Understanding the Purpose of Holy Ghost Meetings
By Rev. Toks Adejuwon
There are different kinds of meetings such as teaching meetings- the Word is taught line upon line, precept upon precept, an evangelistic meeting- the thrust is to reach the lost, a healing meeting to minister to the sick, a Worship meeting or a prayer meeting. A Holy Ghost meeting is however a different kind of flow where we just follow the direction of the Holy Ghost. Every church needs these different kinds of meetings to be all God wants them to be.
So what is a Holy Ghost meeting and what do we expect?
In July, 1987, the Lord appeared to Kenneth E. Hagin of blessed memory in a vision and said to him; “…there is a move of the Spirit that would be lost to this generation except they are led into it …” and that He (the Lord) wants him teach about the Holy Spirit. Then sometime later in 1993, in Lakeland, Florida, he spoke out of his spirit that “… we are going to start having Holy Ghost meetings…” He didn’t start right away, but eventually he did. He asked the Lord “What’s a Holy Ghost meeting?” And the Lord told him a Holy Ghost meeting consists of three (3 ) things, namely:
1. In a Holy Ghost meeting, the Word of God is preached and (or) taught.
Jesus said in Mark 16: 15 “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…” This is our primary assignment. The preaching and the teaching of God’s word must come first. Matthew records the same thing in Matthew 28 verse 18, and 19; “all power (authority) is given to me in heaven and in earth…go therefore and teach all nations…teaching them to observe all things…”
When Brother Hagin pastored in 1939, he did Deliverance Meetings, then Getting Free Meetings and finally Loosening Meetings. After nine months altogether of those meetings, nothing changed in the people’s lives, they were just as bound as they had been. He then began to seek the Lord in prayer and fasting about the situation and the Lord said to him; “… you are trying to do for my people through prayer, anointing with oil and laying on of hands what My Word and My Word alone would do for them…”. The Lord gave him a scripture in John 8:32 which says; “… you shall know the truth and the truth SHALL make you free….”. He began to put out God’s Word. This time round, the people got free and stayed free. The Word of God is anointed.
One time I pastored, as a regular thing, I ministered to the sick. There was a lady who was part of that assembly, who had had surgery thrice for a certain respiratory condition, but the surgeries did not fix the problem. She never came on any of my healing lines for me to minister to her. After a few months, she came to me saying; “… you know, I had trouble with my breathing and I have had surgery on it three times but it couldn’t fix it but by sitting under the teaching of the Word I am now completely healed” The Word did it. Psalm 107:20 says: “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
2. In a Holy Ghost meeting, the Spirit of God is leading, He’s guiding, He’s in demonstration and in manifestation.
A minister once said “With just the Word, you might dry up, with just the Spirit you might blow up, but with the Word and the Spirit, you get to grow up”. We put the Word first, but we’re just as much a people of the Holy Ghost as we’re a people of the Word. We believe in following the Holy Ghost; flowing with the Holy Ghost. As a matter of fact, that’s how Rhema started in the first place. Brother Hagin was teaching on the first night of Camp meeting, July 1973, when he suddenly spoke out of his spirit; “… we’re gonna start a Bible School right here on this premises, to train people in the Word of God and in the Holy Ghost…” He just spoke that out of his spirit without realizing it mentally and that is how Rhema started. So, we believe in following the Holy Ghost. He leads, He guides, He directs, and we want to be sensitive to His leading.
There are manifestations of the Spirit spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. Through any of these nine manifestations, the Spirit of God moves to bless lives. Those manifestations are as the Spirit of God wills. We can create a conducive atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move by cooperating with Him.
I remember one time I was teaching in one of the Rhema campuses in India. I was teaching “Christ the Healer” and as I taught and moved around, I stood right at one section of seats and then there was a lady that sat right in front of me. On the inside of me I heard “ tell her she’s healed” I thought to myself ‘I don’t even know if she’s sick”. Well, I just pointed at her and said, “listen up, I’m human and I could miss it, but I seem to have an impression in my spirit to tell you that you are healed.” She didn’t show much emotion but just said something like ‘praise God’, and that was it. I found out later she had had a heart condition that was incurable, but instantly she got healed, just in a moment. These are manifestations of the Holy Ghost and they belong to the body of Christ. More so, the Spirit of God yearns to manifest Himself through any Spirit-filled believer.
Just like there are manifestations of the Spirit, there are also demonstrations of the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 2:4, Paul said, “… my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man’s wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of the power of God…” There are physical demonstrations of the Spirit of God. For instance, Psalm 126:1 says; “When the Lord turned again captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream, then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing, then said they among the heathen ‘the Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad”. In Hebrews 12, we see that Zion is the Church and Colossians 1:12-13 says “giving thanks unto the father who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the authority of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son…” so, certainly, He has turned our captivity. Notice it says. “then was our mouth filled with laughter”. Psalm 2:4 says “He that sits in the heavens shall laugh”. God laughs and we are seated at the right hand of the Father (Eph 2:6) and so we can laugh inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “a merry heart, doeth good like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). There is something about rejoicing in the Spirit that blesses us and causes God’s power to be brought on the scene.
In 1 Peter 1:8, the Bible says “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” Now, if the joy is unspeakable, there’s bound to be ways to express it. That’s why we sometimes laugh, run, dance and sometimes get hilarious!
3. In a Holy Ghost meeting, the needs of the people are met, and they are full of joy.
Sometimes, there is exuberant joy, but the Holy Ghost could be in manifestation and there is silence. In a Holy Ghost meeting, He may want us to worship. He may want us to pray about something and He may roll prayer burdens. We do not see much of these things anymore these days, but these are the things we need to go back to, that need to be taught and we need to be led into. God’s best is that we walk by faith but not everybody is at that place where they will receive by faith. Some people are so far gone that except there is a manifestation of the Spirit, they will not receive their healing but may die. Some people have lost their minds and don’t even understand what you are saying, so it will take a manifestation of the Spirit to get them delivered. God, being the kind of Father that He is- a loving and gracious Father, He wants to help people regardless of the level that they are at. For the unbelievers, He wants to get their attention through signs and wonders. Signs are not going to get them saved, it is the preaching of the Word that will, but the signs can get their attention. Sometimes, all of us need a little bit of help and in some of these kinds of meetings, where the Spirit is moving, some of that help shows up.
I have seen people who have been believing for healing for years come to a Holy Ghost Meeting and then in such an atmosphere, the healing comes into manifestation. I remember one man, he hadn’t seen in one eye for 7 years and I laid hands on him with the tangible anointing
of healing power, and the blind eye popped open instantly. Now, I can’t heal a fly, Jesus is the healer! One way and not the only way Jesus heals is through the laying on of hands.
On June 1, 1992, the Lord Jesus appeared to me and said “I’ve called you specially and anointed you specially to do what I’ve called you to do, now I want you to go in the strength of that call…” If you will believe that I’m anointed and you will receive that anointing, that power will flow from my hands into your body, it will drive out whatever sickness or disease you have and it will effect a healing and a cure in you. God’s power destroys yokes.
The laying on of hands can be used to minister healing (Mark 16:17-18), the baptism in the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:6), separate people to God’s call (Acts 13:1-4), impart spiritual endowments (Deuteronomy 34:9, 1 Timothy 4:14, 2 Timothy 1:6), and impart blessings (Mark 10:16). Expect to be blessed, expect your needs to be met and expect to be full of joy.
REV. TOKUNBO ADEJUWON graduated from Rhema Bible Training Center Nagpur, India. He is ordained and credentialed with Rhema Ministerial Association International, USA. He currently serves in Rhema Bible Training Center Nigeria, as the National Director. He is happily married to Dr. Akunna and they have 3 lovely children: Zoe, Sophia and Victor.