Daniel Adams Evangelistic Association

Baptism of the Holy Spirit
12/03/2011

The world we live in is obsessed with power. Jets that can fly fast enough to break sound barriers. Space shuttles that produce so much power they cause the ground to shake as they launch. Nuclear warheads capable of leveling an entire city in just a moment of time. Car engines are built to deliver more and more horsepower every year. While mankind has made great technological advancements, the quest for more power continues.

Power is something that not only relates to the physical world, but to the realm of the spirit as well. While the purpose and use of spiritual power is much different than physical power, it is nonetheless crucial to accomplishing God's plan and purpose in the earth. That is the reason Jesus commanded His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem to preach the gospel UNTIL they were endued with power from on high (see Acts 1:8). The gospel is intended by God to be preached in the power and the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. I want to share with you in this writing on the subject of the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit."

2 Separate Experiences

The first thing we have to realize about the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that it is a separate experience from being born again. When someone is born again (according to Romans 10:9-10) the Holy Spirit regenerates their human spirit and they become a new creation with the eternal life of God abiding on the inside of them. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and the New Birth are clearly distinguished as two separate events in scripture; however, it is God's plan that the two experiences go hand-in-hand. In the book of John the 20th chapter Jesus breathed the breath of life into the disciples causing them to be born again. Then in Act 2 they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, which gave them power to be a witness of the resurrection with miracles, signs, and wonders. Salvation brings the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit for fellowship while the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes to empower you for service in the Kingdom of God. I have listed 3 scriptural examples showing that the New Birth and the baptism in the Holy Spirit are two subsequent experiences: the believers at Ephesus (Acts 19), the believers at Samaria (Acts 8), Paul (Acts 9).

The Purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:4-5,8)

Everything that God does has a purpose. We find here that Jesus commanded the disciples not to depart from Jerusalem until they were first empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus began His supernatural, miracle ministry after He was baptized in the Holy Spirit (see Acts 10:38). Not only was it important for Jesus and the disciples to be baptized in the Holy Spirit but it is important for us as well. To be filled with the Holy Spirit & fire is to be filled with the divine equipment of heaven! The purpose of this heavenly equipment is to do warfare on the kingdom of darkness. Just as trained soldiers are given equipment to cause them to conquer in battle, so God has given all the equipment necessary for His warriors to destroy all of the works of the devil everywhere they go. We find that the gifts of the Spirit accompany the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are found in (1 Corinthians 12:7-12)

1. Utterance Gifts: Prophesy, Divers Kinds of Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues.

2. Revelation Gifts: Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, and Discerning of Spirits.

3. Power Gifts: Miracles, Faith, and Gifts of Healings.

In the writing "The Gifts of the Spirit" we will go into more depth on the purpose and operation of each gift.

There are many churches today that are full of preachers preaching sermons, but the extent of power released in most churches is that someone might blow their nose. This should not be. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be full of the power of God. When an individual is baptized in the Holy Spirit there will be a holy boldness about them with miracle, signs, and wonders following. Before the disciples were empowered they were timid and weak. After they were baptized in the Holy Spirit they were radical and bold, even in the face of death. In fact 11 of the 12 disciples were martyred for their faith. John faced martyrdom when he was put into a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to a prison on the island of Patmos. Where he wrote the book of Revelation. The apostle John was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully. Before Peter was baptized in the Holy Spirit he denied the Lord. After He was baptized he stood up and boldly preached the gospel and 3,000 people got saved. The Holy Spirit gives supernatural boldness to be a witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ even in the face of death.

(Acts 4:31) And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

(Acts 2:4) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Spirit-filled life is vitally important for every Christian. This is one of the reasons that God has arranged it so that one can definitely know whether he/she has entered into this marvelous experience in God. God has given us a physical and audible proof that one has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The initial evidence that one has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit according to the bible is speaking in other tongues. There are 4 basic diversities of tongues found in the bible, they are:

1. Tongues for personal edification (1 Cor. 14:4) This is the supernatural language the Holy Spirit prays through us that we can use to pray hour after hour as we desire. It accompanies the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

2. Tongues for interpretation (1 Cor. 14:5) This manifestation of tongues is normally manifested in a public assembly, accompanied by interpretation by the same or another person.

3. Tongues of deep intercessional groanings (Rom. 8:26) This diversity of tongues empowers the believers to stand in the gap for their own lives, their families, their church, their city, their nation, etc. God may also call on them to intercede for someone or for some situation that is totally unknown to them.

4. Tongues as a sign to the unbeliever (1 Cor. 14:22) This is the phenomenon that took place on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4-11). It occurs when the Holy Spirit transcends the intellect and all language barriers by empowering a believer to preach, teach, or testify about Christ in some language of men of which the believer himself has no knowledge.

When someone is baptized in the Holy Spirit they receive a heavenly prayer language that can be used at will for personal edification (this is the first classification listed above). The other three listed above are given as the Spirit wills. It is important to note that all of the gifts of the spirit are given as the Holy Spirit wills and that tongues for personal edification is done as we will. Paul said in (1 Corinthians 14:14-15) "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." Notice: Paul said "I will pray with the spirit", that means that he could pray in the spirit at will after he was Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Paul is speaking here about tongues for personal edification. Paul also said that "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" when he was writing to the church at Corinth. Paul went on to write nearly 2/3 of the New Testament. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would lead us and guide us into all truth. Through the operation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues for personal edification God has given us an open door and an invitation to the treasuries of revelation knowledge of the word of God and His plan for our lives. When we pray in tongues for personal edification we are praying out the perfect will of God for our lives, we are praying divine revelations, and we are building ourselves up on our most holy faith (see Jude 20).

How to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

If you are reading this writing and have never been baptized in the Holy Spirit, it is very easy to receive this precious gift. In the same way that you receive salvation, all you have to do is just ask in faith for the Lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit and give you the gift of speaking in tongues.

When you do that, the presence of the Holy Spirit will come upon you. When you ask the Holy Spirit will fill you and He will begin to create a supernatural language on the inside of your spirit. When He does, your tongue and mouth will begin to shape the same words He is creating inside.

Now pray this prayer from your heart and mouth out loud: Heavenly Father, Your Word says that you are faithful to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask you (Luke 11:13). So in the Name of Jesus, I ask you to please baptize me with the Holy Spirit with the biblical evidence of speaking in other tongues. I thank you for giving me a new language. I believe I receive it now. Amen.

After you have prayed this prayer, yield yourself to the presence of the Holy Spirit, and begin to speak out those words that you don't understand with your natural mind. Remember the Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman and He will never force you to do anything. He will form the words in your spirit, but you have to speak them out.

When you first begin praying in other tongues it may sound like baby gibberish at first. But as you continue to yield yourself to the Holy Spirit and speak the words He gives you, the words will become more developed and they will flow like a river out of your spirit. I recommend praying in your new heavenly language for at least 10-15 minutes to establish yourself in this wonderful gift that you have just received.

Praise God! You have just entered through the door of the supernatural realm of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As you continue to pray in other tongues and spend time fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit, God will lead you into a deeper walk of the miraculous!

We are pressing in to see souls saved, cities shaken, and the church on fire for Jesus!

Please continue to join us and stand with us through your prayers and your financial support. Keep us daily in your prayers.

© Copyright Daniel Adams Evangelistic Association, 2011