Water Baptism
Once we have repented, we may be baptized. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)
In Acts 2:38 And Peter said unto them, “Repent ye and let each one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, into the remission of your sins, and ye shall recieve the free-gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The baptism (to be immersed in water) is an absolute important requirement in obtaining life. It is not only symbolic of dying to the old ways and getting up out of the water into a new life with Jesus, but represents our obedience and faith, that we believe the gospel to the saving of our souls.
If you have not been baptized in water, ask your Pastor to arrange a baptism for you. If your church does not baptize, then I strongly urge you, to find, and join a church where the Word of God has the final authority.
You may also baptize yourself in a bath, swimming pool or in the sea. Before you immerse yourself into the water say this prayer.
Baptism Prayer: Rom 10:9, Acts 8:37 & Acts 22:16.
I call on Your Name, Jesus, my Messiah of Nazareth, Who came in the flesh, My Father, my Creator, the Son of the Creator. The Creator Himself. You raised Your Body from the dead. I admit that Your body died in my place on the cross. I now come as a step of obedience and bring my flesh to be crucified and cleansed by Your Blood as in Galatians 2:20. As Peter said, “Repent and be baptized,” Acts 2:38. I am going into this water today, symbolically of Your grave, Rom 6:3-6. I ask You, by the power of Your Spirit, in Jesus’ Name to raise my flesh from the dead and to make me alive to serve You, as I stand up out of the water, as Your Body was raised from the grave. Regenerate me and circumcise me in the flesh with the circumcision of Jesus, our Messiah, Col 2:11-14. To renew my body unto obedience to You, Tit 3:5! Thank You Abba Father, Messiah, Spirit of Truth for the miracle that is about to happen, in Jesus’ Name, Amein!”
Baptism with The Holy Spirit. HOLY SPIRIT FULNESS
Then Peter say’s in Acts 2:38; that if we repent and are baptized in the Name of Jesus for the remission of sins; we shall receive the gift of The Holy Ghost. This gift is given by Jesus who baptizes with The Holy Ghost. “And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, “Upon whom thou shalt see The Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.” (John 1:33) “And John bare record, saying, I saw The Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and It abode upon Him. And I saw and bare record, that this is the Son of God. (John 1:32,34)
Jesus said; “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with The Holy Spirit not many days from now.” “But you shall receive power when The Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:5,8)
The Ascension day promise to the assembled believers anticipates the day of Pentecost and describes the coming of Pentecost as being “baptized with The Holy Spirit.” This is not the same experience as described in John 20:22 (“Receive The Holy Spirit”). The experience in John 20:22 took place before the ascension and was related to the work of The Holy Spirit in the New Birth as promised in John 3:3-5. Here in Acts 1:5 is the empowering for ministry that was promised in Luke 24:49. The focus here is on the mission of believers-one that cannot be accomplished without supernatural Holy Spirit Baptism, which was to follow Jesus’ Words about the spreading witness of the gospel through the Spirit-filled disciples in Acts 1:8 could only be fulfilled with supernatural power as a result of being baptized with The Holy Spirit. (John 20:22; Acts 2:4-13)
Infinitely gracious and undeserved are the favours of God to men. By the baptism of Jesus, under the dominion and influences of The Holy Ghost, we can have our minds transformed about spiritual things. He fills the soul with inward activity, peace and comfort, and is the certain preparation for everlasting life and peace in the immediate enjoyment of God.
Therefore we are no longer under the dominion of our sinful and impart remaining corruption, but under the direction and government of The Holy Ghost. Therefore we can be under no obligation to obey the unrighteous demands of our sinful nature.
O, the eternal advantages of being baptized by Jesus with The Holy Ghost.
By receiving The Holy Ghost, Jesus gave us authority and Power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19) In other words, power and authority is the divine enablement to accomplish the work we have been given to do! Jesus gave his disciples power when, “He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power (miraculous power and divine enablement) and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases” (Luke 9:1).
Beloved, it is time to enter into the full realization of who you are in Him. Time to experience the indescribable depth of the personal relationship and power that God so yearns for us all to have who believe in Jesus the Messiah.
To Remain Full of The Holy Spirit You Must Keep Coming To The Baptizer.
God wants you to come into an experience where you have been baptized totally immersed in The Holy Spirit. God has planned for you to face life and the enemy in the fullness of The Holy Spirit as Jesus did.
YGod has planned that the same power of The Holy Spirit that was manifested in Jesus life be manifested in your life. Not another spirit, but the same Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit.
He has planned that you remain full to overflowing with The Spirit. You know that to walk in the fullness of The Holy Spirit You must die to self. You must yield to The Holy Spirit. You must walk in the full knowledge of God.
To remain full and have a continual flow of The Holy Spirit in your life, you must continually come to the source of the life-giving stream. Jesus is The Baptizer! Jesus told the disciples, “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you” (Luke 24:49). He said, “If I depart, I will send Him unto you” (John 16:7).
Jesus is The Source of the life-giving stream of The Holy Spirit.
Are you thirsty?
Is there a hungering and thirsting deep within your spirit for God to totally posses your being?
Do you want to be baptized full of and controlled by The Holy Spirit? Don´t seek tongues. Don´t seek power. These are manifestations of The Spirit. The power will come. The gifts will come as you continually come to Jesus The Baptizer, The Source of The Life-Giving Flow of The Almighty God!
As you come into the experience where you are continually drinking of The Spirit, you are going to face the enemy and live as Jesus did in the fullness of The Holy Spirit.
“And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high”.(Luke 24:49) Weary afraid discouraged the disciples and others of Jesus’ faithful followers had secretly gathered together in Jerusalem behind locked doors.
As long as Jesus had been with them, they had felt safe and secure. They had been full of faith. Jesus had given them power to heal the sick, and even the demons were in subjection to them (Luke 10:17).
Yes, Jesus had risen from the dead as He had promised. He had appeared to them on various occasions. But, it was only a matter of time until He would be leaving to go back to The Father in heaven. After Jesus had gone and they were alone, what would happen to them then? How would they be able to carry on the work of building The Kingdom of God? The people had watched Jesus die in disgrace on the cross. Who would believe that He was The Messiah? What a scene of despair and defeat!
But, wait just a moment! Suddenly, in the midst of this moment of defeat, Jesus comes on the scene. He appears in the room where they are sitting (Luke 24:36). He calms their fears and gives them one final commission before ascending into heaven.
In the midst of the trials and testing’s they were facing, Jesus did not plan for them to be defeated. He promised to send the same Holy Spirit upon them that He had received.
Jesus told them that He was going to send the Comforter (Holy Spirit) who would remain and be in them.
Jesus had no intention of leaving His disciples alone to face the onslaught of the enemy in a weakened condition. He was sending the promise The Holy Spirit to live within them. And, as a result of this Baptism of The Holy Spirit, they would receive power. Jesus didn’t say to wait in the city until they got one goose bump on top of another. He didn’t say to wait until they received the gift of speaking in tongues. He said to go into the city and stay there until they were clothed with power from on high. (Acts1:4-5)
Jesus said you will be able to do greater works because He was going to The Father and was asking Him to send another Comforter, “that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). This spiritual relationship is only possible when you have been baptized in The Holy Spirit.
When Jesus said, “ye shall receive power, after that The Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8), it was not just the fact that they spoke in other tongues. The manifestation of the gift of tongues was a by-product. There is not one scripture in the Bible that equates speaking in tongues with being baptized in The Holy Spirit when you fully understand what the word baptized means.
The word “baptized” means “without measure. When you are baptized in The Holy Spirit, you have The Holy Spirit without measure. This means that God will have complete control over your life. You will have power to do greater (more) works than Jesus! If this were not so, Jesus would have kindly undeceived us and John 14:12 would not have said it.
If you have not been baptized in The Holy Spirit, take this opportunity, as The Spirit of God speaks to you right now, to lift your hands in praise to God and receive the power of God as The Holy Spirit comes upon you. Immerse and surrender your total self to the will of God for you as HIS child.
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with The Spirit.”(Ephesians 5:18)
Paul was not suggesting, he was not recommending that these early Christians be filled with The Spirit. He was not politely giving them a piece of advice. He was not giving them an option. It was a command. When a believer is truly filled, The Holy Spirit takes possession of him. He controls that person. He brings that persons will, mind, emotions and actions into the place of obedience and conformity to The Word of God.
Jesus was “full of The Holy Ghost” (Luke 4:1). He walked “In The Spirit.” He was “responsive to” and “controlled by” The Holy Spirit. His mind, will, emotions and actions were continually under the control of The Holy Spirit. He lived His entire life in submission, obedience and conformity to His Fathers plan and purpose for His life.
As a result of Jesus continually walking in the fullness of The Holy Spirit, the power of God was released in His life. It was not automatic but came as a result of His life of submission and obedience to God.
Our churches today are filled with Christians who are hungry to have the power of God operating in their lives. They want to have the gifts of The Holy Spirit operating through them. They desire to be used by God. But, very few are coming into an experience where they are manifesting the same miracle-working power that was in the early church.
Do you know why?
Because they have not yet died!
There can be no real life in the Spirit unless there is first a death to self. It is impossible for a Christian to live in the fullness of The Holy Spirit, if their desires and appetites are controlled by the flesh.
To live in the fullness of The Holy Spirit, you must “crucify” or put to death the deeds of the body.
To live in the fullness of The Holy Spirit, you must set your mind and affections on the things of The Spirit.
“For those who are according to the flesh and controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh. But those who are according to the Spirit and (controlled by the desires) of the Spirit, set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the (Holy) Spirit. (Romans 8:5)
If we are going to have the power of God released in our lives, we must be willing to lose our lives to totally forget that we have a life of our own. We must instead relinquish our lives to Jesus and as we do, we will then have taken the first step in walking in the fullness of The Spirit. How hungry are you to have the same power and anointing of The Holy Spirit as Jesus operating in your life?
“Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities roundabout into Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed everyone.” (Acts 5:15-16)
The Apostles faced the enemy in the fullness of The Holy Spirit. The miracle power of God had transformed them into living witnesses of the resurrection power of Jesus. They didn’t just talk about the power of Jesus to save, heal and deliver they produced the proof!
Jesus told them that they would receive power after The Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
What was the purpose of that power? Jesus said the purpose of the manifestation of that power was to be witnesses of Him to the world. And, as a result of The Holy Spirit baptism, the early church did just that.
Are you living your life facing the day-to-day circumstances in demonstration of the power of The Holy Spirit?
Is there a manifestation of the power of God in your life where you are able to say, like Peter, to the crippled, “But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have the same unto thee do I give: In the Name of Jesus the Messiah the Nazarene, walk!” (Acts 3:6).
If you are not experiencing that same power and anointing, I have news for you. You can!
You may be thinking, “That could never happen in my life. I could never have the power of God flowing through me as it did through Peter or Paul. I could never have the power of God manifested through my life as it did through Jesus.” Don´t listen to the lies satan is trying to feed you. Jesus said, “Greater works than these shall ye do” (John 14:12)
The same Spirit that anointed Jesus anointed the disciples. And, God has planned for you to have that same powerful anointing!
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1:35) Jesus was in constant prayer with The Father, which enabled Him to remain full of The Holy Spirit. And, if we are going to be spiritually prepared, we must also remain in constant communion with Jesus. We must keep our hearts and minds stayed on Him. We must fill our minds with thoughts of Him and His Word.
Friend, when Jesus came up out of the Jordan river He was full of The Holy Ghost. He remained full and overflowing through spiritual activity. So must we, remain active in the works God has given us to do. Walk in The Spirit. Love Jesus. And again, Walk in The Spirit. Love Jesus.