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Denominational Differences Don't Matter
I preached a meeting in a denominational church in Texas once where 95 percent of the church received the infilling of the Holy Ghost and spoke with other tongues. It was a glorious service filled with thrilling testimonies, and the service had that warm glow to it like Pentecostal services of years ago.

It was wonderful and refreshing to be a part of what God was doing during the Charismatic Movement. And I'm glad I am a part of what He is doing today!

We should share this wonderful experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit with everyone who is hungry for God. For example, if someone fell overboard and I had a lifesaver, I wouldn't ask him what church he belonged to before I threw him the lifesaver! And if he didn't belong to my church, I wouldn't refuse to throw him the lifesaver either!

If people are drowning, they need help. If people are lost, they need salvation. And if Christians are hungry for a deeper walk with God, they don't have to become a member of any particular church before they can be filled with the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is a Gift. We should just get believers who are hungry for more of God filled with the Spirit. And, thank God, we are doing that.

Of course, we should always encourage believers who are not members of a local body to join a good church and become faithful members, so they can grow in their Christian walk. But joining a church is not a prerequisite to receiving the Holy Spirit.

In just four services of a local chapter of a Full Gospel group, I once saw 143 people filled with the Holy Ghost. That's a real revival in itself, isn't it? And some folks think God is not on the move! Thank God, He is. It is not what you think the Bible says that counts.

And it's not what someone told you the Bible says. It is what you know for yourself about God's Word that counts. And God will confirm His Word with signs following.

The Holy Spirit: God's Promise to You
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized by the Holy Ghost not many days hence...But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
(Acts 1:5,8)

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
(Acts 2:32-33)
Notice that in Acts 1:5 and 8 Jesus spoke of the promise of the Holy Ghost to the Church—the Body of Christ. He said, "...ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost..." (Acts 1:5).

And in Acts chapter 2, we see the fulfillment of that promise: "...he [Jesus] hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear" (v. 33).

Then in Acts 2:38-39, Peter told the people that the promise of the Holy Spirit was given to as many as believed:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 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 [in other words, those who are born again].
The Holy Spirit Is a Person
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a Person in John 14:16: "...I will pray the Father, and he [the Father] shall give you another Comforter, that HE [the Comforter, the Holy Spirit] may abide with you for ever."

The Holy Spirit is a Person. In other words, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive Him, the third Person of the Godhead, not an "it." Jesus said, "...that he may abide with you forever" (John 14:16).

Some people say it like this: "I received the baptism." But they didn't receive the baptism; they received the Holy Spirit. Sometimes folks say, "I am filled with the baptism."

But they are not filled with the baptism; they are not even filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is not a scriptural statement. No, they are filled with the Holy Spirit Himself—the third Person of the Godhead.

Receiving the Holy Ghost is more than just an experience. When you receive the Holy Ghost, a Divine Personality, He comes to live in you, to dwell in you, and to make His home in you!

Receiving the Holy Spirit Is Just the Beginning
Also, we must not be so concerned with the outward initial experience that we miss the reality of the indwelling Presence of the Holy Ghost. If we have been filled with the Holy Ghost, we should be conscious of His indwelling Presence at every waking moment.

We shouldn't have to look back to some experience that we had at an altar years ago as our only contact with this Divine Person—the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit should become more real to us every single day!

I received the infilling of the Holy Ghost more than 55 years ago. When I first received the Holy Spirit, I spoke in tongues for an hour and a half, and I sang three songs in tongues. But that experience was the least part of all these years of being filled with the Holy Spirit, because that initial experience was just the beginning.

If the Holy Ghost is living in you, you can have scriptural experiences with God and in His Word every day. You don't have just one experience and that's the end of it. No, when you receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, a Divine Personality—the Holy Spirit—comes to live within you!

You can experience His indwelling Presence, every single day. Hallelujah!

Source: Holy Spirit Study
by Kenneth E. Hagin.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications

Author Biography

Kenneth E. Hagin
Web site: RHEMA
 
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
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