I become so thrilled every time I witness somebody being filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. What a glorious experience! I have also witnessed the disappointment of some and the "I have given up attitude" of others that have "tried" for years to receive the gift of tongues without success.

I have found out that if I can bring a person who is before me that wants to receive the gift; whether young, middle age, elderly, male or female; to a place where he or she can agree with me that what they are about to receive is apart or separate from their feelings or emotions, and most certainly apart from their natural understanding. And that all that is needed is to open ones mouth, which involves moving the lips, the tongue, and the use of the vocal cords; a hundred percent of them start speaking in tongues.

I remember vividly the evening when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. What a memorable occasion it was when I spoke in tongues, for what seemed to me some thirty minutes or more without stopping. The next day I spoke a couple of words and that was it for almost three years. During that time, before I came to the United States, I would say to the Lord, "I want to speak in tongues." I would open my mouth waiting for something to take place that never happened. The Holy Spirit never came and made me speak in tongues. No, not a single time!

Prior to this, I recollect when I was born again; immediately after I confessed Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior, I began to feel literally as if I was going to choke or throw up because something was happening to me in the area of my vocal cords that I had no idea what it was. I knew I was not going to choke or throw up. Something wanted to come out my mouth, I did not know what to do about it. My sister, my brother in law and the dear brother that led me to the Lord were laughing with much joy. It was evident that they knew something I did not. Looking back I realized that the Lord wanted to baptize me, all I needed was for one of them to say, "Victor, open your mouth and start speaking in tongues." Unfortunately that did not happen and nothing was explained to me either.

Just like with tongues, nobody thought it necessary to explain what happened to me when Jesus took residence in my heart. So for a long period of time I remained virtually unaware of how much was invested in me and I could not use it because I was just plain ignorant.

I will never forget the day that at the advice of my pastor, Jann T. Butler, I went to counsel with Arlene Cooper, a dear sister in the faith that some years ago went to be with the Lord, about some dreams that the Lord had given me while attending the Hispanic church I used to visit before becoming a member of By His Word Christian Center (BHWCC). When the appointment was about to end I asked her a question without thinking about it, it was almost as if I burped it out of the inside of me. Now I know that I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask her, "Can you speak in tongues any time you want?" And she answered me, "Yes! Do you want to speak right now?" Of course, I gave a positive response. That morning I drove to my apartment speaking in tongues with the understanding of what I was doing to this date. Glory be to God forevermore!

Since I received that understanding of tongues for personal edification, I have not ceased to practice them in my intimate intimate fellowship with my Lord.

A few months after that unforgettable meeting I enrolled in the personal workers class at BHWCC. I learned how to minister the gift of salvation to the lost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit to the believer and restoration of fellowship to the backslider. I am so thankful for those who took the time to teach me those valuable subjects that to this day remain so alive in me. From that time on I purposed in my heart that no one that would come in contact with me with a desire to learn on those issues, and especially on the subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, would leave my presence ignorant because I was ill equipped to help them.

Some people have left all the responsibility to the Holy Spirit concerning tongues because they have to "tarry"; others, because they are still "looking" and "searching" as if the Holy Spirit was hiding or running away from them. Some argue that the gift is only for a few chosen ones while others reject the fact that tongues are for today and that they have not "passed away" with the last apostle. There are all kinds of man made explanations as to why some receive and some do not. The majority of them are not based on the Bible but mainly on the witness of men.

If it was up to the Holy Spirit; I have an "uncanny revelation" to share: if it was up to the Holy Spirit, the entire world would be saved and speaking in tongues. It was God's desire first that every believer be filled. Let us remember that He is the one that has made this gift available and that He would never violate anybody to receive what they do not believe on or do not want to receive. It is not up to God whether we receive or not, we are the ones that have to come in line with His will, which is His word, to receive not only the promise of the Holy Spirit, but any and all of His promises for that matter. We have access to everything Jesus has provided and has left us for an inheritance. When God sent His Son as a ransom for humanity from spiritual death, He was not looking for a "few good men" or a "few good women." Remember, the reason He came was because there was none good, we were all in need of a Savior.

Romans 3:10-12, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." And in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Salvation as well as the gift of tongues are for today, they are for whosoever wants to receive them. Salvation did not cease to be available when the last apostle died, neither did tongues. Today more than ever we need everything that the cross has purchased for us. Can you imagine John the Beloved, who was the one that outlived the other apostles, passing away and at the very moment of his passing everyone that spoke in tongues could not speak anymore? Non-sense! Right? Yet many believe such an error. Where do we come up with such "insight" that renders us so powerless in our ability to reason soberly? Certainly not from the Bible.

Some believe that speaking in tongues is of the devil. The Bible says in Luke 11:9-13, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" It is quite obvious that if a natural loving father is incapable of giving anything harmful to his children, how come we have come up with the idea that our heavenly Father would be any less?

I am convinced that one of the problems we have in receiving the Holy Spirit and what He has to offer, is birthed from the fact that as a whole we have not come to realize that although He appeared as a dove, He is not a bird, and that even though His presence might cause our hair to stand on end, His presence in our lives is not determined by whether or not we feel "chicken bumps" or do the "chicken walk" or not. The truth is that He is a real person without whom we would have never been born again, that He is not only God with us, He is God in us.

The Holy Spirit is the unction, the anointing within, the indwelling teacher, guide, counselor, helper and friend in whom we can trust unconditionally because He is the Spirit of truth. He is all that and so much more!

John 14:26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

John 15:26, "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."

I John 2:20, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things."

I John 2:27, "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."

We have been anointed with the same person that Jesus was anointed with. Acts 10: 38, "How God anointed Jesus 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." If the consequence of Jesus being anointed with the Holy Spirit was to do good and to heal all that were oppressed of the devil because God was with him, then it would stand to reason that if we have been anointed with the same person Jesus was anointed with, then we should obtain at least the same results that Jesus did.

In the book of Acts 1:8 the Scripture reads, "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 part of the earth." The word power, from the Greek dunamis, from which we get the word dynamite, not only means explosive power, which does very little to give us an understanding as to what is it that we are receiving, it also means Gods achieving ability. We can say also that we receive in Him Gods accomplishing endowment to perform His will. There is another scripture that will help us understand this concept, it is found in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." In the Greek this verse reads as follows: "All things I can do in the one empowering me." It is very comforting to know that whatever the Lord has called us to do, that He will be the one providing the capacity or skills, the inexhaustible riches of His person to achieve it. And one of the most important keys, if not the most important, to fulfill our future in Him, is the empowering ability to be edified by speaking in tongues because we choose to.

Victor