Have You Received the Holy Spirit?

He said unto them, 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

Here we see Paul giving the formula for receiving the Holy Ghost. First he comes across people believing the message of John that Jesus was the one to come. However, they did not know anything else besides that. It was not enough for them to merely believe in Jesus. They had to receive the Holy Ghost. They had to be born again to experience salvation from sin.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13

Sure, you can grow up in a Christian home. You can have parents that drag you to church kicking and screaming every week. You can look the part or you can be very bitter against church, but once you come in to the body this way you will be different. You won’t care about anything but loving Jesus because he first loved you and gave himself as a ransom for you so that you would have eternal life in his presence. You may even still believe in Jesus yet still walking in sin. Or you may be a believer, but have not went on to receive this. Paul asks you, “have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?”

These men heard these and had never heard of receiving the Holy Spirit. So Paul then asked them unto what they were baptized. They were baptized, but by John the Baptist. He then explained that was not sufficient. They needed to be baptized in water the name of the Lord Jesus and then they would receive the Holy Ghost.

When the Holy Spirit came upon them they spoke in other languages and prophesied. This is the same formula that Peter gave on the day of Pentecost. Repent, believe on Christ Jesus, be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Speaking in tongues is not the evidence of the Holy Ghost, you may or may not do so. However when you receive it you will know that you have received it because it is an experience with God. We will cover this later, but every instance that someone received the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts they knew it happened even to where the people around them knew. It’s a sovereign work of God not something you can work yourself into. Just go in obedience to water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and you will receive the Holy Ghost, it’s a promise. Expect to receive the Spirit when you rise out of the water.

If you should desire to receive the Holy Ghost please let me know at demjas@gmail.com and I will make sure to find someone who can give you instructions. God bless you richly

Salvation

Then Peter said unto them, 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. Acts 2:38

After the apostle Peter’s cutting sermon on the day of Pentecost this is what happened;

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Acts 2:37

They were convicted in their hearts and desired to respond to the preaching of Peter. Peter’s response is so stunning. He did not ask them to pray the sinners prayer with him and “ask Jesus into their heart.” He did not put them through new believers classes. These are post-biblical construction. Peter told them if you desire to be saved then first, repent. Turn away from your wicked ways, leave them behind, change your mind from wickedness to the truth of the Lord Jesus. Next, he said to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. This seems very strange to us. Clearly we understand that remission of sins comes through the blood of Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:14 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Here we see that through baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ” we receive the remission of sins. True baptism acted upon by genuine repentance in the heart and then done in faith (“by grace are ye saved through faith” Ephesians 2:8) applies the blood to your heart. And the promise if you walk in this faith is to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Three steps to be saved according to Peter on the day of Pentecost;

1. Repentance
2. Water baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ
3. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost

This corresponds perfectly to what Jesus told Nicodemus. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5 We must be “born of water” and then “born of the Spirit.” “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:5 This is a verse that corresponds to what Jesus said “the washing of regeneration” is water baptism and the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” is Spirit baptism.

In the English Standard Version notice what Peter writes, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 3:21 Peter says that baptism corresponds to the salvation of the family of Noah through water. He says, “baptism now saves you.” This does not throw away the scripture that shows us we are saved by grace through faith. It’s nothing we can do that saves us. It is a gift from God period. As part of the process God commands us to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. If we disobey this command we do not have faith and thus Peter writes, “baptism now saves you.”

He writes that it is not as a removal of dirt from the body. Its not a physical bath you are taking but an appeal to God for a good conscience. As you have repented and you are responding in faith to the word of God to enter the waters of baptism you are asking God to give you a good conscience. Keep in mind it is not baptism that gives you a good conscience. Baptism is an act of faith that appeals to God for a good conscience. Only the blood of Christ gives you a good conscience. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14 The blood of Christ purges your conscience from dead works not baptism.

This is the simple formula for salvation. Most evangelicals simply state that salvation is to come by grace through faith as a gift from God. This is true, but you are missing the steps that the apostles taught the others to take. Paul’s first response to those who had not received the Holy Spirit (the new birth) yet was to baptize them in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:2-6) It’s important for our actions to correspond to the actions of the apostles. What they were doing was not simply for another age, but it was the gold standard for all of us to walk in.

Forever Perfect?

The pastor at my church has off and on for the last few years brought this verse up and its a huge encouragement to me in my life.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:14 ESV

God bless,

Jason

Doctrine of Christ

This is something that I wrote in response to a brother in a message discussion board on Facebook.

May the Lord bless each of you in your study of the truth. I appreciate each of your hearts and your love for the truth. I enjoy this sharpening and fellowship around the word of God. 

I do not think that God erased the memory of Jesus neither did God divest himself of his eternal attributes. Scripture does not teach these ideas. That is more like the movie Men in Black than the bible.  j/k Jesus came forth in the fulness of time, he began in the womb of Mary. He did not pre-exist his birth through the virgin. The angel Gabriel told Mary “the Holy Ghost shall overshadow you…THEREFORE that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Therefore means based upon this fact or because of this. Because of the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary is Jesus the Son of God, not because he pre-existed, but because the Spirit of God created him in the womb of a virgin. 

God cannot divest himself of something that he is intrinsicly in himself. God cannot lose the attributes of omniscience, omnipresence or omnipotence. He says, I AM WHO I AM, He does not change. If he takes away some of his attributes to become a man he has then changed. God did not take away any attributes from himself. He simply created a perfect man, with divine life. He was not the eternal God in himself, he was a man. He had a soul, spirit and body separate and distinct from God. He was not a dual personality, at once communicating with the God part as a man and the man part communicting with the God part, etc. Jesus was a man that received visions and commandments from God, he responsed in obedience to do the will of God, “lo I am come in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will o God.” He was a perfect man separate and distinct from the invisible, eternal God who is Spirit. God is a Spirit and not a man. Jesus is a man and he was the man that God created in order to manifest himself perfectly through. God was in Christ. It does not say, God WAS Christ. His Father is the invisible God and Jesus is the man who manifested this invisible God. He was the perfect representation and manifestation of God. You could say he had a dual nature, but the two natures were not fused into one because Jesus always referred to the Father as being greater than he was and that it was the Father doing the works through him. “How GodanointedJesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”Acts 10:38 They were separate just as the Holy Spirit is a separate person from you. The only three differences are these. 1. Jesus had the fullness of the Godhead 2. Jesus was created directly by God in a virgins womb. He had no sin 3. He was born to be the perfect manifestation of God. 

Jesus was so perfectly in line with the will of God that when you saw Jesus you were looking at invisible God. It is “I AND my Father are one.” Not “I AM my Father.” There are two there, I (the Son) and the Father and they are one. The Father dwells in the Son doing the works and the works that you see the Son doing its not him it’s the Father dwelling in him. God was in Christ. He that has Christ has BOTH (not one, not three, but two) Father and Son. Br. Branham said Jesus and God are not one like your finger is one.

Redemption – What is Heaven Like?

What is redemption? What does it encompass? Where is heaven? What will our eternal state be like?

Brother William Branham – 20th Century Prophet

Brother Branham was commissioned by an angel to take a message of healing and deliverance to the world. The Holy Spirit worked powerfully in salvation, healing and deliverance through his ministry. Listen as he describes his calling.

Pray For Your Enemies

I received this question from a sister on Facebook. It’s a great question because this is not an easy thing to do in the natural.

“towards the end of the sermon brother Branham, mentions “We shall pray for our enemies and love them; do good to them that do bad to us.”

Now i would like to ask simple question: How is it possible to pray for enemies whose mission is to hurt one? or when we pray to God for our enemies, what do we tell Him about them? Especially enemies who do not fear the Lord and are always trying to discourage a christian’s faith?”

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Matthew 5:44

How is it possible to pray for someone whose mission is your hurt? It certainly isn’t an easy thing to do, but the first thing to do if you do not feel able to pray for them then you have to ask God to take away any bitterness you might have towards them and to give you a spirit that is willing to be obedient and pray for them. It is not easy because there can be years of hurt in your heart, but if you want to be obedient to the word of God – pray that he will help you overcome the hurt you have in your heart and pray for that person.

When we pray to God for our enemies it is in a spirit of meekness and fear not in a spirit of self-righteousness like the Pharisee that said, “God I thank you that I am not like these sinners over there.” Pray that the Holy Spirit would soften their hearts and change them. Pray that their hearts would be converted to hear and believe the word of God. Pray that they would make things right in their life so that Satan would no longer have dominion over them. There are many other things you can pray for, but none greater than their salvation.

Those enemies who are discouraging will not and cannot have dominion over you. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Pray that the Holy Spirit would convert their hearts to receive Jesus. God is omnipotent and able to do all things. We need to pray and have faith that He will. Jesus prayed for those who crucified him as an example, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” My, what love the Son of God showed and gave as an example! When you pray for those who discourage and use you pray that the Father in heaven would forgive them and grant them repentance.

I trust that this is a blessing to you. Make sure to subscribe to get our updates via email in the upper right hand of the screen.

If you have anything to add to this please comment below.

God bless you.

Jason DeMars

What Are You Looking Forward To?

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. (Proverbs 23:7, King James Version)

This is an awesome truth. As a man thinks in his heart so is he. The popular saying goes, ‘you are what you eat” and while that may be true here we understand that “you are what you think.” This is very powerful. Whatever you think you are that is what you are.

How important is it then for us to be in control of what we are thinking? Sometimes we forget that all around us there is a battle taking place in another dimension over our life and eternal destination. There are angelic beings and demons fighting over us. These demons will speak things into our mind. When something vile or filthy enters our head we tend to identify that it is our thought. When this takes place we need to quickly recognize that a battle is about to ensue. A demon has spoke something to us and we can’t identify with it. We have to fight against it.

How do we fight against those thoughts?

We take the Scriptures that we have hidden in our heart (you have memorized scripture right?) and speak it back to the demon. We live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

With that said, what is occupying your thought life? What are you looking forward to?

I find that in my own life I’m looking forward to some circumstance taking place. I very much would love to be able to work from home and spend more time with my family, but sometimes I look forward to that so much that I get obsessed with finding the way to do it and spending so much time on that and when it doesn’t happen overnight I’m so disappointed and frustrated. Then I tend to get upset and depressed about it.

Instead of letting those things occupy my mind the things that need to occupy my mind are the things of God and how can I serve Him and others right now and not chasing something that is ahead. If I serve Him today and seek Him FIRST and let Christ be my dominate thought he will give me the desires of my heart.

Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalm 37:4, King James Version)

If my thoughts are dominated by delight in the LORD God and I seek after His kingdom and His righteousness the desires of my heart will be fulfilled. Unfortunately when the desires of our heart are set on things that are temporal you won’t receive those desires. If your mind and your desire is focused on the delight that comes from God alone then those desires can and will be fulfilled. See many of our desires are short sighted. We want bigger houses, nicer cars, a better cell phone, a newer laptop or a different job when eternal delight is right before us in the person of God.

So my thoughts need to be on God and not on myself. When my thoughts are on God then if that desire is truly from Him to work at home and spend more time with my family it will come to pass. If that desire isn’t from Him then guess what? That desire will slip away and I will find my contentment in Him. My desires will be quenched by the unsearchable riches of Christ.

My prayer as you read this post is that the Holy Spirit would search your heart and reveal to you the places that need to come under the gentle yoke of Christ.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5, King James Version)

Make sure to subscribe to our updates via email and if you have enjoyed this post, have questions or thoughts to add please comment below.

Jason DeMars

Who was William Branham?

Who Was William Marrion Branham?

William Marrion Branham was one of the most influential Bible ministers of our time. He was considered by many to be the initiator of the healing and charismatic revival that began in 1947, and from his ministry there sprang a myriad of other ministers who became internationally known. One Historian of that movement stated that William Branham was “a prophet to our generation”, and a Pentecostal Historian wrote, “Branham filled the largest stadiums and meeting halls in the world.” The Full Gospel Men’s Voice, (now, Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International), in its February 1961 issue, wrote: “In Bible Days, there were men of God who were Prophets and Seers. But in all the Sacred Records, none of these had a greater ministry than that of William Branham, a Prophet and Seer of God, whose photograph appears on the front cover of this issue of Full Gospel Men’s Voice. Branham has been used by God, in the Name of Jesus, to raise the dead!” From 1947 until the time of his passing in 1965, the powerful ministry of William Branham was well known and considered unparalleled in the history of gospel meetings. The impact of the supernatural ministry of this one man was felt not only in North America, but also around the world.

Early Life And Conversion

William Branham was born April 6, 1909 in a log cabin in the Kentucky hills, the first of nine children of Charles and Ella Branham. Reared near Jeffersonville, Indiana, he knew only a life of deep poverty and hardship, his father being alcoholic and illiterate. Compounding these circumstances, the young boy was considered “nervous”, because from an early age he spoke of “visions” and “a voice” which spoke to him out of a wind, saying, “Don’t ever drink, or smoke, or defile your body in any way. There will be a work for you to do when you get older.”

William Branham came to know the Lord and was filled with the Holy Spirit in 1931. From that time, the Bible became the focus of his life and Jesus Christ the center of his very existence! He was ordained to the ministry at the age of 23 years, in the Missionary Baptist Church in December of 1932.

Visitations Of An Angel

On June 11, 1933, William Branham was baptizing in the Ohio River near Jeffersonville, Indiana, when a bright fiery light suddenly appeared over his head and a voice spoke out, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Jesus Christ, so are you sent to forerun His second coming!” The next edition of the Jeffersonville Evening News reported the incident with the subheading, “Mysterious Star Appears Over Minister While Baptizing”.

In May of 1946, he set himself aside to seek God for the meaning of his strange life. As he prayed alone late one night, an angel of light appeared, saying, “Do not fear. I am sent from the presence of Almighty God to tell you that your peculiar birth and misunderstood life has been to indicate that you are to take a gift of Divine healing to the peoples of the world. If you will be sincere when you pray and can get the people to believe you, nothing shall stand before your prayer, not even cancer. You will go into many parts of the earth and will pray for kings and rulers and potentates. You will preach to multitudes the world over and thousands will come to you for counsel.” This was literally fulfilled in the years that followed, for his ministry took him around the world seven times and many individuals of public influence, including Congressman Upshaw of the U.S.A. (left figure) and King George VI of England, were healed as a result of his prayers.

On the night of January 24, 1950, one of the most amazing photographs of all time was taken in the Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas. As William Branham stood at the podium, a halo of fire appeared above his head. This picture was the only one that turned out on the entire film! George J. Lacy, Investigator of Questioned Documents, and often hired by the FBI in that capacity, subjected the negative to every scientific test available. At a news conference, he stated, “To my knowledge, this is the first time in all the world’s history that a supernatural being has been photographed and scientifically vindicated.” The original of this photograph is kept in the archives of the Religious Department of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.

Worldwide Ministry

As news spread of miraculous healings, pastors from all around began to call Bro. William Branham to minister for their congregations and pray for the sick. A supernatural sign had been given him for the purpose of encouraging the people to believe. Firstly, a physical sign in his hand would indicate a disease or healing. Later on in his ministry the secret thoughts and needs of individuals were revealed, resulting in faith for deliverance. It became abundantly clear to any serious Bible reader, that William Branham was ordained a Prophet to fulfill the many scriptural prophecies concerning our time.

Churches could not accommodate the crowds, and the meetings moved to large auditoriums or stadiums for united campaigns in the major cities of North America.

Jonesboro, Arkansas – “Evening Sun” Newspaper June 12, 1947.

“Residents of at least 25 States and Mexico have visited Jonesboro since Rev. Branham opened the camp meeting, June 1st. The total attendance for the services is likely to surpass the 20,000 mark.”

Helsinki, Finland – 1950

Two years prior to the Helsinki campaign, God had shown Bro. Branham a vision of a boy being raised from the dead. He related the details to his audiences and asked them to write the vision in the flyleaf of their Bibles. The vision was fulfilled at the scene of an accident, near Kuopio, Finland, where a boy on a bicycle had been struck by a car and killed. The Branham party travelling in a motorcade came upon the scene and Brother Branham, asking that the sheet covering the body be removed, recognized the boy to be the same one he had seen in the vision. He prayed and the child was raised from the dead.

Durban, South Africa – 1951

Meetings were sponsored by The Apostolic Faith Mission, the Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal Holiness and the Full Gospel Church of God and conducted in eleven cities, with a combined attendance of a half a million people! Church history was made on the final day of the Durban meetings, held at the Greyville Racecourse, where an estimated 45,000 people were in attendance and thousands more turned away at the gates!

Is This Ministry A Fulfillment Of Prophecy?

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7

God’s pattern of dealing with His people has always included the sending of prophets. The prophet Amos informs us that God does “nothing” without a prophetic forerunner, and even a surface study of scriptural history will uncover this to be exactly as stated. Seldom was there a prophet who spoke the words of God who was not greeted with skepticism, rejection and abuse!

Consider these scriptures:

Malachi 4:5 and 6 is two-fold, fulfilled in part in the ministry of John, the Baptist. He preceded the first coming of Jesus Christ, called the “great” day of the Lord, turning the hearts of the fathers of the “law” to the children of the New Testament era of “grace.” As stated in Jamieson, Fausset And Brown Commentary on the Whole Bible, “…John the Baptist was an Elijah in spirit (Luke 1:16,17) but not the literal Elijah (John 1:21). This implies that John, knowing he was referred to by Malachi 4:5, knew by inspiration that he did not exhaustively fulfil all that is included in this prophecy: that there is a further fulfillment. There is a prophet that will fulfill the second part of this scripture, forerun the second coming of Christ and “turn the hearts of the children to their fathers..” Literally, a ministry that will turn the hearts of a backslidden generation back to the Word of God and the faith of our “early church” fathers before the “dreadful day of the Lord”, the second coming of Christ in judgment.

Again, Matthew 17:10-12 is two-fold. Firstly, “Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?” “… But I say unto you, That Elias is come already and they knew him not …” speaking of John the Baptist. Secondly, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.” Speaking of a future forerunner to precede Christ’s second coming.

The ministry of William Branham involved three distinct stages that he referred to as “pulls”. The First Pull: Healing. Second Pull: Prophesying. Third Pull: The opening or revealing of the Word of God.

The ministry of Jesus Christ followed exactly the same pattern. First Pull: multitudes flocked to hear his gracious words and to receive His miraculous healing touch. Second Pull: Revealed the secrets of the hearts. (John 4:17-18) Third Pull: His “message”, the Word of God which came in strength and contrary to the religious order of the day, caused the multitudes to leave him.

“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” John. 6:66

In December 1962 God gave William Branham a vision of an angelic visitation which he foretold in a message “Sirs is this the Time?” On February 28, 1963, the vision and prophecy was fulfilled when a constellation of seven angels, formed as the head of Christ, met him with a commission to speak the opening of the Seven Seals of Revelation. Life Magazine (May 17th 1963) carried the photograph of this supernatural event, describing it as a “Mystery Cloud over Arizona.”

To the millions of believers around the world who have heard and received the Message which God has sent through His prophet, William Branham, the Word of God has opened up as never before in history. Jesus Christ has come into plain view through the pages of revealed scripture. World events no longer cause alarm, for all is unfolding as it should, fulfilling Bible prophecy!

We urge all sincere readers to be as the Bereans in Act 17:11 who “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

What is God Doing Today?

Is there a living God that speaks, works miracles, and manifests himself TODAY, or is

that a thing of the past or is it simply a myth?

Are you sensing there is more to biblical truth than what you are experiencing right now?

There is a message that God has sent to this generation!

The answer to these questions is in the Scriptures and that is what I stand for in this ministry. He is calling his people back to the bible and the apostolic faith. He hasn’t simply left it up to us to figure it out. He sent a ministry and vindicated His presence with it. So let’s go back to the Bible. I’m not standing for my own thoughts or ideas, but the teachings of the Scriptures, pure and simple without the interpretations, creeds and historical confessions of the church.

Please read through and find out more. But don’t just come to this site to read the articles. Get in contact with me! I’d love to hear your questions and talk with you about what Christ is doing today.

“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” 2 Peter 1:12

Through the Holy Spirit we have been given the apostolic understanding of the Godhead, water baptism, the original sin, the new birth, holiness, predestination and the spiritual gifts operating in the body of Christ.

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