Power Demonstration: Understanding the Holy Spirit and His Gifts

By Charles Agyinasare

The ministry of the Spirit is the call of the New Testament Christian. It is not for only pastors, prophets, and apostles, but for all who have received the Spirit of Christ. In Power Demonstration, Bishop Charles Agyinasare reveals that many Christians in the early Church people like Ananias, who prayed for Paul, and Stephen the deacon were ordinary Christians, not apostles, who ministered not only the word, but also the Spirit, in faith and power, to the glory of God. They did so because they understood the Holy Spirit and His operations.

In this book the author considers the Holy Spirit and His operation in the church of Christ, His gifts to believers, and what the followers of Christ must do to experience the manifestation of the Holy Spirits heavenly endowments. Of course, he doesnt just throw theory at you he shares several testimonies of how practical these teachings are. This is really every believers manual for the demonstration of the spirit and of power. You will surely be informed, inspired, and equipped to work the works of Christ, to bring the lost into Gods kingdom, and to bring glory to God. Your life will never be the same!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Nov 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469196169

Charles Agyinasare

Charles Agyinasare is the Presiding Bishop of over 450 churches. A television evangelist, an educator, a public speaker and an author of over 22 books, some of which have been translated into French and Japanese.He is a missionary statesman, and has spoken in over 51 nations of the world including most parts of Europe, North America, Asia and most of Africa. Dr. Agyinasare has addressed audiences varying from Presidents of nations to ordinary citizens. He is married to Vivian and they have three (3) adult children.

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Copyrightt © 2012 by Charles Agyinasare. 303960-AGYI

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

All scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except otherwise indicated.

Request for information should be addressed to:

Dr. Charles Agyinasare Dzorwulu Junction

DTD 50 Cantonments Accra, Ghana

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Bishop Charles and Rev. Mrs Vivian Agyinasare

Contents

PREFACE

PART 1

The Person of the Holy Spirit

CHAPTER 1

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

CHAPTER 2

The Holy Spirit Is God

CHAPTER 3

Names and symbols of the Holy Spirit

CHAPTER 4

The Seven Sins against the Holy Spirit

PART 2

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

CHAPTER 5

The Supernatural after the Canon of Scripture Closed

CHAPTER 6

Not Everything Supernatural Is of God

CHAPTER 7

Manifesting Spiritual Gifts

CHAPTER 8

Revelation Gifts

CHAPTER 9

Utterance Gifts

CHAPTER 10

Power Gifts

CHAPTER 11

How to Receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

CONCLUSION

How Spiritual Power Is Lost

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER BOOKS FROM THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

The Holy Spirit is omnipotent – He is all-powerful and does what He wants. He dispenses His gifts as He desires to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing that He cannot do.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He made a promise to His disciples to wait for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. (Acts 1: 8)

The disciples waited patiently in prayer just as Jesus commanded them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and with power on the day of Pentecost. They preached the Gospel with great energy, conviction, and joy, and God honoured His word in their lives with miraculous signs and wonders.

Christians today enjoy the same priceless privileges that the early disciples had. There is nothing more pathetic than religious exercises devoid of the Holy Spirit. Christians must understand the dynamics of the Holy Spirit and turn their eyes on the promise and power of Jesus Christ. When they do, their faith will not be a struggle to survive but the overflowing of the Holy Spirit’s power.

This power is related to doing God’s will. It is power over sin and Satan, freedom from sin and bondage, and power to carry out Christ’s commands. It is the resurrection power Paul prayed for in Ephesians 1: 19–20:

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. (KJV)

This power cannot be imitated or learned; it is available only to Christians and is to be used for Christ’s glory and not for personal advantage. This book holds that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not to be used for personal influence and pride but should be used for the advancement of the knowledge of Christ – a means to witness the reality of Jesus Christ. We must open our hearts and wills to the power and joy the Spirit of God desires to pour into our lives.

What are spiritual gifts? A spiritual gift is a supernatural ability given by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit to the believer. Each believer possesses the manifestation of at least one spiritual gift.

For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. (1 Cor. 7: 7)

The purpose of the spiritual gifts is to glorify the Father.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Rev.4: 11)

It is also to edify both the believers and the church.

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4: 12–13)

The gifts of the Spirit are many and varied. Some of them are the gift of miracles, which is the supernatural ability to perform acts or events outside and beyond the realm of nature. Miracles are possible because God has unlimited power which He can use to influence anything or anyone. However, we should be suspicious of any miracle that encourages us to put in the first place in our minds and hearts some person or thing other than God Himself.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not to be used for personal influence and pride but should be used for the advancement of the knowledge of Christ. The gifts are a means to witness to the reality of Jesus Christ.

If someone claims to be used by God and lives in sin, we must find out whether it is the Holy Spirit or another spirit using that person. We must be very careful to test all miracles to see whether they are really from God. At the same time, we must be careful not to attribute what God is doing, through His manifold grace and love to Satan and his demons. The Holy Spirit will not glorify anyone or anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Among the spiritual gifts are the gifts of healing – the supernatural ability to cure human ills whether of physical, mental, or demonic origin and the gift of prophecy – the supernatural ability to receive and transmit new revelation and divine information.

The Word of God encourages us in 1 Timothy 4: 14 to use the spiritual gifts we have been endowed with.

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

PART

1

The Person of the Holy Spirit

CHAPTER

1

Who Is 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. (Acts 19: 2)

This is the sad treatment He gets from us – universal ignorance concerning Him and His ministry.

We ignore His existence and misunderstand Him.

In the New Testament alone, He is mentioned two hundred and sixty-one times – fifty-six times in the gospels, fifty-seven times in the book of Acts, one hundred and twelve times in the Pauline epistles, and thirty-six times in the remaining New Testament.

The Old Testament is known as the dispensation of God the Father, the Gospels as the dispensation of the Son and from the day of Pentecost to now the era of the Holy Spirit.

To live a successful Christian life, every believer must have the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, know who the Spirit is, and what His operations are. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot have a fruitful life or even make it to heaven.

The Lord Jesus Christ before He ascended to heaven promised His disciples that He would pray to His Father to send them the comforter who is the Holy Spirit.

I will pray the father to give thee another comforter (one just like He Jesus). (Brackets mine) (John 14: 16)

True to His word, God sent the Holy Spirit to the church on the day of Pentecost as narrated in Acts Chapter 2: 1–4:

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Holy Spirit is a gift that God gives to His children to help us, Christians, live a fruitful and victorious life. The secret to having a successful and exciting Christian life is to know the Holy Spirit in a personal and close way. Many have called Him the force, the invisible Spirit, the force of God and even a worshipper of God, but before we continue any further, let us delve into who the Holy Spirit really is and how we can live without constantly grieving Him.

He Is a Person

To understand the Holy Spirit, we need to know Him as a person. He is a being with a personality. He understands our problems and, therefore, is able to help us when we are in need.

If He were just an inanimate thing or force, He could not help us and would not be able to understand our problems. Realistically you cannot have a conversation with something like a stone, a tree, or just a force. The only reason why we can talk to the Holy Spirit is that He is a person. Some of the songs we sing, such as ‘Come Holy Spirit, I Need You,’ indicate that the Holy Spirit is a Person.

When we say that the Holy Spirit is a person, we do not mean He has a structure or is flesh and blood like us. You can be a person without having flesh and blood. God is a person, and the Bible says in John 4: 24 that

God is spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

This shows us that God is Spirit and also a Person. He hears us and talks to us.

The Holy Spirit, even though we do not see Him with our eyes because He is invisible, has the attributes of a person.

Personal Pronouns Are Used To Describe Him

John 15: 26 says, ‘But when the Comforter is come whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of me.’

In John 16: 7–15, the Holy Spirit is described with personal pronouns twelve times, thus signifying that He is a person.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; 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.

And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (reprove or convince)

Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

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.

He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

He Possesses the Characteristics of A Person

A person must have knowledge of things and facts, and the capacity to take action by himself or herself without anybody asking him or her to do it.

The Holy Spirit has the capacity to keep knowledge, has facts, and is able to make decisions and also take action by Himself. Here are some characteristics that determine that the Holy Spirit is a person.

No equipment like speakers and monitors can do things that people do. A robot could be very sophisticated, but because it is not a human being, it cannot do the things that people do. The Holy Spirit does things that only people do.

1. He Has Willpower

This means that the Holy Spirit is not pushed around or forced to do anything. He has willpower and the ability to choose what He wants to do.

But all these worketh that one and the self same Spirit dividing to everyman severally as He will. (1 Cor. 12: 11)

The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts of the Spirit as He wills; He is able to make choices and decisions, and we know that only persons have the capacity to do these things.

2. He Has Intellect

You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them, and withheld not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. (Neh. 9: 20)

The Holy Spirit is intelligent. He can instruct and influence because of His intelligence.

3. He Has Knowledge and Power

For as it is written, eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those that love him. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knows no man but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things which are freely given to us of God. (1 Cor. 2: 9–12)

The Spirit of God knows the things of God, so the Spirit has knowledge.

i. He searches the deep things of God.

But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2: 10)

Without anybody telling Him, He can search the deep things of God. The computer, on the other hand, without anybody telling it, cannot do that. The Holy Spirit knows all things. He comprehends and reveals the depth of God’s nature and His plans of grace to the world.

ii. He has power and the capacity to take action.

But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Judea, and unto Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world. (Acts 1: 8)

4. He Has the Capacity to Love

Now I beseech you brethren for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake and for the love of the Spirit that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. (Rom. 15: 30)

He has the capacity to love, and only a person has the capacity to do that.

5. The Holy Spirit Speaks

i. Philip in the desert

Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. (Acts 8: 29)

ii. Ananias about Saul.

And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. (Acts 9: 10–13)

Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

iii. Peter on the rooftop

While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. (Acts 10: 19)

iv. To some elders.

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. (Acts 13: 2)

v. To the seven churches in Asia Minor

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev. 2: 7)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Rev. 2: 11)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone,