Hi Pastor John,  

A few months ago, I learned about the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.  I have been desiring it since but have not experience it yet.  Do you know anyone or any church near where I live that I can have fellowship with people that have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit? 

Thank you for your time,

David A.

Washington State

============ 

Hi David! 

God bless you, and thanks for writing. 

It used to be that I could suggest that someone in your situation go to a local Pentecostal Church (Church of God, Pentecostal Holiness, etc.), but no longer.  They are becoming as big and as dead as the denominations they once came out of.   If you do find a Pentecostal Church in your area, the people might still have some joy and power – which would be good – but in the main, Pentecostalism has lost its way and has dried up, the way the once-dynamic Charismatic movement of the late 20th century has dried up.

The way things are now in congregations that used to be free in the Spirit, it is best for you just to seek God alone.  Better to be alone and free than to try to serve God in the midst of confusion.

You are blessed!  Just stay thankful that God has given you a thirst for His righteousness, and go with it.  That thirst is His invitation to come drink of His fountain (cp. 1Cor. 12:13), and God does not make such invitations frivolously.  Expect to receive the holy Ghost!

There are a number of online testimonies from people about receiving the holy Ghost.  They would encourage you in the Lord, I think.  Also, you might enjoy reading my father’s testimony here:

http://goingtojesus.com/gtj_tracts.html?tname=tract-001-howireceived

We will be waiting to hear YOUR testimony soon!  Please stay in touch.  It is exciting to us when we hear that Jesus has touched another soul!  He is good! 

Your servant in Christ, 

John

 

Pastor John,

What does this mean, from 1John 5? 

Who is it who overcomes the world except he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

6. This is he who came through water and blood — Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit is what bears witness because the Spirit is truth.
7. For there are three that bear witness,
8. the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three agree

Beth D.

==========

Hi Beth.

As I recall, those verses were tampered with in about the 10th century by Christians in order to make them appear to teach the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Look at the King James Version, and you will see what I am talking about.  Those translators used the corrupted Greek text for their translation of 1John.

Our translation, which you quoted, is based on the Byzantine Greek Text, which predates the 10th century corruption; still, the verses are difficult to understand.*

I could come up with a reasonable and understandable interpretation of those verses, as we translated them, but I would rather not.  The best thing for us to do, I think, is just to be familiar with them, and trust Jesus to give us perfect understanding of them in his time.

Thanks for the question.

Pastor John

*To view our translation of these verses, please follow the link below.

http://goingtojesus.com/gtj_translation.html?tname=1john

Pastor Clark,

I found your business card (“Speaking in Tongues at Spirit Baptism”) on the restroom sink of the public library in South San Francisco, California, (in case you’re curious).  I am new to your website, I am 59 years old (in the flesh), 35 years in Christ, male, and I live in San Francisco.  I have questioned Matthew 6:14-15 (and other similar verses) maybe almost as long as I’ve been a Christian:  “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.   15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”;  (ASV).  I’m sure we agree that God is perfect and righteous, and that God does not (typically, if ever) forgive a person without that person being repentant and having saving faith.  So the question arises, “Does God expect me to forgive one who is unrepentant and in bad faith?”  In other words, does God expect of me what He does not expect of Himself, which would seem peculiar?

==========

In short, no.  God expects us to be like Him, who has never forgiven anyone who refuses to repent.

==========

Of course there is no justification for my hating or having an ill heart toward anyone — I should bear my cross, and die to self, care for all people in conjunction with “the grace of God which [is] with me,” and hopefully win others over by my new godly heart and conduct.

==========

I disagree, a little.  God hates some people and things, and we do, as well, if we are like him (e.g., Ps. 5:5; 139:22; Rev. 2:6).  Still, as you say, ill-will is ungodly.

==========

We sometimes hear it said conversationally that we should (or do) “forgive and forget”:  Am I really forgiving if I do not forget?  So, maybe forgiving does not include forgetting?

==========

Nobody really “forgives and forgets”, unless he has a good heart and a bad memory.  God forgives, but He never forgets.

==========

Two verses come to my mind:  “If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men,” Romans 12:18 (ASV), which suggests to me that we might not “be at peace” with some, and therefore might not be on friendly terms with some.  And if I’m not “at peace” with some, can I truly be forgiving of them?

==========

A right relationship with some people is to have no relationship with them at all.  After all, God did cast Satan out of heaven.  Right?  And Paul exhorted the saints to keep no company with stubbornly sinful brothers and sisters.

Romans 12:13 means only that we should do our part to be at peace with others.  People who do not repent are not doing their part, and we cannot do their part for them.

==========

And 1 Corinthians 15:33 (ASV) tells us, “Be not deceived:  Evil companionships corrupt good morals,” which suggests that we should not allow our “good morals” to be corrupted by keeping “evil companionships.”  If I believe someone to be “evil company” and a corrupting influence on me, and if I believe it necessary to distance myself from someone for these reasons, it seems that my “forgiveness” of that person is dependent on the person’s faith and repentance (which seems similar to God forgiving us in response to our faith and repentance).

==========

Amen.

==========

Because of my knowledge of and history with a person, I might find it difficult if not impossible to trust that person;  am I truly forgiving a person if I feel that I cannot trust that person?

==========

You are confusing forgiving a person with willingness to forgive.  God is willing to forgive almost anyone, all the time, but He only forgives those who come to Him for forgiveness in the name of His Son Jesus.  It would be absurd for you to trust an evil person.  The way I say it is that forgiveness is the creation of God, blending a willingness to forgive in one person with repentance on the part of the another.  If there is only repentance without a corresponding willingness to forgive (a la Judas or Esau, who repented but found no forgiveness), or if there is only a willingness to forgive without repentance, no real forgiveness can exist, even if people say that they have done it.  If God is not in it – and he is not, if there has been no repentance – then it is just another phony claim by religious men.

==========

When we’re told that love (agape) believes all things (1Co 13:7), does this mean that one who I believe to be untrustworthy should be treated as — and thought of as — trustworthy?

==========

Love believes all things that are true, not all things that anyone says, whether or not he is telling the truth.  Only the simple-minded do that, as wise Solomon once said: “The simple believe every word.”  The love of God makes us wise because it “rejoices in the truth”, never a lie.

==========

Or should we, on a case-by-case basis, lean on the Lord and ask for His direct guidance in answering these questions?  Pastor Clark, I expect nothing from you in the way of response to my questions, but if you don’t mind sharing relevant convictions, I Thank you very much!

==========

I am very impressed with your questions, and very glad that you asked them.  Good questions are as much from the Lord as are good answers.  In over 40 years of ministry, I have never met a soul who had not been taken in by the Christian myth of “unconditional love”, and by the nonsensical Christian doctrine of “we have to forgive everybody”.  If we forgive the man who does not repent for robbing our house, we are inviting him to do it again.  Such Christian teaching does not make us godly; it makes us suckers.

==========

I am in the process of reading your article, “Speaking in Tongues at Spirit Baptism.”  I’m sure you’ve probably received many correspondences related to your article over the years.  My first impression is of disagreement with your stance, but I’ve only read it once, and am starting my second time through.  In a couple of months or so, I want to get back to you with some thoughts related to it.  I am confident of my salvation, and I have never spoken in tongues;  however, I believe in the legitimacy of tongues as a gift.

Love your Brother in Christ,

Bill 

==========

That would be great.  Please do.  But I might have a better idea.  My wife and I, and another couple, will be in your area in early September, visiting friends.   Maybe we could meet and discuss these things face to face.  What do you think?

Thank you so much for writing.  God bless!  The Lord is with you.

Your servant in Christ,

John

 

Hey Pastor John 🙂 

What is the reason people feel the need to “bless” their food, or rather, saying a prayer for Jesus to bless it, before they eat?  (I’m not really sure which it is).  Is there something in the Bible that mentions that people should?  I haven’t found anything. I only see Jesus blessing the food that he was about to serve, multiple times, but I haven’t seen where anyone else does it as ritual.  So, why did Jesus do it?  Why did he “give thanks” for the bread before he broke it? 

Leah

==========

Hi Leah.

Jesus gave thanks for the food he held in his hand because he was thankful for it. He was not, as you know, instituting a ceremony for his followers to observe. Also, Paul taught that, unlike God’s Old Testament people, we who believe are free to eat whatever we desire because the food we eat is “sanctified by the word of God and by prayer” (1Tim. 4:5).  But by that, Paul was not instituting a ceremony, either.  He was not even suggesting that “the word of God and prayer” which sanctifies our food should take place when we sit down to eat.  He was instead describing the holy kind of life that sanctifies our food and everything else in our lives.

There is nothing in the Bible, whether Old or New Testament, which promotes “saying [or asking] a blessing” before eating a meal.  To do so is just another religious act that we humans have come up with, in our frail effort to honor God.

If I am at a restaurant and see someone praying before he eats, I respect his praying, and I pray for him, that Jesus will bless his desire to honor God by revealing to him how to really do it.

Thanks for the question.

Pastor John

I’ve read your pamphlet Speaking in Tongues at Holy Ghost Baptism and found it heartening to know someone believes the truth about this topic besides me.  The church where I was introduced to the baptism was in Ohio, and it closed when the pastor died.  Now I live in Hendersonville, NC. I’ve tried to introduce the subject to others in Hendersonville, but with few exceptions, it is falling on non-receiving ears.  Can you recommend a church in the Hendersonville (or maybe Asheville) area where your views are taught?  The churches in Hendersonville that do believe in tongues as evidence of Holy Spirit baptism have little understanding on how He works, and all I see is a lot of people “playing” and “pretending” to exercise the gifts without knowing what really pleases God or how to be led by Him.  I’d appreciate your guidance.  

Jane S.

Hendersonville, NC

==========

Hi Jane.

I am thankful to the Lord Jesus that you were edified by reading our booklet on Speaking in Tongues at Spirit Baptism.  I don’t know of any church that teachers the truth about the holy Ghost baptism (I wish I knew a thousand of them!), so I can’t recommend any church.  A right understanding of the baptism of the Spirit is critical to understanding everything rightly in the kingdom of God because the baptism of the Spirit is the new birth. Church religion as a whole is wrong, and is to be avoided, because the church world does not understand that when a person is baptized with the holy Ghost, that person is born of God.

So, you answer your question, in my judgment, you will be better off spiritually to stay home with Jesus and not go to any church.  From what I have seen, though God has many precious souls within their walls, no church anywhere is of God, and in time, they all quiet the holy Spirit that really is in some of their members with their traditions and doctrines contrary to the truth.  This is why God is calling to His children, “Come of out her [the religious system of Christianity], my people!”

Thank you for writing.  I wish you well as you trust Jesus to guide you into all truth.  And please feel free to keep in touch with any comments of questions you may have.

Pastor John

 

 

Pastor John,

re: the history between Joseph’s death and the story of Moses and the Exodus

You have said that it was approx. 300 years of Hebrew slavery.  Jimmy Swaggart wrote that some scholars say that it was merely 160-200 years.  Is there a Bible verse that proves your view?  Please show me for the benefit of our class here.

Brad

=========

Hi Brad.

Here is what I have actually said about the time Israel spent in Egypt:

• God told Abraham that his seed would be in Egypt 400 years: “Your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them.  And they shall oppress them 400 years” (Gen. 15:13b).
• It appears that Moses delayed that prophecy by killing an Egyptian and having to flee from Egypt for a while, thus bringing the total years that the Israelites stayed in Egypt to 430 years (Ex. 12:40–41).
• Jacob was 130 when he brought his family to live in Egypt (Gen. 47:9 and lived his last 17 years there.
• Joseph was about 39 at the time Jacob entered Egypt.  He was 30 when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams (Gen. 41:46), and then seven years of plenty and two years of famine came, before Jacob moved to Egypt where Joseph was.
• The book of Genesis ends with the death and burial of Joseph at the age of 110 (Gen. 50:22, 26).  So, at the end of Genesis, the Israelites had been in Egypt about half a century.
• The book of Exodus begins many years before the birth of Moses, but we are told that Moses was 80 years old when he led Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 7:7).
• So, this is what I have taught my Old Testament classes: When we turn the page from Genesis 50 to Exodus 1(well, really, Exodus 2), approximately 300 years have passed.
• That is my “view”.

You’ll find that “some scholars” will say just about anything on any given topic.  Confusion abounds among biblical scholars at almost every turn.

So, be advised that ​when anyone is first studying the Bible, he should concentrate entirely on the Bible!  He should use a Bible with no footnotes or commentary by “experts”, and simply trust Jesus to guide him.  If a student does not do that he will be confused by information that is not of God, ​and it will be harmful to his soul.

Stay away from commentaries!

Pastor John