anointing fall_on_me

ANOINTING FALL ON ME

Anointing_Fall_on_me_itc:Layout 1 12/28/07 12:58 PM

ANOINTING FALL ON MEAccessing the Power of the Holy Spirit

T.D. Jakes


© Copyright 1997 – T.D. Jakes

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyrightlaws of the United States of America. This book may not becopied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use ofshort quotations or occasional page copying for personal orgroup study is permitted and encouraged. Permission willbe granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified,Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.Please note that Destiny Image’s publishing style capitalizescertain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son,and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers’styles. Take note that the name satan and related namesare not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him,even to the point of violating grammatical rules.

DESTINY IMAGE® PUBLISHERS, INC.P.O. Box 310, Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310

“Speaking to the Purposes of God for this Generation andfor the Generations to Come.”

This book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, MercyPlace, Fresh Bread, Destiny Image Fiction, and TreasureHouse books are available at Christian bookstores and dis-tributors worldwide.

For a U.S. bookstore nearest you, call:1-800-722-6774.For more information on foreign distributors, call:717-532-3040.

Or reach us on the Internet: www.destinyimage.com

ISBN 10: 0-7684-2641-3ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-2641-0

Previously published 1997 by Pneuma Life Publishing ISBN1-56229-113-0.

For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 / 11 10 09 08


Contents

Foreword ......................................................7

Introduction9

Chapter 1: Ask, Seek, Knock .......................11

Chapter 2: Tongues of Fire ..........................41

Chapter 3: Power for Living .........................65

Chapter 4: Secret Code .............................105

Chapter 5: The Influence of

the Holy Spirit in the World .......................139

Chapter 6: The Cry of a Barren Womb .......161

Chapter 7: Reviving What Remains............187

Chapter 8: God’s Layaway Plan .................203

Bonus Material

Woman, Thou Art Loosed! ............................219


Foreword

Icannot think of a greater living example ofthe consistent ability to draw on the

anointing of the Lord. T.D. Jakes is a man with-out equal. There is much we can all learn fromhis words, his spirit, and his passion in deliver-ing the word of the Lord. Just watching him is awonder in itself. The Presence of the Lord flowsso freely from him as he teaches. He is simple,clear and honest in his delivery. Sometimes ur-gent, sometimes gentle, but always accurate andpenetrating. He is a man whose inner focus is onthe Lord Himself. Even in his most emotionalpresentation, you can also see the rest and peacein his eyes.

The Holy Spirit will always move freelythrough those who have no other desire than togive the word of the Lord to hungry people. And

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make no mistake about it, God has much to sayto His people. He has much He wants to com-municate to the world around us. There ismuch to learn from the Bishop’s words, but alsohis method, his passion and his love of the LordJesus Himself.

I first met the Bishop at a small conferencein the Pocono Mountains where he was minis-tering. That was just before he wrote Woman,Thou Art Loosed. We literally walked into eachother that fateful afternoon in the basementarea of the conference center where vendorswere displaying their products. The moment Itouched him, I prophesied about a book churn-ing in his heart. A few weeks later he called meand the rest, as they say, is history.

There are three criteria we use when deter-mining the possibility of publishing a new author.We look at the person, his message, and his min-istry. In the Bishop’s case, all three were intricatelywrapped with integrity, gentleness, and truth.

We are proud to offer this work to the world.T.D. Jakes is a man who has allowed the Lordto mold him into a vessel He can use to changethe lives of millions around the world. We aregrateful to be a part of God’s plan for the life ofBishop T.D. Jakes.

Don Nori, PublisherDestiny Image Publishers


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Introduction

I feel compelled to present scriptural truthon the Holy Ghost that is simple, timely,

and applicable to your life. I believe this is avery timely book—one that will equip you tomeet the devil’s end-time onslaught to thwartthe plan of God.

I believe that we’re in the beginning stagesof the greatest revival this world has everknown. In order for us to carry out the plan ofGod, we must realize that divine interventionand not human effort will usher in this end-time revival. Christians must know that theirlives with God can be full of new experiencesevery day. Instead of merely enduring our sal-vation, we can enjoy the fullness that God hasprovided in the Holy Ghost.

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If you have been saved by the grace of God,you have a calling on your life. God may wantyou to be a pastor, an evangelist, or a mission-ary. He may call you to be a light in the busi-ness world. You may have been apprehendedby the hand of God to write books, lead peoplein worship, or raise godly children.

You need to realize that these gifts and call-ings were not placed in your life to lie dormant.Only by the power of the Holy Ghost will you seethem fulfilled. This book will show you how tomeet challenges and realize your full potential.

If you apply these practical truths in yourlife, you will begin to experience a new freshnessin God. The plans that you have hoped to fulfillall your life will become reality. Do you long forcertain things in God? Does your sanctified soulstir at the thought of doing exploits for God? Asense of destiny causes you to determine, “Nomatter what I must go through, I can and willmake it!”

These truths on the Holy Ghost will take youto higher heights and deeper depths in God. Getready to experience a new joy and power thatwill change your life—and the lives of others.


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Chapter 1

Ask, Seek, Knock


Ask, Seek, Knock

One of the greatest controversies inall the Bible concerns the Godhead.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord”(Deut. 6:4).

If there is one God, as Scripture teaches,how can there be a Son who says that He andHis Father are one? If there is only one God,how can there be “three that bear record inheaven, the Father, the Word, and the HolyGhost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7).

The concept of the Godhead is a mystery thathas baffled Christians for years. With our limitedminds we try to comprehend a limitless God. Howcan we explain one God but three distinct mani-festations? Some have used the analogy of ice,water, and steam being the same in substancebut differing according to temperature. Others

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have shown how one man can be a father, a hus-band, and a son at the same time.

While we may never completely under-stand the Godhead, Scripture teaches that ourlives can be tremendously impacted by thepresent ministry of the Holy Ghost. The firststep is welcoming, or receiving, the power ofthe Holy Ghost.

You Can Receive the Holy Ghost

You have the right to receive the Holy Ghostbecause Jesus prayed for you to receive Him.

And I will pray the Father, and He shallgive you another Comforter, that He mayabide with you forever (John 14:16).

The Greek word for Comforter, parakletos,means “one called alongside to help, to defendas an attorney.” It also means “another one justlike me.” The same word means “advocate” inthis Scripture:

My little children, these things write Iunto you, that ye sin not. And if any mansin, we have an advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).

Christ is our advocate in Heaven; the HolyGhost is our advocate on earth.

The Holy Ghost has been given to assist usin a variety of ways. He helps to guide us:


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Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is

come, He will guide you into all truth: for

He shall not speak of Himself; but what-

soever He shall hear, that shall He speak:

and He will shew you things to come

(John 16:13).

He assures us that we are children of God:

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our

spirit, that we are the children of God

(Rom. 8:16).

He gives us power to witness:

But ye shall receive power, after that the

Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye

shall be witnesses unto me both in

Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in

Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of

the earth (Acts 1:8).

He helps us to pray:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infir-

mities: for we know not what we should

pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself

maketh intercession for us with groan-

ings which cannot be uttered (Rom.

8:26).

He enables us to bear the fruit of the Spirit:

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, temperance: against such thereis no law (Gal. 5:22,23).

The Holy Ghost is always present. He isour backup!

While Jesus was departing, He prayedthat another One just like Him would come.That One is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghostwould stand by the children of God to assistthem in carrying out the same work—andeven “greater works:”

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that be-lieveth on me, the works that I do shallhe do also; and greater works than theseshall he do; because I go unto my Father(John 14:12).

Believers must understand the ministry ofthe Holy Ghost so they can carry out the will ofGod for their lives.

We aren’t alone when we lie down at nightor go through the storms of life. When we gothrough a valley or through a trial, the Holy


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The Holy Ghost is our backup!


Ghost is there to defend us. God will neverleave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). Jesus iswith us to the end of this age (Matt. 28:20).When we receive the fullness of the Holy Ghost,we receive an eternal friend. Jesus is prayingthat you have an intimate relationship with theHoly Ghost.

Many friends stay with us until we mess upor until we disagree with them. They quicklyleave as if they never knew us. But the HolyGhost, our Comforter, stays with us forever.

The Holy Ghost does not come and gobased upon the circumstances of our lives. Heis there when we do well; He is there when wefail. When we are on top of things, He is there.When things are on top of us, He is there. Nomatter what the situation, the Holy Ghost isalways there to help us. In the same way thatJesus helped the disciples, the Holy Ghostnow helps us.

When Do We Receive the Holy Ghost?

This controversial question has been de-bated for years. God’s Word shows that a per-son receives the Holy Ghost as a mark ofidentity, confirming that he or she really is achild of God (John 3:5-6; Rom. 8:9,14-16; Gal.4:6). Jesus told His disciples that the world

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(unbelievers) could not receive the Holy Ghostbecause it “seeth Him not” (John 14:17).

Scripture also shows us, however, that re-ceiving the Holy Ghost at salvation is not thesame as being filled with the Holy Ghost. Somedisciples followed Jesus for years and only laterwere filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke withother tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And, behold, I send the promise of my Fa-ther upon you: but tarry ye in the city ofJerusalem, until ye be endued withpower from on high (Luke 24:49).

In the last day, that great day of thefeast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, ifany man thirst, let him come unto me,and drink. He that believeth on me, asthe scripture hath said, out of his bellyshall flow rivers of living water. But thisspake He of the Spirit, which they thatbelieve on Him should receive: for theHoly Ghost was not yet given; becausethat Jesus was not yet glorified (John7:37-39).

Therefore being by the right hand of Godexalted, and having received of the Fa-ther the promise of the Holy Ghost, Hehath shed forth this, which ye now seeand hear. For David is not ascended into


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the heavens: but he saith himself, The

Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my

right hand, Until I make thy foes thy foot-

stool. Therefore let all the house of Israel

know assuredly, that God hath made

that same Jesus, whom ye have cruci-

fied, both Lord and Christ. Now when

they heard this, they were pricked in

their heart, and said unto Peter and to

the rest of the apostles, Men and

brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter

said unto them, Repent, and be baptized

every one of you in the name of Jesus

Christ for the remission of sins, and ye

shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

For the promise is unto you, and to your

children, and to all that are afar off, even

as many as the Lord our God shall call

(Acts 2:33-39).

And we are his witnesses of these things;

and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God

hath given to them that obey Him (Acts5:32).

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse

of the law, being made a curse for us: for

it is written, Cursed is every one that

hangeth on a tree:

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That the blessing of Abraham might comeon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; thatwe might receive the promise of the Spiritthrough faith (Galatians 3:13-14).

You can be saved, but not necessarily filledor baptized with the Holy Ghost. We receive theHoly Ghost as a mark of identity when we aresaved, but another experience—the baptism inthe Holy Ghost—awaits us.

While Peter yet spake these words, theHoly Ghost fell on all them which heardthe word. And they of the circumcisionwhich believed were astonished, asmany as came with Peter, because thaton the Gentiles also was poured out thegift of the Holy Ghost. For they heardthem speak with tongues, and magnifyGod. (Acts 10:44-46)

And it came to pass, that, while Apolloswas at Corinth, Paul having passedthrough the upper coasts came to Eph-esus: and finding certain disciples, Hesaid unto them, Have ye received the HolyGhost since ye believed? And they saidunto him, We have not so much as heardwhether there be any Holy Ghost. And hesaid unto them, Unto what then were yebaptized? And they said, Unto John’s


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baptism. Then said Paul, John verily bap-tized with the baptism of repentance, say-ing unto the people, that they shouldbelieve on him which should come afterhim, that is, on Christ Jesus. When theyheard this, they were baptized in thename of the Lord Jesus. And when Paulhad laid his hands upon them, the HolyGhost came on them; and they spake withtongues, and prophesied. And all the menwere about twelve (Acts 19:1-7).

The believers in these verses had not beenbaptized in or received the infilling of theHoly Ghost.

The apostle Paul commanded the Ephesianbelievers to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph.5:18). They had already been saved by the graceof God (Eph. 2:8-9) and had been sealed by theHoly Ghost (Eph. 1:13). They had been posi-tionally placed in the heavenlies with ChristJesus (Eph. 2:6). They had become His work-manship (Eph. 2:10). They had been blessedwith every spiritual blessing, chosen before thefoundation of the world, and predestined to beadopted by Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:3-5).

Despite all these things, apostle Paul ad-monished them to be filled with the Holy Ghost.He did not merely suggest that the saints receive

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the infilling of the Holy Ghost; he commandedthem to do so!

To make his point, the apostle Paul issuedtwo commandments: “Be not drunk with wine”and “Be ye filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Heused a negative command, something weshould not do, to accentuate something that weshould do.

Being “drunk with wine” means that we areintoxicated or under the control of wine. To bedrunk means that you have given yourself overto the alcohol. In order to remain drunk, onemust continue to partake of whatever broughtabout the drunkenness.

Paul knew the saints would never come tochurch or attempt any type of service for theLord while under the influence of wine. But if itwere wrong to be drunk on wine and attempt toserve God, then it would be equally wrong to at-tempt to serve God and not be filled or intoxi-cated with the Holy Ghost.

When a person is drunk, he or she becomesa totally different person. Drunks become very


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Apostle Paul commanded thesaints to receive the Holy Ghost.


bold, even fearless, as their emotions are over-taken by the wine. Their speech is often slurred,and their walk is unsteady.

In order for the Ephesians to be happy andbold, to walk in the will of God, to talk in a newway, and not be afraid of their future, theyneeded to be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Next, apostle Paul focused on the home,dealing with the relationship between hus-bands and wives and between parents andtheir children.

Ephesians closes with a discussion of thebattle that we face as children of God. If we areto partake of the blessings that God has pre-destined for us; if we are to be the workmanshipof God; if we are to enjoy a happy marriage andrear children in the fear and admonition of theLord; we will face a spiritual battle. Living aSpirit-filled life, however, abundantly equips usto carry out these tasks.

Passover Must Precede Pentecost

The nation of Israel recognized many feasts,but we will only focus on Passover and Pente-cost. While these two feasts were primarily forIsrael, we can make some dynamic secondaryapplications for the church.

Passover had been recognized by Israelsince their departure from the land of Egypt.

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God commanded the elders of the nation of Is-rael to kill a lamb and apply its blood to the twoside posts and the overhead lintel of the door ofevery house. That night, God sent a death angelthroughout Egypt to slay the firstborn of everyhousehold. When He saw the blood over thedoorposts of the Israelites, however, He prom-ised to pass over them and not execute the samejudgment that befell the Egyptians (Exodus l2).

This is a type of Jesus who is our PassoverLamb (1 Cor. 5:7). Through His death and shedblood, we have been accepted by God. Seeingthe blood of Christ, our substitute, God haspassed over us and withheld judgment forour sins.

The time lapse between Passover and Pen-tecost is significant. Pentecost, which began 50days after the Passover, marked the beginningof the ingathering of the harvest of the nation ofIsrael. The people went into their fields to gatherthe fruit and various grains. Pentecost was alsocalled “the feast of weeks” (Exodus 34:22), “thefeast of harvest” (Exodus 23:16), and “the dayof firstfruits” (Numbers 28:26).

According to Leviticus 23:22, the harvesthad three parts:

1. The main harvest, which consisted ofthe majority of the harvest.

2. The corners of each field.


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3. The gleanings or what was left over,which God commanded the Iraelitesto leave for the poor and strangers.

This parallels what Jesus told His disciplesin Acts 1:8. He mentioned three parts to the dis-ciples’ evangelistic ministry:

1. Jerusalem (the main harvest).

2. Judea and Samaria (the corners of thefield)

3. The uttermost parts of the earth(the house of Cornelius, the Gen-tiles, and the strangers).

At Pentecost, believers received power togather in their harvest beginning with Jerusalem,then Judea and Samaria, then to the uttermostparts of the earth. This fulfilled Old Testamentprophecy concerning Pentecost.

Jesus fulfilled our Passover and lifted judg-ment from the world (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). Hestayed on earth 40 days and then was taken upinto heaven. The Holy Ghost did not come untilafter Passover. Jesus, our Passover Lamb, ush-ered in Pentecost.

Some people have been erroneously taughtthat they were not saved until they received theHoly Ghost and spoke with other tongues.Jesus never said that. Jesus said “the worldcannot receive [the Spirit of truth], because it

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seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him” (John14:17).

In the same way that Passover precededPentecost, we must first have an experiencewith Jesus, allowing His blood to cleanse usfrom sin; then we become candidates for thebaptism of the Holy Ghost.

Jesus said the Holy Ghost was dwelling withthe disciples, but after Pentecost the Holy Ghostwould be in the disciples.

For he dwelleth with you, and shall be in

you (John 14:17).

First they had to experience Passover—theblood of Jesus. Then they would experiencePentecost—the power of the Holy Ghost.

A Worthy Candidate for Pentecost

Before He ascended into heaven, Jesuscommanded His disciples to tarry for the prom-ise of the Holy Ghost.

Behold, I send the promise of my Fatherupon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem,until ye be endued with power from on high(Luke 24:49).

They had to wait only because the HolyGhost was making His debut. Now that He hascome, however, those who experience a Passover


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by accepting Jesus Christ, God’s Passover Lamb,can receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Many people have not received the HolyGhost because they feel unworthy. If your ownworthiness were the issue, you wouldn’t haveanything from God. The Christian life is foundedon grace from beginning to end.

God does not see you as you are, but Hesees you through the blood of Jesus. WhenJesus died on the cross, you died with Him.God reckons you to be dead with Christ.Reckon means to figure in something, to writeit down, to document it, to take inventory. Al-though you did not die physically, documentyour death with Christ because God sees youin Him when He died.

That’s why you must have a Passover beforeyou can have a Pentecost. Passover makes youworthy and a fit candidate for Pentecost.Passover applies the blood to the doors of yourheart. The two side posts and top lentil of adoorway form a cross, which is a type of ourcoming through the cross of Jesus.

Gaining proper standing with God alwaysrequires the death of a substitute. God shed theblood of an innocent animal and clothed Adamand Eve with its skins after the fall (Gen. 3:21).Each Israelite household in Egypt killed an in-nocent lamb to mark their doors with its blood

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(Exodus 12:3-7). Years later it took the blood ofa sinless, innocent man to atone for sin.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming

unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of

God, which taketh away the sin of the

world (John 1:29).

But God commendeth His love toward us, inthat, while we were yet sinners, Christ died forus. Much more then, being now justified by Hisblood, we shall be saved from wrath throughHim (Romans 5:8,9).

In each of these cases, an individual, ahousehold, and the world could not live up tothe standards of a holy God. Only the death ofa substitute gave the individual, the household,and the world the standing that God demands.

Every area of your life has been put underthe blood of Jesus. He has become your atone-ment, which means a covering, to put away or tocancel. It also means to reconcile and to makeat one with.

God says you are worthy to receive the bap-tism of the Holy Ghost. Jesus has prayed foryou to receive the Comforter. Is it based uponyour merit? Of course not. You never have andnever will live up to the expectations of a holyGod. Jesus, Who “ever liveth to make intercession”


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(Heb. 7:25), prays confidently because He diedin your stead.

Easier Than You Think

Many have made the baptism of the HolyGhost and the Spirit-filled life so difficult whenactually it is quite simple. Many have taughtthat if you wait long enough, if you pray hardenough, if you lift your hands, sell out, hold onor hold out, that you will receive the Holy Ghost.While their intentions may be good, their ap-proach is not scriptural.

We can conclude three things regarding re-ceiving the Holy Ghost:

1. Jesus is praying for you to receive.

2. You must experience a Passover be-fore you can receive.

3. If you have had a Passover, you’re aworthy candidate to receive the powerof Pentecost.

If you have these three things workingfor you—the prayers of Jesus, the pleadingof the blood in His Passover, and anticipa-tion for the power of Pentecost—you are aworthy candidate.

It Begins With a Desire

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall begiven you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,

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and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he thatseeketh findeth; and to him that knockethit shall be opened (Luke 11:9,10).

Jesus began His discourse on receiving theHoly Spirit by using a simple three-letter word—“ask.” When you ask for something, it impliesthat you desire it:

Blessed are they which do hunger andthirst after righteousness: for they shallbe filled (Matthew 5:6).

Notice two words: hunger and thirst, whichimply a desire, a longing, an expectation, a wantor a need. God always keeps His children insome of type of need so He can meet that need.He always wants us dependent on Him.

Being hungry or thirsty implies that you arein need, and it causes you to ask. God is alwaysattentive to the cries of His children.

Jesus simply said, “Ask. I know you arehungry and thirsty. I have what you need.Just ask.” Asking implies that you both needand want.


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Ask!


The Lord is my shepherd; I shall notwant (Psalm 23:1).

But my God shall supply all your needaccording to his riches in glory byChrist Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

God will not let your needs and wants gounattended, especially when you desire to bemore like Him.

We Must Seek What We Ask For

Jesus said that those who seek shallfind. Seek means to desire. Jesus wants usto desire the Holy Ghost. Would you asksomeone for something and have your heador hand turned the other way? Jesus wantsour hearts to be lined up with what our lipsare saying.

God rewards those who diligently seekHim (Heb. 11:6). Diligently means to bestretched out for that which you are asking.It means to crave as an expectant mothercraves unusual foods. Nothing else satisfiesher except the specific combination sheasked for.

The Holy Ghost, His power, and thechange that He alone can bring in your lifemust be so precious that you will not accepta counterfeit. Nothing else will suffice. Isyour heart focused with a desire that will not

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take “no” for an answer? Do you really want thepower of the Holy Ghost?

Jesus taught the Parable of the Lost Coin:

Either what woman having ten pieces of

silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light

a candle, and sweep the house, and seek

diligently till she find it? And when she

hath found it, she calleth her friends and

her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice

with me; for I have found the piece which

I had lost (Luke 15:8,9).

When this woman realized she didn’t haveher precious coin, she lit a candle, swept thehouse, and searched diligently until she foundit. We must be in the same place of earnestseeking in regard to the Holy Ghost.

Upon realizing we don’t have the fullness ofthe Holy Ghost, we light a candle. The psalmistwrote:

The entrance of thy words giveth light

(Psalm 119:130).

We must sweep our house, which means wepurge ourselves of anything that isn’t of God.Then we must seek the Holy Ghost diligently.

We must earnestly want the Holy Ghost andrefuse to compromise. You can be real and have


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the Holy Ghost. It isn’t something mysteri-ous. This is God’s will for your life!

You Have to Knock!

Those who want the power of the HolyGhost must take a three-step approach: ask,seek, and knock. What prompts you to openyour front door? When someone knocks, yousee who it is and what they want.

Jesus said to knock.

Before knocking, you must have a desireto ask. This driving desire caused you tocome to the door with great expectation anddetermination. You searched until you foundthe door and now you knock.

It may seem that Jesus has these stepsout of order, but that’s not true. If you haveno will to ask, there’s no reason to knock.Without the will to seek, there’s no reason toknock. Knocking is preceded by a will to askand search diligently. Knocking gives you ac-cess to what you have diligently sought.

How Much More…

An earthly father can be very biased.Sometimes he is stubborn, and sometimeshe gives for all the wrong reasons. Jesusmade it very clear: If the child asks for one

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thing, the Father will not give another. He thenasked a question:

If ye then, being evil, know how to givegood gifts unto your children: how muchmore shall your heavenly Father give theHoly Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke11:13).

The emphasis is on “how much more.”

God knows that we need the power of theHoly Ghost. Spiritual gifts function only as theHoly Ghost empowers the child of God. As youask and seek, remember that God knows yourmotives. He endues you with the power of theHoly Ghost to give you victory over Satan, tomake you joyful, and to enable you to functionin the gifts of the Spirit.

God wants you to have the power of theHoly Ghost. He gives us a simple, three-stepapproach: ask, seek, and knock. Take the Wordas authoritative. Be like the woman who hadlost her precious coin. She wanted it so badlythat she searched with a candle and swept herhouse clean.

The Power of the Holy Ghost

Old Testament types have their fulfillmentin the New Testament. Daniel wrote about afourth man in the fiery furnace with the threeHebrew children; Moses spoke of the rock that


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followed the children of Israel; each Israelitehousehold killed a lamb for their Passover.All of these were types of Christ.

The Holy Ghost is likened to wind orbreath.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, andthou hearest the sound thereof, butcanst not tell whence it cometh, andwhither it goeth: so is every one thatis born of the Spirit (John 3:8).

And suddenly there came a soundfrom Heaven as of a rushing mightywind, and it filled all the house wherethey were sitting (Acts 2:2).

The power of the Holy Ghost can makeyou everything God said you could be. Adamillustrates this perfectly. The Bible says thatAdam was only a form until God breathed onhim (Gen. 2:7). Only then did Adam becomea living soul.

Until then he had potential but no power.When God breathed into Adam, he receivedthe power to reach his potential. The mereform of man became a living soul. The wordliving means to be vibrant, alive, and strong.

You have great potential in your life.With great potential comes great responsi-bility. God has shaped you, but you need

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power to become everything He desires for youto become. Without the power of the HolyGhost you can go to Heaven, but you will neverreach your potential. Your ministry, your gifts,your calling, your life, and your marriage willbe only a form of what it could have been.

An Exceedingly Great Army

Without a word from God, without the ener-gizing breath of the Holy Ghost, you are only amere form of what you can be. This is similar tothe valley of dry bones that Ezekiel saw. Beforethe prophet lay a potential army, but withoutthe Word of the Lord they were merely a form ofwhat they could have been.

Let’s look at some principles we can learnfrom Ezekiel 37:

1. You must be willing to confess yourcondition. “They were very dry” (vs. 2).

2. You must confess that you aremerely a form of what you could be.

• The valley was “full of bones” (vs. 1).


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Without the Holy Ghost, you willnever reach your full potential.


• The structure of an army was justwaiting for God’s command.

3. Youmust hear the Word of God. “Proph-esy upon these dry bones, and sayunto them, O ye dry bones, hear theword of the Lord” (vs. 4).

• The anointing only falls upon truth.God will not put His seal of approvalon something until He is sure that itis His.

• The Word brings the truth that ulti-mately sets us free (John 8:32).

4. The Word will bring about change.

• The dry bones heard and were quick-ened (vs. 4).

• They heard their potential. “I willcause breath to enter into you, and yeshall live” (vs. 5).

• They knew they were not complete atthis stage. “I will lay sinews uponyou, and will bring flesh upon you, andcover you with skin” (vs. 6). The Wordbrought about a noise as brokenpieces began to come together (vs. 7).God will speak to your broken andshattered dreams.

• The Word brought a shaking (vs. 7).We need to be shaken out of our

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complacency, tradition, formaism,and doctrines.

• The Word formed real people witharms, legs, eyes, and feet. They werestill not complete, however.“But therewas no breath in them” (vs. 8).

5. The potential was realized as the wordbrought about the wind. “Prophesyunto the wind, prophesy, son of man,and say to the wind, Thus saith theLord God; Come from the four winds,O breath, and breathe upon theseslain, that they may live” (vs. 9).

The wind gave potential, the ability to carryout what they were capable of doing. The Wordcame from the four corners of the earth. That tellsme there isn’t an area that God cannot fill withthe Holy Ghost. Your past, your childhood, yourfeelings of inferiority, your wounds, your loneli-ness. The Holy Ghost can fill you from the north,south, east, and west.

This pile of bones had a potential that Ezekielcouldn’t see just as you have unseen potential. Nomatter what others say, God sees incredible poten-tial in you. The Word of God says you’re capable.Within you is an army. You merely need the wind tobreathe upon that which God has formed in you.


Within you is an army.

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Thoughts and Reflections


Chapter 2

Tongues of Fire


Tongues of Fire

Before the day of Pentecost, the HolyGhost had come upon men and

women periodically, usually to empower themfor specific tasks given by God as portrayed inthe Old Testament. Pentecost fulfilled Old Tes-tament prophecy and many predictions madeby Jesus Himself.

Christ taught His disciples to pray, “ThyKingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). The apostle Paulsaid, “The Kingdom of God is not meat anddrink [it was not by observing any particularfeast, custom, or ritual]; but righteousness, andpeace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:17).

The Holy Ghost came as the authority andpower of the Kingdom of God. The disciples hadwitnessed the miracles of Jesus. They saw Hisdeath and burial. They also saw the resurrected

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Christ stand in their presence three days later,which amazed them. Even Thomas, who was adoubter, stood in awe and declared, “My Lordand my God!” (John 20:28).

Even though they had seen and testified tothis, the disciples could not just go on theirway preaching. Jesus had given them specificinstructions:

Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until yebe endued with power from on high (Luke24:49).

God wanted a witness from Heaven to em-power mankind.

Only an earthen vessel empowered fromHeaven could declare the glories of theworld to come (Acts 1:8).

The doctrine of speaking in tongues andbeing baptized in the Holy Ghost has been ac-companied by much controversy. Let’s turn tothe Scriptures to look at the initial outpouring ofthe Holy Ghost.

And when the day of Pentecost was fullycome, they were all with one accord in oneplace. And suddenly there came a soundfrom Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,and it filled all the house where they weresitting. And there appeared unto them


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cloven tongues like as of fire, and it satupon each of them. And they were allfilled with the Holy Ghost, and began tospeak with other tongues, as the Spiritgave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4).

What happened on the day of Pentecost?

1. This event came right on time. “Andwhen the day of Pentecost was fullycome …” (vs. 1).

2. A sound from heaven, like a rushingmighty wind, filled all the housewhere they were sitting” (vs. 2).

3. Tongues of fire “sat upon each ofthem” (vs. 3).

4. They “were all filled with the HolyGhost, and began to speak with othertongues”(vs. 4).

5. The language came “as the Spiritgave them utterance”(vs. 4b).

Pentecost had Fully Come

The Jewish people were familiar with theterm Pentecost. Everything God did in typesand shadows in the Old Testament was ful-filled in the New Testament. In the Old Testa-ment God revealed Himself in many ways toIsrael. He was known as the “I am,” promisingto sustain them on their journey from Egypt to

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Canaan. Whatever they needed, He was the Iam of sustenance for that very thing.

One word gives us an understanding of thisconcept—the word true. Jesus said:

My Father giveth you the true bread fromheaven (John 6:32).

True means “to have without concealment.”Throughout the Old Testament, God had beenconcealed in type and shadow. In the New Tes-tament, however, He is no longer concealed. Hebecame in reality everything that He merely wasa shadow of in the Old Testament.

Pentecost was a type of something thatone day would explode and change this worldfor eternity. Pentecost meant “fiftieth day.”When we read “the day of Pentecost had fullycome,” that means the fiftieth day afterPassover had arrived.

Everything that needed to precede thismemorable day had taken place. Jesus, thePassover Lamb, had died and risen from thedead. He had walked with His disciples, wasconfirmed 40 days and nights with many infal-lible proofs, and then was received into glory.

Our personal Passover must precede ourPentecost. The blood of Christ prepares us forPentecost, washing away our sin and preju-dice, enabling us to come together with devout


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men and women from every nation. You can-not have a Pentecost with God if you are bi-ased against people—not just racial prejudicebut experiential prejudice. People have deviseda grading scale between one and ten for theseverity of certain sins. Sin, which simplymeans to miss the mark, has no scale of sever-ity in the eyes of God.

God is tearing down racial, ethnic, and reli-gious barriers, bringing people together from allwalks of life in one place with one focus: toreach the world for Jesus. We need it to be saidof us, “The day of Pentecost has fully come.” Theword fully means to come with an expected end,to come with anticipation, to come to have apart in a mission.

Pentecost marked the beginning of a mis-sion for the Jewish people as they gathered inthe fruit of their labors. Pentecost in Acts 2marked the beginning of a mission for thechurch to gather in lost souls. We need Pente-cost to fully arise in our life as we fall in lovewith Jesus, the Passover Lamb, to carry out theingathering of His harvest.

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God is bringing people togetherto reach the world for Jesus.


The Sound Filled the House

The sound from Heaven “filled all thehouse where they were sitting.” This soundwas a sign, witnessing that Heaven was speak-ing. The Greek word for sound denotes a loudrumbling or roaring voice, much like the rum-bling of a tornado that precedes the storm.

This wind filled closets, bedrooms, bath-rooms, upstairs, and downstairs. It filled allthe components in the house: jars, glasses,significant and insignificant things. This indi-cates that anyone can be filled with the HolyGhost.

We have seen saved Baptists, Methodists,Catholics—all walks of Christian professions—filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence ofspeaking with other tongues. The only manda-tory prerequisite is that you be a believer—aborn again, blood-washed child of God (Acts2:38,39; John 14:17).

What about the place where you are sit-ting? What about your home church? Is itfilled with the Holy Ghost? Has your assemblyexperienced a Pentecost that is filling every-thing inside? A person becomes a product ofhis environment. You will begin to resemblewhatever you are around, whether it is good orbad.


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Tongues of Fire Sat on Each One

This experience was not for a select few. Thecloven tongues of fire rested upon each one—men and women, young and old, apostles anddisciples. Hearing the sound, the amazed mul-titude asked, “What do these things mean?”Apostle Peter stood and said:

This is that which was spoken by the

prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in

the last days, saith God, I will pour out of

my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons

and your daughters shall prophesy, and

your young men shall see visions, and

your old men shall dream dreams: And

on my servants and on my handmaidens

I will pour out in those days of my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy (Acts 2:16-18).

God planned for His Spirit, a consumingfire, to rest upon each of His children. ApostlePeter told the crowd:

For the promise is unto you, and to your

children, and to all that are afar off, even

as many as the Lord our God shall call

(Acts 2:39).

Peter, who later preached to the Gentiles inCornelius’s house, said:

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Of a truth I perceive that God is no re-specter of persons (Acts 10:34).

He saw the Holy Spirit fall on the assemblyeven before he finished his sermon, confirmingGod’s promise.

They Spoke With Other Tongues

They “began to speak with other tongues”(Acts 2:4). Tongues in this passage is theGreek word “glossary,” which simply means“a language.”

Devout Jews from every nation had gatheredin Jerusalem for Pentecost. When the HolySpirit was poured out and the disciples beganto speak in tongues, it caused quite a stir.

Now when this was noised abroad, themultitude came together, and were con-founded, because that every man heardthem speak in his own language. Andthey were all amazed and marveled, say-ing one to another, Behold, are not allthese which speak Galilaeans? And howhear we every man in our own tongue,wherein we were born? Parthians, andMedes, and Elamites, and the dwellers inMesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cap-padocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia,and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the


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parts of Libya about Cyrene, and the

strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them

speak in our tongues the wonderful

works of God (Acts 2:6-11).

Luke mentions over a dozen locations in thispassage, representing many languages and di-alects. Tongues enabled the multitude to hearthe mighty deeds of God in their own language.

The Spirit Gave Them Utterance

The language came “as the Spirit gave themutterance” (Acts 2:4). Utterance means the abil-ity to speak plainly, to declare openly, or to havethe ability to enunciate with clarity. The peoplespoke, but the words came through the abilityor enabling of the Holy Ghost. They spoke as theSpirit gave utterance.

When you do something you are doing itwith assistance. If you walk across the room,you are walking as your feet move. Your feetare the tool being used to carry out the mis-sion of walking.

Suppose you fly to Chicago. It could besaid that you traveled to Chicago as the planeflew, meaning that you flew by the auspice ofthe plane.

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The believers at Pentecost spoke the lan-guage of Heaven, but only as the Holy Ghostgave them utterance.

God Gave A Pattern

The Old Testament conveyed many truths,but they were concealed in types and shadows.Everything in the Old Testament tabernacle de-picted in some type or shadow the glory of Godin the face of Jesus Christ.

The tabernacle was not an idea imagined byMoses. As God gave him the blueprint, Mosesbuilt it after the pattern he saw in Heaven (Ex-odus 25:8-40).

Moses was admonished of God when hewas about to make the tabernacle: for,See, saith he, that thou make all thingsaccording to the pattern shewed to theein the mount (Heb. 8:5).

Moses merely built what Heaven had envi-sioned. Tongues are no different than a pattern.

As Moses was commanded to build by thepattern, so we are to speak by the pattern as theSpirit gives utterance. Tongues come becausethe Spirit gives the utterance or the ability tospeak or enunciate.

People with hearing problems almost alwayshave a speech impediment. Our ability to hear


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gives us the ability to articulate or enunciate.Without hearing, we are limited in our ability tospeak. The same is true in the Spirit.

We must hear before we can speak. At Pen-tecost they heard “a sound from Heaven as of arushing mighty wind. …And they…began tospeak with other tongues, as the Spirit gavethem utterance” (Acts 2:2-4). They heard thesound, then they spoke.

God said Israel would not hear Him becauseof their uncircumcised ears. This simply meansthey were carnal and fleshly. We must walk inthe Spirit to hear the Spirit. To understand theways of God, we must listen not to human logicbut to the One who “knoweth the mind of theSpirit” (Rom. 8:27).

In the Old Testament, God spoke a patternof what He wanted to be built on earth. God alsoused a sound to witness to the Old Testamentsaints. God hasn’t changed His methods for wewho live today.

Exodus 28:33-35 describes the design of thehigh priest’s garment. On the hem of his gar-ment were pomegranates of blue, purple, andscarlet, symbolizing freshness of life, royalty,and the blood.

A golden bell was fastened on either side ofthe fruit for a sign to the people. When the highpriest went into the holy place to minister as

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mediator, he took blood and offered it upon themercy seat. The people could not see him, but ifthey heard the golden bells they knew the sacri-fice had been accepted and the priest lived. Thissound was a sign for the people that their sinshad been atoned for.

After the resurrection of Christ, He showedHimself to the disciples and others for 40 days.Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus told His fol-lowers to wait for the promise of the Father. Theygathered for prayer and waited as Christ took upthe office of high priest forever.

The Jews knew that the Passover resulted inthe death of an innocent lamb. Fifty days latermarked the beginning of their harvest or the feastof ingathering. Jesus said He was the PassoverLamb. Pentecost marked 50 days since His bloodhad been poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

The disciples’ wait ended. “And when the dayof Pentecost was fully come…there came asound…” (Acts 2:1,2). This was the fulfillment ofthe pomegranates and golden bells. The bellswere a sign that the sacrifice had been accepted,and the Holy Ghost was the sound that our sinshad been atoned for.

Have Tongues Ceased?

Charity never faileth: but whether therebe prophecies, they shall fail; whether


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there be tongues, they shall cease;whether there be knowledge, it shall van-ish away. For we know in part, and weprophesy in part. But when that which isperfect is come, then that which is in partshall be done away” (1 Cor. 13:8-10).

Many denominations have interpretedthis verse to mean that spiritual gifts, in-cluding tongues, have ceased. But is this the-ory accurate?

They say “that which is perfect” is the com-plete, written Scriptures. If this is the case,then knowledge is also done away with—andwe know that isn’t true. By putting the versein context, tongues, prophecies, and knowl-edge still exist because “that which is perfect”(the second coming of Christ) has not yettaken place.

The gifts of the Spirit enable us to see aglimpse of His glory, but we still “know inpart, and we prophesy in part” (1 Cor. 13:9).The shadow, the images, the glimpse of Hisglory, will pale in comparison to Christ Him-self when He reigns in glory. The gifts help usand attend to many of our needs. But whenwe see Jesus face to face, we will graduatefrom gifts, which are only a glimpse, to thegiver—Jesus Christ Himself.

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No matter how spiritual we become, nomatter how much Greek and Hebrew we maylearn, and no matter how much we pray andstudy, our understanding of God at its best isonly partial.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; butthen face to face: now I know in part; but thenshall I know even as also I am known (1 Cor.13:12).

Until then, however, tongues continue forthe use and edification of the believer.

Why Tongues?

God chose tongues as a sign for a significantreason. We can understand His sovereign selec-tion of tongues from this passage:

For in many things we offend all. If anyman offend not in word, the same is aperfect man, and able also to bridle thewhole body. Behold, we put bits in thehorses’ mouths, that they may obey us;and we turn about their whole body. Be-hold also the ships, which though they beso great, and are driven of fierce winds,yet are they turned about with a verysmall helm, withersoever the governor lis-teth. Even so the tongue is a little mem-ber, and boasteth great things. Behold,how great a matter a little fire kindleth!


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And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniq-uity: so is the tongue among our mem-bers, that it defileth the whole body, andsetteth on fire the course of nature; and itis set on fire of hell. For every kind ofbeasts, and of birds, and of serpents,and of things in the sea, is tamed, andhath been tamed of mankind: but thetongue can no man tame; it is an unrulyevil, full of deadly poison (James 3:2-8).

Let’s summarize some of these truths:

1. Every beast and animal has been tamedby mankind except the tongue.

2. If we can control the tongue, we cancontrol the whole body.

3. Very large things can be controlled bysomething very small

4. The tongue is a fire.

God often employs natural examples tobring about spiritual understanding. Jesusoften used natural, physical, tangible analogiesin His parables. He talked about a man whosowed seed, a woman who searched for a lostcoin, and servants who invested their master’smoney to describe the kingdom of God.

In this passage God uses the tongue toteach truth. The tongue is a fire—somethingout of control, something that is difficult if not

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impossible to tame. If we can control thetongue, this enables us to control every aspectof our lives.

James pointed out that something very largecan be guided by something very small. A horsecan be controlled by the bits in its mouth. Jamesknew a horse wasn’t tamed by chaining its feet orwrapping something around its neck. A horsecan be guided by controlling its movements fromthe mouth.

A large ship can be guided across roughwaters with little effort by using a small wheel-the helm-which guides the ship and controlsits direction.

When we are filled with the Holy Ghost, Heacts as a deterrent. He places bits in our mouthsand bridles our speech. Just when you feel liketelling someone off, the Holy Ghost takes control.Isn’t it exciting that God took the tongue, a mem-ber of our body known for being “a fire, a worldof iniquity,” and sanctified it for His purposes?

When God filled the disciples on the day ofPentecost, He sent tongues of fire to sit upon


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Taming the tongue gives uspower to control our lives.


each of them. God caused them to speak with aheavenly language, proving He had control ofthese believers.

Why did God choose tongues as a sign? Hetook the most difficult, uncontrollable memberof our body and caused it to yield to divinely in-spired speech. Bridling the tongue may be im-possible for man to do in his own strength, butthe supernatural outpouring of the Holy Ghostenabled these disciples to use their tongues forthe purposes of God.

Two Types of Tongues

Speaking in tongues can occur in two dif-ferent settings. A believer may pray in tonguesprivately to commune with God:

For he that speaketh in an unknowntongue speaketh not unto men, but untoGod: for no man understandeth him;howbeit in the spirit he speaketh myster-ies… He that speaketh in an unknowntongue edifieth himself (1 Corinthians14:2,4).

Scripture also teaches on the gift of tonguesor “divers [different] kinds of tongues” (1 Cor.12:10), which is used in a public assembly.Apostle Paul gave instructions on regulatingthis gift.

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If any man speak in an unknown tongue,let it be by two, or at the most by three,and that by course; and let one interpret(1 Corinthians 14:27).

Without the interpretation of tongues, thechurch will not be edified.

I would that ye all spake with tongues,but rather that ye prophesied: for greateris he that prophesieth that he thatspeaketh with tongues, except he inter-pret, that the church may receive edifying(1 Corinthians 14:5).

We also find the phrase “to one is given”(1 Cor. 12:8), which implies that not all will havethe same gift any more than members of a bodyhave the same functions.

A body has many members, yet their func-tions differ from each other. The hand cannotfunction as a foot or vice versa. In the same waythe Spirit gives different gifts to different people.

We also find in First Corinthians 12:4-7 fourimportant truths:

1. Gifts come by the Spirit (vs. 4).

2. Each gift has a different administra-tion (vs. 5).

3. Each gift has a different operation(vs. 6).


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4. Gifts are given “to every man to Profitwithal” (vs. 7). The gifts of the Spirit arealways manifested to minister and helppeople, never to cause harm, confu-sion,or division.

There is a difference between the gift oftongues and tongues used as a prayer lan-guage. The gift of tongues benefits the hearers;the prayer language benefits only the speaker.If you fail to understand the difference be-tween speaking in tongues and the gift oftongues, you have missed the whole issue andwill become confused. As a result, you mayeven confuse others.

When the gift of tongues is given in a publicassembly, the message needs to be interpretedfor the hearers to benefit. Sometimes, however,such as on the day of Pentecost, the gift oftongues is given to minister to the hearers intheir own language (Acts 2:6).

For example, suppose you were in Russiaand the Holy Spirit enabled you to speak fluentRussian. This miraculous sign would cause the

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The gift of tongues benefitshearers; the prayer language

benefits the speaker.


people to understand in their own language andit would be a witness and a confirmation of thegift itself.

In the law it is written, With men of othertongues and other lips will I speak untothis people; and yet for all that will theynot hear me, saith the Lord. Whereforetongues are for a sign, not to them thatbelieve, but to them that believe not: butprophesying serveth not for them thatbelieve not, but for them which believe(1 Corinthians 14:21,22).

God said that He would speak to men inother tongues and with other lips, “yet for allthat will they not hear me.” Isn’t it amazing thatmen can see the gift of God in operation andhear the manifestation of the Holy Ghost but failto believe? Mockers concluded, “These men arefull of new wine” (Acts 2:13).

Being filled with the Holy Ghost, however,gives us tremendous power for living the Chris-tian life.

Empowerment Not Entertainment

The Holy Ghost has not been given to thechurch to entertain congregations but rather toempower them. Jesus said, “Ye shall receivepower, after that the Holy Ghost is come uponyou” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Ghost gives us power


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not to just shout, run the aisles, or to put on ashow. He empowers us to intervene in societyas a witness.

Jesus gave these instructions to His disciples:

And these signs shall follow them thatbelieve; In my name they shall cast outdevils; they shall speak with newtongues; they shall take up serpents; andif they drink any deadly thing, it shall nothurt them; they shall lay hands on thesick, and they shall recover (Mark16:17,18).

The Book of Acts records the amazingsigns and wonders that occurred through thedisciples. What was the catalyst for these mir-acles? Pentecost. After being endued withpower from on high, “they went forth, andpreached everywhere, the Lord working withthem, and confirming the word with signs fol-lowing” (Mark 16:20).

That’s the kind of power we need to trans-form our lives, families, churches, and society.

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Chapter 3

Power for Living


Power for Living

Being filled with the Holy Ghost placesthe power of God at our disposal to

carry out the work of the Kingdom. Soon afterbeing baptized in the Holy Ghost, most believ-ers notice a marked change in their ability topray and walk in God’s anointing.

Why is it so important to pray with thepower of the Holy Ghost? All too often ourspirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. Weneed God’s help to overcome the tug of ourcarnal nature.

Our spirit is willing but ourflesh is weak.

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Man is Body, Soul, and Spirit

Apostle Paul wrote:

And I pray God your whole spirit and

soul and body be preserved blameless

unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

(1 Thessalonians 5:23).

This Scripture shows us the three parts ofman: body, soul, and spirit.

If these three parts were the same, Paulnever would have prayed that they each wouldbe wholly preserved. If we want to have a suc-cessful prayer life, and reach our full potentialwith God, then each of these parts must be un-derstood and put in their place.

Each of these parts affects our prayer life. Ifwe were only spirit, the blessings of prayerwould be unrestrained, without hindrance. Butwe have to deal with our body and soul.

The words wholly and preserved are signifi-cant. Wholly means to completely, absolutelyreach the limit or potential. Preserved means toguard, to watch, to keep an eye on, to keepsomething in its place. As we pray, we mustcontend with these three parts. Each elementplays a significant role in the success or failureof our prayer life:


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1. Body

The body entails our flesh and its ap-petites. The flesh never wants to pray.The flesh never awakens you with a de-sire to seek God. The flesh is at enmitywith God and does not understand Hisways. This is why no man can pleaseGod in the flesh. Because the flesh willnever come up to the expectations of theSpirit, we must discipline the flesh to besubject to what we know is right. Theflesh will sit back and say, “You don’thave to pray. If it’s going to happen, thenit will happen.” But we must go intocombat to get certain things. We mustbombard the gates of Heaven to obtaincertain things, and the body never wantsto do this.

2. Soul

The soul of man is sandwiched be-tween our body, which never wants topray or do right, and our spirit, whichdesires God and spiritual things. Thesoul of man entails our emotions,feelings, weaknesses, and our past.An ongoing, progressive, renewingwork occurs in your soul. When wepray with our soul, we pray with our

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intellect and an understanding to thebest of our ability. But to go into deepspiritual warfare, we must go beyondour logic and our intellect.

3. Spirit

When you were lost, your spirit was“dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph.2:1). Now that you are saved, however,your spirit has been quickened, whichmeans to vitalize, to cause to live, to bevibrant and strong. As the Holy Ghostbegins to have an intimate relationshipwith our spirit, we begin to produce the“fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22,23). TheHoly Ghost wants to know you in an in-timate way; He doesn’t want just a sur-face relationship.

Adam knew his wife again; and she barea son, and called his name Seth (Genesis4:25).

Intimacy results in fruit, or offspring.

Apostle Paul wrote, “that I may know him”(Phil. 3:10), which implies a close relationship,one that causes us to partake in His experi-ences. But you can’t know Christ in resurrec-tion power until you know Him in His sufferingsand death. Our old man must be crucified with


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Him daily as we are being changed from gloryto glory.

Apostle Paul knew Jesus in the pardon andforgiveness of sin, but still longed to know Himintimately. For this to occur, two things had tohappen.

• “Forgetting those things which arebehind” (Phil.3:13). These were notall bad or questionable activities,but they were not satisfying either.They left Paul crying out for moreof God.

• “Reaching forth unto those thingswhich are before” (Phil. 3:13). Paulwanted to press toward the markfor the prize of the high calling ofGod in Christ Jesus. He wanted tobecome spiritually intimate withJesus to produce fruit.

Why Speak in Tongues?

This is a good question asked by many in-telligent people. Why should anyone speak intongues? Tongues merely express the language ofGod. In order for us to reach the will of God for ourlives, we must be able to communicate with God.

Power for Living

We must communicate with God.

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Speaking in tongues is not a strange newdoctrine. In fact, it’s been around for hundreds,even thousands, of years. God poured it out atthe inception of the Church.

Before we cover several scriptural reasonsfor this practice, I would like to share an ex-ample that highlights the importance of speak-ing in tongues.

A CB radio gives you the ability to speak toother people providing you are on the samefrequency. Different people use different chan-nels for a variety of reasons. Whatever chan-nel you use to transmit or receive a message,the transmitter and the one receiving must beon the same channel and have the squelchturned up loud enough to hear. CB radios alsohave a special channel for emergencies. Anytime you need the police or emergency assis-tance you can switch to this frequency and noone else can monitor your conversation.

This may seem like a crude analogy, but inthe spirit world many messages are beingtransmitted. The Bible says that satan is the“prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). If westay on the same frequency, he can pick upour transmissions. But satan cannot monitorthe emergency channel. His squelch cannottune in because it is just a bunch of static tohim. He cannot make out what we are saying.


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Praying in the Spirit is a frequency that satancannot pick up.

By Passing Satan’s Radar

And I heard a loud voice saying inHeaven, Now is come salvation, andstrength, and the Kingdom of our God,and the power of his Christ: for the ac-cuser of our brethren is cast down, whichaccused them before our God day andnight (Revelation 12:10).

Since satan is the prince of the power of theair and comes before the presence of God, heconstantly surveys our prayer life. No wonderwe experience such adversity and oppositionwhen we try to get close to God. To make ourway to the throne of God, we must push pastthe enemy’s surveillance.

For we wrestle not against flesh andblood, but against principalities, againstpowers, against the rulers of the dark-ness of this world, against spiritualwickedness in high places (Ephesians6:12).

Let me use another illustration. In the firstIraq War, the United States and their allies knewthat they were up against some of the mostmodern, up-to-date defenses in all the world.

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The war was waged in two parts. During thefirst part, known as Desert Watch or DesertShield, the United States flew reconnaissanceflights to monitor the movement and thestrengths and weaknesses of the enemy.

Because of these reconnaissance flights, welearned that Iraq had employed the most modern,state-of-the-art radar systems. The United Statesknew if we were to be successful—with limitedcasualties—we would have to somehow bypassIraq’s radar system. This was achieved by usingstealth bombers, which enabled us to mount anattack without being detected on radar.

On the first night of the attack, the majorbombardment was almost over before Iraq evenrealized what had happened.

When you pray in the Spirit, you go beforethe throne of God undetected by satan becauseyou speak mysteries to Him. Your prayers arelike stealth bombers that bypass his detection.

Praying in the Spirit enables you to pray heal-ing, delivering, yoke-breaking, devil-stompingprayers without being shot at. You can go into


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Your prayers are like stealthbombers bypassing satan.


God’s presence and receive ammunition toshake the gates of hell. That’s why satan fightspeople from praying in the Spirit. He confusespeople regarding this truth because he knowshe doesn’t have a weapon to defend against it.

Switch Channels

The apostle Paul uses the word tongues

(plural) to show his multiplicity of lan-

guages. “Though I speak with the tongues

of men and of angels …” (1 Cor. 13:1).

Sometimes we need to speak in our naturallanguage according to our heritage. Sometimes,however, our natural language is no match forthe warring spirits between earth and thethrone of God.

When prayers in our natural language arebeing intercepted and shot down, Paul tells usto switch channels. Allow the Holy Ghost withinyou to speak out on earth what Heaven isspeaking into your spirit. This is praying intongues, or praying in the Spirit.

Satan understands the language of men.When we pray about a certain thing, our adver-sary causes principalities and powers in the at-mosphere between earth and the throne of Godto intercept our words. He attacks the very thingwe pray about.

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Satan does not understand the language ofheaven. God’s ways, which are so much higherthan our ways, include praying in tongues. Thisleaves satan confused as to how to attack us.He may assign an evil spirit to attack our prayerlife and report back to him so he can make acounterattack. But when we pray in the Spirit,or pray in tongues, we frustrate his plans.

Remember that tongues are spiritual andnot fleshly. satan works through our flesh.When our prayers switch from an earthly,fleshly, carnal language to a secondary, spiri-tual, heavenly language, satan is confused.

The believer is built up as the Holy Ghostpleads the life, the power, the joy, and the vic-tory of God into your spirit. Hallelujah for theability to speak out from earth what the HolyGhost is speaking in from Heaven!

Interceding With Groans

Speaking in tongues places a great arsenalof spiritual weaponry at your disposal. Notknowing this, however, many believers strugglein prayer and intercession.

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infir-mities: for we know not what we shouldpray for as we ought: but the Spirit itselfmaketh intercession for us with groan-ings which cannot be uttered. And he that


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searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the

mind of the Spirit, because he maketh in-

tercession for the saints according to the

will of God (Romans 8:26,27).

Romans 8:26 contains a word that is oftenoverlooked, and that is the very first word, like-wise. The word means “in like manner, or to besimilar to.”

For we know that the whole creation

groaneth and travaileth in pain together

until now. And not only they, but our-

selves also, which have the firstfruits of

the Spirit, even we ourselves groan

within ourselves, waiting for the adop-

tion, to wit, the redemption of our body

(Romans 8:22,23).

It points back to the two previous times theword groan is used in that chapter. Romans8:22 refers to the groan of creation waiting forthe redemption and restoration of this earth.Romans 8:23 refers to the groans of Christiansas we await the completion of our redemption,the receiving of our new body.

Apostle Paul uses the same word for thegroans of the Holy Ghost (vs. 26). The wordgroanings means “to groan with a sigh, or asense of lamenting.”

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This was very familiar to the Old Testamentprophets. When they got in tune with the natureand character of God, they often expressedthemselves in unusual ways. Their intercessionfor the people could be described as wailing,howling, or lamenting. They were speaking alanguage outwardly that God was speaking in-wardly to them.

We cannot understand the language of Godin our own intellect.

I like to explain it like this: When a childwho cannot talk plainly wants something, he orshe may be able to speak only portions of words.A stranger may not understand, but the child’smother can make out the language. Eventhough the baby talk is barely intelligible, sheunderstands the need. Taking a bunch of stam-mering, broken remarks, she interprets the lan-guage to meet the need.

Sometimes in order to get what you needfrom God, you must go from one language(our human intellect) to another language (theHoly Ghost).


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We cannot understand the lan-guage of God in our own intellect.


Help In Prayer

The Holy Ghost stands alongside us to as-sist, to cause one to stand, to cause one toachieve. It means one who stands in covenantwith. In essence, the Holy Ghost stands by yourside to not only plead the covenant of God, butto cause you to attain what the covenant pro-vides for you.

He does this in four ways:

1. He assists us through our infirmi-ties. The Spirit “helpeth our infirmi-ties” which means He stands alongside as annally, one waiting in thewings who is willing and able to assist us. We need help because “thespirit indeed is willing, but the fleshis weak” (Matt. 26:41).

The word “infirmities” means inability toproduce results. Opposition prevents you fromreceiving what God has provided for you in Hiscovenant. The Holy Ghost helps us and gives usa breakthrough.

2. He assists us in that He knows. TheSpirit is very knowledgeable aboutthings that perplex us. “For we knownot what we should pray for.” We don’talways know what is right. As we allowthe Holy Ghost to saturate and to

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permeate our lives, He begins to tellus how to pray for certain things.

For instance, whom should you date? Whomshould you marry? Where should you go tochurch? In what ministry should you serve? Some-times you’ll want to speak or do something and theHoly Ghost will caution you, “Don’t say or do that.”He assists you where you don’t have clear direction.

3. He assists us with intercessions. AsJesus, our Mediator, pleads us toGod—the Holy Ghost, Who knowsthe very mind of God, pleads God tous. “He maketh intercession for us.”Intercession means that the HolyGhost will meet with us. He comesinto our situation and speaks intoour spirit as one who interviews an-other.

We don’t have the ability to produce resultsand to get our breakthrough. Even if we did havethe ability, we are still void of knowledge becausewe “know not what we should pray for.” The HolyGhost will get us to admit our frailties. Then Hewill fellowship with us and assist us in what to do.As the Holy Ghost intercedes, He merely speaksinto earth what He has already heard spoken inthe counsels of Heaven.

This is why Jesus often repeated a truth Hewanted to reveal: “Verily, verily” or “truly, truly.”


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Once in the heavenlies by divine sanction, oncein the earth to carry out the divine sanction.

4. He assists us with Heaven’s lan-guage. The Spirit pleads the will ofGod to us. “Because he maketh intercession for the saints according tothe will of God” (vs. 27). As creationgroans, it speaks a language thatonly God can interpret. The saints ofGod sometimes groan with broken,stammering remarks.

Sometimes all we can do is lay before God, notknowing what to do or say. We need to be full ofthe Holy Ghost and listening to Him because Hewill plead God’s will to us. We just have to be ableto hear. “He that hath an ear, let him hear whatthe Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 2:7).

The Holy Ghost RelaysWhat Heaven Sends

John 16:13 presents some of the greatesttruths ever revealed to the Church. Jesus saidthe Holy Ghost would do four things:

1. He will guide you into all truth.

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The Holy Ghost pleadsGod’s will to us.


2. He will speak truth to you, but Hewill not speak of Himself.

3. He will show you all truth concern-ing things to come.

4. He will speak into you what He hearsHeaven speaking into Him.

We must be able to hear what the HolyGhost is saying. But it is equally important toknow the Holy Ghost hears what to speak to us.He never breaks the chain of command fromHeaven. How can we know that what the HolyGhost says is reliable?

First, the Holy Ghost is one with God. Hewill never speak anything that is not sanctionedby the Word. Second, God, who cannot lie,searched Heaven and earth for someone to con-firm His covenant and swear to its authenticity.When He could find no one else to meet the cri-teria of His holy demands, God swore by Him-self. Now the Holy Ghost freely speaks a swornoath and covenant into the hearts of Spirit-filledbelievers who can hear His voice.

Jesus said “whatsoever he heareth, hespeaketh.” That means the Holy Ghost speaksinto you what Heaven has already decreed.

Build Up Yourself

In the following passage we find some of thesimplest and most profound truths in all the


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Word of God. But everything hinges on the truthstated in verse 20:

But ye, beloved, building up yourselveson your most holy faith, praying in theHoly Ghost, keep yourselves in the loveof God, looking for the mercy of our LordJesus Christ unto eternal life. And ofsome have compassion, making a differ-ence: And others save with fear, pullingthem out of the fire; hating even the gar-ment spotted by the flesh (Jude 20-23).

We can build up ourselves, cultivate a senseof expectancy about the coming of the Lord,have compassion on those who have fallen, andbe moved with a zeal to make a difference in thelives of those who have spotted their garments.

Let’s look at the ability to “build up.” Theword build is an architectural word that means“to cause a building to stand.” It means “to laya good foundation.” In the natural realm, it isalways important to leave yourself the ability toadd on to your building in case you need to ex-pand in the future. If you have outgrown yourspiritual house, the Holy Ghost gives you the re-sources to add on to meet your demands.

If you have more ministry, then you have aplace to house it, to build on. Are there weakareas in the structure? Build them up. You do

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this by praying in the Holy Spirit. This willbuild up your faith so that you can standagainst Goliath and know that your God is big-ger than the giant who defies you.

When God got ready to bless Elijah, His ul-timate will was for the prophet to stand on Mt.Carmel, which means fruitful ground. But theblessing came progressively as he went to thebrook Cherith where he drank from its watersand was fed by ravens. One day, however, thebrook dried up and no longer met his needs.The word Cherithmeans to make covenant with.God made a covenant, proving not only Himselfto Elijah, but Elijah to Himself.

Next, God sent Elijah to a widow inZarephath, which means to refine as in a melt-ing pot. Gold is not pure in its original form andmust be refined, which is done by heating it toboiling. The heat separates the raw substancefrom its impurities, which surface to the top andare skimmed off. God does the same for us,using the heat of trials to separate the gold fromthe dross in our lives.

God leads you through a progressive path,but the ultimate goal is to be on Mt. Carmel andbe fruitful. He wants you to be able to call firedown from Heaven, to see into the Spirit as Eli-jah saw, and to persevere in prayer until Godintervenes in your situation. The answer to your


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drought may appear to be a cloud the size of aman’s hand, but you know a refreshing rain isabout to fall.

This is why Christians from all denomina-tions are being filled with the Holy Ghost.Having outgrown the tradition of their past ex-periences, they have passed the tests atCherith and Zarephath and are ready to go toMt. Carmel.

If you feel a hunger to go on with God, theHoly Ghost is telling you that your presentspiritual house is too small. He is urging youto build upon your present foundation. Inorder to do this, however, we must pray in theHoly Ghost.

More Benefits

Unlike giving a message in tongues in apublic meeting, which edifies other people,praying in tongues edifies you. We often walkinto a nice church building, recognizing it asbeing a tremendous edifice. It simply means agreat place for dwelling, meeting, communing,and fellowship.

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Call down fire from Heaven!


Praying in tongues does at least five thingsfor you individually:

1. It gives you the ability to talk to Godalone, frustrating the devil. “He thatspeaketh in an unknown tonguespeaketh not untomen, but unto God”(1 Cor. 14:2). This gives you the abilityto bypass all others and go into thepresence of God. The Old Testamentequivalent would be to go into the holyof holies and commune directly withGod.

Your adversary brings certain thingsagainst you to discourage and cause you tolose focus. Praying in tongues enables us tobypass his radar system.

There are two great weapons in modernday warfare. One is the ability to fly fighter jetsand bombers without being detected by radar.This is done by stealth bombers. Stealthmeans to have the ability to go undetected byenemy radar.

The second is the ability to jam the radarby sending a false signal. As you pray in theSpirit and shout your way through your storm,this sends a signal to the devil that totallyjams his radar system.

2. It edifies the person praying (1 Cor.14:4). The word edifymeans “to build


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up, to build on, to establish a struc-ture.” As you pray in tongues, youenlarge your borders. If you havemore ministry than prayer life, thenadd on. If you have outgrown whereyou are, then add on.

Your complexes will vanish as the HolyGhost imparts confidence. Your fears will vanishas the Holy Ghost builds you up. Your past fail-ures and sins will be dealt a decisive blow by theHoly Ghost. This change will take every weakarea in your structure and begin to brace andstrengthen it, giving you glorious victory.

You may not even notice the change takingplace, and you might not even realize it’s theHoly Ghost doing the work quietly and inter-nally. But it won’t be long before what is hap-pening on the inside begins to manifest itself onthe outside. As you learn to pray in the HolyGhost, it will just happen automatically.

As you come into a deeper relationship withGod, you will find that you cannot survive on a“Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. Your prayer

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Add on!


life will have to match your ministry and com-mitment to Spirit-filled living.

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves

on your most holy faith, praying in the

Holy Ghost (Jude 20).

Praying in the Holy Ghost shores up thefoundation of our faith.

The best defense against disease is our nat-ural immune system, which has been designedby God to help us ward off the enemies of ourbody and diseases that come against us. Butthe immune system must be kept strong andvibrant by eating right, getting plenty of rest,and exercising.

Many of us are at our own lowest ebb spiri-tually and have become susceptible to anythingthat comes our way. But if we pray in the HolyGhost, we will be built up, enabling us to fightoff sin and discouragement.

And take the helmet of salvation, and

the sword of the Spirit, which is the

word of God: Praying always with all

prayer and supplication in the Spirit,

and watching thereunto with all perse-

verance and supplication for all saints

(Ephesians 6:17-18).


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3. It helps you put on the armor of God.Many Christians feel this spiritualpreparation is like choosing theirclothes for the day from their closet.The apostle Paul mentioned our warfare, our enemies, and our armor,which covers every vital part of a sol-dier: the helmet (our mind); thebreastplate (our heart); the girdle oftruth (thetruth of God’s Word uponwhich the hole armor rests); theshield of faith, which kept the soldierwalking forward and never turninghis back, which was exposed; thepreparation of the gospel on our feet(our walk).

This armor dresses us for any occasion. But thekey is in verses17and18.After describing the armorpiece by piece, Paul goes right from verse 17 to verse18without stopping. It’s as if he’s saying, “This ishowyouget thearmor: prayingalways in theSpirit.” Pray-ing in the Holy Ghost clothes us from head to footwith thearmor ofGod.Yes, praying in theSpirit armsyouwithanarsenal thatwill cause you to stand.Hal-lelujah for the ability to pray in the Holy Ghost!

4. It builds up a wall of defense.

When the enemy shall come in like a flood,the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standardagainst him (Isaiah 59:19).

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Yes, there are times when the enemy invadesour lives. He will come into your mind; he will comeinto your marriage; he will come into your ministry.He comes in like a flood and desires to devour youand anything that has been born of God in your life.

The Holy Spirit stands by as your ally. When theenemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit shall lift up astandard against him. He provides you with a placeof defense, a place of shelter, a place of refuge, aplace to hide.

Job’s life is a good example of this. When Godpraised Job’s integrity, Satan pointed out:

Hast not thou made an hedge about him,and about his house, and about all that hehath on every side? (Job 1:10).

The adversary asked permission to touch allthat Job had. Satan came in like a flood, destroyinghis sons, daughters, servants, and livestock. Notsatisfied with this, satan asked permission to afflictJob’s body. God set a limit, however, and said, “Savehis life” (Job 2:6).

Praying in the Spirit sets up a wall of defensethat satan cannot penetrate. The Spirit will lift upthe wall of the blood of Jesus and say, “satan, youcan’t touch this!”

5. It helps you relieve anxiety.

Come ye yourselves apart into a desertplace, and rest a while (Mark 6:31).


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Praying in the Spirit allows you to come apartbefore you come apart. Many of you are under se-vere pressure. You are tense, battle weary. Like thedisciples, you need a solitary place to rest awhile.

Praying in the Spirit pulls us into an experi-ence with God. It’s not surprising that Paulwondered whether he was in the body or out ofthe body. The apostle saw and heard things un-lawful for a man to speak. God in the Spirittakes us to paradise, pulling us apart from thepressures of the world before we come apart.

A piece of material does not come apart sud-denly. It unravels bit by bit. If you don’t repairit, a small tear can cause the whole garment tocome apart.

Praying in the Spirit brings us to that solitaryplace with God to help cope with stress, pressure,and anxiety. If your life is falling apart, your needis similar to the woman with the issue of blood.She wanted to touch the hem of Christ’s garment.She realized the hem was where all loose endswere put back together. This is what praying inthe Spirit will do.

What is it then? I will pray with thespirit, and I will pray with the under-standing also: I will sing with the spirit,

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Praying in the Spirit brings peace.

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and I will sing with the understandingalso (1 Corinthians 14:15).

“I will pray with the spirit” means that yourely on the Holy Ghost to guide you as youpray. He will speak, but we must listen. Whenwe pray with the Spirit, we are praying with theknowledge of God’s will

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infir-mities: for we know not what we shouldpray for as we ought: but the Spirit itselfmaketh intercession for us with groan-ings which cannot be uttered (Romans8:26).

We also pray with the insight of the Spirit:

And he that searcheth the heartsknoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,because he maketh intercession for thesaints according to the will of God (Ro-mans 8:27).

When we pray in the Spirit, we pray withfervency and intensity as the Spirit gives us theunction to focus on what we are praying for anddiligently seek God.

But without faith it is impossible toplease him: for he that cometh to Godmust believe that he is, and that he is arewarder of them that diligently seek him


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(Hebrews 11:6).

“I will pray with the understanding” meansthat as we pray by the unction and leadership ofthe Holy Ghost, we pray a prayer that will havemeaning as the same Holy Ghost interprets tous the things that we have spoken.

Sometimes we have no knowledge of how topray because the things that we confront arebigger than we are.

They are deeper than our human logic cancomprehend.

That’s why we need to pray within the spiritrealm, which is bigger than any problem, weak-ness, or dilemma we face. We also need to askGod to interpret to us the things that we havespoken through the auspice of the Holy Ghost.As He reveals them to us, we will gain anunderstanding.

We Need the Anointing

Sometimes we don’t know what to say. Ourheart is crushed; our spirit is overwhelmed. Weknow that we need a touch; we know the areathat needs to be touched, but we don’t alwaysknow what to say.

Have you ever been so overwhelmed, soovercome that all you can do is groan? Maybeyou can only say, “Jesus, help me,” or “I needYou, Lord.” That’s when we need to change our

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language. We need to wait on the Holy Ghost be-cause He knows how to pray—and what to pray.The Holy Ghost will always pray in alignmentwith the will of God (Rom. 8:27).

The anointing of the Holy Ghost doesn’t al-ways bring chills or goose bumps. It isn’t alwayscharged with emotion. The anointing, however,brings power.

The Old Testament high priest knew therewas only one place where he could see and ex-perience a manifestation of God’s glory and thatwas in the holy of holies. That’s where Godpromised to show Himself and commune withHis people (Exod. 25:17-22).

In these last days, satan and all his cohortsare waging a final onslaught against theChurch. We must know God in a way in whichwe have never known Him before. Within someof you are miracles, unborn babies, ministries,and gifts. Many of you have callings on your life.

Because of circumstances—perhaps some-thing beyond your control; perhaps because ofyour faults, failures, or your past life—satan has


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Help me Jesus!


told you that your baby, your gift, your ministry,must be aborted. But satan is a liar. Scripturetells us “the gifts and callings of God are with-out repentance” (Rom. 11:29). You need to getto where you can see the raw, undiluted pres-ence of God and His anointing.

You Can Make It!

What encourages me when I go throughthe storms of life? I look in the Word of Godand find that someone else has already beenthere and made it through. We are surroundedby witnesses:

Wherefore seeing we also are com-passed about with so great a cloud ofwitnesses, let us lay aside everyweight, and the sin which doth so eas-ily beset us, and let us run with pa-tience the race that is set before us(Hebrews 12:1).

In each instance, however, these saintshad to get to a certain place before they sawthe manifestation of God.

Noah endured a torrential downpour thatflooded the earth for months, but he had aplace that gave him access to God. On thethird level of the ark a window gave him ac-cess to the heavenlies.

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A window shalt thou make to the ark,and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above;and the door of the ark shalt thou set inthe side thereof; with lower, second, andthird stones shalt thou make it (Genesis6:16).

In the midst of his storm he found solaceand peace.

Jacob struggled for years with who hewas, compared to who he wanted to be. Hiswrestling climaxed when he got to Jabbok,which means to pour out, to empty. Jacobwent alone to Jabbok, the place of strugglewhere he wrestled with an angel. Divinity metwith humanity, and Jacob’s thigh was put outof joint. Upon arriving at the place, the patri-arch was Jacob (swindler, supplanter,cheater), but after the struggle, his name wasIsrael (prince of God). It was a place of power,as God gave him power with Himself and man(Gen. 32:21-29).

Moses struggled with his leadership re-sponsibilities over the nation of Israel. Thedemands of the multitude taxed Moses to thepoint of exhaustion. Moses asked God for amanifestation of His glory. But before Mosescould see this manifestation, he had to get toa certain place. Hidden in the cleft of a rock,


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Moses saw the afterglow of God’s glory, but onlyafter he got to that place.

How the Anointing Works

If you’re a believer in Christ, you havesome type of calling on your life. You maybe a pastor or a leader in the church. Youmay have a specific gift that needs to bestirred up.

Like Jacob, you may be struggling with whoyou are. Some of you may be wrestling withyour past. You need to know that there is aplace with God of yoke-breaking anointing. Let’slook at two passages of Scripture for sometimely truths:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it isfor brethren to dwell together in unity! Itis like the precious ointment upon thehead, that ran down upon the beard,even Aaron’s beard: that went down tothe skirts of his garments; as the dew ofHermon, and as the dew that descendedupon the mountains of Zion: for there the

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You have a calling.


Lord commanded the blessing, even lifefor evermore (Psalm 133:1-3).

And it shall come to pass in that day, thathis burden shall be taken away from offthy shoulder, and his yoke from off thyneck, and the yoke shall be destroyed be-cause of the anointing (Isaiah 10:27).

1. The anointing flows from the headdown (Psalm 133:2). Jesus is thehead. His anointing is flowing, but wemust be in alignment (in fellowship)with Him.

2. The anointing will be “as the dew ofHermon” (Psalm 133:3a). The Is-raelites knew the dew of Mt. Hermonand Mt. Zion was heavy even in dryweather.

3. The anointing will take authority overyour situations. “For there the Lordcommanded the blessing” (Psalm133:3b).

4. The anointing will lift burdens fromyour shoulder (Isaiah 10:27a).

5. The anointing will take away yokesthat have caused you to say and dothings and go places you really did-n’t desire (Isaiah 10:27).


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6. The anointing will destroy the yoke.It isn’t enough to just lift the yokefrom your neck. If you leave a yokeenabled, it can resume its previousposition at any time. The anointingdismantles everything that satan hadplanned for your life.

In the days of the judges, the Philistines stolethe ark of the covenant. They placed the ark besidetheir god Dagon. The presence of God in the arkcaused Dagon to fall on his face. After thePhilistines sat him up again, the presence of Godcaused Dagon to fall a second time. Upon his sec-ond fall his head was cut off and also both palms(1 Sam. 5:1-4).

Everything satan planned to do (his head) andall the things he wanted to do (his hands) has beendestroyed by the anointing. He has been cut off andrendered helpless.

Noweapon that is formed against thee shallprosper; and every tongue that shall riseagainst thee in judgment thou shalt con-demn. This is the heritage of the servants ofthe Lord, and their righteousness is of me,saith the Lord (Isaiah 54:17).

This level of anointing is vital because we willneed to have high-level talks with God that we donot want satan to hear or to understand. We need

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the ability to change languages. Tongues are avail-able, and they are for you. You can speak the lan-guage as the Spirit of God gives the utterance.

The Master Key

As long as we operate according to humanlogic and our carnal perceptions of things, wewill find ourselves up and down with our cir-cumstances. But when we tap into the HolyGhost, our knowledge takes on a whole newperspective and we begin to operate in King-dom authority.

We no longer fret when the gates of hell rise upagainst us because we know that Jesus has givenus the master key, which is the anointing of theHoly Ghost. You don’t have to worry about beinglocked in or locked out if you have the master key.The master key can open any lock.

Jesus told Peter not to worry about the gatesof hell because He would give him the keys to theKingdom (Matt. 16:17-19). These keys were a mys-tery to others, but to Peter the keys solved anydilemma because they were Kingdom keys. Theywere a mystery to some, but a message of prevail-ing authority to those who understand the code.


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Tap into the Holy Ghostfor wisdom.


Jesus faced these four dilemmas:

1. Traditions of men (Matt. 15:1-3).

2. Outward religion that left the heartdesperately wicked (Matt. 15:10-20).

3. Physical infirmities, a type of spiri-tual handicaps (Matt. 15:29-31).

4. Physical hunger, a type of spiritualstarvation and famine (Matt. 15:32-39).

Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom do mensay that I the Son of man am?” (Matt. 16:13).Understanding the answer to this questionopened the way to an anointing that left thegates of hell powerless.

They answered:

Some say that thou art John the Baptist:some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or oneof the prophets (Matthew 16:14).

These were merely fleshly men with limitations.

Then Jesus asked, “But whom say ye that Iam?” (Matt. 16:15). Peter confessed, “Thou artthe Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt.16:16). The Greek word is Christos, the anointedone from God.

Jesus knew these four types of crises hadleft the people in hopeless situations. They weretrying to handle these four areas by seeingJesus as just an earthly man, a teacher, or a

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prophet. These four dilemmas had left them vic-tims locked in a prison without a key.

When we recognize Jesus as the Christ,however, He gives us a master key (the anoint-ing) to unlock any crisis in our life. The anoint-ing does not promise to keep the gates of hellfrom coming against you, but it prevents thegates of hell from prevailing against you.

Everything Has a Price

When you shop, you know that everythinghas a price tag. As you peruse the merchandisein stores, you probably ask yourself some verybasic questions:

1. Do I need this particular item?

2. Can I afford the price?

3. Does it have a warranty with it?

4. Would I use it if I bought it?

The anointing falls under these same fourguidelines.

1. You desperately need the anointingof the Holy Ghost.

2. The Holy Ghost is well worth the price.

3. The Holy Ghost has a warrantysealed unto the day of redemption.

4. In order to fulfill everything that asovereign God has ordained for yourlife, youmust use the power of theHoly


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Ghost to reach your potential anddestiny.

Jesus Christ knew the importance of beinganointed for works of service. He quoted theprophet Isaiah at the outset of His ministry:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; be-cause the Lord has anointed me to preachgood tidings unto the meek; he hath sentme to bind up the brokenhearted, to pro-claim liberty to the captives, and the open-ing of the prison to them that are bound; toproclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,and the day of vengeance of our God; tocomfort all who mourn; to appoint untothem that mourn in Zion, to give unto thembeauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourn-ing, the garment of praise for the spirit ofheaviness; that they might be called treesof righteousness, the planting of the Lord,that he might be glorified (Isaiah 61:1-3).

May we cry out for an infilling of the HolyGhost that we might be enabled to pray in theSpirit and walk in a greater anointing. Like ourMaster, may we be anointed “with the Holy Ghostand with power” (Acts 10:38).

Power for Living

Cry out for a Holy Ghost infilling.

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Chapter 4

Secret Code


Secret Code

God has spoken to His people fromthe very beginning:

And they heard the voice of the Lord Godwalking in the garden in the cool of the day:and Adam and his wife hid themselvesfrom the presence of the Lord God amongstthe trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8).

He communicated His desire for them tokeep the garden, to be fruitful and multiply, andnot to eat of the tree of the knowledge of goodand evil.

God spoke to His people through theprophets:

God, who at sundry times and in diversmanners spake in time past unto the fa-thers by the prophets (Hebrews 1:1).

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He also spoke to us by His Son:

Hath in these last days spoken unto usby his Son, whom he hath appointed heirof all things, by whom also he made theworlds (Hebrews 1:2).

He spoke to us by miracles:

God also bearing them witness, both withsigns and wonders, and with divers mir-acles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, ac-cording to his own will (Hebrews 2:4).

He then spoke by His apostles. As a result ofthe mighty outpouring at Pentecost, God saidHe would speak through His Spirit.

And it shall come to pass afterward,that I will pour out my spirit upon allflesh; and your sons and your daugh-ters shall prophesy, your old men shalldream dreams, your young men shallsee visions (Joel 2:28).

Many try to limit God, saying He has spokenin the past but has ceased to speak today. This,however, is not true. God continues to speak tous through His written Word.

The Holy Ghost also speaks to us today.Tongues are God’s message for the last days. Itisn’t the only way that He can speak, but it isone avenue of speech. We need faith to allow


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Him to speak and interpret the messagethrough a willing vessel.

The issue in biblical times and today is this:Can you hear what God is saying? God is cer-tainly speaking:

He that hath an ear, let him hear whatthe Spirit saith unto the churches; He thatovercometh shall not be hurt of the sec-ond death (Revelation 2:11).

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, iscome, he will guide you into all truth: forhe shall not speak of himself; but what-soever he shall hear, that shall he speak:and he will shew you things to come(John 16:13).

We need to get hold of God like never beforebecause He is speaking a vital message in theselast days. He is looking for someone to deliver atimely, life-changing word. Many times, how-ever, it is in secret code and can only be under-stood by those who have the Holy Ghost.

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, buthe revealeth his secret unto his servantsthe prophets (Amos 3:7).

The secret things belong unto the Lordour God: but those things which are re-vealed belong unto us and to our children

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for ever, that we may do all the words ofthis law (Deuteronomy 29:29).

A judge named Ehud had a message,which he called “a secret errand,” to de-liver to the king (Judges 3:19).

These three verses show us some interest-ing things:

1. God has some secrets (Deut. 29:29).

2. He reveals these secrets to His servants (Amos 3:7).

3. God looks for willing servants to deliver these secret messages.

Every message has certain components:

1. A person who sends the message.

2. A person who receives the message.

3. A third party who may be involved because the person sending the messagecannot always contact the primaryparty directly. In this case, he or shecontacts someone who will deliver themessage.

4. The interpretation of the message conveys what is meant by the person sending it. Themessagemust bemade plainand spoken in a way that can beunderstood.


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Why Secret Code?

Why should God speak in secret code,and to whom is He speaking? When Godspeaks in secret, He does so for at least tworeasons:

1. God wants to have an intimate relationship with you. You tell your se-crets and innermost thoughts only toyour closest, most trusted friends.

2. By speaking in secret code, God in-sures that the devil does not under-stand the strategy of the church.This enables us to make an unan-nounced surprise attack because thesecret code bypasses the radar anddefense system of the satanic forcesin opposition to us (Eph. 6:12).

Mysteries of the Kingdom

If ye loveme, keepmy commandments. AndI will pray the Father, and he shall give youanother Comforter, that he may abide withyou for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whomthe world cannot receive, because it seethhim not, neither knoweth him: but ye knowhim; for hedwellethwith you, andshall be inyou. I will not leave you comfortless: I willcome to you. Yet a little while, and the world

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seethmeno more; but ye see me: because

I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye

shall know that I am in my Father, and

ye in me, and I in you (John 14:15-20).

This Scripture indicates the Kingdom of Godwas going through some drastic changes.

1. We find the changing of the guard. “I

will pray the Father, and he shall give

you another Comforter” (vs. 16). An-

other in this passage means another

one just like me. Jesus confirmed

thisin the very next verse: “Ye know

him [the Spirit of truth]; for he

dwelleth with you, and shall be in

you” (vs. 17).

2. We find an obligation on our part to

receive the Holy Ghost. Jesus said,

“If ye love me, keep my command-

ments” (vs.15). As a result of our

walking in obedience, Jesus said

that He would pray to the Father. He

in turn would send another Com-

forter to us.

3. Jesus said three things about the

Holy Ghost in John 14:17.

• The world cannot receive Him:


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• The world cannot see Him, becauseHis ways are not their ways; He isa mystery to them

• The world doesn’t know Him:

All the miracles of Christ declared whatHis followers would do in that day. Becausethe world did not receive Him, did not seeHim, and did not know Him, they crucified theLord of glory.

Only Christ’s inner circle of Peter, James,and John witnessed His transfiguration (Matt.17:1-9). Only these three saw the inner turmoilof Jesus as He poured out His soul in prayerand conformed to the Father’s will in the Gar-den of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:37-44).

Only John went to the cross. Is it anywonder that he received an amazing visionknown as “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”?Before receiving this vision, he was exiled tothe isle of Patmos.

Jesus spoke mysteries to His beloved friendJohn that still perplex the world—and even theChurch. In order to receive this surpassing rev-elation, John had to detach himself fromearthly things. He heard a voice say, “Come uphither, and I will shew thee things which mustbe hereafter” (Rev. 4:1).

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God calls those who are committed to excel-lence to a place of seclusion and aloneness. TheHoly Ghost is saying, “Detach yourself from thingsthat blind you from seeing My mysteries and deafenyou from hearing My language.”

Jesus is speaking, but even those in theChurch are missing Him because they do not hearHis language. Many are not hearing His voice be-cause tradition has left them content with only thefirst glimpse of His glory. The glory of Christ far ex-ceeds any glory ever known by man. In those threeshort years Jesus began to reveal the mysteries ofa powerful Kingdom that was greater than anyproblem, sickness, or dilemma.

They Didn’t Understand Him

Why did the people crucify the Prince of Glory?Jesus Christ had a message, power, and authoritythat frightened the religious hierarchy of His day.Yes, He was a Jew who spoke the regional dialect.But sometimes He also spoke mysteries to His dis-ciples. Thousands followed Christ, but He hand-picked twelve to be with Him.

Why aren’t more believers hearing from God?Many are not walking in obedience and do not havethe fullness of the Holy Ghost. Jesus only reveals


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Jesus is speaking—listen.


His secrets to those who are trustworthy andhave intimate fellowship with Him.

Jesus told His disciples that the worldwould not understand, see, or know, but thosewho had the Holy Ghost would.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me

no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye

shall live also. At that day ye shall know

that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and

I in you (John 14:20).

He was saying, “In that day they will see meas dead, but you will know that I am still in con-trol. When they bury Me in a tomb, some willsay it’s over. But you will know I spoke myster-ies the world could not understand. ‘Destroythis temple and in three days I will raise it up.”When they come on that first Easter morningand find My body gone, they will say it wasstolen. You will know that I have risen from thedead. My ministry will continue through theHoly Ghost.”

“At that day ye shall know” (John 14:20) de-notes something progressive. “Then shall weknow, if we follow on to know the Lord” (Hosea6:3). “Ye shall know the truth” (John 8:32). “WhenI became a man” (1 Cor. 13:11) denotes some-thing that isn’t complete but is in the making.

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Surpassing Our Intellect

Apostle Paul wrote about Kingdom revelationthat staggers the mind. The truth is spoken and re-vealed in secret code. We must understand the code.

But as it is written:

Eyehathnotseen,norearheard,neitherhaveentered into theheart ofman, the thingswhichGodhathprepared for themthat lovehim.ButGodhath revealed themunto us by his Spirit:for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, thedeep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

1. The code is being spoken. “But Godhath revealed” (vs.10a).

2. The code speaks “the deep things ofGod”—the mysteries of the Kingdom(vs. 10b).

3. The code speaks only to those whohavean intimate relationship with God. “Thethings which God hath prepared forthem that love him” (vs. 9b).

4. The code speaks things that our car-nal nature can neither attain nor per-ceive. Carnality cannot see. “Eye hathnot seen.” Carnality cannot hear. “Earhath not heard.” Carnality cannot feel.“Neither have entered into the heart ofman” (vs. 9a).


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A Product of Our Environment

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have alwaysobeyed, not as in my presence only, but nowmuch more in my absence, work out your ownsalvation with fear and trembling. For it is Godwhich worketh in you both to will and to do ofhis good pleasure (Phil. 2:12,13).

This passage of Scripture shows us twothings:

1. Things will begin to work their wayout. “Work out your own salvation”(vs. 12).

2. The things which work out do so asa result of things working in. “For itis God which worketh in” (vs. 13). Ifyou stay around something—be itgood or bad—eventually you willbegin to resemble it.

Noah’s ark looked the same on the outsideas on the inside. God told Noah, “…pitch itwithin [inside] and without [outside] with pitch”(Gen. 6:14). Pitch is a sealant. God wants to doa work beginning inside you until it also mani-fests outwardly in the form of signs.

Secret Code

Open yourself to God’sword in you.

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And these signs shall follow them thatbelieve; In my name shall they cast outdevils; they shall speak with newtongues (Mark 16:17).

Jesus wants the church to become so at-tached to His anointing and so detached from theworld that we begin to resemble the Kingdom.

For the Kingdom of God is not meat anddrink; but righteousness, and peace, andjoy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17).

As the Kingdom of God functions in themystery of the Holy Ghost, it will become some-thing that far exceeds a group of rituals, tradi-tions, ceremonies, rules, and guidelines.

As we get in tune with the voice of theSpirit, we begin to produce the fruit of theSpirit. The fruit of the Spirit is nothing morethan the Church falling in love with Jesus andbecoming impregnated with His seed (theWord). This will produce the fruit of the Spirit.First, however, we must have an intimate rela-tionship with God.

Do You Know Jesus?

First, do you know Him in the pardon and for-giveness of your sins? Second, do you know Himintimately? Has your relationship with Jesusgrown to the point at which you both recognize


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Him and produce His offspring (the fruit of theSpirit)?

We find this truth throughout Scripture.After creating the first couple, God said, “There-fore shall a man… cleave unto his wife: and theyshall be one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). Adam and Evewere together and knew each other. “And Adamknew Eve his wife; and she conceived” (Gen.4:1). “And Cain knew his wife; and she con-ceived” (Gen. 4:17). “And Adam knew his wifeagain; and she bare a son” (Gen. 4:25).

After the angel announced to Mary that shehad been favored to conceive and bear God’sSon, a startled young virgin asked, “How shallthis be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34).

These Scriptures bring out one point: youcannot produce offspring without intimacy.Many Christians have had spiritual orgasmsbut have never conceived the seed of God’sWord. In order for us to bring forth Kingdom off-spring, we must know the King of the Kingdom.

Jesus said:

At that day ye shall know that I am in myFather, and ye in me, and I in you (John14:20).

We need to know the Lord Jesus in a spiri-tually intimate way. The only way to know Himis to be filled with the Holy Ghost. As we walk in

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what we know, our outward person begins to re-semble our inward being.

Salt and Light

As the Church allows the Holy Ghost towork in and through us, the world will begin tosee Jesus and the Kingdom of God in action. Itwill be a mystery to the world but a powerful re-ality to the Church. But it won’t happenovernight. It’s progressive, day by day, trial bytrial, storm by storm, valley by valley, and temp-tation by temptation.

When Jesus was on earth, He said:

Then spake Jesus again unto them, say-ing, I am the light of the world: he that fol-loweth me shall not walk in darkness,but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

But when He died, darkness covered theearth. Except for the Holy Ghost, darknesswould prevail. But as the Body of Christ allowsthe Holy Ghost to fill every fiber of their being,we become the light of the world.

We are a beacon, a lighthouse to a world ofstorm-tossed, beaten, battered individuals. Weare to be a city set on a hill and illuminated bythe Holy Ghost. Our joy, our peace, our right-eousness should shine brightly, encouragingothers to find a refuge in our God. The fruit of


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the Spirit in our lives will act as a magnet anddraw them to Jesus.

When Jesus walked the earth, He was a pre-servative for this world. A thief could not diewithout first being preserved by His forgiveness;a widow’s only son, the apple of her eye, couldnot reach the gates of death without Jesus stop-ping the funeral procession. Lazarus could notlay decomposing in a tomb without hearing avoice, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43).

As the Church comes into a Kingdomrelationship with Jesus, we then becomepreservatives:

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salthave lost his savour, wherewith shall itbe salted? it is thenceforth good for noth-ing, but to be cast out, and to be troddenunder foot of men (Matthew 5:13).

Salt does several things:

1. It creates thirst.

2. It preserves.

3. If poured into wounds, it will burn.

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Be a beacon for the dark world.


4. If spread by shaking, it will season.

We need to allow the Holy Ghost to saturateour very being so we become sons of God whocarry on the Kingdom work.

God Has Your Number

The gift of tongues can be understood byusing the telephone as an analogy. One partycalls in; the other party receives. This givesyou a twofold ability to call sometimes and tohear sometimes.

God is ringing your telephone today. Hemay have to call you to give you a message forsomeone else, who for one reason or another,cannot hear. The only way the message can getthrough is for you to speak out what God hasspoken into your spirit. Be sure to pray for aninterpreter.

God does the calling and you do the re-ceiving. Remember, sometimes certain partiescannot be reached so the caller will contactyou to pass on the message. God may callother parties, but for one reason or anotherthey do not hear.

Sometimes they are out of the calling area(too far from God). Sometimes they give Goda busy signal (too occupied for God). Some-times they simply won’t answer (too disre-spectful toward God). When this happens,


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God dials your number and gives you amessage in a heavenly language that can beinterpreted.

Many anointed people wrongly believethat their anointing gives them the right toget out of order. They may exercise their gift,but the message of God is misrepresented,wrong, or even damaging. This confuses andwounds people.

Your anointing does not give you the rightto come in and wreck a service:

And the spirits of the prophets are subjectto the prophets (1 Corinthians 14:32).

When a true manifestation of God comeswith a message in tongues, we need to prayfor the interpretation, which is just as im-portant as the message; otherwise, how willthe people understand? If this does notcome, then someone is out of order:

For God is not the author of confusion,but of peace, as in all churches of thesaints (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Timeliness is another important issuewith the gift of tongues. Your anointing maynot always be in dispute as much as yourtiming. If your message is not given in itsproper timing, it can hurt, confuse, and mislead.

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The Holy Spirit is not unseemly. He does notcause disorder.

The Corinthian church didn’t have a prob-lem with spirituality, but with order. There mustbe a balance. We need Spirit-filled churches,but we also need Word-filled churches that havethe wisdom to know how to function.

Is it any wonder that satan battles the giftsand manifestations of the Holy Ghost? Heknows the gifts of the Spirit are going to causethe Church to perform signs, bringing thegospel to our troubled, chaotic society.

God said:

The people that do know their God shallbe strong, and do exploits (Daniel 11:32).

God is looking for a Church that believes Hecan confirm them and their ministry with gifts,signs, and wonders in the Holy Ghost. (See He-brews 2:3-4 and Mark 16:17-18.)

Don’t be dismayed if those who see you say,“These people are fanatics!” The Holy Ghost willcause a division between truth and falsehood.


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Timeliness is key.


When you begin to function in the gift of God foryour life and the devil sees a true manifestationof the Holy Ghost, expect to be put on the devil’shit list. This is nothing more than a trick of theenemy to get you to stop.

A God Who Shows Up

In the Old Testament, God would just showup with a message and say, “Let it be,” and itwas so. God will step in just when you think Hewon’t, just when you need Him, just in time.What was the difference between the God of Eli-jah and the god of the prophets of Baal? TheGod of Elijah showed up.

And call ye on the name of your gods, andI will call on the name of the Lord: and theGod that answereth by fire, let him be God.And all the people answered and said, It iswell spoken (1 Kings 18:24).

Now if God appeared on the scene for aprophet who had only the blood of an animalsacrifice, how much more will He appear forthose who have the blood of Jesus and the bap-tism of the Holy Ghost?

Then the king sent unto him a captain offifty with his fifty. And he went up to him:and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill.And he spake unto him, Thou man of

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God, the king hath said, Come down(2 Kings 1:9).

When the king sent a captain of fifty to Eli-jah, he confronted the prophet. Elijah refusedto come down and replied:

And Elijah answered and said to the cap-tain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then letfire come down from heaven, and con-sume thee and thy fifty. And there camedown fire from heaven, and consumedhim and his fifty (2 Kings 1:10).

The fire of God consumed this messengerand his fifty, then another captain with his fifty.

We need to have the same spirit as Elijah.When tempted to align ourselves with theworld, we must tell the devil, “I cannot and willnot come down!” All too often people are soclose to the devil that they are not intimidatinghis kingdom at all. But when the Kingdom oflight stands in unity, the kingdom of darknesscomes down.

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and saidunto them, Every kingdom divided against


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Kingdom light destroyskingdom darkness.


itself is brought to desolation; and every

city or house divided against itself shall

not stand (Matthew 12:25)

Many church folks have followed the pathof society. We live in a fast food world wherenobody wants to wait. Even church peoplewant a quick fix. We want power without pur-suing the power giver. But anyone who hasever been mightily anointed of God has had topursue God.

To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the

sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after

the water brooks, so panteth my soul

after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for

God, for the living God: when shall I come

and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1-2).

The Holy Ghost Doesn’tSpeak His Own Agenda

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is

come, he will guide you into all truth: for

he shall not speak of himself; but what-

soever he shall hear, that shall he speak:

and he will shew you things to come

(John 16:13).

This verse gives us some insight regardingthe ministry of the Holy Spirit.

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1. One day the Holy Spirit would reign inauthority. “When he, the Spirit oftruth, is come” signified a day whenHe would arrive to minister and reignin authority.

3. The Holy Spirit does not come to ful-fill His own agenda. “For he shall notspeak of himself.”

4. The Holy Spirit listens before Hespeaks.“But whatsoever he shall hear, thatshall he speak.” TheHolyGhost listensfrom the portals of glory to hear thewillof God. This is why we must listen before we speak as the Holy Spirit givesutterance. The Holy Spirit pleads, withgroanings, the will of God for our life.

Sometimes He dials our number to givesomeone else a message. Have you ever an-swered the phone and learned the callerwanted to speak to someone else? We usuallyask, “Who is this?” and “May I take a message?”


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2. “He will guide you into all truth.”The mistery of the Holy Spirit in-volves guidance, but the guidance isthe truth of God’s Word. Jesus said,“And ye shall know the truth, and thetruth shall make you free” (John8:32).


The Holy Spirit may be calling that person, butHe isn’t getting through. In this case He may giveus a message to relay to the other party. The HolyGhost hears from Heaven and relays the messageto someone who has the gift of tongues. Then weneed to pray for someone to take the heavenly lan-guage and interpret it to the congregation.

Can You Hear The Holy Ghost?

God is definitely speaking to His people. Thequestion is: Can we hear Him? The Holy Ghostis speaking right now. He is speaking words oftruth and guidance. He speaks what He hearsin Heaven.

Whenever the Holy Ghost speaks, He testifiesthat He has been in the boardroom of Heaven.Hearing from Him causes us to lift our head. Justwhen satan thought he had you, to his amaze-ment you begin to shout. He doesn’t know it, butyou heard a word.

You may be going through a valley, but theHoly Ghost told you that Jesus is the Lily of theValley. You may be going down a perplexing path,but you heard that Jesus is a Wonderful Coun-selor. You may be going through a famine in yourlife and ministry, but you heard a word that said,“Trust Me when you can’t trace Me.” You may befacing an insurmountable trial, but you heard a

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word that said, “Stand still and see the salvation ofthe Lord.”

I heard a word, and you can too. Sometimesthe word is for you, and sometimes it is forsomeone else. Sometimes God merely wants touse you as a spokesman.

Jonah’s name means carrier pigeon. Godhad a message for him to deliver to a thirdparty, the people of Nineveh.

Allow God to use you in the same way.

Seven Areas

Has someone ever tried to relay a message toyou over the phone? The words they spoke weren’ttheir own, but belonged to someone else. Someonegave them a message, and they in turn repeatedwhat they heard.

In the same way the Holy Ghost has you on theline and speaks a word to you. It may not be a worddirectly from the Bible, but it is a rhema word de-signed to fit your crisis.

Remember that the Holy Ghost doesn’t speakon His own initiative. He doesn’t convey His ownideas or plans. He speaks only what He hears fromHeaven.

Howbeitwhenhe, the Spirit of truth, is come,he will guide you into all truth: for he shallnot speakof himself; butwhatsoever he shall


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hear, that shall he speak: and he will shewyou things to come (John 16:13).

Let’s look at seven areas of your life in whichthe Holy Ghost wants to speak.

1. The Holy Ghost wants to speak to youthings that go beyond human logic,natural tendency, and physical compre-hension.

But, as it is written, Eye hath not seen, norear heard, neither have entered into theheart of man, the things which God hathprepared for them that love him. But Godhath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: forthe Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deepthings of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

In order for us to speak out revelations, wemust first allow revelations to be spoken intoour spirits.

But the natural man receiveth not thethings of the Spirit of God: for they arefoolishness unto him: neither can heknow them, because they are spirituallydiscerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).

What the Spirit wants to speak and revealgoes beyond three of our five senses.

• Spiritual revelation goes beyond ourseeing. “Eye hath not seen” (1 Cor. 2:9).

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What God wants to show us cannot beseen through our fleshly eyes.

• Spiritual revelation goes beyond our abil-ity to hear. “Ear hath not heard” (1 Cor.2:9). We need a spiritual ear to hearwhat the Spirit is saying to the churchin these last days. (See Revelation 2:17.)

• Spiritual revelation goes beyond anythingwe have ever felt before. “Neither haveentered into the heart of man” (1 Cor.2:9). No matter how good we have everfelt in the Spirit, we have never reachedthe heights that raw spiritual revelationwill give. How will you ever persuade peo-ple to see, hear, and feel the things of theSpirit if you are not sold on them yourself?

• There is a testimony. “The Spirit...bearethwitness.” This means He testifiesas one who stands as an eyewitness tocorroborate your statement.

• He testifies to our spirit. He beareth wit-ness “with our spirit.” Our innermostbeing needs a testimony, for it is throughour testimony that we overcome the devil.


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2. The Holy Ghost will testify to you.“The Spirit itself beareth witness withour spirit, that we are the children ofGod” (Rom. 8:16). Notice three things:


• God doesn’t delegate this importanttask. “The Spirit itself” speaks regarding our sonship and becoming jointheirs with Christ. (See Romans 8:17.)We are His beneficiaries. “He [the HolyGhost] shall take of mine,and shallshew it unto you” (John 16:15). Hewitnesses that we are sons of God.Then He shows us what is ours because we’re heirs.

3. The Holy Ghost will give you direction.Notice what the Spirit said to Philip:“Go near, and join thyself to this char-iot” (Acts 8:29). Sometimes the mes-sage for yourself or others givesdirection.

4. The Holy Ghost speaks to lead us toobedience (Acts 10:1-23). As Peter pon-dered a heavenly vision and wonderedwhat it meant, the Holy Spirit spoke tohim.

While Peter thought on the vision, theSpirit said unto him, Behold, three menseek thee. Arise therefore, and get theedown, and go with them, doubting noth-ing: for I have sent them (Acts 10:19-20).

Despite the vision, Peter was walking inprejudicial disobedience until the Holy Ghost

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spoke. His words broke down the barriers ofracism, religion, and prejudice.

5. The Holy Ghost shows you God’schoice for companionship.

As they ministered to the Lord, andfasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate meBarnabas and Saul for the work where-unto I have called them (Acts 13:2).

This verse focused on two partners in ministry,but the voice of the Holy Spirit can have an illumi-nating impact on selecting a partner for marriageor business.

6. The Holy Ghost will speak and closedoors that were the right thing butthe wrong time.

Now when they had gone throughout Phry-gia and the region of Galatia, and were for-bidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the wordin Asia, After they were come to Mysia,preach theword inAsia,After theywere cometo Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia:but the Spirit suffered themnot (Acts 16:6-7).

Paul and Silas were doing the right thing,but it wasn’t timely. Unknown to these apostles,a man was crying out desperately for help inMacedonia. The Holy Ghost prioritized Philippiover Galatia and Bithynia because of the needin one man’s life.


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7. The Holy Ghost sometimes warns us.

And finding disciples, we tarried thereseven days: who said to Paul through theSpirit, that he should not go up toJerusalem (Acts 21:4).

If we listen to the warnings of the Holy Ghost,we will avoid many difficulties and snares.

The Holy Ghost speaks for a variety of rea-sons. His word may be for you or someone else.He may testify to your spirit of God’s faithful-ness. He may give you direction. He may leadyou to obey God’s will for your life. He mayspeak into your spirit His special choice of com-panionship for marriage, ministry, or business.The Holy Ghost may be trying to close doorsthat are right but not timely for us. Finally, theHoly Ghost may speak a word of warning.

God is trying to intervene in your life. He mayuse you to intervene in the life of someone else whomay not be answering His call. Whatever the case,you can be confident that it is right because ourparakletos, the Holy Ghost, only speaks the coun-sel that He has heard in Heaven.

Not For Prestige

A person who prays in tongues will not getthe recognition and commendation of men. It isa very undesirable position. It is a very taxing,laborious position. You are working as hard as,

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if not harder than, the evangelist or pastor butdon’t receive the praise of men. No, this ministryand it is a ministry is obscured and isolated be-cause it is seemingly insignificant.

It is a position that few have ever gotten toand even fewer remain in. Many walk aroundthrilled that they have the power of the HolyGhost, but what are they doing with this anoint-ing? God gives this power that we might func-tion in its flow.

One of the greatest blessings ever given tothe church was the ability to talk to God on ahigher level. God chose to do some of Hismost intimate communication from a moun-tain. God took Noah to Mt. Ararat; Abrahamto Mt. Moriah; Moses to Mt. Horeb; Joshua toHebron; Elijah to Mt. Carmel. Jesus told theapostle John to “come up hither” to receivethe revelation.

In these last days God is calling together aChurch that has gone beyond playing games.We have pushed our way into the holy of holies,and we’re going to see a manifestation of Godlike never before in the history of the Church.


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Allow the Holy Ghost toflow through you.


A secret code is being spoken from Heavento earth and from earth to Heaven. Men andwomen will profit by receiving this secret code.As the Holy Ghost speaks through you, ask Godto reveal His heart. You will begin to see God’sguidance, direction, and comfort in new ways.This will profit you and others as you speak outwhat God has spoken into your spirit.

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Chapter 5The Influence of the Holy

Spirit in the World


The Influence of theHoly Spirit in the World

The word influence may bring to mindsomething weird or strange. But the

Holy Ghost is very influential in the worldtoday. Influence means a “power that causesan effect by indirect or tangible ways.” Itmeans to alter drastically or to change thecourse of a thing. Jesus drastically influencedthis world. After His ascension, He handed thebaton to the Holy Ghost.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit movedupon situations, people, or events, and alwayschanged them. He took an impossible situationand brought about remarkable change. WhenHis mission was over, He returned to the Onewho sent Him.

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The Holy Spirit often waited until the mostcritical moment before He showed up. This wasdivinely purposed so that no one or no thingwould ever rob God of His glory. The Holy Spiritwaited until He heard confessions like “It’s toolate,” or “I can’t,” or “If God doesn’t…” Then Hestepped in and brought about a miracle.

Even though Jesus did tremendous worksof power, He told His disciples that they wouldbenefit more by His departure.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is ex-pedient for you that I go away: for if I gonot away, the Comforter will not come toyou; but if I depart, I will send him untoyou (John 16:7).

Expedient means to be profitable, to be ad-vantageous, to be necessary. Why would it bebetter for the Holy Ghost to come? Limited byan earthly body, Jesus could be in only oneplace at a time. Once the Holy Ghost waspoured out, He could perform works of powerwherever He found willing vessels.

The Holy Ghost is capable of changing anysituation. Many people shun an anointed at-mosphere because they know that it will chal-lenge them to change. Preferring to stay wherethe power of God is not moving, they are neverchallenged, convicted, or transformed.


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People do some things because they lack thepresence of Jesus in their lives. If you knew thatJesus was right beside you, you would never dosome of the things you do. The Holy Ghostmakes you aware that He is watching your everymove to deter you from evil.

Orchestrating Change

It would be a sad day for the unsaved if theHoly Spirit stopped convicting men and draw-ing them to the Savior.

No man can come to me, except the Fa-ther which hath sent me draw him: and Iwill raise him up at the last day (John6:44).

The Holy Ghost is very instrumental inbringing salvation.

But when the Comforter is come, whom Iwill send unto you from the Father, eventhe Spirit of truth, which proceedeth fromthe Father, he shall testify of me (John15:26).

Let’s look at His work in the world today:

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The Holy Ghost makes youaware of God’s presence.


And when he is come, he will reprove the

world of sin, and of righteousness, and of

judgment: of sin, because they believe not

on me; of righteousness, because I go to

my Father, and ye see me no more; of

judgment, because the prince of this

world is judged (John 16:8-11).

According to this passage, the Holy Ghosthas arrested you on three counts:

1. He has reproved your sin, whichmeans to convict, to expose, to con-vince of a wrong, to tell a fault.

2. He convinces you of righteousnessor a right standing with God. Hisgoodness, not your own, saves you.

3. He will convince you of judgment,not only of your future encounterwith God, but also of ungodly influ-ences that cause you to sin.

The Holy Ghost wants to orchestrate changein your life. Many are pregnant with gifts andcallings and miracles. Many are long overdue,and He is inducing labor to bring forth delivery.Because you have messed up, many of you be-lieve your calling has been annulled. The devil isa liar, for “the gifts and callings of God are with-out repentance” (Rom. 11:29).


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The Holy Ghost has come to convince andinfluence you to change. Dare to be different!Refuse to become a part of the mundane crowdgoing nowhere. Rise up and shake yourself.Find yourself a church that is reflecting changeby the influence of the Holy Ghost.

Influence in Five Areas

1. The Holy Ghost sets the stage for theWord of God.

And the earth was without form, andvoid; and darkness was upon the face ofthe deep. And the Spirit of God movedupon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2).

Notice the condition of the earth: Withoutform means to lie in ruin, to be worthless, to beempty and in utter chaos. Void means to beempty, in an indistinguishable ruin. Darknessmeans more than the darkness we are familiarwith. It means to bring misery and death.

When this world was in its utterly worth-less, chaotic, miserable condition, the Spiritof God set the stage for a miracle. “And theSpirit of God moved upon the face of the wa-ters” (Gen. 1:2).

Moved means to hover over, to bring warmthas a mother hen sits upon her nest. Thiswarmth awakens the life inside the egg and stirsits desire to break forth. Life is present, but the


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shell must be broken. In the spirit realm wewould call it a breakthrough.

The Spirit did the preparatory work. It wasnow up to the Word to give the command: “Letthere be….” The Word worked in conjunctionwith the Spirit. The Holy Spirit first moved, set-ting the stage for the command and authority ofthe Word.

The words “Let there be” imply that anotherforce or influence was trying to prevent thetransformation from chaos and confusion.Satan is the only other force or influence atwork in this world system. He tries to preventthe work of God from coming into its fullness.

Praise Ushers in The Move of the Spirit

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitestthe praises of Israel (Psalm 22:3).

When praise goes up, the blessing comesdown. Praise becomes the prerequisite to yourmiracle. Praise brings Jesus into your situation.

If you’re facing a dilemma, praise Him. Ifyou’re in a valley, praise Him. If you’re going


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When praise goes up,blessing comes down.


through a storm, praise Him. As you praise

Him, Jesus—the Living Word of God—will walk

right into your dilemma and say, “Let it be so.”

When Philip was preaching in Samaria, re-

vival broke out. (See Acts 8:5-8.)

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip,

saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the

way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto

Gaza, which is desert (Acts 8:26).

Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near,

and join thyself to this chariot (Acts 8:29).

An angel led Philip to an Ethiopian eu-

nuch. Notice how the Holy Spirit set the

stage, but then the Word took center

stage. They both worked together to con-

vert this influential man (Acts 8:30-38).

God promised the children of Israel that He

would sustain them during their journey across

the desert. (See Exodus 16:13-18.) He sent them

manna (a type of the Word). Before the manna

came, however, the ground would be covered

with dew (a type of the Holy Spirit, the breath-

ing presence of God). Once again the Holy Spirit

set the stage for the Word.


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2. The Holy Spirit’s influence will sepa-rate and declare. He separated lightfrom darkness, declared what theywould be, and placed them in order(See Gen. 1:4-5). He then separatedthe firmament and divided the wa-ters. He called the firmament Heaven(See Gen. 1:6-8). He then separatedthe water from the dry land and de-clared the dry land to be earth; thewatersHenamed seas (SeeGen.1:9-10).

The Holy Spirit will do the same thing in ourlives. He will separate certain things from you, setlimitations, and declare your destiny. God sepa-rated the children of Israel from Egypt. He set bor-ders for them and went before them to drive outtheir enemies, but they had to go in and possessthe Promised Land. God said:

Every place whereon the soles of your feetshall tread shall be yours: from the wilder-ness and Lebanon, from the river, the riverEuphrates, even unto the uttermost seashall your coast be (Deuteronomy 11:24).

The Holy Spirit is separating you that He mightdeclare on earth what Heaven has known frometernity.

3. The Holy Spirit wants to resurrectburied seeds in your life (See Gen.1:11-12). The seeds were there, but


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they were obscured. God broughtforth creatures from the waters (SeeGen. 1:20). They were there, but theWord brought them forth fromwhat had covered them. God com-manded the earth to bring forth liv-ing creatures (See Gen.1:24). Theywere there, but simply had to bebrought forth.

God formed man from dust. But man, likeanything else, is merely a form of what he canbe before the Holy Spirit breathes into him vi-brancy and freshness of life. Only then does theform become a living being.

God Mines for Gold

Job endured tremendous emotional painand physical affliction. His troubles were notonly known to God but were allowed by God.Losing his sons and daughters and possessionsleft Job feeling very much alone. He looked athis situation from every possible angle, trying tofind God.

Job finally concluded:

But he knoweth the way that I take:when he hath tried me, I shall come forthas gold (Job 23:10).

Until then, he would not curse God and die.


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Every gold mine is hidden beneath theearth. Mining priceless jewels takes many hoursof painstaking labor. Tons of earth must be re-moved to find the gold.

In the same way, a gold mine is buried be-neath your flesh. Crucifying your flesh is excru-ciating, but it must occur to reveal the pricelessjewels within you. Give God digging rights. Afterall, the mine belongs to Him. Allow Him to digdeep and bring out buried treasure.

The devil knows you’re a gold mine waiting tobe claimed and mined. Your adversary has coveredyour priceless jewels with your past, unconfessedsins, emotional traumas, and religious tradition.Little does the devil know that you have beenburied alive. You merely need the Spirit to move,and the Word uncovers you. You are Heaven’s bestkept secret and hell’s worst nightmare.

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not al-ways strive with man, for that he also isflesh: yet his days shall be an hundredand twenty years (Genesis 6:3).

4. Strive in this verse means to wrestlewith, to contend with, to compete


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Allow God to exposeyour buried treasure.


against. The Holy Spirit wrestleswith us to bring us to a deepercommitment.

If we could only see the different spiritsand attitudes that we deal with in people.Have you ever wondered why you feel so spentand drained after ministry? Is it because ofphysical exertion? Partly. The majority of thebattle comes from contending with opposingforces. This is why prayer is so important toany ministry.

We need the Holy Spirit to go before us,preparing people’s hearts and minds for theWord. If the Holy Ghost truly comes upon you,He will change your life. You might not dance,you might not speak in tongues, but in someway you will be changed.

In these last days, we are not going to bedealing with novices from the kingdom of dark-ness. Generals and colonels from the pit of thedamned will try to assault the church. As theHoly Spirit brings us to full submission, anotherinfluence opposes Him.

We Choose Who Wins

I read an article once about a man who hadtwo dogs. Every weekend the owner let the dogsfight and placed bets on who would win. Afterseveral weekends a man noticed the owner


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never lost a bet. He approached the owner,questioning him as to the secret of his success.

“It’s very simple,” replied the man. “It’s mychoice. If I want the one dog to win, I starve theother one.”

This is true in the spirit realm. The HolySpirit is there to wrestle and help us decide tofeed our spirit man while starving the flesh. Thestronger one will win.

As the Holy Spirit wrestles with us, anotherinfluence is always present:

I find then a law, that, when I would dogood, evil is present with me. For I de-light in the law of God after the inwardman: But I see another law in my mem-bers, warring against the law of mymind, and bringing me into captivity tothe law of sin which is in my members(Romans 7:21-23).

Now there was a day when the sons of Godcame to present themselves before the Lord, andsatan came also among them (Job 1:6).

The spirit of lawlessness always tries to leadus away from where the Holy Spirit wants totake us. If we heed this second force, he willbring us into captivity. As we present ourselvesto God, satan and his evil influence oppose,tempt, and accuse us. We choose who wins.


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When Winning is Losing

As the Holy Spirit strives with you to bringyou into submission and obedience, you may beholding on to the very thing that He wants. Asyou walk away you may feel as though you’vewon, but you’ve actually lost.

Some of you are headed down rapids thatwill twist and turn you upside down and insideout. If you are persistent in your ways, God willstand by watching the fight that you think youwon, but in all reality you lost.

Some of you have matured, and the HolySpirit wants to take you higher. But it’s a choice.

Therefore leaving the principles of the

doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto per-

fection; not laying again the foundation of

repentance from dead works, and of faith

toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms,

and of laying on of hands, and of resur-

rection of the dead, and of eternal judg-

ment. And this will we do, if God permit

(Hebrews 6:1-3).

We find the same words in Genesis chapter 1.“Let us….” God asks you to push away from thefamiliar into the supernatural. People resistchange, but in order to get to where God wantsus—and to arrive on time—you must push away.


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God wanted to bring Israel into the Prom-ised Land, a land full of milk and honey. Milkdenotes sustenance; honey denotes sweetnessof victory. But it was a choice.

Noah had a choice. God said, “Come thou…”(Gen. 7:1). He had to answer the call. Even afterhe got on board, he had a choice. The ark hadthree levels. Level one, where he first got onboard, felt the turbulence from the waves. Onlevel three Noah rode on top of the waters andcould look out a window that gave him access toGod. The view was not available on level one.

5. The Holy Spirit seeks a place to restin authority (Gen. 8:8-12). The dovesymbolizes the Holy Spirit (Matt.3:16-17). A dove flies up to 150 milesto find good migration. A dove makesits nest far above the earth, usuallyperched in a cleft of a rock. A dovefights for supremacy in the nest.They resist with fierce, decisivemeasures every species that tries todwell in their home.

What can we conclude from this analogy?

• The Holy Spirit seeks to find migrationin your life.

• The Holy Spirit will cause you to buildyour nest in a rock. David said:


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From the end of the earthwill I cry unto thee,when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me tothe rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2).

We can attain a place in God that is higherthan our problems, giving us a divine perspective.We must be led to this place. It is against our na-ture to want this rock. We must oppose our fleshand say, “When my spirit is overwhelmed, myspirit goes beyond nature and finds satisfactiononly in the supernatural.” We ask God to do some-thing our flesh does not want: to lead us to therock—Jesus—and away from earthly logic.

• The Holy Spirit will fight for you. Hewill go to war for you as strange birdsseek to enter your nest.

• The Holy Spirit seeks rest for the sole ofHis foot (Gen. 8:8-12). While the raven(our old nature) finds rest in an earthunder judgment, the dove takes a differ-ent approach. He flew around andsearched but found no place to rest. Godwants to find a resting place for Hisauthority:

Thus saith the Lord, The Heaven is mythrone, and the earth is my footstool:where is the house that ye build untome? and where is the place of my rest?(Isaiah 66:1).


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Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: nei-ther by Jerusalem; for it is the city of thegreat King (Matthew 5:35).

The Holy Spirit flew on missions in the OldTestament as He rested upon Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob, but they were not the one. He flewupon Moses, enabling him to lead the exodus.He flew upon Samson and found periodic rest,but it was short-lived as he slept in the lap ofDelilah.

He flew upon David, saying, “Surely this isthe Lord’s anointed,” but he became an adul-terer and murderer. He loved him, but he wasnot the one. He flew upon Daniel, but he wasnot the one. He lighted upon Isaiah, but he wasnot the one. The prophet wrote about anotherone coming:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a sonis given: and the government shall beupon his shoulder: and his name shall becalled Wonderful, Counsellor, The mightyGod, The everlasting Father, The Prince ofPeace. Of the increase of his governmentand peace there shall be no end, upon thethrone of David, and upon his Kingdom,to order it, and to establish it with judg-ment and with justice from hencefortheven for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hostswill perform this (Isaiah 9:6-7).


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He flew upon Jeremiah, but the weepingprophet wasn’t the one. He then rested uponEzekiel and performed many mighty deeds, butEzekiel was not the one.

Finally, He looked from the portals of gloryand saw the One. There was only One foundworthy in Heaven and earth for the dove toland upon.

As Jesus stood in the Jordan, the dove de-scended from Heaven, saying, “I have found himwhom my soul loveth.” He landed upon Him,and His authority and anointing rested uponJesus. The Holy Ghost found a body to landupon and to inhabit with authority.

Jesus died, but He said, “Father, into thyhands I commend [put into your trust] myspirit” (Luke 23:46). This same dove swept downfrom glory as a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2).He found a body, the Church, to inhabit and torest His authority upon.

Will You Clear the Runway!

As I flew into JFK Airport one day, I noticedthat our pilot was circling for a long time. He an-nounced that fog had obscured the runway andhe would continue to circle until the fog dissi-pated. After quite some time in the air, we finallywere cleared to land.

In a spiritual sense, the runway was me; the


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jetliner was a type of the dove, the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit wants desperately to land. Hedesires to touch down upon the children of God,but we must clear ourselves and give Him per-mission to land. As the Holy Spirit circles, Hesees some things that must be cleared from ourlives before He lands.

Make room for the Holy Spirit. He wants tosettle on your wounds, your past, yourtrauma, even your greatest weakness. But youare the key. Will you clear the runway? If not,He will circle for a while, but then He will seekanother runway.

Give the Holy Ghost permission to land onyour life. You’ll never be the same.




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Chapter 6

The Cry of aBarren Woman


The Cry of a Barren Womb

Israelite women often wept bitterly as a re-sult of their barrenness. Jewish women

took to heart the covenant between God andAbraham that promised to bless and multiplythe seed that would ultimately bring forth theChrist child. Barren women like Rachel criedout:

And when Rachel saw that she bareJacob no children, Rachel envied her sis-ter; and said unto Jacob, Give me chil-dren, or else I die (Genesis 30:1).

God wants His bride, the Church, to bringforth fruit to His glory. How do we do that?Jesus said:

I am the vine, ye are the branches: Hethat abideth in me [remains in constant

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fellowship], and I in him, the same

bringeth forth much fruit: for without me

ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

As we bear fruit, God will purge us that wemight bring forth more fruit:

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit

he taketh away: and every branch that

beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may

bring forth more fruit (John 15:2).

As we continue to walk in obedience, weproduce much fruit.

Why should we bear fruit?

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear

much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples

(John 15:8).

But we also benefit.

These things have I spoken unto you, that

my joy might remain in you, and that

your joy might be full (John 15:11).

We live in a despondent, depraved, and de-feated society. The very thing that this worldneeds should be hanging on the limbs of theChurch. They need love, joy, peace the fruit ofthe Spirit. As the Holy Ghost saturates and fillsour lives, we produce fruit. This is God’s way ofmeeting the needs of lost humanity.


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The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life;and he that winneth souls is wise (Prov.11:30).

Jesus told a parable about a man who foundno fruit on his fig tree. Grieved at its lack of pro-ductivity, the owner wanted to cut it down. Butthe vinedresser asked to cultivate it one moreyear. If it didn’t produce fruit, it would be cutdown (see Luke 13:6-9).

Fruit bearing is a serious thing with Jesus.The cry of the church should be, “Give us chil-dren, lest we die!”

Never Satisfied

Solomon mentions four things that arenever satisfied:

The horseleach hath two daughters, cry-ing, Give, give. There are three things thatare never satisfied, yea, four things saynot, It is enough: The grave; and the bar-ren womb; the earth that is not filled withwater; and the fire that saith not, It isenough (Proverbs 30:15-16).

Several married couples in Scripture hadintimate relations and yet lacked children:Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah,Jacob and Rachel. These wives cried out be-cause of a barren womb.


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The same thing happens today when wemerely go to church but lack intimacy with theHoly Ghost. The womb of our soul becomes bar-ren. We need to cry out and not be satisfieduntil we become impregnated with the fruit ofthe Holy Spirit.

Do You Want Children?

Many are afraid to fall in love with the HolyGhost because they know that commitmentbrings intimacy, and intimacy brings concep-tion, and conception brings labor, and laborproduces a baby. As in the natural realm, ittakes an intimate relationship to conceive.

Many Christians have spiritual orgasmsbut never conceive a child. Many do not wantchildren because they do not want commit-ment and responsibility. They do not want toendure nine months of carrying the child.Many have been impregnated by the HolyGhost but have chosen to abort the baby.Other Christians who cannot carry their babyto term have miscarried.

The womb was designed as a receptacle forthe seed of man and a place for a conceivedchild to develop. God gave Eve the responsi-bility, and the blessing, of bringing forth chil-dren (see Gen. 3:16). The Bible says Adamknew his wife (see Gen. 4:1,25). This intimate


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relationship gave them a son. You can tracethe lineage of Christ back to the fruit of thisfirst intimate relationship.

Mary was a virgin when the angel an-nounced she would have a baby. She asked,“How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”(Luke 1:34). This child was conceived by thepower of the Holy Ghost.

The angel told her:

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,and the power of the Highest shall over-shadow thee: therefore also that holything which shall be born of thee shall becalled the Son of God (Luke 1:35).

Three things were to happen:

1. Conception – “Thou shalt conceive”(Luke 1:31).

2. Intimacy – “The Holy Ghost shallcome upon thee.”

3. Implanting of the Seed - “The powerof the Highest shall overshadow thee.”

It was totally the work of the Holy Ghost,but He had to have a womb in which to doHis work.

Who Are You Inwardly?

Man is made in God’s image and likeness.We are also a triune being—body, soul, and


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spirit. God has saved our spirits. Our bodies arenot saved. The body does not want to be holy orbring forth good fruit. Your body will never wakeyou up at 3:00 a.m. and tell you to pray. Thebody will never encourage you to live right. Thebody will never restrain you from gossiping. Thebody is flesh and will always be flesh.

David prayed:

Search me, O God, and know my heart: tryme, andknowmy thoughts: (Psalm 139:23).

What does God use to search us?

The spirit of man is the candle of theLord, searching all the inward parts ofthe belly (Proverbs 20:27).

This verse shows us three truths:

1. Man is not only body and soul, butalso spirit.

2. The spirit of man is the candle of theLord.

3. The Lord uses this spirit to searchthe innermost being of man.

Underneath your shout, your dance, yourspeaking in tongues, who are you really? Thishas always been the problem with man-madeholiness. Trying to change a person outwardlyonly leaves him or her frustrated, confused, andfeeling like a failure.


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God does just the opposite. He changes youfrom the inside out. Out of the abundance of theheart the mouth speaks. Changing from theoutside in has no lasting effect. It always leavesthe womb barren, crying, “It’s not enough!”Changing from the outside in is like painting abuilding without removing the trash that clut-ters the inside.

There is a difference between repainting andrepenting. Repainting changes the outside, re-penting changes the inside.

Our Spirits Are Joined

The Spirit itself beareth witness with ourspirit, that we are the children of God(Romans 8:16).

This Scripture deals with two spirits—thespirit of man and the Holy Spirit. Joined to-gether at salvation, the Holy Spirit testifies toour spirit that we are saved.

One of the greatest blessings is that Hiswork is invisible. He can testify in your spiritwhen all hell is breaking loose, and no onewould know it but you.

He speaks to the very areas that you havetried to change without success. You may betearful over these areas. You may have buriedareas of your life over the years, trying to dispose


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of them. Something just won’t let you throw

them away.

Have you ever wanted something and knew

it was God’s will, but you just couldn’t seem to

get a breakthrough? As you see someone with

the very thing you want, it causes a kicking in-

side you. This lets you know that your baby is

still there. You haven’t aborted or miscarried.

As you walk the floor at night, the Holy Spirit

lets you know it’s still in you.

What happens next is simply awesome. The

Holy Spirit becomes so much of a part of your

life that you begin to have more than just a Sun-

day morning fling with Him. You begin to know

the Holy Spirit and understand His purpose.

You become sensitive to His feelings, which

keeps you from grieving the Holy Spirit. You

begin to feel a burning love and appreciation for

the Holy Spirit, which helps you to obey and

submit to His leading. This keeps the flame of

spiritual passion burning in your spirit.

As a result of your daily communion with

the Holy Spirit, the barren areas in your life

that have cried out for years—the spiritual

womb that has never been satisfied—now

becomes impregnated by the Holy Spirit.


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A Deepening Relationship

A man and a woman who like each other be-come friends and get to know each other. As theysense a growing attachment for one another, theydecide to date. As their commitment grows, theyadvance to a deeper level of relationship. Even-tually, they become engaged. A ring signifies thebond between them. One day they stand beforewitnesses and enter into marriage. This causesthem to share themselves in a more intimateway. Their new physical intimacy brings aboutconception and ultimately birth.

As the Spirit of God bears witness with ourspirit, we deepen our relationship with God.

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thywaterspouts: all thy waves and thy bil-lows are gone over me (Psalm 42:7).

God wants the church to go beyond a sur-face relationship where He is just a friend.

He calls us to go steady; He then wants anengagement; ultimately, He wants an intimaterelationship that joins the Holy Spirit together


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Deepen your relationship withGod through intimacy.


with our spirit. Cultivating intimacy eventuallyresults in conception and birth. Your barrenwomb is no more.

Present at Birth, Manifested in Maturity

The parents each contribute a gene to theirchild. One gene is usually dominant. In thespirit realm this is also true.

Certain traits are manifested in the childfrom each parent. The child may have physicalcharacteristics like one of his parents: eyes,nose, hands, feet, hair color, etc. Other traits,however, will only be known in time and withmaturity.

The traits of our parents’ genes are withinus. Just as in the original creation, the seedswere in the ground but were locked up. TheHoly Ghost worked in conjunction with theWord to bring about a release. This is why Godsaid, “Let there be,” meaning let it come forth.

God commanded Adam to know his wife andmultiply. Likewise, as the Church has an inti-mate relationship with the Holy Ghost, we willbegin to produce spiritual offspring or the fruitof the Spirit.

The angel who told Mary that she would bethe mother of Jesus also listed the characteris-tics of the holy offspring (see Luke 1:32-33):

1. He shall be great.


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2. He shall be the Son or offspring ofthe highest.

3. He shall be given the throne of His fa-ther David, which denotes authority.

4. He shall reign, which denotes lordship.

The Church is the bride of Christ. We are es-poused as “a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor.11:2). We are to supply our spiritual womb tothe Holy Ghost. As a result of our relationship,our barren womb which is crying, dissatisfied,and longing for intimacy and fulfillment withJesus, will begin to produce offspring in Hislikeness. Some of His traits will be obvious fromthe very outset, while others will need maturityand commitment to come to full fruition.

Producing Something Holy

When Jesus Christ was born of a virgin,people didn’t know how to react. Shepherdsheard the angels sing, “Glory to God in the high-est!” They came and saw Him wrapped in swad-dling clothes in a manger.

Simeon held Jesus in the temple and de-clared Him to be the consolation of Israel. Herodtried to kill Him. Many believed Jesus was amere human. After hearing Him speak, how-ever, they knew He was more than flesh.

Even though you live in a fleshly body, theHoly Ghost wants to birth in you a holy


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thing—an experience that goes beyond logic,human love, and mere spiritual excitementthat leaves you turned on but empty. The HolyGhost wants to impregnate you with a seedthat will produce something holy in you.

As long as you merely have a fling with theHoly Ghost, your womb will remain empty. If,after you have reached your climax and hadyour spiritual orgasm, your womb still is barrenand crying out, then you have missed your pur-pose on earth.

It’s an honor to carry something for Jesusand bring it to birth. It’s an honor to look atyour spiritual offspring and say, “This is born ofGod!” Whatever God births in you—a ministry,a book, a song, a message—you know whateveris born of God overcomes the world. This spiri-tual offspring has all the characteristics of itsheavenly Father.

What’s the Difference?

You can never look at a Spirit-filled child ofGod and say that their fruit is the Holy Spirit. It


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Produce something holythrough the Holy Ghost.


isn’t the Holy Spirit; it is merely the offspring orproduction of the Holy Spirit.

Fruit is something that takes time to be de-veloped. It’s just like a husband and wife whoshare a physical intimacy. Even though thewoman conceives seed, it still takes ninemonths for the baby to be born. When themother delivers the child, you merely see theend result of a nine-month progressive work.

Here’s my point: The baby is not the father,but he is the result of the seed of his father. Hedid not precede the father; the father precededhim. The baby did not produce the father; thefather produced the baby.

The wife supplied the womb; the father sup-plied the seed; intimacy brought about concep-tion. The child resembles its father. It has hisblood, his eyes, his characteristics and features.

Likewise, the church is the bride of Christ.We supply the womb; the Holy Ghost suppliesthe seed; our relationship with God bringsabout conception. As we bring forth spiritualoffspring, they should resemble the Father.

Fruit—Not Fruits—of The Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,Meekness, temperance: against such thereis no law (Galatians 5:22-23).


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The term “fruits of the Spirit” is not a scrip-tural term. The nine functions of the Holy Spiritmentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 do not comefrom nine different spirits; they are the result ofone Spirit.

An orange has many sections, but it is oneorange that resulted from one seed. An ear ofcorn has hundreds of kernels that resulted fromone kernel. The ground conceived the grain anda few months later brought forth a finishedproduct. A baby has one body but many func-tions that resulted from his mother conceivingthe father’s seed and allowing him to develop fornine months.

The apostle Paul tells us that the nine func-tions, traits, or characteristics are the result ofone Spirit. He calls this the “fruit of the Spirit”(Gal. 5:22).

No Limits!

After giving his discourse on the nine fruit

of the one Spirit, the apostle Paul makes a

very intriguing statement. He says,

“Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:23).

We have laws that define right and wrong.They also govern, regulate, or set limits on ourbehavior. If these limits are exceeded, you havebroken the law. For example, you can drive only


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65 mph on interstates in West Virginia. If this isexceeded, you have broken the law.

With this thought in mind, Paul tells us toput the pedal to the metal in regard to the fruitof the Spirit. There is no law to govern howmuch of these Father-like traits you can haveas a child of God. Unlimited love, joy, and peaceare available to you.

You Hold the Key

Do you know that no one, not even the devil,can keep you from acting like your Father inHeaven? We need to be keenly aware of the feel-ings of the Holy Spirit. While there are no limitson how much you look and act like your Father,we can hinder the Holy Spirit in several ways:

1. We can fail to spend intimate timesalone with the Holy Spirit, resultingin our never really knowing Him. Itwould be like being married to a totalstranger. Although you may cohabitthe same house, no communicationor sharing occurs.

2. We can grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph.4:30), which means to insult, to hurtthe feeling of, or to make one sad.

3. We can quench the Holy Spirit(1 Thess. 5:19), which means to extin-guish much like you would a fire.


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4. We can lie to the Holy Ghost (Acts 5:3).The Bible says that satan filled theirhearts. The word filled means tocram full.

5. We can tempt the Spirit (Acts 5:9).

We should avoid these at all costs. God for-bid that we would have at our disposal the awe-some power of the Holy Ghost and not seizeHim. He wants to bring us into an intimate re-lationship with Jesus Christ that will cause usto become impregnated with destiny.

The Holy Ghost wants us to know God asAdam knew (to have closeness or intimacy with)Eve (Gen. 4:1,25). Then we will produce thepromised seed and begin to bear the fruit of theSpirit. Only when Adam knew Eve intimatelydid he produce offspring.

Thermometer or Thermostat?

The Holy Ghost functions like a thermostatand a thermometer. The thermometer reflectsits surrounding temperature, and the thermo-stat controls the inside heating system thatgives the thermometer its reading.

In the same way, the Holy Ghost works insideyou. Your outward actions (what you say and do)


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What is yourthermometer reading?


reflect your temperature to those around you.Let’s look at the outward manifestation of aSpirit-filled life:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, temperance: against such thereis no law (Galatians 5:22-23).

This passage describes three sets of triplets.We will break these down and give each set acategorical name.

1. Atmosphere

2. Attitude

3. Attribute

The atmosphere is your surroundings. Youmay find yourself in a very hostile atmospherewhere the fruit and works of the flesh are beingmanifested. As you yield to the Holy Spirit, how-ever, He will throw a wet blanket on the unkindthing that you wanted to say. The Holy Spirit willbuild a fire of His own that will bring warmth toa cold atmosphere, hope to a despairing atmos-phere, joy to a saddening atmosphere, and loveto a bitter, revengeful atmosphere. This is whythe first three triplets—love, joy, and peace—are atmosphere-changing fruit.

The second three triplets—longsuffering,gentleness, goodness—are attitude-changingfruit. Even though we are saved and filled with


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the Holy Ghost, each of us has the potential tohave an attitude. God sometimes lets us gothrough difficult situations to let us see what’sreally inside us. When we see our own helpless-ness, weaknesses, and despair, it causes us tocry out, “God, I need You!”

You may have been good to someone wholater used you. You may have gone the extramile for someone who betrayed you. You mayhave dealt with someone in gentleness whoturned on you and abused you.

God works even in these hardships. As youcry out, God will take your inability to do whatyou know is right and make it a platform for Hisopportunity. You can bear longsuffering, gentle-ness, and goodness.

An attribute is simply a personality or char-acter trait. If left to our own devices, we wouldmake the same conclusion as the apostle Paul.“Wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24). We mayknow what is right and want to do it, but wedon’t know how (See Rom. 7:15-25).

God does His most excellent work when theodds are against Him. He waits until the boat isfull of water before He walks on top of yourstorm. He waits until the furnace of your trial isseven times hotter than normal to show Himselfas the fourth man. He waits until Lazarus is de-composing to resurrect him. He waits until three


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doctors have agreed that you have an inopera-ble tumor before He steps in.

You have a strength that defies humanlogic. You have an ability to stand that youcannot attribute to anyone but God. You havea peace that even the apostle Paul couldn’t un-derstand, so he called it the “peace of God,which passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4:7).You have a joy that the apostle Peter could notdescribe, so he called it “joy unspeakable andfull of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8).

We call this third triplet—faith, meekness,and self-control—attribute because thesequalities cannot be attributed to you but onlyto the Holy Ghost.

Within you lies the ability to become what-ever you choose to be. Remember that youhave a choice, and the choice does not comewithout a price.

Fruit is Born Out of Death

Truth can be seen in the physical andspiritual realms. Jesus illustrated a dynamicspiritual truth with a common example:


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He will step in.


Verily, verily, I say unto you, except acorn of wheat fall into the ground anddie, it abideth alone: but if it die, itbringeth forth much fruit (John 12:24).

After a seed is dropped into the ground, itsshell must die, decompose, or pass away. Thisouter casing has only one purpose: to housethe heart of the grain, which produces new life.

This outer casing is like our flesh, whichhouses our soul and spirit. As we “crucify theflesh” (Gal. 5:24) and “seek those things whichare above” (Col.3:l), the life of the Spirit comesto full fruition in us.

Then we can say confidently:

I am crucified with Christ: neverthelessI live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:and the life which I now live in the fleshI live by the faith of the Son of God, wholoved me, and gave himself for me(Galatians 2:20).

You Must Wait Patiently

When a seed is dropped into the ground andcovered, it lies dormant for a season. No one cansee it; no one can tell that anything is happen-ing. But during this time the process of germi-nation takes place. The casing is dying, theheart of grain is sprouting.


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In the spiritual realm it is no different. Theapostle Paul tells the Galatians:

Mortify therefore your members which areupon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,inordinate affection, evil concupiscence,and covetousness, which is idolatry(Colossians 3:5).

Mortify is a term related to mortuary, a placewhere we find nothing but dead and dysfunc-tional bodies.

What is Paul saying? Stop your Adamic na-ture from being the dominant force in your life.Allow the Holy Ghost to work in you, putting todeath the flesh so that new life may sproutfrom you.

The same principle is found in Numbers17:1-8, where God took something seeminglydead (Aaron’s rod) and caused it to bud. Youmay long to function and produce. If you feelbarren, you know how the Jewish wives weptbecause of their barren wombs.

It is time for the Church, which is the brideof Christ, to weep because of our barrenness.


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Put the flesh to death.


Within every one of you is a spirit that cries outas Jacob, “I know I am Jacob now, but withinme is the desire to become Israel!”

Whose Baby Are You Carrying?

Let me close this chapter with a question:Whose baby are you carrying? In the middleof the night you feel it kicking. Some of youare long overdue, but you just felt destinykicking to let you know satan has not abortedyour baby.

Old farmers say that finding a spot of bloodin the egg tells you that the rooster had beenwith the hen. Within your spirit is a womb thatis with child of the Holy Ghost. Mary suppliedthe womb; the Holy Ghost supplied the seed;and the seed supplied the blood.

Every child can be traced back to its fatherby its DNA. Your blood type is 100 percent a re-sult of the seed of your father. It is just normalthat you begin to take on some of the charactertraits of your father. You may have his eyes, hishair, his nose. Someone may say you act justlike your dad.

May that be said of us after we realize thatwe are carrying the baby of the Holy Ghost. Maywe cry out against mediocrity, compromise, anda spirit of indifference that only lead to a bar-ren, unsatisfied womb.


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Chapter 7

Reviving What Remains



The word revelation means to uncover athing, to reveal, to fully disclose a mat-

ter. Revelation is an act of God that is just asreal as God Himself. It is a divine blessing foran all wise, all-knowing God to uncover a mat-ter, to reveal His will, and to manifest His plansfor your life.

Revelation from God comes in three segments:past, present, and future. First, God sometimes re-veals things in our past for instruction or edifica-tion. Jesus told the apostle John on the isle ofPatmos, “Write the things which thou hast seen[past], and the things which are [present]” (Rev.1:19). Sometimes God reaches into your storm ordilemma and tells you everything will be all right.“Write . . . the things which shall be hereafter [fu-ture]” (Rev. 1:19).

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Come Up Higher

The apostle John recorded these words:

After this I looked, and, behold, a doorwas opened in heaven: and the first voicewhich I heard was as it were of a trumpettalking to me; which said, Come up hither,and I will shew thee things which must behereafter (Revelation 4:1).

The primary context of this verse and itsprimary doctrinal interpretation is thought tobe the rapture of the Church. But every pri-mary interpretation has a secondary applica-tion. God ushered the apostle Paul up to thethird Heaven to receive tremendous revelation(2 Cor. 12:1-5).

Revelation Comes From the Spirit

Jesus declared the same thing to all sevenchurches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3:

He that hath an ear, let him hear whatthe Spirit saith unto the churches (Reve-lation 3:6).

First Corinthians 2:9-14 gives us somemore insight into this verse. What the Spiritreveals is totally awesome. The scope of God’sblessing covers what eye has not seen andwhat ear has not heard. It gets even moremind-blowing than that! The storehouse of


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God’s will for our lives includes blessings thatwe have never even thought about—thingsthat surpass even our wildest imaginations;things that have never even entered ourhearts. That’s awesome!

But God hath revealed them unto us by hisSpirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things,yea, the deep things of God (1 Corinthians2:10).

The apostle Paul calls them “the deep thingsof God.” Many of us never get past the first ora-cles or the starting place with God.

The storehouse of Heaven is full. You willnever exhaust its inventory of glory. If wearen’t walking in such a way to access it, how-ever, these glorious realities will never occur inour lives.

Therefore leaving the principles of the doc-trine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection (He-brews 6:1a).

This Scripture signifies that we must moveaway from where we first started with God.


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You have access toHeaven’s full storehouse.


Noah’s ark was constructed with a first, sec-

ond, and third floor. But the window, which

gave Noah access to Heaven, was placed on the

third floor. If Noah stayed on the first or second

floor, he could not see out the window. We must

get in a position to see.

Many Christians never access the windows

of Heaven because they are still living in the

outer court and have never broken through to

the third dimension, the holy of holies. Many

live in defeat and carnality because they have

remained on the same level where they first

boarded the ark of salvation.

Once there was a little boy who kept falling

out of bed. His mother securely tucked him in

only to hear the thump on the floor as he fell out

once again. After the third time she decided to

stay at the door and see why he was falling out.

She noticed the boy slept close to the edge

where he first climbed in. One wrong turn

caused him to fall out.

Many fall out of fellowship with God because

they never move up to the third floor. This is

why they feel the turbulence of the waves in

every storm. They have stayed too close to

where they first got in.


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Don’t Digress!

The seven churches discussed in Revelationrepresent seven ages of time beginning at ap-proximately A.D. 96 and running to the present.

More importantly, however, these sevenchurches represent seven stages of thechurch age.

In Revelation 2:1, Jesus walked in the midstof the church at Ephesus. In Revelation 3:20,He stands on the outside knocking for an en-trance. This shows the digression of the church.Each one of these churches depicts our life as achild of God at one time or another.

1. We have left our first love (Rev. 2:4).

2. We have been crushed as the churchof Smyrna, a city noted for its per-fume or myrrh (Rev. 2:8).

3. We have had the spirit of Pergamos inus, which has caused others to stum-ble (Rev. 2:14).

4. Wehave things inus thatwerestrongbutnow have begun to die as is the casewith the church of Sardis (Rev. 3:2).

This revelation came as a result of the sevenspirits of God and seven stars. The seven spir-its denote perfection or completion. It is notseven different spirits, but shows the fullness ofone Spirit (Isaiah 11:2). The seven stars denote


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the ministers. The word they preached, in con-junction with the Spirit, brought about this rev-elation to the churches (Rev. 1:20).

Let’s look at the message:

1. God says to the churches, “I know.”These are humbling—even frightening—words. Just think of all there is toknow about you. God says, “I know.”

2. God says, “I know thy works.” Godlooks beyond surface appearanceand says, “I know what others do notknow because I know the heart.”

3. God says, “I know your name.” Godknows our name or reputation. Godsays, “Yes, I have heard the gossip. Ihave heard what kind of reputation youhave.” Did you know that God knowsyour name and still loves you? He canknow your reputation and still useyou. He can know who you really arebehind that worship, behind that song,behind that dance, behind yourtongues, behind your preaching.


He knows whoyou really are.

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God says, “I know the truth. I know yourname.” God knows that your name is Jacobbut still asks, “What is thy name?” Anytime anall wise, all-knowing God asks a question, itisn’t for His benefit. You need to confess, “Myname is Jacob.” Even though He knows ourname, He wants us to confess it because He isgoing to change our name and speak a glori-ous destiny over us.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,and they follow me (John 10:27).

Jesus knows His sheep by name, and He caresfor and loves each one of them.

And unto the angel of the church in Sardiswrite; These things saith he that hath theseven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; Iknow thyworks, that thou hast a name thatthou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, andstrengthen the thingswhich remain, that areready to die: for I have not found thy worksperfect before God (Revelation 3:1-2).

4. God sees beyond the name to thereality. Death means a separation,to cut off. It’s like turning a lightswitch to the off position, whichbreaks the circuit and cuts off thepower. God says, “I know that youare separated from life. Your name


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may say differently, but I know.”

5. God also reveals a blessing. Some-thing remained to work with. Jesussaid three things in Rev. 3:2:

• “Be watchful.” The word watchfulmeans to awaken or arouse something that is at the point of dying. Itisn’t dead yet. If the Holy Spirit saidthese things which remained wereready to die, there was still a little lifeleft.

Maybe you have felt that your ministry isdead. If you feel any kick at all, you need to bearoused and to awaken because the movementtells you it’s still alive.

• “Strengthen the things that remain.”The word strengthen means to solidify, to establish, to set uprightagain; to take some thing that hasbeen weakened and build it back up.

Within you are gifts, callings, and talents thathave been weakened, pressed down, or held back.Your vision, dream, or desire may have beencrushed. You may not have had any control over thecircumstances. Perhaps your disobedience grievedthe Holy Spirit. But arise, my friend! Whatever thedevil did to you, he didn’t complete the job. He leftsome strength in you.


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Apostle Paul said:

Most gladly therefore will I rather glory inmy infirmities, that the power of Christ mayrest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When his strength had given out and his re-sources were exhausted, he had no other placeto turn. He could rely on no other strength butthe strength that God gave him.

Your own strength is not enough, but if you willtake what’s left of it and give it to God, Who is morethan enough, you will find Him to be sufficient.

Nehemiah looked at the ruined walls ofJerusalem and wept. He took the little bit that thedevil had left and rebuilt the wall. Some of you areweeping over what the enemy has stolen from you.As you weep your way into depression and anxiety,the enemy causes you to lose focus on what is left.

Arise, my friend, and seize what is left. So whatif your joy isn’t what it used to be? Use what is left.So what if your desire is dampened? Take hold ofwhat is left. So what if your power is almost gone?Seize what is left and be what God said you couldbe. Don’t let circumstances abort your dream.


Don’t let circumstancesabort your dream.

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• “That are ready to die.” If a personis ready to die, we don’t necessar-ily make funeral arrangements. Wecare for and nourish the little lifethat remains. Sometimes we haveto put them in ICU, but we don’tgive up. Sometimes we do extensivesurgery, but we don’t give up. Some-times we put them on life support.A machine may assist them in breathing, but we don’t give up until theyare stable enough to breathe on theirown.

Satan would love to see you say the last ritesover your ministry. If you feel near death spiritu-ally, don’t major on the fact that you are dying;major on the fact that you are half alive.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus saidthe thieves left the man “half dead” (Luke 10:30). Hisenemies made a big mistake. They left the man withjust enough life to revive. He came back to life.

Someof youmayhavebeendiagnosedwitha ter-minal illness. Place your case in the hands of theGreat Physician. Refuse to accept the verdict. Get asecond opinion.

It’s Time to Take Inventory

Your miracle is not in what you lost. Yourmiracle is in what is left. God is not discouraged


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by your lack. He encourages you to rise andseize what is left.

God knows, which tells me He is not sur-prised. These two words may seem insignificant,but they are crucial for us to understand. Youdon’t have to pretend. God knows everythingisn’t all right. God knows you aren’t on top ofthe situation. God knows you are a 911 case.God knows you are in critical condition. In spiteof your dilemma, He says, “It’s not over until Isay it’s over.”

In the midst of your trial, dilemma, orstorm, do you still find a desire to overcome? Doyou refuse to take “no” for an answer? He cantake everything you have lost—your time, joy,and integrity—and bring you right up to date asthough it never happened.

Give What Remains to God

Samson had lost his integrity, his hair, hisstrength, his looks, and his eyes. Yet, dyingin the enemy’s camp, he took what was leftand made it available to God. God gave Sam-son a miracle larger than all the miracles ofhis entire life.

The disciples had only five barley loaves andtwo fish, but Jesus asked them to give it to Him.Make what you have available to God, and Hewill give you a miracle with what is left.


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When David faced Goliath, he took off Saul’sarmor. The shepherd boy had only five stones.He stripped himself of everything else. ButDavid said, “I come to thee in the name of theLord of hosts” (1 Sam. 17:45). He made avail-able to God what he had left.

When the apostle Paul had gone through hisstorm, the ship was torn to pieces. All he hadleft was a board, but the board got him safely tothe shores of deliverance.

The apostle John didn’t have much left. Allhe had was a testimony, but he made it avail-able to Him who took him higher and gave hima great revelation.

After this I looked, and, behold, a door

was opened in heaven: and the first voice

which I heard was as it were of a trumpet

talking with me; which said, Come up

hither, and I will shew thee things which

must be hereafter (Revelation 4:1).

The apostle refused to die until he had fin-ished his book.

Some of you have a story to tell, a testimonyto give, a book to write. Refuse to die until youhave fulfilled your dream. Keep walking withGod, for you “shall not die, but live, and declarethe works of God” (Psalm 118:17).


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Be like Enoch. He walked with God in thedarkest hour that his time had ever known. Itwas a time of apostasy and worldliness, but hewalked with God. In fact, he walked with Goduntil it was written, he was not. God took himhigher. (See Genesis 5:24.)

No matter what they say about you, walkwith God until they have to say, “He’s not whatwe thought.” Let the Holy Spirit reveal to youthat there is good stuff left over after all that hashappened to you. Strengthen what remains.


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Chapter 8

God’s Layaway Plan



How can you keep going when all hellhas been unleashed against you? If

our generation will usher in the coming of theLord—and I believe prophecy indicates we will—then we must be equipped to face the onslaughtof the devil.

All too often we have heard the story of thegospel, but not the results of the story.Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell the storyabout the gospel. But if we never get past thestory, we fail to enter into His fullness.

The former treatise have I made, O

Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both

to do and teach (Acts 1:1).

This Scripture speaks about what Jesusonly began to do. Throughout the epistles we

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find the ongoing result that the gospel onlybegan to tell.

God Made a Deposit

Of all the epistles that the apostle Paulwrote, one of my favorites is the Book of Eph-esians. To really appreciate this letter, you mustrealize that it was not written from the comfortsof a plush motel. Paul penned these words, thefirst of his prison letters, from the confines of aRoman jail.

Despite his circumstances, Paul viewed lifefrom an eternal perspective.

In whom ye also trusted, after that yeheard the word of truth, the gospel ofyour salvation: in whom also after that yebelieved, ye were sealed with that holySpirit of promise, which is the earnest ofour inheritance until the redemption ofthe purchased possession, unto thepraise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The Greek word for earnest is arrhabon,meaning a pledge, a downpayment, a securitydeposit. It’s an amount paid in advance to se-cure the transaction until the full price is paidto complete the purchase.

If we see a piece of property that we wantbut do not have the entire price, we can put adeposit or a downpayment on it. Both parties


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understand that a portion of the payment is stillowed. This merely declares to other interestedparties that the property already has a pur-chaser. To confirm the desire to purchase, thepotential owner has given earnest money or asecurity deposit.

If you’ve ever bought merchandise on lay-away, the principle is similar. You place a down-payment on your goods with the promise to paythe full amount. At regular intervals you make apayment and take the merchandise home whenit has been completely paid off.

Follow the Sequence

Ephesians 1:13-14 shows us that certainthings preceded the downpayment:

1. “In whom ye also trusted” (vs. 13).This step leads up to the downpay-ment. As we trust Christ as Lordand Savior, we become His pur-chased possession. A secular com-pany will not put its insignia on aproduct it does not own. Their logosays, “This is mine. I take responsi-bility for it.” The name seals thispossession. It is a declaration ofownership.

2. “Ye believed” (vs. 13). It’s one thing totrust when you start out, but it is a far


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different thing to believe when theodds say it won’t happen. You have totrust God even when you can’ttrace Him. Believe Him when youhave no visible evidence. Believe Himwhen every one else has given up onyou. Believe Him when you are onthe mountain,but, more than that,believe Him when the mountain is onyou.

It isn’t always the one who is shouting anddancing who is the most anointed. The anoint-ing falls on those who have been through thestorm and stood the test, who believed throughthe weeping of the night. The night eventuallyends, and a new day will break forth for you.

3. “Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit ofpromise” (vs.13). God will watch to seeif you are going to trust Him. Then Hewill watch to see if by naked faith—without any other visible, tangibleman-ifestation—you are going to believeHim. ThenHewill seal you, and the sealcarries with it a hidden blessing, theHoly Spirit ofpromise.


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Believe through the weepingunto the new day’s dawn.


God says, “This is Mine, and I promise itwill remain Mine through hell and high waterbecause of My seal of approval. This will standthe test. This comes with a lifetime warranty.I seal it.” A seal authenticates the vessel anddeclares, “I own all rights to this vessel. This isgood stuff. It has to be because I put My sealof approval upon it.”

4. “Which is the earnest of our inheritance”(vs. 14). Notice what the seal stands forin the eyesofGod.Hewants youenoughthat He paid earnest money to securethe transaction. When the devil offersyou the world, God says, “Sorry, devil. Ibegan the transaction, and I will finishit! I sealed it with a promise. The trans-action will not be complete until I re-deem the body. Until that day comes, Iown all rights. This is mine.”

God Seals on Earth What HeavenHas Decreed in Eternity

God has quickened us, who were once “dead intrespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). God is eternal, andthe life you have is eternal. Many believe they havelife but fail to understand they have eternal life. Thislife is not based upon your merits, but it is basedupon His merits. He redeemed or bought you back.


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The prefix “re” can be found throughoutScripture. God redeemed you; He reconciledyou; He restored you; He regenerated you. Manytimes God wants us to get to the place where werealize it is all Him and not us.

We Groan Because of What We Know

The apostle Paul used a two-letter word thatis packed with dynamite. He mentioned theword “we” eleven times in Second Corinthians5:1-8, Each time he speaks about the part ofyou that has received its downpayment. The“we” is not the house (our body) because thehouse will one day die. Because of what “we”know, the “we” in us groans.

The “we” in us is confident, the “we” in uswalks, the “we” in us is willing, the “we” in us al-ready knows what is ours. This is why we groan;this is why we walk when it doesn’t look like weare going to win.

Notice what keeps the “we” in us going: “theearnest of the Spirit” (vs. 5). While we live in thisflesh, we are absent from the Lord. But, becauseof the earnest (downpayment of the Spirit), weknow that one day the mortal part of us will beswallowed up by the life in us.

Even though this primarily speaks of the fu-ture resurrection, knowing this can help us con-quer our flesh. When our flesh tries to depress


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or hinder us, saying, “You won’t make it,” thistruth enables our flesh to be swallowed up.

The earnest of the Spirit, which becomes thepromise of God’s approval upon your life, willswallow up your defeat and anxiety. With thisdownpayment it may not look good right now,but just hold on. You have God’s promise.

I can’t tell you enough about what this in-sight will do for you. Because of the earnest ofthe Spirit, you can always be confident.

Hope Will Change Us

What did the apostle Paul say?

And not only they, but ourselves also,

which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,

even we ourselves groan within our-

selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,

the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23).

The spirit is saved by faith, and the body issaved by hope.

Hope purifies our soul. When it doesn’t lookgood, hope says, “It’s all right.” This is why weneed such a strong witness in our soul. Godgives us hope in the midst of our storm.

We must understand the working of theHoly Spirit in our lives. Many become discour-aged when they fall short of their goals as a


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child of God. Others throw in the towel and say,“What’s the use?”

Many of you are near a breakthrough inyour life. You may have fought for years to get towhere you are with God. Many of you are preg-nant with destiny. You are carrying within thewomb of your spirit a ministry that couldchange this world.

It’s All In a Place

Moses was in the same place where we oftenfind ourselves—near burnout. He had beenfunctioning and abiding in the call of God for hislife. Yet he longed for a manifestation of God’spresence. Moses prayed:

And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thyglory (Exodus 33:18).

God wants to show us His glory andsplendor as much as, if not more than, wewant to see it. In order for us to see the gloryof God, however, we must get to the place.

God told Moses:

And the Lord said, Behold, there is aplace by me, and thou shalt stand upon arock (Exodus 33:21).

Remember, whenever God got ready to man-ifest Himself in glory and splendor, He alwaystook the person up to a mountain or an elevated


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domain. Then He would manifest Himself.

God promised Moses that he would see Hisglory, but only after Moses got to a certainplace. The apostle Peter had a revelation bythe Spirit regarding Christ (Matt. 16:13-18).Jesus was the Rock, and when we hide our-selves in Him we are taken to higher heightsand deeper depths.

A cleft is a small crevice or opening. Whenthe soldier pierced the side of Jesus, a cleftopened and we are able, by the Holy Ghost, tohide in this cleft.

God promised Moses:

I will make all my goodness pass beforethee, and I will proclaim the name of theLord before thee…. And it shall come topass, while my glory passeth by, that Iwill put thee in a cleft of the rock, and willcover thee with my hand while I pass by:And I will take away mine hand, andthou shalt see my back parts: but my faceshall not be seen (Exodus 33:19-23).

Moses saw only the afterglow of God’s glory,but he was greatly affected.

The children of Israel saw the face ofMoses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone:and Moses put the veil upon his face (Ex-odus 34:35).


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Some of you are going through a storm, atrial, or something you don’t even understand.You’re saying to yourself, “I’ve been faithful.I’m committed to my call. I’ve exercised mygift, but I still don’t understand why this ishappening to me.”

Don’t lose your focus. Help is on the way.What you face will be nothing more than a cleftin the rock. As you go through this problem, youwill begin to understand the words of the oldhymn, “Rock of Ages, Cleft For Me.”

This very storm is taking you to higherground. Let God raise you to another levelthrough this trial. Noah let a torrential down-pour and a flood take him to higher ground. Hisark landed upon Mt. Ararat (Gen. 8:1-4).

You’ll Never Be the Same

As Moses spent time on the mountain withGod, he began to take on the appearance ofGod. When Moses came down from the moun-tain, he had to veil his face to be able to talkwith the people. The glory of God was so evidentthat the people could not look upon him be-cause of the brightness of his countenance.

The apostle Paul asked this question:

But if theministration of death, written andengraven in stones, was glorious, so thatthe children of Israel could not stedfastly


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behold the face of Moses for the glory of hiscountenance; which glory was to be doneaway: How shall not theministration of thespirit be rather glorious? For if the minis-tration of condemnation be glory, muchmore doth theministration of righteousnessexceed in glory (2 Corinthians 3:7-9).

The glory of the new covenant and the min-istry of righteousness far exceed the ministry ofdeath that came through the law. The apostlePaul closes that chapter with this thought:

But we all, with open face beholding asin a glass the glory of the Lord, arechanged into the same image from gloryto glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord(2 Corinthians 3:18).

Open God’s Word and allow it to become amirror. As the Holy Ghost illuminates your life,you will begin to reflect His glory as Moses did.Be willing to pay the price and discipline your-self because God wants to do a work in your life,your ministry, your marriage, and your calling.

There is a price to pay to be anointed ofGod—and an even greater price to maintainyour anointing. The Holy Ghost has sealed you,which is a downpayment on this great blessingthat God is preparing you for.

As far as God is concerned, it’s done.


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Bonus Material

Infirmed Woman


Infirmed Woman

And, behold, there was a womanwhich had a spirit of infirmity eight-

een years, and was bowed together, andcould in no wise lift up herself. And whenJesus saw her, He called her to Him, andsaid unto her, Woman, thou art loosedfrom thine infirmity (Luke 13:11-12).

The Holy Spirit periodically lets us catch aglimpse of the personal testimony of one of thepatients of the Divine Physician Himself. Thiswoman’s dilemma is her own, but perhaps youwill find some point of relativity between hercase history and your own. She could be likesomeone you know or have known; she couldeven be like you.

There are three major characters in thisstory. These characters are the person, the

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problem and the prescription. It is important toremember that for every person, there will be aproblem. Even more importantly, for every prob-lem, our God has a prescription!

Jesus’ opening statement to the problem inthis woman’s life is not a recommendation forcounseling—it is a challenging command! Oftenmuch more is involved in maintaining deliver-ance than just discussing past trauma. Jesusdid not counsel what should have been com-manded. I am not, however, against seeking thecounsel of godly men. On the contrary, theScriptures say:

Blessed is the man that walketh not inthe counsel of the ungodly, nor standethin the way of sinners, nor sitteth in theseat of the scornful (Psalm 1:1).

Where no counsel is, the people fall: butin the multitude of counsellors there issafety (Proverbs 11:14).

What I want to make clear is that after youhave analyzed the condition—after you have un-derstood its origin—it will still take the authorityof God’s Word to put the past under your feet!This woman was suffering as a result of some-thing that attacked her 18 years earlier. I won-der if you can relate to the long-rangeafter-effects of past pain? This kind of trauma is

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as fresh to the victim today as it was the day itoccurred. Although the problem may be rootedin the past, the prescription is a present wordfrom God! The Word is the same yesterday, todayand forevermore! (See Hebrews 13:8.) That is tosay, the word you are hearing today is able toheal your yesterday!

Jesus said, “Woman, thou art loosed.” Hedid not call her by name. He wasn’t speaking toher just as a person. He spoke to her femininity.He spoke to the song in her. He spoke to the lacein her. Like a crumbling rose, Jesus spoke towhat she could, and would, have been. I believethe Lord spoke to the twinkle that existed in hereye when she was a child; to the girlish glowthat makeup can never seem to recapture. Hespoke to her God-given uniqueness. He spoketo her gender.

Her problem didn’t begin suddenly. It hadexisted in her life for 18 years. We are lookingat a woman who had a personal war going oninside her. These struggles must have taintedmany other areas of her life. The infirmity thatattacked her life was physical. However, manywomen also wrestle with infirmities in emotionaltraumas. These infirmities can be just as chal-lenging as a physical affliction. An emotionalhandicap can create dependency on many dif-ferent levels. Relationships can become

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crutches. The infirmed woman then places suchweight on people that it stresses a healthy rela-tionship. Many times such emotional handicapswill spawn a series of unhealthy relationships.

For thou hast had five husbands; and hewhom thou now hast is not thy husband:in that saidst thou truly (John 4:18).

Healing cannot come to a desperate personrummaging through other people’s lives. Oneof the first things that a hurting person needsto do is break the habit of using other peopleas a narcotic to numb the dull aching of aninner void. The more you medicate the symp-toms, the less chance you have of allowing Godto heal you.

The other destructive tendency that canexist with any abuse is the person must keepincreasing the dosage. Avoid addictive, obses-sive relationships. If you are becoming increas-ingly dependent upon anything other than Godto create a sense of wholeness in your life, thenyou are abusing your relationships. Clinging topeople is far different from loving them. It is notso much a statement of your love for them as itis a crying out of your need for them. Like lust,it is intensely selfish. It is taking and not giving.Love is giving. God is love. God proved His lovenot by His need of us, but by His giving to us.


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For God so loved the world, that He gave

His only begotten Son, that whosoever

believeth in Him should not perish, but

have everlasting life (John 3:16).

The Scriptures plainly show that this in-firmed woman had tried to lift herself. Peoplewho stand on the outside can easily criticize andassume that the infirmed woman lacks effortand fortitude. That is not always the case. Somesituations in which we can find ourselves defywill power. We feel unable to change. The Scrip-tures say that she “could in no wise lift up her-self.” That implies she had employed variousmeans of self-ministry. Isn’t it amazing how thesame people who lift up countless others, oftencannot lift themselves? This type of person maybe a tower of faith and prayer for others, but im-potent when it comes to her own limitations.That person may be the one others rely upon.Sometimes we esteem others more importantthan ourselves. We always become the martyr. Itis wonderful to be self-sacrificing, but watch outfor self-disdain! If we don’t apply some of themedicine that we use on others to strengthenourselves, our patients will be healed and wewill be dying.

I shall not die, but live, and declare the

works of the Lord (Psalm 118:17).

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Many things can engender disappointmentand depression. In this woman’s case, a spiritof infirmity had gripped her life. A spirit canmanifest itself in many forms. For some it maybe low self-esteem caused by child abuse, rape,wife abuse or divorce. I realize that these arenatural problems, but they are rooted in spiri-tual ailments. One of the many damagingthings that can affect us today is divorce, par-ticularly among women, who often look forwardto a happy relationship. Little girls grow upplaying with Barbie and Ken dolls, dressingdoll babies and playing house. Young girls liein bed reading romance novels, while little boysplay ball and ride bicycles in the park. When-ever a woman is indoctrinated to think successis romance and then experiences the trauma ofa failed relationship, she comes to a painfulawakening. Divorce is not merely separating; itis the tearing apart of what was once joined to-gether. Whenever something is torn, it does notheal easily. But Jesus can heal a broken ortorn heart!

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because

He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel

to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the

brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to

the captives, and recovering of sight to


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the blind, to set at liberty them that arebruised (Luke 4:18).

Approximately five out of ten marriages endin divorce. Those broken homes leave a trail ofbroken dreams, people, and children. Only theMaster can heal these victims in the times inwhich we live. He can treat the long-term effectsof this tragedy. One of the great healing balms ofthe Holy Spirit is forgiveness. To forgive is tobreak the link between you and your past. Sadlyenough, many times the person hardest to for-give is the one in the mirror. Although they rageloudly about others, people secretly blamethemselves for a failed relationship. Regardlessof who you hold responsible, there is no healingin blame! When you begin to realize that yourpast does not necessarily dictate the outcome ofyour future, then you can release the hurt. It isimpossible to inhale new air until you exhale theold. I pray that as you continue reading, Godwould give the grace of releasing where you havebeen so you can receive what God has for younow. Exhale, then inhale; there is more for you.

Perhaps one of the more serious indictmentsagainst our civilization is our flagrant disregardfor the welfare of our children. Child abuse, re-gardless of whether it is physical, sexual oremotional, is a terrible issue for an innocentmind to wrestle with. It is horrifying to think

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that little children who survive the peril of thestreets, the public schools and the aggravatedsociety in which we live, come home to beabused in what should be a haven. Recent sta-tistics suggest that three in five young girls inthis country have been or will be sexually as-saulted. If that many are reported, I shudder tothink of those that never are reported but arecovered with a shroud of secrecy.

If by chance you are a pastor, please realizethat these figures are actually faces in yourchoir, committees, etc. They reflect a growingamount of our congregational needs. Althoughthis book focuses on women, many men alsohave been abused as children. I fear that Godwill judge us for our blatant disregard of thisneed in our messages, ministries, and prayers.I even would suggest that our silence con-tributes to the shame and secrecy that satan at-taches to these victimized persons. Whenever Ithink on these issues, I am reminded of whatmy mother used to say. I was forever cominghome with a scratch or cut from schoolyardplay. My mother would take the band-aid off,clean the wound and say, “Things that are cov-ered don’t heal well.” Mother was right. Thingsthat are covered do not heal well.

Perhaps Jesus was thinking on this orderwhen He called the infirmed woman to come


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forward. It takes a lot of courage even in churchtoday to receive ministry in sensitive areas. TheLord, though, is the kind of physician who canpour on the healing oil. Uncover your woundsin His presence and allow Him to gently heal theinjuries. One woman found healing in the hemof His garment (Mark 5:25-29). There is a balmin Gilead! (Jer. 8:22).

Even when the victim survives, there is stilla casualty. It is the death of trust. Surely yourealize that little girls tend to be trusting andunsuspicious. When those who should nurtureand protect them violate that trust through il-licit behavior, multiple scars result. It is likeprogramming a computer with false informa-tion; you can get out of it only what has beenprogrammed into it.

When a man tells a little girl that his per-verted acts are normal, she has no reason not tobelieve that what she is being taught is true.She is devoted to him, allowing him to fondleher or further misappropriate his actions to-ward her. Usually the abuser is someone veryclose, with access to the child at vulnerabletimes. Fear is also a factor, as many children laydown with the cold taste of fear in their mouths.They believe he could and would kill them fordivulging his liberties against them. Some, as

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the victims of rape, feel physically powerless towrestle with the assailant.

What kind of emotions might this kind ofconduct bring out in the later life of this person?I am glad you asked. It would be easy for thiskind of little girl to grow into a young lady whohas difficulty trusting anyone! Maybe she learnsto deal with the pain inside by getting attentionin illicit ways. Drug rehabilitation centers andprisons are full of adults who were abused chil-dren needing attention.

Not every abused child takes such drasticsteps. Often their period of behavioral disorderdissipates with time. However, the abused childstruggles with her own self-worth. She reasons,“How can I be valuable if the only way I couldplease my own father was to have sex withhim?” This kind of childhood can affect howlater relationships progress. Intimidated by in-timacy, she struggles with trusting anyone. In-security and jealousy may be constantcompanions to this lady, who can’t seem tograsp the idea that someone could love her.There are a variety of reactions as varied asthere are individuals. Some avoid people whoreally care, being attracted to those who do nottreat them well. Relating to abuse, they seem tosabotage good relationships and struggle foryears in worthless ones. Still others may be


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emotionally incapacitated to the degree thatthey need endless affirmation and affection justto maintain the courage to face ordinary days.

The pastor may tell this lady that God is herheavenly Father. That doesn’t help, because theproblem is her point of reference. We frame ourreferences around our own experiences. If thoseexperiences are distorted, our ability to com-prehend spiritual truths can be off center. Iknow that may sound very negative for someonewho is in that circumstance. What do you dowhen you have been poorly programmed bylife’s events? I’ve got good news! You can re-program your mind through the Word of God.

Do not conform any longer to the patternof this world, but be transformed by therenewing of your mind. Then you will beable to test and approve what God’s willis—His good, pleasing and perfect will(Romans 12:2 NIV)

The Greek word metamorphôo is translatedas “transformed” in this text. Literally, it meansto change into another form! You can have acomplete metamorphosis through the Word ofGod. It has been my experience as a pastor whodoes extensive counseling in my own ministryand abroad, that many abused people, womenin particular, tend to flock to legalistic churcheswho see God primarily as a disciplinarian. Many

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times the concept of fatherhood for them is aharsh code of ethics. This type of domineeringministry may appeal to those who are perform-ance-oriented. I understand that morality is im-portant in Christianity; however, there is a greatdeal of difference between morality and legal-ism. It is important that God not be misrepre-sented. He is a balanced God, not an extremist.

The Word became flesh and made His

dwelling among us. We have seen His

glory, the glory of the One and Only, who

came from the Father, full of grace and

truth (John 1:14 NIV).

The glory of God is manifested only whenthere is a balance between grace and truth. Re-ligion doesn’t transform. Legalism doesn’t trans-form. For the person who feels dirty, harsh rulescould create a sense of self-righteousness. Goddoesn’t have to punish you to heal you. Jesushas already prayed for you.

Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy

word is truth (John 17:17).

Jesus simply shared grace and truth withthat hurting woman. He said, “Woman, thouart loosed.” Believe the Word of God and befree. Jesus our Lord was a great emancipatorof the oppressed. It does not matter whether


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someone has been oppressed socially, sexuallyor racially; our Lord is an eliminator of distinctions.

There is neither Jew nor Greek [racial],

there is neither bond nor free [social],

there is neither male nor female [sexual]:

for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Gala-tians 3:28).

I feel it is important to point out that thisverse deals with unity and equality in regard tothe covenant of salvation. That is to say, God isno respecter of persons. He tears down barriersthat would promote prejudice and separation inthe Body of Christ. Yet it is important also tonote that while there is no distinction in themanner in which we receive any of thosegroups, there should be an appreciation for theuniqueness of the groups’ individuality. Thereis a racial, social and sexual uniqueness that weshould not only accept, but also appreciate. Itis cultural rape to teach other cultures or racesthat the only way to worship God is the way an-other race or culture does. Unity should notcome at the expense of uniqueness of expres-sion. We should also tolerate variance in socialclasses. It is wonderful to teach prosperity aslong as it is understood that the Church is notan elite organization for spiritual yuppies only—one that excludes other social classes.

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If uniqueness is to be appreciated raciallyand socially, it is certainly to be appreciatedsexually. Male and female are one in Christ. Yetthey are unique and that uniqueness is not tobe tampered with. Let the male be masculineand the female be feminine! It is a sin for a manto misrepresent himself by conducting himselfas a woman. I am not merely speaking of ho-mosexuality. I am also talking about men whoare feminine in their mannerisms. Many ofthese men may not be homosexual in their be-havior, but the Bible says that they must behealed of feminine mannerisms, or vice versa. Itis equally sad to see a masculine woman. Nev-ertheless, God wants them healed, not hated!

Know ye not that the unrighteous shallnot inherit the kingdom of God? Be notdeceived: neither fornicators, nor idol-aters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, norabusers of themselves with mankind....(1 Corinthians 6:9).

Strong’s #3120 “malakos (mal-ak-os’); of un-certain affinity; soft, i.e. fine (clothing); figura-tively, a catamite:—effeminate, soft” (Strong’sExhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Hen-drickson Publishers, n.d.).

I realize that these behavioral disordersare areas that require healing and prayer. Mypoint is simply that unity does not negate


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uniqueness. God is saying, “I don’t want mento lose their masculine uniqueness.” This istrue racially, socially, and sexually. God canappreciate our differences and still createunity. It is like a conductor who can orches-trate extremely different instruments into pro-ducing a harmonious, unified sound. Togetherwe produce a sound of harmony that ex-presses the multifaceted character of God.

Having established the uniqueness ofunity, let us now discuss some aspects of theuniqueness of the woman. By nature a womanis a receiver. She is not physically designed tobe a giver. Her sexual and emotional fulfill-ment becomes somewhat dependent on thegiving of her male counterpart (in regard to in-timate relationships). There is a certain vul-nerability that is a part of being a receiver. Inregard to reproduction (sexual relationships),the man is the contributing factor, and thewoman is the receiver.

What is true of the natural is true of thespiritual. Men tend to act out of what they per-ceive to be facts, while women tend to react outof their emotions. If your actions and moods arenot a reaction to the probing of the Holy Spirit,then you are reacting to the subtle taunting ofthe enemy. He is trying to produce his destruc-tive fruit in your home, heart, and even in your

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relationships. Receiver, be careful what you re-ceive! Moods and attitudes that satan wouldoffer, you need to resist. Tell the enemy, “Thisis not me, and I don’t receive it.” It is his job tooffer it and your job to resist it. If you do yourjob, all will go well.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resistthe devil, and he will flee from you(James 4:7 NIV).

Don’t allow the enemy to plug into you andviolate you through his subtle seductions. He isa giver and he is looking for a receiver. You mustdiscern his influence if you are going to rebukehim. Anything that comes, any mood that is notin agreement with God’s Word, is satan tryingto plug into the earthly realm through your life.He wants you to believe you cannot change. Heloves prisons and chains! Statements like, “Thisis just the way I am,” or “I am in a terrible moodtoday,” come from lips that accept what theyought to reject. Never allow yourself to settle foranything less than the attitude God wants youto have in your heart. Don’t let satan have yourday, your husband, or your home. Eve couldhave put the devil out!

Neither give place to the devil (Eph.4:27).

It is not enough to reject the enemy’s plan.You must nurture the Word of the Lord. You


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need to draw the promise of God and the visionfor the future to your breast. It is a natural lawthat anything not fed will die. Whatever youhave drawn to the breast is what is growing inyour life. Breastfeeding holds several advan-tages for what you feed: (a) It hears your heart-beat; (b) it is warmed by your closeness; (c) itdraws nourishment from you. Caution: Be sureyou are nurturing what you want to grow andstarving what you want to die.

As you read this, you may feel that life ispassing you by. You often experience success inone area and gross defeat in others. You need aburning desire for the future, the kind of desirethat overcomes past fear and inhibitions. Youwill remain chained to your past and all the se-crets therein until you decide: Enough isenough! I am telling you that when your desirefor the future peaks, you can break out ofprison. I challenge you to sit down and write 30things you would like to do with your life andscratch them off, one by one, as you accomplishthem. There is no way you can plan for the fu-ture and dwell in the past at the same time. Ifeel an earthquake coming into your prison! Itis midnight—the turning point of days! It is yourtime for a change. Praise God and escape out ofthe dungeons of your past.

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And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed,and sang praises unto God: and the pris-oners heard them. And suddenly therewas a great earthquake, so that the foun-dations of the prison were shaken: andimmediately all the doors were opened,and every one’s bands were loosed (Acts16:25-26)

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to com-municate with people who will not give you theirattention? Pain will not continue to rehearse it-self in the life of a preoccupied, distracted per-son. Distracted people almost seem weird. Theydo not respond! Every woman has somethingshe wishes she could forget. There is a principleto learn here. Forgetting isn’t a memory lapse; itis a memory release! Like carbon dioxide thebody can no longer use, exhale it and let it goout of your spirit.

Brethren, I count not myself to have ap-prehended: but this one thing I do, for-getting those things which are behind,and reaching forth unto those thingswhich are before, I press toward themark for the prize of the high calling ofGod in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, asmany as be perfect, be thus minded: andif in any thing ye be otherwise minded,


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God shall reveal even this unto you(Philippians 3:13-15).

Jesus set the infirmed woman free. Shewas able to stand upright. The crippling condi-tion of her infirmity was removed by the Godwho cares, sees and calls the infirmity to thedispensary of healing and deliverance. You cancall upon Him even in the middle of the night.Like a 24-hour medical center, you can reachHim at anytime. He is touched by the feeling ofyour infirmity.

For we have not an high priest whichcannot be touched with the feeling ofour infirmities; but was in all pointstempted like as we are, yet without sin(Hebrews 4:15).

In the name of our High Priest, JesusChrist, I curse the infirmity that has bowedthe backs of God’s women. I pray that, as weshare together out of the Word of God, the HolySpirit would roll you into the recovery roomwhere you can fully realize that the trauma isover. I am excited to say that God never loosedanybody that He wasn’t going to use mightily.May God reveal healing and purpose as wecontinue to seek Him.

Infirmed Woman

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Other Booksby T.D. Jakes

Why? Because You Are Anointed

Why? Because You Are Anointed Workbook

Can You Stand to be Blessed?

Woman, Though Art Loosed!

Naked and Not Ashamed

Help Me, I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up!

When Shepherds Bleed

Water in the Wilderness

The Harvest

The Harvest Workbook

The Great Investment

Maximize the Moment


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Call toll-free: 1-800-722-6774

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Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310

“Speaking to the Purposes of God for This

Generation and for the Generations to Come”

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