Heb 5: RWV 12 For when for the time ye ought
to be teachers, ye have need of one to teach you again which are the first
principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk,
and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk
is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth
to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their
senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Heb 6: 1 Therefore leaving the principles
of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again
the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of
eternal judgment.
Depending upon which Bible version you
use. These can be called many things, based upon these scriptural labels:
1. first principles of the oracles of
God 2. principles of the doctrine of Christ 3. foundation
I call them the Foundational Principles.
These principles, listed in Heb 6:1-2 are:
1: Repentance from Dead Works
2: Faith toward God
3: Doctrine of Baptisms (plural)
4: Laying on of Hands
5: Resurrection of the Dead
6: Eternal Judgment
The 1st page discussed the 1st two Foundational
Principles. This page will discuss the 3rd: the Doctrine of Baptisms.
As you noticed, it is plural. Several denominations
have only 1 baptism, others have 2, some have 3 or more. On this page,
I will discuss 7 New Testament baptisms. That's right, seven.
Why seven? That appears to be the number
established in the New Testament. There may be others, but they are not
established or understood. Seven also is typified in the Old Testament:
Leviticus 4 MKJV 2 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying:
If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of
the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do any
one of them,
We are born into sin, perhaps ignorant
of the fact we sinned in Adam.
Rom 5: NKJV 12 Therefore, just as through one man
sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to
all men, because all sinned
Back to Lev 4:
3 if the priest who is anointed sins,
resulting in guilt to the people, then he shall bring for his sin, which
he has sinned, a young bull, a son of the herd, a perfect one, to the LORD
for a sin offering. 4 And he shall bring the young bull
to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD, and
he shall lay his hand on the young bull's head, and kill the young bull
before the LORD.
Jesus is our sacrifice for sin. To enter
into the tabernacle or the presence of God, we must go thru Christ's sacrifice.
This is discussed in Repentance of Dead Works in page 1 of the Foundational
Principles and below in the 1st Baptism.
Back to Lev 4:
5 And the priest who is anointed shall
take of the young bull's blood, and shall bring it to the tabernacle of
the congregation. 6 And the priest shall dip his finger
in the blood and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, at
the front of the veil of the holy place.
The priest sprinkled the blood 7 times.
Heb 9: MKJV 14 how much more shall the blood of
Christ (who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to
God) purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Christ's blood purges our conscience. But
what exactly is our conscience?
Rom 2: MKJV 15 who show the work of the law written
in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and the thoughts
between one another accusing or even excusing one another,
The conscience is connected to the heart.
We are born spiritually dead, but yet, that dead spirit exists in the unbeliever,
within that dead spirit is written the laws of God. It's very hard to pinpoint
the sections in the heart of man. Only God's word is able to separate it
for clarification:
Heb 4: MKJV 12 For the word of God is living and
powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The soul and spirit combined make up the
heart. The Word of God can distinguish between the two. When a person is
saved, his spirit is renewed, but the soul remains unsaved. But the soul
can be progressively saved by accepting the Word of God which is engrafted
at the time of salvation:
James 1: RWV 21 Therefore put away all filthiness
and all that remains of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted
word, which is able to save your souls.
When a person is saved, the following takes
place:
Ezek 36: MKJV 25 ¶ And I will sprinkle clean
waters on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your
filthiness and from your idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart,
and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within
you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments
and do them .
The new believer now has a new heart. It
is new because it is the combination of God's Spirit living within the
spirit of the believer and the renewing soul. The atonement of Christ's
blood, allows the Word of God to be placed in the heart of the believer.
This enables him to save his soul and walk out the statutes of God.
Baptisms are the symbolic representations
of the blood of Christ and the Word of God doing their work in the believer.
Just as the priest sprinkled the blood 7 times, the believer must be sprinkled
7 times as well. But to be fully obedient, we shouldn't just be sprinkled,
but completely submerged 7 times. Baptism in greek means:
907 Strong's:
from a derivative of baptw - bapto 911;
to
immerse, submerge;
to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet);
used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically)
of the ordinance of Christian baptism
We need to be fully submerged. But of the
7 baptism's, only 1 is symbolically reflected in ceremony. But, each baptism
discussed here is a work of God, of which, into these workings of God,
we should be fully submerged into.
1 Pet 3: NKJV 21 There is also an antitype which
now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the
answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ,
As we see the conscience is involved. The
baptism into water does not remove the sin, but is a symbolic act of the
regeneration the believer. Thus, it is an act of faith done toward God,
but also as a confession before men.
Math 10: MKJV 32 Then everyone who shall confess
Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in Heaven.
Here is the Old Testament "shadow" of the
7 New Testament baptisms:
2 Kings 5: NKJV 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him,
saying, "Go and wash in the Jordanseven times, and your
flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean." 13 And his
servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet
had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much
more then, when he says to you, "Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So he went down
and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of
the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean.
-----------------------
1st
Baptism - John's Baptism
unto Repentance
Math 3: NKJV 11 I indeed baptize you with water
unto repentance...
Acts 19: MKJV 1 ... Paul was passing through the
higher parts to Ephesus. And finding certain disciples, 2 he said to them, Have you received
the Holy Spirit since you believed? And they said to him, We did not so
much as hear whether the Holy Spirit is. 3 And he said to them, Then to what
were you baptized? And they said, To John's baptism. 4 And Paul said, John truly baptized
with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should
believe into Him coming after him, that is, into Jesus Christ.
The christian does not celebrate this baptism
symbolically as those who did this with John the Baptist. No need to be
dunked with this baptism.
John called for repentance of sin and also
pointed to the coming Christ. To reach God in the New Testament one must
come thru Christ and repent of Dead Works. You can find more about the
Repentance of Dead Works in Part 1 of the Foundational Principles.
The Bible speaks of 2 kinds of repentance.
2 Corinthians 7: NKJV 9 Now I rejoice, not that you were
made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry
in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For
godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted;
but the sorrow of the world produces death.
There is Godly and worldly repentance.
Judas who betrayed Jesus, repented when he was caught and realized he had
betrayed innocent Blood. But his repentance brought death.
Math 27: MKJV 3 Then he who had betrayed Him, seeing
that He was condemned, sorrowing, Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver
again to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, I have sinned, betraying
innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? You see to that . 5 And he threw the pieces of silver
down in the temple and departed. And he went and hanged himself.
John 17: MKJV 12 While I was with them in the world,
I kept them in Your name. Those that You have given Me I have kept, and
none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might
be fulfilled.
To get to heaven and truly repent, we must
turn to God and realize and accept who Jesus is and that He took our sins.
This is the most basic of salvation. When we believe and accept this, the
Holy Spirit seals us.
Eph 1: NKJV 13 In Him you also trusted, after you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having
believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
2nd
Baptism - Baptism
into Water/into His Death/in the Name
Romans 6: MKJV 2 ... How shall we who died to sin
live any longer in it? 3 Do you not know that as many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him
by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father; even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Acts 8: MKJV 35 Then Philip opened his mouth and
began at the same Scripture and preached the gospel of Jesus to him. 36 And as they passed along the way,
they came on some water. And the eunuch said, See, here is water, what
hinders me from being baptized? 37 Philip said, If you believe with
all your heart, it is lawful. And he answered and said, I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to
stand still. And they both went down into the water, both Philip and the
eunuch. And he baptized him.
Water baptism is a symbolic representation
of what Christ has done for us. Just as the eunuch did with Philip. Being
submersed into the water represents we died with Christ. Coming out of
the water represents we have been raised with Christ into newness of life.
The 1st baptism is where God's incorruptible
seed conceives new life in us. This baptism represents being born again.
1 Peter 1: nKJV 23 having been born again, not of corruptible
seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides
forever,
These are 2 separate acts. Being conceived
by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God at the point of believing
in Christ and His death for our sin and being born again and becoming a
new creature.
2 Cor 5:17: Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.
We can see these are 2 different works
of God here:
John 1:12: But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name
Receiving Him, is when He implants His
seed in your heart, which happens when you believe. Only AFTER you have
done this, does He give you the power to become a son of God.
How many believers are conceived but never
born again? There are entire denominations which have many such believers.
I myself became a believer when I was about 8 years old. When I was about
22 years old I became born again.
We must be born again.
John 3: MKJV 3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly,
truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.
Being born again is more than just believing
in Jesus and believing He died for your sins. Being born again is believing
that you died with Him, and were raised into a new life in Christ.
I admonish everyone who is able and believes
that they have died with Christ to go get water baptized. Water baptism
doesn't get you into heaven, but is a confession to God and man of what
Jesus has done for you. God understands if prison or living in a country
where the church is persecuted or such circumstances forbid the water baptism.
But those who are able should do so for their own conscience before God.
In another page I go into detail about
believing verses being Born Again here:
Math 3: MKJV 11 I indeed baptize
you with water to repentance. But He who comes after me is mightier than
I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He shall baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and with fire;
Acts 1: MKJV 5 For John truly baptized with water,
but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from
now.
Acts 11: MKJV 16 And I remembered the Word of the
Lord, how He said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
Joel 2: NKJV 28 "And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
This is a separate act from water baptism
and separate from the born again experience:
Acts 10: NKJV 44 While Peter was still speaking these
words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those
of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with
Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles
also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter
answered, 47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized
who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" 48 And he commanded
them to be baptized in the name of the Lord...
Acts 19: MKJV 1 ¶ And it happened in the time
Apollos was at Corinth, Paul was passing through the higher parts to Ephesus.
And finding certain disciples, 2 he said to them, Have you received
the Holy Spirit since you believed? And they said to him, We did not so
much as hear whether the Holy Spirit is. 3 And he said to them, Then to what
were you baptized? And they said, To John's baptism. 4 And Paul said, John truly baptized
with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe
into Him coming after him, that is, into Jesus Christ. 5 And hearing, they were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And as Paul laid his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
The purpose of the baptism of the Holy
Spirit is NOT for power. But to have power to be a witness:
Luke 10: MKJV 19 Behold, I give to you authority
to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the authority of the enemy.
And nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Yet do not rejoice in this, that
the evil spirits are subject to you, rather rejoice because your names
are written in Heaven.
Acts 1: MKJV 8 But you shall receive power, the
Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem
and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Being empowered by the Holy Spirit allows
the believer to overcome many obstacles, thus enabling him to be a witness
of God's ability to save and shows His love for all. This baptism can be
used to defeat demons, sickness, poison, and many other problems.
Mark 16: MKJV 17 And miraculous signs will follow
to those believing these things: in My name they will cast out demons;
they will speak new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They will lay hands
on the sick, and they will be well.
Some people abuse this power and tempt
God. There are snake handling churches. Jesus was tempted by satan to use
His powers in such a way, but refused:
Math 4: MKJV 1 ¶ Then Jesus was led by the
Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days
and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry. 3 And when the tempter came to Him,
he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But He answered and said, It is written,
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out
of the mouth of God." 5 Then the Devil took Him up into the
holy city and set Him upon a pinnacle of the Temple. 6 And he said to Him, If you are the
Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written, "He shall give His angels
charge concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest
at any time You dash Your foot against a stone." 7 Jesus said to him, It is written
again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." 8 Again, the Devil took Him up into
a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their
glory. 9 And he said to Him, All these things
I will give You if You will fall down and worship me. 10 Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan!
For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you
shall serve." 11 Then the Devil left him. And behold,
angels came and ministered to Him.
God grants us power to overcome problems.
We are not to create problems to "show off". Soon after I was baptized
in the Holy Ghost I was anointed to defeat headaches. This was in 1989.
Since 1989, I have never had a headache last longer than 5 minutes or so,
because of the anointing through my prayer. This has allowed me to witness
of God. I have prayed for unbelievers headaches and they were healed.
Here is the story of how I was baptized
in the Holy Spirit:
As a Catholic, I had straitened out my
life somewhat, but this was mostly by my own power. I had even given up
Dungeons & Dragons. I had given away or sold most of my possessions,
almost certain of my decision to become a monk. One day, some of my friends
talked me into playing Dungeons & Dragons one last time.
It started well, but after about 2 hours
of playing, I began to get sick. My stomach began to ache. Stomach aches
had always been the worst pains in my life. It got so bad, I had to stop
the game and go home.
At my dad's it got worse. I believe to
this day it was demonic sickness, for I had stopped playing on my own power
then went back to it, like a dog to it's vomit. Anyway, after 2 days and
nites, the pain became unbearable. On the 2nd nite of no sleep, I decided
to pray for help.
I prayed something like this:
"Dear God, please help me, this pain is
so bad I would rather die. Please take this pain away. I will do anything
you want, if you take away this pain. Lord, I prefer death, over this pain,
if healing is not available."
Please understand, I had never heard of
healing, never seen it either. Only this, about my senior year in high
school, a friend of mine told me his dad was going to see some minister
that heals. I had seen on TV reports of false healing ministers, and told
him so. I had never heard of real ones. And I don't think his dad came
back with any healing stories. That was the extent of any healing knowledge
I had. In short, I cried out to God in pain, not faith, but with hope,
and in earnestness.
Praise God for God! He heard me! After
praying, I felt led to go read a Church bulletin that was sitting in my
room. I rarely, if ever, had read those things, and usually they would
get tossed in the garbage.
In it, it said, something to the effect
of: Catholic Charismatic Conference, place ----, time ----, and so on.
Please understand, I had never ever, heard
of the Charismatic movement except what I mentioned just before and this:
once, while in the military, at a Catholic Prayer group or study, someone
mentioned that there was a Charismatic Prayer group in town. I simply asked
"what is that?" And I was told that they prayed strongly or differently
or something like that. This was the only knowledge I had of the charismatic
movement
Anyway, I prayed to God, "If you want me
to go to this; if it is your will, I will go. Please, just take away the
pain."
Within a few minutes. The pain was gone.
That Friday nite, I went to the conference.
There, I saw some acquaintances of a friend of mine. My friend had been
trying to get me to renounce Catholicism, and introduced me to these folks.
That nite, I saw people worship God in
a way I had never seen before. They worshiped with a different style of
music as well. It was contemporary, which I did not know at the time.
Near the end of the nite, I spoke to God,
"Lord, why do you want me here? I learned a new style of worship, is this
what you wanted?". I seemed to get a response of: "wait until tomorrow,
come back again".
The next day at the conference, I met up
with the single man whose acquaintance I had met. He decided to take some
conference classes with me. One class we went to, was called: The Gifts
of the Holy Spirit. Or something like that.
In this class, the teacher read a bunch
of scriptures that seemed gibberish to me. He just read a list of verses
without explaining them. None of them in any way enlightened me, or explained
what was going on. I don't remember any of them. After this, he asked for
the raising of hands of those who wanted the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I raised my hand, and then left it up for a question, which was, "What
is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?". He answered with, "It's when you ask
the Holy Spirit to be in your life.".
Now, I had been taught as a Catholic, that
you received the Holy Spirit at confirmation. (Remember, this IS a Catholic
Charismatic Conference.) So when he gathered the dozen or so who raised
their hands to receive this, I declined.
He then asked the rest of us, "How many
of you, who have the Holy Spirit, would like a gift of the Holy Spirit."
I raised my hands with about a dozen others. They all wanted the gift of
tongues. I asked for the gift of prophecy, because I had enjoyed reading
about the Old Testament prophets. Please note, I had no inkling what was
going on, I had never seen any of these gifts in operation, had no clue
if prophecy was available, in fact if asked, I would have said it wasn't
on the earth anymore. Although I had no direct teaching saying either way.
I was just being earnest in my limited faith. The prophets in the Bible
had always fascinated me, and so that was the only gift that popped into
my mind.
Now, I had never heard of tongues, nor
had heard them. Only from Lutheran Sunday School; that at the time of pentecost,
the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and tongues of fire were on their
heads, and then foreign people heard them speak in their native languages.
That was the only incident of tongues I had ever knew of. No one had ever
shown me other tongues in the Bible, nor had anyone ever told me about
them.
Needless to say, I had no idea what these
dozen or so people wanted, nor what it meant. I was the only one to ask
for something different, the gift of prophecy. Did I think it possible?
I did not consider it possible or not. I was simply honestly answering
the questions with the situation put before me, trying to obey and find
what God had for me.
The teacher then took us aside, into another
corner. Then he asked the remaining people to pray for these 2 groups when
the time came. One group wanted the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the other
group, which I was in, wanted a gift of the Holy Spirit. Of which everyone
asked for tongues except me.
He then proceeded to give a small instruction
in the receiving of tongues. He said he would pray for us and lay his hands
on us, there were 2 other ladies who would do the same, but he would lead.
He then instructed us saying: that after he would lay hands on us, we may
feel in our spirit the Holy Spirit moving and we would need to open our
mouth and speak as the Holy Spirit would guide or lead us to.
After this, having finished instructing
us, and being moved by God, he came straight to me, purposefully, and laid
hands on me. Upon doing so, enormous amounts of power and energy came through
him into me. He said to me, "Let it out, let it out." I opened my mouth,
and let this power within me, manifest in language through my voice. I
began to shout in an unknown language, the power in my body was enormous.
After a minute or so, he proceeded to pray for others. I, on the other
hand, was completely baffled by what was happening within me. In a couple
minutes, I toned down my volume, but it was difficult, due to the enormous
energy in me, and the lack of spiritual discipline, and in ignorance of
the situation. I continued to speak in other tongues, but wondered in English,
"What is this, how can I be thinking in English, trying to understand what
this power is and yet be speaking in another language." (The answer is
found in 1 Corinthians 14:14). At the time I did not understand. When he
was done praying for everyone, I could only see 1 person who may have been
speaking in tongues besides me. This person appeared mentally or possibly
verbally handicapped. So I was uncertain to their true state.
The teacher, told me to go home and practice
tongues. I did not learn what happened to me, nor did I understand, nor
was I taught. Today, however, I can tell you, I was baptized in the Holy
Spirit.
I did learn that the pope recognizes the
baptism of the Holy Spirit as being a separate work of God. I learned much
later, that this charismatic doctrine is supposedly taught in the youth
catechism in only one year of the Catholic education, and is done so briefly.
Most, if not all denominations have had a charismatic movement, but it
is sometimes hidden, and often rejected by the people or the ministers,
and sometimes by the denominations themselves.
Well, I went home that day. At home, I
could not utter another phrase in tongues, no matter how hard I tried.
Somehow, it just couldn't or wouldn't manifest. I began my preparations
for my trip to Colorado to the monastery.
I took the bus to Colorado, at the bus
stop in Chicago, I saw a young woman who was dressed in black and had some
medallion around her neck. Her appearance seemed cultish to me. Upon seeing
her, that power that had come in me, but had since been quiet or unobserved,
rose up within me, and I started speaking in tongues. I did so very quietly,
so as not to draw attention, but I felt that I knew within me, that that
girl was involved in the occult. After a few minutes or so, I stopped speaking
in tongues, and couldn't start again. This amazed me, but I began to understand
that this was of God.
I arrived at the monastery and I loved
it. It was everything I thought, I was looking for. It was very ascetic.
While there, I helped with some chores, but I mostly had time to pray or
do what I wanted. I went to their services and their chanting. I also ate
with them. I enjoyed it. While helping with duties on their ranch, I went
to the sheep barn and found a new born lamb. I was instructed to pick it
up and clean it from it's birth. I was the first human to touch it. It
was an awesome experience.
Well, everything seemed wonderful, and
I was nearly convinced that this would be my life. But, I wanted to pray
and ask God for final confirmation for His will in my life. I wanted obedience
to Him above all else, in my life.
I decided to do this at the top of a mountain.
So I began my climb up a mountain to pray. About halfway up, I experienced
something utterly fantastic and unknown to me. It was the presence of God
( I am not talking about sacraments).
As a Lutheran and Catholic, I had believed
that the presence of God could not be felt on the Earth anymore. I cannot
say if this was taught to me, or if it was implied, or if I was in error
through ignorance. Nonetheless, I was COMPLETELY surprised. You must understand
all my thinking and observing this Presence, and the surprise happened
very quickly. My years of religious training and experience, whether accurate
or not, had not prepared me for this. Alot went through my mind at this
time. It was not like the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor like the manifestation
of tongues. Yes, there was power, but not a channeled power to be manifested
in some gift. It was God Himself present. Not visually, neither was He
present to my natural ears. I could not sense Him with eyes or ears, nor
with smell or taste. But I sensed Him with touch. I did not bump into Him.
I felt a tangible presence in a force. I cannot explain God's presence
to those who have never experienced it. It is incomprehensible. It's like
walking into a living wall of light, without seeing it. This is figurative,
I felt no "wall" or obstruction, I felt a PRESENCE. The PRESENCE was immense,
unmeasurably immense. I felt drawn to the PRESENCE, it was drawing me quietly
and respectfully of my will. But drawing me nonetheless. It had the "air"
of solving all my questions to the direction of my life. This "it" and
"PRESENCE" was God. When it is experienced, it is understood completely,
unless one chooses to lie to himself and denounce God in His face.
Anyway, I was dumbfounded. I was unprepared.
I could sense His presence was emanating from further up the mountain,
somewhere near the top, but I was only halfway there. The only thing I
could think of to do, that seemed appropriate, was to take off my shoes
and socks and continue on barefoot. This is what Moses was commanded to
do by God when he met God on a mountain.
Onward I went, barefoot until near the
top, I fell on my knees when I reached the peak of the presence of God.
There, I learned that God did not want me to be a monk, that He wanted
me to move to a specific city in Wisconsin (here unnamed). I left the mountain
speaking and singing in tongues. I have been able to pray in tongues, at
will, ever since.
Here is another example of witnessing of
God thru the power of this baptism:
An interesting experience happened to me
while I was in Florida. I had been witnessing to several guys I had been
hanging out with. One day, as I was doing so with one of them, I told him
that I could show him evidence of demons and evidence of God's power. I
told him to walk with me to the store.
As we began our walk, I pointed out to
him that a flock of crows would often follow me during my time there. Sure
enough, they were there to be seen. I told him, these crows were possessed
by demons and the flock would actually follow me.
He was intrigued by this and wanted to
test it. So he decided to lead us in random directions to see if they really
would follow us and they did. He was very astonished at this. I told him
to watch the next thing carefully. I was going to rebuke the demons audibly
and they would leave, but I was going to do so with any shouting, so as
not to contribute to the possibility of fear scaring away birds.
In the loudness of only a conversational
tone, I said something to this effect: "I command you demonic spirits to
leave, stop following me and go. In Jesus name."
To his incredible astonishment, the crows
left.
-----------------------
Some people claim you get the fullness
of the Holy Spirit upon being born again. It is true at that time we are
sealed with the Holy Spirit:
2 Cor 1: MKJV 22 And He has sealed us and having
given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Eph 1: MKJV 13 in whom also you, hearing the word
of truth, the gospel of our salvation, in whom also believing, you were
sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
But scripture can prove of 2 separate receiving
acts of the Holy Spirit:
John 20: MKJV 20 And when He had said this, He showed
them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw
the Lord. 21 Then Jesus said to them again, Peace
to you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you. 22 And when He had said this, He breathed
on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
This is after Jesus died was raised. He
gave them the Holy Spirit and they were born again. But yet this happened:
Luke 24: NKJV 49 Behold, I send the Promise
of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are
endued with power from on high."
Acts 1: MKJV 4 And having met with them , He commanded
them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father
which you heard from Me. 5 For John truly baptized with water,
but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 8 But you shall receive power, the
Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem
and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 2: NKJV 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the
whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided
tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
So the disciples received 2 separate infillings
of the Holy Spirit. One regenerates, the other empowers. There are examples
where these seem to happen simultaneously. where someone believes and then
begins speaking in tongues immediately or prophesying. Sometimes people
speak in tongues after water baptism. Getting the baptism of the Holy Spirit
isn't difficult:
Luke 11: MKJV 13 If you then, being evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?
To receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
you only need to ask. You may get it immediately or it may take a short
time. Some people get it by having someone lay hands on you in prayer,
from someone who already has it. others get it at water baptism. Some get
it alone in prayer. It varies. Usually it is acknowledged thru tongues
or prophesying.
4th
Baptism - Baptism into
Fire
Math 3: KJ21 11 I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance, but He that cometh 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. 12 His fan is in His hand, and
He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor and gather His wheat into
the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
This baptism is a work of God to get the
believer away from a life of sin and into a life of holiness. It is started
at the born again experience in water, it is empowered at the baptism of
the Holy Spirit, but is is here where God furthers the cleaning up of our
lives from the sin and uncleanness of the world.
Perhaps you have seen or heard of Holiness
movements or denominations. This is a "camp" centered around this truth
and work of God.
1 Cor 3: MKJV 12 And if anyone builds on this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, 13 each one's work shall be revealed.
For the Day shall declare it , because it shall be revealed by fire; and
the fire shall try each one's work as to what kind it is. 14 If anyone's work which he built
remains, he shall receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work shall be burned
up, he shall suffer loss. But he shall be saved, yet so as by fire. 16 Do you not know that you are a temple
of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Those verses speak about the future fire
to come. Yes a fire for believers. I discuss this fire here:
But we can be prepared for our judgment
by eliminating those things in our life which are perishable: wood, hay,
& stubble. We shouldn't do this for "fire insurance" mentality, but
because we want to be a vessel of honour for God:
2 Tim 2: MKJV 19 ¶ Nevertheless the foundation
of God stands sure, having this seal: " The Lord knew those who are His."
And, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity!" 20 But in a great house there are not
only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and
some to honor, and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone purges himself
from these, he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified and useful to the
Master, prepared for every good work. 22 ¶ But flee youthful lusts,
and follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the
Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and unlearned
questions, knowing that they give birth to strifes. 24 But the servant of the Lord must
not strive, but to be gentle to all, apt to teach, patient, 25 in meekness instructing those who
oppose, if perhaps God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of
the truth, 26 and that they awake out of the snare
of the Devil, having been taken captive by him, so as to do the will of
that one.
So we not only avoid sin because of fear
of fire:
Philp 2:12 NKJV Therefore, my beloved, as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
But also to be a vessel of honour for God.
There is another reason, perhaps fitting in-between these 2 reasons:
Math 6: 19 ¶ Do not lay up treasures on
earth for yourselves, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal. 20 But lay up treasures in Heaven for
yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye.
Therefore if your eye is sound, your whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole
body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is
darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters. For
either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
So we can pursue holiness knowing God will
reward us. But the greater reason perhaps being a vessel of honour for
God.
2 Cor 6: MKJV 17 Therefore come out from among them
and be separated, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean thing . And
I will receive you 18 and I will be a Father to you, and
you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
1 Cor 10: NKJV 21 You cannot drink the cup of the
Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and
of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we
stronger than He? 23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are
helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 24 Let
no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being.
There may come a time in your walk with
God where God seems to be dealing with your sins or with your example or
witness to others. We are to be a light, a holy example. God will put us
through a purging, to clean us of the wickedness. Let me say this, it is
much better to destroy those lusts and sins now rather than have God burn
them out later:
Math 5: WEB 27 "You have heard that it was said,
* 'You shall not commit adultery;'* 28 but I tell you that everyone who
gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already
in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out
and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one
of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into
Gehenna. 30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw
it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members
should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
Gehenna is mistranslated hell in most Bibles.
I am using the World English Bible here. Gehenna fire is not hell, nor
the Lake of Fire but a judgment of believers into fire. I discuss this
at length here:
I do not teach a purgatory. I teach a biblical
judgment upon the believer:
1 Cor 3: MKJV 15 If anyone's work shall be burned
up, he shall suffer loss. But he shall be saved, yet so as by fire.
We all need to get rid of the sins, it
will be much easier here.
Heb 12: MKJV 1 ¶ Therefore since we also are
surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight
and the sin which so easily besets us , and let us run with patience the
race that is set before us,
5th
Baptism - Baptism into
the Body
1 Cor 12: MKJV 13 For also by
one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks,
whether bond or free, even all were made to drink into one Spirit.
God places us into
the Body of Christ. After we have been baptized in the Holy Ghost and are
manifesting our gifts, we then can learn our place in the body of Christ.
God not only baptizes us into a universal position through giftings and
salvation but also has a local assembly or a church for us to be a part
of.
Heb 10: MKJV 25 not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is , but exhorting
one another , and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
We must assemble
with other believers if possible. Prison or persecution may limit this
for some people. But there is a difference between assembling and gathering.
Let's say you buy
tricycle at a store. It comes boxed with parts. The parts are gathered,
but are not assembled. We must put the pieces together.
In the same way,
God will place us in the Body of Christ.
Eph 4: MKJV 15 But that you,
speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the
Head, even Christ; 16 from whom
the whole body, fitted together and compacted by that which every joint
supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of each part,
producing the growth of the body to the edifying of itself in love.
Col 2: MKJV 19 and not holding
the Head, from whom all the body, having been supplied through the joints
and bands, and having been joined together, will grow with the growth of
God.
Once the parts are
assembled then the life of the Body flows. If a part is out of joint, then
parts will lack life. A broken or dislocated arm may cause the loss of
feeling and life in the hand. In the same way, we must align ourselves
by God into the Body of Christ so that not only will we gain the abundant
life of God, but others who are ministered to through us will get life
as well.
1 Cor 12: 14 For the body
is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot
shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore
not of the body? 16 And if the
ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore
not of the body? 17 If all the
body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If all hearing, where would
be the smelling? 18 But now God
has set the members, each one of them, in the body as it has pleased Him. 19 And if they
were all one member, where would be the body? 20 But now indeed
many are the members, yet only one body. 21 And the eye
cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; nor again the head to the
feet, I have no need of you. 22 But much rather
the members of the body seeming to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those
members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we put
more abundant honor around them . And our unpresentable members have more
abundant propriety. 24 For our presentable
members have no need, but God tempered the body together, giving more abundant
honor to the member having need; 25 that there
not be division in the body, but that the members should have the same
care for one another. 26 And if one
member suffers, all the members suffer with it ; if one member is glorified,
all the members rejoice with it . 27 And you are
the body of Christ, and members in part.
This truth gives
greater understanding of Ezek 37, the Valley of Dry Bones. The people become
the Body of Christ as they find their place and receive new life.
6th
Baptism - Baptism into
Suffering
Math 20: MKJV 20 ¶ Then
the mother of Zebedee's children came to Him with her sons, worshiping
and desiring a certain thing from Him. 21 And He said
to her, What do you desire? She said to Him, Grant that these my two sons
may sit in Your kingdom, the one on Your right hand and the other on the
left. 22 But Jesus
answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink
of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized withthe
baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, We are able. 23 And He said
to them, You shall indeed drink of My cup and be baptized with
the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and
on My left is not Mine to give, but to those for whom it has been prepared
by My Father.
Here we see Jesus
claims to have a baptism coming. This was not John's baptism, because He
did that already. He connects it to a cup. Let's read about this cup.
Math 26: MKJV 36 ¶ Then
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane. And He said to the disciples,
Sit here while I go and pray there. 37 And He took
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and He began to be sorrowful
and very heavy. 38 Then He said
to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Wait here and
watch with Me. 39 And He went
a little further and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father,
if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will,
but as You will . 40 And He came
to the disciples and found them asleep. And He said to Peter, What! Could
you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and
pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away
again the second time and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cup
may not pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done. 43 And He came
and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left
them and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same word. 45 Then He came
to His disciples and said to them, Sleep on now and take your rest. Behold,
the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let
us be going; behold, he who is betraying Me is at hand.
This is the cup and
baptism Jesus spoke of. It is the baptism of suffering. Jesus chose the
place called Gethsemane to drink this cup. Gethsemane means "wine press".
It was here that Jesus for the 1st and only time, struggled with God's
will. The 1st prayer Jesus said: if it is possible, let this cup pass
from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will
He asked the cup
be passed or taken from Him, but He added: not as I will, but as You
will
Jesus' will was different
from the Father at this point. Then at the 2nd & 3rd prayer He said:
if
this cup may not pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done
He has now accepted
to drink it, if it is the Father's will. After the 3rd time, He had concluded
it was the Father's will.
This baptism is the
denial of our will. It is suffering the denial of self and soul. Jesus
spoke many times to deny the soul. Many translations translated soul into
a different word. Here are some examples:
Math 10: MKJV 39 He who finds
his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find
it.
Math 16: NKJV 25 For whoever
desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My
sake will find it. 26 For what profit
is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or
what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
The word life is
the greek word "psuche" which better translates as soul. I discuss the
difference between the soul and the spirit here:
Jesus did not sin. At the point where He
desired to do different than the Father, He went in prayer. This wasn't
easy for Him and He is perfect, so it won't be easy for us. that's why
it's called the Baptism of Suffering.
This cup and baptism was so difficult Jesus
sweat blood:
Luke 22: MKJV 42 saying, Father, if You are willing,
remove this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done. 43 And an angel appeared to Him from
Heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in an agony He prayed
more earnestly. And His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling
down to the ground.
What many people do not realize was that
it was His soul that was sacrificed. Yes, His body had to die. But look
at this:
Isa 53: MKJV 10 ¶ Yet it pleased the LORD to
crush Him; to grieve Him; that He should put forth His soul as a guilt-offering.
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the will of the LORD
shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the fruit of the travail
of His soul. He shall be fully satisfied. By His knowledge shall My
righteous Servant justify for many; and He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide to Him with
the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He has
poured out His soul to death; and He was counted among the transgressors;
and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors.
God got tired of flesh sacrifices:
Isa 1: MKJV 11 To what purpose is the multitude
of your sacrifices to Me? says the LORD; I am full of the burnt offerings
of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I do not delight in the blood of
bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 12 When you come to appear before Me,
who has required this at your hand, to trample My courts? 13 Bring no more vain sacrifice; incense
is an abomination to Me; the new moon and sabbath, the going to meeting;
I cannot endure evil and the assembly! 14 Your new moons and your appointed
feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me; I am weary to bear them
. 15 And when you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not
hear; your hands are full of blood.
What God wants is for us to be a living
sacrifice and do His will.
Rom 12: MKJV 1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brothers,
by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you
what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.
Many christians will come to God having
done many great works for Him and in His name but He will deny them:
Math 7: KJ21 21 "Not every one that
saith unto Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but
he that doeth the will of My Father who is in Heaven. 22 Many will say to Me
in that Day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy
name have cast out devils, and in Thy name done many wonderful works?' 23 And then will I profess
unto them, `I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.'
Knowing and doing the Father's will is
NOT easy. If it was difficult for Jesus it will be difficult for us.
Philp 2: MKJV 5 For let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation,
and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men. 8 And being found in fashion as a man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross.
Heb 5: MKJV 8 though being
a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And being perfected,
He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him,
We must follow His
example:
Math 16: MKJV 24 ¶ Then
Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Jesus is NOT asking
us to die physically or to die on a cross, but to die to self. I discuss
in greater depth the denying of self in the 9 qualifications of discipleship
here:
1 Cor 10: MKJV 1 ¶ And,
brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant that all our fathers were under
the cloud, and all passed through the sea. 2 And all were
baptized
to Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
Let's read about
this baptism:
Num 9: HNV/WEB:ME 9:15 On the day
that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, even
the Tent of the Testimony: and at evening it was over the tabernacle as
it were the appearance of fire, until morning. 9:16 So it was continually.
The cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night. 9:17 Whenever
the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after that the children
of Israel traveled; and in the place where the cloud remained, there the
children of Israel encamped. 9:18 At the commandment of the LORD, the children
of Israel traveled, and at the commandment of the LORD they encamped. As
long as the cloud remained on the tabernacle they remained encamped. 9:19
When the cloud stayed on the tabernacle many days, then the children of
Israel kept the LORD's command, and didn't travel. 9:20 Sometimes the cloud
was a few days on the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of
the LORD they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of the
LORD they traveled. 9:21 Sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning;
and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they traveled: or by day
and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they traveled. 9:22 Whether
it was two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud stayed on the tabernacle,
remaining on it, the children of Israel remained encamped, and didn't travel;
but when it was taken up, they traveled. 9:23 At the commandment of the
LORD they encamped, and at the commandment of the LORD they traveled. They
kept the LORD's command, at the commandment of the LORD by Moses.
Being baptized in
the cloud means you follow God when ever or where ever He leads. Earlier
in the baptism of fire, I mentioned the Holiness Camps. Denominations are
born when someone makes a camp upon the last truth God revealed to them,
and decided to stay there instead of continuing on. That's why I like to
say "A broken clock is right twice a day." Stale denominations and churches
still have abundant revelation concerning the specific truth they are camped
on. Even tho they have failed to grow in other areas.
What does that mean
for individual believers? We must not be boxed in by "camp" mentality.
We must consider that others may or may not have blazed other truths we
have not yet grasped in God's Word. We must be teachable. We must also
recognize Jesus as Lord, directing our life, and as King, reigning our
life.
Isa 28: MKJV 9 ¶ Whom
shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine?
Those weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept
must be on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here
a little, there a little; 11 for with stammering
lips and another tongue He will speak to this people. 12 To whom He
said, This is the rest; cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing.
Yet they were not willing to hear. 13 But the Word
of the LORD was to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on
line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they might go,
and fall backward, and be broken and snared and taken.
I have created a new page that goes into
detail of this Baptism. You can find it here:
