FLOW. IN THE RIVER Stephen.A.Fisher

1 FLOW IN THE RIVER Stephen.A.Fisher 2 OVERFLOW PUBLISHING Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the ...
Author: Barnaby Flowers
1 downloads 1 Views 3MB Size
1

FLOW IN THE RIVER Stephen.A.Fisher

2

OVERFLOW PUBLISHING

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. First printing 2012 Copyright Stephen.A.Fisher www.je-sus.org No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission from the author - Email: [email protected] Book Design: Stephen.A.Fisher Editorial: Stephen Marshall

ISBN: 978-0-9872713-0-3

3

About the Author

Stephen.A.Fisher Stephen’s Apostolic call to the world over the last thirty years was birthed in Australia. Since then he has reached out to the USA, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and other nations. He is anointed by God to teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ through crusades, conferences, bible schools and churches. God has always confirmed the preaching of his Word through Stephen with multitudes being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit through mighty outpourings of signs, wonders and miracles. Stephen resides with his family in Jakarta, Indonesia and is dedicated to helping people experience an outpouring of God’s compassion, healing and salvation to Indonesia and the world. Stephen believes that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through believers is the greatest need to gather in the end time harvest.

4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This book is dedicated to my wonderful parents, Dudley and Besty Fisher. Through their lives they have touched multitudes of people with the love of Christ and were a living testimony to the power of God. Jesus Christ was their Lord, their purpose and the centre of their lives, marriage, family and ministry as Pastors. A wonderful loving couple filled with the Holy Spirit who were carriers of revival, bringing salvation to the lost and healing and compassion to the sick and afflicted. They have been promoted to Heaven, in the Presence of our God.

Pioneers of Faith – My Parents Dudley & Betsy Fisher Western Australia, Australia. “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. Philippians 1:21

5

CONTENTS Introduction

7

1. Flow in the River

8

2. The River Within

14

3. Outpourings 19 4. Signs & Wonders

25

5. Praying in the Spirit

32

6. Inherent Power

41

7. The Spirit of God

47

8. Life in the Spirit

51

9. Receive the Holy Spirit

60

10. A Study - The Holy Spirit

65

11. A Study - The Anointing

67

6

INTRODUCTION The flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives is paramount and the key to every area of our lives. We are to be continually filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit, so there is an outpouring and overflow to other people around us. When we are filled continually with the Holy Spirit, he can to minister supernaturally to people. Flow in the River Flowing in the River of God Flow in the River Flowing in the River of God Live in the River Living in the River of God Live in the River Living in the River of God Swim in the River Swimming in the River of God Swim in the River Swimming in the River of God Jesus is the source of the River Source of the River of God Jesus is the source of the River Flowing in the River of God Stephen Fisher

7

Chapter 1

FLOW IN THE RIVER The Holy Spirit indwells us, empowers us and overflows out through our lives to the world around us. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If anyone thirst, let them come unto me, and drink. They that believe on me, as the scripture has said, out of their Heart shall flow Rivers of living water. (But this spoke he of the Spirit, they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified). John 7:37-39 I had just arrived in Baubau, a small city in Sulawesi, Indonesia for a week of ministry. After meeting the Pastor and my host family, I went to my room where a very strange event occurred that has changed my concept of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As I unpacked my things I could hear someone singing a song and I stopped to listen to it and wondered who was singing. It seemed like it was coming from inside me or around me, it was then I realised this was an angelic visitation, singing such a beautiful song that lifted me instantly into the presence of God. I quickly took my phone and began to sign along with the angel and recorded the words and melody, this was awesome and powerful, I have heard about people experiencing this type of visitation, and now I was in the middle of one. The words of the song were simple but profound, “Flow in the river, Flow-

8

Flow in the River ing in the River of God, Flow in the River, Flowing in the River of God”. There were several other verses, but the last verse was my favourite one, it was “Jesus is the Source of the River; Source of the River of God, Jesus is the Source of the River, Flowing in the River of God”. This was so exciting as I have never been given a song like this before and it was so strange, Its important to note here that I was not in a meeting where they were worshipping or ministering. It was so natural and this was all happening while I was unpacking my things. Over the next few days I ministered at several meetings and then at one evening service I asked if we could sing the song the Lord had given me. The moment we began to sing the song, place was filled with the Glory of God. What an awesome song. It was releasing the Glory of God in our midst and lives were being touched in the Lord’s presence. Praise God. This was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the Lord’s presence being experienced at each meeting as he ministered to many lives with miracles and transformations. This was the beginning of a move of the Spirit of God in that city. The one thing I observed with this outpouring was the hunger that the Holy Spirit created in the hearts of the people. It was not a mental thing. As the manifest presence of the Lord was there, people were weeping and repenting, others were experiencing joy unspeakable and the love of God was tangible. It was all the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Him and Him alone in simple response to our allowing His river to flow in our midst. It was all of Him. We would sing the Flow in the River song and people would move around the building as if they were swimming in the presence of God, in fact they were and how simple this was, just people enjoying the visitation of their great and wonderful God in their midst. This time in Baubau created a hunger in my heart for more of the river of the Holy Spirit flowing in my life and ministry and I wanted to share this with people all over the world.

9

Flow in the River Jesus himself said, that the Holy Spirit would pour out of our hearts like rivers, not just a river, but rivers of living water. (John 7:37-39) Jesus was telling us that there would be many outpourings of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives; the biggest problem was we were stopping the flow of his river through man made religious activities and performance based works. Many believers are not experiencing the river of God, they say they believe what Jesus said, but never get close to experiencing His flow in their lives. It is my desire to help ordinary people of any race, colour or status discover that it is through them where God pours out a continual flow of the rivers of the Spirit of God. Ordinary believers can stop striving and struggling in trying to be a Christian and trying to please God through self-efforts, but through his grace enter into the river that Jesus promised everyone. Maybe you are one of those people who are praying for God to send down his power, to send down his rain, to send down his revival or waiting for someone holy and anointed to bring the revival. You will discover that the river is already within you, you just need to learn how to allow Him to flow through your life. I have been exposed to Christianity from a very early age and I have seen many religious fads and sincere enthusiastic efforts to see God outpour His Spirit, or as most people say, for God to bring revival. One morning several years ago, I woke up early; I had a sense of the presence of God within my spirit so I just laid there and allowed the Spirit of God to speak to me. A very important thing He said was, “I am preparing your heart, for the things to come”. And then He talked about Revival. He said, “People call it Revival, I call it an Outpouring.” He then reminded

10

Flow in the River me of the book of Acts where the prophecy speaks about in the last days God will “Pour Out of His Spirit”. He said that this was the way it happened and will happen now; it is recorded in the scripture to allow our faith to follow that road of experience. The Spirit of God said, “The outpouring’s come from within anyone who is willing to be a vessel, they can have an out pouring in and through their lives”. He reminded me when I first began to walk in the spirit and of the “Outpouring’s that took place. I remembered where people received Christ, people were filled with the Holy Ghost, people were healed, lives were changed and turned around. This was a direct result of the outpourings of the Spirit of God. God’s outpouring is miraculous. It is the Spirit of God flowing into lives and bringing changes, this is by the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:38 says that, “Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with Power, who went about healing, restoring and changing lives all in the power of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus had an outpouring of the power of God wherever he went, at times the river of the Holy Spirit would flow out of him and everyone who could get to him or touch him received their miracle. “And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went power out of him, and healed them all.” Luke 6:19 God wants to continue the outpouring of the river of the Holy Spirit through his body, his church, his people, ordinary believers. Even people like you and me. He is looking for your availability. When His river flows, miracles take place, lives come to Christ and people are empowered to live the Jesus life.

11

Flow in the River

A few years ago I went to hear an evangelist at a crusade and there was a crowd of about 30,000 people gathered and the worship and miracles were wonderful. The evangelist gave an opportunity for people who wanted prayer for more of the power of God in their lives to come to the centre section. All of a sudden the crowd went wild, the security staff left their positions and began to run to the front, the crowds were pouring out of the stadium and pushing and shoving to get as close as possible to the speaker. I stood there in awe watching these desperate people running for the power of God. The evangelist was surprised at such a crowd, and then began to pray over the masses of people. They started screaming and shouting cries of desperation, as if this was their only opportunity to get access to the power of God. I guess about 70 per cent of the people at the crusade had gathered in the centre section. I was shocked and could only think about what Jesus had said - that the rivers of the Holy Spirit will flow from out of believers, any believer. What was happening here, didn’t they know that the river of the Holy Spirit is already within the believer? Either Jesus was telling us the truth or a lie; I believe he was telling the truth. Out of me will flow the rivers of the Holy Spirit. Praise God. Christians everywhere are desperate for the river of God, desperate for reality, desperate for the presence of the King of Kings. Where are people looking for the power of God? Prayer meetings, conventions, listening to the latest speakers, many people are looking everywhere but not in the one place it can be found. Jesus said the power of God would come and live inside us, when we receive the Holy Spirit. “You shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” Acts 1:8

12

Flow in the River

So, this means that if you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, then you have the power of God dwelling inside you. The Holy Spirit is the one with the power, He is the one who ministers through us, He is the one who operates the gifting’s through us; it is He. The Holy Spirit who is in us. So where is the river of God, it is in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we decide to believe this and act as if it were true, then we will begin experiencing the manifest presence of God in and through our lives. As you believe the Word of God, you will act on it and no longer cry out to God for something that he has already given you. The gift of the Holy Spirit. We need to learn how to allow the rivers of the Spirit of God to flow through us out to the people in our world. People don’t need to look to others for the river; Jesus is the source of the river. Jesus said, “if we are thirsty then come to Him and drink,” from Jesus flows the river, and it flows out through our lives touching people everywhere. Once we learn this and begin to declare it in our lives will we constantly experience the reality of the presence of God. Where did Jesus say that the river would only flow, at a church gathering or special event? The rivers should be flowing every day in our lives, everywhere we go, anytime to anyone. Look to Jesus, He is the source of the rivers of the Holy Spirit and as you do, a river of joy will flood your heart and overflow to people around you.

13

Chapter 2

THE RIVER WITHIN People become the dwelling place for God on the earth, the Spirit within. Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 (Good News Bible) We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, now. Not when we get to heaven, but here right now we are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures plainly teach that Christ now lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, praise God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to bring the dominion of Christ - in our lives and through our lives. The Spirit of God indwells us and then outpours through us to the world. This means that ordinary people, like you and me, educated or uneducated, poor or rich, no matter who you are, can allow the Holy Spirit to flow through you. It’s time to believe the words of Jesus and declare it. Throughout my walk with Christ, I have believed that the power of God would flow, simply because He is living in me. At an early age I read books by TL Osborn who was having outpourings of God’s power all over the world, thousands of people coming to Christ, with signs, wonders and miracles occurring at every meeting he conducted. I was hungry for the secrets so I could reach people for Christ, and as I

14

The River Within studied and read his teachings, I discovered that the same Holy Spirit in him was also in me and wherever I went the power of God would flow, simply because I am the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and He is the one with the power of God. I remember when I first stood before a massive crowd in Papua New Guinea as a young man, stepping out to see the power of God to save and heal and deliver people. This was my first experience, so I preached a message I copied from another evangelist and there was little response to the preaching and if any people were saved, I don’t know. That night after the crusade I got before God and asked him why nothing was happening, I was troubled throughout the night and then I heard the Lord speak. He said, “If you build faith in the hearts of the people (through the preaching of the word), then the miracles will happen”. This fired me up and as I prepared to preach the Word of God and build faith into the hearts of the people, I did, he did and there was an outpouring of the power of God. The river was flowing and mighty miracles began to happen. The first miracle was a nine year old girl who was born deaf and dumb, and after the command of faith, she could speak and hear. The crowd went wild and from that day the beginning of outpourings of the Spirit of God occurred and still continues to flow to this day. Wherever faith is evident the river will flow. We must believe and act upon it, start doing what the bible says. Since that day, many years ago, I have witnessed thousands and thousands of people coming to Christ, miracles flowing like water, many lives being transformed and outpourings that are still evident today. As a young man, I had learnt the secret. The secret was that the Holy Spirit is inside me. Wherever I go the power of God is inside me and wherever I go, He goes and He will flow out of me to the world. Only when faith connections are made with His word.

15

The River Within

Someone said to me once, “How do you know God is real?” My answer was, “When you believe and act upon His word, He will manifest himself to you”. Jesus said, “All things are possible to those who believe” Mark 9:23 That means anyone who believes, that means you and I, we are believers and it is possible and it will happen, that the rivers of the Holy Spirit will flow out from you to people around you wherever you go. When the rivers of the Holy Spirit flow out through us, the supernatural is released and miracles break out everywhere we go. We need a genuine release of the supernatural, not the spectacular. Christians are tired of the spectacular, they are hungry for the supernatural power of God to manifest and set the captives free. Paul said: “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God”. 1 Corinthians 2:4 - 5 We need our faith to stand in the power of God. It is only the power of God that can save you, change you and set you free. Humanistic and self-development teaching is only a temporal measure. It takes the raw power of God to bring long lasting changes. Many people are frustrated that they are not experiencing or seeing the power of God in their lives and the lives around them. So, they depend upon enticing words of men’s wisdom to help them. Yet, on the inside of every believer in Christ is the same power that flowed through Jesus when he walked the earth, the same power that created everything, the same power that raised Christ from the dead, is resident within us, the believer. A mighty man of God, Burnie Davis, who has gone to be with the Lord, wrote a book called “How to activate miracles”. In the book Burnie ex-

16

The River Within plains that the power of God must be released out from within us to people and he taught simple truths that we need to speak and declare in faith that the power of God flows from us to people. I have lived by this principle and seen outstanding miracles and manifestations of the power of God. Jesus said, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says”. Mark 11:23 You release the power of God through faith, believing that what we say in faith will happen. You can begin to declare that the power of God is within you and is flowing out through you, changing lives and miracles are happening everywhere you go, in Jesus name. The women with the issue of blood, got access to the power of God without obtaining permission from Jesus, to find out if it was His will or not to heal her, she just boldly pushed through the crowd in faith and touched Jesus and received the power of God for her miracle. I am saying, the enemy has held believers back from bold faith in God’s word and lived under a cloud of condemnation that they are not good enough or God won’t answer their prayers. What a load of rubbish that has been fed from the devil. The precious blood of Jesus Christ has set us free from the power of sin and we are declared right with God now, the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). This means, when you know that your righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus and not your own efforts, you will then begin to boldly act in faith. The Grace of God gives us free access to the power of God. Faith is acting on the truth of God’s word; grace gives us the freedom to act. The bible says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God”. Ephesians 2:8

17

The River Within

It takes the power of God to save us and access to the power of God is freely available to everyone through Jesus. It is not the result of our works that we are saved, but freely receiving what he has already given us and standing by faith in the power of God.

18

Chapter 3

OUTPOURINGS God advances his Kingdom on earth through Outpourings of the Holy Spirit. You shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8 From a young age I was imprinted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the result of my parents coming to know Christ in the midst of an outpouring in the late 50’s in the South West of Australia, Australia, where we lived on a farm. My mother was the first to taste of the Grace of Christ in our family, then after much resistance my father finally surrendered his life to Christ. The touch of God upon their lives was so tremendous; the anointing of the Holy Spirit that they received empowered them and revealed the living Christ to them in a life changing experience that changed their destinies forever. Jesus had become their motivation and purpose from this time forward. My past memories was sitting on the floor as a young boy while we attended meetings and watched the move of the Holy Ghost as people were changed by the power of God. The sick were being healed and those were oppressed by evil spirits were set free and people surrendering their lives to Christ. As a child I came to see the reality of the power of God. This was not limited to public meetings, as my father walked in this anointing and demonstrated a faith daily, that put him in a class amongst the likes of Smith

19

Outpourings Wigglesworth. He carried a boldness that shook the very depths of the kingdom of darkness. The scriptures teach us in Acts 19 that power flowed out of Paul’s hands and people were delivered and healed. The anointing of the Holy Ghost is not limited to our theology. I remember one time a man was drunk and Dad told him Jesus was real and then laid his hands on him. The man jumped as he sobered up while being under the power of God, startled he questioned what the power was that was flowing through him. I have seen this power flow through him time and time again, with outstanding results in people’s lives, cancers were healed, sick made whole, cripple walked, the dead were raised and most important people came to know Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. I am talking about ordinary people. My parents who lived in the Australian countryside, unimportant to the world, to this day very few ever heard of or met, yet when one is touched by the power of God, they take on a different walk and purpose. My Dad was filled with the Holy Ghost while attending a meeting conducted by American evangelist Tommy Hicks, whom God used powerfully in South America. He was preaching in Australia and the outcome of that man’s ministry in still being felt in the generations of those who came to Christ at those meetings. I am part of that next generation and the memories of what was and what is now, is like light and dark. Yet, the Lord has not changed and it is up to us individually to allow the flow of the power and then run with God. He is seeking such to surrender to his will. In this age of communication and technology, we have access to volumes of information, teaching and doctrine. Yet, in those early days my parents were alone, but heavily anointed of God. Dad would rise every morning to milk the cows while it was dark, he would

20

Outpourings sit and read his little New Testament and walk around praying in the Holy Ghost, day after day, year after year. Dad’s faith was growing as he learned to simply trust God’s word. Our lives as children were an adventure as Dad would pray for any problem. Sick cows were healed. Our dog “Bob”, who loved to chase cars was hit and killed, after about an hour Dad found Bob, who was cold and dead. He simply prayed the prayer of faith in Jesus Name, and old Bob the dog was raised up by God and lived for many years serving us on the farm. If we were sick, Dad wouldn’t wait long until his hands were laid on us and miracles flowed. We have seen the power of God flow into all areas of our lives, whatever the need he would challenge it with prayer. Colour, age, academic or economic status are not limited by this grace; all can freely taste and live in this grace. The grace of God sets us free from legalism and rules that holds back ones faith from walking in the power of Jesus Christ. My parents were simple and poor, yet rich and wise in God. They walked the walk and talked the talk and were persecuted by friends, family and misunderstood by other ministers, yet their zeal and faith never wavered. I recall the time Dad was asked to speak in a church in Perth, Western Australia. He began to share his Jesus and what Jesus would do for anyone who would simply believe, as he spoke people threw cigarette packets at him, others screamed as they were delivered, such is the power of the simple gospel of Christ. As he continued, the power of God flowed like a river and whoever got in was set free. About this time the Pastor had run into his office shaking and watching from the office window, he couldn’t believe the power that was being demonstrated that day. Such was the anointing that was upon Dad. Dad was leaving people and people who would come near him would fall down the stairs and on the street under the anointing of God.

21

Outpourings

I am well aware that in other parts of the world they glory of what God has done, the great men and women of God in England and America. Only eternity will reveal the mighty works that God was able to do through my parents as they only knew the word of God and dared to believe him. As I begin to think about the past and the things that God has done, the presence and power of God begins to stir within me and once again that boldness to challenge the works of satan rests upon me. I know that many desire to experience God in power in their lives. One of the reasons I share this is to allow the Holy Spirit to begin to touch you afresh, create hope and empower your faith, to give you grace at a time you felt unused and unwanted in this very complex world. It is Jesus and Him alone who has Grace to impart all this to you. We live in an age of high achievers, in sport and work, relationships and even in the body of Christ. Competition has crept its ugly head in the church and put pressure on leaders and ministers to contest with one another. Many walk away discouraged that they were over looked, were not recognized or acknowledged as someone great. This is the purpose of this book and the purpose of my ministry that you too would walk in the Grace of God and you would not be intimidated by satan’s strategy to hold you back. The scriptures teach us that when the Holy Ghost comes to live inside us, a supernatural boldness to become a witness is imparted. The day that my Dad was filled with the Holy Ghost he had a boldness that never left him. His passion to share the Gospel at every opportunity was amazing. He believed that every person he met was sent from God and he never missed a chance to witness to tell them that. It was the only way we knew Dad; at times we would lower our head in shame because he just wouldn’t stop. Only when I allowed Jesus to be Lord of my life, did I begin to understand my Dads motivation.

22

Outpourings

His motivation was born out of a love that flowed to him from the Lord Jesus Christ. A love that cannot be logically assessed; rather it can only be through a personal touch from Christ. You can preach and teach about the love of God, but only when you are the recipient of this love does your life change. Love Jesus, love people. As children we were always waiting in the car with mum as Dad shared Jesus with those whom he met, while the attendant at the service station filled our car with fuel, he would share Jesus. As mum shopped in the supermarket he shared Jesus, wherever he went and whenever he could Dad shared his love for Jesus. One day a salesman came to our door, Dad invited him in and listened to his presentation. Then Dad had his opportunity to promote Jesus, that salesman came to get something and he did, he received Christ into his life. I didn’t like to bring friends home as he would take them for a walk to the wood shed and share Jesus with them; despite my embarrassment my friends highly respected him. On another occasion, a young TV repair man was fixing our TV, as he worked Dad shared Jesus with him and then challenged him to commit his life to Jesus. Dad never missed an opportunity to witness to people. However that embarrassment changed the next day as the young TV repairman was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way back to work after his lunch break. This really changed my negative attitude towards my Dad and it was a lesson that I always carry close to my heart. What an inspiration he was to us all. He went from faith to faith, the older he got the more daring and bolder he became. So much so that people were frightened of him. I remember when my brother and sister were playing a game of squash and

23

Outpourings my sister was struck about the eye causing a big cut we panicked. But Dad just spoke faith to her and said that she will not receive stitches or have a scar. I got so mad at him and yelled for him keep quiet, but faith had been spoken and the Lord Jesus will move mountains for such who dare to believe. The result was that my sister did not receive stitches and there was no scarring. The Lord requires one that will dare to step out of the boat of complacency and believe his word. This pleases Jesus so much. Jesus waits for an opportunity to move if people would only believe. There is a place in God that you don’t have to work up faith, it comes as natural as the air you breathe, and you don’t have to imitate others. Just learn to walk with the miracle worker himself, Jesus. This took years for my father to develop. His yearning for fellowship with the Lord, and staying simple in his faith resulted in him being totally dedicated to him. He learnt from trial and error, he even hit and missed it at times yet in spite of all this he never stopped until he found that what the scriptures said. This was the final authority in his life in every area. My parents were an outstanding example to my life and dramatically impacted my life and the life of multitudes of people, some are still in the ministry today serving God as a consequence of having met and being influenced by the power and anointing that was upon my dad. We can learn from his legacy that how the rivers of the Holy Spirit can flow through anyone, no matter who they are or wherever they come from. The wonderful person of the Holy Spirit power will flow out from each and every person who dares to believe.

24

Chapter 4

SIGNS & WONDERS Whenever the rivers of the Spirit flow into the natural realm, the miraculous occurs. Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Romans 15:19 John G Lake said, “The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to enforce the dominion of Jesus Christ on the earth, through believers”. This is the will of God for every and everyone of us, to allow the Holy Spirit to manifest the power of God in and through our daily lives. I recently had a call from a young man asking if he could visit me and talk about the Holy Spirit. I love to talk about the Holy Spirit and I was ready. He came and shared about his past life and how he was a Buddhist and had recently received Jesus into his life and now he wanted to learn more about how to live as a Christian and the person of the Holy Spirit. I opened my bible and for over one hour I shared with him about faith and how to receive the Holy Spirit. Faith began to rise in his heart and he was very determined to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We stood in my lounge room and my wife and I laid hands upon him to receive and be filled with the Holy Spirit. As I stood there I heard a voice in my heart say, “He has a back problem”. Initially, I ignored this and continued to pray for him. Then again I heard the words, “He has a back

25

Signs & Wonders problem”. I was not sure what was happening as we were praying for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit and was being interrupted. So I went and sat down to listen clearly if it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me and once again I heard, “He has a back problem”. My wife wasn’t sure what I was doing and then I asked him if he had a back problem. He responded confirming He actually did have a curvature of the spine all his life and it caused him to be bent over. This I noticed once he told me. I said I will pray for your back and the moment I laid my hands on his back, the power of God surged through me and flowed out like a strong wind and pushed his chest up and straightened his back. The power of God did a creative miracle on his spine, shoulders and rib cage and healed him completely within seconds. He then began to shake and said he felt this power coming up his legs and when it got to his mouth he began to speak out in tongues loudly and his body was shaking all over for one hour as he stayed there praying in tongues. Today, he is walking completely healed and upright. Additionally, he has entered into the flow of the rivers of the Holy Spirit through his life to others. Together, we prayed for his brother who was dying of cancer and he has been completely healed, Praise the Lord for the overflow of the power of God. The Holy Spirit desires to flow out of you and me. It’s simply a matter of allowing him to flow through us. How exciting it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and have this constant access to the rivers of God, how awesome is the purposes and plans of God. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear. Acts 2:33 Jesus ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God and is glorified. Additionally, He received the Holy Spirit from the father and then

26

Signs & Wonders poured out the Holy Spirit upon his believers and since that day of Pentecost the rivers have been flowing from one generation to the next. History is filled with the mighty acts of the Holy Spirit in and through ordinary people’s lives. Everyone needs to be filled with the power of God; everyone needs the continual flowing of the Gods power in their lives, to give them victory over their flesh, sin and Satan. No one can live or serve God from their ability and strength. The enemy would defeat them on every turn. However with the almighty power of God flowing in our lives we are transformed from the ordinary into the extraordinary. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Revelation 22:1 Through Jesus we have access to the river of God, and the promise of those rivers flowing from the believers to the world. He is the source of the river of life and his life flows through us changing us from glory to glory. God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? Hebrews 2:4 Praise God, this river is filled with signs, wonders and miracles. As we tap into this river of God there flows out of us the miraculous. My youngest son, Justin was born with a deformed foot and the doctor said he would need surgery and would require a brace fitted to straighten it back to normal. However, this could not be done until he was older. As a father, my heart was filled with grief and sadness, I had only one way to turn and that was to the Lord. I began to declare in faith that he will be totally restored and normal, this wasn’t for a few days, but for months and years and when he was about three years old I was walking with him along a beach in Darwin, Australia. Sadly Justin was limping slowly besides me.

27

Signs & Wonders My heart cried out to God in despair and from within me, I heard a voice say to me “Pray for him”. So I bent down and laid my hands on his leg and the power of God flowed out and his leg twisted and turned and popped out and it was completely healed by the miracle power of God. He then took off running like any other normal child. Praise God for the power of God that lives within us. There is more, he also suffered from deafness and an impediment in his speech. This boy needed a total overhaul. A few years later I decided to take him to an ear specialist for a check as he was having problems hearing and communicating clearly. I had also, been standing by faith in the power of God for his total recovery. On the way to the ear specialist I declared before the Lord that I believed he would be completely normal in his hearing and speech. He was taken away to have a series of electronic tests done on his hearing and after some time the specialist came out to tell me the results. I was nervous but trusting in the Lord in my heart. He said that his hearing was perfect in both ears and there was nothing wrong with him. Once again the healing river of God had flowed and restored my son. I had a growth appear on my right wrist and I was advised by a doctor to have surgery to remove this growth as it caused pain and the mobility of my hand was very limited. I was having problems from using it fully. I went to have surgery, but remained in faith in the power of God to heal me. I was given an anaesthetic and pushed on a trolley into the operating theatre I remember the doctor came and looked at the growth and then they shaved my arm before surgery. The doctor came back dressed up ready to operate. When he held my hand he was shocked and began to swear at all the other people questioning why I was there. There was no evidence of any growth. During the first time he looked at it and went away to prepare and come back, the growth had disappeared. To the doctors embarrassment they pushed me back to the waiting area and sent me home. Praise the Lord.

28

Signs & Wonders My Christian life has been a life of constant miracles. One miracle to another miracle. I had learned through my parent’s simple faith in Christ and faith in the power of God to meet every need we face. Thank God for faithful parents who lived a life for the Lord. It has been such a blessing to know about the power of God and learn to live in it by faith. As a family we witnessed many miracles and evidences of the reality of Jesus in our lives. My dad had a prophetic gift in his life and he always knew what was going on in the Spirit in my life. I would often phone him and he would tell me what my problem was and give me the answer, this was frightening, but incredible. I remember visiting Pastors who would come and visit my parents. There were even some from overseas to sit under and receive his ministry. One well known minister’s wife holding a high position in a denomination was delivered of evil spirits. This happened often with my father; I witnessed people slithering on the floor under the influence demons. But they departed after completely being set by my father. A woman phoned my Dad with some major problems and he cast evil spirits out of her while talking to her over the phone. She was set free and delivered. This woman later went overseas as a missionary and still remains on the mission field today teaching and ministering to thousands of people. My father always would be moved physically when the power of God flowed through him, he would shake at times and say he had the witness of the spirit about things or even start to prophesy. No one taught Dad about the anointing or flowing in the spirit. He learned everything through praying in the spirit. This was the key to his life and ministry and that he wasn’t indoctrinated or suppressed by religious spirits. One day while walking down the street he stopped a person and told them they had tried to commit suicide the night before. This was true and they were then ministered to by him. I have seen him pray for a crippled woman on the street and she walked off, this was in the street and not at a church

29

Signs & Wonders meeting. He never thought that we needed to be in organised meetings for Jesus to touch lives, it was anywhere, anytime. Sometimes he would get a street name supernaturally. Even more outstanding he would get the house number from the Lord and then go and visit the people who lived there. Always with outstanding results. After we left the farm we lived in a country town called Collie. Dad would rise early in the morning and sit in the lounge, just to be with Jesus in prayer. Many times he would tell me that Jesus came and appeared and talked with him. He also saw angels and demons at times. I called the chair that he sat in the Throne of God and would go in there in secret and sit in it and the power of God would also saturate me. I had no idea of the depth and realm of the spirit he lived in. I didn’t understand a lot of how he walked in the spirit; however I thought this is how every person should live in Christ, until I hit a brick wall head on with organised religion which had slowly suppressed the gifting in my life. When I committed my life to Christ, my father gave me the best advice anyone could give a young believer. He said “Mediate upon the Word of God and Pray in Tongues”. As a young man I took this to heart and did it and I began an incredible journey in the supernatural. One of the secrets to his life and ministry was praying in the spirit. This he did daily which opened him up to the power of God. My father died 16 January 1983. He was in hospital after a heart attack, however he was to be released and my mother said to him, “Dudley, do you want to stay and preach the Gospel or go to heaven to be with Jesus?” He said to my mother that he loved her and wanted to be with Jesus, then he rolled back his eyes and was gone. Some people came to raise him from the dead, but my mother stopped them because he had decided to go and be with Jesus. What an awesome way to go home. I do not know many people that ever reached that depth of life in the Spirit that they attained and I praise God I had such wonderful spirit led parents. My father was an ordinary uneducated man who walked naturally in the

30

Signs & Wonders supernatural. My grandfather and grandmother both were filled with the Holy Spirit. When Grandfather was in his 80’s he died and went to heaven. Jesus told him he had to go back to earth and so Grandfather came back and lived for many more years and then went to be with Jesus at 94 years old in his sleep without sickness. I once remember seeing my Grandfather struggling to walk up the back steps in my parents’ house at times, and he would stand still and began to pray out loud in tongues. Then by the power of God he ran up the stairs like he was a young man. Grandfather loved to pray in tongues.

31

Chapter 5

PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT Praying God’s will on Earth from Heaven. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Jude 1:20 On the day of Pentecost when Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit, the believers spoke in other tongues. This is one way we can allow the supernatural to flow through our lives, by praying much in tongues or another term is praying in the Spirit. As I have previously shared, my father advised me when I first gave my life to the Lord to “Mediate upon the Word of God and pray in tongues”. This was the greatest advice I could have been given, as it brought a continual flow of the rivers of God into my life. My father, who was an uneducated man, flowed in the wisdom of God and understood how important it was to spend time meditating upon the Word of God. Not just reading, but he said to treat meditating on the Word of God like eating a steak, chew on it and then swallow it. So being young and impressionable I did that as often as possible. Joshua 1:8 says “Mediate upon the Word of God day and night”. When I would drive the 45 minutes journey to and from my work, I would stop on the side of the road to read and meditate upon the Word of God. Whilst driving I would always pray in the Spirit. In fact I would pray in the Spirit as much as I could, knowing these two simple truths would bring about such a release of the power of God through my life.

32

Praying in the Spirit

Praying in the Spirit has been the catalyst to releasing the flow of the rivers of God in my life and ministry. The Spirit of God energises our spirit and we become more sensitive to His voice and His moving through us. This is so exciting and revolutionary; I love to pray in the Spirit. To get out of the flesh and into the Spirit is vital for God to complete his purposes in our lives. The Bible teaches us to live our lives in the Spirit of God, to be led and directed by the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit. For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God: for no man understands him; howbeit in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 1 Corinthians 14:2 Paul says to pray in tongues, is praying in the Spirit. When we are praying in the Spirit we are speaking mysteries to God, how powerful is that, we have a direct access to God the Father. The word mysteries mean something hidden or secret. The Greek word from the Strong’s concordance is mysterion, which speaks about a hidden purpose or counsel. This means that when we are praying in the Spirit we are praying about the hidden purposes and counsels of God. We are praying the perfect will God into situations, our lives and the lives of others. On earth as it is in heaven. The devil has worked hard to discredit the language of the Spirit and keeping people from entering into this place of praying in the Spirit. When you are speaking in tongues, you are praying in the Spirit and the awareness of the spiritual realm begins to become clearer and you become more sensitive to the voice and leadings of the Holy Spirit. John said, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet”. Revelation 1:10 The scriptures say John was “in the Spirit”, he was in the realm of the Spirit and he could hear and see in the spirit realm. This is significant for

33

Praying in the Spirit us to understand, he was in a position to receive from God. How did John get in the Spirit? The same way you and I enter in the Spirit. By praying and worshipping in the Spirit. Paul said, when you pray in the Spirit, you are in the Spirit. When John was in the Spirit he heard and saw Jesus and then received the visions and revelations from God. In the Spirit means that the Spirit realm is more real to you than the natural realm and you can then allow God to show you and teach you supernaturally in that dimension. Paul said, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all.” 1 Corinthians 14:18 Paul understood the importance of praying and flowing in the spirit of God in his life. I can imagine being with Paul in prison and he would just sit there praying and singing in the Spirit, receiving the revelations of the counsels of God into his life. He would begin to write and share what he had received from God, the revelation of the mystery of Christ, who we are now in Christ Jesus and who Christ Jesus is in us. The Holy Spirit is a person and not just a spiritual force. We learn to flow with Him and He is the one who will minister to us and through us. If believers would dedicate themselves to allow the Holy Spirit take the lead in their lives and ministries we would see far greater moves of God and not so much dependence upon our skills and knowledge. There seems to be a great push for knowledge and this in return has created a dependence upon what we know and people’s faith in that knowledge. I have heard this statement for many years that has bothered me “that knowledge is power”. This has been the motivation for much of the leadership in the body of Christ. This results in our focus been on the knowledge and we have missed what Paul talked about in Ephesians 1:18-20 that we need the Spirit of revelation and wisdom in the knowledge God in our lives.

34

Praying in the Spirit I have experienced many supernatural encounters with the direct result of praying in the Spirit and then the Holy Spirit flowing through me to bring about heaven of earth. John Reynolds, a close friend of mine and mightily used of God in the healing ministry, travelled to minister in a small country town. I went along to support him with the meetings. We had arrived early and had several hours free before the evening service was to begin, so we drove to a park and decided to go for a walk through this beautiful park, As we walked we were praying in the Spirit for an hour or so and then drove back to the building to setup the hall for the service that night. We had such a wonderful time just praying and worshipping God in the Spirit in the park before and the Presence of God was resting upon us powerfully. The moment I put my foot on the steps to walk into the building I had an open vision. Before me I saw an elderly man wearing hearing aids and I saw myself standing there praying for him and he was totally healed, I then saw another elderly women who was suffering from a damaged back and in severe pain. I also watched as I prayed for her and she was also completely healed. I didn’t share this vision with my associate minister friend because I believe that if this was from God, then God will also organise the opportunity to minister to these people. I sat in the front row and when the meeting started I looked around to see if they were there and they were not, only a few other people were seated. During the service my friend John was teaching and he stopped and said to me, “I believe that you have something to share”. I jumped up excited and when I turned around to face the people, I saw that these two people who I had seen in the vision were now sitting there as they had come into the meeting late. It was so easy to minister, I just told the people about the vision, called the couple forward and did what the Lord had showed me. He did the miracles. The elderly man took both his hearing aids out and we tested his

35

Praying in the Spirit hearing after the prayer of faith and he could hear perfectly. The lady with the back problems received her miracles as well. The following day we met with this couple and she shared that for many years due to the severe back problem, that she would take up to an hour or more to get out of bed in the morning because of the pain, due to her back to being locked overnight. However this morning, she woke up and got out of bed without any pain or back problem, totally healed and praising the Lord. The elderly man also told us that he could still hear perfectly. This was such an awesome experience and it was all directly attributed to praying mysteries in the Spirit of God. I don’t understand how it all happens and I don’t need to know that, the truth is that when we spend time worshipping and praying in the Spirit that the Holy Spirit prays the perfect will of God into reality. The Holy Spirit is not just for anointing leaders in the church. But in fact He is for every believer in who is in Christ. Anyone anywhere can enter into a life in the Spirit of God and see the hand of God move in their situations, families and other people. A friend of mine was involved in a serious accident and I needed to be at his side to pray and stand in faith with him for his recovery. The problem was he was about a two hour drive from the city to the hospital, so I decided to spend this time on my own in the car praying in the Spirit for the situation. I arrived at the hospital and enquired where to find him, but they said he had checked out and gone home. I drove to his home and he sitting and resting and said he was healed while he was in the hospital before I got there. Praise God, the Holy Spirit is not limited to a body like ours and healed him before I arrived, amen. I spent the evening with him and then drove back from the city, another two hour drive. As my whole day was involved in assisting friend, I hadn’t had time to prepare a message for the Sunday service as I was speaking at a church the very next morning. So, I just prayed and worshipped God in the Spirit and arrived home in the early hours of the morning and went to bed.

36

Praying in the Spirit

The next morning I woke up early to spend some time with the Lord in preparation for that morning service. I sat back in a lounge chair and spent some time praying in the Spirit. Within a few minutes I saw a vision. In this vision I was standing in the front of this church and I called a lady out who was sitting in the last row at right hand side. This woman had spinal problems and I saw myself laying hands on her and she was healed. I noticed what she looked like and what she was wearing. That was the end of the vision and I was ready to see God move in the morning service. I arrived at the church and sat down at the front and when I was invited to the pulpit I immediately looked for this woman, but to my amazement she was not sitting in the right hand side back row. So I scanned the building and on the left hand side of the building at the back row was this woman and wearing the clothes I had seen in the vision. I shared with the people the vision and asked her to come out for prayer, I also said why were you sitting at the left hand side at the back and not where God showed me and she said that what I saw in the vision is where she always sits, however that day she was late to the service and someone else had taken her normal seat. Praise God. So, at the last minute she had changed seats. I then laid hands on her and she received an instant healing and went back to her seat, the crowd went wild and began praising God. I then heard the Holy Spirit say there was a lady with bad eye sight and if she came out she would be healed. That same lady, whom I had just prayed for, came back to the front and said it was her. So I prayed again and she received and was healed. The Lord told me to give my testimony and not teach that morning. When God has changed my preaching plans to give my testimony, I knew there must be unsaved people in the meeting. When I finished the testimony, I gave an opportunity for anyone to receive Christ, this young man sitting next to the lady who got her healing came forward and gave his life to the Lord.

37

Praying in the Spirit This is the wisdom of God. The young man was this woman’s son and she had picked him up from the prison that morning as he was released that day and bought him to the service. God healed the young man’s mother back and eyesight as a sign to him and resulted in him receiving Christ into his life. God’s plans and purposes are greater than ours. We couldn’t arrange an incident like that if we tried, amen. As I spent time praying in the Spirit, he was able to bring his will to pass in their lives. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning’s which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28 The weakness he is talking about is the inability to know what to or how to pray about a situation. The Holy Spirit makes intercession through us. He is the one who wants to pray through us, and as we allow Him to make intercession He begins to pray the perfect will of God for the saints of God. That sounds like what he was doing through my life and ministry. The scripture says that all things work together for good to them that love God, those who are called according to His purposes, however this is based on verses 26 and 27 that as a result of the intercessory ministry of the Holy Spirit through our lives He can bring about the perfect will of God in people’s lives. You may ask me that He didn’t say anything about speaking in tongues. Let’s look at what Paul said “The Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning’s which cannot be uttered”. I read about a translation by a minister called P.C. Nelson, who was a bible scholar, which said, “The Greek word means, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us in groaning’s that cannot be uttered in articulate speech”. Articulate speech refers to our regular kind of speech and that these “groaning’s” also included praying in other tongues.

38

Praying in the Spirit

Some people have gone all weird and do all sorts of things saying it is the Holy Spirit and cause others to back off, but it is simply praying in the Spirit and you are speaking mysteries that are effecting situations and lives of people. Since the early days of my walk with Christ, I have made it mandatory that before I preach or teach that I spend time praying in the Spirit. Whether during the day or prior to the service, I would spend time praying in the Spirit as it is vital for the Holy Spirit to accomplish His purposes in the lives of people. I guarantee that not everyone gets it right with hearing and flowing in the Spirit, but praying in the Spirit will change that immensely. I was invited to speak at a small church gathering and I arrived early, so I went to a room and for one hour prayed in the Spirit and then went into the service once the worship had started. You may question why I didn’t go in and say hello to the people or mix with them before the service, well, I wanted the Holy Spirit to minister effectively through my life and when the meeting is finished we can then fellowship. I was ministering that day on the power of God and the need for that power in people’s lives and then gave the people an opportunity to be filled with and ministered to by the Holy Spirit. You see we need to give the Holy Spirit time to minister to people and help people, not just become all religious and run the service like a funeral. We need the rivers of God flowing to touch and change people’s lives. A lady came up for prayer for a back problem and the moment I laid hands on her to be healed, she fell out under the power of God and began to laugh and laugh. Others around her were intrigued and the saying goes if you play around on the river bank you could fall in. Well several people around her started to catch the flow of the river of God and began to laugh and laugh as well as they were being ministered to by the Holy Spirit. We had an awesome time in the Lord that day and many miracles and life changing encounters occurred.

39

Praying in the Spirit

Several months later I was invited to speak at a house church and when I arrived a lady introduced herself to me and said that I had prayed for her previously at a meeting for her back and she had fallen out under the power of God and laughed uncontrollably. I recalled the incident, yet she looked different and shared that she had suffered for many years with depression and a mental illness. She could not look after her husband or children and could not even prepare meals for them. She had been in and out of the mental institution and was in desperate need. She recalled that in that meeting several months before where I was the speaker, that I had prayed for her back to be healed. The power of God delivered her from that demonic oppression and she was changed by the Holy Spirit’s power. She said that she has been free since that morning and is now looking after her family, cooking meals and being a normal wife to her husband. Praise God. I have seen thousands of lives touched by the Holy Spirit’s power and He is waiting for us to learn to yield to Him and spend time praying in the Spirit, giving Him the rightful place that Jesus intended for Him to have in our lives. I encourage people when you awake, have a time praying and worshipping in the Spirit, activate the rivers of the Spirit to flow, this will prepare you for the day ahead and help you to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading within you. However, don’t stop there, determine in your heart to continue to flow in the Spirit every day. You don’t have to be anyone special, just be a believer who is yielded to the Holy Spirit and watch what He will accomplish in your life.

40

Chapter 6

INHERENT POWER Jesus has provided his power in us, so he can do his will through us. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 Over the years I have desired to understand how to minister effectively and the Holy Spirit has led to me to try things different and always with outstanding results. We need to break out of the mind-set of depending upon logic and methods and move over into the realm of the supernatural and flow with the leading of the Spirit. The young son of a friend of mine, who is a Pastor, was suffering with an illness for several months and they had prayed and sought the Lord for his healing, yet no relief. I asked if I could pray for him and this time I will not pray for his healing, instead I will release the power of God by faith into his body and allow the healing power of God to heal him. I went to his house and I laid hands upon this boy and in faith released the healing power of God into his body believing for total recovery in Jesus name. I sensed the power of God flow out from me into his body and within a few hours the boy was completely healed and restored to health. Praise God.

41

Inherent Power Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power. This is interesting because Jesus was not only anointed with the Holy Spirit being the third person of the trinity, but also with power. I have spent hours studying this significant fact, that Jesus had power and the power flowed through him by the Holy Spirit. Jesus understood the ministry of the Holy Spirit and flowed with Him to minister to people. The word power in the original Greek text is dunamis and comes from dynamis meaning an, “act of power” (Young’s); “miraculous power, ability” (Strong’s); “natural capability, inherent power; capability of anything, ability to perform any-thing; then, absolutely, not merely power capable of action, but, power in action” (Bullinger’s). I personally believe the closest meaning is inherent power, a power existing in someone or something as a permanent and inseparable quality, a power that is produced within itself. We use the words in English that describe power such as dynamite, dynamic and dynamo. A dynamo is a generator that produces electricity that can be transferred. When I think about it, the Holy Spirit is like a generator who produces the power of God in our lives and His power is transferred through us to others. The way it is released out of us to others, is through faith. Let’s look at the story in the bible about the woman with the issue of blood. In Luke 8:43-48 it tells us that a poor woman had spent all her money on doctors and medicine to relieve her suffering but was now living in poverty, in a worst condition, in depression and very desperate. She was going to die and decided to get to Jesus. The one reason she wanted to get to Jesus was to get access to the power of God and receive her healing. That is such a truth, if you could get to Jesus, you could get access to the power of God. This woman had heard that people were being healed when they touched Jesus. Everywhere He went there would be testimonies of people telling about the healing power flowing from Jesus; this is what would have mo-

42

Inherent Power tivated them. It is the same today; people are looking for someone who has access to the power of God, so they can be healed and delivered. If we go back a few chapters in Luke to chapter 6:19 it says “the whole multitude sought to touch Jesus: for there went power out of him, and healed them all”. It says that multitudes were trying to touch him because when they got to Jesus and the dunamis power flowed out from him setting people free and delivering them. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power. I have been in crusades in Papua New Guinea where great crowds have been gathered and there were times when the power of God would flow mightily and people would try to get to the front to touch me. It is the same everywhere, when the power of God is flowing people will do what they can to get access to it. God has anointed you and me with the Holy Spirit and with power and we need to go around doing good and healing all that are oppressed of the devil, for God is with us and in us, in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “We have the power of God in our lives when we have the Holy Spirit”. We have the Holy Spirit; therefore, we have the power of God. If people can get to us, they can get access to the power of God because we are the temples of the Holy Spirit and wherever we go, He goes. I was approached by a young man for prayer for healing, who had a swollen arm with hand bandages around it. As I have mentioned previously, we have the power of God in us and will flow from us to others if we know how to release this inherent power of the Holy Spirit. I shared this fact with him. I don’t pray religious prayers for God to do something, I simply released faith filled words into the situation and believed that the power of God would flow bringing healing and wholeness. I released the power of God by faith, into this young man’s arm and be-

43

Inherent Power lieved for total healing in the name of Jesus. Nothing happened immediately that was evident physically that we could see, except that I strongly believed that the power of God flowed into him and he would recover. Jesus said “Lay your hands on the sick and they shall recover” Mark 16:19. When we lay hands on sick people, we must believe the power of God, that is inherent in us by the Holy Spirit, flows into the sick person and they are made completely well. The next day in the afternoon he said that the bandages suddenly went loose and the swelling had gone down and he was completely healed. This is how Jesus ministered to the people when he walked the earth and this is the same way He is ministering to people now, through believers like you and me. When we believe it and then put it into action we will see the same results. When I minister to people, I tell them the power of God went into you and you will recover, I have learned to stand in faith and not waver because the power of God, which is unseen, will bring about seen results. Paul understood the power of God and how to release it to bring about healing and deliverance. We read in Acts 19:11-12 “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them”. The Greek word dunamis, also means miracles and it refers to the power of God flowing out of Paul through his hands. The power of God was transferred into a cloth and then the cloth was placed on the sick and oppressed people. The power of God can be stored and transferred into people; the way it works is through faith. The dunamis power is transferable and Jesus knew how to flow and transfer the inherent dunamis power into sick bodies and see them restored and made well.

44

Inherent Power

When you get around people who are walking in the Spirit, you will begin to soak up the power of God, it will be transferred into you and you will begin to flow in it. I know that I received outflows of the Spirit from my dad that helped me step into realms of the Spirit that has changed my ministry and life. If you hang around the right people you will catch the anointing’s that they walk in. That’s how the healing revival began and flowed. Others caught the anointing and flowed in it, and it went international. The anointing’s that God has placed within my life can also be picked up by reading this book and as you do so you can sense an excitement of faith to step further into the Spirit realm. I would love to teach further on this area as leaders in the body of Christ have pulled back from the power of God because many are bound up in religious teaching and doctrines of devils. The devil does not want people flowing in the rivers of the Spirit, because he cannot handle the anointing. I have had devils manifest when the river of God was flowing in meetings. Even when I was walking down the street I had two Buddhist monks manifest devils on the footpath and started screaming at me and cursing me. I just rebuked those devils and kept going. Praise God I love this life in the Spirit. The woman with the issue of blood got access to the power of God in Jesus and He said it was her faith that activated the power of God. How wonderful that we all can believe, we can all get access to the power of God through faith. There are many ways that Gods power ministers through people; but it all comes through the door of faith. We have to receive it by faith. Jesus said in Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them”. When you lay hands on the sick or on their clothing, believe that the power of God is transmitted into the sick and oppressed people and it restores them. Believe that you have received the miracle before it manifests.

45

Inherent Power

I was asked to pray for a woman dying of cancer and when I arrived to her bedside, I was shocked to see the cancer had already eaten through parts of her face and one eye was now blind. It was a pitiful sight and it looked impossible to bring help. If I was to minister by what I see, I would pack up and go home, but I don’t minister to people from the natural standpoint, I reach into the realm of the Spirit and minister to them from that place by faith, believing the power of God will flow and bring restoration and healing. I laid my hands on her and believed for total healing and then we praised God for the answer. Nothing physically had changed. She was still blind in one eye, her face was eaten by the cancer and she was in pain. However, I left her bedside knowing that God’s Word is true and I that can stand on the promises of the Word and knowing God will do what he said he will do. A week later the ladies sister told me that the day after we had ministered to her, the woman woke up and her blind eye was healed, her face was healed and new skin had formed where the cancer had once eaten it. She was completely healed through the release of the power of God that is inherent within every believer, by the Holy Spirit. As believer’s we need to believe what Jesus taught and said, we need to shake off the religious thinking and do what Jesus said to do. Being a Christian is not about church activities and programs to keep us busy until we die or Jesus returns. It’s about the life and power of Jesus Christ living in and through us by the Holy Spirit to the world around us. Come on and jump in the flow of the Spirit, this is the most exciting realm; you will see things in the realm of the Spirit. You will come out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. Don’t dry up like an old leather boot, get some oil on you and in you and jump in. When you get to heaven you will kick yourself because you could have lived in heaven on earth before you got there.

46

Chapter 7

THE SPIRIT OF GOD Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit will reign supreme in the hearts and lives of Believers. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21. I have shared many stories with you about the rivers of the Holy Spirit flowing through my life and ministry to encourage you in knowing that as believer’s we have the same Holy Spirit dwelling in us and that we can have Him operating in and through our lives just like the people in the book of Acts experienced. We need to teach the move of the Spirit to ordinary people, so the Holy Spirit in them can flow through them. Then the army of God can go forth in the Spirit and set people free. Paul had a revelation of the power of the Holy Spirit within him and the importance of being Spirit led and Spirit ruled in his life. He teaches us that everyone should and could be empowered to have victory though Christ by the Holy Spirit within. Paul said in Ephesians 3:15-15 “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man”.

47

The Spirit of God

Paul prayed that the believer would be strengthened, with might (Greek word is dunamis) through the Holy Spirit. He understood that we need the dunamis power to energise our spirits, so the life and nature of Christ can manifest and live through us. He said that “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. According to what? According to the power that is at work in our lives. What is that power at work in our lives? It is the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit. Christianity is Christ living in and through believers, by the inherent power of the Holy Spirit that is at work in us. It is about our faith and dependency upon the Holy Spirit in us, so he can flow through us. Let’s look at Ephesians 1:15-23 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His POWER toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Emphasis added by author). Paul prayed that we would have a revelation about the power of God that is working in our lives. The word power is the dunamis, inherent power of the Holy Spirit in us. He did not say to pray for more of Holy Spirit, but that we should be aware of the power that is already in us. The Holy Spirit was sent to indwell every believer and then flow through every believer, that Christ would be revealed through us by the power or

48

The Spirit of God dunamis of the Spirit of God. I spent many years trying to be a good Christian and through my personal efforts to become more like Jesus and to love like Jesus loved. It became too hard and too difficult for me. I began to seek the heart of God for answers and found that they were always in front of me, right in the bible. The key to Christian living is not more motivational preaching, not more self-development, not more performance based religion. It is all about the Holy Spirit. Praise God, when I began to see what Paul was saying that the Holy Spirit has come to give us the power or dunamis to live the life, to empower the life of Jesus in us. We can love and live in His strength and His ability. Paul said in, 1 Corinthians 2:5 “Our faith should not be in the wisdom of man-made ideas, but our faith should stand in the power of God”. We all need the power of God to live this life and we all need the power of God to give us victory. We have power to overcome our flesh, to overcome sin and to overcome the devil. Ephesians 6:10: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We are to be strong in Christ; we are to be strong in His dunamis inherent power. Our lives should be one of grace working through us, whereby we through faith depend upon him for everything and not self-works. This means that anyone, anywhere, whatever any level in life they are at can live in the power of God freely, by faith in His grace. It is not because you are super intelligent, or rich or clever. It is because we all need the power of God to overcome the same fleshly desires that we all have. This puts us all on the same level in God. We all need to depend upon Him. God has given us the key to be successful in every area of our lives. The Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, and flowing out from us. When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, He was giving us someone who would be

49

The Spirit of God able to help us in every area of our lives. Whether it be spiritual, physical, social, relationship or financial, the Holy Spirit and His power within us will bring us the victory. Paul understood this Dunamis power and prayed that believers would be energised by the power of God. He knew that the result would be Christ living in us in power and the revelation of the love of God would fill us with his fullness, all through the Holy Spirit. If the believer can only realise the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit to have the dominance in their lives, there would be transformations and revelations from the heart of the father. Believers would experience what is rightfully theirs in Christ Jesus and enjoy the benefits of living in the realm of the Spirit everyday of their lives. There is no need to wait to get the heaven to experience heaven, it’s your inheritance now, it’s yours to enjoy now. The Holy Spirit has been involved with humanity from the beginning of creation, empowering people and working in the lives of people to accomplish the purposes and plans of God on the earth. Jesus came to this earth and together with the Holy Spirit, He was enabled to flow in dunamis power, He was His comforter and guide, He strengthened Jesus, He empowered Jesus to do the miracles and set people free. He was the one who revealed the heart of the Father. He was the one who gave Jesus the supernatural ability to overcome and prepare the way for us to follow. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus when He was nailed to the cross and became the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world. Jesus depended upon the Holy Spirit totally for His life and ministry. What a combination. Jesus and the Holy Spirit flowing together on this earth bringing the will of God to reality.

50

Chapter 8

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT Live in the Spirit, Walk in the Spirit, Be led by the Spirit and continually be filled with the Spirit. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 I believe that what I have shared in this book will create in your heart a hunger to know and have a closer walk with the Holy Spirit. As you walk with Him and acknowledge Him more every day in your life, He will take you into realms of the Spirit that you have never thought possible and what He will do through you will change the destiny of other lives for eternity. There is only one person who can teach you how to live out your life on this earth, and that is the Holy Spirit. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1 John 2:27 The word anointing, is a widely used term for the Holy Spirit and it comes from the Greek word Charisma, which comes from the Greek word for grace (Charis). Charisma means unction, unguent or smearing, the special endowment of the Holy Spirit. (Strong’s concordance no.5548) The anointing is the enabling power of the Holy Spirit within the believer,

51

Life in the Spirit and He is your teacher and guide. We need to believe this and lean upon Him to teach us about everything concerning our lives and future. We need to abide in Him, which means we need to continually stay and depend upon Him and His teaching us. I trust Him to impart revelations and visions, to open up the scriptures and allow Him to flow more effectively through my life to others. This enablement of the Holy Spirit means I don’t rely upon head knowledge or my own abilities to walk with God; rather I live in the supernatural realm of God and walk in His inheritance in my life. To live in the Spirit is to rely upon the anointing within, being sensitive to him. I believe that we can walk in the Spirit by learning to yield to Him, and that comes firstly by our awareness of Him in our lives. We no longer look up for Him to come down, we look inside by faith and allow Him to rise up in power and flow through us. Get to know the Holy Spirit. The scripture says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh”. Galatians 5:16 We need to walk in the Spirit, to be occupied with and have our lives ordered by the Holy Spirit. The Amplified Bible says “But I say walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God)”. Galatians 5:16 We should constantly be responsive to, controlled by and guided by the Holy Spirit, in everything we do, every day in every way. Wouldn’t that bring forth the true life and nature of Jesus in us? This would stop lack of character in the lives of believers; it would allow the Holy Spirit to bring forth His fruits in our behaviour and conduct. The Holy Spirit is the fruit producer, not our minds. So often we have attended seminars or conventions where we get all hyped up over some

52

Life in the Spirit humanistic teaching that motivates us and we mistake this for the Holy Spirit. That is a danger when me centred teaching is leading the church and not the Holy Spirit. These fruits are supernatural fruit. They come forth by the power of the Holy Spirit within us and through us only when we submit to the Holy Spirit and yield to Him in everything. I have a saying about the fruits of the Holy Spirit, that if we will flow they will grow. I see believers wherever I travel, in every country that I have been, no matter who they are having a tendency to strive and struggle in their walk with God. It is not hours of efforts and religious activity to get the Holy Spirit to move in us. It is simply learning to flow in and with the Holy Spirit’s leadings in our lives. Religious people will get you into striving and struggling, however grace people will help you to relax in God and teach you how to learn to flow. Life in the Spirit is yielding to the Holy Spirit, flowing with him, not being resistant to Him or becoming self-centred and focus on trying to change you. You can spend your whole Christian life striving and struggling and never enter into the rest that Jesus promised for us. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light”. Matthew 11:28-30 Too many believers are yoked to religious activities and teachings that hold them back from entering into the rest of Jesus. I hear Christians say it is too hard and confusing at times. In response I say, enter into the rest, for the life in the Spirit is a rest in His ability and power at work in my life transforming me from glory to glory. This is the plan of Jesus for us. To enter into a place in Him where he can do the work of change or do whatever needs to happen to effect change. Abiding in Him and Him abiding in us, for only through Him can we bring forth much fruit. The life of the vine is the Holy Spirit and He flows within

53

Life in the Spirit us and is the transformer of our lives. I love to swim in rivers. To me swimming pools are boring, because in a river you can lay back and go with the flow of the current. I just love it and many times when the water is high it makes it even more exciting. I was once in a water park and they had a flowing river winding through the park. With enthusiasm I took one of the air tubes and simply laid back in it and allowed the river flowing to take me around and around the park. It was so easy and so much fun. Other people were watching and they then joined in and within a short period of time there many people just bouncing and flowing around the park in the river. We didn’t know it was not allowed as it was in a foreign country and eventually the officials asked us all to get out of the river. Isn’t that like some old religious official who sees you flowing in the Spirit with Jesus and they tell you to get out or to stop. They tell you can’t do this and you can’t do that and before long everyone is bound up in those religious man-made ideas. I say, get in the river and flow and flow and flow. Never get out! If they threaten you, just smile as you go sailing past them. Enter into His rest. Don’t be yoked or joined to bondages of religion, get in the Grace River and enjoy yourself. I have learnt that the Holy Spirit will not force you to do anything. He will not possess you like an evil spirit, and He will only flow through you according to your openness to him. If you do not yield to Him, He will wait patiently for you to be willing. This can sometimes take years as we may need religious strongholds broken before we can enter into the flow. The great need is to yield and become sensitive to Him. The meaning of yield is to give up, to surrender or to relinquish. We surrender ourselves to Him; we give up trying and surrender to the Holy Spirit. My father always had a close relationship with the Holy Spirit and was very sensitive to His leading and would he be open to touch people’s lives

54

Life in the Spirit at any time. He stayed full of the Holy Spirit and there was a constant overflow to those people around him. Whenever people would sit with him, the subject was always about the things of God and the Lord Jesus, as Jesus was my dad’s life and motivation. We cannot mentally program ourselves into knowing and loving Jesus, it must come from within our hearts. The Holy Spirit is the one who will make Jesus a reality to us. He will give us revelation of the Lord and manifest the life and nature of Christ in and through us. This will happen as we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Ephesians 5:18-20 The scripture says we are to be filled with the Spirit of God, this is not a suggestion; it is a command. We must stay full of the Spirit of God. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: Acts 4:8 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31 Then Saul, who also [is called] Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him. Acts 13:9 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:52 I have for years imagined that filled meant to be full like pouring water in a cup and we fill it up and then it empties and we fill it up and it empties and we fill it up again and the cycle goes on and on.

55

Life in the Spirit

After study and experience, I have found that the word for filled really implies something different. The Greek word for filled is Plerousthe and means “be being kept filled”. This means to keep yourself constantly filled and as you learn to surrender to the Holy Spirit He will continually fill you. It does not mean you need to have the Holy Spirit come down and fill you again. It means that once you have the Holy Spirit, you need to stay full of Him, having a constant overflow of the rivers of God. My personal interpretation that I have gleaned from various bible teachers on the word filled is that it is described as something gently pushing you in a direction. Like the currents of a river carrying a boat or the winds in a sail pushing that boat along the water. The Holy Spirit gently puts his pressure on our wills and desires and begins to pressure us into the spirit realm. Another thought is like a hot cup of water and we place a tea bag into the water and the water is tainted by the tea, the water then changes colour and the taste. The Holy Spirit is like that in our lives, when we yield to Him, He will begin to change us by His saturation and permeate our lives to become the life and nature of Christ. To be filled with the Spirit is to be permeated and saturated by Him as He gently pushes us into the things of the Spirit. We are then to flow with Him and then the Holy Spirit begins to flow through us. We have the response of faith, to believe and then respond to Him and His power then pushes us and we are in the flow. The Holy Spirit is to flow out from the believer with power to fulfil the ministry of Jesus Christ on the earth reaching the lost to Christ, to renew us continually, so dunamis power can flow forth to minister as the Spirit leads. We are to be continually filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit, so there is an outpouring and overflow to other people around us. When we are filled continually with the Holy Spirit, He can minister supernaturally to the needs of the people through us. Gods plan is for us to be continually filled with the Spirit, under the influ-

56

Life in the Spirit ence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, worry free and knowing trust, peace, joy, love & victory. There are some things that I do almost daily that assists me in allowing the continual overflow of the Holy Spirit in my life. I mentioned before that my father advised me to “mediate upon the Word of God and pray in tongues”, as it has brought a continual flow of the rivers of God in my life I put you in remembrance that YOU stir up the gift of God, which is in YOU by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power (dunamis), and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:6-7 Notice that Paul said that you are to doing the stirring up; the gift of the Holy Spirit is already within you. Stir means to rekindle, reignite or bring to the surface the river of God. You are to stir up the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. You are the deciding one who will allow the Holy Spirit to flow in and through your life. You can allow the power of God to lay dormant inside of you. You are to re-kindle or stir up the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life. Firstly we must have the initial evidence of speaking in tongues, and then we must continually speak in tongues. This is a daily process to satisfy the thirst of your spirit, to sustain your spirit and enable you to flow and grow. I love to pray in the Spirit, when I wake up in the morning or driving the car, even taking a walk, I endeavour to live in the Spirit. Paul said we can pray and sing in the Spirit. How awesome is that, to be able to commune with our Heavenly Father in the Spirit, almost anytime, anywhere. Praying in the Spirit can become an effort if you are only doing it as a duty or obligation. The way is to worship God and then flow with Him is praying in the Spirit. Don’t set binding rules on your life, just flow with the Spirit. Just like the current of the river taking you along the river. Flow,

57

Life in the Spirit flow, flow with Him. I also love to spend time reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God. This is my spiritual nutrition and the Spirit of God instructs me and imparts revelation to me. If you do not have a desire for the Word of God, then it is easy to develop that desire. If I was to feed you with ideas about taking a holiday somewhere or about some very tasty food, it would create a desire in you for it and then you would go and do it. That is how the world influences us, through marketing and creating desires for their product. If you will start with one scripture and sit down and read it over and over, think about it, chew on it, study it and memorise it. Then throughout the day carry that scripture with you on a piece of paper and read and meditate it over and over, the desire will grow for more and more of his word in your life. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 The key to Joshua’s success was meditating upon the word of God. Meditate means to think about, ponder, talk about, and chew on it day and night. Not just a snack at church on Sunday, but night and day. It is the same for us today, to meditate on God’s word day and night. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Psalms 1:1-3 Take the challenge and begin today, to meditate upon God’s word and the Holy Spirit will burst forth within you with wisdom and revelation knowledge.

58

Life in the Spirit

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 Knowing this first that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 1:20-21 The bible teaches us to live by the Word of God and put it first place in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the one who inspired the Word of God and He flowed through people who wrote it down and recorded it. This resulted in us having the precious book, we call the bible. Everything that is promised for us in the bible is ours, but you need to dig into the Word of God to discover these promises and appropriate them in your lives. The Holy Spirit will help you, teach you and guide you.

59

Chapter 9

RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost and has been flowing through every generation; all we have to do is receive. Jesus said “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who BELIEVES in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow Rivers of living water.” This he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would RECEIVE; the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you see and hear. Acts 2:33 If you have never been filled with the Holy Spirit or you know someone who would like to be filled, then take the following simple steps and receive. Firstly, the Holy Spirit is a gift from God to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ and has made him Lord of their lives. Read Romans 10:8-10 Salvation is a gift for the unbeliever and the Holy Spirit is a gift for the Believer. I encourage you to read the following scriptures and mark your bible as you will be able to lead many people into the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

60

Receive the Holy Spirit The key to appropriating any of the promises of God is to simply receive them by faith, that’s it. It’s all of grace through faith, not of works. The Keyword is RECEIVE. Please note the scriptures and the word “receive”. YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT BY FAITH “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks RECEIVES, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” Luke 11:9-13 Jesus said if you ask our heavenly father for the Holy Spirit, he will give it to us, therefore all we have to do is receive. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you RECEIVE them, and you will have them. Mark 11:24 Jesus said when we pray, we are to receive what we ask for by faith and it will happen. When we ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit, then we receive the Holy Spirit by faith, we declare we have received him by faith and then it will happen. When you understand this simple faith principle, it will help you receive all the promises of God into your life, simply receive by faith. Let’s look at how they were filled with the Holy Spirit in the bible. But you shall RECEIVE power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in

61

Receive the Holy Spirit the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall RECEIVE the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. Acts 2:38-39 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might RECEIVE the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:14-15 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may RECEIVE the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:18-19 He said to them, “Did you RECEIVE the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:2 The gift of the Holy Spirit is for everyone and therefore all you have to do is RECEIVE. If I was to give to a birthday gift, it’s free and all you have to do is receive it. That’s how simple it is for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit, simply RECEIVE the free gift of the Holy Spirit by faith. WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT? The next thing to know is what happened when they received the Holy Spirit? When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 When they received the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in tongues.

62

Receive the Holy Spirit

What will happen to you when you receive the Holy Spirit? While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Acts 10:44-46 When they received the Holy Spirit, they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. What will happen to you when you receive the Holy Spirit? And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Acts 19:6 They spoke with tongues and prophesied. What will happen to you when you receive the Holy Spirit? And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues. Mark 16:17 Jesus said, “You shall speak with new tongues”. What will happen to you when you receive the Holy Spirit? The scriptures clearly show us that when the Holy Spirit filled the believer, they spoke with tongues. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you will speak in tongues by the power of the Holy Spirit

63

Receive the Holy Spirit

PRAY THIS PRAYER TO BE FILLED WITH OVERFLOWING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT I encourage you to pray the following prayer out loud and receive the overflow of Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he is my Lord and you promised me the gift of the Holy Spirit. Your word says that if I ask, in faith I receive and therefore I ask that you fill me and baptise me now with the Holy Spirit and power in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe that I now receive the Holy Spirit by faith and he is now living in me, therefore I believe that I now speak in tongues by the power of the Holy Spirit, thank you Jesus. Lift up your hands to the Lord and begin to speak in the new language of the Spirit, don’t speak in your native language, only let the river of the language of the Holy Spirit rise up and flow out from you. Now that you have received and are filled with overflowing of the Holy Spirit, continue to have the flow of the Holy Spirit by speaking in tongues daily for the rest of your life. This will bring spiritual edification and stop you from drying up. The river is in you once you have received the Holy Spirit, so let the river flow out.

64

Chapter 10

A STUDY - THE HOLY SPIRIT Understanding who the Holy Spirit is and his role in our lives and the out working of his power through us. He is the third person of the Godhead, invisible yet ever present in the lives of believers. FOUNDATION SCRIPTURES: John 7:37-39, 16: 5-15, Joel 2:28-32. WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? 1. Third Person of the Godhead: 1 John 5:7 (read in KJV), Matthew 28:19, Luke 3:21-22. 2. The Power of God: Genesis 1:2. The Holy Spirit worked throughout the Old and New Testaments demonstrating the Power of God. 3. Anointed people to function in an office in the Old Testament: e.g. a) Prophet 1 Samuel 10:6 b) Kings-I Samuel 16:13 c) Leaders-Numbers 11:25-26. 4. Anointed Jesus for service: Luke 3:21, Acts 10:38, Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 12:28. The Holy Spirit has two functions in the life of the believer: 1) INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT The first is to indwell the believer to develop a Godly character and bring us to an understanding of who God is and the fellowship that we have with him. 1. Indwelling presence: John 14:12-13, Ezekiel 36:27,1 Cor 6:19. 2. Guide/Teacher: 1 John 2:20, 27. John l6:13-15. 3. Helps produce character Galatians 5:22-25, Romans 8:1-14

65

A Study - The Holy Spirit 4. Speak in tongues: Acts 2:1-4, 10:44-46, 19:6. 5. Spiritual edification: 1 Corinthians 14:4, Jude 1:20 6. Intercession: Romans 8:26-28 2) OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT The second is the outpouring through our lives, to touch the people around us with the intention of bringing them to Christ, through the message of Christ and with signs and wonders. 1. Revival Power: John 7:37-39 2. Anointing for service: 1 John 2:27, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Isaiah 10:27, Acts 1:8. 3. Preaching & Teaching the Word: 1 Peter 1:12, Acts 4:8, 31. 4. Gifts of the Spirit: I Corinthians 12:1-11 a) Power Gifts - Working of Miracles, Gifts of Healings and the Gift of Faith. b) Vocal Gifts - Tongues, Interpretation and Prophesy. c) Revelation Gifts - Discerning of Spirits, Word of Wisdom and Knowledge. HOW TO STAY FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? 1. Ephesians 5:18-20 Praise and Worship the Lord. 2. Pray in the Spirit: 1 Corinthians 14:4, Jude 1:20. 3. Right conduct: Ephesians 4:29-32, 2 Thessalonians 4:1-8 4. Meditate upon the Word of God: 1 John 2:14, John 8:31-32 CONCLUSION: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead; he should be respected and served as you would God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. He has come to indwell the believer and to touch others through our lives.

66

Chapter 11

A STUDY - THE ANOINTING A special endowment by the Holy Spirit, To consecrate one to an office or call of God and to equip that one with all that is needed to function and operate in that ministry calling. The Anointing is the Power of God to carry out what we are Called and Gifted in to serve God, and is available to us today as was to Jesus Christ for his ministry. FOUNDATION SCRIPTURES: 1 John 2:27, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. ANOINTING UPON JESUS CHRIST 1. Isaiah 61:1-3 The Old Testament spoke of the Spirit of God equipping the Messiah for the ministry to which he was called to. 2. Luke 3:21-22. Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit from heaven to begin his ministry. If Jesus had to have the Power of God upon his life, how much more, we as the Leaders need the Power of God in our lives and ministries. 3. Luke 4:18-19. Jesus publicly reads out the passage from Isaiah on the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This was the beginning of his ministry. 4. Acts 10:38. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with Power. The word Power is the Greek word Dunamis, which means miraculous power, ability, might, strength and inherent power. We get the word Dynamite from it. Explosive energy power. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit’s Power and set people free through the preaching and teaching of the Truth.

67

A Study - The Anointing ANOINTING INTHE BELIEVER 1. John 7:37-39. Jesus spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit in to the lives of ordinary people, anyone who believes in him. The result would be like river’s of life flowing out. 2. Acts 1:8. Jesus promised the believer that they could walk and operate in the Power of God, after the Holy Spirit has come upon them, 3. Mark 16:17-20. The believer will be able to operate in a miracle ministry. 4. Acts 2:38-39. The promise of the Holy Spirit is to all who believe. ANOINTING UPON THE MINISTRY 1. Romans 15:18-19. Paul’s ministry was in the Anointing and Power of the Holy Spirit. 2. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. Paul came in the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and of Power. It is only the Preaching and Teaching of Jesus Christ in the Anointing of the Holy Spirit that will change lives. 3. 1 Peter 1:12. Peter said they preached the Gospel by Holy Spirit. They knew that without the Anointing of the Holy Spirit they there would not be any results or souls saved. 4. I Corinthians 12:1-11, Hebrews2:1-4. God wants to witness to the world through his mighty signs and wonders. HOW TO INCREASE THE ANOINTING 1. Pray in the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 4:4, Jude 1:20, Ephesians 6:18. 2. Faith - Hebrews 11:6, Mark 9:23, Mark 11:23-24. 3. Study the God’s Word -2 Timothy 2:15, Proverbs 4:20-23, Joshua 1:8, Psalms 1:1-3. 4. Right Conduct - 1 Peter 2:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 4:1 -8, Ephesians 4:25-32. 5. Walk in Love - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 John 4:7-11. FELLOWSHIP WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT 2 Corinthians 13:14 Take time to know the Holy Spirit through Fellowship, sit, wait, talk and learn to hear his voice and leading in your life.

68

teaching & preaching

establishing believers on a solid foundation through the teaching & preaching of the Word of God.

flow in the river

specifically for youth to be empowered through encounters with the Holy Spirit

miracle healing outpourings

ministering compassion to the sick & suffering in the power of God

life in the spirit seminars

teaching leaders & believers how to move and minister in the Spirit of God

compassion healing centre

A centre where people can receive teaching, training and transformation in their lives through healing of the whole person, spirit, soul and body.

Contact Outpouring Ministries for further information or ministry Website: www.je-sus.org Email: [email protected]

69

70

Suggest Documents