“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Acts 2:1-4
When I speak or teach about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit I get very excited because I know what happened in my life when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a turning point in the life of all christians who are baptised.
I was born again in a church (Traditional Church) who didn’t believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. But I started reading and studying the Bible for myself and came to one conclusion: I needed to be baptised in the Holy Spirit because my life wasn’t good, I was a christian but something was missing in my life.
I started praying and asking God for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. One day I was praying, it was 2:00 in the morning and God visited me and I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I began speaking in tongues and my Christian life was dramatically changed from that day on.
I have many testimonies of leaders, pastors and missionaries from traditional churches who didn’t believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with tongues but as they received revelation from God and believed they were baptised in the Holy Spirit.
I can quote many leaders from traditional churches that had the experience of being baptised in the Holy Spirit and all of them spoke in tongues.
David Pawson, a very well known British Methodist pastor who wrote more than 80 books, Derek Prince, author of over 50 books, Charles Finney, Smith Wigglesworth.
Wigglesworth’s life changed dramatically when, at age forty-eight, he was baptised in the Holy Spirit and anointed with power for preaching and healing. Signs and wonders characterised his ministry.
My pastor Harry Scates (Shalom Church in Brazil) came from the USA as a missionary to Brazil and he was not baptised with the Holy Spirit.
But in Brazil he understood that he received wrong teachings about the Holy Spirit and he started praying to God and asking for this Baptism. He was baptised with the Holy Spirit after many years serving the Lord as pastor. From that day, his spiritual life and Shalom Church’s life was transformed.
The baptism of the Spirit is an “immersion in the Spirit.” When you are baptised with the Holy Spirit, you will receive strength, power and boldness from God to accomplish your work and overcome sin in your own life.
You know it when you have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit because God’s power often passes through your body like a powerful current and fills you with an infinite joy and happiness. The disciples were so filled with joy that the people thought they were drunk with new wine.
When John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus he said two things about Jesus
First : Jesus will take away the sin of the world. John 1:29
Second : Jesus will baptise you in the Holy Spirit. John 1:33
Jesus is the Lamb of God and the one with power to baptise us in the Holy Spirit.
When John Baptist baptised people He would say: Don’t think that baptism in water is all you need.
Baptism in water deals with your past, it washes away the past and your old life.
John said: I can baptise you in water, but I cannot offer you the other baptism. Someone who is coming after me will do that for you! (Matthew 3:11)
Some churches teach about baptism in water but they don’t teach that Jesus is the one who baptises in the Holy Spirit. Some churches teach wrongly that: receiving Jesus and being baptised with the Holy Spirit is the same thing. (It’s not)
But in fact the New Testament talks about believing in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit. And it’s perfectly possible to have one without the other.
When Paul went to Ephesus he said to some disciples of Jesus:
““Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.” Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.”
Acts of the Apostles 19:2-4, 6
It’s perfectly possible to be Jesus’ disciple and not be baptised in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the baptiser and he said : I came to give you life and have it to the full (more abundantly)
John 10:10
Jesus gives eternal life and abundant life. This eternal life is within us now and it continues forever. But after giving us eternal life, Jesus Christ’s second assignment is to give us abundant life.
Many times we think and also hear some preachers teach that abundant life is a good life, getting a car, getting married, having good health and a retirement plan. These are all good but abundant life is something more than that, it’s when Jesus introduces us to the Holy Spirit and we have a relationship with the Holy Spirit and that causes our life to be abundant.
You can have a good job, money and all external things in life and still lack its abundance because Jesus not only gives salvation, He also introduces us to the Holy Spirit.
Eternal life does not exist outside of salvation. Abundant life does not exist outside of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus did not baptise anyone in the Holy Spirit when He was on this earth.
That assignment only started when He went to heaven.
Jesus wants to do two big things in your life: to give you eternal salvation and the second most important thing, more important than healing, it’s more important than deliverance and financial breakthrough, it’s to introduce you to the person of The Holy Spirit.
There is no eternal life without Jesus and there is no abundant life without this relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Abundant life can only be found in the Holy Spirit. Eternal life can only be found in Jesus.
When you become a Christian and repent from your sin it’s the Holy Spirit that produces this miracle.
The Holy Spirit causes the miracle of birth and this is where we meet the Holy Spirit first.
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit, when you get saved you receive the Holy Spirit, even if you do not speak in tongues, even if you don’t prophecy, even if you don’t see visions, even if you don’t feel anything, the Holy Spirit lives in you, He dwells in you.
Even when you struggle with temptations, even when you struggle with doubts you have the Holy Spirit.
When we sin as Christians our fellowship is affected, our fellowship is broken, our intimacy is broken but He is still there.
Any married person understands that. It’s the difference between being together and intimacy.
You can be in the same bed and not be intimate. You can be in the same car and not talk to each other. You can be in the same house, legally married and not even have a connection with each other, no fellowship, no love, no intimacy.
Why? Because intimacy is different from a relationship. Relationship is: you get married, you do the paperwork, you move in together, you live in the same house, but intimacy is completely different.
If you are born again you have the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit wants intimacy with you. He wants to be close to you.
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit but many Christians don’t have intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
The same way, many people get married, but not many people enjoy their marriage. Because just because you have the paperwork, being married does not mean you actually enjoy your marriage.
Jesus not only was born through the Holy Spirit, He was filled with the Spirit. (Matthew 3:16)
You were born again through the Holy Spirit but you also need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
“Don’t be drunk with wine, which will ruin your life, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Ephesians 5:18
Apostle Paul commends us to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
In the past I used to think the Holy Spirit randomly chose people and he would fill them up so if you were the lucky one you get filled with the Holy Spirit.
Here the bible says the Holy Spirit doesn’t decide whom He fills. We get filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Bible compares being drunk with wine and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
For example: Alcohol does not randomly choose people and make them drunk. Smirnoff or Guinness don’t have a list with different people in it: Him, her and them, then they find your house, knock on your door, force your mouth open and make you drink them. That’s insane!
Nobody gets drunk from just sitting at home doing nothing. No! You don’t get drunk unless you are actively trying to.
You go to a place where there are spirits or beer and ask for a drink. So now the drink is on the table, not in your mouth. So you make the choice to pick up the glass, open your mouth, and drink up. Then you start feeling happier, you suddenly become very confident and you’re not yourself. And how does it end? You can end up receiving a fine for drunk driving, or go to jail for doing something you shouldn’t have.
The Holy Spirit fills us the same way. You come to church, in Church there are some drinking but many of us have our lips zipped and nothing goes in. Why? Because you don’t open your mouth.
When you are thirsty and open your mouth the Holy Spirit is allowed to flow in. When you open your mouth in prayer the Holy Spirit begins to flow in.
When you open your mouth to speak in other tongues the Holy Spirit begins to flow in.
You don’t get full because the Holy Spirit fills you. You fill yourself with the Holy Spirit by putting yourself in the right place and opening your mouth.
The job to be filled with the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit’s job, it’s yours and mine.
Remember: The Holy Spirit doesn’t fill us, we get filled with the Holy Spirit.
He is already available, it’s like oxygen, it’s there and you breathe it in, you take it in.
The Holy Spirit is with us today and He wants to minister to us.
I want to encourage anybody here today who has not been baptised with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. You can receive that today if you believe and desire to be baptised.
We are a church that believes in all that is written in the Bible.
Jesus spoke about speaking in tongues.
“And these signs will follow those who believe: they will speak with new tongues;”
Mark 16:17
Jesus said this sign will be in the life of those who believe: They will speak in tongues.
All of Jesus Disciples experienced speaking in tongues. Cornelius, Paul, etc
How do you receive that ?
37 “Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
John 7:37-39
1- Be thirsty.
2- Come and look to Christ as the baptiser.
3- Drink—receive with an open mouth.
The result: Outflow in speech.
There are two ways that Satan tries to sabotage our speaking in tongues.
1- “That’s not real, you’re doing it yourself.” Answer: “I’m doing the speaking, the Holy Spirit is giving the words.”
2- How do you know you got the right thing?” Answer: Because God promised that if I ask Him for the right thing, I will never get the wrong thing” (see Luke 11:9–13).
It’s very simple: you open your mouth and say Holy Spirit fill me up.
How do you speak in tongues?
Whatever comes to your mind, that’s not English, or Portuguese or any language that you know you begin to say it.
Then you’re going to say: that’s me, yes! It’s going to be you. The Holy Spirit doesn’t manipulate you, He uses you. He uses your faculties and ministers to you.
The Spirit fills your speech, you say what the Spirit fills you with.
God Bless you
Ps : If you did not receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues, keep reading about it, studying the book of Acts and New Testament and keep praying and asking for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or come to your pastors and we will help you and pray for you.