The sermon for May 14th 2023 is now available on the New Life web site.
In this sermon, which is based on James 3:1-12 and Acts 10:34-48, I talk about “Why Speak In Tongues?”
Click here to listen in your browser, here to download the mp3
Holy Spirit
How To Receive The Baptism In The Holy Spirit
People often get hung up about how to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Here are 4 simple steps. Follow these steps in a posture of humbly receiving from God.
1. Ask
It is obvious that the Lord delights to give good gifts to His children. Often, all you have to do is ask. In Luke 11:11-13, Jesus says:
“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
If you have never received the Holy Spirit, then ask your Father in heaven who will gladly give Him to you.
2. Believe
Faith is the key to every part of the Christian life. We receive when we believe.
Take hold of promises like Luke 11:11-13, and the other places where Jess promises the Holy Spirit. Read the book of Acts. Take hold of the promise that God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
3. Speak
The gift of speaking in tongues requires that you open your mouth and say something.
Some people really stumble over this. God will give you words to speak in your heavenly prayer language, but you have to speak them out. You might only get one word to start with but as you speak it by faith, more will come.
Some people see words in their mind, others hear words, yet others just speak fluently. God deals with each of us differently and according to our faith. So leet God give you the words to say.
To open your mouth and say something might involve a giant leap of faith, but do it anyway.
4. Listen
Our ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit is a two way street.
God is wanting to speak to us, and we need to listen. The voice of God often comes to us as a whisper that is so easily overwhelmed by the noise of the world and our own thoughts. We need to “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
Take time to tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Steven Strang: Four Truths About Speaking in Tongues
Most Christians know the church was founded on the Day of Pentecost and many liturgical churches celebrate the day. But many ignore or overlook what happened that day—the Baptism in the Holy Spirit was given, including speaking in tongues.
There were many foreign visitors in Jerusalem that day and they heard their own languages. But this practice died down over the centuries until the modern Pentecostal movement that began with the Azusa Street revival of 1906 and which has swept the world.
Nevertheless, speaking in tongues has continued to be misunderstood and even controversial in many circles.
There are some genuine misconceptions about what speaking in tongues looks like and what purpose it serves the believers. No doubt Christians are divided about whether this gift has ceased or not, and there are even debates about when the proper time is to speak in a prayer language. Instead of debating with one another about tongues, I think it is best if we look at the four truths that are pertinent to this gift that I write about in my new book Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-Down World, which releases May 16.
1. Speaking in tongues is neither unbiblical nor outdated. Although not all Christians believe the same thing about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and its accompanying evidence of speaking in “other tongues,” nothing in New Testament Scripture restricts or confines speaking in tongues to being only a first-century exercise.
The benefits of receiving a supernatural prayer language are profound. When we do not have the words to express our need, we can use our prayer language—a language understood by the Spirit, who speaks through us to the Father, and understood by the Father, who empowers the Spirit to work in our lives to give us victory.
2. Speaking in tongues is not a transcendental experience. There is really nothing weird about praying in a language we have never learned. As Jack Hayford puts it: “The ways of God in dealing with His redeemed children may be supernatural in the source of His operations, but they are not weird in their ways of working. To speak in tongues is not to resign the control of one’s mind or indulge one’s emotions to a point of extraction. The exercise of spiritual language does involve a conscious choice to allow God’s assistance to transcend our own linguistic limits, but it does not surrender to any order of a mystical, trance-like trip beyond oneself.”
3. Speaking in tongues is not a status symbol. There have been some abuses of tongues, including those who act is if they are spiritually superior to those who have never spoken in tongues.
The Bible doesn’t tell us tongues are to be used to impress other believers with the spiritual maturity of the one who speaks. The Bible tells us, “Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you by some revelation or knowledge or prophesying or doctrine?” In another place, the apostle Paul says, “So tongues are for a sign, not to believers, but to unbelievers.”
4. Speaking in tongues is not a substitute for spiritual growth. Using our prayer language and speaking in tongues will not cause us to grow spiritually even if we do it seven days a week and 24 hours a day.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to all believers, not a select few. Just as we receive new life in the Son of God by a definite act of personal faith, so we receive supernatural power in the Spirit of God by an act of conscious faith.
Stephen E. Strang is the bestselling author of God and Donald Trump. The founder and CEO of Charisma Media, Strang was voted by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America. He has interviewed four U.S. presidents and has been featured on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CBN, Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, theDailyCaller.com and in many Christian outlets.
Today’s Sermon
Joseph Mattera- 7 Forms of Functional Cessationism
From “Charisma” magazine:
#222222;font-family: sans-serif">7 Forms of Functional Cessationism Joseph Mattera — 8 minutes
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In this article, cessationism refers to the doctrine, practice or belief that the ascension ministry gifts and the manifestations of the Holy Spirit ceased with the early church and do not function in the present church age (Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Cor. 12: 4-11).
The charismatic and Pentecostal world believes in all the gifts of the spirit and in hearing God’s voice. Various terms are used to describe these manifestations: “revelation” and “illumination.” On the other hand, there are evangelical rationalists, who are, in function and theology, “cessationists.” Whether Pentecostal or a non-charismatic evangelical, you may be a functional cessationist if you don’t practice or experience divine spiritual phenomena. The term “evangelical rationalist” describes a person who believes in all the cardinal truths of the Scriptures but denies the practice of certain manifestations of Holy Spirit phenomena in the contemporary church (1 Cor. 12:4-11).
These believers “demystify” the Scriptures and have an enlightenment framework in which all biblical truth is verified through the grid of their rational minds and understanding. Of course, as true Christians, they are inconsistent in their anti-supernatural view. This is because salvation itself, the point of translation for every believer, hinges on faith and the profession of the Lordship of Christ and His historical and supernatural resurrection. This results in a supernatural conversion experience (Rom. 10:9-10; 2 Cor. 5:17).
The following are seven types of functional Cessationists:
1. Cessationism Regarding Ephesians 4:11 Ministry Gifts – Whether you or your denomination classify as charismatic, if there exists no belief in or embrace of the practical function of the ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11, then you or they are cessationists concerning these.
2. Cessationism Regarding Hearing the Voice of God – If you do not believe that God can subjectively communicate to you outside of the written Word of God or that He has ceased doing so since the completion of the canon of Scripture, you are a cessationist. Whether you describe divine communication as an “illumination,” (God impressing something upon your heart), or a “revelation,” (God speaking to you), it is all the same experience.
Evangelical rationalists take Scriptures like 1 Corinthians 13:10 to mean the completion of the canon of Scripture. (The 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament). Thus, when somebody claims “God spoke to them,” rationalists believe it is adding to the Word of God or the final canon of Scripture. (They use Revelation 22:18-19 to support their argument.)
They believe this, even though a proper exegesis of 1 Corinthians 13:10 shows that Paul was not talking about the final canon of Scripture but rather was referring to the saints seeing Jesus “face to face” in heaven. (1 Cor. 13:12; 1 John 3:2).
Furthermore, in the context of this verse, Paul said he would “know fully even as he was fully known.” Since he died before the book of Revelation was written, he could not have been speaking about canon completion but rather he was referring to going to heaven. In addition, the context of 1 Corinthians 13:10 also shows that “knowledge” will pass away, not just tongues and prophecies. Do any of these evangelical rationalists genuinely believe that our present-day need for “knowledge” no longer exists?
3. Cessationism Regarding the Gift of Prophecy – Doctrinally, Pentecostals and charismatics claim they believe in the gift of prophecy. (First Corinthians 14:31 says that “all may prophesy” so that the church may be edified. You can also see 1 Corinthians 14:4).
However, if members in such Pentecostal and charismatic churches never practice this gift in their gatherings, it is reasonable to classify them as functionally cessationist toward prophecy.
4. Cessationism Regarding the Practice of Glossolalia – Many leaders in the Pentecostal movement say that some of their young pastors and members in their contemporary churches do not practice “speaking in tongues” for personal edification (1 Cor. 14:2-4). Those who don’t pursue, receive and practice this spiritual gift, aside from the Pentecostal classification, are functionally cessationists (1 Cor. 14:18, 1 Cor. 39-40).
5. Cessationism Regarding Divine Healing – The Gospels and New Testament writings encourage believers to pray for the sick by faith for supernatural healing (Mark 16:15-18; Luke 10:1-9; John 14:12; James 5:13-15; Acts). Despite this New Testament chronicled practice, many Pentecostals and charismatics rarely pray effectively for the sick. Consequently, they are functional cessationists when it comes to divine healing.
6. Cessationism Regarding the Expelling of Demons – Jesus made it clear that believers have authority over demons in His name. (Luke 10:17-20; James 4:7). Despite this, many charismatic Pentecostal believers are spooked out when casting demons out of people. This practice, sometimes called “deliverance,” should not be the special unique calling of any one person or church, but should be part of the spiritual arsenal of all believers as the need arises. Setting the captives free is one of the essentials of the Gospel (Luke 4:18). In this area, those who never engage in the expelling of demons are functional cessationists.
7. Cessationism Regarding Experiential Hermeneutics – Being trained in the historical/grammatical method of biblical interpretation enables me to properly discover the author’s original intent when they were inspired to write the sacred, canonical text. However, if the Holy Spirit is not allowed to give further insight into the practical application and understanding of the Scriptures, this would be a form of hermeneutical cessationism. After all, the Holy Spirit has come to guide us into all truth and is our primary Teacher (John 14:26, 1 John 2:27). For more recommended reading on this subject, refer to Dr. Craig Keener’s book, “Spirit Hermeneutics.”
In conclusion, my prayerful aim is to encourage all believers, irrespective of their classification, to pursue and allow the fullness of the Holy Spirit to flow through their lives, and in their local church so that all may become more effective witnesses of Christ (Acts 1:8). Examine the Scriptures and be bold as you respond to apostolic instruction (1 Cor. 14:1). Pursue, love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy.
Dr. Joseph Mattera is an internationally-known author, consultant and theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of Resurrection Church, and leads several organizations, including The U.S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition. Dr. Mattera is the author of 13 bestselling books, including his latest “The Purpose, Power and Process of Prophetic Ministry,” and is renowned for applying Scripture to contemporary culture.
Today’s Sermon
The sermons for June 5th and 12th are now available on the New Life web site.
On June 5th, Margaret Baxter talked about Faith In the Furnace. Click here to listen in your browser, here to download the mp3.
On June 12th I talked about Baptism With Power. Click here to listen in your browser, here to download the mp3.
How To Hear God
Many christians struggle with the issue of hearing the voice of God. Some have been wrongly taught that God doesn’t speak to us. Others believe that He does speak to us but still seem unable to hear.Whole books have been written on the topic whether it is framed in terms of “Hearing God” or “Guidance” (The latter term is often used by christians who don’t believe that God speaks to His people but still want to know how to discern the will of God.)
In the 1980’s I came across this little book and it revolutionised my spiritual walk. Mark Virkler simplifies the whole business of hearing God’s voice to a few easy steps and an important concept.
The concept is this: God speaks to us in the flow of our thoughts more often than through an audible voice.
The steps to hearing God are simple
- Still your mind. When our brains are racing away with our own thoughts it is very hard to hear what God might want to say to us. Some people like to use the “Jesus Prayer” to help this process.Settle your breathing into a regular rhythm. As you breathe in say slowly “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and as you breathe out say “Have mercy on me, a sinner.”
- Ask God a question. “What do you want to say to me?””What should I do about …?”
- Listen to the thoughts that go through your mind in response to the question. Write them down in a notebook or journal- this process of writing your thoughts is vital, because often we start to analyse what is being revealed, but that breaks the flow.
- When you finish, look back over what you have written and check if it agrees with Scripture, with the things happening in your life, with other things the Lord has shown you, and so on.
This is a wonderful method to help us hear God’s voice. Like many things in life, it may seem difficult at first but with practice the process of discerning God’s voice becomes more fluent.
Today’s Sermon
Keys To Receive The Holy Spirit
These keys for receiving the Holy Spirit are described in Mark Virkler’s book, “Overflow of the Spirit.” They are important for receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues, but also in our regular renewal or refilling of the Holy Spirit.
I believe also that these are important keys in praying for revival, community transformation and any personal breakthrough.
1. Believe. Hebrews 11:6 says “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Whatever we are praying for we must believe that God is wanting to give it to us. We are not talking about weak belief here but a deep trusting heart conviction that God is good and He blesses those who come to Him.
2. Desire. Do you really want more of the Holy Spirit? Do you really want revival? Are these things sweeter to you than ice cream on a hot day? Are you desperate for God to move?
3. Ask. It’s not enough to say “If it’s God’s will He will do it.” He partners with us and expects us to intercede for that which is important to us. James 2:2-3 says, “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” We have to ask and make sure that our asking is done with the motive to honour the Lord.
4. Unity with our brothers and sisters. We must ensure that there is no hint of contempt or even hostility and quarrelling with our christian brothers and sisters. God will not overflow in those who are at odds with His family. Confess this sin and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.
5. Yield. Every part of my will, body and mind must be submitted to God and to His purposes. I must set aside every personal ambition, pride, self-direction and totally surrender myself to God. To receive tongues I must yield my tongue, mouth and mind to Him. For other breakthroughs I must let go of my personal ambitions, expectations and judgements.
5 Ways Another Pentecost Will Surprise Us by J. Lee Grady
J. Lee Grady writes:
5 Ways Another Pentecost Will Surprise Us
When people staged surprise birthday parties for me in the past, I usually figured out their plans. But two years ago some friends organized a party without my knowing, and when I walked into the room I was totally shocked. There were banners, balloons, a cake and 30 people—and I didn’t see it coming. This must be how it felt to be one of the disciples on the day of Pentecost.
Jesus told His followers they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit, but He gave them no clue about when or how. The key word in Acts 2 is “suddenly,” found in verse 2. When they were gathered together they heard the sound of wind; they saw flames of fire; and they began to speak in languages they didn’t know. The commotion attracted a huge international crowd. After Peter preached, 3,000 people decided to believe in Jesus. And none of this was rehearsed.
We will celebrate Pentecost this year on Sunday, May 23. Are you ready for another surprise? On the first Pentecost, heaven literally came down. The Holy Spirit “filled” the room (v. 2) and “filled” the disciples (v. 4). That’s because they needed supernatural power to do the work Jesus commissioned them to do. The church can’t do its job if we are filled with ourselves; we must be empty and surrendered, so God can work.
We are overdue for another heavenly visitation. As I have read and reread the book of Acts this year, I see five blessings of Pentecost that we need today:
1. We need the rushing wind of new life. Acts 2:2 says “a noise like a violent rushing wind” filled the upper room where the disciples prayed. The sound was evidence of the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Spirit brooded over the waters of creation to bring life (Gen. 1:2), the Holy Spirit breathed His life into dry bones and brought forth a living church.
We need this new life today. The church is dry. Our congregations are aging. Many churches today haven’t baptized a new convert in years. We can’t jumpstart new life in our churches with programs, nice buildings or slick social media promotions. We need heaven’s wind to resuscitate and revive us. Lord, send the wind again!
2. We need the fire of God’s holiness. There was no giant pillar of fire standing nearby on the day of Pentecost. In the time of the New Covenant, the flame rests on each person. The fire burns much closer to us. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of each of us, and the flame rests on every head. Every believer is ignited with a holy passion for God.
We will not impact our wayward culture unless every Christian carries the fire inside. Not only does everyone need to be filled with the Spirit, but we must also learn to maintain the fire and never quench it. This requires that we crucify our ungodly desires and develop close intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Lord, send the fire again!
3. We need the tongues of supernatural anointing. I hear a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit these days, but words can be cheap. In the New Testament, the disciples had more than words—they had the demonstration of supernatural miracles. They had what the Bible calls “the manifestation of the Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:7). One definition of “manifestation” is “a perceptible, outward or visible expression.”
Many Christians today have gone so long without seeing the reality of God’s healing power that they don’t even believe God heals today. But God never unplugged His power; we short-circuited it with our unbelief. People need to know that the same Jesus who makes lame beggars walk and blind men see is still working in us. Lord, send Your miracles again!
4. We need bold preaching that produces conversion. The miracles of wind, fire and speaking in tongues were important. But the biggest miracle happened when Peter, a flawed man who had denied Jesus three times, preached a bold sermon. Peter had many weaknesses, yet the Spirit worked through him anyway. He “raised his voice” (v. 14) and bravely defended his faith.
This is a lesson for us all. You may speak in tongues, but if you don’t use the Spirit’s power to reach lost souls, you have cheapened the definition of a Pentecostal. We often say that tongues is the initial evidence of the infilling of the Spirit. But if someone isn’t bold to witness, they can’t be full of the Spirit. Lord, give us souls again!
5. We need the miraculous unity of the Holy Spirit. Before the day of Pentecost was over, people from all over the Roman Empire had come to know Jesus Christ—people from Egypt, Libya, Mesopotamia, Rome, Persia and beyond. Peter had prophesied this miracle when he said the Holy Spirit would fall “on all mankind” (Acts 2:17). Pentecost is not Pentecost if it does not break down racial and cultural barriers. The Holy Spirit is grieved by racism and classism. Lord, break down the walls again!
I hope you are praying for another visitation of Pentecost. We can’t predict what it will look like exactly, or where it might begin, but our hearts should be desperate for God to unleash it.
New Life Narrabri 