What the Bible Teaches About Grumbling, Divine Healing, Prayer, Baptism with Holy Ghost

Grumbling

When your big-name Theologians get together and discuss theology, I’m pretty sure that Grumbling is not one of their most-talked-about subjects.

I don’t remember ever hearing a sermon preached with Grumbling as its topic.

I’m not even sure I could name an important Theologian.  The people I’m aware of who are most expert at theological matters don’t refer to themselves as Theologians.

Probably the best Bible teacher I’ve found is Kenneth E. Hagin (see www.Rhema.org )  Another rather good teacher is Dr. Norvel Hayes (see www.nhm.cc )  Charles Capps wrote a very important book, “God’s Creative Power will Work for You,” (see www.CharlesCapps.com )

There’s another preacher who might consider himself to be a Theologian, Dr. Charles Stanley, but he’s dead wrong about the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the speaking in unknown tongues (languages).  So, if he can’t get that right, I can’t recommend him.

If you check up on people who refer to themselves as Theologians, you’re liable to have a hard time finding among them the “signs following” of Mark chapt. 16, verses 17 & 18.

Someone might say, “But brother Fred, don’t you know that Jesus said, Don’t judge so that you won’t be judged?”

Yes I do, but Jesus also said that we would know men by their fruits, and a Theologian who doesn’t have the signs following of Mark chapter 16 is quite obviously not much of a Theologian.  He doesn’t have the fruit corresponding to a good Theologian.

Without the signs following of Mark 16, that Theologian would do well to stop calling himself a Theologian until he acquires the signs following of Mark chapter 16.

So then, if grumbling is given so little attention these days, why would it be a topic in this book?  The reason is very simple.  Grumbling is hurting a lot of Christians, and holding them back.

Grumbling is also referred to as murmuring, griping, fretting, complaining,

If God’s people are grumbling, it’s displeasing to God.  Don’t you remember in the Old Testament how when the people murmured, God sent bad things against them?

The children of Israel complained about their food.  They complained about lack of water.  Some even suggested that God had brought them out of Egypt to kill them in the desert.

God went to a lot of effort to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.  All those plagues that God brought against Egypt, the last one being the slaying of all the firstborn in Egypt, while none of Israel died because of the blood over and on the sides of their doors.  (at The Passover)   “There was not a house where there was not one dead” (among the Egyptians.)

Then God divided the Red Sea so that the children of Israel went across it on dry land.

After all of that, did God want to kill them in the wilderness?  Of course not.  God had plans for them.  He had sworn that He would bring them into the promised land.

But that generation didn’t make it to the promised land, except for Caleb and Joshua, who brought back a good report after spying out the promised land.

What prevented the majority from going into the promised land?  Their murmuring, griping, complaining, grumbling.  There’s another word for those words, and that word is unbelief.

So, they talked themselves out of what God had for them, and died in the wilderness, over a period of forty years, and the next generation went into the promised land.

Don’t talk yourself out of what God has for you with grumbling, griping, complaining, fretting, murmuring, unbelief.

Unbelief is the opposite of faith.

In Mark 11:23, Jesus said you can move a mountain by speaking words in faith.

In Mark 11:24, Jesus said when you pray, believe that you receive and you shall have.  Notice that believe is present tense, while shall have is future tense.  If you believe now, then you shall have.  But if you don’t believe, then you don’t obtain.

In Hebrews 11:6 we read, “But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.”

In Habakuk 2:4, we read, “…but the just shall live by his faith.”  The just are the justified ones whom God has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.  After being redeemed from the hand of the enemy, God wants us to live by our faith.

In 2 Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight.)”

You can’t please God without faith.  If you want to get something from God, you get it by faith.  When you become a born-again Christian, you get saved by faith.  Faith in what?  Faith that Jesus’ dying for our sins does away with those sins.  Faith that God raised His son, Jesus, from the dead, like the Bible says.  (See Romans 10:9,10)

Romans 11:23 tells people not to remain in unbelief.

But grumbling is unbelief, which is the opposite of faith.

I’ve made the mistake of doing a little grumbling in my time, and I can tell you that grumbling doesn’t get the job done.  Not the job you wanted done.  I’ve asked the Lord to forgive me, and I’m sure he has. (1 John 1:9)

Not very long ago, I was doing some traveling, and things didn’t seem to be working out very well.  I guess that the weariness and stress of traveling influenced me to rather drop the ball somewhat regarding living by faith.

So I started speaking things into existence (I have another book that covers this topic), and things started to go right.  Things started going right not because of grumbling and unbelief.  Things started going right because of words spoken coupled with faith.

You can speak words in faith even when you don’t really feel like it.  Even when you don’t feel like it, you can do the housework that needs to be done.  Even when you don’t feel like it, you can get out of bed and get yourself to work, so that you can earn the paycheck that you and your family need.

And you can speak words of faith whether you feel like it or not.  (And we had better do so if we want to please God, and if we want things to go well for us.)

Here is a good application for, “Happy is the man who always fears.” (Proverbs 28:14)  Now there is a good kind of fear, and there’s a bad kind of fear.  Fearing God is good.  But God doesn’t want us to be afraid of the future because we have God the Father, and Jesus, and angels.  “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”  (1 John 4:4)

Another example of the good kind of fear:  “By faith Noah, being warned by God of things not seen as yet, moved by fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his family, by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness that is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

We wouldn’t be here if Noah hadn’t obeyed God and built the ark.

Now that I’ve learned that Christians are supposed to live by faith, I’m afraid to stop living by faith, and that’s a good kind of fear.

Charles Capps said the Lord told him, “I’ve told my people they can have what they say, but instead, they are saying what they have.”

Saying what you have, instead of speaking into existence what you need or desire, is unbelief, and displeasing to God.

Having what you say is based on Mark 11:23, where Jesus said you can move a mountain.  Whatever your problem is, that’s your mountain.  Command it to go, in Jesus’ name.  And then, another thing that I do is to say “…and all evil spirits connected with that, I command you to go and not return, in Jesus’ name.”

But sometimes, you also ask the evil spirits their name and/or how many there are of them.  (See Jesus with the Gadarene demoniac.)

By evil spirits, I mean demons or devils.  They are fallen angels that followed Satan when he rebelled against God.  They don’t have flesh and blood bodies like we do, so we don’t see them with our natural eyes.  But they are quite real even though we don’t normally see them.

But not only can you speak something bad out of existence, you can also speak into existence the things you need and that you desire, if you are adding your faith to your words.  Faith simply expects to receive what the words are saying.

I’ve told this before, but I want to tell you again what the Lord told Kenneth E. Hagin.  Hagin wrote about it in an excellent little book, “How God Taught Me About Prosperity.”

Hagin prayed for three days about his finances.  On the third day, God gave him a plan.  The Lord said, “I don’t want you to pray about finances anymore, not like you’ve been praying.  Here’s what I want you to do:  Claim whatever it is you want or need (notice that you can use this also for things other than finances.  You do your claiming out loud with your mouth.)  Then say, “Satan, take your hands off my finances.” (And I say, “And off of everything else that pertains to me.”)  Then say, “Go, ministering spirits and cause the money to come.” (Or, whatever else it is that you need.)

Hagin asked what the Lord meant by “Go ministering spirits.”  The Lord said, “Haven’t you read in the book of Hebrews about the ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who are appointed heirs of salvation?”  We Christians are the heirs of salvation.  The ministering spirits are the angels, and the Lord told Hagin that we Christians can give them assignments.  But here again, put your faith with your words.

Then the Lord told Hagin, after doing that to just stay in faith.  Don’t even think about it.  Or, if you do think about it, just say, “Thank God for it, it’s working.”

And I, Fred, say to you, don’t ever say, “It’s not working.”  Don’t talk like that, or you can undo what your faith has set in motion.

Divine Healing

The best authority I know on Divine Healing is Kenneth E. Hagin.  He was born with a deformed heart.  Five doctors told him he would die before age twenty one.  But Hagin wanted to live, not die.

So Hagin said, “If medical science can’t help me, maybe I could get God to heal me,” and Hagin started to read God’s book, the Holy Bible.  He saw that the Old Testament (books from Genesis through Malachi) was very large, so he started reading the New Testament with the book of Matthew.

After Matthew, he went on to Mark.  When he got to Mark 11:24, he found, “When you pray, believe you receive the things you ask for, and you’ll have them.”

So Hagin made the choice to pray and believe for his healing.  It took about a year and four months, but he got his healing from God.  Then the Lord told him, “Now go teach my people faith.”

So Hagin went and taught faith for about seven decades.  He got a lot of people healed.  He cast out a lot of demons.  He wrote nearly a hundred books, most of which were best sellers (they sold more than a million copies.)  I’ve seen them in Christian book stores (“Charismatic” section), or go to www.Rhema.org and click on “bookstore.”

I’ve probably learned more from that teacher, Kenneth E. Hagin, than from any other preacher or pastor or teacher.  It’s my understanding that he also walked in the Office of a Prophet.

One of my favorite of his books is, “I Believe in Visions,” which is about visions given to K.E. Hagin by the Lord, in which visions, Jesus is teaching Hagin about many things.

Does the Bible say anything else on the subject of healing?  Yes it does.

“The Lord is the Lord who heals me.” (Ex 15:26)  “The Lord forgives all my sins, and heals all my diseases.” (Psa 103)  “By Jesus’ stripes I was healed.” (1 Pet 2:24)  “Himself took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matt 8:17)  “For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom 8:2)

Look at John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, I have come so they can have life, and so they can have it more abundantly.”  Who is talking?  Jesus.  Jesus wants us to have abundant life.  Abundant life includes good health.

Sick people are not enjoying abundant life, but the Lord has it for them.  You get it by faith.  Jesus said, “Ask and you’ll receive.” (Matt 7:7)

You can ask for and believe for your healing, but you can also command the mountain of whatever that affliction is to go (Mark 11:23).  And then, I also command all evil spirits connected with the affliction to go and not return. (Luke 10:19 and Mark chapter 16:17,18.)

There are many Christians who understand that being a Christian means their sins are forgiven and that they’re on their way to heaven when their lives are over on earth.  That’s absolutely right.  But some of those Christians don’t understand that, as a Christian, not only are their sins forgiven, but also, they are entitled to healing for their bodies.

I’ve told before about the retired couple in England who were given a certificate at their retirement.  They framed it and hung it on the wall, and were living in poverty.

Because they hadn’t learned to read, they didn’t know what the certificate said.  But a visitor to their house told them it was a check they could cash for a lot of money, given to them by their former employers.

They were living in poverty because they didn’t know what belonged to them!  Some Christians don’t know it, but healing belongs to them!  You get it from the Lord, using your faith.

There’s a rather good section of promises on Healing and Health in my book, “Your Abundant Success Lasting Forever.”  If you need healing, start quoting God’s promises about healing every day, in addition to your praying for it.  You can compile your own lists of promises using a concordance and your Bible.

I am also offering “Hoehn’s Concordance to the Holy Bible, Hoehn Version,” at Amazon.com for the Kindle readers.

Some of the sicknesses people have are due to demons, in which case, cast out those demons.  But Jesus did say there’s a kind of demon that doesn’t come out except by prayer and fasting.

A pastor had invited Hagin to come and hold two weeks of meetings at a church.  At that time in his ministry, Hagin taught in every meeting, but only prayed for the sick on Tuesdays and Fridays.

A woman was so weak with lung cancer that she had to be brought in a bed, and Hagin prayed for her the first Tuesday, but she didn’t get healed.  Same thing on Friday, and Tuesday, and Friday.  Not looking so good for the lady with lung cancer.  Hagin had only been invited for two weeks.

But then, the pastor asked Hagin to stay for a third week.  On Tuesday of the third week, Hagin went to pray for the same woman.  But this time, something different happened.  God opened Hagin’s eyes to see into the spirit world, and so Hagin saw a demon (he called it an imp) at about the woman’s chest.  Hagin commanded it to go, and it did.

The woman recovered from the cancer, and lived another two decades.  So, in that case, the cure for the disease lay in casting out the demon behind the disease.

But if you’re going to cast out demons, it’s best to have the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the speaking in unknown tongues.  This subject is covered later in this book.

After you have the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, ask the Lord for the gift spoken of in 1 Cor chapt. 12 of “The Discerning of Spirits,” which will help with the casting out of demons.

Another authority on the subject of healing is Dr. Norvel Hayes.  (visit www.nhm.cc )

Hayes had a student who had something wrong with her legs.  He told about this on the GTV channel on Direct TV.  The young woman could walk with the help of crutches.

Hayes told her to start commanding her legs to be healthy and normal every day, and she did.  Sometimes more than once each day.  I hope that she was commanding them in the name of Jesus.

At the end of about six months,  the woman went to the mall with her friends.  She felt the power of God come on her, and she threw down her crutches, and walked off with normal legs.  Praise God!

God doesn’t want to do that for only a few, he wants to do that for all of his people, the Christians.  You get it by speaking words of faith.

But here is another important thing:  After you get a healing from God, the enemy is likely to counterattack.  That is, Satan and his demons would like to put the same affliction back on you that you had.  You must resist that counterattack. James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he'll run away from you.“

The enemy would like to bring some symptoms to you.  Then he would like you to say, “Well, I thought I was healed, but I guess I wasn’t.”  Don’t speak those words.  You know you were healed.  You tell the enemy to take his lousy symptoms and be gone, in Jesus’ name.

K.E. Hagin has taught about counterattacks from the enemy after God has healed.

Prayer

In 1 Thess 5:17 we are told to “Pray without stopping.”

Most people understand that we should be praying to God.  But don’t pray the Rosary because that’s a prayer not addressed to God.  There is no scripture authorizing anyone to pray to Mary.

But what many people don’t know is that if you pray to God and don’t put faith with your prayer, you’ve wasted your time. (Mark 11:24)

I heard about a lady who prayed a prayer asking God for something, and after the prayer she said, “I probably won’t get it.”  She cancelled her prayer with those words.

Of course, God is merciful, and maybe he did a little something for her, but don’t cancel your prayer with words of unbelief.

In the Psalms, we are told to “Pour out your heart to the Lord.” (Psa 62:8)

Praying is pouring out your heart to the Lord.  I had an important decision to make.  I started talking to the Lord about it.  I asked him to show me which course of action to take.  I heard, “I will show you.”  I continued to point out a few thoughts that I had on the subject.

I said I didn’t think that course of action would be so good because…   And I didn’t think this would be so good because…   Before long, I came to a conclusion that at the beginning of the prayer, I would have thought we would not be doing.  But in hindsight, I believe the Lord helped me to make a good decision on this matter.  And I now say by faith that the matter will turn out well for me, in Jesus’ name.

Jesus said, “Men ought always to pray and not faint.” (Luke 18:1)  Jesus doesn’t want us to faint.  If we do a good job of praying, we can avoid the fainting.

Jesus continues on in Luke chapter 18:

from verse 2 "There was a judge in a city, who didn't fear God, nor regarded man.

3 And there was a widow in that city, and she came to him, saying, 'Avenge me of my adversary.'

4 And he wouldn't for a while, but afterward he said inside himself, 'Though I don't fear God, nor regard man,

5 Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, so that by her continual coming, she doesn't tire me.'"

6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the dishonest judge says.

7 And won't God avenge his own elect, who cry day and night to him, though he bears long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

Here, Jesus says, if you persist like that woman, God will help you.  This, however, does not do away with the need to put faith with your prayer.

Jesus continues on in Luke chapter 18:

9 And he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others,

10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed like this with himself, 'God, I thank you that I'm not like other men are, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I have.'

13 And the tax collector, standing far off, wouldn't lift up as much as his eyes to heaven, but struck his chest, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.'

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone that lifts himself up shall be brought low, and he that humbles himself shall be lifted up."

Don’t pray like the Pharisee—God didn’t accept his prayer.  Pray like the other man who humbled himself before God.  God accepted that prayer.

But sometimes, when we pray, it is appropriate to also do some fasting.  You stop eating for a while.  Maybe a day, or two, or three.  I suggest, don’t try to fast forty days and forty nights like Jesus, unless you are very sure that’s God’s will.  And the Lord probably wouldn’t ask you to do that until after you are already experienced at fasting.

One such reason to pray and fast is if you want to cast out a demon that can only be cast out by prayer and fasting.  But how would we know which kind that is?  Do this:  Command the demon to go without the fasting.  You could do that two or three days in a row.  If it seems that no progress is being made, then perhaps add some fasting.

But also, the Bible says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14) So then, as Christians, we have a right to expect guidance from God.  But Jesus said, “Ask and you’ll receive.”  (Matt 7:7)  So, ask the Lord for guidance about whether you should fast, and for how long.

But remember this:  The Bible says, “Satan comes as an angel of light”. (2 Cor 11:14)

So, if you ask God about something, the enemy might try to give you the wrong answer.  That’s where testing the spirits comes in.

___1 John chapter 4

1 Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

3 And every spirit that doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that spirit of antichrist, about which you've heard that it would come, and even now already it's in the world.

If a spirit speaks to you, ask that spirit, “Has Jesus Christ come in the flesh?”  If you get a No answer, that spirit is not of God.

I know a lady in the State of Washington who decided to cast some demons out of her husband.  She first went on a “juice fast” for about four weeks, I think it was.  She ate no solid food, but only drank juices.  Then she cast demons out of her he husband.

But in this discussion of prayer thus far, the assumption has been made that the prayer would be made in your natural language, or in one of the languages you’re fluent in.

But Paul the Apostle says we should pray with the understanding (the natural language), and pray in the spirit (in the unknown tongue.) (1 Cor 14:15)

And in 1 Cor 11:1, Paul says we should be followers of him like he is of Christ.

But you won’t be able to pray in unknown tongues until Jesus baptizes you with the Holy Ghost.  So, ask him for it, and believe that you receive.  (Matt 7:7, Mark 11:24)

The Baptism with the Holy Ghost

At the end of Matthew, Jesus told his followers to

19 Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,

20 Teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you, and see, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.  Amen." (Matt 28:19,20)

But then, in Acts chapter 1:4,5 Jesus told them to wait at Jerusalem.

4 And being assembled together with them, (he) commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, "Which," he said, "you have heard from me.

5 For John truly baptized with water, but you'll be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days from now."

Does this mean Jesus had changed his mind about his disciples preaching to all the world?  No.  He still wanted them to go.  He just wanted them to first be as well equipped as they could be before going.

While Jesus was still on earth, and before being crucified,

21 Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace be to you, as my Father has sent me, so I send you."

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Ghost.”

(John 20:21,22)

Why did Jesus breathe on them?  The Holy Ghost is like wind.

In John chapter 3, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and said,

5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he can't enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Don't be surprised that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

8 The wind blows where it wants, and you hear the sound of it, but can't tell where it comes from, nor where it's going.  So is everyone that is born of the Spirit."

Jesus says here that people who are born again are like the wind.  You don’t know where the wind is coming from, nor where it’s going, but you hear its sound.

The Bible also says we Christians should be led by the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit (or, Holy Ghost, or Comforter) is like wind.  You don’t know where it’s coming from, nor where it’s going, but God’s Holy Ghost can show you things, and after you’re baptized with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost will give you words to speak in an unknown tongue (or, language.)

It is a common misconception that when you get baptized with the Holy Ghost, God takes control of you and makes you talk.  No, God doesn’t violate your will, your power of choice.

If the phone rings, you can choose to answer it, or you could choose not to answer it.  If you choose to answer the phone, now you can choose what words to speak into the phone.  Some choose to say, “Hello.”  But others might say, “Yes?”

If you also speak Spanish, you might say, “Hola.” (the H is silent.)  Or, some Hispanics answer the phone with, “Bueno.”  It is the decision of the person answering the phone which word they will speak.

When you speak, without even thinking about it, you push with your diaphragm muscle and air moves from your lungs across your vocal cords, and then you form a sound with your lips, tongue, and teeth.

When Jesus baptizes you with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost provides you with words to speak.  Words in a funny, strange language that you never learned.  That’s why it’s called an unknown tongue, because it’s unknown to the person doing the speaking.

But there’s the possibility of someone who might hear you understanding what you’re saying.  There’s an example of that in the book, “Yes, Lord, “ by Harold Bredeson. A woman understood what Bredeson was saying in an obsolete language that no one speaks anymore except not very many scholars.

Was Bredeson one of those scholars?  No, the woman was.  Bredeson was speaking in an unknown tongue, and not understanding what he was saying.  But, of course, God understands all languages that people speak.

The woman told Bredeson that he was worshipping God, and telling of God’s exploits.

An example that I use is the word Kamsahamnida.  Do you know that word?  In a moment, I’ll tell you what that word means, but if I spoke the word Kamsahamnida in your presence, after hearing me say it, you would be able to repeat it.

And that’s how little children learn to talk.  They hear their families saying words, and the children repeat the words.

That word Kamsahamnida means Thank You in Korean, but my point is, after hearing it, you could repeat it whether you understood the word or not.

The Holy Ghost will provide you with words, and then you make the choice to speak out those words provided to you by the Holy Ghost.

If you’re a Christian without the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, you’re not as well equipped as the Lord wants you to be.  You don’t have as much power (Acts 1:8)  You won’t be as effective as a Christian as you would be if you had the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and in John, John the Baptist says that Jesus is the baptizer with the Holy Ghost.  Your pastor can baptize you in water, but it’s Jesus from whom you get the baptism with the Holy Ghost.  (But the laying on of hands and prayer from the pastor and elders might be of assistance—see Paul the Apostle in Acts 19:6.)

But although Jesus wants his Christians to have the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, he doesn’t force it on you.  When you find out that it’s something God wants you to have, so that you’ll be a better Christian, and a better soul winner, then you should ask the Lord to baptize you with the Holy Ghost.  (Matt 7:7)  When you ask, believe that you receive, and you shall have. (Mark 11:24)

I met a man in Nebraska who told about a man he knew who prayed and asked the Lord to help him become a better soul winner.  The Lord answered that prayer for the man by baptizing him with the Holy Ghost.  You’re a better soul winner if you have the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.

The evidence of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost is the speaking in unknown tongues.  In Los Angeles, I met Mr. Green who was passing out tracts.  I asked him if he had received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.  He told me he had.  I asked whether he prays in a language that he doesn’t understand.  He said No.  I told my friend if he doesn’t pray in unknown tongues, he hasn’t received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.

I received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost at a Christian youth summer camp.  The teacher taught on the subject, and toward the end of the class, he asked, “Now how many want to receive the Baptism with the Holy Ghost?”

Well, I certainly did.  But though I desired to receive, I didn’t receive that day.  When I got alone, I asked myself why I hadn’t received.  I came to the conclusion that I hadn’t used enough faith.

So I said, “OK, I’m going back to that class tomorrow, and I believe right now, that when I go forward to receive the Baptism with the Holy Ghost tomorrow, I’ll receive.”  And I did.  Thank you, Jesus.  Thank you Father, in Jesus’ name.

Having received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, I am now one of those spoken about in John 7:38,

38 He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

39 (But he spoke this about the Spirit that those who believe on him would receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Out of my belly (where I speak from) flow rivers of living water.  The rivers of living water come out too, when I write books like these.

Another misconception is that people have to “tarry” for the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.  No, they had to tarry (wait) in the Book of Acts because the Day of Pentecost had not fully come.  That day came about fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead.

So then we no longer have to tarry.  We ask the Lord for it, we believe we receive, and we receive.  But there could be a hindrance in the case of some individuals.

A man needed healing, and went to a man of God to be prayed for.  The man of God said, “What is this $5,000 that I keep seeing?”

The man who needed healing said, “Oh, well I was the executor of an estate, and I really did put a lot of work into it, so I kept back $5,000 for myself.”

The man of God said, “Well, I think that’s what is hindering your getting healed.  If you brought your check book, write the check.  I have an envelope and a stamp, and well go down the street here and mail the letter in the box.

They did, and the man got healed.

The Lord bless you.

by Frederick Hoehn, www.FredHoehnMinistries.com