Dear friends,

I start this discussion to know how about your views of the Holy Spirit Baptism. If you have experienced this bible-experience, it would be nice if you could share it here to encourage others.

You can visit my web site: www.geocities.com/sidharth_mohandas/Touching

Yours in His abundant grace,
Sid

So happy that you have joined us Sid

We look forward to your sharing with us your pearls of wisdom, and I am certain that you will also gain from our insights, experiences, by the brotherhood and sisterhood shared here on Shalom Place.

We have much to offer here, so feel your way around the board and contribute.

Welcome into a circle of love

Welcome Sid.

I was baptized in 1950, received the Sacrament of Confirmation in 1963, and then experienced a renewal/baptism in the Spirit in 1973 as part of a Catholic charismatic prayer group. The presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life has been a reality ever since.

I am sorry to see the pentecostal movement fading out during the past two decades or so, as it most definitely leads people to a deeper relationship with Christ and a surrender to the Spirit. Of course, pentecostalism isn't the only way people can come to know these blessings, but it's been a good one.

Thanks for the warm welcome, both of you.

I come from a hindu background, and had a remarkable experience with the Lord, that changed my life and He healed me of cancer.

You can go to my site, where I have written an article on the "Holy Spirit baptism". I have started the article with my experience.

And dear Phil, it's very true that the Pentacostal movement has gone down. Though I am not a Pentacostal, I do believe that that movement was a great move of God. But I believe there's a greater wave coming our way.A wave that will sweep through the nations and bring in the harvest, the wheat harvest.

I personally believe, the Charismatic movement is just a wave in between two big waves. However, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will culminate with the coming of the Lord. And that's very close.

Embued with His Spirit,
Sidharth

Good to hear from you again, Sid. I did visit your site and saw that you have a deep love for Christ and trust in the Spirit.

I hope you're right about another wave of Spirit coming along. If nothing else, Pentecostalism has re-awakened interest in the Spirit and helped us to appreciate anew the importance of spiritual gifts in our own lives and in communities.

You might enjoy reading the conferences I presented in an online retreat on the Holy Spirit a couple of years ago.
- see http://shalomplace.com/view/hsbook.html and note that you can obtain the pdf version without cost.

Dear Sidharth,

You have a beautiful touching site dedicated to Jesus Christ and God's Holy Spirit. I look forward to your contributions here on Shalom Place.

I was baptized, without having any religious upbringing nor the knowledge of what a baptism meant, at the age of 11 years in Germany. It was without water immersion within a Lutheran Church. At the age of 15 years I was confirmed in a Lutheran Church, attending confirmation classes because a friend took them. This took place in America.

In 1996 undergoing the dark night of the soul and a death, I was saved and sealed in the Holy Spirit having attained a union with God. In the year 2002 I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit whose light sprung forth from the Holy seed of God within my heart. This light was seen and witnessed, and returned back into my heart. Since than the Holy Spirit has led and guided me in my service to Christ being an instument of love. The graces, power and gifts of the Holy Spirit increase daily as I am being led by the Spirit of truth, and birthed anew.

Jesus gave his disciples the Holy Spirit by breathing on them and then promised that they would be later baptized by the Holy Spirit, which did happen.

I agree with you Sidharth that not everyone baptized by the Holy Spirit will speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues can also be a mass phenonema since the Pentecostal Churches find it an absolute necessity as a sign of the Holy Spirit's baptism. I recall a visit to a Pentecostal Church where everyone spoke in tongues except me. I am sure that I was not meant to interpret all who spoke in tongues.

Happy that you have joined us.

We are joined within His flowing river of life.

Sid,

Good 2 have U with us!

I gotta share this with you. A couple of weeks ago a woman in a sharing group told of coming up out of the water speaking in an unknown tongue. Pentacost is still in progress, and it blessed me to learn of this.

I like your website. The Christian life is something to get one out of bed in the morning, or at least it should be!

- mm <*))))><

Dear Freebird,
I personally believe that everyone who is baptized in the Holy Spirit speaks in an unknown language at the time of receiving the Holy Spirit baptism. This is the biblical evidence of the Spirit baptism. However, all do not have the Gift of tongues. The confusion arises because people confuse the evidence to the gift.

I have written an Article on Speaking in Tongues in my web site, you can read it as I have dealt with the difference between the various functions of tongues: For quick reference- tongues serves as an evidence for the baptism in the Spirit, it serves as an aid to praise and worship the Lord, and when clubbed with the sister-gift, the Gift of interpretation, it serves to edify the Church.

A person who speaks in tongues at the time of the baptism, needn't have the Gift of tongues. However, by experience I have found that most Christians who are baptized in the Spirit receive the Gift of diverse tongues as well.

Yours in His truth,
Sidharth

Dear Sid,

Your quote:

However, all do not have the gifts of tongues. The confusion arises because people confuse the evidence to the gift.
----------------------------------

Thank you for your clarity in explaining the gifts of tongues by the Spirit. Yes, I must agree to same. I will also read your article as mentioned.

In praise of all the beautiful gifts bestowed to us by God's Holy Spirit:

Let thy living Spirit flow
through thy members all below
with its warmth and power divine,
Scattered far apart they dwell
yet in ev'ry land, full well
Lord thou knowest who is thine.

In His love,
Freebird

Dear MM,
Thank you for sharing that with me. I got baptized in water one year after I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. The man who baptized me just immersed me in the water, and after he immersed me I came out speaking in tongues. The man said, the power of the Holy Spirit was surging through my body.

I want people to have the fulness of what Jesus died to give us. It's a sad thing to see that many don't go beyond their church doctrines and theology.

I'd rather be a new convert who is on fire for the Lord, than a person who has been serving the Lord for years and has lost the fervor. It's terrible to be in the same place of growth in two successive days. We're called to move from glory to glory, from faith to faith.

There's a beyond zone, and I'm moving to that place. There aren't enough demons in hell to stop me from accompilishing the mission He has given me. We are more than conquerors through Him.

Yours in victory,
Sidharth

Sid's quote:

There's a beyond zone, and I'm moving to that place. There aren't enough demons in hell to stop me from accomplishing the mission He has given me. We are more than conquerors through Him.
----------------------

Halllelujah, Hallelujah Sid!

Nothing can stop nor trample God's power of love in and through Christ.

Malachi Martin in his book "Hostage of the devil", which is about evil spirit possession and the exorcism of him, Martin while present during an exocism realized the vast knowledge of evil spirit and demons, yet when it came to the understanding of human love and its workings in and through Christ, evil spirit was confounded by its knowledge. How amazing the power of Christ's love infused into us who belong to Him; how glorious the victory in overcoming through the love of Christ flowing out from Cavalry.

The demons tremble in the presence of a genuine love expression. Onward we march holding on to the banner of victory in the greatest power of all LOVE, in and through Christ.

Victor through Christ,
Freebird

God's gifts and miracles associated in the salvation, redemption, baptism, and gifts of a new birth by receiving the Holy Spirit of God are too wondrous for me.

Today I prayed and meditated on the miracle of birthing the Light of God, the light of the Holy Spirit, coming forth from His Holy seed within my heart. I recalled the day it happened and the presence of a friend who was about to leave my home after a visit. I asked her to stay and listen to a favorite gospel song entitled: His eyes are on the sparrow". I had shared this gift with you on the forum in my original post last year, but since then more has been revealed to me.

Listening to the song, my eyes were closed and my arms were extended in a loving gesture. My friend was standing in my hall close to the front door. All of a sudden this unbelievable light appeared upon me and all around me. I had opened my eyes and found myself fully immersed in the light. The light appeared to be like a diamond light which was able to flow toward my friend whose heart it carressed like the most delicate hands of light. After several minutes it was clearly visible in its entry back into my heart.

What I learned today is absolutely amazing. How could the light of the Holy Spirit be seen in broad daylight?. The answer came, I was totally black for the light of the Holy Spirit to be seen. You cannot see light within light unless there is a very dark black surface. I realized that the light was birthed coming out of the darkness of myself. Although I am Caucasian, I must be totally black for God's light to be seen upon and around me. This is a great mystery that I realized today. So God's light within the Holy seed living in my heart burst open to be seen and witnessed and to return within my heart.

I wanted to share the joy of birthing from within my darkness the beautiful light of God. Praises to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

There are two Greek Word that the New Testment uses for 'Gift'. One is "Dorea" and the other one is "Charisma".

The Dorea of Salvation, the Dorea of the Holy Spirit, and the Dorea of faith, are the three main Dorea's.

'Charisma' is however used for only the nine fold manifestation of the Spirit, that comes as a result of the Baptism in the Spirit.