All through the Old Testament we read of a people struggling under the weight of the law, with all its traditions and rituals. Millions of animals died to cover over the sin of Israel, yet the blood of bulls and goats were powerless to take away sin. All of these rituals were pointing to the answer. Jesus the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Jesus came with a new way of living, that set people free. John 10:10 says that He came to bring us life, a not just life, but an abundant life.
The trouble was that Jesus only ministered for 3 and half years and then died. If that was all there was then the good that had been achieved in His ministry would have been lost. Praise God Jesus spoke of someone who would come and carry on the work He started and keep everything alive. He spoke of the coming Holy Spirit.
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:49
The disciples waited, and on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and Praise God He hasn’t left since. His coming fulfilled Joel’s prophecy where God said that He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh in the Last Days. Both young and old, men and women could receive the coming Holy Spirit and have visions, dreams and prophecy. Acts 2:16-21
Jesus said that we would receive power like He had when the Holy Spirit comes upon on.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
This power enables us to be His witnesses, and was also power to believe for greater things and be taught by God, just to name a few. If you are baptised in the Holy Spirit then you too have this power within you, but it needs to be released. I believe there is an effective way to release this power within and that is by speaking in tongues.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20
The Amplified Bible says “superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] —“
In the Book of Acts you’ll notice that whenever the Spirit came on people they spoke in tongues and prophesied. This was the main way things happened back then and I believe it’s still the way God wants to do it for us today.
Many of us like the idea of having the Holy Spirit in our lives but don’t like the idea of speaking in tongues. The trouble is our minds can get in the way and we can argue against its authenticity. There is so much opposition to this manifestation of the Holy Spirit yet it can be a real ‘Game Changer.’ One thing we need to realise is that the Devil hates us speaking in tongues, for he knows that it is the key to Christians entering into a supernatural abundant lifestyle. You may not be doing miracles, but there will be more super natural than natural in your life. I believe that it’s speaking in tongues that helps us release the power of God within us.
Paul said that he spoke in tongues more than all the Corinthian Church, 1 Corinthians 14:18. No wonder there were so many miraculous manifestations in his life.
I will speak more about this in part 2 of this message.