Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire

[Wade Smith]

The baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues isn't just for pentecostals. Its for every born again Christian who willingly asks for it in faith. Its for the baptist and the methodist and the episcopalian and the catholic and the lutheran and the methodist, and the non denominationist, for "I percieve that God is not a respector of persons."


luke 11:9And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?


It doesn't take great faith. It just takes a grain of mustard seed.

Jesus died on the cross not only to save the soul of the sinner, but to baptize the believer in the Holy Spirit. John said that he would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit.


It doesn't even necessarily take a preacher laying his hands on you. You can pray to the Father right now, "Heavenly Father I ask in the name of Jesus that you baptize me in the Holy Spirit and with fire, with the evidence of speaking in tongues and fill me to overflowing, for your Glory and Honor. Amen."

You don't even have to pray those exact words, just seek his face dilligently.

Then just knock and keep knocking. Loose those lips and that tongue and let it flow like a river, through faith in the finished work of Christ. It'll sound a little wierd at first, but we know that God answers that prayer and that it is the Holy Spirit. If you ask for a fish he'll not give you serpent, praise God!

I remember the day I first recieved the baptism almost like it was yesterday. At a Church of God youth camp, June 19, 1995, a wednesday, as I recall, about 8:30pm in the evening, since it was an alter call. Pastor preached on "the salt of the earth".

The Holy Spirit wants to help you be that salt. He wants to help you be that "light of the world" and a "city on a hill that can't be hid", praise God!

He wants to set at liberty those who are bruised. He wants to set the captive free. He wants to tame that unruly tongue in the name of Jesus! He wants to comfort you. He wants to give you power from on high and help you in your walk to live for the Lord as you should. He wants to do a new work of grace in your life every day in Jesus name.

Let the Spirit of the Lord move upon you, call upon his name and he will hear you and answer.

He's only a prayer away, open your mouth and He'll fill it.

Give the Lord Jesus praise and glory! amen

"Come Holy Spirit, move on me, by your anointing set me free.
Pour out new wine on this thirsty heart of mine.
Come Holy Spirit, move on me."

[Wade Smith]

Well, we can always go to the Bible for ourselves, you know.

God gives us the apostle, prophet, pastor, evangelist, and teacher, however, they are not infallible, just as I am not infallible.

"follow me as I follow Christ," and "Search the scriptures whether it is so."

However, I believe I can show from scripture that you do not necessarily get the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" at the point of salvation.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a requirement of salvation, but it CAN occur almost simultaneously in some cases, such as one I'm about to mention shortly from the Bible.

Acts 19


1And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
4Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Here we see these believers are baptized in water. First of all, let it be pointed out that they are believers to begin with, before Paul even spoke to them. Second, Paul comes along and rebaptizes them in the name of Jesus. Third, Paul lays his hands on them and prays for them, and the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they speak in tongues.

I believe this shows very plainly how the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues is a seperate work from salvation. However, salvation is a requirement for the baptism.


Now if we return to the original outpouring in chapter 2, we see that all of the apostles and people there are believers. Even thomas had already made a profession of faith in Jesus when he saw him for himself, and "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Even thomas was already saved, having called Jesus "my Lord, and My God."


But then, Jesus says, "Go and wait at Jerusalem untill you recieve power from on High."

So the apostles go, and on the Day of Pentecost they all recieve tongues, and the fire appears on them as well. Now the fire, for reasons that are never really explained to my knowledge, rarely appears, and by "rarely" I mean almost never. I've heard of a few cases, but not many.

But the point is, tongues came after salvation, whether that is 5 seconds after, or 5 years after, or even 20 years, it will be different for every believer, though I believe the Lord wants to give it to us right away, we just don't necessarily want it right away.

"tongues" was actually first sign that the Holy Spirit, and for that matter, the gospel itself, was to be given to Gentiles. IN this case, the listeners became born again, and even spoke in tongues BEFORE they were ever even water baptized.

Acts 10:44While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

45And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

You see, the outward evidence that they had actually "recieved" the Holy Spirit was "tongues". This is how the word of the Lord ("call not common that which I have cleansed",) was confirmed to Peter and the other Jewish believers there with them that the Gospel was for the Gentiles also.

Just a few verses later, Peter would remark that the Holy Spirit "fell on them the same as us(the apostles) at the first."

So we see, tongues is the outward evidence on the day of pentecost.
Tongues is the outward evidence at cornelius' house.
Tongues is the outward evidence when Paul layed his hand on people to recieve the HOly Spirit.

Now there is another passage whereby we know that there is an outward evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:14Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

Again we see born again Christians, yet the Holy Spirit was not fallen upon them.

17Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

Now they recieve the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, though laying on of hands was not required on the day of pentecost nor in corneleus' case. I have heard of some recieving it when nobody was preaching at all, others recieve it listening by television or radio, still others go to the altar and pray for hours to recieve, while others get it with a simple prayer and laying on of hands. In any case, it is always by faith in Jesus Christ and him Crucified that that the Holy Spirit comes.
18And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

Now notice, Simon "saw" something, that is, he observed some outward evidence that he had never seen in his life.

Now the sad thing about his story is that he was a professional sorcerer, and he was just seeking power for the sake of money, so the Holy Spirit would not honor him.

But the point is, there was an outward evidence that made this man want what he saw. There was none of this pray and walk away "hoping" somebody had the Holy Spirit, they KNEW the person had recieved by an outward sign, which considering 3 of the other times in the Bible that we see the infilling it was "tongues", then in all likelihood, it was "tongues" this time too.


tomorrow I will discuss the "prayer language" aspects of tongues, which all who are baptized recieve, as compared to the "Gift of Tongues" and the "Gift of Interpretation", which not everyone recieves.

[Wade Smith]

The Value of praying in Tongues
Ok, so the Lord willing, I will address the question which is often on many people's mind, "What good is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? What good is tongues?"

Well, there is much good about the baptismof the Holy Spirit and tongues. Firstly, I will quote several relevant scriptures so that the reader can see the Word of God for themself.


1 Cor. 14:1Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

2For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
3But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
4He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. 5I would that ye all spake with tongues...


14For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15What 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.


Romans 8:26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;


So then reasons to pray in tongues:

1) Edification

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul compares two good things. Tongues and prophecy. He is not saying that we should not speak in tongues, quite the contrary, since he says, "I would that you all spoke in tongues."

In other words, it really is the will of God that everyone speak in tongues.

When we pray in tongues, we are speaking spiritual mysteries, we are speaking the word of God and the will of God because the Holy Spirit speaks through us, and we edify ourselves in so doing. The flesh, the carnal mind which is "self" does not understand other than an intuitive "its of God so it must be good," but the carnal nature does not know the meaning. However, the Spirit of God speaks to our spirit and in so doing heals us, teaches us, strengthens us for the next battle.

Every boxer must edify himself. He must train hard. He must spar to hone those skills. He must run and do jump rope to build up endurance. He must eat right to ensure proper muscle growth and overall fitness, and above all he needs a Trainer to push him to his limits, to stand in his corner and tell him what he's doing wrong, to teach him to slip the jab, and to throw a better jab of his own.

This is how the Holy Spirit works. He is there to train us. He is there to edify us in many ways, one of which is "Praying in tongues" which is the same as "praying in the Spirit". He's the comforter. He's there to tell you to get up when you fall, because Jesus loves you!

Jesus said that the Comforter will speak of Him, and that he will be IN YOU, and he will lead you and guide you into all Truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding. The Spirit of Counsel and Might. The Spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear of the Lord! He comes by way of the Cross. He comes by Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.


2) Power

The Holy Spirit is "Power from on Hight." Luke 24:49

Acts 1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me...

The word "power" in both of these verses is from the greek word "dunamis", from which we get the word "dynamite".

It literally means "force" or "Miraculous power" or "miracle".



romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost

The Holy Spirit brings power to do the work of the ministry that the Lord has called you to, and "prayer in tongues" is one of the means by which this is manifest. He brings power to have joy and peace as you've never known before.

He is power to get up one more time. He is power to make the desert bloom. He is power to make dry bones become as flesh. He is power to give you the prayer life you ought to have. He is power to "pray without ceasing". And when we pray in tongues, we have this word that we "edify ourself" becaue the Holy Spirit prays through us.

3) Intercession

We don't always know what to pray about, or who to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays through us.


Romans 8:11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

When we don't know how to pray or who to pray for, the HOly Spirit prays through us through tongues and through "Groanings that cannot be uttered". This is a deep prayer life like Jesus and the apostles had. You see Paul's prayer life evidenced in scripture where he prayed for everybody he knew, and all the time. He "prayed with the Spirit" and he "prayed with the understanding". When he didn't know what to pray about "with understanding", that is, in a language he knew, for Paul was a linguist, then if he iddn't know what to pray about, then he prayed in "Unknown tongues" which is the prayer language every person can recieve when they are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

4) Relationship
Well, I'm getting more numbers here than I set out to use, but Praise God, the Holy Spirit was given to Jesus "without measure".

Prayer and intercession isn't just a matter of being on your knees for 30 minutes per day or whatever, telling God about your troubles. There's definitely a place for that and we should do it, but prayer and intercession is about first of all returning to you "First love", that is placing ones faith in Jesus Christ and what he did at the Cross. Prayer is about a conversation with God which takes place all day long.

Enoch walked with God and "was not". He "walked" with God for 300 years after his first son was born. Moses "talked" with God face to face, the scripture says "as one man talks to another." The Spirit of God wants to walk with you and talk with you and tell you you're his own! Praise God! He does this through his word and he does it through "normal" prayer, but he also does it through tongues, because your spirit is edified by the Holy Spirit working in you.


5) Praise and worship

Paul said he would "sing in the Spirit" and he would "Sing with understanding also."

You see, they are two seperate things. The fact that he contrasts "Singing in the Spirit" against "Singing with understanding" shows that they are two different things. Both are excellent things that every believer ought to do.

"in the mouth of babes and sucklings the Lord has perfected praise."

Praise God, singing in tongues is a wonderful gift from the Lord. It helps you enter into his presence. It helps you to "humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and HE will Lift you up." It puts your heart back on Christ and what he did at the Cross, it teaches you how to worship a thrice Holy God. He puts the words in your mouth, open your mouth, and he'll fill it.

I mean, your wife might not like it, your husband might not like it, the kids might not like it, the parents might not like it, but the Holy Spirit is there to humble you in the sight of the Lord, because one must be SHAMELESS to speak in tongues. The "Spirit warreth against the flesh" and "My people shall never be ashamed."


Lay aside shame and fear and unbelief in Jesus' name. Lay aside pride and prejudice, and recieve the Holy Spirit power in your life. Receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Baptism means "to wet" or "to immerse", but it also means to "Stain". The Holy Spirit wants to stain you and mark you as his. He wants to blot out your carnal nature. He wants to mark you with the Seal of God in your forehead.

Salvation is like opening the door of the heart and asking Jesus to come int.

the Baptism is like giving the Lord the keys.

"Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and over flowing."

You can't out give God. Every inch of your life, every moment, every thing about you that you give to the Lord, he'll give you that much more and better. Praying in tongues is submitting your tongue to the Lord. Its submitting your heart to the Lord and making him Lord in deed.

[Wade Smith]

Lets say we have an english speaking congregation.

The HOly Spirit gets hold of one person and moves them to open their mouth and begin to speak. So they begin to speak in tongues, which is usually very loudly and everyone else in the congregation will get dead silent. The speaker does NOT know the language they are speaking in, the words come out spontaneously once they have submitted their tongue to the Lord.

Next, either the same person, or someone else will have the "Gift of Interpretation". This person is moved by the Holy Spirit and they begin to speak out loud, spontaneously in the common language of the congregation, which in this case is english.

Neither speaker understands the second language. It is purely supernatural.

Now, most of the time, there is no third party visitor to observe the "sign to those who believe not" aspect.

However, sometimes, there is somebody visiting from a foreign country and they happen to understand both the native language of the church, as well as the "tongue" which is spoken.

So if the "tongue" is some obscure chinese dialect, and the native church language is english, then if there is a man visiting from china, HE might understand both the "tongue" and the "english" interpretation via "translation", and thereby know that both speakers were moved by God.


Science cannot explain this, but the Holy Spirit is a universal translator through the "Gift of Interpretation", because he knows everything.

The "Gift of tongues" and the "Gift of Interpretation" are two seperate Gifts. A person can have one and not the other. It is not the same thing as a person "learning" a new language through study.

The person with the "Gift of tongues" may speak in chinese for one utterance, and then French for another, and then Russian the next time, and they don't "know" any of those languages. The words come out spontaneously once the person submits their tongue to the Holy Spirit.


Now you say, "What is the point of this?"

Paul said that prophecy was the greatest gift, EXCEPT when Tongues are interpreted.

When the "Gift of Tongues" is "interpreted" by the person with the Gift of Interpretation, then it becomes equivalent to Prophecy, with the added "sign" to potential listeners of another language.


These are not rehearsed utterances. The Lord moves the speaker(s) to speak spontaneously directly to the issue relavant in the congregation at the time. Very often, one or more scriptures end up being "quoted" as part of the utterance, but again, this is not rehearsed by the speaker. The utterance through the Holy Spirit will often give instruction that a particular person in the congregation needs, or that the entire congregation needs to hear, which was not necessarily realized by any of the people.


In a church that is really seeking the Lord, this IS supposed to happen from time to time. Not necessarily every day or every service, but from time to time, there should be the "Gift of Tongues" and the "Gift of Interpretation" in action.

One reason for this is because GOD is your Pastor. The man who stands behind the pulpit is a shepherd, but Jesus is the Great Shepherd. The man behind the pulpit, or the president of your denomination, is not infallible, and makes mistakes. But the Holy Spirit will use others to gently correct this sometimes, or to re-affirm what the Pastor preached in cases where he is preaching what the Lord gave him for that day.


=======

Now, if there's a believer reading this so far, and you say, "Well, that isn't for us today. I believe that went away after Revelation was finished. My Pastor said thus and so, therefore I don't believe the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is for today.

Well, I'm here to tell you. Think twice about what I'm about to relate, and you'll be the smartest person in you family and in your church.

If the Baptism of the Holy Spirit ended when the "canon" was finished, why is it that entire chapters of the Bible are devoted to teaching on the Baptism of the HOly Spirit and fire with Tongues?

If its not for today, why would God inspire one author to "waste" 3 consecutive chapters teaching on it?
Not to mention the fact that he spends a paragraph or two here and there as quoted above in previous posts?

If it's not for today, Why would God inspire another author to write almost two consecutive chapters on it, and mention it directly or indirectly at least 5 more times in the same Book of Acts?

Why would God have Peter say that this is the sign of the prophet Joel, in the "last days I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh," If the Day of Pentecost was the "last days" then today is also the "last days". There is nothing after "last" except "Last of the last", closer to "end of time". But every day from then on is one of the "last days".


Think twice and you'll be the smartest person in your church and denomination.

We are still in the "last days" and God is still pouring out the Holy Spirit on those who will believe and seek his face.


If you've never recieved the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire, with evidence of Tongues, I encourage you by the Lord Jesus Christ, to seek him for it!

I encourage you to obey the Lord Jesus, to be "imbued with Power from on High." To be "Baptized with the Holy Spirit and with Fire" as John the baptist said Jesus would baptize you.


It's not of the devil, friend.

Jesus said that if satan's kingdom is divided how shall it stand? The devil's smart enough not to divide his own kingdom, but some Christians are not so smart.

Jesus said that if you ask the Father in His name he will give you whatever you ask. If you ask anything in his Name according to His will, he will give it.

Jesus said that if you ask for bread he wont give a stone. If you ask for fish he wont give you a serpent. If you ask for an egg, he won't give you a scorpion's egg.

If you ask for the "Holy Spirit and fire", according to the word of the prophet John, the Lord isn't going to give you a demon spirit.

Ask the Father to baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire in the Name of Jesus, and keep on asking until he answers.

"Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened."


The Lord wants to "Stain"(bapto) you in the name of Jesus. He wants to put his seal in your forehead in the name of Jesus.


Living the for the Lord isn't about simply repenting of and being forgive of your "unrighteousness", but its also about repenting of your "righteousness".

For the Word of God says that "ALL our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."

The best thing we can do in and of ourselves is fail. Isaiah said that our "righteousnesses", that is, even the GOOD things we do in and of ourselves, are displeasing to God.


We must be born of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ and his precious blood shed at the Cross.

We must be baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire with tongues.


there's always one more rung up the ladder when we're dealing with God, or rather God is dealing with us.


You stepped into the water, but you went ankle deep. You got saved by grace through faith in Jesus' name. You heard a sermon or read the Bible and the Lord convicted you and you cried out to God by faith. You're born again you read the Bible you go to church you pray you try not to sin you live for God. But there's another step of faith.

The "River," which represents the Holy Spirit, he is deeper than ankle deep friend.

Ezekiel kept wading out. Ezekiel went out to the ankles, then out to the knees, then out to the thighs and eventually to the point that it couldn't be crossed, and he says, "Everything shall live where ever the River flows."

Don't worry about what you're friends or family or pastor might think. Let the Holy Spirit get hold of you in the name of Jesus. Let him Inhabit you as never before in the name of Jesus. Call out to the Lord for deliverance from lukewarm Christianity, and be filled with the Holy Spirit and with Fire.