Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The baptism with the Holy Spirit

Acts 17:11 in the NIV Bible tells us how to be of a more noble character in God's sight. If that is a desire of our heart we should examine the scriptures daily in order to determine what we hear is true and according to God's Word .
I am inviting you all here to do this with me again on the most important subject of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
This occurrence which was going to happen was so important to Jesus that He spent His last words on earth to tell us about it.[Acts 1:8] Naming this happening "the baptism with the Holy Spirit " in Acts 1:4/5, He actually repeated the words of John the Baptist, which we can find in 3 Gospels.[Math 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16] He already had told us in Luke 24:29 that He was going to send that which the Father had promised.
Does the baptism with the Holy Spirit pertain to the salvation of a person?
Definitely not! Clearly Jesus said it would give the believing Apostles power to be witnesses for him in the whole world. The message was directed to the Apostles He had chosen already.[Acts 1:3]. They were already born again believers and even had received the Holy Spirit when Jesus had breathed on them.[John 20:22] I believe that Jesus breathed on them to confirm the beginning of the New Covenant, which had started when He had shed His Blood on Calvary. 1Cor 11:25].There needed to be a transition because they were saved under the old covenant.
We must understand that there are at least two dimensions of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus speaking about The Holy Spirit said in John 14:17 " for He lives WITH you but shall be IN you." The parable of the 10 virgins also indicate that there are two dimensions or volumes of the Holy Spirit. Enough to make it until eternal live with Jesus on the end or not enough and insufficient to endure until the end.
I understand from this that when you are born again through the work of the Holy Spirit, He comes to live WITH you. But when you are baptized with the holy spirit He will be living IN you and empower you to be an effective witness.
To be an effective witness also entails that we will be able to live a more Godly life,
The world must see that our witnessing is backed up by our own lives. They must see Christ in us ! We must practice what we preach. This becomes possible through the Baptism with the Holy Spirit who will sanctify us.The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is truly a life changing experience! The 120 believers, who were obedient to Jesus command to wait for it in Jerusalem, are the best proof of this. They reached the then know world with the gospel in an amazing short time. From a cowering bunch of people they turned into convincing witnesses
almost at once !
I can testify to the same experience. Although I was born again when I was 14 years old, during world war 2, in Holland, I was only a nominal bench warming Christian until 1970 when I and my whole family were baptized with the Holy Spirit.It changed our lives entirely and we became effective witnesses in the utter most part of the world. The Holy Spirit gave use amazing power to evangelize and the Lord established many churches in the remote areas of the Philippines. They are bearing more fruit even today, as the Lord allowed me to observe during my last trip there in 2005. Praise God !
Jesus also referred to the baptism with the Holy Spirit as " the promise of the Father" Probably indicating Joel 2:28. He had also mentioned the promise in Luke 24:49.
We should ask ourselves and other Christians also, have you received the Holy Spirit? Some 19 years after the day of Pentecost, Paul did ask that question in Ephesus to some disciples he had met there.[Acts 19:2] It is a very important question.
If the answer is negative or I do not know, You must conclude that The baptism with the Holy Spirit has not happened to you as yet. Because if it did happen, you will know it. Because it does change your entire life! Are you a believer in Jesus Christ ? Then He wants you to obey him and wait for the promise of the Father. Acts 8 is definite proof that you can be a believer for a while and not have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans believed in Jesus and were water baptized but had to wait till Peter and John came from Jerusalem later on. Any way the 120 followers of Jesus had to wait also for a while. So did the disciples in Ephesus
The sad case is that today there are thousands and thousands of believers who never have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and either think that they are, or do not feel a need for it .Some of them confuse the salvation experience with the Holy Spirit baptism. Others feel not worthy of it. What is required to receive it ? Jesus said " come unto me if you are thirsty" So you only need to believe and be thirsty enough to ask for it.[Jon 7:37/39] That is a prayer request The Lord certainly will answer according to 1John 5 verse 14 and 15.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us-whatever we ask, we know that we have what we ask of Him "
Yours truly, In Christ Johannes

PS. If any one wants to more details what happened to the Weiss family when we were baptized with the Holy Spirit, Let me know and I will send you my complete testimony.
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