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Holy Spirit Baptism

Holy spirit Baptism

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Peace onyedeke
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22 views4 pages

Holy Spirit Baptism

Holy spirit Baptism

Uploaded by

Peace onyedeke
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM

INTRODUCTION
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is an empowering for service that takes place in the life of the
Christian (Acts 1:5,8). In it we are immersed in the Spirit's life and power.

To illustrate, if we drank water from a glass, then the water would be inside us. However, if we
went to the beach and stepped into the ocean, then we would be in the water. We receive, as it
were, a drink of the Holy Spirit when we are saved, but when we are baptized in the Spirit, it is
as if that initial drink becomes an ocean that completely surrounds us.

When people are saved, they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which reproduces the life
of Jesus. When they receive the outpouring or baptism of the Holy Spirit, this reproduces the
ministry of Jesus, including miracles and healings.

Why Do We Need the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?


We need a power beyond ourselves for service and ministry in Christ's Kingdom.

When Jesus gave the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:19-20), He knew that His disciples
could not fulfill it in their own power. Therefore, He had a special gift in store for them: It was
His plan to give them the same power that He had—the power of the Spirit of God. So,
immediately after giving them the Great Commission, Jesus commanded his disciples not to
leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father promised,

"Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:4-5).

He further promised:

"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My
witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest
part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
The disciples waited in Jerusalem as Jesus had commanded, and one day when they were all
together,

"Suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing winds, and it filled the
whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire
distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them
utterance" (Acts 2:3,4).

Then Peter explained to the crowd that gathered that they were seeing the working of God's
Spirit and told them about Jesus. The Christian church began with the disciples and the 3,000
people who joined them as a result of that day's events.

We can undertake making disciples of all nations with some degree of success without the
baptism in the Holy Spirit, but when we do, we are undertaking a supernatural task with limited
power. It is God's will—it is His commandment—that we be baptized, or filled with the Holy
Spirit:

"Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

What Should I Do Before Asking?


This beautiful experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a free gift, but you must be willing
to submit fully to God to receive it. Jesus will respond to a totally yielded vessel. He never asks
anything of you that you are incapable of giving, nor does He ever fail to give you something
greater in return when you do give your all. The joy He gives through total obedience to Him far
outweighs anything you could possibly give up.

There is one more important consideration: In Acts 8, a man named Simon, who was deeply
involved in the occult, wanted to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter sharply rebuked Simon,
commanding him to repent. Therefore, if you ever at any time had anything to do with the occult
(Ouija boards, fortune tellers, seances, horoscopes, ESP, transcendental mediation, hypnotism, or
other such practices), you must renounce and turn away from all such sinful participation, and
you must ask for God's forgiveness and cleansing.
How Do I Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
First, once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior you just have to ask
God to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. The Bible says,

"Ask, and it shall be given to you" (Luke 11:9).

Second, believe you have in fact received this gift from God. The apostle Paul, writing to the
Galatians, said,

"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith?" (Galatians
3:2).

The answer, obviously, is faith. You have to believe that if you ask, you will receive.

The Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirit


The apostle Paul told the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit would manifest Himself among them in
special gifts, of which speaking in tongues was only one:

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware....To one is
given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge
according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of
healing by the one Spirit, and to another the distinguishing of spirit, to another various
kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues" (I Corinthians 12:1,8-10).

So, in asking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, you are availing yourself of these gifts for
advancing God's Kingdom and allowing the Holy Spirit to further cultivate in your life the fruit
of righteousness—two great helps in living a life God can use mightily for His glory.

Walking in the Spirit


The baptism in the Holy Spirit is more than a single experience. It is a continual dependence on
the Spirit for guidance and strength in all circumstances.

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25).
The baptism in the Holy Spirit cannot be earned. one cannot become "good enough" to receive it.
It is a gift from God. The same wonderful power that enables Jesus to open blind eyes, to
command the elements of nature, and to live a life pleasing to the Father during His ministry on
earth is also available to you. Ask, and it shall be given to you.

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