Keeping the Flow of the Spirit Pure

Let us turn to the word of the Lord in the book of Acts, chapter 2. For those who are visiting us and those who have not been here for a while, let us remember that whenever I am able, unless some other kind of situation intervenes—a guest, a trip, or whatever it may be—I will be making my way through the book of Acts. As you have already heard me say, I am going to keep repeating it until it is etched into your minds. My desire through this study is to instill in us, as a congregation and as individuals, what I call a supernatural mindset, a sensitivity to the things of the Spirit, an understanding that the Christian life is not processed in the same way as other phenomena of human existence, but is something navigated in the Spirit.

The Apostle Paul says that those who are of the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. He speaks of the spiritual man or the spiritual woman. And for that, the mind must be renewed, and one of the ways we renew our minds is by meditating on the word of God, meditating on those paradigms, those concepts recorded for us in the word of God. And as we look at those texts and narratives, study them, and hear them expounded at the different times when we study the word of the Lord, this idea becomes engraved in our minds: I am a man, I am a woman of the Spirit; I belong to eternity. I do not walk, think, speak, or process the events of life in the same way as the natural person, the natural man, the person who processes things in the flesh, according to reason alone.

So, by studying the book of Acts, which is an eminently supernatural book—because it is really the Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles—we can better understand those patterns, those habits of the Spirit, those ways in which the Spirit works in the lives of believers, and how we interact and relate to that Holy Spirit.

And one of the key passages in all of Scripture is right there in chapter 2. As I was saying a few weeks ago, it is the culminating moment of the process of the Gospel, and it is also the starting point for many things that we see throughout the rest of Scripture.

In chapter 2, beginning with verse 1, the coming of the Holy Spirit is described for us. The Lord Jesus Christ tells His disciples:

Do not leave Jerusalem until you have received power from on high, until you have received the promise of the Father. Why? Because He was sending them to undertake a supernatural task, a task humanly impossible for a handful of ignorant, poor men and women without any kind of social, intellectual, or political influence: to conquer the world, make disciples of all nations, conquer Rome, and go as far as Egypt and the other parts of the world they did not even know, places that Gospel had to reach. How was that frightened, powerless flock of people—that handful of believers—going to accomplish that task unless God empowered them supernaturally?

And that is why the Lord Jesus Christ told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until you have been anointed with power from on high.” So this is the long-awaited moment. They have been praying, making plans, and staying together as they await the visitation the Lord told them would come, and now the moment arrives. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one accord. Remember again, Pentecost is not the name that was given to this phenomenon, to this experience. Pentecost was already a solemn Jewish feast day. It is like saying that the Holy Spirit fell on the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, or any other such holiday. But this was a solemn Jewish religious and spiritual feast day; it marked the culmination of the harvest. How beautiful that the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon the church, the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s activity, came when the fifty days of the harvest were completed. Wow! There was going to be a far more beautiful harvest—a harvest of souls.

And that day marked the culmination of the period that had begun on Resurrection Day; it took place fifty days after Christ rose again. In other words, that period culminating in Pentecost begins on a Sunday, the Sunday on which Christ rose from the dead—the firstfruits, it says—and the day of the firstfruits was precisely the day that began the fifty-day period leading to Pentecost. When the first little bundle of wheat or barley stalks, or whatever it was, was cut, the priest would cut it, marking the beginning of the harvest season. And fifty days later, it concluded on the day of Pentecost.

That is, the first harvest: Jesus Christ risen, the firstfruits from among the dead. A new creation of God. Fifty days later that period is fulfilled, the harvest of all humanity begins, and the new era of the church begins. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one accord—como tu madón epito auto. Everyone repeat that, please: como tu madón epito auto. They were all together, it says, in one accord, in the same place—that is more or less the idea. They had one clear, fixed purpose; they were all united.

Brothers and sisters, how important it is for churches to cultivate unity. For there the Lord bestows blessing and eternal life. How beautiful it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in harmony.

Brothers and sisters, do you know that the prerequisite for any visitation of the Holy Spirit is harmony? And that harmony presupposes humility; it presupposes adjusting ourselves to one another. Yesterday, as I watched those men—sisters, I am sorry to tell you, but these men knocked it out of the park. You know, you are no longer the only show in town, you know? I am sorry to tell you that there is another cowboy here in Dodge City now. The sisters say, “Amen, glory to God.” No, those men are really stepping up, sisters. That is good, isn’t it? The women are eager for the men to rise up, not to oppress them, but to walk alongside them. Amen.

But I believe that one of the reasons that blessing came was that these men are learning to work in harmony, you know? That is very important. Men must submit to one another. There are far too many two-gun cowboys out there in the world, and that is why we men sometimes cannot get anything done, while the women are traveling at the speed of light and we are plodding along with a wheelbarrow, more or less. It is because we do not submit; we do not allow ourselves to be broken. Women, although they are apparently called the weaker sex, are not weak at all. Those women can wrap us around their little finger. But I believe it is because women submit to the Spirit; women are tender before the Lord; women are like little girls. Women are more sensitive to the Spirit and seem able to submit more easily. We men—God has made us strong, leaders—and sometimes that too becomes distorted; it is the dark side of the gift. And then we do not submit, and we are always displaying that violence and that attitude of submitting to no one, and we want our agenda to be…

And I have always told the brothers—do you remember when I went to preach there that Tuesday, a while ago?—I would tell the group, “Brothers, we have to submit to one another; we have to love one another; we have to be meek and humble.” I thank the Lord because, as these men work together, come together, love one another as brothers, and set their agendas aside, God has allowed a very beautiful group to arise. And I believe that Saturday’s blessing came because of that. So, men, I encourage you: continue in that spirit. Let no harshness be heard in the atmosphere.

I was thinking about that the other day. Forgive me—do you have time? And if you don’t, too bad. I was thinking while speaking with someone: do you know that when the temple—the first temple—was built, the Lord said that the blows of hammers were not to be heard in the place where the temple was being built? When God says things, He has an incredible eye for detail. He did not want the blows of hammers ever to be heard at the site of the sanctuary while the temple was being built. Instead, the stones had to be cut somewhere else, then brought in and fitted together. Doesn’t that blow your mind? How interesting, isn’t it?

First, I believe there should be no violence in the house of God, in the sense of people striking one another, criticizing one another, or attacking one another. There should be harmony, peace, love, joy, and goodness. Look at the fruit of the Holy Spirit: meekness. So that is very important. Listen to me, men: this is a freebie; it is free for you. Women, congregation of Lion of Judah: in one accord, together, in unity, in harmony. Why? God says, “I do not want violence in this place, because My Spirit will dwell in it.” Reverence. And we have to be like those stones of the temple, cut by God so that we can be joined to one another; we are going to fit together. It was not with cement or nails or anything else. No, the stones fit together so well that they could…

Have you seen the stones of the Wailing Wall? That is the foundation of the temple. They are gigantic stones, and those stones have remained there for centuries and centuries. The others are gone because the Romans destroyed them, but those stones, which formed the foundation, are simply fitted together, and that is how we have to be.

I have to ask the Lord, “Lord, shape me so that I can fit together with the other brothers and sisters.” We have to die. It is the same in marriage. In marriage… someone asked me the other day, “Well, what do you have to do to have a good marriage?” I told him, “Die a lot.” I said it immediately. It is true. Why? Because there are things in your life that perhaps, if you lived alone, you would not have to change. They are fine; there is nothing wrong with them. But because you now live in the light of another person with whom you have to bond and fit together, there are things that would pose no problem if you were a solitary stone in a rocky field. But because you have to fit very closely with another stone, you have to be cut, to let the Holy Spirit cut you, so that you can fit together with your spouse. Say, “Glory to God.” That came out so well that I would like to record it. Record me over there and let me hear it again. That is from the Lord.

We have to die. There are many things one has to leave behind so that a marriage can function well. And then people say, “But why do I have to give that up if it is nothing?” No, it is nothing in and of itself, by itself, but in light of your spouse and your marriage, if you want to have a happy, solid, and blessed marriage, then yes, it is something. And if you sacrifice it, God will bless you for it. And if you allow that little piece to be cut away, God will give you another, better piece, because that is what is causing you to stumble. Together in one accord; they were together in one accord.

For the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in a congregation, there has to be harmony. I thank the Lord—we are not perfect; every so often we pull each other’s hair a little—but normally this is a church, glory to the Lord, where there is harmony. It has its issues; where are there none? And I tell you, brothers and sisters, let us protect that to the very last second. Let us cultivate harmony; let us cultivate love. If there is some issue, some friction with someone, hurry to be reconciled with your brother or sister. Do not leave it there, languishing while you bleed out. Seek healing. Forgive, ask forgiveness, and make things right with your brother or sister so that the anointing of the Spirit may flow in the congregation.

Because every little thing is like… the church is like a vein, a great vein, and conflict is like the buildup of fat that causes arteriosclerosis in the vein. Every conflict between two brothers or sisters is a little piece of fat that slightly obstructs the flow of the Spirit. As for the church that has not just one little piece of fat but whose pipeline is nearly eighty percent blocked, it needs one of those operations they perform… they insert a probe in there to scrape away everything inside. We have to keep the flow of the Spirit clean.

I love the Holy Spirit, brothers and sisters, as never before in my life. I long for the Holy Spirit to descend upon this congregation. And I thank God because many people come here and say, “Pastor, your congregation is loving.” Professor Eduardo Ramírez, who was here last Sunday with those twenty-some young people from Eastern University, wrote to me, as he always does every year when he comes. He told me, “Pastor, your congregation is an exceptional congregation; to the Lord be the glory. These young people,” he said, “left so encouraged and so pleased by the warmth of this church; they felt at home.” I told him, “Brother, this church is yours whenever you wish to come.” To me, the most important thing is to manifest the love of Christ above all else. Everything else is secondary, brothers and sisters. That is why the love of Christ is so important.

That is why I believe the writer put this here: “…they were all together in one accord…” That is why I say, wait—why? Because while they prayed together, while they cried out to the Lord, while they shed tears asking for the anointing of the Spirit, they came together every day, and their spirits were being joined as brothers and sisters and purified. Then, when the vessel was ready, the Holy Spirit came upon their lives. They were together in one accord.

“…And suddenly,” it says, “there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, which filled the whole house where they were sitting. And divided tongues, as of fire, appeared to them and rested upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance….”

I was saying, that is why, brothers and sisters, every day I fall more and more in love with the Holy Spirit. That is why at this time... I believe we are at a key moment when we are going to see an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Incidentally, next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Next Sunday, we come to the end of the 50 days that mark it. So next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, and I believe that this season, this era we are entering, is an era unlike any other. I have great expectations of seeing the manifestation of God in an unprecedented way in the history of humanity. There are many things God has spoken into my heart that make me think, well, is He speaking them to me? No, He is speaking them to others everywhere. This morning I read a letter that had been sent to me about three weeks ago, and I had not read it. It was there in an envelope they sent me with some recordings, from some people who have a very beautiful prophetic gift. And I was able to read that letter, and many of the things these people said about this era in the history of humanity and the church in which we are now living resonated in my heart. I believe we are now entering the last days, and we are going to see a glorious visitation of the Holy Spirit, and I want my church to prepare itself, for my church to be ready for that coming of the Spirit of God.

And I want to be ready myself and prepare myself more and more to process that presence of God in my life and in my ministry and in the ministry of this church. It is important, brothers and sisters, that we understand this.

Just yesterday I had an experience in this regard. I was going to preach; I had the second sermon at the men's conference, and I was bringing a very different sermon. I had prepared to preach, and I had meditated and prayed, and suddenly, when I arrived there, around the time Pastor Osorio stood up to preach, something told me, forget it, that is not the sermon you have to preach. Preach something else, and it gave me the exact text. And I preached from another text, and I believe it was a blessing.

But look at this; this is not so much the point. I have told you that I have had to do that many times, more so at this stage of my life, and I believe that is why: because as a person increasingly allows himself to be led by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit says, okay, you are listening to Me; how good—I am going to give you more, I am going to give you more. And I do not like standing there like that without having prepared something, but every day I enjoy flowing in the Spirit more, because I know that if it is from God, God will provide. That is the beautiful thing, and there is nothing like a freshly baked loaf from the Spirit, straight out of the oven.

After I finished preaching, at the end of the day, Brother Héctor came over. Héctor, come here for a moment, please. Héctor is a man of God. He is a man who has been quietly attending our church for many years, a respectable and respectful man, very special, with a very beautiful family. And Brother Héctor is not given to making... I have never heard him make grand claims about the Spirit or anything of the sort, but if you could bring a microphone, please. But Héctor came and shared something with me at the end, and I simply want... because this is about how to live our lives flowing in the Spirit; what matters is listening to the Spirit and recognizing when the Spirit is moving...

Héctor, tell me something about what you shared with me at the end of the service. God bless you. May God bless you, dear brothers and sisters. This is my first time coming up to speak before you at the pastor's request, and it so happens that yesterday, while we were getting ready to attend the men's event, as I was coming out of the bathroom, God spoke to me. He said, open your Bible, go to Luke 5, and read it.

Allow me to read it first, just as He commanded me.

“Now it happened that while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the crowd was pressing in around Him to hear the word of God....”

And that is exactly what happened, dear brothers and sisters. When my brother Félix and I arrived at the event, I opened the Bible to that same chapter, Luke 5, and told him, look, God spoke to me this morning and told me to open my Bible to Luke 5. But before telling him, I had already told a brother, Brother Andrés, who is an usher here, at the entrance to the building, and I said to him, I feel that someone is going to speak about this here. And he told me, wait for confirmation. And so I left the Bible open on the table. When the pastor said that he had changed the sermon and told everyone to open to Luke, chapter 5, my jaw dropped. I did not have to do it; it was already open there. And that was a confirmation, and it shows that this is no coincidence. It means that God is moving all around us and that the pastor is being greatly used by God to convey the message to us through him. Dear brothers and sisters, for me, yesterday was a great confirmation.

Thank you, Héctor. Amen. Amen. The reason I asked Héctor himself to share is simply to illustrate this idea of how beautiful it is when we learn to navigate in the Spirit and listen. Nevertheless, brothers and sisters, I believe that the Holy Spirit is always speaking to us. What happens is that sometimes we do not hear Him; we are clumsy and not skilled at discerning the voice of God. Because when that came to me, it was not as though an angel verbally told me. No, it was something—an unmistakable impression. That passage was almost planted in my mind. I said, well, I do not know why, but... and then, since I know the passage, I began to think, of course, it fits today's moment perfectly.

It is good to let oneself be led by the Holy Spirit. It is good. I could give you several illustrations, but that would take up the whole sermon—although I wish I could, because they are illustrations. Just this week, yesterday, I shared a very long illustration with the brothers about how God led me to make a strategic phone call and opened an extraordinary door, but I am not going to share it right now. It happened simply by listening to His voice and yielding to Him.

Now, one has to be very careful with that. Not every impression is from God; you have to be very careful with God, you know. I have seen people make serious mistakes—serious mistakes—in this regard. One has to exercise great care and have experience and confirmation, especially when dealing with very delicate matters in life. One has to seek assurance and walk very carefully and soberly in the Lord.

But God wants us to learn to flow in the Spirit, to listen to the Spirit, so that our lives are continually lubricated with the oil, the ointment of the Spirit. That is why He wants to baptize congregations. And that is why, at this time, I am speaking so much about the Holy Spirit, and I encourage you, my brothers and my sisters, to seek that fullness of the Spirit in your life, to seek that baptism of the Holy Spirit.

If you have not yet had that glorious experience, we have prayed many times here for the brothers and sisters, and we will continue doing so. And you too, there in your own life, seek, wait, yearn, and ask the Lord for that baptism of the Holy Spirit, because we cannot simply say, well, I accepted Christ one day and now I am an evangelical; I have my membership card to prove it, and I do not need anything else. No, there is a second experience, the one the Spirit, through Jesus Christ, told the disciples about: wait until you are baptized with power from on high, clothed with power from on high.

Then the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and from then on, from that moment forward, we see the Holy Spirit manifested in the pages of the New Testament in many different ways.

In the Book of Acts, beginning when He falls upon the disciples, we see Him fulfilling many functions. What were some of those functions? They are the same functions the Holy Spirit wants to fulfill in our lives today, in your life and in the life of the church. Look, I see that the disciples received boldness. Say “boldness.” It is a very unusual word. I could say that they received courage, they received passion, they received daring—bravery, one might also say—to testify about Christ Jesus.

There is Peter: at that very moment when the Holy Spirit falls, many people stream toward where the disciples are because they hear them speaking in other languages and speaking in tongues. At that moment, the Holy Spirit manifested Himself through human languages. They were the languages of all those Jews who had come to Jerusalem from the different countries where they lived, precisely to celebrate Pentecost. The Jews have always been scattered throughout the world, just as here in the United States, for example, Jews speak English, or in Europe, where they speak French or German or any of the other European languages, or in Latin America, where they speak Spanish. All those Jews who lived in different parts of the world, working in commerce and in the various occupations in which Jews have always worked, had come to Jerusalem to celebrate that festival. And when they heard these uneducated men and women speaking in all those languages that they understood, their jaws dropped. Then a great crowd gathered around them, and that Peter who had cowered before a single servant girl who told him, you are one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, and he said, who, me? He told her, I do not know that man—suddenly he now stands like a general and preaches to them about the risen Christ. And he confronts them, telling them, you crucified the Author of salvation. And those people broke down and said, men and brothers, what must we do? And he told them, receive Christ and be filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Peter had courage; he had bravery. And one of the things the Holy Spirit does when we are filled with the Holy Spirit is give us courage to testify; He gives us effectiveness and boldness to testify. And from then on, we see the disciples testifying boldly in different situations before authorities, crowds, officials—as Philip did before the Ethiopian—government officials, and different people.

Another thing we see is the Holy Spirit giving effectiveness and eloquence in ministry. These men and women became great instruments of the Lord wherever they went. They were effective. They were not perfect, but they were effective.

I have seen this: churches that cultivate the true, balanced fullness of the Holy Spirit are blessed churches. They grow, they testify, and they speak effectively about the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We have to ask the Lord, “Lord, fill me with that effectiveness through Your Holy Spirit.”

Another thing: everywhere, we see the Holy Spirit facilitating miracles. Where the Holy Spirit is, there are miracles, there are signs, there are wonders, and supernatural things like those Brother Héctor spoke about arise.

We see, for example, that a short time after the Holy Spirit is poured out, Peter and John are at the Beautiful Gate. There is a man there who has been lame from birth, and the Lord comes upon Peter. Peter testifies and declares healing over that paralyzed man, and this man, who had been there for years and years—lame, paralyzed, sitting and begging—suddenly stands up, leaps, and glorifies God, creating a tremendous stir, because the Holy Spirit facilitates miracles. Where the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit are cultivated, there is an atmosphere in which God can work. Faith is generated in people, and then God can do the things He wants to do.

Another thing we also see here is the Holy Spirit disciplining and punishing. Do you know that the Holy Spirit is not only there to pat people on the back and tell them, “God loves you; God accepts you as you are”? I believe in all that. I believe in the grace of God; I believe in a church of mercy. I have spoken about love and all these things, but do you know what? The Holy Spirit can also be fearsome, you know. He will slap even the prettiest person. The Holy Spirit confronts. The Holy Spirit punishes.

Ananias and Sapphira—that did not happen in the Old Testament with Elijah; it happened in the New Testament. Where the Holy Spirit is present in power, there is confrontation; there is fear of God. Holiness is required. Amen, brothers and sisters. That lax life in which so much of Christianity lives today—when the fullness of the Holy Spirit is truly present, people are afraid to do certain things. We have to speak about holiness; we have to speak God's truth; we have to confront the things that are not right. And when the Holy Spirit is in the midst of a congregation, the Holy Spirit can punish and discipline.

I have heard people say, no, this idea that God can make a person sick—God does not make anyone sick. Look, that sounds nice, but it is not biblical; it is not true. There it is in First Corinthians. It says that those who eat the Lord's Supper and do not discern the Lord's body—because of that, it says, many of you are sick, and some even sleep. Yes or no? Who puts them to sleep—in other words, wrings their necks? The Holy Spirit, because they are not....

Brothers and sisters, where the presence of God is moving, you have to be careful. Tread lightly, you know? That is something that bothers me tremendously today about so many evangelicals, especially in this North American nation. I love them tremendously, and they know it, but I see many churches where everything is love and acceptance and grace, and “God loves you,” “God wants to prosper you,” “God wants to make you a millionaire,” “God wants to give you three cars and four purebred dogs,” and so on and so many other things—but nothing about, yes, but God expects you to do certain things; you have responsibilities; you have to behave in a certain way; you have to walk uprightly before God; you have to give to the Lord; you have to allow yourself to be confronted; you have to die to many things.

You don’t hear that part. It is all about the jam and nothing about eating the bread, like children. They lick off the jam and then hand you the bread so you can put more jam on it. Eat the bread too. We must also seek the other part—the responsibility, what God expects of us. Where the Holy Spirit is, brothers and sisters, there is an expectation on God’s part that His people will be governed by the principles and concepts of the Word of God. Lord, help us to be a church of holiness, a church that pleases You; begin with me, I tell the Lord. Father, help us to take the things in Your Word very seriously. Deliver us from evil. Deliver us from temptation, and help us ourselves to walk in a way that pleases You.

I see here a call to holiness. Ananias and Sapphira, to me, are an example. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is seriousness. We must be careful. Things are spoken plainly. Sin is confronted; people are confronted about their conduct; there is an expectation that you will be governed by God’s ways in every dimension. I believe in a prophetic church; I believe that in this time the ministry of Elijah will become stronger and stronger. In that final time when the prophet Elijah comes to the earth, or his incarnation, or his spirit, there will be much confrontation in the church.

Let us begin with the church, brothers and sisters; the church has many things it needs to put right. We must speak plainly. I believe in that confrontational spirit. I know you have never seen it in me, but… you’re supposed to laugh. I know that many times I may seem a little harsh, but, brothers and sisters, I believe we must approach the things of life with a certain seriousness; we must walk in a certain way before God.

The church of Jesus Christ is a church that must reflect God’s order. If we want to be blessed, we must reflect God’s order. That is why, then, I see the Holy Spirit disciplining and punishing.

Another thing: I see the Holy Spirit giving prophetic knowledge and understanding, as He did to Brother Héctor, whom He spoke to and told, “I want this passage to be preached in My church today.” It is prophetic intuition.

The disciples understood that Ananias and Sapphira had not sold all the property they claimed to have sold. They had kept part of the money. The Holy Spirit gave them prophetic understanding. Many times He gave Peter prophetic understanding so that he would go concerning Cornelius—prophetic knowledge.

We also see the Holy Spirit baptizing many people and filling them with His energy: He baptizes the 120; He baptizes Cornelius and his friends and family; He baptizes the Ephesians, the disciples in Ephesus in chapter 19; He baptizes the Samaritans with the Holy Spirit. And Peter himself, when he preaches his first sermon to 3,000 people, tells them to repent and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That is why I believe, brothers and sisters, that this matter of the Holy Spirit is not only for super-spiritual people; it is for everyone who believes, everyone who has received Christ as their Lord and Savior.

There is a passage—I am not going to look it up; well, yes, here it is—which says:

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, because the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far away, for as many as the Lord our God shall call…”

The experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for every believer; it is not only for the super-spiritual. We must all seek that experience, and from that point on we see the Holy Spirit baptizing many people.

Another thing: we see the Holy Spirit giving revelation. I spoke of prophetic knowledge, and revelation is more or less the same thing. Peter had his vision concerning Cornelius. The Lord speaks to Ananias and says to him, “Ananias, go to such-and-such a street; there is a man there named Saul. I have purposes for that man. Go, pray for him; pray for healing and for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” And Ananias is surprised at first because he has heard of Saul, who is terribly anti-Christian, but he goes in obedience, and God does a marvelous work there. He received revelation.

When the apostles were going to preach in a certain place, He tells them, “No”; then they go to another place, and not there either; afterward they go to another place, and He tells them, “That is where you must go.” How beautiful it is to navigate the tasks of the Christian life with direction and revelation from the Holy Spirit. How many errors we would avoid, and how much unnecessary work. There is revelation.

Another thing: we see the Holy Spirit directing the work of evangelism. The Holy Spirit coordinates the church’s movements and decisions. One of my favorite passages is Acts 13, when those apostles and prophets—excuse me, prophets and teachers—are there, gathered to minister to the Lord; and while they are ministering to the Lord, it says that the Holy Spirit came and told them, “Set apart for Me Saul and Barnabas for the work for which I have reserved them.”

How beautiful it is when those who minister are people truly called by God. Do you know that there are many people who have invited themselves into ministry without having been called by the Lord? I believe that a very large portion of the people in ministry right now, sometimes with good intentions, have love for souls, have love for the Kingdom of God, and God has given them certain gifts; and for that reason alone, they believe that God has called them to pastoral ministry, for example. But God has not called them to pastoral ministry; God has perhaps called them to support their pastor, to be teachers in a church, or to do evangelistic work, but not necessarily to lead a church. And I believe that many people today have invited themselves but have not been called.

That is why they sometimes live fruitless and unhappy lives in ministry. Sometimes I see people for whom I feel sorry, in the most respectful sense of the word, because they themselves complain, they see no fruit, they are bitter in ministry, and their life is a litany of tragedies and failures. Sometimes I wish I had the courage to tell them, “Brother, perhaps who am I to say this? I do not dare say, ‘Brother, God has not called you to pastoral ministry.’” How does one dare to say something like that to a person?

I believe that when God calls you, God causes you to prosper and blesses you. It is not possible for you to spend 20 years in ministry pressing the accelerator and never get started. That is not from God. When He blesses you, God supports you. There will definitely be trials, but there will also be blessing, there will be growth, and there will be confirmation that your ministry is from God. But many people are in love with ministry, not with the God of ministry.

But when there is a word from God, God confirms it, and then the blessing comes. The Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Saul and Barnabas for the work for which I have reserved them,” and it says that they anointed them and laid hands on them, and the most powerful work in the entire history of evangelism and the apostolic ministry began. An entire branch of ministry was born because the Holy Spirit Himself appointed, assigned, and established. It says that He Himself established apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists.

When a church moves in the power of the Holy Spirit, God speaks, confirms, and establishes, and people flow in the gift to which God has called them. It is very important. Let us ask the Lord, “Father, give us wisdom; give us the moving of Your Spirit so that we may discern where You want us and what kind of stone I am. Am I a foundation stone, a wall stone, a pillar stone, a roof stone? What part do You want me to play?” Because we are all part of the body, and we are all important.

And let us ask the Lord, “Holy Spirit, speak to us; teach us what function You want us to perform.” In other words, that visitation, that coming of the Holy Spirit, among other things, unleashed all of this that the Holy Spirit does and should and must do in our lives and in our ministries as well.

Another thing: I see here that the Holy Spirit unleashed an entire wave of healings, deliverances, and extraordinary miracles. The supernatural took control of the life of the church. Angels appear, chains fall off, earthquakes lead people to turn to the Lord, as with the Philippian jailer. Extraordinary healings take place, people are struck blind by the judgment of the Spirit, the dead are raised—all because an atmosphere of miracles has been unleashed.

In Acts, chapter 5, verses 12 through 16, I see, for example, that it says:

“…And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were performed among the people, and they were all together with one accord in Solomon’s Portico. None of the others dared join them, but the people greatly esteemed them, and those who believed in the Lord increased all the more, great numbers of both men and women…”

Look at how electrifying the atmosphere was in that place. “…so much so that they brought the sick out into the streets and placed them on beds and mats, so that as Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. And many people even came to Jerusalem from the neighboring cities, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all—say ‘all’—all were healed…”

Hallelujah! Listen, brothers and sisters, I would love to see that. I want to see that here in the city of Boston. We must ask the Lord, “Father, send an atomic bomb here to New England, so that this same supernatural atmosphere may be manifested among Your people.” We do not want business as usual; we do not want ordinary, run-of-the-mill things; we want the glory of God. We must be restless, asking the Lord for more and more of that supernatural atmosphere.

Lastly, we see the Holy Spirit facilitating the spread of the Gospel through that miraculous atmosphere. We see Paul’s journeys; we see Philip meeting the eunuch. And something interesting—do you know what?—another thing I believe the presence and work of the Holy Spirit does, though I had never put it this way before, and I think it will be difficult for you to say amen to this: persecutions, persecutions. When the Holy Spirit moves, brothers and sisters, demons become upset. There are many demonized people who, when they see the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit, begin to manifest all that filth they have inside them. When the church begins to preach Christ as Lord, as Savior, along with the values of the Gospel, all those people who do not conform to those values gnash their teeth, because there are many people… When a church is moving, there is persecution. Do you know that we have been the object of persecution? And lately there has been… the devil has been moving around out there: criticism in the gay, homosexual community—I am going to say it just like that; let the devil get upset if he wants to, that is his problem. An article came out just this week accusing Senator Chang-Díaz—I am going to speak; what does it matter?—of having attended one of our dinners, the Alpha dinner. And because she attended the dinner, and because she has been supported by the gay community here in the South End, they came down on her, as they say, like thunderbolts—thunder and lightning rained down upon her—because she attended a church that discriminates against homosexuals.

And what about our rights, the First Amendment of the United States, which says that we have the right to our spiritual beliefs? Are we some false cult out there eating children? We are a church; there are millions of people in this nation who believe as we do—the majority of this nation—and yet they want to marginalize us and force us into a corner because we speak the Word of God.

I am not going to let the devil intimidate me, brothers and sisters. Listen to me carefully. And if they are listening right now, let them hear it clearly: this church is not going to stop preaching the Word of God plainly. They can bark, intimidate, threaten—whatever they want—but we are not going to compromise the Gospel. It is not as though I am going to wage an active war; what for? I love that community. I have told them so in as many ways as I have been able to, and to me that is simply one issue among many other things that concern me in the Christian life in general.

But when the time comes to say that, we speak about so many other things: how we must speak against adultery, how we must speak against resentment, how we must speak against theft and all the rest—promiscuity, pornography, divorce, and all the things that damage human life. At the appropriate time, we also speak about that aspect, that phenomenon. That is all. But there will be persecution, brothers and sisters; there will be persecution for those who proclaim the Gospel.

When a church is filled with the Holy Spirit and is seeking the holiness of God, the principalities and powers will become upset. When it is declared that Jesus Christ is Lord, the devil does not want to accept it, and he will become upset and use different ways to intimidate. But we must stand firm, because that is what is killing this nation: intimidated Christians who each day are silencing God’s truth more and more so as not to offend people, so that people will not bother them, because we believe that with that false niceness we are going to win people over. The devil will never be converted, brothers and sisters, no matter how much you dance before him, change your hairstyle, and paint your lips different colors; he will remain the devil.

He wants you to convert to his ways; he is not going to convert to yours. So you had better simply face him and be forthright. And preach the Gospel and be clear.

So I am going to leave it there, brothers and sisters. There are many things we can draw from this chapter 2. Next time, I want us to talk about the tongues, the wind, and the fire that are manifested here in this wonderful passage—divided tongues as of fire, and also a mighty rushing wind. What did the Lord mean by these things? But we see here that where the Holy Spirit is moving, there is boldness to testify, effectiveness and eloquence in preaching, miracles, discipline and punishment, prophetic knowledge, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, revelation for the work, detailed direction from the Holy Spirit, frequent healings and deliverances, and the spread of the Gospel in different ways, including persecution.

May the Lord bless you, my brother. Fall in love with the Holy Spirit. Stand up. Hallelujah! Let us say to the Lord, “Lord, we love Your Spirit. We love the energy of Your Spirit, Lord. We love the electricity, the heat, the warmth that Your Spirit gives, and we want to be warmed by You, Lord. Take Your church, Lord; take control of this space, Holy Spirit. Lord, take control of every little ember in every seat; begin with mine, Lord.”

We are in love with You, and we want to see Your glory. We want to see Your glory. Spirit of God, Holy Spirit, take over this church. Take possession of this congregation. Lord, we love Your Spirit, and we ask You to baptize us and fill us more each day, and help us to walk, Lord, as You want us to walk. Keep us from evil; keep us from errors; keep us from excessive enthusiasms not authorized by You, Lord. Keep us from excesses. Help us to walk under Your specific, balanced direction, Lord, step by step. We love Your presence, Spirit of God.

Tell the Lord, “I love You, and I need You, and I desire You; I require You, Spirit of God. We want more of You. We want more of You. We want our gatherings, Lord, to be gatherings where Your manifest presence is among us, Lord. We want our worship, Father, to be characterized by that presence of Yours, Lord. We bless these musicians, Lord, and we declare over them that mindset of which we have spoken, Father, in the name of Jesus.”

Begin with me, Father. Put within us an appetite to worship, to be in Your presence, to have intimacy with You, Lord. Oh, Spirit of God, we want more of You. We want Your glory. Baptize us, fill us, baptize us, radicalize us, Lord. Radicalize us, Lord.