BAPTISM

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Proverbs 4

20 "My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn;

Open your ears to my sayings.

21 Do not let them escape from your sight;

Keep them in the center of your heart.
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22 For they are life to those who find them,
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And healing and health to all their flesh."

***UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2022 see below***

Father God, thank you for loving us and not forsaking us. Thank you for Your Word and Your gifts, talents, miracles, signs and wonders. Thank you for these Testimonies for You with which you have blessed me, and that prove to me, and hopefully those who read them, that Your Word is alive, and that you truly have not forsaken us. Thank you for giving us ears to hear and eyes to see. Amen.

Now, if you are like I was until recently, you probably do not know that there are two types of baptisms: Baptism in Water, and Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. ***UPDATE FEBRUARY 7, 2022: Sunday after church, God turned on another light for me. Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Baptism in fire, are two separate baptisms. In other words, they do not come together, at the same time, or at least not necessarily. If you think about it, fire is passion. When you hear prophets, pastors, or ordinary people, speak with a passion for God, a fire for God, then you know that they have received Baptism in Fire.

I still do not understand the differences completely, but I have a general idea about Baptism in Water and Baptism in the Holy Spirit, based on my firsthand experience with, first, water at 13 years old Thank you, Jesus, and recently, in the last few months, with Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Click here to read my Testimony about being baptized in water at 13 years old.

So, what is Baptism in the Holy Spirit? How do you know if you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit? 
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(courtesy of lwaog.net/)

The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance: Acts 2:4; Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:1-6. 

The speaking in tongues that occurs from Baptism in the Holy Spirit is, in essence, the same as the gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians, but is different in purpose and use: 1 Corinthians 12:4-10; 1 Corinthians 12:28

End quote.

​"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Acts 2:17 

The differences I see between speaking in tongues in Acts and 1 Corinthians, without having studied the subject other than reading the Scripture, is that in Acts, it says, "in the last days," everyone will be given these gifts, including speaking in tongues, to bring as many people as possible back to God, by showing His miracles, signs and wonders through them.

1 Corinthians 12, on the other hand, is referring to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including speaking in tongues, being bestowed on people whom "God has set in the church," church leaders, and is not specifically designated for "the last days."

This week, while working on our church website, and reading about Baptism in the Holy Spirit, I realized that, yet again, God was at work in my life. God is Great - All the Time!

Now, I started learning about the Pentecostal denomination only a couple of years ago, during the lockdowns, by watching Pentecostal prophets giving prophecies and sermons. Occasionally, one will  speak in tongues briefly in a prayer, or sometimes someone else will interpret what they are saying.

Then, recently, I heard someone speak about praying in tongues. It was a very powerful sermon. He said praying or speaking in tongues is a language only God understands, and it causes Satan to flee from you. Hallelujah! Amen. So, I tried. I started praying in tongues. All glory to God in the Highest.

How to: Pray to God out loud as you normally would, in private. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you, and then open your mouth and let another language, or 'tongue,' come out. 

What does this have to do with my Testimony to God's Power? Well, I noticed over the last few months, and the content of my blogs show it as well, that I am being drawn more into the service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Literally, I have received a download, if you will, of "an overflowing fullness of the Spirit, a deepened reverence for, and intensified consecration and dedication to, God's work; and, a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost," as described below in the experiences associated with Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Baptism In The Holy Spirit

(courtesy of lwaog.net)

All believers are entitled to, and should, ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father regarding Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, as was the normal experience of believers in the early Christian Church. With Baptism in the Holy Spirit comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts, and their uses in the work of the ministry: Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31
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The benefits and experiences associated with Baptism in the Holy Spirit are completely distinct from, and after, the experience of the new birth, or Baptism in Water.  Acts 8:12-17; Acts 10:44-46; Acts 11:14-16; Acts 15:7-9

With Baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as:

• an overflowing fullness of the Spirit: John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8

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• a deepened reverence for God: Acts 2:43​; Hebrews 12:28

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• an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work: Acts 2:42; and,

 

• a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost: Mark 16:20

God truly is great and amazing, and we thank Him for it! Thank you, Father. All honor and glory and praise and thanksgiving to God, the Father, the great I Am. Amen.