BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

story about the time my granddaughter drowned in our pool and was pronounced dead…and then she was raised from the dead moments later. The infallible proofs of the Lord's work and love go on and on. I'm sure that's true for your life, too. But that really shouldn't be too surprising. You and I are supposed to have the power of God flowing through our lives. Acts 1:8 declares, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me…unto the uttermost part of the earth." The power of the Holy Ghost in our lives is our witness. The Lord shows Himself to the world through us—we are His infallible proof. Why is it then, that so many Christians duct-tape the Holy Ghost somewhere in the back room of their lives, nervous to ever let Him out? Not Without My Boss This also happens in some of the fastest-growing, most popular churches around the world. One pastor called me and said, "Brother Barclay, we'd like you to come preach at our conference, but we've changed the format a bit. We don't want that Holy Ghost stuff." "I appreciate the invitation," I said, "but I'm not coming without my Boss. I love you, but I won't be there if you're telling me the Holy Ghost isn't invited." Believe me, no one wants to hear Mark Barclay without his Boss! Another time, right before I preached, a pastor told me, "Just so you know, we don't go for that 'speaking in tongues.'" "Wait a minute," I said. "I thought this was a Spirit-filled church." "Yeah, but we don't do that anymore." Then he added, "If you say one phrase in tongues, we're going to keep your offering." Good thing I had enough gas to get home because he kept his word and the offering. Imagine! Trying to bribe a guy who walks with God…. Another young pastor once told me, "Brother Barclay, we've changed some things in our church to try to attract people." That's ridiculous. The truth is, if sinners are comfortable in your presence or in your church, you have horribly failed Jesus. Acting like the world isn't going to get sinners saved. What brings salvation is showing them hope that they can get out of their mess. We don't compromise! We were chosen by God to shine light where there's darkness, and to turn the lost from the darkness into His marvelous light (Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:9). You can't do that if you compromise…and you can't do that without the Holy Ghost! An Eye-Opener When I was filled with the Holy Ghost, it wasn't "a little dab will do ya." I was filled with the Holy Ghost. I was still in the Marines when I attended my first pente-colossal, charis- maniac church service. It was a real eye-opener! At the altar call, I went up to receive the Holy Ghost and had hands laid on me. As far as I could tell, nothing happened. Of course, something did happen. I was an instructor for the San Diego Recruit Battalion, and one day shortly after that service, we had young Marines on the firing line who were getting ready to qualify with their rifles. But my heart wasn't in it. My thoughts kept going back to that church meeting. I found myself praying, I need to be filled with the Holy Ghost! Please, Sir! I wanted it so badly. All of a sudden, from somewhere deep inside, came a river. As young men shot their weapons, I started shouting in the spirit. In fact, I got so caught up in God, I didn't realize when they had ceased firing. I was jumping and shouting, "I got it! I got it! I finally got it! Thank You, Lord!" Then I realized every recruit was staring at me. As the range officer stepped out of his shack onto the tarmac, the Holy Ghost said to me, Decide right now if you're going to be ashamed of Me or not. So, I did the smartest thing I knew to do. I shouted at the range officer, "I'm just praying in tongues, sir! Doing a little dance!" He didn't appreciate that. "Get back to work!" he yelled. I've loved being Spirit-filled ever since. Once you receive His power, praying in tongues should become a regular occurrence. Remember, the Apostle Paul said, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (1 Corinthians 14:18). Burning More Than the Toast One of my mentors, John Osteen, taught me that I should pray in the Holy Ghost over a service, even after I've prepared my message. "Take time to get before God and find out what your assignment is," he told me. "Find out what the Holy Ghost wants to accomplish." I once had a major, secular TV station invite me to come on one of their shows for an interview. I had no idea what they were going to ask, so I did what John Osteen said and prayed in the Holy Ghost, asking Him to give me the words to say. When I showed up, they sat me in a chair and started a countdown—and I suddenly realized it was a live broadcast. The host smiled at the camera and said, "We have the good Reverend Mark Barclay with us today, and we're going to ask him some questions." Then she turned to me. "I understand that you speak in tongues?" Her face looked like someone had just burnt the toast. I'm sure she was expecting me to flinch and hide, or that I was going to panic at the thought that the world was discovering my secret. Far from it. Instead, with the Holy Ghost's conviction rising inside me, I turned to her and said, "Yes! You want to hear some?" Then I broke out in tongues. Suddenly, like cockroaches, TV crew appeared out of every nook and cranny in that studio. The teleprompters read, "CUT TO COMMERCIAL!" A floor manager ran into the room holding a big sign that read, "Go to commercial now! Now!" They did. Then the floor manager approached me, wiping sweat from his brow. "Now Reverend, you're not going to do that again, are you?" "I didn't bring this up," I said. "She asked me." He stammered, "OK…but you're not going to do that again, are you?" I shrugged. "I don't know." "What do you mean 'you don't know'?" "Well, when I'm happy, I pray in tongues. And when I'm bothered, I pray in tongues. Even when I'm angry, I pray in tongues. So, I don't know. It could happen again." That turned out to be the shortest live broadcast the station ever had! As they pointed the way to the door, they said, "We can't have you back on." "I didn't ask to come on," I said. "You asked me." So I got my Bible and left. But not before turning around and letting it loose one more time! I could have let that experience rattle me. But by seeking the wisdom of the Holy Ghost, I found myself full of boldness in a situation where I could have easily been embarrassed and shrunk back. Whatever 3 0 : B V O V

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