Joseph Prince - Live Led By the Power of The Spirit (01/21/2026)
Pastor Prince preached passionately about receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit, distinct from salvation where the Spirit dwells in us—here He comes upon us for power, leading us into paths of peace, prosperity, and truth. He explained that speaking in tongues edifies the whole person, brings rest and refreshing, and allows us to pray perfectly into the future beyond our understanding. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit’s primary ministry is to bear witness that we are beloved children of God, empowering us to live victoriously by grace, not willpower.
Opening Praise and Prayer
Praise the Lord. Hey, I love you all. I must say, you’ll have a voice, and a loud one at that. Now give a shout to the Lord Jesus. Hallelujah, Lord! We thank you, Lord, for all the testimonies we’ve heard. Lord, we know that you are still the miracle-working God, the healing Lord. We give you all the glory, Lord, and all the praise in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The Lord Jesus said, «And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.» Perhaps you have put your trust in Christ sometime back, but you have never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You see, when you’re born again, my friend, the Holy Spirit is in you. From the time you’re born again, the Holy Spirit takes residence in you. So when you’re saved, when you’re born again, the Holy Spirit rests in you. But when you get baptized in the Spirit, He is present over you.
And you know, all of us, we are tired of our lives being run by ourselves or by others, because we are so full of our weakness, full of our ignorance, thinking that we can lead our lives into successful paths. And time and again we come up as failures. Why? Well, those experiences are good, my friend, so that we’ll learn that only the Holy Spirit can lead you into paths of peace and prosperity. And the word «peace» — shalom in Hebrew — is not just mental peace but health, wellbeing, wholeness for your spirit, soul, and body. Only the Holy Spirit can lead us into paths of peace and prosperity.
Jesus says when the Holy Spirit comes, He will teach you all things. He will guide you into all truth. Isaiah the prophet prophesied, saying, «I am the Lord thy God who teaches you to profit.» When God teaches you, He always teaches you to profit — never to incur loss, never to find yourself failing in that area, not when He’s teaching you. When we teach ourselves, thinking that we are very smart to run our lives, or we listen to the advice of people who are so full of weaknesses themselves, ignorant of their own ignorance, we fail — because only One cannot fail. Only One is infallible. And that’s the Holy Spirit.
And He’s here right now, and He wants to fill you, child of God — fill you to overflowing. And Bible evidence is always: when someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, they’ll speak in heavenly language, not in their mother tongue. They’ll speak in a different language — a language they have never learned before. It is a language from heaven that the devil cannot decipher, a language that will bless you. It will edify you, strengthen you from the inside out. And it is the language of power. Because when you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, child of God, Jesus says you receive power — power for what? Power to heal the sick, power to cast out evil spirits that are bullying and oppressing people in their minds, their bodies with sickness, and their minds with depression. When the Lord sets you free, you’ll be free indeed.
Praying for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
So if you have never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I want to pray for you right now in the name of Jesus — but fully expect to speak in tongues. Amen. Now listen: Acts 2 says on the day of Pentecost in the upper room, when the Holy Spirit came like a rushing mighty wind and it filled all of them in the house where they were sitting, and the Bible says they began — say «they began, ” not „the Holy Spirit.“ A lot of people wait for the Holy Spirit to speak through their mouths. No, He does not possess you like an evil spirit does. Listen: the Holy Spirit will give you a word that you never heard before, you have never spoken before. Don’t think, „My, that sounds illogical.“ It sounds funny, right? But speak it out — it is the language of power from heaven. Amen.
By you need to speak — the Lord will prompt you. See, evil spirits will force you. The Holy Spirit leads you. If you don’t speak, nothing will come out. But when you speak, He’ll give you more and more words, and the more you speak those words, the language of power — amen — will clothe you with the power from on high. Amen. So right now, you’re ready. Amen. Don’t worry, you’ll not receive another spirit. This is for people who are believers in Christ. Amen.
Is it possible, Pastor, that I’m saved and I don’t have the Holy Spirit? No, you have the Holy Spirit. He’s resident in you. But when you receive the baptism, He’s what? Present over you. Amen. That’s where we are going right now. Are you ready? Lift your hands all across this place, everywhere that’s watching this right now. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, be filled with the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right now, begin to speak: Sha tara… Speak it out. Speak it out. The Holy Spirit won’t do your speaking. He will give you the prompting, He’ll give you the words, but you speak it out. That’s right. That’s right.
Okay, now stop. You see, you can stop anytime, and you can start anytime. Paul says, „I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding.“ „I will.“ That’s your own volition. Amen. The Holy Spirit doesn’t possess you like an evil spirit does and force you to do things you don’t want to do, think thoughts you don’t want to think, feel things that you don’t want to feel. That’s the evil spirit. But the Holy Spirit leads you. Amen.
So when it comes, He gives you the words. The more you speak, the very first word — like a child learning to speak „daddy, ” „Abba.“ Then after that, as he grows, you’ll speak more and more. His vocabulary increases. So as you pray in tongues, you speak those few words. The Bible says with stammering lips — even stammering lips — in tongues. Heaven, any language God will increase your vocabulary. Amen.
Living by the Spirit, Not the Mind
Now this is something that the natural man doesn’t like, because his logical mind says this is nonsense. „This is… I don’t like to do things I don’t understand. I cannot enjoy things that I don’t understand.“ And that’s not true, because many times he’s enjoying things he doesn’t understand — like the air conditioning. He might not even know how it works, but he enjoys it. Amen. You don’t have to understand. Your mind has become your boss for too long. Your mind has bullied you all this time, when actually God never meant for you to live by your brain. Your brain is your servant. You are to use it — your mind. You ought to use it. Don’t let it use you.
How did God design me, Pastor Prince? Well, the Bible says God designed you like Himself. When He made you, He breathed into you His Spirit, His breath. Okay, listen: man became spirit, soul, and body. You are a spirit being. Spirit and God are in touch. With the mind you communicate with the mental and intellectual realm. With the body you touch the physical and material world. But God designed for you to operate out of your spirit, through your mind, and express in your body. But for so long, because the spirit of man is cut off — because of sin, cut off from God — man started living from his mind. He starts to become a mental and intellectual person who wants to reason everything out, only to find that the more advanced he becomes in what he thinks is his intellect — like the world today, they’re so advanced, like all the decades before us. I think we are living in the decade we have seen so many advancements, and many of us still remember when we were using the dial phone and the payphone. Now the latest is AI. Amen. ChatGPT. And people are doing all kinds of things with it.
A friend, listen: the world is still on the brink of war. Some countries' people are still killing each other. Divorce is at an all-time high. Hatred is there, bitterness is there. Depression has now gone beyond the limits of what the world before us a few decades ago — they never dreamed that they’ll see such an epidemic of people being depressed, young people also being depressed. So what is it? That with our advancement of our intellect and all that we think we are getting smarter, but there’s a big hunger in our heart. There’s an emptiness on the inside, because you’re not meant to live by your brain. You’re meant to live by the Spirit, and your brain — you use your intellect — is given to you by God. Amen. Your brain is given to you by God. You are supposed to use it as a servant. Amen.
Alright, now when you pray in tongues — oh, by the way, you can sit down. Okay, you can sit down. We are going to continue flowing with the Holy Spirit of God, learning about His ways.
Teaching on the Holy Spirit
For a long time people think that we should not teach about the Holy Spirit because they quote from the old King James: „It says the Holy Spirit will not speak of Himself.“ Actually, it’s a misunderstanding. What that means — in the New King James — He’ll say the Holy Spirit will not speak out of His own authority, but what He hears from the Father — amen — He will speak to us. Right? It’s not „speak of Himself“ concerning Himself. It’s not saying that He will not speak of His own authority. You understand that? Alright, so it’s okay to teach on the Holy Spirit. In fact, we need more teaching on the Holy Spirit. You can have a good amen.
Benefits of Praying in Tongues
And the more you pray in tongues, the first benefit the Bible says: „Whoever speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself.“ And the word „edify“ is oikodomeo — it’s literally „house-building.“ In the Old Testament, in the Greek version, the Septuagint, when it talks about Solomon building the house and later on the house went into disrepair, and then other kings after him repaired the house, the word used is oikodomeo — even for repair. But who is the house of God today? Your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So when the Bible says when you pray in an unknown tongue you build yourself up… Medical science tells you that a disease is a breakdown of some parts of your body, your immune system. Before you fall sick, there’s a breaking down. In fact, „disease“ is a breaking down. You’re no more in that normalcy, that health zone — you have broken down. When you pray in tongues, the more you pray in tongues, you build yourself up.
People have this idea: you pray in tongues, you only build yourself spiritually. No — the word says whoever speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself — the entire self: spirit, soul, and body. Amen. That’s the first benefit. You build yourself up. Anyway, you cannot build others until you build yourself up. Amen. My doctors tell us that as you advance in age, your brain is shrinking. Well, you build your brain up. Everything has been built up, not broken down. You can have a good amen.
Second benefit: the Bible says — and this is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 when he taught on the Holy Spirit’s gift of tongues — he says that this is what Isaiah says in Isaiah 28: „This is the rest and the refreshing“ for stammering lips and another tongue wherewith He speaks to the people. And just like Paul foresaw and Isaiah foresaw, there will be those who reject this message. God says this is the rest and the refreshing — yet for all this they would not hear. There are those who will not hear. Amen. Just like those who will say today God doesn’t heal anymore, the day of miracles is over. But there never was a day of miracles. There’s always been the God of miracles. And He’s still the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.
And God wants you well. God wants you strong. God wants you healthy.
Jesus Reveals God’s Nature
And if you want to see God — sometimes people spend so much time in the Old Testament, they mistake the works of God for the devil and the devil’s for God. For example, when Job was being attacked, right? Job says, „The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.“ People use that phrase at funerals and all that. Now part true, part error. The Lord gave — that’s true. But the Lord takes away? No. If you read the first chapter, it was Satan who took away from Job his family, his health, his property, his goods. Because Jesus says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Amen.
So the devil is the one. But you read the story of Job, you find that the Chaldeans, Babylonians came and invaded Job’s land and took away Job’s property. There was a typhoon, a hurricane that came and destroyed what Job had. The house that Job’s children were under fell upon them. It seems like natural disasters — like the world we see today. We talk about nature going wild. We talk about global warming and things like that. But even insurance clauses, they put the words „not responsible for the acts of God“ like earthquake, hurricane. These are not the acts of God. It’s acts of the devil. Amen.
So the devil’s — I think — master achievement, or I want to say the word „disgrace, ” but „disgrace“ has the word „grace.“ So the devil has no grace anyway. His master achievement is he can do something and pretend that he’s not the one there. Amen. And he loves it when people think he doesn’t exist. Amen. So God gets all the blame. Are you listening to what I’m saying? The problem that you have in your life right now — if there’s stress you’re going through, if there’s depression in your mind, if there’s a disease aging your body right now — it is not the work of God.
Would you like to see God? The clearest way we see God is in Jesus Christ. Amen. The Bible says in Hebrews 1: Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. Jesus Himself says, „He that has seen me has seen the Father.“ That’s how you see God. And in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — talking about Jesus when He was manifested on earth, God in human flesh — what did He do? How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil — for God was with Him. Who oppressed them? The devil. Who healed them? Jesus. Amen.
So Jesus is always in the healing business. Amen. Never do you find in the gospels — there is not any time during Jesus' earthly ministry — never can you find one that says Jesus saw a man who was full of radiant health, his complexion was beautiful, and the Lord called him to Him and says, „Thou art too beautiful — here, receive leprosy.“ Never. If you can find that for me, then I’ll believe sometimes God heals, sometimes He doesn’t. But what I see in the Bible — Jesus, who is the express image of God — is always healing, always cleansing, always forgiving, and always delivering people from the powers of darkness. Amen. Always.
And does Jesus prosper? Does He make little become much? Yes. They brought a boy’s lunch — five loaves and two small fish — and put it in Jesus' hands. What happened? It multiplied. Amen. And He fed 5000 people with 12 baskets full left over. That tells me that the Lord will always give you more than enough. Amen. Why more than enough? So that you can be a blessing. Praise the Lord.
Never do I find Jesus saying, „Now give me your loaves and fish, boy.“ And then He looks at the boy and He eats it. And then He says, „That’s it. I just want you to learn to go hungry because sometimes God wants you hungry.“ Amen. Sometimes God wants you — like the man just now who was very nice in his complexion — „Now sometimes God wants you sick.“ Never, never. He’s always cleansing the leper, raising the dead — because all these things are foreign to God’s plans and purposes for you.
So why is it here today? Why do people die? Why do people grow old? Why do people fall sick? Because of sin. Sin gives the devil — who is a legalist — a legal foothold into this earth. Amen. But good news, friends: his lease is running out. Jesus Christ is returning. Amen. And meanwhile we are in this world, but we are not of the world. And all the people said amen, giving praise. Hallelujah. Thank you.
Praying in the Spirit for the Future
And the more we pray in the Spirit — besides edifying yourself, besides the rest and the refreshing — how many like God’s rest and refreshing? You don’t have to go to an expensive spa somewhere. You don’t have to go to an island in the beautiful — or wherever you’re going to put it — to relax. Many times you go to such a place, you come back, you need to relax. But God’s idea is that you can pray in the Spirit under your breath wherever you are — as you’re working, as you’re typing, as you are whatever you’re doing — you can be praying in tongues, and you know what you’re doing? Rest and refreshing.
The next benefit is this: you are praying into your future. Amen. If Job had this language in the Old Testament — Job lived in the Old Testament, the Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible — and if Job had this language back then, he would’ve prayed into foiling up the plans of Satan against him. Amen. But he wasn’t able to. Why? Because he could only pray in his own language. And that confines him to his own understanding and that limits him to his own knowledge. He can pray beyond your knowledge, but with praying in the Spirit you are praying into your future for things you don’t even know. „Eye has not seen, nor ear has heard the things which God has reserved, has kept for those that love Him.“
I’m glad that God keeps some things from us, because I tell you this: if He shows us everything, we’ll just drop unconscious. We can’t handle it. Why? Satan — in other words, it’s too great for us. If the Lord revealed to me when I was in secondary school — I had a problem with stammering, right? I would sta- and stutter. If the Lord showed me that one day I’ll be preaching — let’s say I’m praying one day and He shows me, „You’ll be preaching to thousands of people.“ All of you, right? Thousands of people. I tell you this: I won’t go to church anymore. „God, I don’t want God to use me. I can’t handle it at that time.“ So I’m glad I’m praying in tongues even at that time. I’m praying for the future. I’m praying for things in the future. I’m praying for my future spouse. I’m praying for my future children and for their destinies. I can pray today — I’m not bound. Amen.
Here’s a lot of time and space, and I transcend even space. I can go into my future and pray things that have not yet happened — for God to prepare the way and make all the crooked places straight. I can pray when I pray in tongues — I can be praying for loved ones who are in danger, and right now I don’t even know that they’re in danger. If I’m confined and limited to my own understanding and knowledge, I cannot pray for them because I do not know they’re in danger. I do not know the devil has planned something for them — maybe this evening or whatever. But when I’m praying in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit covers it all. It transcends time and space. Amen.
So I encourage you to pray more and more in the Spirit. I’ll tell you this: when we come together after a time of praying in the Spirit, let’s pray in the Spirit throughout the day — as you’re cooking, as you are driving, as whatever you’re doing during the week — pray more and more in the Spirit from this day forth. This is an assignment from the Lord to tell me to tell you. Amen. Pray more in the Spirit. Amen. You are people of the Spirit — can have a good amen. Praise the Lord.
The Holy Spirit as Helper
You know, Jesus in the upper room — He introduced the subject of the Holy Spirit like this. In John 14 He says, „I’ll pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper.“ So He introduced the Holy Spirit as the Helper — parakletos in the Greek: para — alongside, kaleo — to call, assist, help, succour. A Helper — literally the word „Helper.“ A Helper who is not just far away — a Helper who is beside you, so near to you. How many of you sometimes — I need some good advice on this, I don’t know who to turn to? The Helper is beside you. Amen.
Okay. So Jesus: „I’ll send you another Helper.“ Why „another“? Because He has been their Helper in the midst all this while. So when you say „another, ” He’s referring to someone just like Him. But this time He’s not time-bound, He’s not space-bound. The Holy Spirit is limitless. He is Jesus limitless. When He was in Galilee, He could not be in Jerusalem. When He was in Jerusalem, He could not be in Lebanon or the Mount of Transfiguration, okay, bordering on Lebanon. He cannot be there. Why? Because He was confined in a body. But He says, „I’ll send you another Helper.“ But this time the Holy Spirit is limitless. Amen. We have Jesus in His unlimited form.
And that’s why He says, „When I go away — listen — the works that I do you will do also, and greater works.“ Why? Because now I am Jesus in you — unlimited. Praise the Lord. Amen. And not just that — He says, „I’ll give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever.“ Say „forever.“ Forever. There’s this teaching that says that you can lose your salvation. In other words, today you have the Holy Spirit, but when you lose your salvation because of some sin — and no one can tell you what sin it is, okay — you lose your salvation. You go to hell after you die. You were once saved, but once saved doesn’t mean that you’re eternally saved. You can still lose your salvation — which means the Holy Spirit does not abide with you forever.
But here Jesus says that the Holy Spirit comes — He will abide with you forever. Not until your next sin, not until your next fall. No — forever, my friend, means forever. No end. Amen. So this idea that the Holy Spirit comes and goes is from the Old Testament, because in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit comes on someone and then He leaves after the work is done. He comes on someone for an assignment. Amen. For the work that God has for them — usually it is something of an exploit, a great act or a miracle even. He’ll come on that person — a prophet or just a judge, like we’re going to see right now: Samson. He says the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand.
So the Holy Spirit came on him. Have you noticed it affected his body as well? Spirit — we have this idea Spirit has no effect on our body. And that’s why we don’t see the resurrection power, because the Holy Spirit can only bear witness with the truth. And we don’t believe spirit can affect body. Even with someone — if someone is filled with the evil spirit, it can affect their body — because the Gadarene demoniac, the Bible says he was often bound with chains. And what did he do? He broke it. That shows the power of evil spirit possessing someone, having an effect on his body, making him accomplish an extraordinary feat. How much more the Holy Spirit. Come on, church. Amen.
It came upon Samson. Hallelujah. Well, I just pushed myself happy. Praise the Lord. So the Holy Spirit will have an effect on your body. Do you know we have an example of Elijah? After the great thing that he accomplished that God worked through him — bringing fire down from heaven that consumed the sacrifice on Mount Carmel — and the Bible says because of that the drought was broken. The three-and-a-half-years drought was broken, and the rains fell through Elijah’s prayer. And Elijah told the king, „You better ride back in your chariot.“ And that ride all the way from Mount Carmel all the way to where the king was supposed to be at was about 15 miles journey — 15 miles, alright. And the king had a head start on his chariot. But next thing the king knew, he saw this guy start running, and the Bible said Elijah outran the chariot. He ran all the way to the king’s palace. Amen. 15 miles. Come on, church. The Holy Spirit had an effect on his body. Amen.
The Holy Spirit Teaches to Profit
Something very interesting. Also remember the prophecy of Isaiah that says, „I am the Lord thy God“ — God is speaking through Isaiah, saying, „I’m the Lord your God who teaches you to profit.“ How many like to profit — profit in your parenting, profit in your business, adventures? Adventures is also an adventure. And whatever you undertake — it might be a student studying — you want to profit. Amen. So God says, „I’m the Lord your God who teaches you to profit and leads you in the way you should go.“ And the Bible says all God’s paths are for you — paths of peace, wholeness, wellbeing, and prosperity.
So I’m sure that you’ve heard people saying, „Oh, that’s the health and wealth gospel“ or „that’s the people who preach health and wealth.“ I dunno about that. I dunno why you like to use language — maybe it’s „health-wealth.“ Okay, never mind. But what I see in Jesus is this: He went about healing people. I think that is health. I think I would say the Lord believes in health, or else why go around healing people? And He says, „He that has seen me has seen the Father.“ So obviously He’s demonstrating the Father’s will.
Number two: He multiplied the loaves and fishes. I would say that’s providing for the people — after they’re filled, they burp, fully cannot take anymore — like Singaporeans: „Cannot, cannot.“ But God: „No, of course still can. Still can.“ Okay, they’re filled. The Bible says after they were filled, there were 12 baskets full leftover. That tells us that the Lord gave them more than enough. Come on, church — after they’re filled. So why put that example? Because like this: Lord, if you put the example of you going around healing people, we’ll say that you believe in the health and wealth. Multiplying the loaves… There’s no such thing as a health-and-wealth gospel. There’s only the gospel of grace and peace. But believing it — oh man, believing it will produce health and wholeness and provision. Nicer word, more Christian: provision. But the provision is 12 basketfuls leftover.
Why leftover? So that you can not just be blessed but be a blessing. If it’s just enough for you, you cannot be a blessing. So I’m just preaching the Bible. If the Bible has one example where the Lord took the boy’s lunch and ate it and just said, „That’s it, ” and He walked away and everyone is hungry and turned around and said, „I’m teaching you a lesson, ” then I will buy it. I’ll believe it. Alright? But no, friend — we’re not into running after the money. I shared before: you run after the money, money will run from you. Amen. The Bible says you follow the Lord, and all the blessings will overtake you. The idea is it’s from behind overtaking you. You’re not looking at it — you’re looking at the Lord — but it overtakes you. It means you can’t run fast enough to escape God’s blessings when you’re following the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen.
And then the Bible says that you’ll be like a cedar in Lebanon. You’ll be like the palm tree. Amen. In your old age you shall still bring forth fruit in old age. And the Hebrew there is that there’ll be full of sap — it’s full of anointing, full of oil — like a tree, a good luscious tree that produces a lot of fruit. It’s full of oil. God says in your old age you’ll still bring forth fruit. This is from Psalms 92. By the way, one of the last testimonies you heard just now — the lady who recovered her liver and all that — was because she quoted this psalm which I told you all to quote last time. You see, you all don’t listen. Someone listened. You see what happened to her. Amen.
They’ll be full of what? Oil. They’ll be full of anointing, and they’ll be — in the Hebrew — raanan. They’ll be green in their old age. They are still green. Amen. People look: „Oh yeah, you’re still green. You’ll stay young.“ Amen. So if God doesn’t want us to believe that, then why tell us things like, „Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits“? And the first benefit: who forgives all your sins. Second benefit: who heals all your diseases. Third benefit: who redeems your life from destruction. Amen.
If that’s not His will, why tell us these are His benefits? When you join a company, one of the things you want to learn is: tell me the fringe benefits, the benefits that come by being an employee of this company. Amen. So the Lord says these are His benefits. The fourth one: who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Amen. When people come near you, they dunno why, but there’s lovingkindness around you. Amen. They’re drawn to the beauty of the Lord in you. Amen.
And the fifth one: He says who satisfies your mouth with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Now if the Lord doesn’t want us to have all this, why teach us by putting all the benefits like this one by one? Just tell us, „You will endure in your old age, and then you’ll come and stay with me. Until then, hope for the best“ or something like that. Amen.
Amen, Pastor Prince — I don’t see that around me. I don’t go by experience. I go by the Word of God — God who cannot lie. What is it about people? Sometimes it’s amazing when you see people saying, „Well, I don’t believe this until I can see for myself.“ I know the person — I know him intimately — that I can trust him. How can I trust God just like that? But when they take a plane somewhere, they sit on the plane, and then they hear this voice from dunno where — they do not know this person, never seen his face. He says, „I’m your captain. My name is Liang Sun. Currently we are flying at an altitude of thirty thousand feet above the ground. Alright, just relax, sit back, relax, enjoy all that we have for you on this flight, and I hope you have a pleasant flight.“ They have faith in someone they have never seen — just because the voice comes over.
When it comes to God: „I can just contact your Word, Lord.“ Amen. „I must have a bird fly to my room and sing Mariah Carey or the latest BTS song. I must have some… The moon must turn around 180 degrees or something.“ They always give out a sign. They never tell the man, „Alright, are you sure you can fly this plane? Can I see your credentials?“ No — we sit back, relax, we trust. So don’t tell me you cannot trust. It’s a matter whether you want to. When it comes to God who cannot lie, He’s worthy of our trust. He’s most deserving of our faith — can have a good amen. Amen. He has given us His Word.
The Spirit of Truth
And Jesus says that the Holy Spirit — notice that of all the things that Jesus described the Holy Spirit when He introduced the person of the Holy Spirit and says He’ll be with you forever — notice that Jesus did not say, although He is the Holy Spirit of power, He didn’t say „the Spirit of power“ and „He’s the Spirit of might.“ We saw that happen to Samson. But Jesus says He’s a Spirit of truth. He says, „I’ll pray the Father, and He’ll give you another Helper. He’ll abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth.“ Say „truth.“
Do you know that truth is now a rare commodity in the world? You don’t know what’s true anymore. You open up your YouTube, you hear a debate about something — one side says this, another side has another saying also. Even among experts, doctors and all that — they can say this diet is good, and there are doctors who believe you must eat 10 eggs a day or even more — good for you. It’s called keto diet. On the other hand, also experts, doctors telling you, „Don’t do that. High cholesterol.“ What is the truth? The truth is the Holy Spirit of truth. He will lead you and guide you — when to eat, how much to eat. You all know when you have that little „enough, enough“ really today. But never mind — „Quench not the Spirit.“ Therefore, for me: quench and eat. Then later on you got to quench yourself with antacid or something like that. Because as it reflects off… I mean, the thing is that the Spirit of God will lead you to the truth. He’s called the Spirit of truth.
And Jesus says you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free. So the more we pray in the Spirit, the more we get in touch with the Holy Spirit in us. Amen. He will guide us into truth. Because truth today — experts differ, I mean they are poles apart in their opinion. After you finish hearing a debate, sometimes many of you experience this on your social media or whatever — you say you’re no wiser. In fact, you’re more confused. There’s only one book you read that you don’t end up confused: it’s the Word of God. Amen. It sets you free.
Now listen to the degree right now — to the degree that you are experiencing some fear in your life, to the extent that there are some anxieties that you are battling with right now — maybe it’s a fear of death, maybe it’s apprehension of the future, maybe it’s for your children or a particular child that is giving you some sleepless nights — to the extent that you are suffering these negative emotions, to that extent you are believing a lie. And the only way to set you free from all this — which means to set you free from fears, worries, depression — is the truth. Do you understand that?
So how can I tell I’m believing a lie? You cannot tell, because if you believe a lie, you do not know you’re believing a lie. Because if you know you’re believing a lie, you’ll not believe a lie. You want to believe the truth. So if you know you are believing a lie, you will stop believing the lie. That’s why the lie is so good — because the lie hides itself. You don’t know it’s a lie. The devil came to Adam and Eve and made it sound like the truth, but it was a lie. You understand?
Okay, so we must humble ourselves and say the only way you can tell is your emotion. You’re still worried about this area. You’re still fearful about that particular thing. To that extent you must tell yourself, „I’m believing something that is not true. I’m believing a lie.“ And that lie is from the enemy. It’s from the devil. That lie is meant to steal, kill, and destroy — just like the truth. When you hear the truth, it saves you, it heals you. Amen. Come on. It delivers you. It sets you free, right? Likewise, that’s the effect of the truth.
How do you get saved? The truth is preached to you: Jesus Christ died for your sins. You cannot save yourself by your own performance, your good works — only by grace through faith are you saved. Amen. You receive what Christ did for you because of God’s love for you. You believe the truth, and it sets you free. Hallelujah. Amen.
So there was a time in my past where I prayed this prayer almost every time I opened the Bible: „Lord, unveil to me the truths that you know I need that will set me free.“ Obviously there are still depressions that I feel. There are sometimes I wake up at nights — back then — in cold sweat. You ever been attacked at night and you’re worried? Things always appear more frightful at night — I dunno why. You have been there: your heartbeat really fast, and you don’t have a heart disease. Heart palpitations in the middle of the night — you feel like you’re getting a heart attack. I’ve been there. You know why? I believed a lie.
So I go to the Lord and ask the Lord, „Why am I experiencing this?“ So these are indicators: your negative emotions and all that are indicators that you are believing a lie. But where do you find the truth? Not from YouTube. Okay, not from YouTube. You must get it from His tube. Let’s start one called „He.“ Amen. You must get it from the Word of God.
Jesus says, „If you continue in my word“ — now we are going back — before the truth sets you free, He says, „If you continue in my word, stay on it, focus on it, continue in it — in my word — if you continue in my word, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.“ So it’s not the truth makes you free, but the truth you know that makes you free — can have a good amen. Amen.
The Holy Spirit Upon and In Believers
So another thing is this: in the Old Testament, saying like the Holy Spirit will come on Samson and then He will leave — notice that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon — upon, not in him. Doesn’t come to dwell in him, right? Only upon. By the way, do you know the word „mightily“ here in the Hebrew is the word tsalach — amen — it’s the word that’s used for our English word „prosper, ” „prosperity“ in the Bible. For example, Joshua 1:8 — God says meditate on my word, and you’ll make your way prosperous — in the Hebrew tsalach. You’ll make your way tsalach. Psalms 1 — the one who meditates on God’s word, again whatever he does prospers — the word „prosper.“ There is tsalach.
Interestingly, the Spirit of the Lord tsalach upon Samson. What does that mean? By the way, let’s do a Young’s Literal Translation. Young’s Literal Translation says, „And the Spirit of Jehovah prospered over him.“ That’s what it’s called — literal translation. What does that mean, Pastor? Isn’t it interesting that the word „prosper“ and the Holy Spirit go together? In other words, when the Holy Spirit comes on you, whatever you are doing will prosper. Amen. That’s what it means. And even if physically you are not up to par, you cannot do it — the Holy Spirit can also come on you as the Spirit of might. You can tear a lion apart — and there’s a picture of the roaring lion, the devil. Amen. Hallelujah. Greater is He that’s in you than he that is in the world.
Now we come to something else. I just said greater is He that’s in you — the Holy Spirit — than he that is in the world. So Jesus told His disciples at a time, He says, „The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.“ So the world — your friends out there — they do not know the Holy Spirit. They cannot see Him, neither do they know Him. „But you know Him, for He dwells with you.“ So all this while the Holy Spirit dwelt with all the Old Testament saints — even David, Moses, Elijah, Zechariah, Isaiah, all of them, Daniel — the Holy Spirit came on them, but He was never in them.
But Jesus — all the way into Jesus' time, the disciples — Jesus told them the Holy Spirit who is with you will be in you. He’ll be in you. Now why is it the Holy Spirit cannot be in them — even the saints of old like David? Come on, Elijah, Moses — all these wonderful men. Come on. The Holy Spirit is not in them. So even in the Old Testament — Jesus has not yet died. So the inside of them, the spirit of man is not born again. They’re not cleansed on the inside — they are cleansed on the outside. Do you understand?
And that’s why they bring animal sacrifices. Because animal sacrifices is like your Visa card — it’s not the real payment. In case you don’t know that, Visa card is not your real payment. You have to pay one day — and don’t delay. You got to pay. So the animal sacrifices have a sin atonement — atonement, cover it, cover sins — until Jesus came and He remitted — removed — all the sins by His blood.
So Jesus died on the cross to cleanse us of all our sins. So the fact that Jesus says the Holy Spirit will be with you — at that point in time in the upper room — and then He says He’ll be in you — that means what? A change is coming. He’s going to dwell now in you. That means what? That means Jesus is going to die on the cross, and what He did for us on the cross — in burying our sins and shedding His blood — will be something so stupendous that today we are so clean by the blood that the Holy Spirit of God can dwell in us.
And whenever the devil reminds you how dirty you are — whatever — just call it this: by the way, that came from inside. Tell the devil, „Therefore, that’s the Holy Spirit in you.“ Amen. Greater is He that’s in you than he that’s in the world. And that’s why in the Old Testament they never could pray in the Spirit. If you look carefully, you can see that all the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are there, but tongues and interpretation are not there in the Old Testament. They had all the other gifts manifested. Why? Because tongues is something from inside — rivers of living water. It’s only for people who are so clean by the blood of Jesus. Come on, man — I preach myself happy. Hallelujah. You don’t have to clap — I just let you know I’m happy. Amen. He’s in us.
Personal Testimony: Guidance Through the Spirit
So sometimes I don’t know what to say or what to do — I just ask the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I do that, and the results are miraculous. For example, recently my son just confirmed with me just now that it happened two weeks ago. Justin reminded me. Sometimes — my son, not sometimes — what he does is that the mother has gotten him a daily devotional for kids his age, and he’s been doing that every night. He reads one chapter sequentially every day. And I’ll wait — I won’t enter his room until he finishes. Then I’ll come in to say my good night.
And sometimes I’ll just ask the Lord, „Give a word for Justin — a word that will build him up, a word that will minister Christ to him. Give me a word, Lord.“ So this particular night — I think it was two weeks ago — I came into his room after he did his daily devo. And I do not know what daily devo he reads — it was bought by his mom. But I went in just to talk to him, and then we’ll talk about Liverpool and how well Liverpool did and all that. And „You’ll never walk alone.“ And they’re going to do well again tonight, and you’re going to beat Man U for sure. Okay. And then we are talking about it. And then slowly I will just be listening to the Holy Spirit giving me an illustration. An issue comes up like a gentle thought or a revelation. The Holy Spirit guides you today, child of God — listen right — by instinct, by intuition, by inspiration, by illumination, by revelation. Okay. So these are the ways that He’s like a river from inside.
So you can tell God your problem and then pray in the Spirit, pray in tongues, and then let that just float up the answer. The book of Proverbs says counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. There’s a man filled with the Spirit. Amen. Is charity the answer? Are you listening?
So I asked the Lord, and then I was talking to him. And then this thing came up — the word „Windtalkers.“ Windtalkers. Now many of you remember the movie Windtalkers — it’s a World War II movie. At the time Japan and the US were at war in the Pacific. And what happened was that the US was getting increasingly frustrated. By the way, it’s based on a true story. So I start telling Justin about the benefits of speaking in tongues. Actually, I wanted to illustrate that — I felt the Spirit of God prompting me to say that. So I said, „What illustration?“ So this came up — Windtalkers.
So I start sharing with him about this Windtalkers — how the US Army was getting their messages that they passed on to the other side, their side. But it was being decoded. It was being deciphered. Amen. The Japanese were able to interpret what they’re saying. Of course, many of them know English as well. So they’re trying to find a language that is rare in the world today. And guess what? They found a Native American tribe called Navajo, and their language is a very rare language — then like today Aramaic that Jesus spoke, a type of Hebrew, a Semitic language. The Aramaic language is very rare. There are still people in Israel today that speak that language.
So back then they found this group — Navajo tribe of the Native Indians — and they got 27 of them only — 27 of them, not many. And they got them in different parts of the US Army so that they can pass messages to each other — the messages that the commandant wanted them to pass on to the next site, right, to their side. But they need a language that cannot be decoded by the enemy. So they got 27 of them, and they had to have soldiers watching them, because if one of them is kidnapped or taken hostage, that’s it — the language will be cracked. Am I right?
So I shared this, and all the while just space — ladies, his mom was open, and he let me talk somewhat. And then he says, „Abba, Abba, you cannot believe it.“ I say, „What is it? You cannot believe it.“ And I’m trying to tell him that this is what happens when you pray in tongues. The devil cannot decode what you’re saying. The devil cannot understand this heavenly language. You are transcending him. The devil doesn’t even know that — you know in the Spirit. Amen. The devil doesn’t know that you are frustrating his future plans of destruction for your life. He doesn’t know — because why? You’re praying in the Spirit. Okay.
So I was telling him this, and he said his mouth open — „haah.“ I said, „What is it?“ He did a few times — „haah.“ I said, „What is it?“ „Just before you came in, the chapter I’m reading on in my daily devo — he opened up Windtalkers.“ So I’m telling you that the Holy Spirit does lead and guide parents. You can ask the Lord for the word your child needs. And there was a lasting impression on him. Just now he came in after the first service from his Rock Kidz, and a few pastors were there. So we had him share the story. How many Navajo people were there in the US Army? He says, „27, ” according to the book.
So it’s a true story that happened, and it is how heaven has designed a language that even when you’re cooking you don’t have to be occupied with it. Even when you are driving, you don’t have to concentrate — because God says you have not because you ask not. Then you need to know and ask before you have it, right? In the Old Testament you do not know what to ask for — then you don’t get what you do not know what to ask for. Are you listening? Prayer is something that I’m telling you — people want to pray and have God answer their prayer. But what if God gives you a language that other people don’t have, that only heaven understands? Amen. And that’s the language of the Holy Spirit.
So I told Justin, „Hey, you know what? This is God talking to you.“ I tell you, it is an amazing moment of awe and majesty — the presence of God. When you look at his face, he knew that God is talking to him. Amen. Praise the Lord.
The Spirit Bears Witness of Sonship
So Jesus says the Holy Spirit will be — who is with you, He will be in you. Amen. Amen. Now there’s something very interesting about the Holy Spirit: He bears witness with our spirit. Okay. Now watch this — in the same upper room, Jesus in John 16 — He’s still in the upper room — and He says this: „I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. You cannot bear them now. But however, when the Spirit of truth has come“ — again the Spirit of truth — „before He can be the Spirit of power in your life or the Spirit of might coming upon you, He wants to be the Spirit of truth, ” which is the emphasis of our Lord Jesus.
„When the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth.“ Now they don’t just say Bible truth — all truth that God has. All the truth that God has. Of course the Word of God is the truth that God has revealed to men. The Word of God does not contain truth — it is the truth. Amen. But truth about parenting, truth about bringing up children — there’s so many ideas. Some people say you be more accommodating as a parent or else your child will resent you. And I don’t want to say never correct your child or else child… How do we influence people? Never criticize. Okay. So the kind of thing. So you’re trying your best. And again just like the egg syndrome — eat eggs or don’t eat eggs. Very simple.
For me, I see what Pastor Mark was and what Pastor Mark is today — you’ll be confused without the truth. But the Spirit of God will lead you into all truth. In parenting, for example — I learned something from the Lord just from His parable: the parable of the prodigal son about parenting. Now I’m not looking at it as a story that Jesus shared about the Father being God the Father and the son that went astray and the son who stayed put — the legalistic son — are pictures of all of us. Okay, I’m looking at it as an area of parenting.
Would you say He’s a good parent? Would you say He’s a good parent? Yes — He’s the epitome of the Father. Amen. The Father is portrayed that by our Lord Jesus — none other than our Lord Himself saying that’s the Father, right? And what did the Father do with the son when the son says, „Give me my share of inheritance“? In other words, in essence he’s saying, „I can’t wait for you to die. You are living too long already. I want to have my money now. I want my inheritance now.“ So the Father gave him. The Father did not reason with him. The Father did not persuade him. The Father did not say, „No way, I won’t give it to you until…“ No — the Father actually…
I’m not talking about children now — I’m talking about older children, probably teens. Sometimes you got to let them make the choice and learn from their choice. Parents, stop protecting them all this time. You tend to solve things with money. You buy them what they want, everything — and you don’t instill in them a chance to learn how to earn, how to make a living — or even, for example, sparing them of the consequence of their bad behavior or unwise decision. For example, they always sleep late and they go to school late and they get in trouble with the teachers and all that — and you are trying to cover for them and you’re trying to… Stop doing that. Let 'em face the consequence. They don’t want to do their homework — don’t nag at them. Let 'em suffer the consequence in school.
Wow, what kind of parenting is that? Truth parenting. Okay, based on the Word. See, the Father — the father sought, the father knew — if the son gets his inheritance before the time, he knew he’d be in trouble. But the Father let him go. The Father let him go. We’re talking about older kids now — let him go and face the consequences of his actions. And of course at first he had a lot of friends because he had a lot of money, and then he was wining and dining and spent time with prostitutes — the Bible tells us. And then when his money ran out, his friends also ran out, right? He was left all alone in the pig pen. And then he came to his senses: „I’m going back to my father, ” right?
And what did the Father do? The Father ran to him and embraced his son who now had a filthy stench of pigs and all that. And the Father hugged him. Imagine the impact on the Jewish people and how they view pigs — and the son. When Jesus shared this, they were shuddering at the very part of the Father hugging the son. And the Father hugged the son and the Father kissed him.
Question: did the Father love him before he left? Did the son experience his love? Did the son know that he was loved? Good question. Both sons — it doesn’t seem to indicate that they felt they were loved. But the truth is the Father loved them. So it doesn’t really matter that you really love your son or you love your daughter. The question is: do they experience it? Do they believe in it?
There are men who commit adultery after some protracted time where they feel like — they feel always inferior compared to the wife even, or they feel that the wife doesn’t love them — or she said that because she’s finding fault with me and all that. And in truth he’s experiencing all these negative emotions because he believes a lie. But in truth the wife loves him. Now he’s a candidate for an affair. He can also work vice versa. A woman doesn’t give herself away until she feels unloved. So men and women — both now, many cases are like that. It is not the fact that it’s the husband’s fault or the wife’s fault. Sometimes it’s not the wife’s fault. It’s not the husband’s fault. It’s their fault — something that probably they grew up with: „I’m never enough.“ You see the way she talked to me — she disrespects me. See the way he looks at me, the way he tells me that kind of thing — it’s because he doesn’t love me. It’s something that’s there, not inherent in the spouse.
So even if the spouse loves them — the truth is the spouse really loves them, like the father of the prodigal son who is a picture of God Himself truly loved his son — the son never believed in it. So the result is what? He leaves — because he believed a lie. So the son came back to experience love — but was it then that the Father loved him? No. It was then that he believed the Father loves him.
So it’s not enough to tell your children, „I love you.“ I grab my boy, I say, „I love you.“ Then he walks away — look me in the eye: „I really love you — even if you don’t make it for your studies or exam.“ Of course I want him to make it — love — but I know that by affirming him he’ll make it. Because the Bible tells us that when Jesus received the baptism of the Holy Spirit — Jesus actually, listen — when He received the Holy Spirit, He was actually affirmed by His Father at the same time.
By the way, the Lord came as a pattern man, our exemplar, our forerunner. He’s an example to all of us. So He came as a man — although He’s God, He came in human flesh. He didn’t draw upon His godness to do miracles. He had to be baptized in the Holy Spirit as a man. He had to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And that’s why the Bible says until He was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the river Jordan, He never did a miracle. He never did any miracle — because the first miracle was turning water into wine. He’s setting us an example.
And those of you who are baptized in the Holy Spirit, now you have the power to heal the sick. Of course it’s the power of God — but God works through men. Now you have the power. Amen. To cast out demons. If you’re sick yourself, lay your hands on yourself. Amen. Amen. You’ve got a part of your body very rebellious — don’t listen to you one. Amen. It always breaks out or whatever. Say, „Break out, stop — in Jesus' name.“ Pain comes here, pain come there — you don’t like pain. „Pain, I rebuke you in Jesus' name. Be plucked up by your roots. Be thrown into the sea — in Jesus' name.“ Amen. Amen. Amen.
You got an eye that… Alright, rebellious eye: „I stop twisting — in Jesus' name.“ Amen. Nose: „Stop running — in Jesus' name.“ Amen. Brain: „Stop shrinking — in Jesus' name.“ Amen. You can speak. Well, it sounds so foolish talking to these kind of things — foolish for you, not for Jesus. He spoke to the tree — the tree died. He spoke to the stormy winds — the winds all bowed down to Him. And listen — He spoke to leprosy — leprosy obeyed and departed. He spoke to demons — demons left.
So if you’re too logical, so therefore you shall remain the way you are. As for me and my house, we’ll follow the way of the Lord. See, the brain doesn’t like it. The brain wants to logic everything out. The way of faith: „No, no, no.“ See, when God made you, child of God — listen — when God made you, He made you like this: tripartite. Because there are three divine persons — one God. We don’t say three Gods — one God, triune God — but three distinct persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
When God made you, God made your spirit, soul, body. You are a spirit. See, I am a spirit. See, I have a soul — soul, that’s your mind, your emotions area. And I live in a body. So you are not your body. You live in a house called body. Amen. Some of us condominium, some are painted very nice — your windows very long, the curtains… Amen. Amen. And some of you, your walls are all pink and wow — it reminds me of that lady that comes up to do announcements sometimes. That lady over there. Hey man, she can clean the floor, man, with her eyes. Stop it, Pastor Prince, okay.
But you are not your body. You live in a body. God made you a spirit like Him. You’re made in the image of God — which part? His Spirit. He’s Spirit. God is Spirit — and you are spirit. And then you have a mind — your soul — and you live in a body. So God meant for you to operate: your spirit knows things faster than your mind. That’s why when you sit down here many times — and you’ve been saved and all that — and you hear me preach about Jesus and all that, you hear me preach about God’s ways and all that — and something in you says, „That’s the truth. I know that.“ But somehow my mind can’t catch up on it. My mind doesn’t understand it fully, but in my heart I know it’s true. Truth resonates. There’s a sounding board of truth in your spirit.
In fact, there’s a very beautiful verse in 1 John 2 that says you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things. You have an anointing from the Holy One — the New Translation says — and you know all things. And the next verse says, „I write to you not because you do not know it, but because you know it.“ Wow. What is this? „I write to you…“ That means the Word of God is written to resonate with deep down in us. Truth responds to truth — deep calls unto deep. You understand?
So many times your mind can understand everything. That’s why when you go into business and all that, you don’t go by your brain. Your logic: everything looks fine. This guy looks fine, his stats and all that, and all the profile and all that seems okay in place and all that. But something deep down inside says, „No, no, no. Something fishy about this person. Something — there’s no peace inside. There’s no witness inside.“ Then take time, pray about it. Amen.
Women are better in this. Sometimes women say, „I dunno — don’t trust that guy, darling. Don’t do that.“ Darling: „We are Christians — must love everyone.“ But women are very good. They’re sharp — they’re like children. Without children: say „hi“ to uncle, and she’s shy with my uncle. Instead of scolding your son, „You must… ” ask the Lord: is your son responding by his instinct? Maybe there’s something wrong with this guy. You teach him to respond and say hi to every stranger — then don’t cry later on. It’s okay for a child to doubt a stranger — it’s good. They are alive spiritually on the inside. And I mean that in the sense that when they’re young, they’re in an innocent stage — their spirit responds. Whereas most of us in our later years, our spirits are deadened — we need to be born again for sure.
Of course every child is born in sin. But when a child dies, straight away in heaven — regardless of the family’s belief, all children go to heaven. Okay, back to this. So your mind picks it up — how to decide on which university to go, who to marry: John or Richard or John Cook — some ghost for sure. This one okay. This is not brain — this is body. Really.
Many of you — you chose this church to be yours because when you came here, it’s like coming home. There’s something about it that deep down you feel at home. Amen. If not, there’s not the place for you. And there are many good churches in Singapore and around the world. Amen. Find one that you feel at home — because the number one way the Holy Spirit… Now I’m bringing this to a close because of time. I just got started. Amen.
So the very first area the Holy Spirit leads us — just like Jesus just came out of the water baptism. The Father says, „You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.“ And the Holy Spirit came on Jesus. That was when Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Notice it goes together with the Father’s declaration: „You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.“ Even before Jesus has accomplished any miracles — we need to affirm our children that we love them before they pass their exam, before they accomplish something. They need to know that we love them — and pray that they believe it. Amen.
So if only we taught people that when you’re baptized in the Holy Spirit, the number one thing the Holy Spirit does — it makes you feel that you are God’s beloved. It makes sense — the love of God — because the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the Magna Carta of Christianity, the book of Romans — alright, I know the first part mentioned the Spirit of holiness in chapter one, but that’s just an introduction. But the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the book of Romans is here: it says because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Not the love for God, but the love of God — means God’s love for you. He gives you a sense that when you receive the Holy Spirit, He gives you a sense that you are loved.
When Peter was called to preach in Cornelius’s house — the house of the Gentiles, the Italians — and Peter went there to preach. And the Bible says all the Gentiles — because they were all Italians. It’s the first time Gentiles received the gospel. Amen. Let’s follow the story. And he was preaching all the way, and he came to this point here where Peter’s sermon — Peter says to him, „To Christ all the prophets agree that everyone who believes in Christ receives forgiveness of sins through His name.“ While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit — what? — fell on all who heard the Word.
Do you see that the Holy Spirit fell on what? All who heard the Word. Everyone heard the Word — the Holy Spirit fell when he said these words. What words were they? „Everyone who believes in Him receives…“ I think the Holy Spirit loves the message of grace. I said the Holy Spirit loves the message of grace. You see, today if someone reads that, someone preaches like Pastor Prince preaches: „Everyone who believes in Him“ — too simple, too simple. „You must tell them everyone who repents of their sin, turns away from their sin, puts their trust in Jesus — then they’re saved. But cannot just say everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.“ Well, you should have come earlier and advised Peter — but poor Peter, his message is too simple, it’s too unqualified. Amen. Too unconditional. „Everyone who believes receives the forgiveness of sins because of what Jesus did.“
And obviously the Holy Spirit loved these words — because it was at this point in the sermon the Holy Spirit interrupted him and fell while he was saying these things. The Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the Word. The next verse actually says and they began to speak in tongues. Now the word „fell“ here in the Greek is the same word as the father of the prodigal son — when he saw his son come back, he ran to him, embraced him — it’s a bear hug, a love embrace. And the Holy Spirit — emphasizing this word „embrace“ to all of us this year — and the Holy Spirit actually gave them all a bear hug.
So again, the first sense of the Holy Spirit in our lives when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit is that we are loved — can have a good amen. So look at Romans 8:16. We close with this. Romans 8:16 says, „The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.“ Say amen. The first witness is that we are children of God. Amen.
Personal Testimony of Assurance
I remember years ago when I just got baptized in the Holy Spirit — I was in a different church, and a church that didn’t believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the praying in tongues and all that. So one of my leaders, elder in the church — he actually heard that I got baptized in the Holy Spirit. I actually got baptized in the Holy Spirit one night, and I was a young teenage boy at that time. I didn’t know any better, but I believed the Lord when I found out about the teaching of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And I believed the Lord, and the Lord baptized me in the Holy Spirit on my own. And I wrote a beautiful song. You want me to sing the song? Okay, next time. Okay.
On the same night. And when I started sharing with my leaders and all that — it was a church that didn’t believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit for today and the gifts of healings and all that. And the guy says, „I think you need deliverance.“ And somehow my mind was so confused — I said, „This is not God — said no, he’s a devil.“ So he brought me to a church where there’s a man there that’s known for deliverance. So he brought me to that church, and the guy said — his, in other words, he doesn’t believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but he believes in deliverance. Interesting.
So he said, „Okay, pray in tongues.“ He got me sitting on it — „Pray in tongues, pray in tongues.“ So I pray in tongues. „I bind that tongue in Jesus' name“ — and the tongue just went on. „So I bind that tongue in Jesus' name“ — and here his other pastors around him, his leaders and all that. There were a few of them, and I was like outnumbered. „And I bind it.“ Finally he got a bit tired. They said, „I call Michael the archangel down.“ I’ll never forget it. „I call Michael down and with his strong ropes and bind his tongue.“ I dunno what Michael did, but the tongue went on — chaka chaka. Sure.
Finally he got tired. He got tired — he ding ding himself. And the elder that brought me — he was from my church — he was there also. And then he got up — he went, I dunno, toilet or whatever — and he was tired. And then the elders left for a while — left me there with one of his assistants, a fellow pastor. And the guy looked around, he looked around...