PART TWO:
THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT – HOW TO RECEIVE IT

You would think that such a precious gift as the Holy Spirit would be complicated to receive. But on the contrary, it is quite simple. Right where you are now you can receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In this session, I give you some very simple teachings on how to receive the Holy Spirit.

BELIEVING THE GIVER

Thousands of people come into our campaign meetings as unbelievers. Some of them are really far away from God: wicked, immoral, addicted, bound by the occult or working hard for religions that do nothing for them. They must first receive salvation. Paul said to converts in his day, “You were washed clean” (1 Corinthians 6:11 AMP). Perhaps unclean spirits had previously occupied their bodies. Yet we see hundreds of thousands of such people become temples of the Holy Spirit. How? There are only two conditions: one, repentance, and two, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38).

REPENTANCE

Jesus said: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper . . . The world cannot accept Him’” (John 14:16, 17 NIV). Peter said: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Repent . . . for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 3:19; 2:38 KJV).

A HOLY GIFT

The Holy Spirit is a holy Being. The Bible uses the image of a dove for the Holy Spirit. A dove is a clean bird; it will not build its nest on a dunghill. The Holy Spirit will not settle in a sinful life; He is too sensitive. Heavenly waters do not flow through polluted channels–through neither foul minds nor foul mouths.

BLOOD WASHED

The Holy Spirit is only for the blood-washed sons and daughters of God. Nobody can be good enough until cleansed in Calvary’s fountain. Blood comes before fire. No other cleansing is necessary or possible. We cannot make ourselves more holy or more worthy than the blood of Jesus already makes us. The Holy Spirit is a gift and cannot be earned.

FAITH

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).

“By this He meant the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were later to receive” (John 7:39 NIV).

“You foolish Galatians! Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” (Galatians 3:1, 2 NIV).

COME WITH BOLDNESS

To come to Jesus begging and pleading is not having faith at all. FAITH INVOLVES TAKING. You do not need to persuade Jesus Christ to be kind and baptize you in His holy fire. He has already promised. Come with boldness to collect what He is offering you. It is a gift, and you must believe the Giver before you reach out to receive what the Giver is giving.

NO MORE TARRYING

What about “waiting in Jerusalem?” Jesus told the disciples to wait, but then the Holy Spirit “had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39 NIV). They had to wait for the historic moment. BUT NOW HE IS HERE. Pentecost is a fact, and you can experience it personally. We have no pleading meetings, only receiving meetings. Jesus loves to fulfill His Word in our lives. We are believers, not beggars.

THE HOLY LANGUAGE

When we receive the original baptism in the Spirit, the original signs will follow.

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4 NIV).

How? The 120 disciples were praising the Lord. Then came “a rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2) and the tongues of flame, and their hearts exploded with joy. They opened their mouths to speak, and the Spirit gave them utterance in languages unknown to them. Just like that.

SAME EFFECT

If we receive the same baptism, it must have the same effect. Jesus the Baptizer has not changed, nor have His methods. In God’s kingdom, we are not copies of copies, but originals from The Original, JESUS CHRIST. When we experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we do not receive leftovers but the original experience.

TONGUES

The ability to speak in tongues is mentioned throughout the book of Acts:

“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God” (Acts 10:45, 46 NIV).

Speaking in tongues was taken by the apostle as evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Simon the Sorcerer “saw” this supernatural manifestation of the Spirit (Acts 8:17-19). Paul received the baptism (Acts 9:17) and said he spoke with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18). On other occasions, the same thing is reported: Acts 11:17; 13:52; 19:6.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter explained what was happening by quoting Joel (Acts 2:17-19). Joel had prophesied that people would prophesy. When they spoke with tongues, Peter said, “This is that” (Acts 2:16 KJV). Speaking with tongues, when interpreted, is prophecy.

A TANGIBLE SIGN

What better sign could God give to make us confident that the Holy Spirit is within and upon us as we go out to preach the Gospel? When we feel weak and fearful and hard pressed as Paul did (1 Corinthians 2:3), the wonder of tongues assures us. Without some outward manifestation, we could pray forever without being sure, and that is exactly what has happened.

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S SECRET CODE

What a wonderful thing! Paul described speaking in tongues as telling secrets to God (1 Corinthians 14:2). Tongues is the only language the devil cannot understand. The arch-confuser is totally confused himself, because he does not even know the alphabet of the Holy Spirit. Satan cannot crack the Holy Spirit’s secret code, which puts us in touch with the throne of heaven.

BUILT FOR PRAYER

Our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV). Jesus said a temple was a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17). If our bodies are temples, houses of prayer in which the Spirit dwells, then He will pray through us pure and powerful prayers reaching the throne of God. The Spirit loves to pray, and that is why the Spirit-filled are eager to pray. It is not a sour duty but a glorious pleasure and privilege. Jesus said, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He . . . shall glorify Me” (John 16:13, 14 KJV).

A SIGN OF PENTECOST

When Solomon dedicated the Temple, the light of the “shekinah,” the visible glory of God, shone on the golden Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. After he prayed, the entire area, the Holy Place and the outside courts, was filled with the glory so that the priests could not enter, and they fell to the floor in worship and thanksgiving (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). That is an Old Testament picture.

FULL HOUSE

If we are saved, the light of Christ dwells in the shrine of our inner hearts, but when we pray for the Holy Spirit, He breaks forth throughout our entire beings: spirit, soul, mind and body. He floods and baptizes our entire personalities.

ASK, SEEK, KNOCK

Finally, ask; that is all. When we are cleansed through the redeeming blood of Jesus, we are children of God. The baptism in the Holy Spirit becomes our birthright. Jesus encourages us especially about that gift: “Ask . . . seek . . . knock . . . For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9, 10). “Ask in faith, nothing wavering” (James 1:6 KJV).

NO IMPOSTER

What we receive will only be from God. The devil never answers prayers prayed in the name of Jesus. He has no means of tapping our direct line to heaven if we ask the heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit. No foul demon can impersonate the Holy Spirit and come in His disguise. Read Luke 11:11-13 (NIV):

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

That is the final answer. We could not have a more explicit assurance.

WHAT YOU MUST DO NOW

Now that you have read this book, you know what the Lord intends to do in your life: baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Remember that JESUS, and JESUS alone, is the Baptizer (John 1:33). And He is with you right now.

If you have received Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior, your sins are forgiven. You have been washed in the blood of the Lamb of God, cleansed of all your sins, so you qualify to receive this glorious gift. You need not even wait for any special church service. Jesus is with you this very moment. Begin to praise His name.

Worship the Lord, praise His name and you will be baptized by Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

What the early Christians had is as much for you as for anyone else, because Jesus loves you. Remember, Jesus does not need persuading to do this. He did not need persuading to love you, and He loves you enough to baptize you with the Holy Spirit, now . . . RIGHT NOW.

Let It Happen!

And now, dear Lord Jesus, let happen to me what happened to the 120 disciples when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. As I read in Mark 16:20 (KJV): “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” I will not wait, but humbly embrace Your empowerment, direction and correction. Thank you for your anointing. Let my mortal lips preach the eternal Gospel, and my mortal hands build your eternal Kingdom – to the glory of the Father. May all the world be saved. In Jesus’ Name.