"This has been my experience since 1942 when I was filled with the Holy Spirit in speaking in other tongues. What a day of knowing God wanted to use my tongue of His Spirit daily, as I was connected to God who is my Shepherd, Gentleman Farmer and King of my life, so I can produce the Fruits of the Spirit of God as an Ambassador in the Kingdom of God".

Jesus Is Risen Indeed: Scholars use apologetics to prove Jesus rose from the dead. But you must know this by the Holy Spirit, not intellectual arguments
by R. T. Kendall | Feb 20, 2023 | Mar-Apr 2023
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My life was transformed when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit on Oct. 31, 1955. This experience made me see how real Jesus is and how true the Bible is. It is also what held me to this very day to believe in the infallibility of holy Scripture.
I was trained at a theological seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, when it was very liberal. Few of the professors there at that time believed in the literal, physical, bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Many of these teachers even believed in process theology, which is camouflaged atheism in my opinion. It is now called open theism, and it is even embraced by many evangelicals and charismatics. Open theism is the most dangerous teaching to come into the charismatic movement and influence charismatic leaders in America and Britain.
If some readers wonder whether I spoke in tongues, I can tell you that for some reason this did not happen to me until February 1956, some three months later. But it happened unexpectedly and undoubtedly. It was so real.
Although my old denomination taught against it, as do many evangelicals and all cessationists today, I knew I could not deny my experience of speaking in tongues. And I never will.
I sometimes reckon there would not be a teaching of cessationism today were it not for the gift of tongues inserted by Paul into the nine gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. It is the only gift that challenges our pride. The baptism of the Holy Spirit did several things for me:
It gave me instant peace and joy that words cannot adequately describe. It is what Charles Wesley called the “second rest” in his hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” (Wesley based this on Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:29b, “You will find rest for your souls.”)
It gave me full assurance of my salvation. Until then, owing to my old church background, I was afraid of losing my salvation every time I did something wrong. I knew on that day, 67 years ago, I would never doubt my salvation again, and I never have.
It changed my theology permanently within hours. This pertained largely to the teaching of the sovereignty of God, which I describe in some of my books.
It convinced me forever that Jesus was literally raised from the dead. I will return to this later.
I saw that Jesus was a real man. I am sure I was taught that theoretically before then. All I can say is, seeing that Jesus’ being areal man—truly and fully man as well as God—gripped me to no end. A verse like 1 Timothy 2:5b (ESV, emphasis added), “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” became very precious to me.
It persuaded me that the intercession of Jesus for me at the right hand of God was literal and real. This would later become a vital part of my theology.
I saw that without doubt the Second Coming of Jesus is absolutely true! I was so excited to see and know that He really is coming again.
My reason for detailing these items is this: I believe God wants us to believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead supernaturally—by the Word and the Spirit. Not by reason or logical argument.
The same is true in how we believe the Bible to be the Word of God. “Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion,” said Charles Spurgeon. We believe the Bible is the Word of God not because of intellectual arguments but by the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit.

Our Faith Is Not Based on Intellectual Arguments
I do not deny that there is a place for apologetics in Christian theology. But apologetics deals with objections to the faith; rarely is a person converted by hearing someone defending the faith.
People are generally converted by the aggressive preaching of the gospel: that Jesus died, satisfying God’s wrath and justice by His precious blood and then rising from the dead.
In fact, my beloved and respected predecessor at Westminster Chapel, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, always said that one of the worst things to happen in the earliest church was the introduction of apologetics in the second century by some of the apostolic fathers. He felt it gave rise to a lifeless Christianity.
T.F. Torrance has shown that there was virtually no doctrine of grace taught in the apostolic fathers; Christianity had become a teaching of morality and good works.
The New Testament shows again and again that people are converted by the Word and Spirit at work simultaneously. The Resurrection of Jesus vindicated the Word. People laughed Jesus to scorn when he said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19b).
The Jews threw this up later, claiming Jesus was referring to the Temple Mount, as reason to show that He was a fraud (Matt. 27:62-64).
But John gave the real explanation of Jesus’ words: “But [Jesus] was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:21-22).
Jesus was intent on defending the Scriptures. The Scripture during His life on earth was the Old Testament. One of the most disappointing translations of Psalm 138:2 appears in virtually every modern translation. The King James Version got it right: “Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
There is fortunately a footnote in the ESV that quotes the Hebrew. I don’t understand why modern scholars chose to gloss over the Hebrew in Psalm 138:2. Is it because they think David was not giving enough honor to God’s name? Granted, God cares about His name.
His name refers to His power and reputation. But it happens that God cares more about His Word—His integrity and honesty.
God will vindicate His name one day. Oh yes, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Rom. 14:11, Phil. 2:9-11).
God will then explain the reason He allowed evil and suffering, as promised to Habakkuk (Hab.2:1-4). But He can wait for that! So must we. What our heavenly Father wants in the meantime is for His people to revere His Word.
The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a vindication of His Word. Why do you suppose God raised Jesus from the dead when there was no one to see it happen? Answer: He wanted it to be believed because of His Word.
The angels said to the women at the empty tomb on Easter morning, “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:6b-7, ESV). Then comes this moving and never-to-be-forgotten comment by Luke: “And they remembered his words” (Luke 24:8). To be continued!
As the two men on the road to Emmaus put it, after realizing they had been with the living Christ for a few moments on Easter Sunday: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us on the road, while he opened unto us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).
Later Jesus appeared to His disciples and said to them: “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).
Some might say, “But [the two men] had Jesus himself with them, who had been raised from the dead, to give to them that direct Word.” True. But we have the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who will reveal the same word of God to us. Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). To Be Continued!!!