The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

After Jesus’ resurrection in Luke 24, He gave the disciples some final instructions—simple instructions. He told them to stay in the city because He was going to send them what had been promised of the Father. He said he was going to send them power from on high (v.49). The disciples did not question or try to psychoanalyze this; they stayed continually at the temple praising God (v.53). Now, let’s look at Acts.

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk^[b] from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

—Acts 1:12-14; 2:1-4

Besides the obvious, there are two more things I want you to notice about this miracle. First, as with every miracle in the Word, it is preceded by human action. Not just any action, obedient action by faith. Additionally, all of them were filled! Not just the original disciples and not just the men. Later in Acts, gentiles also received this gift. So right from the start, God eradicates the idea that this gift of the Spirit was only for certain people. The steps are simple—are you ready to receive?

Step one. Ask God for the gift. Jesus said in Luke  11:13, “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!”

Step two. Praise God for the gift! Yes, it’s that simple. Remember what I’ve been telling you from the start. Look back at Luke 24:53. They continually praised God.

Step three. Get your spirit, soul and body on one accord (Acts 2:1). Basically, your thoughts and actions should line up with what you want and what your spirit needs. For example, if you wanted to lose 20 pounds, would you keep eating fast food and being sedentary? Keep your childlike faith and get yourself on one accord.

Step four. Receive it. As you pray the Psalms or simply thank God for His goodness, begin to sing your own song to Him. Begin to speak from your Spirit—the language is there, you just have to let it flow. Don’t let your natural ears deter you (or the enemy either for that matter!). It may sound and feel strange at first, but remember you are not of this world anyway! The more you hear the sound, the more comfortable you’ll become speaking. The presence of God will become more tangible to you. Do this wherever you feel comfortable. It could be in a worship service, in your kitchen or driving on the interstate (keep your eyes open while driving!). That’s simple enough—now take action.

Pitfalls and Further Instructions

When you are initially baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues, it will probably be a very emotionally moving experience. However, it will not be that way every time you speak in tongues. I pray this way daily, but I’m not crying or getting goose bumps everyday. It’s just like praying in your native language, sometimes you really sense God’s presence and other times you don’t. In fact, simply look at it that way—you’ve become bilingual.

Another practical piece of advice it this, don’t become a spiritual weirdo. We want to make disciples, not scare them off! Unless someone is comfortable with you praying in tongues around them, don’t. Here I’m speaking of situations in which you may be praying for an unbeliever. Inappropriate use of tongues can even stunt the growth of a new believer. If all you ever do is pray in the Spirit or go around talking about what the Spirit told you, you will put others off. This can create an inferiority complex or confuse the thinking of another person. Paul said, “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue (1 Corinthians 14:19).” When you’re alone or in the company of someone in agreement, pray in tongues all you want, but use wisdom. We’ll study this more in another article.

Finally, don’t expect to hear instructions right away or on every detail of your life. Again, this is not complicated. Just live your life as you know to live it according to God’s Word. Remember and meditate on the verses above. He’s our guide; He knows all things. This means if we are headed in the wrong direction, He will point us to the right way—He won’t force us. Or, if we need help with a difficult decision, He’ll give us peace when we make the right choice. The more we follow His lead, the better we’ll become. Soon, you’ll be as I mentioned in a previous article—asking the Holy Spirit to help you find a lost toy!

The steps are simple: ask, praise God, get on one accord and receive! Then leave your praise reports as comments on this page! I’m excited for you already!

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

Psalm 138:8

—Shontta

Throughout the Bible human beings were always fascinated with the experience of seeing God. This may have been one of the reasons for manmade gods. I suppose that the people who made these idols wanted to be able to see and touch the beings they worshiped. When all along, God Almighty had given man a picture of Himself—man was the image of God. All that needed to be done to see God was to see a human being. In Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Despite this fact being rehearsed through generations, Jesus disciples still wanted to see the Lord.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

—John 14:6-11

OK, so how can you not love this passage of Scripture! Focus on the way Jesus spoke. The surety of His words is so powerful. He had no doubt about who He was or what He was saying. We are supposed to behave the same way. The first blessing God ever gave us was to create us in His image! Why? So we could do the same works and greater! I am excited as I write this—it’s a true revelation. Jesus told the disciples that by seeing Him they had seen the Father. And as a part of the Acts generation, not only are we made in the image of God, we also have the Christ in us! Are you feeling me?! This is why I can say that everyday I see the Lord. Jesus lives in me and my physical body is in the likeness of the Father.

This is another reason why we cannot focus on what we see on the outside of people. No matter what they may be doing with their bodies, they were not originally created for or by evil. Psalm 100:3 tells us, “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” And in Psalm 139:13-16 David continues, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

People were created by God. So whenever we look at someone, we should be looking through the eyes of God. By giving you and me His image, He was able to give us His power. The Blessing can flow through us because we’ve been made the righteousness of God in Christ. We were made a little lower than Elohim! You have to get this. Let’s close with Hebrews.

“You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

—Hebrews 2:7-11 NIV

You look just like your Father. You have His eyes and you possess His power. You’ve been blessed in His image. Don’t go around wishing you could see God or touch Him. As you read His word and pray, you will see more of Him in you and all around you. You will be just as confident as Jesus was when He told the disciples that they had seen the Father by seeing Him. When you witness and work for the Lord you will be able to tell others, “When you look at me, you are looking at the Lord.”

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

Psalm 138:8

—Shontta