Dear One,
The Lord bless you!
Today marks fifty-four years for me of praying in tongues. Rejoice with me! We give the Lord all the glory. The only regret I have is that I did not learn to pray in tongues for hours sooner. Things could have been so much better sooner! I had an opportunity in Bible college in 1978 when my friend Pat showed up to visit and talked to me about praying in tongues for hours. Pat is a mighty healing evangelist with the most extraordinary stories of God’s power. Alas, at the time the lesson didn’t stick. It wasn’t until 1995 when we were deep fried in Holy Spirit oil at a retreat in Bedford VA from the Toronto Outpouring that the lesson stuck. Then the miracles began to multiply! God bless Pat, my friend Dale who hosted us in Bedford, and Jerry and Debbie who prayed for me to get filled December 6th, 1971… and God bless you too!
Love you! KRP
A SACRED MOMENT ON HOLY GROUND – THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 1 Tim 1:18 NKJV
In 1996, it was prophesied over me with the laying on of hands that my family would go to Africa with the anointing of John G. Lake. To what degree that has been manifested someone else can judge – Lake and his team planted over six hundred churches, and over one hundred thousand converts, and countless miracles, where our team has planted hundreds of schools, helped thousands with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and had at least twenty resurrections and other miracles. We are both called ‘doctor’- him as an honorific from his congregation and me by degree from Potami University in association with Lightbearers Bible College of Zambia. But the one thing we can be sure of, that both Lake and I can say of our ministries, is that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was the critical, turning point factor. Speaking in tongues, and doing it much, made all the difference!
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:6-7 NKJV
The night I got filled with the Holy Spirit was also the night I heard my first Bible based sermon, delivered by Jerry, another high school kid like me. The first verse he shared has become the verse that is stamped on my life – 2 Timothy 1:7. Acts 1:8 may be what some say is our ministry’s theme verse, but 2 Timothy 1:7 has been the guiding verse of my personal life. The Holy Spirit showed me years ago that vanity and cowardice would be the enemy’s schemes against my life. So, we adopted the approach of being nameless and faceless, not vaunting ourselves or our successes, not taking credit or flaunting our testimonies. We are intentionally poor communicators along those lines. We have refused to be introverts, cowards or bullies, despite battling anxiety and other issues. Your choices define you, and these are the things we choose.
In light of that brief introduction, lets talk about some of the basics of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and basic questions that come up. I want to challenge you, as a Spirit filled believer, to get all of your friends and family filled with the Holy Spirit. He will change their lives forever, and you will be blessed.
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive (Grk. LAMBANO: receive into manifestation) the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues for every believer?
Yes. Jesus said it, and Peter confirmed it. Are you called?
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive (Grk. LAMBANO: receive into manifestation); for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 NKJV
39 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 NKJV
Why is there so much controversy about speaking in tongues?
Because the devil hates it.
Why does the devil hate it? Because it is the demonstration that makes you an eyewitness unto Him, possessing personal knowledge of the resurrection of Jesus. You say, that was two thousand years ago. How can I be an eyewitness of the Resurrection? Please, follow the logic here. You can only speak in tongues if you believe on the Lord Jesus, that God raised Him from the dead. Unbelievers CANNOT speak in tongues. They can try to make silly sounds but they cannot freely speak a language they have not been taught. When you speak in tongues you speak a language of men or of angels. Every time you speak in tongues it is a miracle because you break the law of learning that says you cannot speak a language you have not been taught. I was in a meeting one time where one man spoke in tongues, another interpreted and a third man knew both languages and confirmed that what the first guy said, the other guy repeated, both without any knowledge of the others language. Confirmations like that have happened a lot in our ministry, some of which are even more dramatic than that!
The great opposition to speaking in tongues comes not from without, but from within the Church. In writing my dissertation, I learned about the spirit of pharisaism, specifically Christian pharisaism. The Jewish pharisees that Jesus contended with were not priests or scribes, but hyper religious Jewish believers, usually wealthy and influential. They so strictly adhered to the Law that they added much to it and used that to seek to control others’ lives and stifle the Spirit of God. Same truth today! Christian pharisees, men and women who are born again but have a hyper religious demon, have stifled revivals and moves of God. The great Pentecostal ministries in the USA are losing the percentage of dear folks in their congregations who speak in tongues, and nobody seems alarmed (except, of course, a few of us!)!
Recently I ministered the Baptism over the phone and the dear woman spoke in tongues and went right into interpretation. “Lord, I love you!” Then she spoke more in tongues. “Father, thank you for being my father!” Then she spoke more in tongues. It was so much like the young women in southern Uganda who spoke in tongues but it was known language to our team member, a story not recounted in detail here. Incredible!
So, I have challenged you to get your friends and family to speak in tongues. How do you do that?
First, let me say, your love and enthusiasm are much more important than any technique. When Debbie and Jerry prayed with me, she simply said, “Come on…lets do this!” and I went along and got filled. The only requirements for being filled is that they are born again and want to get filled. You may show them these verses…
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matt 3:11 NKJV
The point here is this – Jesus is the One who baptizes them in the Holy Spirit, not you. He will come and baptism them immediately when they act by faith!
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive (Grk. LAMBANO: receive into manifestation); for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 NKJV
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 NKJV
Two points here – Jesus says EVERYONE is to get filled – ‘He who believes in Me’ – and Acts 2:4 is the fulfilment of John 7:39. Finally…
“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. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 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? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 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 NKJV
Two points here – if they ask for the Holy Spirit, they will receive the Holy Spirit, guaranteed! You cannot receive something false or from the devil period, end of story.
If they ask, and walk out in faith and begin to speak, they will get filled with the Holy Spirit. Usually – but not always – when I pray for people to receive and I say, “Now speak in tongues!” I will speak in tongues out loud with them. I don’t want them to copy me, but just to be in the Spirit with them. We will usually pray in tongues for five minutes or more. When they start, I don’t interfere. I let them go as long as they want. The Holy Spirit is in charge, and we don’t want to mess with what He is doing! This is a sacred moment…the God of heaven has come down to fill His child with the Spirit…this is holy ground!
If you have a problem, – you probably won’t, but… – call me – 503-302-5381, Whatsapp +1 503-302-5381. Call me!
When believers get filled with the Holy Spirit, they catch the fire of God. When you are on fire, you can light others on fire. The fire of God is cleansing, purifying, and so much fun! Joy flows like a river, and you know you are a child of God. ABBA is your Father, both in this life and for eternity! This is the second greatest thing you can do for someone, the first being to lead them to the Lord. The great privilege – to open the door from the throne room of God and watch the King of glory come down to meet His child and baptize them, is an amazing, indescribable privilege that you can enjoy continually as you help them receive. Don’t you just want to get everyone filled with the Holy Spirit? Yeah…me too! Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…