Holy Spirit Baptism
Frequently Asked Questions About the Baptism With the Holy Spirit
By Dr. John Wagner
When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior was I baptized in the Holy Spirit?
First, when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes and "dwells" in that person's heart.
Romans 8:9
"Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."
Second, when an individual is baptized in the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit "empowers" them for being witnesses for Jesus Christ - both verbally and behaviorally.
They are two seperate and distinct occurrances in the believer's life. So, NO, when you were saved you were not baptized in the Holy Spirit.
How can I be baptized in the Holy Spirit?
Ask Jesus to baptize you in the Holy Spirit!
Luke 11:11-13
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
The reason I say here that you should ask Jesus to baptize you with the Holy Spirit instead of the Father is because the Bible says it is Jesus who does the baptizing with the Holy Spirit (e.g. Matthew 3:11).
How do I know if it Is God's will for ME to be baptized in the Spirit?
Ephesians 5:18
"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
This verse is written to all Christians. From this instruction we know that it is God's will for ALL believers to be filled with the Spirit!
We also know from the previous passage in Luke 11 that we are to ASK God for the Holy Spirit. The key is in our asking. We are not to ask just ONE time!! We are to keep on asking until we receive! You will know when you receive the same way the disciples in Acts knew -"For they heard them speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."
If I asked Jesus to baptize me in the Holy Spirit and have not spoken in tongues - does that mean I was not baptized in the Spirit?
The Bible is our standard of faith and practice. It is from the Bible that we get our beliefs and practices, so when we read the three examples in Acts, where people were filled with the Spirit and spoke in other tongues, that becomes the Biblical pattern for us. If a person asks to be filled with the Holy Spirit they should expect to speak in other tongues as the Bible illustrates.
Therefore, if someone seeking to be filled with the Spirit has not spoken in other tongues, they have not yet been filled with the Spirit and need to keep asking to be filled.
I've gone forward during many altar calls ASKING to be filled...but I've never spoken in tongues. My pastors simply tell me to keep trying, but that I haven't been filled yet. So, do I just need to keep asking (begging God) to give me tongues?
I personally only went forward about two or three times and also had people praying for me and nothing happened. Then I decided going forward might not be where it was at for me. But, don't stop asking! You see, Jesus told His disciples to "tary" until they were endued with power. How long is that tarying supposed to be? I don't know. I don't know why it takes longer for some people than others to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But I totally agree with your pastors - keep on asking! Never stop asking!
After my experiences with going forward I began asking the Lord to fill me with the Holy Spirit every day in my personal devotions for six months and still nothing happened. At least I thought nothing had happened. I was expecting to get something everyone else had. Everyone who prayed over me and for me and everyone I heard speak in tongues would pray what I called "full sentences and paragraphs." In other words it sounded like they just went on and on. During my private prayer times I asked Jesus to fill me with the Holy Spirit. I asked Him not to let the devil deceive me with anything fake or counterfit. I also said I didn't want to just be imitating others' tongues.
What happened during this six month time period, was that a little tiny phrase came to my mind. It seemed like a quarter inch long compared to what I heard everyone else doing. So I thought, well, that can't be it. And kept asking the Lord to fill me with the Holy Spirit. After that, every time I asked, that little phrase would go through my mind. And each time I pushed it away because I didn't think that was it.
Finally, I went to Hawaii (Navy) and was in a prayer meeting with some elderly ladies. One of them suddenly prayed in tongues - but guess what, she prayed a little tiny phrase over and over again. Right in the middles of the prayer meeting I turned to her and said "Is that all you pray in tongues?" She was startled and a little embarrased I think. But when I explained to her what had happened to me she explained that that was all she ever got. She accepted it by faith and uses her little phrase faithfully. She said she was open to the Lord giving her more, and occassionally asks for more, but never gets any more. She trusts that the Lord has given her what He wants her to have.
I was amazed and we went back to pray. I felt such a pressure, or fullness inside after that,like I was gonna burst! But I couldn't get myself to step out and open my mouth and speak. The prayer meeting ended and I went back to my barracks room. Just as I was going inside a phrase went through my mind - this time it was a little longer - maybe a "six inch long" size instead of a quarter inch size :>) but again I couldn't speak it. I thought "I just can't." Just as clear a thought went through my mind "Why not, no one is here?" So I whispered it. Again, the thought went through my mind, "Say it out loud." When I did, I felt so happy! All I could say was "I got it! I got it!" I ran downstairs and called my fiance in California and then called the lady who hosted the prayer meeting to tell her.
This was my story. You will have your own. But it will be personal to you. Because that is how much the Lord loves you. He is going to give you your own experience with Him. But you might need to pray where it's quiet so you can hear the Lord speak to you. Sometimes it's necessary to just tune everyone else out so you can listen to the still small voice of the Lord. Sometimes there's just too much "loud" around and the Lord can't get through. But don't stop going forward, just add private times of prayer when you ask too.
You said you "ask God" to give you "tongues". If you look at the baptism logic table on our web site you will see that it is Jesus who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. When you ask next time, begin asking Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Also, you say you ask Him to give you "tongues". Don't ask for tongues. Ask Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit you need, not tongues. The tongues will come when you are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Please understand, when you ask you need to exercise your faith too. If, after you ask, a wierd sounding phrase or jumbled up sounding something comes to your mind, say it out loud. It isn't enough to just hear it in your head. You have to speak it out loud! The devil will attempt to convince you it isn't real or it's fake or even that your copying someone else who you heard speak in tongues. You have to push past those thoughts and speak out the strange sounds anyway! The Lord isn't going to give you something that will harm you.
If I am not filled with the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues - does that mean I am not a Christian?
A person becomes a Christian by faith in Jesus Christ and receiving Him as their personal Lord and Savior.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is for an empowerment to be Jesus' witness following salvation. The two are entirely seperate experiences.
Never let anyone tell you you are not a Christian if you don't speak in tongues!
Because I have never spoken in tongues am I somehow a 'baby Christian' or a 'second class Christian'?
Christians who are seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and have not yet been filled, are not 'baby Christians!' They are also most assuredly NOT in any way "second class" Christians!
If a person has led Bible studies with unsaved friends, done street witnessing, and even lead people to the Lord - how have they done these things if they have not YET been "empowered" to be a witness? Should they even be "witnessing" at all?
All of these things are GREAT! They show evidence of why the Lord is giving a person like this such a strong desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It sounds like they are a good strong witness for the Lord now. This is excellent! However, if such a person were filled with the Holy Spirit they would be even more powerful in their witnessing than they currently are! The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is to make YOU a more powerful witness than YOU would be without it. Many people who have never received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit witness.
Logically, a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit should, in fact be, a more powerful witness than a person who is not filled with the Holy Spirit. But how that actually plays out in real life is more complicated. If we compared a person who has not been filled with the Holy Spirit, but who chooses to witness and share Jesus with friends, relatives, and coworkers, with a person who has been filled with the Holy Spirit but chooses, for whatever reason, not to witness much, it would appear that the person who was not filled with the Holy Spirit was a more powerful witness.
Witnessing without the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is sort of like a person who needs to cut down a tree in his front yard and has access to a chain saw but chooses to go out and cut down the tree with a hand saw.