What Some People Are Saying

Discovery Series: How Can I Be FILLED with the Holy Spirit
Author : Martin R. De Haan II



Every follower of Jesus Christ should want to obey the biblical command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But what does that involve? Some see it as an experience that is recognized by:

• speaking in "tongues"
• feelings of wild ecstasy
• feeling the spirit take them over
• being overcome with great joy
• being "slain" in the Spirit
• having the ability to prophesy
• being able to interpret "tongues"

But other Christians say they have never had any of these experiences. They claim that a person does not have to have any of these things happen to him to show that he is filled with the Holy Spirit as he lives his day-to-day life.

To them, Richard Wurmbrand, who still carries from beatings he received in a communist prison camp, exemplifies the power of a Spirit-filled life. He tells of singing for joy in a cell where he was cold, sick, and hungry. To many, he is a good example of someone who is Spirit-filled.

A Christian named  John who died in a  Grand Rapids nursing home a few years ago, was considered a Spirit-filled  man by those who took care of him. During the last 2 years of his life, as cancer ravaged his body, his joy was irrepressible. He told everybody he met about Jesus Christ.

During is first year, John asked the aids to wheel him into rooms where people were discouraged and depressed. His testimony was used to lead many of his fellow residents to the Lord. After he could no longer be placed in a wheelchair, he talked to people who came into his room.

He radiated such joy that they couldn't help but feel they were in the presence of a Spirit-filled man.

According to the Bible, the privilege for every believer to be filled  with the Holy Spirit began at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13)

The disciples were praying together when they suddenly heard the sound of rushing wind, saw tongelike flames, and spoke in languages they had never learned. As a result, 3,000 people in Jerusalem trusted Christ that very day. The apostles were filled with courage and power, witnessing boldly and performing miracles. As time went on, and despite persecution, these Spirit-filled Christians presented such a powerful testimony that even their enemies spoke of them as men who had "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6).

We would all like to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But most of is don't experience the same victory, the same joy, or the same power as these early apostles. So, this leads us to ask, "How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?"

Click Here to VIEW this PDF
Click Here to Receive This FREE Booklet

The Bible And Its Author

Discovery Series: How Can I Know God Through His Book

Author : Martin R. De Haan II

The Bible, the book of books, was written so that we could know the Author behind the authors. Sometimes He is revealed directly in the statements that tell us exactly what He is like. The simple sentence 'God is love" (1 John 4:16) is an example . So is the statement "Be holy, for I am holy"
(1 Peter 1:16)

In most cases, however, we must look into and beyond the stories and statements and people of the bible to see the character of its Author. The story of David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17), for instance, tells us a great deal about God. True, the story is primarily the historical account of a valiant Jewish youth in his conquest of a bigger, stronger, more experienced foe. But is was God's cause that David was defending . It was God's power and control that directed the stone from David's sling and brought the blasphemous giant crashing to the ground. And it was God who was glorifies when the pagan Philistines were put to flight by the armies of Israel.

What  God says reflects who He is.

That God is our God! The details and scenery have changed, but the character of David's God has not. Nor have His principles. He is still with us, and He can be found by those who seek Him. He is involved with all that happens. And He has a plan, a cause, and a purpose for each on of us.

Click Here to VIEW this PDF
Click Here to Receive This FREE Booklet

The Author and His Book

Discovery Series: How Can I Know God Through His Book

Author : Martin R. De Haan II



An author often reveals himself in what he writes. He will sometimes put himself into his characters, talk through their speeches, and pour his feelings into their emotions. Ideas and issues that are important to him will find their way into the pages of his books. Ideas and issues that are important to him will find their way into the pages of his books.

One of the intriguing aspects  of the study of literature, therefore, learning about an author through his writings. For example, we can learn much about the blind poet Milton through his sonnets and through Paradise Lost. And the study of the dark and twisted stories of Edgar Allan Poe take us deeply into his twisted mind and tormented heart.

Sometimes the writer will come right out and tell the reader what he is like and what he believes. The few people who took seriously Adolf Hilter's Mein Kampf for example, recognized his ego, his love of power, and the intensity of his hatred for the Jews.

What an author says reflects who that author is.

Usually, however, an author does not reveal his thinking  and his character directly. His works must be read carefully and analyzed before the reader can begin to understand him. We must study his characters, scrutinize his places and incidents, and review his themes before we can know makes him tick.

Think a moment about James Fenimore Cooper,  the early American writer who wrote such thrilling stories as The Deerslayer, The Pilot, and The Last Of The Mohicans. Reading these stories would give you a sense of Cooper's admiration for the pioneering spirit of the early settlers and his respect for the shrewdness and skill of the American Indian. You should also begin to feel his love for the spirit and adventure and his conviction that faith is virtually important if one is to overcome the fears and uncertainties of life.

"But," you ask, "how is all of this going to help me? What does it have to do with God and the study of the Bible?" Simply this: While one of the interests of literature is to get  to know an author through what he has written, it should be the main interest of all Bible study. The Bible is God's book. Although it was written by men like Moses and Luke and Paul, it is the self-revelation of God. He is the Author behind the authors. And what He says reflects who He is.

While one of the values of literature is to help you get to know the author through what he has written, it should be the main purpose of all Bible Study.

 To know God, therefore, we have to read His book. We have to learn to see Him on every page, above every event, in every place and circumstance, and overseeing the choice if every person who makes his way into the sacred pages of biblical history.

Click Here to VIEW this PDF
Click Here to Receive This FREE Booklet