As I look back on my life with the Holy Spirit, it is absolutely crystal clear to me that I am a recipient of what God gave to others before me. I have been impacted by so many amazing people who knew the Lord deeply. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, my father-in-law, Benny Hinn, has had the greatest spiritual impact on my life. It’s safe to say that there would be no Jesus Image and that I would not be in the ministry, born again, or healthy had God not raised up Benny. For that reason, I love him with all my heart. Not to mention he let me marry his daughter thirteen years ago. That’s not a bad deal.
So much of what is taking place in Jesus Image and in my life personally is due to an unquestionable impartation that has occurred over the last twenty-seven years. It is amazing to think that God can take what He has given me and what He has given you and share it with others. I’ve already shared with you how I came to the Lord and was healed in Benny’s meetings. As you know, that began years of driving to (and eventually joining) the Orlando Christian Center, his church. I’d like to take you back to the moment I remember as the first impartation that I received through those meetings and in the life of my father-in-law.
But before we get started, let’s talk about impartation and what it is. The Greek word for impartation is metadidómi. It means “to give over, to share, to give, to impart.” It can also mean “to give a share of.” It can mean “to communicate, to relate, to give, or to bestow.” It can also mean “to transmit, pass on, or confer, and transfer.”
As you read earlier in this book, you’ll remember me speaking about that Greek priest, Anthony Morfessis, who walked into the home at the memorial of my uncle and laid hands on my father, healing him instantly. There was such power on that man, and that power was clearly being transmitted to those in the house. As I said, when he walked in, the women began to fall on the floor as he touched them. This was not a church service. This was simply a man visiting a family who was in mourning. You have to understand, we had no background or grid for people falling under the power of God, but I will never forget the sheer power that filled the air. I want to make very clear right now that what I am talking about is the transmission or impartation of the power of the Holy Spirit. I am not focusing on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That night with Father Morfessis changed my life. It gave me a taste of what was available in God, and I’ve never forgotten it.
As the years went on, I came in contact with another cousin of mine named Sam Kalamaras. He was a Greek priest also, and he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I watched him pray for people, and they would be healed. Many of them would fall to the ground, all in the Greek Orthodox Church. Now, for some of you that might sound very common, but for those of you who grew up Catholic or Orthodox, you know what I’m saying is incredibly rare. People typically did not manifest the power of God in those ways in the Orthodox Church. In fact, I had never seen it before. But I would watch my cousin Sam pray for people, and the power of God would flow in an unquestionable way. Of course this amazed me, but I believe God is wanting us to go from amazement to hunger. As these men and women of God show us what’s available in God, we have a few options: We can attack what they’re doing. We can treat what God is doing through them as being common and average. Or we can realize that God has touched their life in a rare way and be amazed. But I believe that God wants us to take it a step further. Not only does He want us to be amazed and honor what He is doing in them, but He wants it to become an invitation as we discover what’s available by looking at these people and what God has given them.
As a young boy, I experienced that with Father Anthony and Father Sam. It caused me to want the power of the Holy Spirit myself. It was Father Sam who took me to my father-in-law’s church in 1989, the night I met Jesus, the night I met the Holy Spirit. And as the weeks and months went on, even though I was full of God, enjoying God, and at peace with God, I quickly realized that I needed more. One of the reasons I needed more is because I wanted others to meet the Jesus I had met. I began to learn that I could not force people with my reasoning to give their hearts fully over to Jesus. The Lord was teaching me that I needed the same power that Father Sam had, that Father Anthony had, and that Benny had. I just didn’t know how to receive that.
I remember Father Sam’s son and the testimony he shared with me when he received the power of the Holy Spirit. The night the power of the Spirit came upon him, he began to speak perfect Hebrew. Father Sam heard a few words while Michael was speaking in tongues, and it sounded like Hebrew to him; so they took him to the rabbi, and the rabbi said that he was quoting a portion of the Book of Isaiah in perfect Hebrew. Our families grew up speaking Greek and English, that’s it. Hebrew was not part of our arsenal, that I can promise you. But these stories began to amaze me. These examples began to lure me toward the Lord as I began to discover my own personal need for more of Him.
I began to pray and ask God to touch my life. I was given the book Good Morning, Holy Spirit, and the hunger within me multiplied daily as I read the book. Remember, I was only twelve years old, but I would spend hours and hours with God, hours reading the Scriptures, day after day in His presence. Good Morning, Holy Spirit introduced me to the person of the Lord in a way that I had never known. I did not know the Holy Spirit could be my friend, and I didn’t know that I could speak to Him. This was an amazing time, as hunger began to burn in me. So, as I learned more about the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s desire to baptize us in the Holy Spirit, I began to wait on the Lord in my bedroom. Days, weeks, and months went by—still nothing. Being the Greek Orthodox boy that I was, I thought, “Maybe if I put an icon of Jesus in my room, then I’ll receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. After all, John the Baptist said of Jesus, ‘He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Luke 3:16). Well, at least I knew who the baptizer was. My friend, that’s a very important thing to know. Well, the icon didn’t do much, for as beautiful as it was, there was still no power. Then I went to the store and bought another icon. This time, it had a candle attached to it. I remember thinking, “Well, if Jesus is the baptizer, and He baptizes us in fire, I’ve got this thing covered! I’ve got two in one with this one icon—Jesus, the baptizer, and the fire of the Holy Spirit; the icon and the candle. There’s no way I can miss now.” I prayed in front of that icon, and nothing happened—not a thing. I’m sure the Lord heard me, but there was no power from on high.
It was during that time that we were driving back and forth between Tarpon Springs and Orlando to attend Benny’s meetings. We attended a Sunday night meeting, and following the meeting, he announced, “This coming Wednesday night I will be teaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” I looked at my mom and said, “We’re coming,” and so we did. He began to talk about much of what I’ve been talking to you about in this book, but it was specifically about receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. As he began to teach the Scriptures that Wednesday night, I could feel something happening inside of me. I could feel faith like I had never felt before, and I knew that this Wednesday night was my night.
Following the teaching, he looked at the crowd and said, “If you want to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, run up here right now,” and so I did. I was in maybe the third row and ran straight to that altar. It was complete chaos and pandemonium. Hundreds of people came forward. I’m sure many of them had already received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but they were just hungry for more. Maybe some of them were even lying, who knows; I couldn’t care less. All I knew is that this was my night, the night I had been waiting for, for about a year. Before I knew it, I heard a voice say, “Hey, bring that young boy up here.” By this time, my father-in-law and I had connected, spoken, and spent time together at the church. He knew who I was, and so he said, “Get that boy up here. I want to pray for him.” All I can remember is him moving toward me. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. A power began to flow through my body, at which point I felt the most beautiful touch on my tongue, and from my mouth—without trying at all and without anybody coaching me—the most beautiful sounds began to flow.
I was still conscious, and I remember thinking, “How can this be happening to me? This is incredible. This is what I’ve been waiting for.” The sounds began to flow and flow, and they would turn into songs. The most beautiful notes and spiritual beauty began to flow out of my mouth and through my body. I shook and shook under the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, I had received Jesus already. Yes, I had felt His healing touch, but this was different. This felt like ecstatic power. The ability to worship the Lord became completely natural. I felt absolute joy. It was as though I had been lifted to another place, another world. It literally felt like I was swimming in a river of absolute delight, like I had been thrown into the person of the Holy Spirit. My friend, I had. The word baptism means “to be thrust into,” and that’s exactly what had happened. Jesus had grabbed me and plunged me into the invisible river of the Spirit of God. That glorious power took over my body and began to use my mouth as an instrument of praise and declaration of who God is and how wonderful He will forever be. I will never forget this moment as long as I live. I probably spent about two hours on the ground that night shaking.
You might enjoy knowing this: Twenty years later, Jessica asked me, “When were you baptized in the Holy Spirit?” And I told her. I described the service to her. I told her who was on the platform next to me, also being filled with the Holy Spirit. She said, “That’s the night I was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues.” After our discussion, it was clear that when I was twelve years old and she was eight, God had made sure that we would be both filled with the Holy Spirit on the same night. How amazing is the Lord?
You say, “Well, what happened that night? Why did God wait for that service to fill you with the Spirit after you had spent weeks and months in your room alone with Him?” Well, first of all, time alone with Jesus is never wasted. I believe God began to prepare my heart, teach me to pray, and also reveal my need for Him. You know, prayer without the power of the Spirit will wear you down. Those weeks and months in prayer revealed to me that I needed God for everything. I believe that the power of the Spirit is transferrable. It can be imparted. For some reason, what God had given to Benny to carry, the Lord decided to release on me that night as a young boy.
It’s important we understand that while God will use men and women as instruments of impartation, all that we receive comes from the Lord. In John 1:16, the Bible says it is “of His fullness we have all received….” Again, Jesus told the disciples, “…[ Wait] in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). That Scripture highlights so much, but the portion that I believe we often miss is this: The power must come from on high. Michael’s power will do nothing for you. Benny’s power will do nothing for you. Father Sam’s and Anthony’s power will do nothing for you. But Jesus’ power will. So, the power must come from on high because that’s where Jesus is. He is the baptizer of the Holy Spirit. Never forget that every good gift comes down from above (see James 1:17). We can never take credit or give man the credit for what flows from God alone. While we should honor, we must forever remember the source: Jesus Himself.
That night, Benny laid hands on me. God had decided that I would be filled with the Spirit in this way. This is in the Scriptures. Romans 1:11-12 says, “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (NIV).
The Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit as a result of Peter and John laying hands on them. Acts 8:14-17 says,
When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit”( N LT ).
What a beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit’s work in us!
Remember when Jesus breathed on the disciples in John 20:22 and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”—it was at that moment that they were born again and saved. It was also the moment that the Holy Spirit began to live on the inside of them and filled their spirits. They became the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is called the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the presence of God within us. Every born-again Christian is
filled with the Holy Spirit. I am talking about something entirely different. I am referring to what Jesus was talking about in Acts 1:8 when He said, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (KJV). The moment He comes upon us, power is ours, and that is what I am talking about right now.
These Samaritan believers had already received Jesus as the indwelling Lord, by the Holy Spirit, but they had yet to be empowered to live the Christian life. I love the way Bill Johnson says it: “He is in me for me and on me for you.” This is very true. The Holy Spirit within us connects us with the Lord, gives us the opportunity to fellowship with Jesus at any time and any place. He is a fountain of living water on the inside, no matter where we go. But the Holy Spirit on us empowers us to break the power of the devil off of those who desperately need Jesus. The Bible says, “It is the anointing (or the smearing of power) that breaks the yoke” (see Isa. 10:27). This is exactly what happened to me on that rainy night in 1989. I had already been saved, but now God would give me the power to bring that saving touch to those I loved and desperately wanted to know Jesus.
Acts 9:17-20 beautifully describes the apostle Paul’s experience. It says,
Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.… And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God (Acts 9:17-18,20 KJV).
As a result of Ananias laying hands on Saul, there was absolutely a transfer of the power of the Holy Spirit in Saul’s life. We would call this the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Remember, Saul came to the Lord on the road to Damascus, but he was not ready to share Jesus and preach the Gospel in the way that Jesus did without having the same power that Jesus had. Notice it was after Ananias laid hands on Paul and he received the power of the Holy Spirit that “he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). Was Ananias the source? No, he was the channel of Jesus the baptizer.
In Ephesus, the apostle Paul did exactly what Ananias did to him. Acts 19:6 says, “And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied” (KJV). These believers were released in a completely new world in the Holy Spirit, receiving the gift of prophecy and the ability to speak with new tongues. The gifts of the Holy Spirit can also be transferred through impartation and the laying on of hands. The apostle Paul said to his son in the faith, Timothy, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of hands of the [elders]. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Tim. 4:14-15 KJV). This is impartation. The gifts that Paul and the elders carried were imparted to Timothy. In Second Timothy 1:6, Paul reminds Timothy again, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (KJV).
In Acts 6, the Bible says, “…and when they prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the Word of God increased…” (Acts 6:6-7 KJV). This laying on of hands produced great power in the life of Stephen. The Bible says, “Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:8 KJV). The Greek word for power is dunamis. It means “natural capability, power, capability to do anything, ability to perform anything, absolutely nothing is impossible, complete power and action.” Something happened in the life of Stephen when the apostles laid hands on him.
The Spirit of wisdom and revelation and a new calling can be transferred by the laying on of hands and impartation. The Bible says:
Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” And the Lord said to Moses: “ Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.” So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses. (Numbers 27:15-23).
Notice Moses imparted honor and authority. Those Hebrew words mean “beauty, brilliance, grandeur, excellence, glory, honor.” This impartation gave Joshua a spiritual credibility to which the people responded. In Deuteronomy 34, we see that Joshua received an impartation of wisdom from the hands of Moses. It says in verse 9: “Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses” (Deut. 34:9 KJV). Just think, Joshua left with heavenly wisdom after God’s servant prayed for him.
If you trace revival history and study the lives of those who have shaken the world, all of them had been impacted by those who went before them and by those who lived among them. Reinhard Bonnke is a dear friend of mine and somebody whom I look up to so much. You’d have to search the world through to find a man like Reinhard. Many times, over a meal, or over a private time of fellowship, Reinhard shares the stories of when George Jeffreys, the great English revivalist, laid hands on him. Reinhard left that place completely changed—“full of the glory of God,” Reinhard said.
I have spoken to those who have told me that Aimee Semple McPherson was used in the life of Kathryn Kuhlman. F. F. Bosworth helped Maria Woodworth-Etter in her meetings. Lester Sumrall was deeply impacted by the life of Smith Wigglesworth. Benny Hinn was touched by the life of Kathryn Kuhlman. Bill Johnson was deeply impacted by John Wimber and the Toronto Blessing. Steve Hill was touched by the Argentine Revival and the ministry of Pastor Benny. Heidi Baker was changed in the revival meeting in Toronto. The point is this: While everything comes from the Lord, the Lord has decided to use His friends to give away what God has given them.
While I cannot give you everything I have, I can pray and ask that an impartation live in this book and that impartation of the power of the Holy Spirit will come on you now and change your life. This is what I am believing for you: Number one, that through this impartation, the presence of God would be more real to you than ever; number two, that an anointing to pray and spend time with Jesus would be yours; number three, that the love of God would flow in you and through you; number four, that you would break the power of the devil off of people’s lives, and that mighty miracles, signs, and wonders would flow through you; number five, that the declaration of the Gospel would come out of your mouth like fire; and number six, that all of your family and friends would receive what you’re about to receive right now.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, I come to You needy; I need You, Lord. You said that I could ask You for anything in the name of Jesus, and so I come, asking for an impartation of what rests in this book and on this ministry. Holy Spirit, I need You. Jesus, I receive the power, the favor, the wisdom, and every gift of the Holy Spirit that You have for me now, in Jesus’ name, amen.