I get my answer from my dictionary. What should I have? Both. I need love. I need to be filled with love so that I never have an atom of bitterness against a single human being. I need to be filled with joy so that I can rejoice in the Lord always, all the time. Not just most of the time. I need to be filled with the Spirit for that. I need peace so that I don't live in anxiety and tension and create quarrels wherever I go. You know some people wherever they go, they create a quarrel. They need to be filled with the Spirit of peace. Long-suffering. Oh, what a need there is in our homes, with our children, with our partners and with difficult neighbors and difficult people at work. Long-suffering. We need to be filled with the Spirit. Gentleness. What a need. We are such harsh people. We need the Spirit of gentleness. Goodness. We are basically evil. We need to be filled with the Spirit of goodness. Faithfulness. Meekness. Temperance or self-control. What a need there is for self-control. To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the Spirit of self-control. When a man says, I got filled with the Spirit and I got thrown down and I couldn't control myself, I say that must have been another spirit because the Holy Spirit gives us self-control. I can control myself. Do we need these fruits of the Spirit? Sure. Now what about the gifts of the Spirit? Yeah, we need them. The difference is that as a believer, I need all the fruits of the Spirit in my life, but God won't give me all the gifts of the Spirit. The hand doesn't become suddenly the whole body. It will always be a hand. I'm not an evangelist. God never gave me that gift. He gave me the gift of expounding God's Word. So when it comes to evangelism, I let the evangelist do the job. We work together. There are different ministries in the body of Christ. But the Holy Spirit has come to make us like Jesus. To draw people to Jesus. Let me say a word about speaking in tongues because there is a lot of controversy concerning that. Let's look at Scripture. 1 Corinthians 13, it says, If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and I have not charity or love, I am like a sounding brass. That's the first thing we must remember. Love is greater than speaking in tongues. Love is greater. It is the greatest, it says in verse 13. In verse 8, it says, The time will come when tongues will cease, knowledge will cease, prophecies will fail. 1 Corinthians 38, prophecies will fail, tongues will cease, knowledge will vanish away. When that which is perfect is come, verse 10, that which is in part shall be done away. A time will come when there will be no more prophecies, prophesying that we spoke about just now. There won't be any more prophesying. There won't be any more tongues. There won't be any more knowledge. It's easy to find out whether tongues have ceased or not. Has prophesying ceased? Is there no more need for speaking to people to edification, exaltation and comfort? Oh sure, it will cease when we get to heaven. There won't be any preaching in heaven. Has knowledge ceased? Bible knowledge, scientific knowledge, any type of knowledge? No, we've got plenty of Bible knowledge. If prophesying and knowledge have not ceased, then obviously tongues have not ceased either. Because the perfect has not yet come. I want to be honest with Scripture. That's what I did 37 years ago when I was studying Scripture. I grew up in a church which believed the tongues of the devil. When I went honestly with Scripture, I said, I don't have it, but it's there according to Scripture. Then I began to seek God further. In chapter 14 it says in verse 4, He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself. So we see there that there is an edification that comes through speaking in tongues. Not for other people, but for the man who speaks in tongues. Then I saw further, verse 5, I wish I would that you all speak with tongues, which is the clearest verse in the New Testament that teaches that everybody did not speak in tongues. Even in Paul's time. Because if everybody did, he would not have said that. I would that you all spoke with tongues means many people didn't. So I found in searching Scripture honestly, I couldn't agree with the charismatics and I couldn't agree with the anti-charismatics. I found there is a much more balanced position in Scripture. And here were people fighting each other. If they came to Scripture, they come to a more balanced position. Everybody didn't speak in tongues. If there was tongues, God in His great wisdom would give it to some and He didn't give it to others. Perhaps the others didn't need it. Fine. Then I saw further, Paul said in verse 18, 1 Corinthians 14, I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all. So obviously, it was not something he was ashamed of or embarrassed to talk about. He said, I thank God I speak with tongues more than you all. But he said, the next thing in verse 19, but when I come in the church, I won't speak in tongues. I'd rather speak five words. Five words in English is better than 10,000 words in a tongue. It's true. So that's to me the balanced understanding of Scripture on this subject. Tongues in my life is like a little finger. God gave it to me 25 years ago. I use it never in public, in private. I don't make it 12 feet long like a lot of people do, making a nuisance of themselves wherever they go. If you had a little finger 12 feet long, you'd be a nuisance wherever you go.