Holy Spirit Baptism and Pentecost Power: Tongues, Prophecy, and Overcoming Counterfeit Spirits

When Jesus, our Mediator and Advocate, was so filled with the Holy Ghost, He gave commandment concerning these days we are in and gave commandment of the time through the Holy Ghost.

I can see that if we are going to accomplish anything we are going to have it because we are under the power of the Holy Ghost.

During my life I have seen lots of satanic forces, spiritists, and all other “ists.” And I tell you that there is a power which is satanic, and there is a power which is the Holy Ghost. I remember after we received the Holy Ghost, and when people were speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance—we don’t know the Holy Ghost any other way—the spiritists heard about it and came to the meeting in good time to fill two rows of seats.

When the power of God fell upon us, these imitators began their shaking and moving with utterances of the satanic forces. The Spirit of the Lord was mighty upon me. I went to them and said, “Now you demons, clear out of this!” And out they went. I followed them right out in the street, and then they turned round and cursed me. It made no difference, they were out.

Beloved, God would have us to know in these days that there is a fullness of God where all other powers must cease to be. I beseech you to hear that the baptism in the Holy Ghost is to possess us so that we are, and may be continually, so full of the Holy Ghost that utterances and revelations and eyesight and everything may be so remarkably controlled by the Spirit of God that we live and move in this glorious sphere of useful-ness for the glory of God.

I believe that God wants to help us to see that every believer ought to receive the Holy Ghost. Beloved, God wants us to understand that there is no difficulty when we are in the right order. I want you to see what there is in seeking the Holy Ghost.

Walking in the Fullness of Pentecost

And now abideth faith, hope, charity [love], these three; but the greatest of these is charity [love]. Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort (1 Corinthians 13:13–14:3).

It is quite easy to construct a building if the foundation is secure. It is not so easy to rise spiritually unless you have a real spiritual power working within you. It will never do for us to be top heavy—the base must always be very firmly set. So I believe that while we might have gone on, we will have to consider the pit from whence we were dug. Except we rightly understand the spiritual leadings, according to the mind of God, we will never be able to stand when the winds blow, when the trials come, and when Satan appears as an angel of light. We shall never be able to stand unless we are firmly fixed in the Word of God.

There must be three things in our lives if we wish to go right through with God in the fullness of Pentecost. First, we must be grounded and settled in love. We must have a real knowledge of what love is, and then we must have a clear understanding of the Word, for love must manifest the Word. Then we must understand clearly our own ground, because it is our own ground that needs to be looked after the most.

The Lord speaks at least twice of the good ground into which seed is sown, which also bore fruit and brought forth some one hundred fold, and some sixty, and some thirty. It was in different portions of thirty, sixty, and one hundred fold even in the good ground. I maintain truly that there is no limitation to the abundance of a harvest when the ground is perfectly in the hand of the Lord. So we must clearly understand that the Word of God can never come forth with all its primary purposes unless our ground is right. But God will help us, I believe, to see that He can make the ground in perfect order as it is put into His hands.

Let me speak of the first verse, then I must pass on quickly. I want you to notice that the primary thought in the mind of the Spirit is that when love is in perfect progress, all other things will work in harmony, for prophetic utterances are all of no value unless they are perfectly covered with divine love. Our Lord Jesus would never have accomplished His great plan in this world, only because He was so full of love to His Father and love to us that love never failed to accomplish its purpose. It worked in Him and through Him by the power of the Father’s love in Him. I believe that love will have to come into our lives. Christ must be the summit, the desire, the plan of all things.

All our sayings, doings, and workings must be in and unto Him well pleasing, and then our prophetic utterances will be a blessing through God, and they will never be side issues. There is no imitation in a man filled with the Holy Ghost. Imitation is lost in the great plan of Christ being the ideal of his life.

What the Holy Spirit Will Do

What will the Holy Ghost do? The Holy Ghost is prophetic. “Be of good cheer. Live in peace. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.”

You say that is what Jesus said. It is what the Holy Ghost is taking and revealing to us and speaking to us. The Holy Ghost is the spokesman in these days. The Holy Ghost came to be the spokesman, and He spoke the Word. He is still taking the Word and speaking it. The Holy Ghost takes the words of Jesus, and He is so full of truth that He never puts anything to it. He gives you the unadulterated word of truth, of life. “He takes of mine and reveals it unto you.” What is His? “I am the light of the world.” He came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him should be saved.

The Holy Ghost takes these words and gives them to you. Here are words of the Master, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will.” Who is speaking? The Holy Ghost in the last days, the Spirit of Truth bringing forth the Word of life. “I will give you rest.” Rest? Oh, there is no rest like it! It can come when you are in the most tried moment. When my dear wife was lying dead, the doctors could do nothing. They said to me, “She is done. We cannot help you.”

My heart was so moved and I said, “O God, I can’t spare her!” I went up to her and I said, “Oh, come back! Come back and speak to me. Come back, come back!” And the Spirit of the Lord moved and she came back and smiled again.

Then the Holy Ghost said to me, “She is mine. Her work is done. She is mine.”

Oh, the comforting word! No one else could have done it, but the Comforter came. From that moment my dear wife passed out.

Ah, beloved, it is true to me the Comforter has a word for us this day. He is the Comforter. There is only one Comforter and He has been with the Father from the beginning. He never comes only to give light. The Holy Ghost, when He comes into your body, is come to unveil the King, to assure you of His presence. The person who says, “I am ready for anything,” will never get it.

“What are you seeking, my brother?”

“Oh, I am ready for anything.”

“You will never get anything.”

“Oh! Well, tell me how to get it.”

“One thing have I desired and that will I seek after.”

When the Lord reveals unto you that you must be filled with the Holy Ghost, seek only that one thing and God will give you that one thing. It is necessary for you to seek one thing first.

A Baptism Like at Pentecost

Never you forget, the baptism will always be as it was in the beginning. It has not changed. If you want a real baptism, expect it just the same as they had it at the beginning.

“What had they at the beginning?” you ask.

Well, they knew they had the same as they had at the beginning for they heard them speak in tongues, and that is the only way they did know, because they heard them saying the same things in the Spirit as they said at the beginning. It has never been changed. It has always been the same right down. As it was in the beginning, so shall it be forever and ever.

When these two young men realized that Peter and John and the rest of them had it, they walked up. They were beautifully dressed. In about half an hour’s time they looked strange. They had been rolling, somehow; I had not caused them to do it. But they had been so lost and so controlled by the power of God that they were just rolling all over and their clothes were changed, but their faces were wonderful.

What was up? They got it just as they got it at the beginning. They had been ordained by men—I do not say anything against that, I think it is very good—but there is an ordination that is better, and it is the ordination with the King. This is the only ordination that is going to fit you people for the future. The King is already on His throne, but He wants crowning, and when the Holy Ghost comes He crowns the King inside.

The person who has passed through that ordination goes forth with fresh feet, the preparation of the Gospel; goes with a fresh voice, speaks as the Spirit gives utterance; goes with a fresh mind, the mind being illuminated by the power of God. He goes forth with a fresh vision and sees all things new.

When He comes, He shall reveal things unto you. Has He revealed them yet? He is going to do it. Only expect Him to do. The best thing for you is to expect Him to do it now.

Filled for Daily Service and Supernatural Exploits

The necessity that seven men be chosen for the position of “serving tables” was very evident. The disciples knew that these seven men were men ready for active service, and so they chose them. In the fifth verse, we read: “And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip.”

There were others, of course, but Stephen and Philip stand out most prominently in the Scriptures. Philip was a man so filled with the Holy Ghost that a revival always followed wherever he went. Stephen was a man so filled with divine power that although serving tables might have been all right in the minds of the other disciples, yet God had a greater vision for him—a baptism of fire, of power and divine unction that took him on and on to the climax of his life until he saw right into the open heavens.

Had we been there with the disciples at that time, I believe we should have heard men saying to each other, “Look here! Neither Stephen nor Philip are doing the work we called them to. If they do not attend to business, we shall have to get someone else!” That was the natural way of thinking, but divine order is far above our finite planning. When we please God in our daily ministration, we shall always find in operation the fact “that everyone who is faithful in little, God will make faithful in much.”

We have such an example right here—a man chosen to “serve tables,” having such a revelation of the mind of Christ and of the depth and height of God that there was no stop in his experience but a going forward with leaps and bounds. Beloved, there is a race to be run, there is a crown to be won; we cannot stand still! I say unto you, be vigilant! Be vigilant! Let no man take thy crown!