Baptism With the Holy Ghost Update

Welcome to GodSaidManSaid. Presently on this website, there are 305 messages archived in text and streaming audio. The subject base grows by one, God willing, every Thursday eve. This will be the seventh article that deals very specifically with the often-debated subject of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. These articles answer pertinent questions, first Biblically, historically, sociologically, and scientifically. Empty your minds of presuppositions and approach this series free to believe. A quick review of the ten questions answered in the first five feature articles follows:

Question #1: What is the very first commandment Jesus Christ gives to His infant church?
Answer #1: The last words of Jesus and the first commandment to the infant church were to tarry until they received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost.

Question #2: Are people automatically baptized with the Holy Ghost the day they are saved?
Answer #2: The Baptism with the Holy Ghost is a separate and distinct supernatural occurrence that follows the born-again experience.

Question #3: How did the saints of old get baptized with the Holy Ghost?
Answer #3: When the saints of old received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, they spoke in unknown tongues.

Question #4: How did the Apostles recognize one who was baptized with the Holy Ghost?
Answer #4: The manifestation recognized by Peter at Cornelius' house, indicating that the people, in fact, had received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, is that he heard them speak with tongues.

Question #5: What is the purpose of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost?
Answer #5: Four foundational functions of the Holy Ghost are as follows: supernatural teacher, supernatural memory, supernatural power, and supernatural prayer life.

Question #6: Do Christians get baptized with the Holy Ghost today?
Answer #6: Yes, Christians do get baptized with the Holy Ghost today just as they did on the day of Pentecost. Worldwide estimates of those who are part of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement range from a low of 130 million to more than 580 million.

Question #7: Were the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, gifts of the Spirit, and miracles only for the days of the Apostles?
Answer #7: The Baptism with the Holy Ghost, with signs following, is for today.

Acts 2:38-39:

38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Question #8: Do the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and the nine gifts of the Spirit serve separate functions?
Answer #8: The Baptism with the Holy Ghost and the nine gifts of the Spirit do serve separate functions.

Question #9: Is speaking with new tongues a phenomenon that began in 1906? Is "that which is perfect" already come (I Corinthians 13:10)?
Answer #9: The Baptism with the Holy Ghost and glossolalia did not begin in 1906, and "that which is perfect" is yet to come.

Question #10: How can a Christian receive the Baptism with the Holy Ghost today?
Answer #10: The Baptism with the Holy Ghost is received today just as it was on the day of Pentecost, with simple childlike faith. Visit the five-part series on the Holy Ghost on GodSaidManSaid. Inside article number five, you will be instructed on how to receive the marvelous gift of the Holy Ghost. Do not take a shortcut. Be prepared for the miraculous.

The following e-mail came from a brother in Christ, Joel:

I just wanted to share with you that after part four of your "Baptism With The Holy Ghost" series a couple of weeks ago, as I awoke the next morning, still halfway asleep, I was uttering words out loud that I did not understand.

I'm a member of one of the largest Southern Baptist churches, and as you may know, my denomination is not keen on speaking in tongues, but the Scriptures say otherwise. My church is awesome on just about every subject in the Bible, but the one gift it shuns away from is tongues.

After hearing your message, as mentioned before, I believed and had faith the Holy Ghost could, if He desired, give me the gift of speaking in tongues, and for an instant, He did. Although I didn't comprehend the words I spoke, I believe I was praising God in another language. Thank you, Godsaidmansaid.

Dear Brother Joel, blessed be the name of the Lord who, as the Scriptures have promised, has baptized you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. It is an understatement to say that this is only the beginning. Please go back and review all six articles, then begin to stir up the gift on a daily basis. Be free to believe. We will list hotlinks to all six articles at the end of the feature.

One sister in Christ sent an e-mail concerning her experience regarding the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. She asked about moaning or groaning in the Spirit. Romans 8:26-27 reads:

26 Likewise 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.

27 And 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.

This manifestation, as one is being filled with God's Spirit, is not uncommon. As this sister continues to stir up the Spirit of God within her, magnify His name and pray in the Spirit, more articulate words will follow.

Prior to launching the Holy Ghost series, we contacted persons of note on the national level who have made a strong confession for Jesus Christ, and who have also experienced the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. We asked for their personal testimony regarding the Baptism. GodSaidManSaid would like to offer a very special thank you to Sid Roth for taking the time out of his enormously busy schedule to respond. Mr. Sid Roth is an author of note, as well as a TV and radio personality. He has a syndicated TV show, It's Supernatural, and a radio program, Sid Roth's Messianic Vision. For more information about airing times and dates, as well as a profile of Brother Roth's ministry, click onto www.sidroth.org. Following is his personal testimony:

"The Baptism of the Holy Spirit" by Sid Roth

When Jewish people are saved, they are at the mercy of the theology of the person who leads them to the Lord. I got saved in the early 1970s at the height of the Charismatic movement. Before that, I attended a Bible study at my place of employment and heard someone speaking in tongues. The whole process intrigued me.

After becoming a believer, I attended a Full Gospel Business Men's meeting where I received prayer to speak in tongues. I immediately started speaking in a language I had never learned. Those around me said, "That's it! You are speaking in tongues." I didn't feel anything different and the next day a voice said, "You made that up, that is not the heavenly language." I didn't know what to believe.

For a long time, I was double minded over whether my tongues was authentic. One day God showed me the truth. I was talking with a Jewish Rabbi who was a believer when a distraught woman approached him for prayer. She was pregnant and the doctor had just told her the baby was dead. She asked us to pray for the baby to come back to life. The Rabbi invited me to pray along with him. I started praying in tongues because, as a new believer, I did not know how to pray in English for this situation. After she left, the Rabbi asked if I knew what I had prayed. When I said I didn't, he told me I had prayed in an ancient Hebrew dialect that the spirit of the baby was with God. I never doubted the authenticity of my gift again.

In Acts 19:1, upon arriving in Ephesus, Paul encountered a group of "disciples." A disciple is a believer in Jesus as the Messiah. Paul asked these "disciples," "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" (Acts 19:2). His question showed that you can be saved without having received a complete filling of the Holy Spirit. There is more! When he found out they had not been baptized (immersed) in the Holy Spirit, he prayed for them to have a fuller experience.

"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them [the disciples of Jesus], the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." (Acts 19:6).

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit started at Pentecost.

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4).

At the feast of Pentecost, devout Jews would go to Jerusalem from every nation. Everyone heard the disciples speaking in their own language the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:5, 6, 11).

Then Peter said, "For the promise [of receiving the Holy Spirit as they just experienced] is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off," (Acts 2:39).

There are five places in the Book of Acts where believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Three passages mention speaking in tongues (Acts 2:11, 10:44, and 19:16). One involves Paul receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17). Although it doesn't mention tongues in this verse, Paul later said he spoke in tongues more than any man (I Cor. 14:18). The last place is found in Acts 8:14, when Simon obviously observed something to make him offer to pay money for this supernatural gift.

Jesus said we would do the same works He did and even greater works (John 14:12). Paul told us how; he said, "he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom 8:11).

What is normal Christianity? According to the Word of God, I can have the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and can do the same works that He demonstrated. The issue is not how much we have of the Holy Spirit, but how much the Holy Spirit has of us. Surrender is the operative word. Anyone who is born-again can surrender more to the Holy Spirit and operate in any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit as he wills (I Cor.12:11). The only exception is tongues. People get confused because the rules for the public utterance in tongues are different than the Biblical rules for the devotional prayer language. Anyone who is saved is a candidate to surrender to more of the Holy Spirit.

I have prayed with thousands of people who had been baptized in the Holy Spirit, but had never spoken in tongues, and they were released in their gift. What made the difference is when I showed them that they must play an active part in the process.

Acts 2:4 says "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and [they] began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." The implication in this verse is that "they" did the speaking. Many wait for God to speak through them and move their tongues supernaturally. No, the supernatural element is God giving us an unknown language. The natural part is us moving our own tongue. You cannot speak a known language without moving your tongue and mouth. The faith part is speaking from your spirit before you hear it in your mind. Without faith, you cannot please God. It's time to be a God pleaser. If you do the natural, He will do the supernatural! "Even so faith, if it hath not works [corresponding action], is dead (James 2:17).

NOTE: All Scripture is taken from the King James Version with emphasis added. [End of quote]

Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? Click onto "Holy Ghost (Part One)" for the first in a five-part series on the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. You can receive it in the privacy of your own home.




References:

Authorized King James Version

Roth, S., "The Baptism of the Holy Spirit"




Related Subjects:

The Holy Ghost and Your Belly

Holy Ghost (Part One)

Holy Ghost (Part Two)

Holy Ghost (Part Three)

Holy Ghost (Part Four)

Holy Ghost (Part Five)

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