“And it shall come to pass in the last days saith God , I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see vision and your old men dream dreams, and on my servants and my handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy” Acts 2: 17-18.
The revival of our day is different from the past . In the past the revival centered around a great spiritual leader and in a particular country . But today the revival is different . It doesn’t depend on a leader or a single country . This is that prophesied by Joel and quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost . Central to this great revival is the experience known as the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
What is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Second encounter with God. The first encounter with God is called as ‘conversion’
One common objection concerning the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is seeing it as a second, separate experience after conversion .
It is true to say that the Holy Spirit is operative in conversion . (In fact the trinity is operative in conversion ) . Paul says ,”No one can say Jesus Christ is Lord except the Holy Spirit”(I Cor 12:3) Here we have to be careful .
THERE ARE TWO GREAT MINISTRIES OF HOLY SPIRIT IN ONE’S LIFE.
1) HIS INTRODUCTORY MINISTRY
2) CONVERSION or RE-BIRTH
3) HIS EMPOWERING MINISTRY
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-BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
As we see in the book of acts (the only record that we have) the early Christians or the early Christians or the early church received the Holy Spirit as a subsequent experience to their conversion . Read Acts 2:1-21;Acts 8:4-17;Acts 9:1-19;Acts 10:1-46; Acts 19:1-8.The above passage indicate the same truth . ‘Have you received the Holy Spirit since (after)you believed ‘ was the question of the apostles to the early church .
Nobody can deny the fact that the one hundred and twenty in the upper room prior to the day of Pentecost were all believers in Jesus Christ . Read the account of the revival in Samaria “The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen in any of them ,but they had only been baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus . Then they laid their laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit “(Acts 8 : 16,17).God sent Ananias , an obscure disciple , to Paul who was a convert on the road to Damascus ,not only for Paul’s sight to be restored but that he might “be filled with the Holy Spirit ” (Acts 9:17) This happened after Paul’s conversion and not before . As far as the disciples in Ephesus concerned Paul never questioned their conversion, but asked them “Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed “(Acts 19 : 1-8). They answered “No” and also said that they never heard of the Holy Spirit . Then the twelve men of Ephesus received the Holy Spirit and began praising God in tongues and prophesied . Conversion is an experience when a non -believer turns into a believer in JESUS CHRIST . Whereas the Baptism in the baptism in Holy Spirit converts the believer into a MIGHTY SAMSON!. When the Holy Spirit came upon Samson, the ordinary man became a mighty man . “you shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witness “(Acts 1 : 8)
There the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a necessary experience and a Must for a believer according to the scriptures .
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is accompanied with speaking in Tongues or not ?
Another central issue in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is called “Glossolalia” or speaking in tongues . The question is ,’ does a person have to speak in tongues in order to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit ?’
The answer to that question is “you don’t have to ,you get to ! “Speaking in tongues comes along with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit . It is a complete package.
One common objection is that I Cor. 12:30 “Do all speak in tongues ?”And Paul’s instructions in I Cor 14:27 , ” If any speak in a tongue let there be at the most three “But what Paul is teaching here is misunderstood . Paul’s teachings in those verses does not refer to the ability to speak in tongues which comes when one is baptized in the Holy Spirit . Paul is speaking of the gifts of the Spirit which God has set in the church , explaining not all spirit -based believers have the same ministry . Paul is also advising how the gifts of the Spirit especially the language gifts to be operative in the churches .
Notice ,how Paul also says, “now I want you all to speak in tongues ” I Cor. 14 :5 . How Paul contradict what he said in the same chapter . He only criticizes the misuse of that gift.
When we examine the Book of Acts ,the people baptized in the Holy Spirit ended up in speaking in tongues. No one was left out.
Another objection ofte0n expressed about speaking in tongues is that that on the day of Pentecost the tongues were in languages understood by those present and listening ,but today’s tongues are just emotional gibberish and not a divine manifestation . But the truth is that today’s speaking in tongues is miraculous and that many times the spoken languages are recognized . It is a proven fact and is recorded in many instances all over the world . Why not every time ?This is because on the day of Pentecost if you read the book of Acts ,people from all over the world were assembled in Jerusalem when the first instance of Baptism in the Holy Spirit took place .Now it is not the case .
So I can speak in tongues . What good is it ?
The believer at the moment of being baptized in the Holy Spirit receives supernaturally a language to praise God and magnify God. Man does the speaking while the Holy Spirit furnishes the words. Acts 2: 4
Essentially the baptism in the Holy Spirit is comprised of two parts:
1) receiving the Holy Spirit by faith ,
2) manifesting the Spirit’s presence through speaking in tongues
Speaking in tongues is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit but is the verbal expression of the baptism or the overflow of the baptism in the Holy Spirit . Tongues are the vocal expression of that baptism .
The baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues is not designed to do anything for you intellectually . It is a spiritual experience to liberate your spirit in worship . That is why in the very first instance of the baptism, tongues of fire accompanied in the upper room .
Begin to praise God with the sound of your voice ,and receive the utterance the Holy Spirit gives
