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The Holy Spirit is Real
Milosh was a young man who lived in Germany, but he was originally from
the Czech Republic. He began attending a small house church in the city of
Gorbitz (near Dresden, Germany). Even though Milosh was attending the University
in Desden, he found the time to faithfully attend services at the house
church.
At the end of one of the evening services, Milosh approached the missionaries
who ran the house church—Carl Ethridge and Greg Kuechler. Milosh told
them that he had read Acts 2 during his morning devotions. The passage told
of Pentecost, where Jesus’ disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak in other tongues.
Milosh asked Carl and Greg if they would pray for him to receive the baptism
in the Holy Spirit. Carl and Greg said they would, and they began to pray. They
prayed for Milosh in English, and they prayed for Milosh in German. They also
prayed for Milosh in the Spirit, using the gift of tongues. They prayed that God
would give Milosh the promise Jesus gave to all those who believed in Him.
Carl Ethridge spoke only very limited German, so his prayers in German were
usually very short. When he prayed for Milosh, he spent most of the time praying
in English and in the Spirit.
After praying for about twenty minutes, Milosh had not yet received the baptism.
But Carl and Greg encouraged him to keep seeking and thanking the
Lord for His Spirit and His promise. They told him that if he had not received
the baptism by the following week, they would spend more time praying for
him and believing God to fill him.
The following week, Milosh came to the house church very excited. He said to
Carl and Greg, “I know the Holy Spirit is real. I know the gift of the Spirit is
for today, and I know it is for me.”
Greg said, “Yes, Milosh, that’s what we thought you said when you came to us
last week.”
“No,” Milosh admitted. “What I told you last week was that I read about the
gift of the Spirit in the Bible. As a believer, I thought maybe I should have
this gift too. Then when Carl prayed for me, he prayed in perfect Czech. He
encouraged me in my own native language, calling me brother and friend,
seeking God on my behalf to fill me with His Spirit. I know Carl doesn’t speak
Czech, so I knew it was God using the gift of the Spirit to speak to me through
Carl, just like He did in Acts 2!”
God moved in Milosh’s life and strengthened him in his Christian walk. The
Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak when the
time comes. Those words could be English, Spanish, German, a heavenly language,
or an earthly language. Be ready for the day the Lord chooses to speak
through you—you never know, it may be in Czech!
Information for this story was provided by missionary Carl Ethridge and is
used with permission from Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2007 The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce and adapt lesson components for exclusive use in the local church. Any other use requires written permission. |
