by Rev. Jack Barr

Hello,

My name is XXXXX and I was happy to stumble upon your web-site. I am in search of the truth of everything I can learn about God.

I am an active member of a church that does not believe in spiritual gifts as, tongues, prophesy, ect. I had an experience in my own personally prayer time were I spoke in tongues. This scared me at the time because I have always been taught that doing that is either from an evil spirit or someone who is emotional. But I did stay open to this and allowed the language to continue.

I have been searching and searching for answers to what happened to me. I really believe that tongues and spiritual gifts are real. but I am unsure if I experienced a baptism into the Holy Spirit. Because I was open to God yet I wasn't asking for it because I didn't even know what it was.

Do you have an opinion on what happened to me and if I was baptized into the Holy Spirit?

Thank you, XXXX

________________________________________

Hi XXXXX,

Thank you for your letter.

I see from your letter that your church does not believe a lot of things the bible speaks of. But God looked down at your heart and said "We are going to do it MY WAY!!"

There are many places in the bible which speaks of prophecy, of the gifts of the Spirit, of speaking in tongues. (I use the KJV which the Lord instructed me to use) To say that these are no longer in effect is to say that the bible lies, that Jesus lied. I know that there are a great many denominations which deny all of these gifts, but I place my trust in Jesus Christ, in Jehovah God (the Father), and the Word of God, which has been given to us in the Bible.

Thank The Lord God for granting you "The Promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4-5) for the sign of "speaking in Tongues" is only a sign that you have received "The Baptism with the Holy Spirit" which is the Promise of the Father. The purpose of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, is to receive "Power". What Power? The Power to Witness about Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:8)

We must make note of what Jesus Christ said in Mark 16:17-18, where Jesus said that there would be signs which would follow every Believer!! Note that one of the signs is "they shall speak with new tongues". Therefore, to say that there are no tongues today, is saying one of three things.

1. There are NO Believers Today.
or
2. Jesus LIED when He said it.
or
3: The Bible is not true, and not the Word of God, so we can ignore it.

So, that you have started "Speaking in Tongues" during your prayer time, is a sign that you have received the Baptism from the Holy Spirit, and that God HAS accepted you as a True Believer. You can also expect to see the other signs being fulfilled in your life as well, such as the laying on of hands on the sick, and having them recover. You can also be assured that if the time ever comes when you will have a need to Cast out Demons from someone in the name of Jesus, that those Demons WILL come out. (oh, how many will say that you can not do it - They can't, so they tell you that you can't either.) We can also have confidence that you are not going to Tempt God by deliberately taking up snakes, as some do, or deliberately drinking poison as some have, but if you are accidentally snake bit, as was the Apostle Paul, (Acts 28:3-6), or if someone tries to poison you because you are a Christian, that you will have the protection of God, and will not be hurt, Because you are a Believer. The others in your church are not Believers and thus do not have the protection of God.

Do I have the signs? The answer is yes. Do I know others who have the signs? Again the answer is yes.

Is the Baptism from the Holy Spirit important to have?? Jesus thought that it was so important to have that Jesus commanded the Apostles to not leave Jerusalem until they received it. (Acts 1:4) Now understand that the baptism from the Holy Spirit, or as some say, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is in addition to the receiving of the Holy Spirit when you first Believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. The Apostles had received, or been filled with the Holy Spirit before this time of receiving the Baptism from the Holy Spirit. (See John 20:22.)

As to the Spiritual Gifts, 1Corinthians 12:4-11, we may note that every Spiritual Gift listed here has been in effect throughout the Old Testament, with the one exception of giving messages in Tongues, or the interpretation of Tongues, which is in effect only from the start of the New Testament, and only by those who have previously received the "Baptism from the Holy Spirit". Why will the messages in tongues only be given by those who have received the Baptism from the Holy Spirit? Because, they are the ones who have submitted themselves to the Lord God totally. You see, when you are speaking in Tongues, as you have found out, it is not you who is speaking, it is the Holy Spirit who is speaking through you. In order for the Holy Spirit to be able to speak through you, you must open your mouth and let Him do the speaking. While speaking in tongues, your mind can do anything it wants to, play a game, do a puzzle, etc., because your mind is not controlling what is being said. By the way, have you been singing in Tongues yet? What a surprise to me the first time that I sang in tongues. You see, I do not normally sing. So it was very unusual for me. I remember the first time that I spoke in tongues, my tongue was going places inside my mouth that it had never gone before, and all I could think of was "Thank you Lord for accepting me as a Believer."

Prophecy, has been with us from the very beginning and will be with us in one form or another throughout eternity. For God said that He does nothing without first telling His Prophets. (Amos 3:7), and God said that He does not change. (Malachi 3:6) Then Prophecy is one of the Spiritual Gifts of the Holy Spirit (see above) 1Corinthians chapter 14 speaks of Prophecy as the "Superior gift", and tells us that we should seek this gift. This chapter also explains the speaking of messages in tongues. (Which is similar to the speaking in tongues given as the sign of receiving the Baptism from the Holy Spirit, but is different in purpose.) The Word of the Bible also tells us to "Despise not prophesyings" (1Thessalonians 5:20). Therefore to reject all prophecy today is to Despise the prophesy. While it is true that there are False Prophets, just as there has always been False Prophets shown to us throughout the bible, and we must be careful to test the spirit of the person giving the prophecy to see that it does line up with the truth of the bible, and that the prophecy must also Glorify God. If it fails this test, then it is False. If any prophecy given by one who claims to be a prophet fails, then it is proven that they are a False Prophet, and not one word they say is to be accepted.

Are there True Prophets of God today? Yes there is!! But recognize that they are few and far between, with False Prophets out numbering them by thousands to one. I can point to two which I know with a certainty, and confirmed by my Lord God Jesus Christ, as being True Prophets of God. Not one of their prophecies have failed yet, and there are hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world who are looking for the first failure of their prophecies from God. Their prophecies are being fulfilled, and their prophecies Glorify God the Father, Glorify Jesus Christ, and Glorify the Holy Spirit throughout their prophecies. Their prophecies line up with what the Bible says, with NO contradictions of any part of the bible message. My Lord God has led me to give interpretations of these prophecies, and comparisons of them to the bible. The interpretations are on my site under Prophecies.

The first Prophecy site is by Raymond Aguilera at http://prophecy.org and his prophecies from God are in the form of parables, with much symbolism. Only those being led by the Holy Spirit will be giving understanding, but this style has caused these prophecies to be published all around the world in many different languages.

The second Prophecy site is by Thomas Gibson, from Canada, at http://prophetic-word.org and his prophecies from God are straight forward and easy to understand.

You may look at these sites, or not, as you choose. You may believe, or not, as you choose. But before choosing, go before God and ask Him. Be aware though that most people in the churches will totally reject the prophecies. You know that your own church will tell you that they are false without even looking at them. But that is their problem. Know also that when your church finds that you will not give up letting the Holy Spirit speak through you (tongues), and that you believe in the modern prophecies from God, then your church will put you out of their church, so that they will not be contaminated with the works of God. Do not be hurt when this happens, but rejoice in being found worthy to be persecuted for Christ. The Lord will open other doors for you, and will lead you.

The truth is, on all of the gifts of the Spirit, that every one of them is still in force today, and will remain in force until the return of Jesus to set up His Earthly Kingdom. For then some of them will no longer be needed, such as speaking in tongues, yet even then, and continuing on the New Earth, there will be some of the Gifts that will remain in effect.

Remember, those who are telling you that you don't need the gifts, telling you that they have ended, and thus must be evil, are the people who do not have any of the gifts, don't know how to get them, and so that they will not look like the losers they are, they try to stop everyone else from accepting the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The want everyone else to ignore what God's Word says, and be just like them.

That this may help you to understand what is happening, and to see what a great gift God has given to you, in accepting you as a true Believer with salvation.

Now Pray the Lord God for guidance, follow and Obey all that the Lord tells you to do. Do not let the people in your church trick you into giving up this gift, do not let them trick you into turning your back on God and becoming just like them.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan in the form of the serpent, used doubt about God's Word, when he said "did God say?". Then he said "no, God did not say, what God meant was". Satan is still using this same trick today. It worked in the Garden of Eden and it still works today. You have only to look around you to see it at work. Now in the churches, they say, "no, God didn't say that, what he meant was this." We see this in the men who say that "yes I believe the bible is the Word of God, and I preach the bible, --- BUT this should be changed, and that does not apply anymore, and the interpreters were wrong - it should be this way". For these people, they do not believe that the Bible is God's Word. They believe that they can make it say whatever they wish it to say.

I had better not go off into that, or I will write a book. For I believe that the bible is the Word of God, and that Every word in the bible will come to pass exactly as the bible says that it will.

May the Lord God Continue to lead you into All of His Truths. I can see that the Lord is dealing with you, for you are His child.

With the Love of Jesus Christ

Rev. Jack Barr