Holy Ghost (Part Three)

SPECIAL NOTE: We have been publishing this series on the Baptism with the Holy Ghost as it is written. Originally envisioned as a four-part series, it has now become five parts. We apologize for any confusion. May the face of the Lord shine upon you with light and truth.

NOTE: This is the third part in a five-part series on the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. For full understanding, it is important to receive this series in numerical order.

The Baptism with the Holy Ghost as it was received on the day of Pentecost and throughout the New Testament transcends nearly all, if not all, Christian denominational lines. Estimates of the world’s present populations who have received the Pentecostal experience range from a low of 130 million to 585 million. Baptist, Orthodox, Catholic, Methodist, Nazarene, non-denominational congregations, all have members who testify of the Pentecostal experience. According to the April 2006 issue of Christianity Today, there are over 580 million adherents, growing by 19 million per year. The magazine cited research by Barrett and Johnson: “Pentecostals can be found within all 150 non-charismatic Christians’ traditions.” Some estimate one out of four Christians is part of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement. Barrett, a religious statistician, numbers this population at 523 million.

Many church denominations insist on disavowing the miraculous experience of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with signs following, but they certainly do not do so from a Biblical, historic, or scientific position, twisting and wrangling as they may.

Prepare to believe the Scriptures. Those of you who have not yet surrendered your life to Christ will find this presentation to be outside your realm of understanding. This is a message that can only be fully understood by the born-again. If you are not, please click on to “Further With Jesus,” for immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Mark 16:16-20:

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

GOD SAID, Acts 2:1-4:

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

GOD SAID, Acts 10:44-47:

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

45 And 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.

46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

GOD SAID, Acts 19:1-7:

1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

2 He 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.

3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.

4 Then 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.

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

7 And all the men were about twelve.

MAN SAID: Speaking in tongues is a bunch of ungodly gibberish, and supernatural manifestations of nearly any sort are not for today. The non-religious and the “religious” unbelievers deny its supernatural existence entirely.

Now THE RECORD. These features on the Baptism with the Holy Ghost will answer 10 fundamental questions. A recap of questions one through four 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 was 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.

“Holy Ghost (Part Three)” will answer questions five, six, and seven.

Question #5: What is the purpose of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost?

Jesus said in John 14:15-18:

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

The powers of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter to the body of Christ, are far, far beyond full understanding. However, the Scriptures do define four very foundational and critical functions that the Holy Ghost will perform in a believer’s life.

(1.) John 14:25-26: “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” First, the Holy Ghost is a supernatural teacher. When one is born-again, he or she begins to understand spiritual things, but after the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, there is a dramatic acceleration.

John 16:12-13: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”

Imagine that the Holy Ghost literally dwells in your person and leads and guides in all truth. Referring to this principle is I John 2:27. It reads: “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

A man can expound the Word of God to us, but it takes the teaching of the Holy Ghost to quicken the Words of God to our minds and instruct us in righteousness.

(2.) Holy Ghost function #2 is to bring to our remembrance the things in which the Lord has instructed us—literally, a supernatural memory.

(3.) Holy Ghost function #3 is supernatural power. Jesus Christ said in Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Fifty days had transpired from the resurrection of the King of Glory to His ascension into heaven. The Scriptures do not record a single soul saved during this time. As a matter of note, when Jesus came to the disciples after His resurrection, He found them behind closed doors due to their fear of the Jews. But on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were baptized with the Holy Ghost. They went out boldly into the streets of Jerusalem and won 3,000 souls to Christ in hours, if not mere minutes. The Baptism in the Holy Ghost empowers the church.

(4.) Holy Ghost function #4 is a supernatural prayer life.  Romans 8:26-27: “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. 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.” All of us have situations in our lives when we don’t know how or about what to pray. Perhaps we’re not even aware that we need to pray about a particular situation. There will be times when one senses a spiritual heaviness or grief of spirit, yet he is not able to identify the source of the problem.

A person once asked me, “Why should I pray in an unknown tongue if I don’t know what I’m saying?” The answer is all of the above. The power of praying in the Holy Ghost is so very eternally huge! It can be more fully understood in light of  I John 5:14-15: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” If we pray according to the will of God, He hears us, and this is our confidence: if He hears us, we have our petition! This is our confidence! Now imagine praying in the Holy Ghost, who intercedes on our behalf and always brings the perfect prayer before the Father. The end result is God answering our prayers.

Years ago, while ministering the Baptism of the Holy Ghost to a new brother, something especially noteworthy transpired. After receiving the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the initial manifestation of speaking in an unknown tongue, he kept repeating a phrase that stuck in his head. The next day while attending college, he asked a multilingual teacher whether he’d ever heard that phrase. The teacher translated the Latin words as, “My fault, my fault, my most grievous fault.” The student didn’t know what to pray for or even what this serious fault was. But the Holy Ghost did, and made intercession on his behalf.

If you have a hard situation and don’t know how to pray for it, focus on it and pray in the Holy Ghost in the unknown tongue. Remember, it is unknown to you, but someone understands it, for it is either the tongue of men or of angels (I Corinthians 13:1).

Several years ago, my family and I were on vacation in Montreal where we rented a suite of rooms at a hotel. On this particular Sunday, we all met in the living room and held a mini church service. After we finished, we passed the hat for the cleaning lady who was working in one of our bedrooms. I walked in to give her the gift and she said, “Praise the Lord, brother!” Pleasantly surprised, I asked if she was born-again. She said she was for about 30 days. I then asked, “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?” In her broken English she said she had not, but would like to.

I called for my wife and son. After ministering the Word of God to her, I explained that we were going to lay hands on her to the end that she would receive the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. I told her that we would pray and then I would say, “Sister, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, receive ye the gift of the Holy Ghost.” I told her at that moment to raise her hands above her head in surrender to God and she would be baptized with the Holy Ghost and begin to speak in another tongue—one she would not understand. I also told her that my wife, son, and I would be praying in an unknown tongue as well, so she should not feel conspicuous. We began to pray but the new sister was silent. We stopped praying and asked her why she was not speaking.

She said she was listening to me because I was speaking in her native language. It was a certain West African dialect, completely unknown to me, but not to her. I asked her what I was saying. She said my words were, “Father, fill this woman with the Holy Ghost.” What is most noteworthy in this episode is that the three of us prayed for her to receive the Holy Ghost while the Holy Ghost Himself was making intercession on her behalf. I explained to her that we would pray again. This time she was baptized with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in an unknown tongue. The fourth function of the Holy Ghost in this particular scenario is a supernatural prayer life.

Question #6: Do Christians get baptized with the Holy Ghost today?

As I noted in the prelude to this article, worldwide estimates of those who are part of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement range from 130 million to more than 580 million.

Question #7: Were the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, gifts of the Spirit, and miracles only for the days of the Apostles?

The Word of God clearly states the answer to this question in 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.

The Baptism with the Holy Ghost is for all the born-again: verse 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.”

In “Holy Ghost (Part One),” I mentioned a debate. This was the debate where the initiators came in with a stack of books. The focus of the debate was on the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues, casting out devils, and laying hands on the sick—the miraculous. The group denied all of them, erroneously attributing the supernatural manifestations of the Bible only to the days of the original Apostles. During the debate, as the nine gifts of the Spirit were being discussed, the leader of the challengers asked in a very adversarial way, “Do you have any gifts, and if you do, what are they?”

I told him that in addition to being baptized with the Holy Ghost, and having the gift of tongues, I also had the gift of interpretation of tongues.

At this point he interrupted and raised his voice. “Well, go ahead and interpret something for us!” Of course, anyone who knows anything about the functioning of the nine gifts of the Spirit knows you can’t interpret until there has first been an utterance in an unknown tongue. I responded that it wasn’t Madison Square Garden and that I didn’t come to perform.

I continued, “You are probably wondering why these miraculous things don’t happen in your church?”

“That’s right!” he answered.

The next response promptly ended the meeting. I said, “Jesus said in Mark 16:17, ‘these signs shall follow them that believe,’ and you are unbelievers.” His group jumped out of their chairs in a huff and left the meeting in a heated stomp. I hope that they later reconsidered their response to the Mark 16:17 reference, and that my statement about their unbelief concerning the miraculous hand of God in this present era (which they clearly stated throughout the debate) was the issue. Basically, I was just restating their position.

The end of this account is rather ironic. The house where the debate was held belonged to an old parishioner of theirs. Not only did they bolt from the house posthaste, but they left us with the old sister. She sat in a wheelchair that her church had purchased for her. We asked her if she would like us to lay hands on her according to Mark 16 and James 5. She said, “Yes.”

Immediately afterward, she got up out of her wheelchair. The miraculous wasn’t happening in that church because its members refused to believe what is clearly written in the Word of God.

The following is a recap of “Holy Ghost” questions one through seven:

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.

2. The Baptism with the Holy Ghost is a separate and distinct supernatural occurrence that follows the born again experience.

3. When the saints of old received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, they spoke in unknown tongues.

4. The manifestation recognized by Peter at Cornelius’ house indicating that the people, in fact, had received the Baptism with the Holy Ghost was that he heard them speak with tongues.

5. Four foundational functions of the Holy Ghost are as follows:

• Supernatural teacher

• Supernatural memory

• Supernatural power

• Supernatural prayer life

6. Yes, Christians do get baptized with the Holy Ghost today just like 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.

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.

It takes faith to enter into them.

This is the end of “Holy Ghost (Part Three).” Part Four, God willing, will follow. Be free to believe!


>>> GO TO “Holy Ghost (Part Four)”


References:

Authorized King James Version

McClung, G., “Pentecostals: The Sequel,” Christianity Today, April 2006, pp30-36

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