I had been praying for a long time about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I wanted to experience what I had seen in the Victory Temple church that I had previously attended, and on the day of God's choosing, I did receive Him. I was attending Roane State Community College at the time, and after classes were over for the day, I drove along Highway 70 to my grandmother's apartment in Kingston. I was praying as I was driving, and suddenly I felt an overwhelming wave of emotion come over me. Tears began to well up in my eyes, and the feeling of joy and love in my heart at that moment was so intense, it was all I could do to take my pickup truck out of gear and come to a stop on the side of the road. I sat there perhaps ten minutes barely able speak because I was crying uncontrollably and my lower jaw was vibrating intensely. I could only say 'Hallelujah!'
There are some full-gospel believers who would say that it is not possible to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit without the evidence of speaking in other tongues. There are some full-gospel believers who would say that my vibrating jaw was a form of speaking in other tongues. In my heart, I believe that I did receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit there in my pickup truck on the side of the road, but on that day I did not speak with other tongues. For several months after this, I prayed that would be able speak with other tongues just as I had witnessed the elderly man do in the Victory Temple church that I had previously attended.
During the week of November 30, 1988, we attended a revival at the Victory Temple church in Lenoir City, Tennessee. The guest speaker was Elaine Holmer, and there came a point during the service when she asked for anyone who desired to speak in other tongues to come forward. I responded to her summons, and she laid her hands on me to receive this gift from the Lord. Doctrinally, I don't agree with her method, because she spoke aloud in other tongues with no interpreter present while she ministered to me. However, I can not deny that on that day I did receive the gift.
A video recording was made of the revival service that night, and I have below a link to the clip during which I received the gift of speaking with other tongues. Two frames of that video are shown below. In the first frame, after the evangelist had walked across the sanctuary (right circle), I followed her across to the other side (left circle). The second frame shows the evangelist with her hands on me ministering the gift (2 Timothy 1:5-7)."
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 Gift of Tongues Elaine Holmer to David Spakes WMV Video - 1,356 Kb Click to Watch |
I had no idea what I was supposed to do with the tape after I had made the recording, so I took it to my pastor and told him what God had told me. The church I was attending at that time had a daily half-hour radio program, and I thought perhaps that after the pastor had listened to the tape, he might play my little sermonette on on the radio. This did not happen, but a few weeks later, the pastor announced from the pulpit that I had been called to preach. I wasn't sure at first if what he said was true. After much prayer, however, I began to feel that the pastor was correct and that God was calling me to preach.
Not long after this, the Assistant Pastor, Jeff Schrimsher, spoke a prophetic word to me during the course of a sermon he was preaching. I received the word with gladness, because it confirmed what I already felt in my heart. Here is a picture of Jeff and a recording of the prophetic message that he spoke to me."
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 Prophetic Message Jeff Schrimsher to David Spakes MP3 Audio - 305 Kb Click to Listen |