Taking Over
In Acts 1:8 they received power to be “witnesses” to Jesus (God)
What is a “witness”
- 1. a person who sees an event.
- 2. evidence; proof.
- 3. to have knowledge of ____ from observation or experience!
Notice: A witness to JESUS!
In Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria & the the end of the EARTH (Everywhere)
THEN IN ACTS 2:4 WHEN THEY WERE ALL FILLED THEY WERE GIVEN THE LANGUAGE TO SPEAK AND THE ABILITY TO SPEAK IT!
- We are called to Higher things in Christ, things that pertain to Salvation and His Kingdom.
Philippians 3:14-15 KJV “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”
- So we are not living our lives to exist and just get needs met or meet some natural goal, we are called for PURPOSE, to establish His covenant on earth (to make a mark, a difference, to possess the Earth with His LIGHT!
Colossians 3:1-3 AMPC “IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [Ps. 110:1.] And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Psalm 110:1 AMPC “THE Lord (God) says to my Lord (the Messiah), Sit at My right hand, until I make Your adversaries Your footstool. [Matt. 26:64; Acts 2:34; I Cor. 15:25; Col. 3:1; Heb. 12:2.]”
Acts 2:33-39 NKJV “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 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 the gift of the Holy Spirit. 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.”
- God wants you to possess every blessing He purchased for you at the cross!
Joshua 1:3–4 NKJV “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.”
- For Joshua and the children of Israel, the promised land described was a physical land. But for us today, this is a picture of all the blessings that Jesus has purchased for us through the cross.
- It’s interesting that if you look at the different geographical points mentioned in the verses and connect the four points: We can see a picture of a cross.
- SO Today, the promised land God wants us to possess refers to all the purpose & benefits of the cross (e.g. salvation, health, wholeness, provision, protection, etc.).
Ephesians 1:13-19 NKJV “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His
mighty power”
- So the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an infilling and an empowering that activates you to walk in His purpose with an Attitude of Prayer and Faith
- SO Speaking in tongue’s is not a mindless religious babbling, but rather an intentional prayer engagement that helps us walk in and possess what Jesus purchased for us!
- IN the new covenant, God wants you to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and start praying in tongues
This is what God has ordained for us to do and “Praying in the Spirit” unlocks so many blessings that the Lord purchased for us through the cross. It is one of the primary ways we possess our promised land today.
Romans 8:26-28 KJV “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
When you pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit reveals secrets in God’s Word and helps you understand new covenant truths
1 Corinthians 2:12-14 KJV “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
- What words do you speak when you by the infilling of the Spirit pray in tongues?
You speak Spiritual words.
1 Corinthians 14:2 KJV “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.”
- “mysteries” — When the word “mystery” is mentioned in the New Testament, it does not refer to something that is mystical or hidden.
- It refers to things that were previously hidden or limited to the natural or in the Old Testament but are now unlocked and revealed in the fullness.
- When you pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit reveals the mysteries and secrets found in God’s Word, and as you are praying in tongues, the Word of God comes alive and your own B.A. spirit is able to be more sensitive or illuminated to specific things that you need to know for your situation.
- The Holy Spirit is an extremely powerful gift that is designed to help us walk closer to God and experience more of His Presence!
- When we understand this, we will understand the way to live a victorious and holy life is not by living under the law but by living in the spirit, because when we walk in the Spirit, we are living under grace.
- AND ITS Grace that transforms us from the inside-out, so that our hearts are transformed, THEN ITS not just an outward behaviour, which can often just be temporary, or put on, but it becomes an INTERNAL ATTITUDE AND MINDSET!
When you pray in tongues, you will begin to experience a greater intimacy with God
Galatians 5:16 NKJV “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Notice we are not just walk with the Spirit BUT IN THE SPIRIT, so we are not just walking with or before God (which would indicate the Holy Spirit dwells outside of us).
The Holy Spirit who is God Himself, one of the divine Godhead in the trinity, dwells within us, and our spirit is one with Him.
THE WAY THAT WE “WALK IN THE SPIRIT” IN A PRACTICAL AND INTENTIONAL WAY EVERY DAY IS BY PRAYING IN TONGUES, it reminds of of His indwelling us and enables us to be in constant communing with God in the most intimate way.
Praying in the Spirit is not about praying loudly or more passionately You can just as well pray softly, and even sing in the spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:14-15 KJV “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”
- When we pray in tongues, the innermost part of us prays and that is how we commune with God on the most intimate level.
Jude 1:20-21 KJV “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
“most holy faith” — When you pray in the Spirit, you are praying from your most holy place, the Holy of Holies, which is your spirit.
- When you pray in tongues, you are not praying with your own intellect or ideas.
- Sometimes when you pray in your native language, there comes a time when your words may run out and your ideas may run out. But when you pray in the Spirit, you are able to keep on praying because you are not depending on your mind or emotions.
“praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God” — When you pray in tongues, you are also keeping yourself in the place of the love of God and all His provisions.
When you pray in tongues & worship privately, the words you speak publicly will carry the power of God
Today, it is sad that this amazing gift of praying in tongues is sometimes esteemed as the least among the other gifts in the church. However, when we read the Scriptures, we see the many benefits of using this gift.
This is not to say that the other gifts are not important. They are. However, this gift of praying in tongues is available to EVERY believer, while the other gifts of the Spirit are given to some more than others (i.e. we all flow in different gifts of the Spirit).
I Corinthians 14:5 NKJV “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
I Corinthians 14:18-19 NKJV “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
Paul did not say that he wished we had the gift of wisdom or the gift of faith —other gifts of the Spirit—but he said, “I wish you all spoke with tongues” (1 Cor. 14:5). We can see that there is a priority placed in praying in tongues!
Our spirit—the part that prays when we pray in tongues—is the most important part of our being. While our soul and body were also given by God, they are both affected by our spirit.
God does not want us to spend all our time cultivating only our physical bodies or our minds while neglecting our spirit.
We are to build up our spirit by praying in tongues.
When we pray in tongues, we are praying with our spirit instead of our mind. Don’t allow your mind to disrupt your praying in the Spirit
I Corinthians 2:4-5 NKJV “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Paul is also saying that when we give attention to praying in tongues and spending our private time with Jesus then we don’t have to speak many words with our understanding for the power of God to be released. Likewise, when you spend time praying in the Spirit in your own private time, the few words you speak in public will demonstrate the Spirit working in you and the power of God.
Acts 4:13 NKJV “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
Praying in tongues activates our Faith and helps us walk in God’s protection against the attacks of the enemy.
Isaiah 59:19 NKJV “So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
FAITH: having a good opinion of the Lord imparts faith to our hearts for us to possess God’s promises of healing, practical provision, and breakthroughs bought for us by the finished work of Christ.
God has given the church the spiritual authority to pray against and stay up to any attack the enemy or the world can produce!
Share how God encouraged me to speaks about half an hour each week just praying for my Zone and how we experienced explosive growth and breakthroughs
Praying in tongues is not something we have to observe legalistically, but it is important we know that God’s Word does encourage us to do it often for there are many benefits to it.
One of the benefits is that it activates God’s power and protection against the attacks of the enemy.
