THE GOD KIND OF FAITH (PART 2) !

THE GOD KIND OF FAITH (PART 2) During a meeting in which I was conducting in a town in Texas, a woman came forward for prayer to receive the Holy Spirit. I laid hands on her and prayed, the Holy Spirit came upon her, but she wouldn't respond. I laid hands on her a second time and prayed, but again she wouldn't respond. I opened my Bible to (Acts 2:4) and asked her to read that verse of Scripture out loud. She read, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance." "Who does the Scriptures say does the speaking in tongues ?" I asked. "It says the Holy Spirit did," she answered. I told her to read it again. Finally, after reading it four times, she saw what she had missed before. Astonished, she looked at me and said, "Why, they did the speaking in tongues ! I had always thought that the Holy Spirit did the speaking." Then I said, "Let's read several of the Scriptures, too," and I pointed her to (Acts 10:44--46): "while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcised which believe were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God." We then turned to (Acts 19:6), "and when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." "Now I want to ask you a question," I said. "When I lay hands on you earlier, did the holy spirit, upon you ? Did you feel the power of God upon you ?" "Absolutely," she said. "Did your tongue wanted to say something that wasn't English ?" I asked. "Why," she said, "it was all I could do to keep from it." "You're not supposed to keep from it," I said. "You're supposed to cooperate with it." Some people seem to think that they are supposed to fight against that her words as long as they can and finally be overpowered by the Spirit. Some people also believe that when you are born again you automatically have the baptism of the Holy Ghost. However, it is the Holy Spirit that regenerates your spirit which is part of His work in you who are spirit. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit hasn't occurred yet until you ask ! When the Holy Spirit gives you utterance, you must have faith to act. Sometimes ago I was talking to a fellow who had been trying for some 15 years. He said, "you can't tell me one thing about trying. I know all about seeking God." He knew all about seeking but nothing about receiving. And that is a great deal of difference between the two. A minister friend of mine told me about a man who said to him, "I've been seeking the Holy Spirit for 19 years." The minister replied, "you haven't done any such thing. Jesus said, "Seek, and you shall find (Matthew 7:7). If you had been seeking, you would have found. All you've been doing is just hanging around the altar." It seems that this is all that many are doing--- just hanging around the altar. It's time to quit hanging around and start acting on the Word of God, because the God kind of faith requires action.