The Holy Ghost in Jesus’ Day

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I…he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire (Matthew 3:11).

This verse in Matthew makes it clear that there is something to be received other than the baptism of the Holy Ghost—the fire of the Spirit. The fire is the anointing of the Spirit, something we all need. To receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a commandment of Jesus, but it should never be looked upon as the end of your spiritual growth. Growth in the Lord is an ever increasing, ever deepening process. Without the anointing, or fire, of the Spirit in your life, your spiritual growth will be greatly hindered. After receiving the baptism of the Spirit don’t sit complacently in a corner to await the coming of the Lord. Rather, yield to that fire so that it can prepare and direct you in the great work for souls in this final hour. The Holy Spirit is your power for service.

The Babe of Bethlehem didn’t appear to have a baptism of fire to offer anyone. Years later even the disciples did not understand that fire. Jesus said, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him (John 14:16,17). But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost…shall teach you all things (John 14:26). The disciples listened to Jesus. They wanted what He was speaking about, yet they were unable to separate the Holy Ghost from Jesus. Many people today cannot make that distinction, either. Christ is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit, also called the Holy Ghost, is the third person in the Trinity of the Godhead. We live in the Holy Ghost dispensation which will close when the Bride of Christ is taken from the earth at the second coming of the Lord. The Holy Ghost will leave the earth along with those who will be gathered to Jesus in that catching-away time. The Holy Ghost is here now on a divine mission: to prepare the Bride of Christ for the Rapture, for Jesus the Groom. Be alive in the Spirit, aware of the great power with which the Spirit is moving on the earth today.

Paul had a stubborn temper, a temper he kept under the subjection of the Holy Spirit. You can discover much about him by studying what he had to say. At one place we find him writing a letter to a group of people lest he be too harsh when he saw them in person—that indicates temper! Paul’s temper was too stubborn to allow the devil to push him around. Are you beaten down by the devil; have you learned to use your temper against him? Lucifer tries to get you to blame others for what he brings about. Put the blame where it belongs—on him. Hate the devil that influences people to act in cruel and dishonest ways.

Surrender completely to the fire of the Holy Spirit; do not be afraid of it. Simon did not know how to yield, but in the Upper Room he stayed until he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, until he had that great power within. Jeremiah described the Lord’s word in his heart as “fire shut up in his bones.” Anyone who has ever experienced this wonderful power of the Holy Spirit knows what Jeremiah was talking about. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people (Isaiah 28:11). And yet, even with the fiery tongue, there will be many who will not hear.

“Without me,” Jesus told the disciples, “ye can do nothing.” When Jesus finished His work on earth, God sent the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Accept in your own heart that you need what Jesus said you must have. The instructions He gave the disciples are for all His followers. Jesus commanded them to tarry until they received power from On High, and that same commandment holds true for His followers today. Jesus stressed the Holy Ghost; He was concerned that His children go on to receive the baptism of the Spirit. It was so important that His last message to mankind on earth just before He ascended into Heaven was about receiving the Holy Ghost (Acts 1).

Simon wanted to walk like Jesus to the degree that he even stepped out on the waters. He walked with nothing under him but water and sheer faith. Oh, yes, he sank, but first he walked. Simon tried to imitate Jesus and was broken-hearted to find he had failed. Why did he fail? Because imitation was not good enough. And if you are not aflame with the baptism of fire, you, too, are failing Him again and again. The baptism of fire must burn within you, the anointing of the Holy Spirit will make Christ come alive in your innermost being so that you will not be an imitation of Him. You will have HIM on the inside—no longer will you be striving to work for Him in your own strength. Jesus, through the power of the Holy Ghost, will be working through you. Perhaps it is not within your own ability to be a witness for the Lord, but the Holy Ghost is able to be that witness when He lives IN you and you let Him work THROUGH you. The Holy Ghost can witness, preach, pray—all you need do is yield yourself to Him.

Simon in the Upper Room knew he was weak—blessed is the man who knows his own weaknesses; blessed is the man who is able to feel his weaknesses, for then he will know the importance of the Master’s strength in his life. The Holy Ghost fell on Simon and the others. A drastic change came into Simon’s life. Not long before, he had denied Jesus to three people; but now boldly he stood before a multitude crying, ”YOU crucified Him! YOU crucified Him!” Three thousand souls were added to the Kingdom that day. How did this change happen to Simon? Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:2-5). It filled the house and it filled Simon; Simon received the fiery tongue. Simon found a power that enabled him to do the things of the Lord in the way Jesus had taught. Simon wanted to see the power of the Spirit move the way it did for Jesus: the blind to receive sight, the deaf hearing and the sick to be made well. The anointing of fire made those things happen through Simon, too.

The Holy Ghost in the Old Testament

The Old Testament is filled with types and shadows of things to come. One of the most beautiful of all the stories of the power of the Holy Ghost is told in the lives of Elisha and Elijah. Elijah, full of the power of God—Holy Ghost power—was used by God in a truly miraculous way. Elijah cast his mantle upon Elisha, and Elisha followed him from then on. For seven years Elisha watched the power of God in action through Elijah’s life. Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee said Elijah. And Elisha answered, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me (II Kings 2:9). When you receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you have that double portion if you completely yield to Him. There are many, although they have the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost does not have—they do not yield all the way to Him. Even before God created man, the Holy Ghost was working: And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). God said, “Let it be,” and the Holy Ghost went into operation. Realize how greatly the Holy Ghost moved in Old Testament times. Know that now, in the Holy Ghost dispensation, He will work in an even greater way, for now He has more liberty to work and more work to do. Because the Holy Ghost can do anything, Jesus said, All things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23). If you are afraid, if you fear life, then you are not yet in that place with God where you must be. Walking in that place God wants you to travel is walking without fear; you know everything will be all right. Paul knew that if he died it would be gain for him.

The Spirit of the Lord was in Joseph’s life. When Pharaoh called Joseph out of the dungeon because he had heard Joseph could interpret dreams, Joseph answered, It is not in me: GOD shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace (Genesis 41:16). Joseph took none of the glory for the work the Holy Ghost was about to do through him; all the glory went to God. The Holy Ghost moved on a man, giving the interpretation to a heathen king’s dream. The tongue of fire spoke God’s truth.

Later in the Old Testament, we find God filling the workers with wisdom and knowledge to make the tabernacle and the things in it. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom (Exodus 28:3). (Read also Exodus 31:3 and Exodus 35:31.) The Lord gave workers in the Old Testament this wisdom and knowledge, and the Lord overshadowed my wife, Angel, and me to give knowledge of what He wanted in the building of Grace Cathedral. It was an astounding experience for us! The works that the Holy Ghost did in Old Testament days, He will do today.

The Lord not only told Moses what to do and how to do it, but He enabled Moses and the elders of Israel to give just judgments. The Holy Ghost anointed the minds of those people so that they could give the judgment of God. I say again, that was not a Holy Ghost age, but still He worked in a marvelous way. We who live in the Holy Ghost dispensation can expect Him to move even greater in our day with His anointing of fire. First, however, we must know what God wants.

The Holy Ghost gave Moses fantastic physical strength. Read of it in the eleventh chapter of Numbers. Moses became impatient with the complaints, the ups and downs of the Israelites; and the Lord took enough power from the Holy Spirit that was in Moses’ life to supply SEVENTY other men. That was a fantastic anointing! Moses yielded to the anointing of the Lord and it grew stronger. Too many today are baptized in the Spirit and think that is the end of it all. Yield to Him until He can use you in any way He wants, day or night; yield by prayer, fastings and living in the Word.

The Holy Ghost Today

Have you received that tongue of fire yet or are you afraid, backing away because someone has wrongly instructed you about it? Acts 2:39 tells us that EVERYONE today can have the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. You must have the fire of God in this last and final hour: the trials, the pressures and sins that come against men now are harsh and deadly. More than ever we need to hold to God’s promise, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Romans 5:20). God’s grace will make those who yield to Him more than conquerors. Is there a dryness in your life? Then yield to the kindling of that Spirit of fire; let it blaze out through your life to direct your path in the footsteps of Jesus. How marvelous that the same Holy Spirit that Simon received is available to you today! Let Him possess you completely—be possessed by Him, completely under His control. Let the Holy Ghost possess you to the point He can think through your mind, speak with your tongue. Don’t be afraid of God; in Him is your safety. Let the blood of Jesus stand between you and the enemy, holding him back.

If you honestly and sincerely seek the things of God, you can have them. Those who get in trouble are the hypocrites, the ones who are dishonest in their hearts toward God. Rather than wanting God to use them, they want to use His power for their own purposes and to elevate themselves in the eyes of men. God will not move for people like that, but the devil will. You cannot make a mockery of the things of God and still be His child. However, if you sincerely want the things of God because you love Him, He will answer. Jesus said that parents do not give stones to their children when they ask for bread—how much more does the heavenly Father know how to give the Holy Spirit to those that ask? The Lord gives only holy gifts. If you are God’s property, the devil has no claim on you whatsoever. Use that fiery tongue; hold up the blood-stained banner and tell the story of Jesus without compromise. “YOU crucified Him!” thundered Simon, and multitudes fell to their knees.

The fiery tongue under the power of the Spirit will make men’s hearts burn within them. That fiery tongue is meant to be used by every child of God—this is the hour for the fiery tongue. The greatness of His power is being poured out in this final hour. All over the world people are becoming aware of the need of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Never has there been an hour such as this! We needn’t be concerned about the enemy; nothing can stand against the power of the Holy Ghost in this hour. He wants many witnesses to tell of His greatness. Call on Him in perfect faith, for those who are faithful will see miracle after miracle. The impact of your fiery anointing will do much to win the lost. Know what manner of spirit you carry at all times; you cannot afford to be deceived about yourself in any way. That fiery anointing will not rest upon you if you are deceived. Keep your eyes on Jesus and His greatness. Don’t delight yourself because you are being blessed; delight yourself because you, through that fiery anointing, are blessing others. Joy will come as you delight yourself in your Lord, bowing down to His will the way Jesus did. Let His voice thunder in your ears when you’re discouraged. Behold His hand of power that separated the waters of the Red Sea, and know that you have hold of that same hand. He is the God of all flesh and He walks with you daily; call at any time upon the name of His Son, Jesus, and He will hear. He calls you into His arms to give you His faith, love, strength and anointing of fire so that He can be poured out to others through you. Receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost and yield to the molding and the shaping of His fire in your life.