Author Archives: Kashelle Gourley

Imagine you want to do something very special for your best friend’s birthday. You start months ahead, researching and shopping, and you finally find it—the perfect gift. You spare no expense and even spend a little extra to have it exquisitely wrapped. Taking every detail into consideration, you time the gift’s delivery, so it arrives on her birthday at precisely the time she was born.

Her birthday comes and goes, and you realize you haven’t heard from her. You track the package, and it shows it was delivered right on time. You think she’ll eventually reach out, but she never does. The next time you see her, you ask her about it, only to find out she never opened your gift. Come to find out, she forgot about it, and it’s just sitting in her drawer!

You would be disappointed right? And what about her…she’s missing out on something great!

This story illustrates exactly what many in the Body of Christ have done with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been sent to them, but because of wrong doctrine, ignorance or downright fear, they’ve ignored Him. That’s the reason most Christians are walking around depressed and defeated. They’re not yet connected to their Power Source, and therefore, they are powerless to destroy the works of the enemy in their own lives, much less anyone else’s.

What about you? Even if you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, you likely have a family member, friend or co-worker who has not. In this article, we want to equip you to receive and minister the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Below are 7 Steps To Receive the Holy Spirit, so you can speak in tongues and receive power to live the abundant life of victory—and help others do the same!

1. Acknowledge the Gift of the Holy Spirit

^“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” –Acts 2:38 (NKJV)

Just as you accepted the gift of salvation by making Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, you can—and should—also accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. But first, you have to understand that He has been made available to you NOW.

Jesus, as well as the Old Testament prophet Joel, told us this gift would be made available to us, and Peter confirmed this when it happened on the Day of Pentecost:

• Joel prophesied that God would pour out His Spirit upon all people (Joel 2:28).

• Before His death, Jesus told His disciples that He would ask the Father to give us an advocate who will never leave us, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17).

• Jesus goes on to tell them it is for their good that He is going away, saying, “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7, NIV).

• “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).

• On the Day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit did indeed come and devout men from every nation were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, Peter stood up and said, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” (see Acts 2:14-17, NKJV).

God has already given us the Holy Spirit, and if you’re a believer, He is living on the inside of you—right now! You don’t have to beg for it or even ask for this gift. All you need to do is acknowledge the gift of the Holy Spirit and receive Him, just like you would any gift.

2. Be Ready To Receive the Holy Spirit

“If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” –Acts 11:17 (NKJV)

God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11), and He will give anyone the gift of the Holy Spirit who meets the requirements.

What are those requirements?

The only thing necessary to receive the Holy Spirit is that you must have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Once you’ve confessed Jesus as your Savior, God gives you the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

You don’t have to be a certain denomination, or be a pastor or evangelist to receive the Holy Spirit. Whether you have been a believer for 50 years or five minutes, you can receive the Holy Spirit right where you are, right now.

And why would you want to wait to receive this promised gift? Jesus put an urgency on receiving the Holy Spirit. In fact, before He ascended to heaven, He told His disciples to not leave Jerusalem until they were baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).

This was a command. Why would He require such as thing?

Because when you’re baptized in the Holy Spirit, you receive power (Acts 1:8)! The Holy Spirit was God’s Power Source for the disciples, and is your Power Source to do everything God has called you to do as well.

Are you ready to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you? Keep reading the next step.

3. Receive the Holy Spirit by the Laying On of Hands

“And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.” –Acts 19:6 (NKJV)

Scripture records for us how the early Church helped believers receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands.

1 Timothy 4:14 (NKJV) states, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.”

It was vital for early Christians to use their faith and lay hands on new believers to help them grow and receive spiritual gifts. In fact, it was such a standard in the early Church that Hebrews 6:1-2 called the laying on of hands one of the elementary principles of Christianity.

Paul addresses believers to “stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6-7, NKJV). Simon saw the laying on of hands as so powerful, he offered the apostles money so he could lay hands on others to help them receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18).

Any believer can lay hands on another believer for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to have a special gift for the laying on of hands. However, keep in mind that you cannot “give” or “make” someone receive the Holy Spirit. Nor can you “be given” the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands. You must simply have faith in God’s Word to lay hands on someone to receive this gift or to receive it for yourself.

If you have access to a Spirit-filled believer, ask them to lay hands on you and pray with you to receive the Holy Spirit. If you don’t have access to a Spirit-filled believer, don’t worry. It’s not an absolute to have someone lay hands on you. However, it can help, especially if you need a little boost when you first start praying in tongues. You can also call the KCM prayer line at (817) 852-6000. A licensed prayer minister would be delighted to pray with you to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. We are here for you!

4. Understand How the Holy Spirit Acts Upon You

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” –Acts 2:4 (NKJV)

Some Christians don’t want to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit because of ignorance and/or unbelief. If they are going to speak in tongues, they say, it’s going to be up to God and God alone!

One pastor said he told God that he wanted the gift of the Holy Spirit, but God was going to have to do all the work. The pastor wasn’t going to move his tongue or lips. He would not be cooperating at all. And guess what? God, in His mercy and grace, knew the pastor’s heart was sincere, and made his tongue and mouth supernaturally move to where the pastor knew it was God moving on him!

But that’s not how it typically works.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Holy Spirit speaks in tongues or speaks for you. You must make the choice to receive the Holy Spirit and act upon it as He gives you utterance. You must choose to speak by faith as the Holy Spirit acts upon your vocal organs. You must put the sound to what the Holy Spirit is doing.

Are you ready? Let’s move on to our next step!

5. Reject Fear of Receiving the Holy Spirit

“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?” –Luke 11:11-13 (KJV)

Just as some people fear the unknown, they can fear praying in tongues. They call it gibberish, weird or unbiblical. Some even fear they will receive an evil spirit instead of the Holy Spirit.

However, the Bible states very clearly in Luke 11:11-13 that God is a good Father who will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. This means you can be assured you will not receive an evil spirit.

Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 14:2 (AMPC) says, “One who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not unto men but to God, for no one understands…because the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things not obvious to the understanding.”

Praying in tongues is your secret prayer language with God, and it is not for everyone else to understand. It’s you speaking directly to God as the Holy Spirit utters secret truths. If your praying in tongues sounds odd to someone else, it’s because it’s supposed to!

Even though praying in tongues does not make sense to the natural mind, it is scriptural and spiritually sound. Throw away all the fears you have acquired through false teachings. Praying in tongues is real, and it is your source for supernatural power from God. As you follow each of these steps, you will receive the real thing!

6. Receive the Holy Spirit

“So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us.” –Acts 15:8 (NKJV)

In this verse, the Lord gave the Gentiles the Holy Spirit because they were eager to receive Him, and they believed the Word of God that promised they could have this gift. It was, and still is, that simple. We receive the Holy Spirit by faith. You have His Word to receive it by faith, and you have biblical examples.

Now, it’s time to receive the Holy Spirit by faith! Here’s how:

1. Open your mouth wide, breathe in as deeply as possible, and tell God in your spirit, “I am receiving the Holy Spirit right now by faith.”
2. Begin to speak as the Holy Spirit gives you utterance. Don’t say anything in English.
3. In Acts 1:5, Jesus told the disciples they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Baptized in Greek means “total submersion…completely filled to the point of overflowing.” Allow that submersion to happen in you right now.

Remember, there’s nothing else required to receive Him. The Holy Spirit is already in you—just cooperate with Him and receive your supernatural prayer language!

7. Keep Praying in Tongues To Activate the Holy Spirit

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” –Jude 20 (NKJV)

Did you receive your heavenly language in Step 6 above? If so, congratulations, and get ready for your life to change!

If you weren’t able to speak in tongues yet, don’t stop 7. As you cooperate with the Lord, following the steps above, you will speak if you do not give up!

If you are ministering the gift of the Holy Spirit to another believer, it may not happen immediately. Keep praying for them only in tongues. Don’t crowd the person receiving this gift—it is between that person and the Holy Spirit.

Once you’ve received your heavenly language, don’t stop. Keep praying in the spirit every day to magnify God, pray in God’s perfect will and destiny into your life, spiritually recharge, gain great revelations and ideas, and much more. Keep praying to stir up the dynamite power of the Holy Ghost inside you! As you do, your faith will abound beyond anything you could have imagined.

These 7 Steps To Receiving the Holy Spirit will help you receive or allow you to minister the Baptism in the Holy Spirit to new believers and mature believers alike. When we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit in us becomes evident, magnifying God and turning us into powerful epistles in Christ. It empowered the apostles to do His mighty work back then, and it will empower you to do great works today!

Related Articles:

12 Power-Packed Reasons To Pray in Tongues

16 Scriptures About Praying in Tongues

How To Harness the Power of the Holy Spirit In Prayer

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4 Confidence-Builders When You’re in a Fight Against Sickness

God’s ALL in when it comes to your taking it to the devil. He’s done everything He can to fully weaponize you, so you can put a stop to the enemy’s stealing, killing and destroying (Ephesians 6:10-18).

However, as with any fight, victory only comes when you’ve got the right weapons and strategies in place—and—the confidence to use them. That’s why, when you’re in a fight against any kind of sickness or disease, it’s just as vital to build up your spiritual confidence as it is your natural immunities.

Here are four confidence-builders that will help you dig in, stand your ground and push you over the top anytime you have to face off against the enemy when it comes to your health or that of someone else. Healing will work for you!

Confidence-Builder No. 1: Jesus Is Our Champion Healer

“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.” –(Luke 3:21-23, NIV)

If you did a quick read of the books of the Bible written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or a random survey of today’s mainstream Christians, the one major theme that would likely stand out in the ministry of Jesus is the fact that He was a Healer—because healing people was something Jesus did a lot.

• “People brought to him all who were ill…and he healed them.” –(Matthew 4:24, NIV)
• “With a word…[he] healed all the sick.” –(Matthew 8:16, NIV)
• “A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.” –(Matthew 12:15, NIV)
• “Wherever he went…. all who touched [his cloak] were healed.” –(Mark 6:56, NIV)
• “People brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and…he healed them.” –(Luke 4:40, NIV)
• “News about him spread…so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.” –(Luke 5:15, NIV)

Jesus was known for healing. Healing was a huge part of His ministry more than 2,000 years ago, and it’s a huge part of His ministry today.

It’s often been thought—and taught—that Jesus focused so much on healing because He needed to prove His divinity (as if He had to earn the right to sit at the throne of God!). But that’s not true.

Besides, Jesus never openly discussed His being God in the flesh. He only spoke and ministered to people from His identity as the Son of Man (one of us), which is how He typically referred to Himself. In fact, take a closer look at the Gospels, and you’ll find Jesus never took credit for any of the supernatural signs and wonders performed during His ministry.

Not long after He was baptized (Luke 3), Jesus arrived at His hometown and announced: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News…” (Luke 4:18-19).

From that moment on Jesus attributed all signs, wonders and miracles to His Father—“My Father who lives in me does his work through me,” He would often say (John 14:10).

Jesus never healed anyone; the Holy Spirit working through Him did. It wasn’t Jesus’ ministry. It was the Holy Spirit’s, which was a critical distinction because of what was about to happen. An important handoff was about to take place, one that would impact our lives 2,000 years later. It was a handoff that would leave no doubt in our minds about “healing”—and our role in it.

Confidence-Builder No. 2: Healing Worked for the 12

“Jesus gathered his twelve disciples and imparted to them authority to cast out demons and to heal every sickness and every disease…. ‘As you go, preach this message: “Heaven’s kingdom realm is accessible, close enough to touch.” You must continually bring healing to lepers and to those who are sick, and make it your habit to break off the demonic presence from people, and raise the dead back to life. Freely you received the power of the kingdom, so freely release it to others.’” –(Matthew 10:1, 7-8, TPT)

As our Champion Healer, Jesus wasted no time in demonstrating to His disciples God’s love and compassion through the ministry of healing. Then He released them to go and do the same—“freely!”

Empowered with authority, a simple message and a whole lot of power, off the 12 went. By Luke’s account, God’s plan went as expected…

“The apostles departed and went into the villages with the wonderful news of God’s kingdom, and they healed diseases wherever they went” (Luke 9:6, TPT).

Where there had only been one person through whom God was able to “do His works” (Jesus), now there were 12. More importantly, however, God had established a precedence, a pattern, a new way of building and advancing His kingdom. We find the blueprint to it laid out in Matthew 9:35 (NIV), just before Jesus deployed His disciples:

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”

Teaching, proclaiming, healing. (Key word: healing)

God sent Jesus into the world to redeem His relationship with mankind—and to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). And one of God’s primary strategies to bring the devil’s works to an end was healing…

“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38, NKJV).

With a working strategy in place and an easy-to-follow pattern that had been well-tested, it was time for Jesus to execute the plan with His original 12 disciples—and it worked. But that was just the beginning.

Because just before Jesus sent His soon-to-be 12 apostles (or 11 since Judas never became an apostle), He charged them with this:

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38, NIV).

Confidence-Builder No. 3: Healing Worked for the 72

“The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them…. ‘Heal the sick, and tell them, “The kingdom of God is near you now….”’ Then he said to the disciples, ‘Anyone who accepts [you] is also accepting me. And anyone who is rejecting you is rejecting me.’” –(Luke 10:1-2, 9, 16)

Apparently, the 12 disciples took Jesus’ prayer request for “more workers” to heart and got after it. Because not long after they returned from their mission, Jesus was able to commission and send another 72.

And how did that go for them?

Luke 10:17 tells us, “When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, ‘Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!’”

God’s plan had now gone viral.

The pattern established by the One worked for the 12, and now the 72. One major difference, however, was that the plan and the pattern had developed into a persona—72 “personas,” to be exact.

Jesus had told them, “Anyone who accepts [or rejects] you is also accepting [or rejecting] Me.” That meant there would be no distinction between Jesus and the 12 or the 72. The same Holy Spirit would operate effectively through them all—the same anointing to teach, preach and heal—yielding the same results.

Once again, the plan worked and the results were exponential, but soon the real test would come. Before that, however, Jesus had to challenge His disciples to reach for an even higher level:

“Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done,” He told them, “and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father” (John 14:12).

Jesus threw a lot at His disciples in that one statement, but time was short, and He needed them ready for His departure—and His leaving them behind wasn’t at all how they imagined this playing out.

But the real shocker was the idea that, with Jesus gone, how could they possibly do MORE, more than what they had already experienced?

Full disclosure came when Jesus went on to tell them, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another [Helper], who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who…. lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Jesus knew “greater works” would come with the Holy Spirit. So, with some experience under their belt and Jesus’ complete confidence in them, the disciples were ready to pick up where He would leave off—and now, there wasn’t anything they couldn’t do!

Confidence-Builder No. 4: Healing Will Work for You

“It is the same Holy Spirit who continues to distribute many different varieties of gifts…. different kinds of miracles that accomplish different results through each believer’s gift and ministry as he energizes and activates them. Each believer is given [public manifestations] by the Holy Spirit to benefit not just himself but all.” –(1 Corinthians 12: 4, 6-7, TPT)

By now you’re probably figuring out that everyone Jesus called and ordained into His ministry, was primarily set against sickness and disease. It was His branding then; it’s His branding now.

The question is: Who are included in the “called and ordained”?

Jesus’ parting words to His disciples answers that question:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…. and these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will…place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” (Mark 16:15-18, NIV).

If you are “saved,” then God fully intends for healing to accompany you, follow you, be with you. He never intended healing just to accompany Jesus, or the 12, or the 72. He intended it for EVERY believer.

What’s more, God doesn’t intend for healing just to be for you—for your benefit only. He expects YOU to minister the benefits of healing to others.

To qualify as a disciple of Jesus, you only have to do one thing He said:

“Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 9:9).

Paul put it this way: “Follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, MEV).

Along that journey as a “follower” of Jesus, you can have confidence in the fact that healing is in your future, whether you need to receive it for yourself or minister it to someone else. Either way, you can trust that it’s always available to you.

But, remember, that confidence is not based in ourselves, our abilities or even our “gifts” (1 Corinthians 12). It’s “according to the power [of the Holy Spirit] that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV). That’s how it worked for Jesus. That’s how it worked for the 12, and that’s how it worked for the 72.

Today, Jesus is sending us to do what He has directed ALL His disciples to do—simply follow the path He forged for us. As we do, it will always take us down the road of healing…for our good, and the good of all. You can be confident of that!

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