Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

Meeting The Holy Spirit

Soon after Sam and I got married, some wonderful ladies from the church invited me to do something I had never done before. They asked me to go on a retreat with them. With limited spiritual knowledge, I was really excited about this weekend adventure and what I would learn. I have known Jesus all of my life, but He had just become real to me months earlier. Little did I know I would get to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

At this retreat, the emphasis was on the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This was all quite new, yet intriguing to me. I soaked up everything the speakers said and bombarded my friends with questions during the breaks. One such question was about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I only knew baptism to be with water and nothing more. I wanted to know about this other baptism and what did I need to do to get it?

Water Baptism vs. Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

They shared the following scripture with me, and it was the first time I understood the difference.

“While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. ‘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’ (baptism with water). 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.’

As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied (baptism of the Holy Spirit). There were about twelve men in all.”

(Acts 19:1-7 NLT the parts in parentheses are my additions)

After they explained to me the difference, I saw water baptism to be what we do when we accept Jesus as our Savior. It is our outward expression to let others know of the commitment we are making. I came to understand baptism of the Holy Spirit as the moment we relinquish ourselves to the Holy Spirit and let Him have total authority. Everything in me wanted to experience this, but releasing control and saying God, I want whatever you have for me is difficult.

Surrender

When we surrender ourselves to God, it looks different for everyone. Some people will say the only proof that you have received this baptism is if you speak in tongues. I do not fall under this belief. I believe we are all unique and God will manifest Himself in and through us in special ways. Ways that He knows will draw us even closer to Himself and build His kingdom.

"I believe we are all unique and God will manifest Himself in and through us in special ways. Ways that He knows will draw us even closer to Himself and build His kingdom." Click To Tweet

As the scripture says, some will prophesy and some will speak in other tongues. I have seen some people who received boldness to share their story of salvation with others and some that received an overwhelming peace and they knew something within them had changed. God has many gifts and to say a specific one is the proof of your Holy Spirit Baptism, I find this very limiting to God.

Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

When I learned all of this, I immediately began praying for this baptism. I wanted nothing more than to experience this for myself. I was still away at the retreat and we went to Wal-Mart to pick up some snacks for the rest of the weekend. For reference, know that I highly dislike Wal-Mart, so it’s slightly ironic that this is where my transformation started.

I walked into the store with my friends, trying to find salty treats and some chocolate. As we perused the isles, I felt something come over me. I wish I could describe it better. It was a great sense of peace and excitement, almost like I was floating. I kept this all to myself until I began to feel my hands shake. I told the girls something was happening, and they got excited and we headed back to the hotel.

When we arrived at our room, they started praying over me. Each of their hands rested on me and a feeling of heat rushed through my body. The shaking moved from just my hands to my arms and legs. I expected to be afraid if anything like this were to ever happen, but it was the complete opposite. Peace raced through me. I wanted more of whatever was happening.

I Never Wanted The Moment To End

I felt encapsulated by His presence and I never wanted the moment to end. The only thing I could compare it to was the story of the transfiguration in Matthew 17, when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain and Jesus transformed before them and Moses and Elijah showed up. Yep, true story. Peter asked, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Like Peter, I wanted the moment to last forever.

This overwhelming presence remained with me for the rest of the evening. Best of all, I felt an extreme joy. I did not speak in another tongue (yet), nor did I prophesy, but I knew God had done something within me. Soon after, I began having dreams I knew could only come from God.

Igniting The Spark

This has to be what God had to be thinking about when He created the Hebrew letter, Peh פ. One meaning of the Peh פ is a spiritual spark of the soul contained inside a physical body. In my story, Jesus planted the spark through the speakers at that conference. The spark was so strong I had to let it ignite and, by setting my desires aside, I got to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Reflecting The Things Of God

Now let’s take a quick look back at last week’s post. I shared about the Ayin ע (read it here) and how it looks like eyes. It represents God who see’s us but it also reminds us to be careful of what we see. When we look at things that are impure, it changes something within us. When we read the Bible, we take in the things of God.

The Peh פ looks like a mouth. Scholars share that what we take in through our eyes will eventually come out through our mouths. The more good we take in, the more our hearts will transform to be like His, and the more we will share of His goodness with others.

"What we take in through our eyes will eventually come out through our mouths. The more good we take in, the more our hearts will transform to be like His, and the more we will share of His goodness with others." Click To Tweet

He Is In Control

I wish I could say my walk with God has been perfect will that moment, but that would be a lie. However, after experiencing that transformation and knowing the Holy Spirit is in me at all times, I know I can overcome anything that comes my way. Even in the moments I feel like I can hardly hold on, I know He is with me and He is in control.

Relinquishing ourselves over to God and filling our hearts with things from above can only result in becoming stronger, bolder followers of Jesus who will do whatever He calls us to do.

If you have already experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I would love to hear your story. You can email me here or share your story in the comments. If you have not, and would like to, begin asking God for it. You can pray the prayer below. Also, you can email me or comment below with any questions you might have.

“Lord, thank you that you are God and want to draw me closer to Yourself. I surrender myself to You (share things you know you need to relinquish to Him). Holy Spirit, fill me. Replace anything that is not of You, with Your Spirit. Lord, I desire for you to baptize me with Your Holy Spirit.”

If you don’t have any experiences right away, that is ok. Keep asking. If you want to learn more, listen to this sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones and check out the following book. I am praying for each of you to experience this awesome baptism the Lord wants to bless you with.

To learn more, check out this book.

Baptism with the Spirit: Teaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones