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I CAN Be Born Again

I CAN Be Born Again and Spirit Filled
WHO IS GOD?
God is described in the Bible for only one reason: because He wants you to have a revela­tion and understanding of Himself God, Who is invisible, desired to communicate with man so much that He manifested Himself as “the Word made flesh,” in the Person of Jesus Christ, His Son. His existence is not a matter of debate. The fact that He “Who is invisible and all powerful” exists is shown in the creation itself. Your accep­tance of Who He is becomes the starting-point of your faith.

God is Holy
God does not conform to a standard of holiness; He is that standard. 1 Samuel 2:2 declares, “There is no one holy like the Lord, In­deed, there is no one besides Thee, Nor is there any rock like our God.” God is holy, and no unrighteousness could exist in Him. Because of His holiness we do not judge His Word. His Word judges us.

God is Just
Depending on how they compare to God’s character, things are either just or unjust. God sentences the wicked and rewards the righteous according to His Own standards of what is right or wrong. On our own we could never meet God’s standard of righteousness. Being totally just, God cannot allow unrighteousness to be un­punished because it isn’t in agreement with His character. There is a distinct separation between God and unrighteous man.

God is Merciful
God is compassionate, and full of loving kind­ness toward man. In His mercy, He realizes that sinful, guilty man cannot measure up to His stan­dard of righteousness without help. But if you will first believe that God is merciful, you have taken the first step in putting yourself in the posi­tion to receive His mercy. It is God’s mercy that provides a way for your salvation from sin’s wages:
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23 KJV).
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

God is Love God is Love, and love always gives. God gave you the most precious Possession He had: His Only begotten Son. Love seeks the welfare of another. God was seeking the best for you when He gave His Son to end the separation of sin be­tween you and Himself. John 3:16 reveals His love toward you:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

God is Truth
God cannot lie. He is true to all that He says: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).
God’s Word does not conform to reality. Reali­ty conforms to God’s Word, for God’s Word is what created reality when He spoke the world in­to existence. All things made by God’s Word are subject to His Word, for He is Truth.

God Is Omniscient
God is all wise and knows all things. He knows everything that ever was or will be. He knows everything that isn’t but could be. All of this knowledge does not come from outside of Himself, and it causes no confusion. Hebrews 4:13b says that “all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
God is perfect wisdom, so He can devise perfect plans and use perfect ways to accomplish them. His wisdom sees everything in focus, and everything in proper relation, with all things working for an intended goal. God works in wisdom for His intended glory, and for the highest good of the greatest number of people over the longest span of time. What God does cannot be improved upon. He deals with you in perfect wisdom!

God is Omnipresent
He is present everywhere, close to everything, next to everyone. Psalm 139 declares that there is no place where man could possibly hide from Him. God fills heaven and earth.
Because He is infinite, God knows no limits. Don’t try to put limits on God’s presence, for He has so much for you. He knows you through and through because He made you, and best of all He loves you: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23). God is in you and in every believer.

God is Omnipotent
Nothing is too difficult for God to do, for He is all powerful. He gives power to those who serve Him, yet His Own power is never diminished. Everything that God does is done without effort, one task never being more difficult than another. How marvellous it is that your all powerful God is also good, true and merciful! Best of all, He wants to be powerful in your everyday life. Ephe­sians 1:19 says that He wants you to know “the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” The Christian life is a “light burden” to bear because it is lived by God’s power in you, not by your own power.

WHO IS THE TRINITY?
The mystery of the Trinity is accepted by faith. God’s Word reveals that three Persons exist in the Godhead, yet they are One God. Each Per­son is coequal with the other Two, yet none of  Them are more or less God than the Other. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit do dif­fer, functionally. The Son has voluntarily sub­jected Himself unto the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the One Who abides in all believers at the command of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit carries out the purposes of the other Two. Throughout the Bible, the three Persons in the Godhead are seen:
1. At Creation. God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and Jesus was present, too
(John 1:3). The Holy Spirit was also there, waiting to actively bring forth God’s spoken Word
(Gen. 1 :2b).
2. In the Incarnation. Three Persons were spoken of to Mary (Luke 1:35). The Holy Spirit would come upon her, the power of the Most High would overshadow her, and the Holy Off­spring would be the Son of God.
3. At Christ’s baptism (Luke 3:21,22). Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit descended on Him as a dove, and the Father spoke“Thou art my beloved Son.”
4. In the Atonement (Heb. 9:14). Here you see the blood of Christ, the eternal Spirit, and the of­fering without blemish to God.
5. In the Resurrection. At Jesus’ resurrection the Scripture speaks of the Father (Acts 2:32), the Son (John 10:17,18) and the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:4).
6. In prayer we are to pray to the Father (Mat­thew 6:9), we pray in Jesus’ Name (John 14:13,14), and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26,27).
7. Jesus Himself recognised three Persons in the Godhead. He prayed to the Father (Luke 23:34), He said, “I am the Way to the Father” (John 14:6), and He promised the coming of the Holy Spirit
(John 14:16).
8. In the Great Commission. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”

RECONCILED TO GOD
Because God is pure, holy and righteous He cannot look upon sin and disobedience. Men cannot do right before God because man’s righteousness is like “filthy rags” to Him. A great separation stands between God and sinners. Because God is just, there is a judgement of man’s sin. Man was sentenced to die three different deaths as the result of Adam’s sin: First, there is physical death. Genesis 3:19 says that “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Next is spiritual death. Romans 5:12 says “just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Finally, there is eter­nal death spoken of in Revelation 20:15: “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Because God is merciful toward you, and all knowing, He had a perfect plan in which to demonstrate His mercy toward you and justice toward you at the same time. The price was high, yet God’s love knows no limit He gave His Only begotten Son to take your judgement, the death which was upon men because of Adam’s sin. Jesus Christ Himself bore in His body every one of your sins and diseases when He hung on the cross:
“Surely our grief’s He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well­-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the ini­quity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Jesus Christ abolished the sin that separated you and God, and you became God’s child when you received Christ as Saviour and Lord. Now the penalty for your sin has been satisfied and you have life instead of death. You have a new life ahead!

WHO AM I?
‘I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. . .“ (Gala­tians 2:20).
You are a new creature in Christ! According to the Greek translation, God has created you as a ‘‘new being who has never existed before.’’ In the New Testament, you can find your new identity in such expressions as “in Christ,” “in Whom” and “in Him,” for you are now one with Christ.

You Are Free
Ephesians 1:7 says that you have been freed from sin: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace,...” You are also free from condemnation. Romans 8:1 says that “there is therefore now no condemna­tion for those who are in Christ Jesus.” You are free from Satan’s ruler-ship in your life, for Colos­sians 1:13 states that you were “. . . delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son    Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!

You Live A New Lifestyle
..... Bearing with one another, and forgiv­ing each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:13-16).

The four new parts of your new life are forgiveness, love, peace, and praise. It is only natural to live a new lifestyle after accepting Jesus as Lord and Master. These qualities are in harmony with the new life inside. It does not con­sist of striving to be good, but rather it is al­lowing the powerful, perfect life of Jesus to be in complete control.

You Have A New Position The Bible describes your new position in several different ways. Each positional truth shows you a part of the riches which God has given you in Christ Jesus.
You are a child of God: “But as many as re­ceived Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” You are in a family that knows no nationality, colour, nor age, but only a vital rela­tionship to Jesus Christ. Now you can call God “Father” or “Daddy.” you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15b).
You are a member of the Body of Christ (the Church): “Now you are Christ’s body, and in­dividually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). Now under the leadership of Jesus Christ, you func­tion as He would function here on earth; you cooperate with the other members of His Body.
You are an heir of God’s kingdom, just as Christ is an heir of God’s kingdom. Because of that you have rights to eternal life, victory over sin and Satan, the right to use Jesus’ name in prayer, the right to the indwelling Holy Spirit, the right to be translated at Jesus’ second coming, and many more benefits which accom­pany the privilege of being an heir of God’s kingdom. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21). Not crying, nor weeping or good works would make you God’s child. Only God’s mercy could do that. God traded your sin for Christ’s righteousness.

YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE
Let God Talk To You
God’s revelation of Himself through His Word was progressive throughout the Old Testament He kept showing His people more of His ways as time went on and He prepared them to receive the coming Saviour.
Then in the New Testament we have the manifestation of God’s completed work through Jesus Christ The Bible in its entirety is the Book of books, and it is God’s way of talking to you. “that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4). God gave us His Word so that we might have life, so as Christians it is very important that we read our Bibles each day: but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).
2 Timothy 3:16 tells you that “All Scripture is ‘inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;...” Its words were all inspired by
the Holy Spirit, and are essential for your growth as a Christian. Romans 12:2 explains that as you meditate on God’s Word, you will see a change: ..... but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and ac­ceptable and perfect.”

Talk to God Your prayer life should be a part of your daily time with the Lord. It is His desire that you fellowship with Him, as well as allow Him to fellowship with you, and this is where prayer comes in. How important is prayer? 1 Chronicles 16:11 admonishes us to “Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.” In his letter to the Ephesians the apostle Paul exhorts Chris­tians to “pray at all times in the Spirit. .

Prayer is very important!
You will find that you can pray in many dif­ferent ways. Here are some of them: (1) The prayer of petition is the presenting of your needs before the Lord. If there is a need in your life, don’t worry about it and try to solve it intellec­tually. Instead bring it to your heavenly Father and let Him take care of it He already knows what you need, but He desires you to ask Him and depend on His strength for the answer. (2) Thanksgiving is your reminder that prayer is a two-way street! God promises that He hears your requests, so thank Him for the answer—even before you see it! Thanksgiving is a good, faith-building way to begin prayer times. (3) Interces­sion is your obedience to God by “standing in the gap” for other people. When God places it on your heart to pray for someone, do it! Your prayer is often the key that unlocks their answer, whether or not you know exactly what to pray for. (4) Worship is the acknowledgement that God is God. In worship you thank God for being Who He is. Should you feel “far” from God’s presence, then just start worshipping Him, for the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in your times of praise and worship. Your worship can even be a quiet attitude of meditating before the Lord, and you will find it to be inspiring, beautiful and over­whelming.
An important point to remember is that God answers all of your prayers. He may say “Yes,” or He may say “No.” Often, however, God simply says, “Wait and trust.” Your prayer time is never wasted, for prayer changes both people and things.
The Bible has so much to say about prayer. It tells you to pray to the Father in Jesus’ Name
(John 16:23,24). If you pray according to His Word, then you can be sure that you are always praying according to His will! If there is sin in your life, I John 1:9 tells you that if you confess it to God, He is faithful and just to forgive you. Simply keep in mind that as you go before God and pray according to His Word, He is not con­cerned with your fine speech; He is concerned with your heart.

Share Your Faith
Someone told you about Jesus Christ and the miracle of being born again. Now, be open to talk with others who are also looking for Him. This is called “witnessing,” for a witness is one who testifies of what he knows. Just tell them what you know. Your words are very important, for they are what will lead people to God’s Word. As you continue to testify of Christ to others you will experience the greatest thrill of all by leading them to Him!

Find A Home Church Become a member in a local church, and become active within that church body. The fellowship that you have with other members of the Body of Christ will build you up spiritually in many ways: 1) through singing psalms (Eph. 5:19); 2) teaching (2 Tim. 4:2-4); 3) tongues, interpretation and prophecy (1 Cor. 14), 4) the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 10:16,17), and much more. Hebrews 10:25 says that you are not to forsake the “assembling” of the saints together, for God placed them in the Body to provide “sparks” of fresh revelation of Him in your life. By joining a home church you can be sure that you will please God, for it is both Scriptural and fruitful to do so.

Sometimes I’m Not Sure Although the Bible may not cover every detail of modem life, you can be sure that its principles are applicable to any situation you come across. Here are some which may help you:
(1) Conscience: This does not mean acts of sin, but on matters when the Bible is “silent,” listen to your conscience. I always say that if you’re not sure, it’s best not to do it!
(2) Consideration: If you are doing something which could cause another Christian—or even a non-Christian—to doubt God, then stop that ac­tivity. The apostle Paul stated that if one action would cause another Christian to stumble, he would never act that way again.
(3) God’s Cause: As Jesus’ representative in the earth, turn from those things which do not glorify Him, but would bring Him shame and reproach. Finally, when you follow the course of
love, and acting as His representative, you can be sure that you are in the right

HAVE YOU RECEIVED...
Since You Believed?
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead, the One Who carries out the work of the Father and the Son. When you received Christ as your Lord the Holy Spirit came to indwell your spirit No longer are you a vessel of sin but a vessel consecrated to God: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Holy Spirit was sent from heaven to pro­tect God’s interest in your life. It is His desire to comfort, direct, convict and empower you just as Jesus would if He were physically present on this earth.

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
The Holy Spirit has all of the attributes of God because He is God. He is equal with the Father and the Son:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
His personality is described through all of the New Testament Here are some of His characteristics:
1. He can be grieved. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
2. He can be resisted, according to Acts 7:51 which says, “You men who are stiff-necked... are always resisting the Holy Spirit   
3. Acts 9:31 tells us that He desires to comfort all believers, personally: “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit...”
4. The Holy Spirit creates and gives life, just as He created new spiritual life within you when you were born again. Job recognised this fact: “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).
5. He dwells with you.”.., that is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because he abides with you, and will
you” (John 14:17).
(6). Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would not glorify Himself, but that He would glorify Christ “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you” (John 16:14). Now that you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit wants to glorify Christ in your life. He wants to confirm the truth of God’s Word to you and give you power for Christian service.

RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT
When you were born again by receiving Christ as your Saviour, you received the Person of the Holy Spirit Without Him there could be no indwelling of God. This explains the freedom and joy that you received at the new birth, for the Holy Spirit gave you peace with God. This same experience happened to the disciples in John 20:22:
“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit”
This was not Pentecost, but it was a new spiritual beginning. The same word for “breathed” is used in Genesis 2:7 when God “formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Earthly life began for Adam with the breath of God. Spiritual life began for you with the breath of God: the Spirit of God Himself

THREE BAPTISMS
Baptism Into Christ’s Body
Three baptisms take place in the believer. You were baptised into the Body of Christ when you were born again: “For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, and whether slaves or free, and we were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
The candidate for baptism is the believer who is repenting of sin and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The Baptise is the Holy Spirit Himself, and the medium for baptism is the Body of Jesus Christ. It was at this time that you were indwell by the Holy Spirit: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you” (Romans 8:11).
In simple terms, the Holy Spirit lives in you to give you God’s life and presence. At the same time, you are baptised (introduced) into the Body of Christ to find your place among the other members.

Water Baptism
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
The candidate for water baptism is yourself—and I highly recommend that you are water baptised as soon as possible. The baptizer is a qualified disciple of Jesus Christ, and the medium into which you are baptised is that of water.
The mode of baptism varies according to tradi­tion, but the original Greek word baptised actually means “to immerse.” The Bible says that when Jesus was baptised He came “up out of” the water, so again we see baptism as immersion into the water. This is highly symbolic. It shows the washing of regeneration:
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour,...” (Titus 3:5,6).

Water baptism also symbolises Christ’s death, burial and resurrection:
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Death is shown when the candidate for bap­tism is taken down into the water, burial is shown when the person is totally immersed in water, and resurrection is shown through the rising up out of the water.
Baptism With The Holy Spirit Receiving the promised gift of the Holy Spirit for power is the third type of baptism which believers can receive. The candidate for being baptised with the Holy Spirit is the water- baptised believer. Some individuals are baptised in the Holy Spirit before being baptised in water (Acts 10:44-48), but you can only receive this baptism if you are a born-again child of God. The Baptizer is Jesus Christ. Just as the Holy Spirit baptised you into the Body of Christ. now Jesus Christ wants to baptise you with the Holy Spirit Who is, of course, the baptismal Medium: “I baptised you with water but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8).
Just as you are physically flooded by water in the act of water baptism, so God wants to flood your life with His Own character through the baptism of the Holy Spirit ....and hope does not disappoint; because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).
You receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that God can empower you to develop and ex­press your new life in Jesus Christ. Recognising the work of the Holy Spirit in your life is essential for proper Christian growth.
The three types of baptism (and three is a number of perfection) are clearly indicated in the account of Saul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-19) and in the salvation of the Gentiles who were at the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48). Look these up in your Bible and study them closely.

WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES IN YOU
He gives you authority to witness. Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
1. The Holy Spirit will cause you to worship God, for He glorifies God: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
2. He manifests power in your prayer life: “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints ac­cording to the will of God” (Romans 8:26,27).
3. He helps you understand the Scriptures:
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12).
4. He gives you spiritual gifts: “. . .so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,.. .“ (1 Cor­inthians 1:7).
5. He will produce God-like qualities within you, and cause you to act like the child of God whom you have become. The Holy Spirit wants to be your source of direction, strength and com­fort. He wants to fill your life with the abundance of all that God has for you.

WHY   YOU NEED THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Jesus Needed Him
Jesus’ ministry on earth did not begin until after his baptism by the dove of the Holy Spirit, which is recorded in Luke 3. After His baptism, He ministered in power”
“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
Jesus brought God’s light into the lives of those who needed miracles. He healed the sick, and all who were oppressed by the devil, when they were willing to receive Him. He performed these miracles because He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the will of God. We share His anointing because we are members of His Body.

The Disciples Needed Him
Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them. This was after He had breathed on them and told them, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” They already had the Holy Spirit, and now they were going to be baptised in the Holy Spirit—immersed from head to toe with the Spirit of God! The disciples were given no assignments until they were equipped with power from on high:
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance&rdquo (Acts 2:4).

The Early Christian Church Needed Him After the day of Pentecost when those who obeyed Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit, tremendous revival happened. The believers who lived in Samaria were baptised in water in the name of Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the baptism with the Holy Spirit
Believers at Cornelius’ house (all of whom were Gentiles, not Jews) listened to Peter preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ when suddenly the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them. They were baptised with the Holy Spirit and began speaking with other tongues!
Twenty years after the Pentecost, Paul laid his hands on the believers who lived at Ephesus after they received the teaching of the Holy Spirit: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said to him, No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, Into what then were you baptised? And they said, Into John’s baptism. And Paul said, John baptised with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus. . . And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying” (Acts 19:2-6).

You Need Him
The Holy Spirit in your life is your Well of Liv­ing Water that Jesus spoke about in John 7:38. He said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scrip­ture said, From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. (But this He spoke of the Spirit.)&rdquo The Holy Spirit wants to be a River of Living Water to your innermost being. He wants to refresh you spiritually:
“But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
You are not “less saved” if you aren’t baptised in the Holy Spirit; neither are you “more saved” if you are. God wants you to be baptised with the Holy Spirit so that He can empower you spiritually, just as Jesus was empowered spiritual­ly. You were already given the Holy Spirit when you were born again. Now you just have to receive His baptism. By doing so you are receiv­ing His fullness into every area of your life, into every “room” of your being.
It is God’s will for you to be born again, water baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s up to you! The baptism of the Holy Spirit is God’s miracle to bring His character and power into your life so that you can be a bold witness for Him:
“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. (Ephesians 3:16).

RECEIVE THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Believe God’s Word
I know that God must have highly esteemed the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for He prophesied about it. “And it will come about after this that Twill pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28,29).
John the Baptist and Jesus Himself also proph­esied about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
“John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptise you with water; but He who is mightier than I is coming, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His san­dals; He Himself will baptise you in the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16). but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). You must first know that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift that God wants you to have. Believe that God wants to give you His best, just as He gave His best when He gave you His Son, Jesus Christ. If Jesus, the disciples and the early church were all baptised in the Holy Spirit, then you should be, too. You are a member of the same Body, and God will withhold no good thing from you:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13).
God is not a respector of persons. Many feel that they have to become “good enough” to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, it is the reverse: you receive the bap­tism of the Holy Spirit to empower you to do better.

Ask For Him
Jesus said that God would give the Holy Spirit to those who would ask. Is that different from asking Jesus to be your Saviour? It certainly is! In John 14:17 Jesus called Him the Spirit of truth Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him.” To get saved you had to behold Jesus. No one preached to you about the Holy Spirit; they told you about Jesus Christ. But now you know the Holy Spirit, because you received Him when you were born again. You only have to ask the Father for Him.

Praise The Lord Expect the Lord to give you a new language of praise, just as He gave the disciples in Acts 2:4:
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” They “began to speak,” just as you must “begin to speak.” Then as you speak, know that it is the Holy Spirit Who gives you the utterance. Praise Him in your new language.

Believe You Received The Father gives good gifts, and He will not give you a counterfeit. Receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit by faith, just as you received salvation by faith. If your heavenly language does not flow immediately, do not doubt that you have received. Just keep praising and thanking God.
God imparts the baptism of the Holy Spirit in two ways:
1. By sovereign outpouring (Acts 2:1-4; Acts 10:44-48). Many times Jesus simply baptises peo­ple with the Holy Spirit anywhere they are, wherever they ask Him. Other times, they may not even ask, and they are baptised with the Holy Spirit because of someone’s prayer for them. Jesus is a giver, and He loves to give peo­ple His most precious gift—the Spirit of God.
2. By the ministry of laying on of hands. Sometimes Christians may have another member of the Body of Christ lay hands on them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-19).

YOUR EVIDENCE On the day of Pentecost the evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism was seen through the apostles boldness in preaching, after which 3,000 people were saved! They also heard sounds of rushing wind, saw tongues of fire, and they spoke in tongues, praising God (Acts 2:14). The Holy Spirit overflowed from their spirits and filled up their senses, causing an overflow!
Acts 8:14-19 tells of the Samaritan Pentecost, and the Bible doesn’t tell us what the evidence
was. I do know that it was certainly something to be seen, for Simon the magician was present and the Bible says he “saw” what happened and wanted to buy the power of the Spirit. Needless to say he was harshly rebuked! Jesus’ blood is the only way that the Holy Spirit could be purchased for mankind.
When the apostle Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit the “scales” which had represented spiritual blindness disappeared from his eyes. Later he told the Corinthians, “I speak with tongues more than you all.” Though the Bible does not specify, Paul probably received the gift of speaking with other tongues when he was filled with the Holy Spirit, since that is when others received the gift
(Acts 9:17-19). We know by his own testimony in 1 Cor. 14 that he prayed in tongues.
At the Roman Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given by God to Gentiles who believed on His Son. This happened while Peter was preaching to them, and suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon all who were present. They immediately responded by speaking in tongues and exalting God (Acts 10:45,46).
At the Greek Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon some believers and they began to speak in tongues and prophesy (Acts 19:1-6). All who received the Holy Spirit demonstrated super­natural power.

WHY YOU SHOULD SPEAK IN TONGUES You don’t have to speak in tongues if you don’t want to—God will not force you to. However, when you yield your tongue to the Holy Spirit you indicate your willingness to yield the rest of your body to Him. It is your tongue which rules over the rest of your body:

“For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well” (James 3:2).

As a believer you function on two levels: the spiritual level and the natural level. The natural level refers to your five senses; of those five senses your tongue is the only one that allows you to communicate with God. All Christians use the natural earthly level of communication with God when they pray. The Bible calls this speaking with the “tongues of men.”
When entering into worship and praise, however, many people feel limited when using only “tongues of men.” Often, repetition sets in. It is there that God frees us with His supply for another level of worship: the “tongues of angels” spoken of in 1 Corinthians 13:1. This is also called “tongues.” Your heavenly language gives you a new capability: you can now communicate with God without the limitations of your natural mind.

“For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful”
(1 Corinthians 14:2,14).

The Holy Spirit in you already understands God’s thoughts and His ways. Now He wants to communicate to God accordingly, and He wants to speak those thoughts to you. While your natural tongue is controlled by your mind, your “unknown” tongue speaks by the Spirit of God.
You should speak in tongues simply because this is one evidence of the Holy Spirit inside you. Speaking in tongues is one way that God builds you up, spiritually:
“And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints ac­cording to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:26-28).

You are yielding that unruly member of your body, your tongue, to God as you pray in the Spirit, for you must yield your tongue to the Holy Spirit in order to speak in tongues. Regular “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit;. . .“ (Jude 20).

When you pray in the Spirit you pray directly to God and bypass your understanding. Praying in tongues eliminates selfishness from our prayers as they are guided directly by God. You pray according to His will, and even pray over matters which you may know nothing about! praying in tongues makes it easier for you to con­stantly yield your whole self to God.

STAY FILLED
Your baptism with the Holy Spirit is a one-time event. But your “infilling” is continuous. Being filled with the Spirit begins at Holy Spirit bap­tism, but you should never stop drinking of the Spirit of the Lord. Ephesians 5:18 tells you to be filled with the Spirit, and it really means “to ever be filled and stimulated with the Holy Spirit.” “Being filled” is the continuous present tense. The filling of the Holy Spirit goes on and on, never stopping. You have a fountain within you. Don’t allow sin or self-life to stop this flow. You can be filled daily. Keep being filled, keep being filled, keep being filled. You are on your way to the richest life you have ever had, as you walk in the abundance of the Living Christ each day.

Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of Your Life.
The Bible says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9,10).
To receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of your life, sincerely pray this prayer from your heart:

Dear Jesus,
I believe that You died for me and that You rose again on the third day. I confess to You that I am a sinner and that I need Your love and forgiveness. Come into my life forgive my sins, and give me eternal life. I confess You now as my Lord. Thank You for my salvation!

Signed...................................................................................

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