Wow, did you sing along, [we
heard you, not bad, you can sing here anytime you want to] did
you catch their heart? Bet this is also your heart as you go seeking a way
to get so very close to Jesus and to be used for His purposes in your life.
Your heart cries out; "I
just wanna get real closer then most, closer than most, closer than most.
(repeat)
I just wanna get real closer to you, to you, to you."
Let's stop right here for a moment and reflect. The
Baptism of the Holy Spirit is spoken about by many different Churches and
Denominations. It seems that peoples' opinions have no limit, either for
or against the subject. Some of you have Pastors that disagree with people
bringing up the topic at all. Others have doctrines in their Churches that
bring abuse to the people of God the other way. Every person has their
personal opinion, and then there is the Lord's Truth,
that we are taught from the Scripture. "Lord
Jesus, help each one of us accept the truth according to You as we read in the
Bible without 'helping' You interpret Your Holy Word to us."
Eternal Life
begins for us when we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord through prayer.
The moment we ask Jesus to save us, we become His child and He gives us
His Holy Spirit to live in us. Let's examine the biblical method according
to the Book of John, Chapter 20, Verse 22; "And
with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
At this moment, we are 'born again' according to Jesus own Word to
Nicodemus in John 3:7. Our Eternal Life
begins here, not ends here. Once we accept Jesus as the One sent from the
Father to take away our sins, we are saved and can never be more saved
than at that moment in time and space. We at that
time have the Holy Spirit living INSIDE OF US!!! {think about it, He is
inside of us!} If that was not enough, God
has more, He has a gift to give to you that will empower you to live a life of
victory every day you are alive, from the moment you receive this gift from Him!
He desires to give you "life
to the full"
Our Heavenly Father has another gift for us. This gift is called The Gift of The Holy Spirit or The Baptism of The Holy Spirit. This is totally unlike our earlier experience when we received Jesus as Lord, and the Holy Spirit entered into us. We have God, The Holy Spirit living in us! Can you imagine keeping Him inside of a box and tighten down the lid and believe that we have trapped God, The Holy Spirit from getting out of the box?! I am sure you are laughing loudly right now at this silly illustration. Think about this, do you think that you can put this same Holy Spirit inside of you and keep Him trapped and not allow him to break out and get out of us. This idea is even more funny and even more ridiculous isn't it. The Holy Spirit in you is ready and more than willing to be released in your life experiences, each and every day. Released in and through you when everything is great, and released in and through you when you are in desperate need and help. The Holy Spirit is up to the challenge, as God, nothing is too difficult for Him, He knows no bounds or limitations!
Let's look at the Scripture together in regards to what we
are saying. First, The Baptism of The Holy Spirit
was promised us by:
According to : John the Baptist, Mark
1:7-8 "And this was his message:
"After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I
am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with
water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
According to : MARK, Mark 16:17 "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues"
According to: Jesus, Acts
1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth."
According to: Peter, Acts 2:1-20
& 2:38-39 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together
in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and
filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of
them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit enabled them. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
"`In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all
people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I
will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show
wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and
billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
Ephesians 6:18
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the
saints." As we see, The Scripture is clear and exact on this
subject. There are many more illustrations of this Baptism and its effects
of supernatural power and spiritual strength in the Book of Acts. This
same gift is still available to God' children today. "The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom
the Lord our God will call." Some
people have asked; "If this gift of God is still for today, why do some
question this fact.?" Let me just say that this needed gift comes
with such spiritual power and strength that it is a threat to the Kingdom of
Hell. A person once Baptized in The Holy Spirit is
given such incredible personal strengths that their life will never be the same.
Remember the man Peter who denied Jesus three times on the night He was
betrayed, was the same man in Acts 5:27-29 who refused to back down and quit
preaching in the Name of Jesus and was flogged by the Jewish Sanhedrin. The
only difference in this man's life was the fact that he had received the Gift
of The Baptism of The Holy Spirit. He became a great Warrior for
Jesus and gave his life to victoriously serving the Lord throughout the world,
risking His life on a daily basis for his Master, even dying for Him one day.
Agree with the Lord that His gifts are good gifts. Thank
Him for The Gift of The Baptism of The Holy Spirit. Tell
Him that you agree with His decision to give you this special gift and for using
you to help others come to know his life that He offers to those who are already
saved, but hunger for more of Him. Pray in the Spirit every day, every chance you get. Your
new prayer language will grow and develop every time you 'pray in the Spirit.
You are about to be led by The Spirit in ways that you did not know were
possible. The Holy Bible is going to open up to you in new areas and ways.
How Exciting!! Cry out; "Lead me on
Jesus!!!"
"Can you be a Christian without receiving The
Baptism of The Holy Spirit?" Yes, of
Course you can!! The
question is; "why do you want to? Where will your power to live in
constant spiritual victory come from without The Baptism
of The Holy Spirit?" Many Missionaries have found out this to
be true when they have gone out into the world to serve Jesus in foreign fields
only to find out that they lacked the Spiritual Energy and Strength to
successfully face and overcome the challenges of Spiritual Warfare they
encountered. Many thousands of people living daily lives find out that
they also lack the power to stand in constant victory in their lives, especially
when they are attacked by the enemy of their souls.
Let's look at two examples -
If you are ready to receive the Gift
of The Baptism of The Holy Spirit right now, pray this prayer with us
right now...
1)-You go to the sink and pour yourself a glass of cold water and drink it.
You find the water refreshing as it goes into your body. You find
that your drink in enjoyable. An hour later you take a shower with water
from the same source as the water from the sink. The water rushes over you
and refreshes you. So, then, the water you drank and put inside you was
good, and the water that you showered with was good and refreshed you. This
water was from the same source. The water had two separate purposes, some
inside of you and some on the outside of you. Let's look at the next
illustration -
2)-Who would run into a shoe store finding the shoe
that they have been looking for a long time priced at $120.00, only to demand
that the 'tongue' of the shoe be cut out before paying for them. Once they
have cut out the 'tongue' go outside wearing their band new expensive shoes in a
rain storm. Since the 'tongue' of a shoe protects the shoe from things
like rain from getting into the shoe, how long do you think the shoes will hold
up once the rain gets and stays inside of the new shoes? They will begin
to quickly break down without the 'tongue' protecting them from the water.
On the other hand, let's say you find the same shoes in a store and demand
that the shoe be separated from the 'tongue' before you purchase it. Once
you have paid for the 'tongue', you go running out into the rain storm with the
'tongue' only taped to the top of your foot. Is it necessary for me to
finish the story? You cannot experience this gift from God without going
ahead and asking Jesus to baptise you in His Holy Spirit, with the evidence of
speaking in 'tongues'. The proof that you have been baptised in The Holy
Spirit is to be able to speak in 'tongues'. There are no exceptions to
receiving this gift, this is the biblical pattern and leaves no room for
personal opinions. A man may have an opinion, but the Word of God is
Eternally true. The Father plans that we 'purchase' and 'wear' the entire
shoe, i.e., The Baptism of The Holy Spirit and 'Tongues', together.
As you read in the Scriptures above the evidence of having
received The Baptism of The Holy Spirit is that of speaking in tongues. This
Heavenly language will not make sense to your mind, but none the less, after you
have prayed to be Baptized in The Holy Spirit
expect
the Holy Spirit to give you a Heavenly Language that will pour out of your
mouth. The sounds are like babble, and yet, this is the Holy Spirit praying
and talking with the Father in Heaven through you. This experience is
called intercessory prayer. You are now beginning to experience the
supernatural power of God working through you, His willing vessel. By the
way, you have let Him out of the box. Get ready to be used, to be drawn
closer to the Lord than you thought was possible. The Holy Spirit will now
work in and through your life and into the lives of those you know and love.
Go back to the top and sing 'Closer" again.
"Lord Jesus, I now understand that you have a gift of
love and grace for me, and are just waiting for me to ask you. Therefore,
Jesus I ask you to Baptise me in Your Holy Spirit right now where I am. I
believe that you are listening to my prayer and will bless me with this gift.
According to Your Word I ask that you give me the proof of speaking in
tongues just exactly like all those in the New Testament and millions of
followers who have prayed a prayer like this in recent years all around the
world. Thank you for giving me the Spiritual Power to life a live of
victory every day I am alive. Thank you for giving me the ability to pray
and intercede for myself, my loved ones, and all of my prayer concerns through
and by praying in Spirit."
Please take this step of faith and visit
I Believe
Also, you can let us know how to pray and help by emailing us at
HeartCare@praisenation.com
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