HOW TO RECEIVE THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Introduction

We have discovered that there are a lot of seekers who are asking how they can be baptized in the Spirit and receive the gift of tongues. 

The answers that seem to come are expressed in terms of ‘wait for God to do it’, ‘have faith and it will come’, etc,  etc. 

Although these are good sentiments, for a lot of people they are useless when it comes to knowing the practical steps to receive the baptism and gifts.

There seems to be no problem using a set of practical steps to bring a person through to accepting Christ as Saviour.

If so, why not give a seeker a set of practical steps to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?

To some, there seems to be a mystique about the Holy Spirit baptism and the gift of tongues that causes many advisers to be reluctant to adopt a practical attitude to it. 

They get so heavenly minded about it that they are no earthly use when it comes to actually guiding seekers to receiving what God has already given on the Day of Pentecost!  (Acts 2:1-4)

What led me to prayer that God would show me how to help people receive the baptism in the Spirit was something I observed at an altar call one day.  

There was a seeker completely surrounded by well-meaning deacons who were praying for him to receive the Holy Spirit.  

Half of these were saying ‘hold on brother’ and the other half were saying ‘let go brother’.  

The poor ‘brother’ wasn’t getting anywhere.  

I don’t think he really knew what to do – whether to hang on let go!

I felt sorry for the poor seeker having so much difficulty receiving the gift of tongues that I went to prayer. 

I told God how frustrated I felt that I could not help that seeker achieving something that I knew would be such a blessing for his life.  

It seemed that God was agreeing with me. 

I asked Him to show me how to pray for people to receive the baptism and the gift of tongues in a way that would bring success without such a struggle of faith.

God answered me pretty quickly, and gave me a set of practical steps that proved to be very successful in practice.  

I have had the pleasure and privilege to pray for many people to receive the baptism and have had a one hundred percent success rate of people genuinely receiving it.  

I have seen a lot of changed lives as a consequence of that.  

Subsequently, I became a recognized ministry in my church in the counseling of people to receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues.

So, who am I writing to? 

Who is my audience?

My audience is made up of the honest and genuine seekers who have decided that they really want the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues. 

They are the ones who have decided that the gift of tongues is the evidence for them that they are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the message.  And the believers from among the circumcised [the Jews] who came with Peter were surprised and amazed, because the free gift of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed and poured out largely even on the Gentiles.  For they heard them talking in [unknown] languages and extolling and magnifying God. (Acts 10:44-46)

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul…came down to Ephesus.  There he found some disciples.  And he asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [on Jesus as the Christ]?  And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit…And as Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke in foreign languages and prophesied.  (Acts 19: 1,2,6)

These are two examples of the way the Holy Spirit fell upon those who believed.   It only needs two witnesses in a court of law to decide a case there.   Along with the account of Acts 2, the New Testament provides three independent accounts that witness the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and they all involve speaking in tongues.

However, if you are one of those people who think that the gift of tongues is not necessary for you to receive the baptism, then you are quite free to seek His will for you in the exercise of the other gifts of the Spirit. 

But if you are open to the possibility that tongues might be an appropriate gift for you, then by all means keep reading!

The main characteristic of my ‘method’ is that there is no pressure at all.  

I start with a discussion over a civilized cup of coffee.  

I start with a very low key, cold-blooded attitude. 

This is because I believe that education is the most important component. 

People have to know what they are getting into.  

Most of the reluctance about moving into the things of the Spirit is the fear of the unknown.  

Seekers sometimes see others who are baptized in the Spirit behaving in strange and unusual ways, and they become afraid that something like that might happen to them that might embarrass them if they opened themselves up to the Spirit. 

That is the reason why some seekers run out the door of the church, never to return. 

Therefore there is a real need for sitting a seeker down in a relaxed environment and giving them as much knowledge about the ministry of the Spirit as they need.   Most seekers will appreciate the time taken to do this, and will be greatly relieved to know that they do not have to behave in bizarre ways in order to ‘be in the Spirit’.

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel.  In returning to Me and resting in Me you shall be saved;  in quietness and in (trusting) confidence shall be your strength.  (Isaiah 30:15).

God is good, and He allows only good things to happen to those who honestly and sincerely seek Him for the gifts of the Spirit. 

This is why He can work very well in a quiet and relaxed environment, as well in a meeting where there is a lot of activity and noise.   He is not limited in how and where He works.  Some people are able to receive the baptism in the Spirit in a lively meeting where many other people are prophesying and speaking in tongues around them.  

Others need peace and quiet and gentle counseling and guidance.

New Christians and Christians from traditional churches coming into churches that promote the baptism in the Spirit and the speaking in tongues, are sometimes apprehensive when they see the gifts in action, and the effect that it has upon some.  What can be quite normal and acceptable to believers in a church may seem bizarre to visitors not used to seeing the gifts in action in a public meeting.

Therefore, if the whole church assembles, and all of you speak in [unknown] tongues, and the ungifted and uninitiated or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are demented?  (1Corinthians 14:23)

This is why it is helpful and loving for a Pentecostal or Charismatic Christian to spend some time with a prospective visitor to explain the nature of the service and what happens there, before the visitor attends.  In this way, visitors are prepared and condition for what may happen around them.

It is always good if an uninitiated believer is planning on visiting a church where the gifts of the Spirit are practiced in the meeting, to arrange an appointment with one of the Pastoral team so that questions can be answered and the visitor’s mind may be put to rest before being exposed to worship that may be quite different to what the visitor is accustomed to. 

The Preparation

I am assuming that you have some idea of what people who are baptized in the Holy Spirit are like and have accepted that most of them are trying their best to follow the principles of the Gospels and the New Testament in the way they live and worship.  

If you haven’t come to this place yet, stop reading and work towards that level of acceptance.

I am going to skip over the history of how the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues came into our modern church.

There are a number of good books written on the subject, and your local Pentecostal or Charismatic pastor will suggest some titles for you. 

I have written an exposition on 1Corinthians 14 which gives you a lot of knowledge from the Scriptural point of view. 

That can be useful to understanding what Paul the Apostle taught about the spiritual gifts and especially the gift of tongues. 

You can access this article through:

http://personal-communication.net.nz/1Corinthians14.html

When a seeker comes to me to find out more about the baptism, I sit them down and explain the steps that we are going to take to bring them through to the baptism and the gift of tongues. 

As part of the preparation, I might have to spend some time explaining the operation and use of the gift of tongues.

This is to preserve the flow of ministry and prayer later on. 

It can be distracting to stop and have to explain tongues in the middle of a prayer directed to receiving it. 

Good preparation is vitally important for success.

From this point on, I am going to write as if I am explaining the steps to a seeker.

Are you ready?  

Yes? 

Here we go…

The Steps To Receiving The Baptism

1.        You must believe that it is definitely God’s will for you to be baptized in the Spirit and speak in other tongues.

This is probably the most important step of all of them. 

1 John 5:14 & 15 says:

        And this is the confidence – the assurance, the [privilege of]

boldness -  which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan) He listens to and hears us.

And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

There is no point in progressing any further until you are completely sure that this is what you want, and it is God’s will for you. 

If you are not sure, we will need to go back into the preparation stage and discuss further how and why it could be God’s will for you.

Coming to accept that it is God’s will for you does not involve anyone pressuring you into it. 

If that is happening, it might be that other person’s will for you rather than God’s will. 

It is often a matter of timing. 

God has His own time for doing things. 

An enthusiastic person may think that God’s time is right now, when God may want you to be more knowledgeable or relaxed before giving you the sense that ‘now is the time’ for it to happen.

Let’s now assume that you have reached the place where you know it is God’s will for you, and that you know that God is going to give you the gift of tongues along with the baptism.

2.  Ask God Directly For It

This is a principle with receiving things from God.  

We are to ask for the things we need.  James says “You have not because you ask not.”  (James 4:2). 

This means that a lot of people miss out on the good things of God because they do not approach God and ask Him directly for them.  

Going to prayer and asking God for the things you need is quite Scriptural. 

Jesus said:

If you live in Me – abide vitally united to Me – and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you.  (John 15:7)

And:

Whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive.  (Matthew 21:22)

Why do we have to ask when God already knows what we need before we even ask Him?  

Simple. 

He wants us to express our love and confidence in Him by asking Him.   Asking is an act of faith. 

It is the first move toward getting what you need in God. 

“Come boldly to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) is the way we approach God to ask Him for the things we need.

Here is the first part of a prayer for receiving:

“Father, I believe that it is Your will for me to receive the Baptism in the Spirit.

I also believe that You want to give me the gift of tongues.

Your Word says “Ask and you shall receive.”  (John 16:24).

I therefore ask for it in the Name of Jesus.”

We then move on to the next step.

3.  Accepting the Baptism Into Your Life

Asking is one thing, receiving is another.

If you stop there, you might be left to wait.

Why?

Until you are ready to accept and receive it.

Here is a Scripture:

And we receive from Him whatever we ask for, because we (watchfully) obey His orders – observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us – and (habitually) practice what is pleasing to Him.  (1 John 3:22)

There is no delay between asking and receiving.

God extends the gift as soon as you have asked for it.

            For every one who asks and keeps on asking receives… (Luke 11:10a)

There is no gap between asking and receiving in the above scripture.  As soon as you ask, it is immediately there for you to receive.

It is yours to take from His hands.

…He breathed on [them] and said to them, Receive (admit) the Holy Spirit!  (John 20:22)

In order for the Holy Spirit to fill them, the disciples had to admit the Holy Spirit into their lives after the Lord imparted it to them.

In the same way, you have to reach out and take it.

It is not a solid item that you can handle with your hands.

Therefore you have to say the words of faith.

By saying, “I accept the gift” you are taking it out of God’s hands.

It becomes yours.

You now own it.

This is the same as accepting Christ as Saviour.

We were encouraged to believe that we were saved as soon as we accepted the gift of salvation.

We said “I accept you [Jesus] into my heart”.

We believed that we were saved from that instant onward.

But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority [power, privilege, right] to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in – adhere to, trust in and rely on – His name.  (John 1:12).

It is the same with receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit baptism.

You are baptized in the Spirit as soon as you accept it.

Here is the prayer:

“Lord Jesus, You are the baptizer in the Holy Spirit.  (John 1:33)

I believe that receiving the baptism in the Spirit and the gift of tongues is your will for me.

I therefore ask specifically for it in Jesus’ Name, knowing that you will give me anything I ask for in Your will.

You are handing it out to me because I asked You for it.

I take it out of Your hands.

I accept it in Your Name.”

At this point, you are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

You accepted it by faith.

You now own it.

The Holy Spirit has now given you the tools for service.

Believe it.

There are believers who stop at this point.

They walk away without receiving anything further.

There is nothing wrong with that.

They are still baptized in the Spirit according to their faith.

But they have not yet received the gift of tongues to be able to speak whenever they want to.

But you have been given a set of tools to use.

There is another step to be taken to be able to use them.

4.  Using The Tools Of The Spirit

While any of the gifts of the Spirit can be used from this point onward, most of them require some level of maturity in Christian living and ministry.

Usually, most who move straight into prophecy or words of knowledge and wisdom straight after being baptized in the Spirit are those who are mature Christians.

They already are respected ministries in the church.

The gift of tongues is the one gift that can be used by a novice in Christ.

You don’t have to be an established ministry in the church to use it.

There are two expressions of the gift of tongues:

The language you speak in your private time with God.

And the language you use to speak out to others in church.

The first is not interpreted.

It is directed to God who understands what is being said.

The second needs an interpreter.

This is for the building up of the others.

A novice in Christ can use both.

You can use it in your private prayer time.

And you can speak it out in church if you know that there is an interpreter present.

In most churches that practice the gifts of the Spirit there are several who can interpret tongues.

Okay, so tongues are the logical choice for stepping out in faith to start using the tools [gifts] of the Spirit.

It also sets you up for going to the next level in your prayer life.

Tongues lifts you up to a much higher level of prayer with God.

Accepting the Spirit into your life has let Him in.

Stepping out in faith to speak in tongues allows Him to flow out of you to others.

He who believes in Me – who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me – as the Scripture has said, Out from his innermost being springs and rivers of living water shall flow (continuously).  (John 7:38)

Tongues is the first stepping stone to a host of other gifts and ministries of the spirit flowing out of you for the good of others.

This is why we all need it.

So, what do you do to exercise the gift?

Because having the Baptism, you can exercise it right now!

First, try to make up words that are not English.

You might feel strange at first.

Then again, you might not.

You might be thinking some strange sounding words in your mind.

The Holy Spirit sometimes does it that way.

If so, speak them out.

Once you start speaking, don’t pause between words.

After a while, It will become a fluent language.

You might think: “I am just making this up!”

Well, you have to speak the words and phrases.  The difference between speaking nonsense and speaking in a language understood and appreciated by God is your faith.   If you are believing that you are speaking in tongues according to 1Corinthians 14, then that is exactly what you are doing. 

God is faithful, He will honour your faith and make your language genuine and real.

While you are forming your first words in tongues, think about a need, or a situation you want to pray about.

Think about something you feel deeply about.

Use your new words to express your deepest feelings about those needs.

You will find the expression of those words will intensify.

New words will come to better express those feelings.

You will not know what you are saying.

But you will know that you are effectively expressing the feelings within you.

You will also get a sense that God is really listening to you.

You will also get a sense of release, and of accomplishment knowing that you have prayed effectively to God.

You may not have felt so confident and powerful in prayer before.

That is what the gift of tongues does for you.

If you have started speaking in tongues by now, well done!

I rejoice with you.

Don’t stop speaking in tongues from now on.

The more you practice it, the better it will be.

You will find that you will grow in Christ much faster.

The Bible will come more alive to you.

You have entered into a new place with God.

The Holy Spirit will start to use you in many ways to help others.

You will have a clearer sense of His voice, guiding you.

What To Do If You Experience A Block

You have got this far and been unable to launch out and speak in tongues.

The words haven’t come.

There is no flow.

You can’t bring yourself to say any words.

You feel you have a mental block.

Sometimes candidates wanted to go away by themselves to try to speak.

They felt shy and embarrassed in front of me.

I didn’t mind that.

I let them go.

They came back later and told me that they tried it and were able to speak in tongues now.

We rejoiced together.

Maybe you are one of those who need their ‘pump’ primed.

Do you remember the old water pumps that pumped water from artesian wells?

To start them, you needed to pour water through the top of the pump.

Then the water started to flow.

This is called priming the pump.

You put a little water in the top to set up the ability of the pump to draw the water from deep in the ground.

This is because the level of the water goes down in the pipe and the pump has nothing to pump.

Putting water in the top fills the pipe back up to pump level.

Now the pump has something to pump.

The water you put in comes out first.

Then the fresh artesian water comes up and out of the spout.

Getting a flow of the Spirit to come forth from you might need a little priming.

God showed me this when I encountered those who could not speak in tongues.

I told them exactly what was going on.

They understood it.

They cooperated with me because they wanted to.

I did not force them into it.

This is where I use my tongue as the priming ‘water’.

I make it clear that it is my tongue and not theirs yet.

If they copy me, they are using my tongue language still.

Even when they speak my words, they are not exercising the gift of tongues for themselves yet.

I get them to say some simple words after me:

Rindybundu  karabaka sikindurabata  kimutanga sakabatatu.

These are definite, genuine words in my tongue.

You can practice them to get used to speaking in a language other than your own.

When you can speak these words fairly smoothly, then…

I tell you to put these words together and speak without stopping in the name of Jesus.

Nine times out of ten, the candidate will launch right off in a completely different language.

When they do that, I tell them that the words they are saying are not mine.

They are coming out of his or her own spirit.

This increases their confidence and faith.

It is not long before they are speaking their own fluent language.

Reader, if you are seeking the baptism in the Spirit, you can follow these principles for yourself.

They will work for you, as they have worked for so many others.

Some Experiences of Praying For Others

Now, I want to share some examples of people receiving the baptism in the Spirit through my ministry to them.

This is not to say what a great person I am.

This is to say what a wonderful person Jesus is for making these things possible.

You will know this in the commentaries I will write along with the anecdotes.

Gordon:  After a Sunday night service, Gordon came up to me and asked if I would go with him downstairs.  We went down to a counseling room where he shared that he wanted me to pray for him to receive the baptism in the Spirit.  He also wanted the gift of tongues.   I took him through the principles that I wrote about [above] and asked him whether he was ready to go through the steps.  He said that he was.

I asked him if he believed that it was God’s will for him.  He affirmed it.

We went to prayer and I asked him to repeat the following prayer:

“Thank you Jesus for being the baptiser in the Holy Spirit.

I believe that it is your will for me.

I now ask you for the baptism knowing that you will give me what I ask for in your will.

I now receive it in the Name of Jesus.

Thank you Lord. 

I am now baptized in the Holy Spirit.”

At that point, I told him that he could speak in tongues.

Would he like to try and speak it?

He started to make up words.

Very soon, he was speaking in a fluent language.

It was a great time for us both.

There was no hype about it.

No forcing.

No pressure.

And yet we had a lot of fun and laughter as a result.

His life changed from that point.

He lost his hesitancy with Christian things.

He had a much brighter, more bubbly personality.

We were friends for many years afterward, and the last time I saw him, he was still joyful and positive in the Lord.

Mark:  Mark was 14 years old when I first met him.  He was a young person in Teen Challenge, a coffee bar ministry in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

I was a leader in the ministry.  

Mark asked me to pray for him to receive the gift of tongues.

I sat him down and took him through the teaching and the method for receiving the gift.

When he was ready, we prayed the prayer [that I just mentioned].

I said, “Now you can speak in tongues.”

He had a mental block.

I took him through saying my tongue language.

Still a mental block.

We did this for twenty minutes until I gave up.

I said “Lord, you are the baptiser in the Holy Spirit.  I have done my best to get him through.  I now give Mark up to you.”

Immediately he said “Oh!”  and began speaking a fluent, beautiful language.

I learned something very valuable.

Jesus showed me that He is the baptiser in the Holy Spirit.

No method will work unless He does the work.

Therefore I should not trust in the method, even though it was the one He showed me.

He wanted me to trust Him.

Ever since then I have always acknowledged Jesus as the baptiser in the Holy Spirit.

And I have never had anyone who has had a mental block like that since.

Mark went on to become a vibrant Christian, and when he was eighteen years old, he joined my discipleship group and was a productive member of it.

Dominic and Camilla:  I met this couple in my church just after they arrived in the country from Zimbabwe.   During one school holidays, I visited them for a cup of coffee, and the conversation got around to the things of the Spirit.  They told me that they spoke in tongues a little, but were not very free in it.  I suggested that I could help them in that.  They were glad to participate.   I went through my method and prayed the prayer with them.  We then started to speak in tongues together.  The Holy Spirit fell on us and we all got very fluent in tongues.  We praised God with much laughter and rejoicing.  There was a budgie in a cage in the room and we thought that it would start speaking in Japanese if we went on too long!  That brought about more laughter.  For the next three years, I took them for a bi-weekly Bible study, and we had hours of great learning and fellowship.  They are still close friends and neighbours.

Transdenominational Conventions:  During the late 1970s, my Pentecostal church hosted major Easter conventions that were held in the local racetrack grandstand.  People from all over New Zealand came to these conventions.  They were famous throughout the country at that time, and hosted many big name ministries from around the world.  I was a deacon of the church and a leader of Teen Challenge, so I was appointed as a counselor at these conventions.  My function was to pray for people to receive the baptism in the Spirit.  Because I felt that my ministry was for those who had difficulties coming through to the baptism, I waited until all the ‘easy’ ones were ministered to.  Then the ‘chronics’ were left.  I went to each one in turn and offered my services.  Many of these successfully came into the baptism.

One young woman in particular had a wonderful experience.   She initially had difficulty.  I took her through the four steps, but she suddenly broke out in a fluent tongues language right after she told the Lord that she accepted the gift in Jesus Name!  She seemed to suddenly shudder, and then started speaking in a beautiful language.  I was amazed at the greatness and love of God that He would suddenly answer the prayer of this young woman in such a dramatic way.

Harry:  Harry was and is a very good friend.  He was born in Glasgow in Scotland, and came to New Zealand in the late 1960s.  He worked like a slave until he had enough money to bring the rest of his family out.  He was a reliable and enthusiastic member of my discipleship group in the middle to late 1970s.  When our group first started, he told us that he had difficulty with speaking in tongues.  We ministered to him and prayed the four-step prayer.  I then told him to speak out in tongues in the Name of Jesus.  He broke forth in such a loud and dramatic tongue that all of us present collapsed with laughter.  We couldn’t help it.   The more he spoke in tongues the more we felt like laughing.   Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and we had a lot of it that night!

Hans:  I have forgotten this man’s name because I met him only once at our discipleship group.  He was a tourist that was visiting a member of the group and came along to have some fellowship with us.  He expressed a desire to be baptized in the Spirit.  When we prayed for him, he spoke in the most beautiful language I have ever heard.   I just wonder at the grace of God and His beauty when someone who couldn’t speak in tongues before could come out with such a wonderful language when prayed for.

These are the most notable experiences of people that I have had a hand in praying for to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues.

There have been countless other times when I have ministered for seekers and they have received the gift of tongues without any dramatic effects or fanfare.

Mostly, the sessions have been in my lounge, or in a counseling room with me teaching them about the ministry of the Spirit in a calm, relaxed, almost cold-blooded way.

This is quite different to what some people believe about Pentecostals.

They see only the hype that can happen with groups of people.

Group dynamics can be quite powerful, but it can be the wrong power.

People can be caught up with what the group is doing and lose sight of what God may want to do.

They can be loud and dramatic when God might want them to be quiet.

Jesus is the baptiser in the Spirit.

He doesn’t need loud noise or swinging from the rafters to do His work in the Spirit.

Sometimes the Spirit can work more effectively in an atmosphere of quietness and peace.

The fruit of the Spirit is firstly love, joy and peace.   (Gal 5:22,23)

That’s why I don’t make any apologies for laughing when the Holy Spirit comes and fills a seeker.

The Conclusion

There it is. 

If you follow these steps in faith, you will receive the baptism in the Spirit.

You will also receive the gift of tongues.

It will be genuine, because you are approaching it with faith in God’s Word.

You won’t receive a counterfeit because you are following Scriptural principles.

What father among you, if his son ask him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, evil-minded  as you are, know how to give good gifts – gifts that are to advantage - to your children , how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!!  (Luke 11:11-13).

The only people who open themselves to counterfeits are those who have other spiritual problems that need addressing and healing.

You are more likely to receive a counterfeit if you are pressured into a manifestation by a group of people laying hands on you and yelling in your ears.

You can’t think straight when that is going on.

You need to be cool, calm and collected.

Thinking it all through with an open (not blank) mind.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity…but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of c alm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.  (2Tim 1:7).

Checking everything with the Word of God.

Testing the spirits to see if they are from God.

Beloved, do not put faith in every spirit, but prove (test) the spirits to discover whether they proceed from God; for many false prophets have gone forth into the world.  (1John 4:1)

If you think that someone has a wrong spirit, ask them if they believe that Jesus came to the world as a real human being [ie: in the flesh].

A wrong spirit cannot say that.

By this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God: every spirit which acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, [actually] has become man and has come in the flesh is of God – has God for its source.  (1John 4:2)

A wrong spirit will become unsettled and agitated when asked that question.

If that happens, walk away from that person because he cannot help you.

If he lays hands on you, unpredictable things might happen.

This is why I adopt a coldly calculating, scriptural approach to the baptism in the Spirit and the speaking in tongues.

Emotion in the form of weeping and joy may come as you break through to victory in the Spirit. 

That is correct and Scriptural.

Beware of people trying to induce strong emotion into you before you come through in the Spirit.

Also keep clear of people trying to apply undue pressure on you.

The Holy Spirit never works this way.

The Holy Spirit works by giving you a conviction in your heart that you need what He has for you.

He increases the desire in your heart for a greater effectiveness for God.

He shows you in your heart that the baptism in the Spirit is the way to achieve that.

He will wait until you are ready before He will do anything.

Remember this.

The Holy Spirit will not do anything that will make you feel afraid, depressed, spooked, or ‘manic’.   (2Tim 1:7)

He will also not make you do anything that would make a fool out of you.

This sort of thing will devalue the Name of Jesus in the eyes of others.

This would be unacceptable for the Holy Spirit for that to happen.

God is a good God.

He wants to do good things for you.

The real baptism in the Spirit will do the following things:

Make you love God more.

Give you greater joy in your life.

Cause you to have more peace in your heart.

Make you a more patient person.

Cause you to be more self controlled

Increase your faith

Make the Bible more alive to you

Bring out the goodness in your life and behaviour

Help you get along with others more happily

Give you a greater respect for authority

Help you become a better citizen

Give you an effective ministry for Christ

And the list goes on…

It is about making a better Christian out of you, who will grow in grace and be an effective church member and witness for Christ.

By Paul Christensen

18A Kindergarten Drive

Conifer Grove

Auckland, New Zealand

Scripture references are quoted from The Amplified Bible, The New Testament,  1965, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.

Feedback, testimonies and enquiries to:

email: Paul90@slingshot.co.nz

Back to the Index

hit counter