How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The Bible commands us to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). This is not an option. We would do well to heed the warnings of two respected Pentecostal leaders lest we think that being baptized in the Spirit is not important. The late G. Raymond Carlson, former General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, wrote that “if the Holy Spirit is not allowed to actively direct the operation of the church by controlling the lives of its members, the church will have lost its dynamic” (Carlson, p. 33). Kaye Cole shared with me that as a child, the altars of her church were open after every service, and people went into the altar expecting to meet God there, and were not disappointed. It was in this environment that she received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and eventually went to the mission field. Later in our interview, she bemoaned the fact that many churches in her fellowship, the Assemblies of God, no longer open the altars after every service.
Tanya Jo Shipley reported that environment in her church was also conducive to the moving of the Holy Spirit, the pastor often preaching on issues related to the Holy Spirit or at least mentioning that the Spirit was free to move in the service (interview, September 12, 1999). The moving of the Holy Spirit from one generation to the next is not guaranteed. By our example, we can and must teach every generation what it means to be full of the Holy Spirit and power.
The second warning comes from Dr. Yonggi Cho, the pastor of the world’s largest local church: “Christians today are not powerless, sick, and spiritless because they are not born again, but because they have not received the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the tremendous power of God for service” (Cho, p. 103). But we can receive the Spirit’s fullness, we can walk in the power of God and we can be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for every believer. If you have not received it, you certainly can. Why not prepare your heart now, using the steps mentioned above? The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for YOU! Are you willing to submit to Him? Are you willing to be embarrassed before others and completely abandon yourself to the will of God? Then there is no reason that you should not receive. But remember that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is given for a reason. God wants to empower us to be His witnesses. And what a wonderful empowerment it is!
PR
Bibliography
Abbott, Robert. “Helping People Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit,” pp. 168-73. In Conference on the Holy Spirit: A Condensation of Plenary Sessions and Seminars of the Conference on the Holy Spirit in Springfield, Missouri, August 16-18, 1982. Vol. 1. Gwen Jones, ed. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1983.
Carlson, G. Raymond. Spiritual Dynamics: The Holy Spirit in Human Experience. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1976.
Cho, Paul (now David) Yonggi. The Holy Spirit, My Senior Partner: Understanding the Holy Spirit and His Gifts. Almonte Springs, FL: Creation House, 1989.
Cole, Kaye. Interview. September 13, 1999.
Himenez, Tess. Interview. September 14, 1999.
Horton, Stanley M. What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1976.
—— The Book of Acts. The Radiant Commentary on the New Testament. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1981.
Johns, Donald. “Some New Directions in the Hermeneutics of Classical Pentecostalism’s Doctrine of Initial Evidence.” Pp. 145-67. In Initial Evidence. Gary B. McGee, ed. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991.
Reyes, Erlie. Interview. September 12, 1999.
Sarkar, Arun. Interview. September 14, 1999.
Shipley, Tanya Jo. Interview. September 12, 1999.
Spence, Robert. “The Holy Spirit Outpouring in Acts.” Pp. 76-81. In Conference on the Holy Spirit: A Condensation of Plenary Sessions and Seminars of the Conference on the Holy Spirit in Springfield, Missouri, August 16-18, 1982. Vol. 1. Ed. Gwen Jones. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1983.
Taylor, Phil. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Perspective. Tulsa, OK: Published by the author, 1992.
Category: Spirit, Winter 2000
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