Again, this article would only be a theory if you haven't experienced the Part 2. Sanctification. So, I urge you to read this first.
After you are born again, after you are sanctified, the next thing that will come to you is Holy Ghost Baptism. This will make you an effective Christian, this will make your ministry work fruitfully, this will make you 100% sure, that God has chosen you to be His child, to be His minister, to be His tool for doing His business, to preach the Gospel effectively. What you need is to keep your fire burning for God has pleased with you.
Ephesians 1:13-14
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.
Let's go back to the Scripture. Jesus chose His 12 disciples and during His ministry, He sanctified them one by one. But still, Jesus ask them to go to Jerusalem and wait for Holy Spirit to come. They already have faith in Jesus, they already been saved, but they still expecting more from God, Holy Ghost Baptism. This is the third cardinal things. Like I said before, you can't have this unless you have graduated from your second level. If you have gone through sanctification process, just wait and ask, for God will give you His mighty anointing on the time that is so perfect for you, that you will never forget for all of your life. Just wait and pray always.
When you are born again, God's Spirit dwell inside you, He gave you a new heart, but still, the Spirit of God hasn't been manifested fully. There is a story in Acts 19:1-7, where Paul asked some disciples, 'Did you received the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul 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.' Then Paul placed hands on them, and Holy Spirit came on them. Or in the Cornelius case, because He had lived God-fearing life even before Peter came to him, he didn't need sanctification process, but he received Gift of Holy Spirit immediately. Water baptism is part of salvation, but if you want to be really complete, you need to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. John the Baptist said,
Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
Water baptism is baptism of repentance, you did this when you are born again. Repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ. You turned from your sinful life to God-fearing life, from sinner to winner. But still, you have something need to be dealt with, that can hinder God to dwell inside you fully. Don't you know that God is holy? God is Light, in him there is no darkness at all. You can't see God without holiness. You need to make yourself ready first to be God's temple, for God to fully dwell inside you. Jesus teaches us 'Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24). Before God accept your offering, He demand you to firstly settle any matter that are not right. Before you want to be used by Him greatly, have you already disciplined by God? Have your life not be a stumbling block for others?
Let me use common words now. Born again is the beginning of Christian life, we are like a baby, then become a little child, we still did so many error, that need corrections, disciplines from our parents until we are mature enough to differenciate between right and wrong. The process of getting mature is through sanctification. Then as a young man, we want to learn how to drive vehicle, how to live independently, etc. This things need so much responsibility from you. Just ask your earthly parents, what will they do if you ask to ride a motorcycle. They will make sure that you are really ready to be given their approval, their authority before they let you go on your own. They will not let you drive a motorcycle alone when you can't even ride a bicycle. They don't want to put you in danger. They care about you.
The same thing with God. Holy Spirit is powerful. It can help you a lot during your ministry. These are the Gifts of Holy Spirit: to one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kind of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:1-11).
But because of this is the Power of God, God will not carelessly give to any person. He won't give you this, unless you are ready. I am very sad, when I saw one of famous preacher's website. He sells the gifts of Holy Spirit, he opens the school of ministry: How to get mighty anointing, how to get healing divine, how to cast away demons, each of the course cost $75. As a preacher, he should have read how Peter said to Simon the Sorcerer, 'May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God (Acts 8:20).
This is what Jesus say, freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.
Or another famous preacher, he claimed that his ministry is ministry of healing. He brought revival, many got healed. But tattoo covered his hands, he has piercing and latest news I heard, he planned to separate, to divorce with his wife. What do you think when you hear about this? For me, I am not surprised, because I already aware with false teachers, false prophets, but think about those who are lost. How they will react? They will think that Christianity is full of scandals, etc.
To those kind of preachers, Bible said, "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you (Romans 2:24)." Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to (Matthew 23:13). Hope you are not one of them, my friends. If you want to serve God, to be used mightily by Him, removed all your entanglement with sins, with your pleasures. That's why you need to be sanctified before you receive His Holy Spirit fully.
God doesn't want you to end up like that, and I believe that God's Spirit has left those false ministers. If they still can do miracles, it is because God honor His word more than His name. He has given them His Holy Spirit, but still they choose to follow their own desire. They have wandered away from the Truth. Like Judas Iscariot, he followed Christ everywhere, but he was full of himself. Still, Jesus chose him to fulfill His ministry. Those preachers were once chosen to be also part of God's ministry. What is God's plan behind that, I don't know, but I believe that God never fails. The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice (Philippians 1:18).
My friends, don't end up like them, but always pursuit to have this experience. With this Holy Ghost Baptism, you will now be able to be effective in your ministry. Please don't get me wrong, don't think that I ask you not to preach before you experience this. NOT AT ALL. Don't you know that even when Jesus still was with His disciples, before all of them got Holy Spirit, Jesus sent them two by two to preach. You must preach with all your might, always ask God to enable you. Don't you care when you see people around you still lost, don't know about Christ? Paul said, 'Woe to me if I preach not the Gospel.' How about you?
What you need to do before you preach is pray then start to open your mouth, after that, you will realize that it is not you again who speak but Spirit of God inside you minister to them. Have you read the Parable of talent? Work for God faithfully according to the talent He has given you, whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much (Luke 16:10). The more you preach to them, the more you realize that you need more Power from God, the more you ask Him, and because of that, He will give you.
When you experienced this Holy Ghost Baptism, you will find that now, when you speak with people, your words will touch their heart, because Bible said through Paul, 'our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake' (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
You don't speak theory, doctrine of men, theology, but something practical. You speak with authority, with power, with Holy Spirit, with deep conviction. You will be able to captive the heart of the person you spoken to. They have no other choice, repent or run away from you and got damped, perish. Your Gospel is not about Yes and No, but always Yes and Amen. No strife, no debate, but with authority. Have you ever read that Jesus had debate with Pharisees? NO. When Jesus finish speaking, no one dared to ask him any more questions, some of them believed, some of them left angrily.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and narrow, it judges the thoughts and attitude of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). When children of God speak, their words become spiritual particles, that penetrate into the heart. It has no barrier, no resistance, bring godly sorrow that lead to repentance, bring deep conviction. You can differenciate between the preachers who are called by God and those who are even Professor of Theology. Ones learn the Gospel through subjects and exams, ones learn by His anointing from God. When they speak, differences are clearly seen.
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit -- just as it has taught you, remain in him (1 John 2:27)
God can transform fishermen into the great apostles, or we can learn from the old, when God used Joseph, David, Moses, Gideon, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Nehemiah, etc. God used the common people then He made them extraordinary. God doesn't need great men, He just needs a man and woman who are willing to be used by Him.
Everybody can be used greatly by God, and God will be exalted if you are offer your life to be His channel to reach others. But the question is, do you really want to be dealt by God? Do you really want to follow and obey Him, without hesitation, if He said to you, go to the most severe part of the world, will you still obey Him? Before you decided, Jesus has taught you to sit down and think. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. WIll he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything can not be my disciple (Luke 14:28-33).'
My friends, if you are not willing to be used by God. Just leave the rest of this writing. Be born again (repentance and faith in Jesus) and be sanctified (live in holiness), accompanied by God's grace is able to prevent you from backsliding. You can be relax now, by keep maintaining this, you can be sure that you are Children of God, that heaven is yours. The differences between you and others are in your works. You don't think that in heaven your crown will be the same like Paul's, do you?
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay and straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's works. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss, he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
You can decide by yourself, do you really care about other people or just think about your own salvation? if you are willing to be used by Him more greatly, if you want to have the gifts of healing, gift of prophecy, gift of knowledge, etc. You need to be ready. It will be given to you according to His will. But please, don't joke with it. The closer you are with God, the more you need to be careful. He is a jealous God. He will do anything according to His will just to excel you to do His work. If you know Eric Clapton, God touched him because of the death of his 4 years old son, or Don Moen' song, 'God Will Make a Way' was inspired because of the death of his nephew (his wife's sister's son).
In the Bible, there is also a story when God spoke to Ezekiel. He said, 'Son of man, with one blow I am about to take from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. Groan quietly, do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet, do not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners (Ezekiel 24:15-17).
This mighty anointing is only for those who are ready to give everything for God, even to die is gain, to live is for Christ. To be a Christian is impossible if you don't have Christ in you. Maybe some of you never read about persecution. But Bible said 'In fact, everyone who want to live godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2 Timothy 3:12). You will receive more Power from God, Gifts of Holy Spirit but on the other hands, devils will try his best to defeat you, opposition will raise up against you, the more you disturb devil's captives, the more devil try to persecute you, even to kill you. But one thing for sure, No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13)
John 12:25
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
This Holy Ghost Baptism is not theory, but practical, you will know it by yourself. You will see the glory of the Lord, you will feel His Presence for real. He is so close to you. As Peter, John and James when they saw the transfiguration of Jesus, His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them, where they saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, what did they say? Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put three shelters -- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from this cloud: 'This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!' (Mark 9:2-7). God's Presence can be felt by His disciples, and this is the best thing in this world you can get. Every time you are in God's Presence, you will always want to stay there as long as you can. You need to experience this by yourself. But before that, you must first humble yourself, be born again, be sanctified, and wait and keep spreading the Gospel to others.
I have shown you the steps to experience God more. It depends on you now, whether you agree with me or not. If I were you, I would not be skeptical. If I haven't experienced it, but somebody has, I will never say that they are wrong, false prophets and I am right. NOPE. I will ask God, if this really the Truth, let me experience it by myself.
Again, before you experience this, don't stop doing God's will. For I have seen many people did not do in orderly manner. They bring argument to God and say like this, 'God, if you really want to use me greatly, I want to have gift of healing first, I want to have gift of speaking in different tongues first'. When I have this great conviction, I will close my business and be a full-time preacher. I will then decide to follow you.' You will never get it, my friends. Bible said, 'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).
These things are practical, you will never understand it unless you practice it in your life. Believe in God, believe in what Bible says, then you will get it. Otherwise, die trying and I do believe that many people when they can't experience this by themselves, they will start to mock those people who have this Gift. I hope you are not one of them.
May God bless you, my friends.
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