CROSS POWER MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL

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THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRT AND THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR NEW BELIEVERS AND MATURED BELIEVERS

 

If you are a matured believer seeking the Holy Ghost baptism please skip this section and go to MATURED BELIEVERS SEEKING HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM (below). If you are a new believer please read on and be blessed.

 

NEW BELIEVERS: Born again believers must be willing to seek the baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This experience is very important. It is distinct and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12–17, 2:2-4, 19:2-6, 10:44-46, 11:14). With it comes power from God to live a holy life and power for service and the bestowment of gifts to be used in the work of the ministry (Acts 1:4, 8; Luke 24:49; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Ephesians 4:11). Believers must live by God The Holy Spirit’s power, know The Holy Spirit intimately, fellowship with Him, keep in step with Him and yield to Him to exalt Our Lord Jesus Christ in all areas of life (Galatians 5:16).

 

God says He will give you a new heart and send His own Spirit to come and abide in you to help you on this Christian journey. God will make your body as a Temple of His own. Please read the following scriptures and believe that what God did for others He will also do for you.

 

Ezekiel 36
26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

 

Acts 19
Paul in Ephesus
1While Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[1] you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.
4Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5On hearing this, they were baptized into[2] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[3] and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.

 

Acts 2

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[1] as the Spirit enabled them.

 

Acts 8:14

14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into[3] the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit

 

Acts 10:44

44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues[2] and praising God.
47Then Peter said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

 

Mark 16
17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

 

HOW DO YOU RECEIVE THIS GIFT?

 

It is very simple.  Just ask Jesus to give it to you.

 

Luke 11
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[1] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If 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!"

 

Luke 3
16John answered them all, "I baptize you with[1] water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

 

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM

You can get on your knees, raise up your hands towards Heaven and pray something like this. (You are now a believer so you can ask Jesus freely for this gift.)

 

 “Dear Jesus I am coming to you by faith, based on your Word, please I ask you to baptize me with Your Holy Spirit fire and power with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I yield my spirit, soul and body to You completely. Please baptize me now with your precious Holy Spirit. I ask this in Your Name. Thank You my Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

You may (or may not) feel the power of God come upon you. Your tongue will be loosed to speak in tongues (prayer language). It is sometimes like a baby trying to speak. Keep on speaking it. Use this language to pray often. Pray and worship God in this language often. Please do not be discouraged if you do not speak in tongues at first, that does not mean you did not receive The Holy Spirit baptism. The tongues may come later. Just keep asking Jesus to give it to you.

 

1 Corinthians 14:5
I would like every one of you to speak in tongues

Please do not miss out on this great blessing. It is God’s gift to you. It is His desire that you speak in tongues. Do not let people lie to you that this gift of tongues and other spiritual gifts are no longer in operation. Believe these scriptures we have gone through.

Please read the following scriptures to build your faith

1 Corinthians 14:39
Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues
.

1 Corinthians 12:10
 …to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

1 Corinthians 12:28
And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

WHAT WILL THE HOLY SPIRIT DO FOR YOU? He, God The Holy Spirit, will come and take residence in you and be with you and teach you the Word of God and help you live a holy life in power. The Bible says so in the following scriptures. He, The Holy Sprit of God will be your Teacher and Friend.

HE WILL GIVE YOU GUIDANCE IN TRUTH

John 16
13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

 

 HE WILL BE YOUR TEACHER, COUNSELOR AND PARTNER

John 14
16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

 

HE WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND AND STAND BY HELPER 

Corinthians 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

 

DO NOT STOP HERE, THERE IS MORE FOR YOU

 

Continue to be filled by The Holy Spirit daily. Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

With The baptism of The Holy Spirit comes the power to live holy.

BE HOLY FOR HE IS HOLY. His first name is HOLY.

He will start to change you into the image of Christ

As you grow to know Him intimately through prayer, fasting, worship, reading and obeying The Word God will give you more power to do greater works for His Glory. He will use you mightily. You can operate in any of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 as God gives you the ability. According to

 

Mark 16:17

17”And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues … they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

 

You are now a believer. You have the same spirit that Jesus and the apostles had.

As you continue to grow ask God to give you the ability to operate in any of the gifts in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 (also read 13 and 14). Know that the greatest gift of all is to love God and others as He has loved and given His very life to save you.

 

Do not let anybody deceive you that the age of miracles is past. It is a lie from the devil. There is no proof of this in The Bible. God wants to use you for His glory.

Be humble to give Him all the glory. It is He Who is going to do this works through you.

We will be praying for you. God bless you.

To learn more about The Holy Spirit please read on!

Write to us and let us know what The Lord has done for you.

 

MATURED BELIEVERS SEEKING THE HOLY SPIRIT BABTISM.

 

The doctrine of The Holy Spirit is one of the most confused, abused, misused, neglected truths of The Bible. But it is very important in our Christian living; that is why the devil sows so much confusion around it… to steal this gift from the church. God Himself command us to be filled with The Holy Spirit according to

 

Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

 

 It is sad to say a lot of evangelicals have neglected this bona fide gift of theirs. Why is this so? I am going to try to give you general instructions to help you receive this precious gift today. The Holy Spirit is the Third person of The Trinity. He is a Person, not a “force”, “it”, nor “power”. He is God; equal to Christ and Almighty God and therefore we must give Him the same respect, adoration and worship. He is HOLY.

 

FALSE TEACHINGS

 

Over the years there has been the humanistic intellectualistic approach to the supernatural that has sown destructive lies in the church. This has robbed Christians of the precious spiritual gifts of God. On the other hand there have been some charismatic extremism that have impersonated the Holy Spirit that make people wonder if what they see and hear is truly of God The Holy Spirit.  A lot of Christians walk without the power of God today in their lives. Most Christians today are ignorant about spiritual things and the devil takes advantage of that to cause a lot of damage. Hosea 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” No wonder the enemy is oppressing so many Christians with sicknesses and seducing them to immorality. We need the Holy Spirit, His baptism, His holiness, His fruits, His Presence, His power and His gifts in our lives for effective service for Our Lord.

             Now let us try to debunk some of these lies so that your mind will be clear to receive the Holy Spirit

 

1. The lie that one received the Holy Spirit when he was born again so he does not need a second baptism

The truth is that this is a deception according to Acts 19

 

Acts 19
Paul in Ephesus
1While Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[1] you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.
4Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5On hearing this, they were baptized into[2] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[3] and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.


From this scripture it is clear that there are two baptisms: First is what we receive when we are born again which is baptism of repentance. Secondly is the baptism of Jesus: baptism of The Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). With this comes the power to live holy and operate in the supernatural. You are being asked the same question today: “Did you _____________ (put your name there) receive The Spirit when you believed?” If the answer is no, you can have today what these people in Corinth received if you humble yourself to believe God with all your heart,

 

2. The lie that the age of miracles and spiritual gifts is past with the death of the last apostle.

This is also is not true. There is no scripture to support this lie. Some false teachers use the following scripture

 

1 Corinthians 13

 But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love

 

Laying emphasis on “perfection comes”, they claim this is the completion of the canon: The Bible. But where is this assertion in this scripture? As a matter of fact they have added to the written Word of God for which they will answer to God someday. That “Perfection” to come is Christ. He is the One whom “we shall see face to face” and we shall “know fully”. This scripture is referring to The Person of Christ at His Second Coming (“Perfection”: subject pronoun + verb “comes”) in the future and not the completion of The Bible.


The Bible also mentions 3 things that will pass away: prophecies, tongues, and knowledge. These false humanistic teachers claim prophecies and tongues have passed away. What about knowledge? Has knowledge passed away? Why then do they go to seminaries to get doctoral degrees to destroy the faith of many?

Now you know that this Scripture refers to the Appearance of Christ; when He comes again we will know Him fully and therefore will no longer need prophecies, tongues nor knowledge but love which will last forever.

 

3. The lie that tongues do not exist today so they forbid it.

God Himself commands us not to forbid the speaking in tongues. So are they not blaspheming God by adding to the Scriptures? God says:

1 Corinthians 14:39
Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues

 

1 Corinthians 14:5
I would like every one of you to speak in tongues

1 Corinthians 12:10
to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

Yes, according to these scriptures spiritual gifts such as tongues and healing are for today! The people who forbid it are disobeying God. They have invented their own traditions which go against the command of God.

1 Corinthians 12:28-30
28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[1] ? Do all interpret?

Who will you obey? God, your church doctrine, denomination or man? The devil has sown these deceptive teachings in the church to rob Christians from operating in the spiritual gifts to serve God and mankind.

 

EVIDENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

The very Presence of the Holy Spirit and His activities start from the very beginning. He was an active participant of the Godhead at creation as evidenced in this scripture:

Gen 1:1                                                                                                                                    
 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.2 Now the earth was [1] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Also in both The Old and New Testament it can be deduced that God sends His Holy Spirit to empower people with gifts to serve God and others. For example    

Genesis 41       Holy Spirit in Joseph

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God [1]?"

 

Daniel 5:14      Holy Spirit in Daniel

I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom.

Exodus 35:30  Holy Spirit in Oholiab and Bezalel

See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-

 

Numbers 11    Holy Spirit in Moses

16 The LORD said to Moses… 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them… 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again. [1] 26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." 28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" 29 But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!"

 

Ezekiel 36       Holy Spirit in Ezekiel
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

 

Luke 4           The Holy Spirit in Jesus
    18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed…

 

Acts 10:38

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

 

 

 Acts 2             The Holy Spirit in believers

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[1] as the Spirit enabled them.

 

After the experience of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was sent to empower them, the Apostles began to preach the Gospel with power and authority with signs and wonders following

 

 Acts 5
The Apostles Heal Many
12The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade.

 

You can also read about the following people to find out what the Holy Spirit empowered them to do in the following scriptures:

 

Peter                     Acts chapter 5

 

Stephen                 Acts chapters 6 and 7

 

Philip                     Acts chapter 8

 

Paul                       Acts chapter 19

 

John                      Revelation chapter 1

 

PURPOSES FOR THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE GIFTS.

Holy Spirit is given to serve God, the church and mankind. The enemy wants to steal this precious gift from the Body of Christ. That is why today many Christians are without power and do not live holy lives. This is not a charismatic experience; it is a gift of power seen throughout The Bible. Jesus himself had to be baptized with The Holy Spirit, John the Baptist was filled with Holy Spirit from birth and the Apostles had to wait for Pentecost before they were endued with power for ministry. How do we think we can live as Christians without the same experience and power of the Holy Spirit? Jesus was born by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, ministered in the Spirit, offered Himself to God by the Spirit. He did nothing without the Holy Spirit. The Apostles walked with the Holy Spirit in like manner and saw Our Lord Jesus glorify His name through them in powerful ways; so will we if we are willing to pay the price. We still need the same Holy Spirit in us and with us to do more than we can think or imagine if we will yield completely to His Lordship


Great men of God in the past like D L Moody, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, Wesley, Smith Wigglesworth, John Lake, Evan Robert , to mention a few, had powerful encounters with The Holy Spirit and were therefore endued with power to do great works for God. That power is available for us today if we want it.


Even though some people have abused the Holy Spirit’s gifts and power please do not be afraid to ask for the Holy Spirit baptism and His gifts. Will you say you will never travel by plane since these demon possessed maniacs flew the planes into WTC? Will you choose to paddle a canoe from America to Europe instead of flying first class in the Concorde? I know some of the things we see on TV and in some meetings today that are done in the name of Holy Spirit and His manifestation are sickening but do not let the enemy use this to steal a precious gift paid for at Calvary’s Cross for you. The enemy is terrified of the supernatural power of God which destroys his kingdom and exposes his lies. He either tries to counterfeit the genuine power of God or invent lies (theories) that deny the reality of the great power of God.


The devil knows people can debate theology and come up with many controversies to sow seeds of unbelief in order to stop the continuity of the miracles of God, but the reality of the supernatural power of God cannot be denied. For instance the healing of the cripple man in Acts 3 which resulted in the arrest of the Apostles and their defense before the Sanhedrin (see Acts ch 4) was a  supernatural act of God that His enemies could not deny. They wanted to shut them up from preaching in the name of Jesus and operating in the supernatural gifts of Christ, but the Apostles refused and continued to preach The Word of God with the confirmation of signs and wonders.  Today, the devil is still trying to do this same thing through his modern Sanhedrins. The Book of Acts was the beginning of the church age which continues till Christ comes. Therefore the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit and power are all ours today to use to glorify God.

 

 SOME BENEFITS OF THE GIFT OF TONGUES

 

For edification, prayer, prophesy and worship

 

1 Corinthians 14:4, 5

"He who speaks in tongues edifies himself...I would like every one of you to speak in tongues"

 

Tongues is the only language the devil does not understand. It gets him confused and therefore he cannot interfere with your prayers

 

Tongues build you up from the soul and spirit

 

Tongues create a heavenly atmosphere that dispels the devil

 

Tongues with interpretation edify the body of Christ

 

Tongues is the only language that is not defiled; it is pure and holy

 

Tongues of angels is a heavenly language

 

Tongues is a language that unites us spiritually (undoing Babel) as Christians

 

HOW TO RECEIVE THIS FREE GIFT

 

Please repent, renounce and reject any of the lies that you might have believed

Repent of any known sin; ask Jesus to wash you with His blood

Repent of any sin of unbelief

Now go back to the section for NEW BELIEVERS AND FOLLOW THE SAME INSTRUCTIONS.


Final exhortation: The Holy Spirit’s primary mission is to prepare us as pure holy brides for Christ, a bride with no spot or wrinkle. He comes to conform our character to the character of Christ. He moves us from Romans 7 to 8 to bear fruit of The Spirit in Galatians 5:16-26. He came to make us holy and loving like Christ. He is not a force to be used or an errand boy to command to do whatever we want. He is God, equal to Almighty God, equal to Christ. He is God. He is The Spirit of The Living God. He is The Spirit of Christ. He is Holy God.

 

           
If you read my testimony, you know that nobody prayed for me to be baptized with Holy Spirit. I was hungry for more of God and cried out to Him and Jesus gave it to me with the evidence of speaking in tongues. You could ask a spirit filled person who you know is holy and sound in doctrine to pray with you for the baptism of The Holy Spirit.

            Please contact us if you receive this gift so we can rejoice together.

            GOD BLESS YOU. WE WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU.