And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). Many people claim to have the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but if they did not speak in tongues, they did not receive it. Others are confused about speaking in tongues; they hate it and try to defeat it. Bitterly opposed to tongues, even some ministers have sinned away their day of grace by their actions against it. God, didn’t you know that many people would object to speaking in unknown tongues? Did you not know, Lord, that it would be a stumbling block? God, why did you choose speaking in tongues as the initial physical evidence of your baptism in the Holy Spirit? God, why didn’t you ask people what they thought about it? Again and again the question has been asked, Why would God choose tongues as the initial physical evidence of the Holy Ghost baptism? God is sovereign; He can do as He chooses without consulting anyone else but Himself.

Why did God choose blood for the remission of sin? The life of the flesh is in the blood. The blood is the most important component in the physical phase of the life of man and beast. When blood is shed for the life of another, it demonstrates perfectly the supreme sacrifice. What a sacrifice the blood of Jesus was! No greater sacrifice has been made than that of Jesus laying down His life for poor lost sinners.

Some people won’t use the blood for their salvation. They say they would come to Jesus, but they don’t want a slaughter-house religion. In denouncing the blood, they denounce speaking in tongues, for in order to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, one first must be saved by the blood. It’s dangerous to criticize the things of God; many have sealed their doom because of it. They insulted the Holy Spirit until He stopped striving with them. No one can come to the Lord unless drawn to Him by the Holy Spirit.

Outward Evidence

Some people object to speaking in tongues as an outward evidence of the Holy Ghost. They claim that because this is a spiritual dispensation we don’t need outward evidence or manifestations. But we do need them. We need manifestations of God’s presence and power always.

The Lord’s supper consisted of outward evidence. Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:26-28).

Water baptism is outward evidence of an inward change of heart. We still need somewhat of the external evidence even in this time when we walk by faith and not by sight, worshiping in Spirit and in truth. The Lord knew we would need it. Jesus showed external manifestations when He was here, manifestations of the reality of the power of God. Love shows up outwardly. Faith shows. James writes, I will shew thee my faith by my works (James 2:18). The works we do for the Lord are a manifestation of God’s faith working in us. The way we treat people should be a manifestation of God’s love.

One historian, writing in the third century, said, Whosoever was baptized in the apostolic day straightway spake with tongues. They at once received the Holy Spirit. They didn’t see Him; He is invisible. God’s grace bestowed some sensible proof of His energy. This made manifest to them who were without the baptism that it was the Spirit in the very person speaking.

Jesus said that one of the signs that follow believers is speaking in tongues. They shall speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17). They will speak with the tongue of the Holy Ghost. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). He that speaketh in an unknown tongue… (I Corinthians 14:2).

New tongues, other tongues and an unknown tongue: different ways to say the same thing, to describe speaking in tongues, the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost. The believer is given supernatural utterance by the Holy Spirit in tongues, speech new to his lips, speech other than his own native tongue and unknown to him in the sense that he is entirely unacquainted with the language. He is unable to speak by himself in that manner. The baptism in the Holy Spirit comes in when the Holy Spirit speaks; it is His speech. The Holy Spirit is a person.

Again and again, the members of the Early Church spoke with tongues. Paul wrote that he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God (I Corinthians 14:2). Why would people fight a language that God is listening to, the language of God spoken through a human being? When the Holy Ghost is speaking through a person in tongues, He is speaking the perfect language, the language of Eden where man was perfect in all his ways.

In the beginning, God gave pure, holy speech. But that speech became defiled, just like everything else, when man sinned. By man’s sin, his speech was deformed. The Holy Ghost, however, speaks all languages in perfection.

The gift of divers tongues and the evidence of speaking in tongues are not identical. They are alike in nature, but different in purpose and use. First Corinthians names the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, one of which is divers tongues. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues (I Corinthians 12:4,7-10). Not everyone will receive the gift of divers tongues, one of the nine gifts of the Spirit. In the gift of divers tongues, the Holy Ghost speaks through a person in various tongues and dialects. You can have the baptism in the Holy Ghost without having the gift of divers tongues.

Receiving the baptism in the Holy Ghost is a gift from God, but is not one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in I Corinthians. Some people have the gift of divers tongues, but many, many multitudes have the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost. They speak with other tongues, with the new tongue. On the Day of Pentecost, they all spoke with other tongues (Acts 2:4).

Paul was speaking about the gift of divers tongues, not speaking about the baptism in the Holy Spirit when he asked, Do all speak with tongues (I Corinthians 12:30)? Everyone who received the Holy Ghost at Pentecost and since Pentecost has spoken in tongues—no exceptions. For years some have thought they had the Holy Ghost, and then one day woke up to the fact that they didn’t have the baptism in the Holy Spirit: They had never spoken in tongues.

Over fifty years my grandmother thought she had the Holy Spirit. She was a very devout Baptist in her faith, but one day when she was up in years, she found out she didn’t have the Holy Ghost baptism. She was like certain disciples whom Paul asked, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied (Acts 19:2-6). Who taught them to speak in tongues? Paul didn’t. He only laid hands on them.

Peter and John told believers in Samaria about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:15-17).

Simon the Sorcerer was watching all the manifestations of the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money (Acts 8:18-20). Simon the Sorcerer witnessed a wonder he had never seen before: with the laying on of hands, people began to speak in another language. He wanted that ability and tried to buy it. Rebuking him sharply, Peter said that he was in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity (Acts 8:23), and not to think he could buy the gift of God. The Holy Ghost is a gift through grace.

Cornelius, a devout Gentile who feared God, saw in a vision a holy angel who told him to send for Peter. Peter came to Cornelius’ house, and while he spoke to them, the Holy Ghost fell. And they of the circumcision which believed 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. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we (Acts 10:45-47)? Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 11:16). The Gentiles in Cornelius’ house who heard the Word received the Holy Ghost just like the apostles had.

Some of the Jews objected to evangelizing the Gentiles, thinking they were unclean, but Peter said, Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God (Acts 11:17)? These Gentiles believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; they had salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31), the apostles taught.

In the Upper Room, many different personalities were represented. Some were quiet and reserved; others emotional, demonstrative. The Lord chose an evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit that would fit them all. What kind of manifestation would convince them that the Comforter had come? It would be the Holy Ghost Himself speaking. The Lord chose tongues as the first evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, for no matter what the personality, those baptized in the Holy Ghost would all know that the Holy Spirit had taken them over. When the Holy Ghost comes in, He speaks.

In the early part of my ministry, the first or second revival, a little woman came to the altar seeking the Holy Ghost night after night. Slowly she would say, “Praise the Lord.” Then she would pause and say again, “Praise the Lord.” I thought she never would get the Holy Ghost. But one night as she was at the altar, she—oh, so slowly—said, “Praise the Lord,” and the next words were in a beautiful language flowing out. The Lord had come to tabernacle with her. I decided the thing that mattered was the condition of the heart, not the personality.

Some people speak very slowly and quietly and others fast and loud. It makes no difference to the Lord. What matters to Him is the heart. Speaking in tongues, I say again, fits every personality when that person will yield, a person who has repented and been redeemed through the blood of Jesus.

The tabernacle of clay must first be made holy, purified. Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38,39). Peter is speaking to sinners, telling them to repent—receive salvation—and then go on to receive the Holy Ghost. Salvation is for everyone and so, too, is the Holy Ghost baptism.

Jesus prayed for our sanctification: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth (John 17:17). To sanctify means to make holy. Through the blood of Jesus, the person is made holy before the Holy Ghost can come in to tabernacle with that one. The Holy Ghost is available to all who are born again.

Jesus told the disciples, Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). To be endued with power from On High is to receive the Holy Ghost who comes in to give you that power. He must be able to take over your tongue and speak, for you are not totally yielded to God until the Holy Ghost has your tongue.

The wind and fire on the day of Pentecost were symbols of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Those in the Upper Room heard the wind, saw the fire. But they were not baptized until they spoke in tongues. The wind didn’t baptize them. Cloven tongues like as of fire sat on each one of them, and they began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance.

God chose tongues to give a divine revelation of the personality of the Holy Spirit. Speech does not come from a mere influence, an energy, a power. It is the function of a person. The Holy Spirit is a person, and you must be convinced that He is. Just as Jesus was a personality from Heaven, the Holy Ghost is a personality, the third person in the Trinity of the Godhead.

The disciples were about to lose the personal presence of Jesus. He knew they would need something to comfort them, and He said, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost… (John 14:16,26). The presence of Jesus was to be replaced by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you (John 16:7). The Spirit that Jesus sent was a person, not a phantom but a real person. Jesus said He would send Him, the person of the Holy Ghost. He comes to live on the inside, to direct you. The Holy Ghost will be with you all the time when you are baptized in Him and yielded to Him.

Jesus said the world cannot receive the Holy Ghost because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:17). Jesus used personal pronouns He and Him in talking about the Holy Ghost. He shall teach you all things (John 14:26). How could the Holy Ghost teach you if He were not a person? He will bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (verse 26).

Notice how speech works. First is the thought. Second, the understanding. Third the words. We think various thoughts on a subject and, by process of analysis, we come to understanding or comprehension, and then we speak. One thing is necessary, that our thinking, understanding and speech all be in a familiar tongue. On the day of Pentecost and at other times, people spoke in unfamiliar tongues. That which poured forth from their lips had not been previously in their thoughts and understanding. The words had not been there. That is the reason the Lord has given the gift of interpretation of tongues. Since intelligent speech demands an intelligent speaker, we know behind the speech there is someone who is thinking in and understanding the other tongue, the unknown tongue, the new tongue. It is the Holy Ghost Himself. For people to speak in tongues at will and claim it is the Holy Ghost speaking is ridiculous. It is the deceit of the devil, saith the Lord. The Holy Ghost is a person. The devil tries to deny it, but it cannot be denied. God put tongues in His Word for us.

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me (John 15:26). The Holy Ghost shall speak, testify. Jesus said that when the Holy Ghost comes, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8). Notice again the personal pronoun he used by Jesus in these verses.

The Holy Ghost will speak out against sin. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come (John 16:13). He, the Holy Spirit, will be your guide. He will show you things to come—He will do it! No wonder the devil fights speaking in tongues! He knows you can’t have the Holy Ghost without that initial evidence of tongues, and he knows you must have the blood applied to your heart or there is no way into Heaven.

If you have never spoken in tongues, you haven’t received the Holy Ghost. To dispute that is to dispute God’s eternal Word. Who is man to tell God what He should or shouldn’t do? Who is man to tell God what the evidence is? God’s baptism is His baptism from Heaven. For people to receive His baptism, they will have to accept it the way He ordained it to be. The Holy Spirit—He—shall not speak of Himself—He is a person able to speak, able to hear. The Bible tells us to grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). The Holy Spirit has feelings; He can be grieved.

Speaking in tongues shows the Holy Spirit’s complete control over the believer. Some people object to His control. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (James 1:19). The tongue needs to be controlled. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (James 1:26). When the tongue is sanctified, you are sanctified all over. Until the tongue is sanctified, you are not sanctified. As long as you gossip, you do not have a sanctified tongue. Unholy criticism, hurtful words are things the Lord has no part of. You are deceiving yourself if you think you are all right in using uncaring, cruel and cutting words. You may compare yourself favorably with someone worse than you, deceiving yourself about the condition you are really in. You are believing a lie. Don’t look to those not serving God; look to the devout saints who have the Holy Ghost. Those are the ones Jesus sees.

For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body (James 3:2). When you come to the place you don’t offend, your tongue is wholly sanctified; you are able to bridle the body, bring it under submission to the Lord so He can baptize you in His Holy Spirit. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell (James 3:3-6). An out-of-control tongue is dangerous, but it’s wonderful when the tongue is under control of the Holy Spirit. A tongue under control, influenced and directed by the Holy Spirit is a tongue the Lord is glad He made.

The tongue defiles the whole body when it is influenced, operated and under the control of the devil. But look at the beautiful tongue, the righteous tongue, the tongue with godly conversation. The Lord uses that tongue to witness, to testify and to glorify His holy name. No gossip, envy or strife comes from that tongue. Nothing unlike the Lord is on the tongue. It’s a tongue of holiness and righteousness.

For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison (James 3:7,8). It takes the blood of Jesus to “unpoison” the tongue. It takes the blood of Jesus to prepare the tongue for the Holy Ghost to use. The Holy Ghost will not use an unclean tongue. The devil can take over a tongue and talk with a tongue that is unclean, but he cannot take over a holy tongue. If you live in the right spirit, you are not in danger of getting in the wrong spirit. When people live for the devil, rebel against God, the wrong spirits take them over. People who fight speaking in tongues are open to the devil.

The devil has taken over many tongues that speak hard, terrible things against the Holy Ghost tongue. It is a dangerous hour we live in. Remember how evil the tongue can be. Through the blood of Jesus it must be cleansed. No wonder the Lord uses the tongue to show complete surrender to the Holy Ghost, so complete that He is able to speak with it in another language! It’s absolute submission to the Holy Spirit.

The last thing people seeking the Holy Ghost surrender is their tongue. Their hearts and spirits have been made holy, they are praising God, yet many are afraid to yield all the way. It is hard for them to have confidence that the Holy Ghost is an intelligent person, the third person in the Trinity of the Godhead, the real Holy Ghost. That’s the way I was when I was seeking the Holy Ghost. I would open my Bible and say, Lord this is what I want: Just what you gave those in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. Of course, the Lord doesn’t have any other kind of Holy Ghost to give. It’s good to be sure you are getting the real Holy Ghost, but don’t be so rigid that you doubt Him when He seeks to baptize you. Don’t be so unbending that you won’t yield to the Holy Spirit and give Him control of the tongue.

Praising God with your whole heart, you will thrill to realize that the Holy Spirit is beginning to take over. Your words of praise will fade out as the Holy Spirit comes in to speak in a fluent language or dialect. He will let you know that He has really come, that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

Tongues shows how much the believer must yield to the Holy Spirit. You have never given your tongue completely over to another person; no one has been able to tame it, to control it. My mother and dad with their wonderful discipline and godly ways couldn’t control our tongues. They tried, but even soap wouldn’t do it.

Yield to the Holy Spirit in perfect, total submission. The Holy Ghost must have the whole person in order to baptize with His Spirit. In water baptism you are baptized only on the outside. With the Holy Ghost you are baptized inside and out; there is nothing to hold in reserve.

If you want the Holy Ghost, just give over to Him. There couldn’t be a greater miracle than the miracle of salvation when you gave over to the blood of Jesus to wash away your sins. Salvation was probably easier to receive than the Holy Ghost baptism because you knew another person didn’t need to be speaking through you before you were saved. Don’t make anything hard to receive that God has ordained. It’s in His hands; not yours. When you try to do what only God can do, you will come up lacking. The devil likes you to think what God holds out for you is an impossibility to receive. If you turned your back on your ugly ways and were washed in the blood of the Lamb, talking with love the way a saint of God should, you have received the greatest miracle God could give you. When God saves a person, he makes that one brand-new.

That new person does not want to curse, to lie, to sin. The new man wants to speak the things of love in his heart, for the Lord has washed that one whiter than snow. All his sins are gone. He acts, talks and thinks like one born again. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17). The old man of sin is gone.

If you are still cursing, that old man remains in you, that old devilish nature. The blood of Jesus will take it out when you really give your heart to Him, make you a new creature; and you won’t lie, you won’t curse, tell shady jokes, or listen to those kinds of things. The new man closes his ears to it all.

Your eyes are sanctified when you are born new, and sanctified eyes don’t look at indecent literature or watch provocative movies and television shows. If you don’t have enough grace to turn away from lewdness, you don’t have enough grace to hold on to salvation. You are deceiving your own heart if you think you can sin a little and remain saved. The devil wants you to believe a lie and be damned because you won’t accept the truth. If you rebel against the leadership of the Holy Ghost, you rebel against the truth.

Another reason God chose tongues is that tongues reveals the Holy Spirit as the believers’ source of truth in the utterance of truth. Jesus told the disciples what He spoke was the results of utter dependence upon the Father. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14:10). As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father (John 6:57). Jesus said that the Holy Ghost shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you (John 16:14). This person who Jesus said was coming will show us things from the Lord. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you (John 16:15). Jesus our personal Savior, Redeemer and coming King, took from the Father and showed it to the people. The Holy Ghost will take from Jesus and show it to us.

Jesus looked to the Father for the source of truth and guidance, and we look to the Holy Ghost for our source and revelation of truth. Jesus taught the disciples that they would need to depend upon the Holy Ghost. They must have Him. Receiving the Holy Ghost was the standard for the Early Church.

The Lord taught how important receiving the Holy Ghost was when he told the disciples He would send them the Holy Ghost after He departed. Jesus said that the Holy Ghost was the Spirit of truth. The takeover by the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost made the disciples very conscious of the necessity of looking to the Holy Spirit as the source and revealer of truth. The Early Church depended upon the Holy Spirit; that’s the reason they were able to do so much. They went everywhere, trusting in the Holy Ghost to speak through them, to teach and guide them. With the message of the risen Christ and the Holy Ghost, they went forth to teach others. The Holy Ghost, not man, was their teacher, their guide. Jesus had told them, When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).

On the Day of Pentecost when those in the Upper Room were filled with the Holy Ghost, how insignificant their own little bit of wisdom and speech must have seemed to them! The Holy Ghost brought them to a miraculous realm.

When you receive the Holy Ghost, He is there to draw you into a fuller wisdom and knowledge of God. Your Bible takes on a deeper meaning for you; it is a different book to you now, a spiritual Book, for the Bible is spiritually discerned, written by the Holy Ghost. And now the author has become your teacher.

Before the Holy Ghost came, there were times the disciples were not able to understand the Lord the way they needed to. They couldn’t see, couldn’t hear beyond a certain human level. When they turned to God for a revelation from the Holy Spirit Himself, a whole new world opened up for them.

Being baptized in the Holy Spirit means He dwells on the inside; depend on Him. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God (I Corinthians 2:9,10). The Holy Ghost came to reveal the mysteries of God to believers.

Paul had revelations of the mysteries of God, the mystery of the blood, of the Holy Ghost, of speaking in tongues. He had revelations on all the greatness of God and the things of God. So will it be with the Bride in this her final hour.

It is a must to receive the Holy Ghost. When Jesus comes again, you will not be ready to get out of here without the Holy Ghost, saith the Lord; you’ll not go when the Rapture takes place. You need more to go to Heaven in the Rapture than by the way of the grave; you need the Holy Ghost working within.

The Holy Ghost will change physical bodies into glorified bodes according to the power that worketh in us (Ephesians 3:20). What power is the Bible referring to? The power of the Holy Ghost. Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8). Jesus told the disciples about the miraculous power of the Holy Ghost that would be theirs. You will not be changed for the Rapture according to the power surrounding you, the energy, the presence of the Lord. The change will come from the power that worketh in you. When you are baptized in the Holy Ghost, His power worketh within. You will be changed from the inside out, not from the outside in.

Take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say (Luke 12:11,12). The Holy Ghost is teaching people today, people who will yield their minds to Him. In order to turn over your mind to Him when you need help, you must cast down your own opinions and take His.

God, through Isaiah the prophet, said: I create the fruit of the lips (Isaiah 57:19). This would be the rule for the entire life of the yielded Spirit-filled believer, lips that would speak the things of the Lord. We trust not in the excellency of man’s wisdom or speech, but in the wisdom and words of the Holy Ghost, in His teachings.

Another reason God chose speaking in tongues is to demonstrate the great honor God places on the human speech. God made many creatures, but only to man and woman did He give a mind that could form thoughts and a mouth so speak them. Man, made in the image of God, was given this distinctive privilege of speech. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10).

Speech represents one of God’s greatest gifts to man. What a gift it is! The devil hates and seeks to destroy this holy gift that man can use to speak to His God. The devil at one time had that privilege before he sinned and was cast out of Heaven. What he lost in that fall he now despises to see in others, despises God for giving it to us and despises us for having it. Speech holds the potential of tremendous power for the devil, but even more for God. When the Lord made Adam and Eve, they had perfect speech, just like the angels in Heaven, and could talk to God in that perfect speech. Disobedience destroyed that wonderful privilege, and Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden into a cursed world. The devil wasn’t satisfied when man was put out of the Garden; he wasn’t satisfied until speech was confounded and went into the chaos of many languages that separated people. When God has control of His creation once again, man will have one speech.

God puts much value on speech; no wonder He chose it as the initial physical evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost! It is fitting that the Holy Spirit would single out this most important faculty as the initial evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. People have tried to dispute it; but, I say again, the millions who have received the baptism in the Holy Ghost all have spoken in tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. On the day of Pentecost when those in the Upper Room were all filled with the Holy Spirit, they all spoke with tongues.

Jesus clearly shows us how closely related speech and the Holy Ghost are: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me (Acts 1:8). The power of the Holy Ghost and speech go together. Through the Holy Ghost, witnesses speak on behalf of Jesus; they speak for Him. How wonderful to know God is so mindful of man that He desires to converse with him! Even greater is knowing that with the filling of the Holy Spirit, He actually takes control of man’s unworthy tongue and speaks through him. The Holy Ghost baptism shows the greatness of God for us today, the great love, faith and trust that He puts in man and woman who put their trust in the blood of His Son Jesus.

When the Holy Ghost is speaking through a person, it is God talk. No matter what tongue is used, the speech is perfect just as it was in the Garden, speech God enjoyed, speech without a flaw in it.

Human speech reflects the deformity of the soul. No longer does man possess the perfect articulation that he had before sin entered Eden. This gift of speech, like all other gifts, has been corrupted from its original purity and power. Only through the Holy Ghost can we come into that perfect articulation of speech. The Holy Ghost speaks through the very uneducated as well as the very educated. The articulation is beautiful, in perfection.

I study the Holy Ghost when He is speaking through a person; God has given me the gift of interpretation, and I understand much of what the Spirit is saying. The articulation, the strange phrasing is marvelous. It’s the language, the dialects of God in total perfection. When the Holy Ghost speaks through you, He uses beautiful dialects and tongues. He speaks in perfection.

For people to speak in tongues at will and claim it is the Holy Ghost speaking is ridiculous. It is the deceit of the devil, saith the Lord. The Holy Ghost is a person. People cannot speak in the real Holy Ghost tongue whenever they want; they cannot talk in tongues at will and it be of the Lord. When people speak in tongues at will, it is their speaking and not the Holy Ghost’s. Those who talk in tongues at will are deceiving themselves. It’s not the Holy Ghost, not a language or dialect in perfection, but a gibberish, a sounding brass and tinkling cymbal in the ears of God. It grieves the Holy Spirit.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away (I Corinthians 13:10). The imperfections in our speech will be gone when the perfect is come. One day all of God’s people will understand one another, will speak one pure, mighty language. Did you think you would study all the languages of different nations in Heaven? No. All will speak one language. It’s fascinating to think that God will take a token of that coming day by substituting other tongues in the lips of those receiving the fulness of the Holy Spirit, an experience that brings all Heaven’s glory to a soul. When you receive the Holy Ghost, you never will be closer to Heaven—until you actually are there. Receiving the Holy Ghost is a most heavenly, glorious experience.

I was still in my teens when I received the Holy Ghost, and it was most exciting to hear those strange words come out of my mouth as the Holy Ghost took over my tongue and spoke in a heavenly language. I didn’t care if I never slept again. I had the Holy Ghost!

God, not man, chose tongues. Now we’re in the hour of blasphemy, saith the Lord, and many are getting their last chance to repent. If you have been guilty of saying anything against the Lord’s wonderful baptism in the Holy Ghost and the initial evidence He has chosen, speaking in tongues, never be guilty again. You can grieve the Holy Spirit until He ceases to deal with you, until your salvation is lost. Fear God; don’t criticize Him.

As a youngster, I heard my mother speaking in tongues. I knew it was not she speaking, that it was of God. I listened to the Holy Spirit speak so beautifully through my two older sisters. I knew them. They couldn’t on their own speak a language like that; I knew it was God, and it influenced my life in a wonderful way. I never doubted the Holy Ghost speaking through them. My mother would light up when the Holy Spirit spoke through her, her eyes shone like stars. I loved to see her like that. God was getting me ready for this great hour. This Gospel must be preached to the whole word, confirmed with signs and wonders. This can only be done through the power of the Holy Ghost. All must hear the message of the Holy Ghost.

In one service in Uganda, East Africa, 64,574 received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and they all spoke in tongues. No one taught them to speak; they spoke as the Holy Spirit gave utterance. It was marvelous! The Lord told me the sign He would give them, that their lips would begin to tremble. It would be the Holy Spirit seeking to come in. Then as they were praising the Lord, the Holy Spirit began to speak. Everywhere they were being baptized in the blessed, wonderful Holy Ghost and began to speak in different dialects, different tongues that they knew not. Through the very uneducated and the very educated alike, the Holy Spirit was speaking in a fluent tongue. I was almost in Heaven as those multitudes standing there were being baptized in the wonderful, blessed Holy Ghost. That intelligent being from On High took over their vocal organs. The Lord’s way is perfect.

Sinner, why not come to Jesus today? Why not give your heart to God? He is dealing with you; He sent the Holy Spirit to convict you of your sins, to warn you of judgment to come and the wrath of God. Why not surrender to Him? Why not pray the sinners’ prayer with me? Oh, God: Save my soul! Forgive me of all my sins. I am so sorry that I sinned against you, Lord, but I have come home. I’m going to serve you, Lord, the rest of my life. I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus, come on in! If you meant that prayer, He has come; He is yours. Start reading your Bible, praying. Some Bible fasting will help you. Serve the Lord, and one day, Heaven will be yours.

You who are sick and afflicted, I am not a healer. Jesus is the healer. He said, If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it (John 14:14). In James we read, The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up (James 5:15). In the name of Jesus, believe that He is the Lord who healeth all thy diseases (Psalm 103:3). You who have heart trouble, cancer, diabetes or any other disease, you who are crippled, paralyzed, deaf: You can be healed. Perhaps you have a child who needs a miracle of creation or re-creation, the Lord can do it. Lord, I bring the sick and afflicted to you. Lay a healing hand on them today. In the name of Jesus, your power flows through your gift of miracles, your gifts of healing. Heal! Heal! in the holy name of Jesus. Heal! in the all-powerful name of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of the living God. His healing power is flowing. If you meant that prayer, the power has gone into your body or into your child’s body. Now watch for all improvements daily, and let the Lord get you and yours well. Then write and tell me about it so I can rejoice with you. God bless you.

If you are without the Holy Ghost, let this message sink in, and seek the miraculous baptism in the Holy Spirit. Through His miracle hand, He reached you for your salvation; now the same miracle hand reaches you for the baptism in the Holy Ghost. Let the Spirit of the living God move for you. Don’t make it hard to be baptized; just open up to the Holy Spirit.

Yea, saith the Lord: I have given you a revelation of my holy baptism, and I am drawing you unto me, into my love, into my faith and into my power. You have great need of my baptism. You will not be able to do my work without it. It is essential that you receive my holy baptism, and my baptism is for every one of you. Do not be afraid of my hand moving upon you. Do not be afraid of my power. I love you with an unending love. I seek to make you strong, as strong as the first Adam that I made. Adam could have stood for always if he had not given over to the enemy. You must have my power so that you know without a doubt you can trample devils underfoot—and you must trample him in this final hour. The devil is raging because he knows his time is short. He knows it’s a limited time that he has to destroy humanity, and he is indeed going forth as a raging, roaring, wild lion, seeking all that he can devour. You must have my power with you. You must yield, then, to my baptism daily. You must yield to my Holy Spirit at all times, and He will be with you and dwell on the inside of you. He will indeed teach you my ways and my truths. He will give you my revelations. He will give you my desires. He will shed my love abroad in your hearts daily, and no power will be able to defeat you. You will indeed tear down the strongholds of Lucifer. You will indeed shine my light into the darkest parts of the earth. You will indeed light up the world in this last hour so they can see my greatness and then they can make their decision.

I am reaching out to you for you to receive my power. You’re making yourself weak by not receiving my baptism. You’re trying to walk close to me without my baptism. You are living in a dark, dark hour, and you must have the Holy Spirit shining in you and outside of you to find all the paths for your feet that are laid out for you in this last hour. To walk with your Lord, to be spotless, you must receive my baptism. You will not be without spot or wrinkle or blemish, and you will not love me as you should love me without the baptism of the Spirit. Put your hand in the nail-riven hand, and I will guide you to the room of power and grace and fulfillment. I will baptize you in the greatness of my baptism of the Spirit, and you will go forth to do my work. You will go forth with Heaven’s speech. I will speak through you and I will give you that which you should say. I will give you my wisdom and my knowledge. You will not make the mistakes that you have made in the past because you will be guided by my Holy Spirit, saith the Lord.