“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
MATTHEW 3:11
The baptism of the Spirit is a complete immersion of your entire being–spirit, soul, body–into the Holy Spirit. It is not partial, symbolic or temporary. Every part of your being is dipped and thoroughly bathed in this precious Liquid Fire, permanently. It is not a one-time event, as in water baptism. It is an ongoing experience that changes your very nature and surroundings.
SOME PEOPLE WANT ICE CREAM CHRISTIANITY, COLD BUT nice. They want their churches to be like museums. But the church is not a freeze box. It is the Father’s house. The Holy Spirit warms us up for the Father’s house.
Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Deborah, Elijah and Elisha–all these names inspire awe and wonder, but they were human with passions like you and I (James 5:17). The same Spirit that was upon them is in us. We did not receive a second-rate Spirit or experience, and we should not expect a second-rate result.
THE BAPTISM IN THE SPIRIT ENDUES BELIEVERS WITH THE Spirit of the prophets. When the prophets experienced God supernaturally, they called it the Spirit of the prophets. Joel 2:28 promised that the same Spirit of the prophets would be poured out on all flesh. People of all kinds would prophesy, not just an individual here and there.
The Kingdom of God has come, and we hold the keys to it. We may look ordinary, innocuous or inconsequential, but make no mistake, we are full of power–the power of the Holy Spirit–and we are vital to God’s redemptive plan. Our tongues have the power to impact destinies and change the course of events, and in our hands, we carry the healing balm of Gilead.
WHEN ELECTRICITY WAS FIRST DISCOVERED, IT WAS considered by most observers to be an amusing novelty. Two hundred years ago, few people could conceive of the potential of the power of electricity to drive industry and light whole cities. When people speak with other tongues, it is a sign of the potential of the power of the Holy Spirit. We can derive our confidence in what God can do from the manifestation of the Spirit. The Spirit of God will not be limited to isolated incidents but will permeate our entire ministry if we let Him. Looking tame? Christians may look tame, but so does an electric cable—until you touch it.