It was wonderful and refreshing to be a part of what God was doing during the Charismatic
Movement. And I'm glad I am a part of what He is doing today!
Denominational Differences Don't Matter
We should share this wonderful experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit with everyone
who is hungry for God. For example, if someone fell overboard and I had a lifesaver, I wouldn't
ask him what church he belonged to before I threw him the life-saver! And if he didn't belong to
my church, I wouldn't refuse to throw him the lifesaver either!
If people are drowning, they need help. If people are lost, they need salvation. And if Christians
are hungry for a deeper walk with God, they don't have to become a member of any particular
church before they can be filled with the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is a Gift. We should just get believers who are hungry for more of God filled
with the Spirit. And, thank God, we are doing that. Of course, we should always encourage
believers who are not members of a local body to join a good church and become faithful
members, so they can grow in their Christian walk. But joining a church is not a prerequisite to
receiving the Holy Spirit.
In just four services of a local chapter of a Full Gospel group, I once saw 143 people filled with
the Holy Ghost. That's a real revival in itself, isn't it? And some folks think God is not on the
move! Thank God, He is. It is not what you think the Bible says that counts. And it's not what
someone told you the Bible says. It is what you know for yourself about God's Word that
counts. And God will confirm His Word with signs following.
The Holy Spirit: God's Promise to You
ACTS 1:5,8
5 For John truly baptized with water; but YE SHALL BE BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY
GHOST not many days hence. ...
8 But ye shall receive power, AFTER THAT THE HOLY GHOST IS COME UPON YOU: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.
ACTS 2:32,33
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father
THE PROMISE of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Notice that in Acts 1:5 and 8 Jesus spoke of the promise of the Holy Ghost to the Church —
the Body of Christ. He said, "... ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost..." (Acts 1:5). And in
Acts chapter 2, we see the fulfillment of that promise: ". . . he [Jesus] hath shed forth this,
which ye now see and hear" (Acts 2:33).
Then in Acts 2:38 and 39, Peter told the people that the promise of the Holy Spirit was given to
as many as believed.
ACTS 2:38,39