Gloria Copeland Standing with You for God’s Master Plan for Your Life
About Gloria Copeland
With a passion for Scripture and a determination, Gloria Copeland has been teaching about the life-changing power of God’s Word for more than 40 years. Read MoreLive Long, Finish Strong
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Gloria Copeland — Be Filled With the Spirit Part 1Posted on March 24th, 2010
The Bible simply says, “…be filled with
the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). You know that
the Bible is God speaking to you. The Word of
God is the will of God. It is God’s will for you
to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit!
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 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 11:9-13).
First, we see that you as a son are to ask
the Father for the Holy Spirit. Even though
He has already been given to the Church,
you are asking and inviting the Holy Spirit
to come upon you and endue you with power.
Ask for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
We are told that if we ask, we will
receive. The Word assures you that you will
receive the good gift—the Holy Spirit—and
not a counterfeit. Therefore, you may ask
expectantly and without fear, knowing that
your Father gives only good gifts to His
children. Jesus said ask and you would receive
the Holy Spirit.
“And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
“While Peter yet spake these words, the
Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the
word. And they of the circumcision which
believed were astonished, as many as came
with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also
was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues, and
magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46).
“And when Paul had laid his hands upon
them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied”
(Acts 19:6).
In these accounts of believers receiving
the Holy Spirit, they began to speak with other
tongues. Nowhere in the New Testament
does it say the Holy Spirit does the speaking.
The believer speaks as the Holy Spirit gives
him utterance.
Gloria Copeland
Gloria Copeland — The Power That WorksPosted on March 3rd, 2010
Learn to continually pray this prayer
from Ephesians 3:14-21 for yourself:
For this cause I bow my knees unto
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
of whom the whole family in heaven
and earth is named, that he would
grant you, according to the riches
of his glory, to be strengthened with
might by his Spirit in the inner man;
that Christ may dwell in your hearts
by faith; that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to
comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth, and length, and depth,
and height; and to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
ye might be filled with all the fullness
of God. Now unto him that is able
to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us, unto him
be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without
end. Amen.
According to the power that worketh in
us! His unlimited ability to work in our lives is
according to the power working in us. God’s
design is that He abide continually inside our
spirits and come upon us in power to carry
out His work.
In the early Church, much of the time,
people were born again and received the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit at the same time.
In Acts 8 however, we can see the two different
experiences. It tells us that Philip in Samaria
preached the things concerning the kingdom
of God and the Name of Jesus. Verse 12 says
they believed, and both men and women were
baptized. These people were believers.
Later, Peter and John came to pray for
them that they might receive the Holy
Ghost. “(For as yet he was fallen upon none
of them: only they were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands
on them, and they received the Holy Ghost”
(Acts 8:16-17).
The term “receiving the Holy Ghost” is
also correct in speaking about the Baptism
in the Holy Spirit. Paul asked the men at
Ephesus, “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).
These men had been baptized into John’s
baptism. Paul told them that John said to
believe on Jesus. “When they heard this, they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them,
the Holy Ghost came on them; and they
spake with tongues, and prophesied” (Acts
19:5-6). In this instance they were baptized
in water and then Paul laid hands on them to
receive the Holy Ghost.
From these scriptures we can see that the
apostles laid their hands on men who were
already believers, to receive the Holy Spirit.
These scriptures reveal that this enduement of
power called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is
not the same experience as the new birth. In
these two examples, this enduement of power
came as hands were laid on them.
However, on the Day of Pentecost, at
the house of Cornelius, the Spirit of God fell
upon those present and they began to speak
in other tongues. They received the new birth
and the enduement of power simultaneously.
Gloria Copeland
Gloria Copeland — Baptism Of The Holy SpiritPosted on February 24th, 2010
Jesus taught the disciples about these works
in John 14, talking to them about the Holy Spirit:
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and
the Father in me? the words that I speak unto
you I speak not of myself: but the Father that
dwelleth in me, he doeth the works…. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do; because I go unto
my Father” (John 14:10, 12).
They were to continue to do the same
works that Jesus Himself had been doing and
it would take the same power and anointing
of the Holy Spirit He had. (See Acts 10:38;
Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:10; Luke 4:18-21;
Acts 5:12-16.)
That power came on the Church on the
Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is still
assigned to the Church today to help us fulfill
our commission. Didn’t Jesus say He would
abide with us forever?
Jesus stated that it was not Him but the
Father in Him who did these works. When
He said, “But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (Acts
1:8), they knew what He meant!
The Greek word dunamis, translated power,
means “ability and might.” When you receive
the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, you receive the
ability of God to do His work in the earth. The
Spirit within is for fruit bearing—for your own
personal life (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus talked
about this in John 4:14. He called it: “…a well
of water springing up into everlasting life.” But
the Spirit upon is for service. Jesus talked about
this in John 7:38-39. He described it as “rivers
of living water.” The well is for your own life
and the rivers flowing out of you are for others.
The dictionary says a witness is “evidence
or confirmation.” This power of the Holy Spirit
living in you can transform your life into
evidence to the world that Jesus has been
raised from the dead and is alive today. Jesus
said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me…” (Acts 1:8).
The traditions and doctrines of men have
robbed many believers of this power to be a
witness. The world is not only supposed to
hear words but see proof that Jesus is alive
today. As new converts, we should be taught
to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit—
the enduement of this power to reveal Jesus
to lost humanity.
Many believe that He is automatically
received at the time of salvation, and that’s all
there is. It is certainly true that if you are born
again, the Holy Spirit has come to live in you
and endeavors to work in your life. I had been
born again and the Holy Spirit was living inside
me, but the power Jesus spoke of was not evident
in my life until after I received the Baptism in
the Holy Spirit. I wanted to do right, to follow
God and be a strong Christian, but outwardly
I didn’t change much until after I received the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues. The combination of the power
of God upon me and the Word of God in my
heart began to change weakness to victory. As
I learned truth from God’s Word and acted on
it, the Spirit of God upon me enabled me to
overcome in my own life and to help others
overcome.
Gloria Copeland
Gloria Copeland — The Spirit UponPosted on February 17th, 2010
From that moment they were changed.
They were no longer troubled, afraid or sad.
Luke’s account lets us know of the change:
“And it came to pass, while he blessed them,
he was parted from them, and carried up
into heaven. And they worshipped him, and
returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and
were continually in the temple, praising and
blessing God. Amen.” (Luke 24:51-53).
Where there had been sadness, now there
was great joy—a fruit of the spirit. Where
there had been fear and confusion, now there
was continual praise and blessing of God. And
they were obedient. They went to Jerusalem
and waited for the enduement of power from
on high, expecting to receive the promise of
the Father which Jesus spoke of just before
he blessed the disciples and was carried into
heaven: “And, behold, I send the promise of
my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city
of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on high” (Luke 24:49).
The account of this in Acts 1 says:
And, being assembled together with
them, [He] commanded them that
they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water;
but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence….
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 (verses 4-5, 8).
He said they were to be baptized with
the Holy Ghost and receive power! They
had already received the Holy Spirit within.
Now Jesus was instructing them what to
do to receive the power of God upon them.
Acts 10:38 says Jesus was anointed with the
Holy Ghost and power. The disciples were to
receive that same power!
He said in our everyday talk, “Don’t leave
town without it!” This enduement of power
was necessary for them to be able to carry out
the work Jesus set before them. (See Mark
16:15-20; Matthew 28:18-20.) Nothing has
changed. The Body of Christ today is still
under the same mandate.
Gloria Copeland
Gloria Copeland — Filled With the Holy SpiritPosted on October 14th, 2009
After Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and before
He ascended into heaven, He left us this promise: “Ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me…[throughout] the earth”
(Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit is the One who endues us with
power for our Christian walk and to do the works of Jesus
(John 14:12).
God has already sent the Holy Spirit. He came to earth on
the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Now it is up to you to receive
Him into your life.
Once you are born again, you can receive the Holy Spirit
just as you received Jesus—by faith in God’s Word. All you
must do is ask Him. Jesus said, “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 11:13). The Holy Spirit will empower you
with God’s own power! You need His power working in you—
ask Him now.
My heavenly Father, I am a believer. I am Your child and
You are my Father. Jesus is my Lord. I believe with all my
heart that Your Word is true. Your Word says that, if I will
ask, I will receive the Holy Spirit, so in the Name of Jesus
Christ my Lord, I am asking You to fill me to overflowing
with Your precious Holy Spirit. Baptize me in the Holy
Spirit. Because of Your Word, I believe that I now receive
and I thank You for it. I believe that the Holy Spirit is
within me and, by faith, I accept it. Now, Holy Spirit, rise
up within me as I praise my God. I fully expect to speak
with other tongues as You give me the utterance.
Meditate on these scriptures about the Holy Spirit: Luke
11:9-13; John 14:10, 12, 16-17; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 32-33, 38-39,
8:12-17, 10:44-46, 19:2, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 14:2-15, 18, 27;
Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20.