The Baptism In The Spirit

By Sidharth Mohandas   

Introduction  

Ever since I experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I have been burdened to share the truth about this experience. I strongly believe that this experience is the door to God’s demonstrative power and also the key to unity in the Body of Christ. As you move forward with me in this series, I pray that you would  be open to the Scriptures and to anything God wants you to experience. I am well aware that you will probably come across things that will be contrary to what you had been taught for years. My prayer is that those of you who read these articles will in turn operate in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s Real! 

One day, I woke up at around four o’ clock in the morning eager to spend time with my Lord and to hear Him speak to me. That morning I found myself reading a passage in the Bible where His early disciples received something spectacular and supernatural that changed their whole lifestyle .  

The passage the Lord took me to is> found in the book of Acts of the Apostle. I started with chapter one, and when I reached the middle of chapter 2, I told the Lord, “Lord, I need this”, even though I looked at the experience described in Acts as something beyond me, since I had never witnessed anyone receive it. After this, I scanned through the pages of Mark’s gospel, and I came across a verse which caught my attention. Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). 

The very same day, I was invited by my friend to attend a prayer meeting held at his house. It was a Friday evening, and I managed to attend. They started with a few songs, of which I knew nothing. After they sang, a young boy stood up and started preaching. I was amazed at the authority with which he spoke. He spoke on salvation, water baptism, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Upon hearing ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit’ my heart leaped with joy, for I had just read about it and asked the Lord for it that very morning. The Holy Spirit brought the Scripture to my mind, “For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence” (Acts 1:5)  

When the boy finished preaching, he asked us a question: “Who all want to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?”   I didn’t wait another second, I raised my hand. The boy said, “Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Look to Him and praise Him, and He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit”.  Then, the group entered into a time of praise and worship. Not knowing any of the songs they sang, I just opened my mouth and praised Him in my own way, for I was filled with adoration for my Master. The boy kept saying, “Your heart is bubbling, don’t give up”.

While all this was happening, the thought going through my mind was, “I don’t think I am worthy to receive this experience.” But the Holy Spirit brought another Scripture to my memory, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours”. At that point I kept telling myself, “I believe I have received Him! I believe I have received Him!”. Just then, an unusual power went through my body and I fell subject to it. A lady behind me got hold of me and made me stand on my feet. The very moment I stood on my feet, it was as though I had a river gushing out of my belly and I started stammering and I speaking in a language that I had never learned. As I underwent this marvelous experience, my heart was crying, “Oh it’s real! It’s real!”. Later, as I read the Word of God, I found a scripture that described exactly what I experienced: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said rivers of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:38)

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