Praying With Seekers
by Royce Elms

1. How to help people receive the Holy Ghost.

A. It is a fact that it is the divine and perfect will of God for every individual that wants the Holy Ghost and is willing to repent to receive the Holy Ghost immediately.

B. Anything else is not the will of God. We need to establish this in our minds and hearts, because this will unleash faith that they are going to receive the Holy Ghost that they can feel.

c. Talk to them in a positive manner as though they have already received the Holy Ghost. Talk faith, total faith, not “it might happen.”

D. No where in the Bible did they tarry for the Holy Ghost, after it was once given. The only tarrying was in the second chapter of Acts and that is only because the Holy Ghost was not yet given.

E. In every other scripture account in Acts chapter 8,9,10,19 They all received the Holy Ghost immediately. In chapter 8 the Apostles came down and laid hands upon then and the Holy Ghost fell on them, there was no tarrying. Immediately they received the Holy Ghost.

F. Simon Peter was sent by God to the Gentiles. As He was preaching, the Holy Ghost fell, before He even got to the fact that they needed it! God poured out the Holy Ghost while “He yet spoke these words.”

2. God said He would confirm His word with signs following.

A. This is the Apostolic pattern always has been and always will be.

B. If you teach your home missions church this in the beginning, you’re establishing something that is tremendous.

c. You set your church up like this and you’ll never have a chronic seeker. It’ll be like that from now on; just like the book of Acts.

D. It’s the will of God that you establish your churches exactly like this, and if you do, then that’s the way your church will be there on out.

3. Tarrying is for after you receive the Holy Ghost, not before.

A. We need to tarry in the prayer room after we already receive the Holy Ghost but not before! Sometimes we get this turned around, and get the cart before the horse.

B. Old Pentecost used to believe that you had to tarry a long time to receive the Holy Ghost. It used to be something to brag about, how long a person tarried.

c. Some Pastors of old time Pentecost used to believe if you tarried longer you got a “better” Holy Ghost and if you got it right away you usually didn’t last. According to his faith is what he got!

4. If you will believe it with everything inside you, it will happen just exactly like you believe it.

A. But you have to believe it with everything inside you. Expect it just as if it already happened.

B. “According to your faith so shall it be done unto you.” If you have faith that twenty years from now they will receive the Holy Ghost, that’s when they will receive it. However if you believe God will fill them right now, then He will do it right now!

c. The Lord wants to do “exceedingly and abundantly and above all we can even ask or think.

D. Faith of God is tremendous. When the faith of God comes, something great is going to happen.

E. It’s beautiful when the faith of God operates. It’s not you and you cannot receive the glory. He gave you the faith and you just exercised the faith He gave you, and so all the glory belongs to God.

F. God wants to give you more than what you want to ask Him for.

G. If there are fifteen people that want the Holy Ghost, and don’t have it; they should get it the first night!

H. It is promised to them now. “Today is the day of salvation; right now is the accepted time. God said now is when they should get the Holy Ghost.

I. Home Mission Pastors-Evangelist-we need to cultivate this in our churches and everywhere we go.

J. But remember, there are still some Pastors who won’t accept it–they believe you have to talk in tongues five hours! They believe if you get the Holy Ghost, quick it won’t stick. It’s because they won’t believe that it will.

5. Receiving the Holy Ghost, is not the only important thing.

A. The Holy Ghost is tremendous and a great necessity but teaching is where it’s at.

B. If the Holy Ghost did it all, then the charismatics would be in the U.P.C., or a good Jesus name Apostolic Church.

c. “The Holy Ghost will lead and guide you into all truth.” It will enlighten the word of God; But the teaching is where it is at.

6. If there are chronic seekers in your church, a faith class is a excellent thing.

A. In these classes instruct them how to receive the Holy Ghost. Tell them there are three Biblical steps to receiving the Holy Ghost.

B. The first step is worship. Explain that God inhabits the praises of His people. Worship is the way to invite Him in! instruct them to lift up their hands and praise Him with simple words, Not elaborate prayer. Simple words, like “I Love You Jesus” so they don’t have to concentrate so much in what they’re saying and can put their spirit into worship and praise. Encourage then to lift up the Lord with praise and begin to think in terms of receiving the Holy Ghost.

c. The second step is to believe in their heart that they are receiving the Holy Ghost. The faith attitude says “I am receiving the Holy Ghost. Tell them when you worship, you will begin to feel the spirit move on you. When the spirit moves on you, the spirit is filling you with the Holy Ghost. At that moment you need to believe you are receiving Him. Accept Him, He will fill you to running over! When a person is filled, it will spill over in the fact that the Holy Ghost will quicken you with a language you never spoke before.

D. The third step is when the quickening comes. (and it will come–teach this!) Everyone who receives the Holy Ghost will receive a quickening of some kind. It is like God tapping you on the shoulder and saying “alright, if you close out your old language, I’ve got a new one for you. Shut down your English and I’LL give you something new that will glorify me and will exalt me.” Whether your tongue felt funny, or your lips tingled, everyone receives a quickening. When it comes, yield to it” Stop speaking English for while you’re speaking English the Holy Ghost cannot give you tongues. Don’t override the Holy Ghost with English. Relax and speak forth in tongues , as the spirit gives the utterance.

E. When a person receives the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost does not speak in tongues. They speak in tongues. The Bible says “and they began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance (or prompted them).

F. That is why the Bible says the spirit is subject to the prophet. You can speak in tongues or you can keep quiet and not speak in tongues.

G. God’s part is to quicken you; your part is to speak it” This helps chronic seekers when they realizethe Holy Ghost doesn’t make you speak in tongues. Some people meed to understand this or the devil will build a blockade they can’t get over.

H. However the quickening comes they should yield to that. They should purpose in their heart to not say anything else in English.

7. On hard cases fast and pray for a word of wisdom.

A. What kind? Whatever the Holy Ghost gives you through prayer and fasting.

B. There has to be a price paid for the chronic seekers

B. We need to train our people to work the alters.

A. Train your people not to tickle, yell or spit into the face and where to and not to put their hands.

B. Only one person should be instruction at a time.

c. New converts do these things and they don’t know any better; new converts need to be trained in altar working. The devil uses these things.

D. Teach the people how to conduct themselves and work the alters so they will be a blessing and not a hindrance.

E. Creating the right atmosphere is important; Worship is what creates this atmosphere.

F. Also important in the development of your church, is the need to create a ministry of altar workers. Key people who are especially anointed, should be counseled and trained in how to work in the alters; and in what to say and in what not to say.

9. Conclusion: It is a tremendous thing when you discover the power that is turned loose when you believe that God is going to do what He said He would do. When you create a atmosphere of faith that says, “anybody who wants the Holy Ghost can receive the Holy Ghost tonight.

A. We should never have an Evangelist come that there is two, three, four or five that needs the Holy Ghost — because they should have gotten the Holy Ghost “last Sunday night” — or the Sunday before.

B. When we have an Evangelist, it is more to glean the harvest that just might be coming into frutition.

c. Pray them through right along as they need lt. This will keep the church refreshed and blessed, when every week you have someone getting baptized, someone getting the Holy Ghost. One on one is where it’s all at. Disciple as they come in!

(1600 words) Apostolic Information Service takes no responsibility for any part of this message or it’s content. Any error in context, interpretation, or grammar are not necessarily the fault of the author or of A.I.S. This message was outlined from a live sermon preached by the author