James Langston's Blog - Posts Tagged "speaking-in-tongues"
The Value of "Glossolalia" (Speaking in Tongues)
Okay I'm Saved ... Now What?
Excerpt from Chapter II
"The Comforter [Helper] has Come!"
The day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you then became a “candidate” for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Make no mistake, the day you were “Born Again,” the Holy Spirit was birthed in your heart and life [the Divine Nature of Christ that now indwells].
However, there is a vast difference between being “born of the Spirit,” and “baptized in the Spirit.”
As Salvation transformed your life from darkness to light, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit will, lead you into a greater depthness of Jesus Christ, and give you a greater revelation of Who Jesus is, and what He did for you on the Cross.
I heard a pastor say it this way, “The Holy Spirit living on the inside of Believers is comparative to a can of ‘soda’ that’s been agitated (shook up).”
“He [The Holy Spirit] now wants you to pop the top and let the contents “fizz” all over you.’”
In the spirit realm, this is the scene that occurs the moment you are baptized with the Spirit: the Holy Spirit has fizzed all over you!
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not optional! Every Believer needs this help if we are to remain vigilant, determined and committed soldiers of the Cross.
Although many denominations teach you received everything at the moment of salvation, I do not find this as a consistent truth in Scripture.
In more than 100 instances in the Bible, you find reference to the “Holy Spirit,” “The Spirit of Life,” “The Comforter,” “The Spirit of God” or inference to one of His many descriptive Names.
Conversely you read, “The Spirit bade,” “The Spirit said,” “It was good unto the Spirit,” all terminology reflective of an actual “Person” – the Holy Spirit.
If we received everything at the moment of salvation, then why would Jesus tell His disciples (who were Born Again Believers), to “. . . wait for the promise of the Father . . . [the infilling of the Holy Spirit]” (Act. 1:4) before attempting any other work?
Prior to Jesus’ Sacrificial, Atoning work on the Cross, the Holy Spirit could only come upon Believers for a particular work, but not abide forever.
Why? The sin debt that we owed to God (original sin that began with Adam and Eve) was merely covered by the blood of bulls and goats (Heb. 10:4).
However, the moment Jesus died on the Cross, His sacrificial offering satisfied the legal claims of this debt owed (and yes, Calvary was a legal work)!
The Salvation plan has not changed. Under the Levitical Law, each of the Offerings pointed to what Jesus’ death on the Cross would accomplish.
Although the offerers sins were only covered by the blood of bulls and goats (Heb. 9:13, 14), their faith in what the offering represented – the Promise of One to come Who would take away the sin of the world – is what Saved them! (Jn. 1:29)
Today we are Saved by looking back to this Sinless, Spotless, and Efficacious Offering as payment for our sins – realizing that He [Jesus] died that we might “live.”
Pilgrim Outreach Ministries Bookstore
Excerpt from Chapter II
"The Comforter [Helper] has Come!"
The day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you then became a “candidate” for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Make no mistake, the day you were “Born Again,” the Holy Spirit was birthed in your heart and life [the Divine Nature of Christ that now indwells].
However, there is a vast difference between being “born of the Spirit,” and “baptized in the Spirit.”
As Salvation transformed your life from darkness to light, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit will, lead you into a greater depthness of Jesus Christ, and give you a greater revelation of Who Jesus is, and what He did for you on the Cross.
I heard a pastor say it this way, “The Holy Spirit living on the inside of Believers is comparative to a can of ‘soda’ that’s been agitated (shook up).”
“He [The Holy Spirit] now wants you to pop the top and let the contents “fizz” all over you.’”
In the spirit realm, this is the scene that occurs the moment you are baptized with the Spirit: the Holy Spirit has fizzed all over you!
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not optional! Every Believer needs this help if we are to remain vigilant, determined and committed soldiers of the Cross.
Although many denominations teach you received everything at the moment of salvation, I do not find this as a consistent truth in Scripture.
In more than 100 instances in the Bible, you find reference to the “Holy Spirit,” “The Spirit of Life,” “The Comforter,” “The Spirit of God” or inference to one of His many descriptive Names.
Conversely you read, “The Spirit bade,” “The Spirit said,” “It was good unto the Spirit,” all terminology reflective of an actual “Person” – the Holy Spirit.
If we received everything at the moment of salvation, then why would Jesus tell His disciples (who were Born Again Believers), to “. . . wait for the promise of the Father . . . [the infilling of the Holy Spirit]” (Act. 1:4) before attempting any other work?
Prior to Jesus’ Sacrificial, Atoning work on the Cross, the Holy Spirit could only come upon Believers for a particular work, but not abide forever.
Why? The sin debt that we owed to God (original sin that began with Adam and Eve) was merely covered by the blood of bulls and goats (Heb. 10:4).
However, the moment Jesus died on the Cross, His sacrificial offering satisfied the legal claims of this debt owed (and yes, Calvary was a legal work)!
The Salvation plan has not changed. Under the Levitical Law, each of the Offerings pointed to what Jesus’ death on the Cross would accomplish.
Although the offerers sins were only covered by the blood of bulls and goats (Heb. 9:13, 14), their faith in what the offering represented – the Promise of One to come Who would take away the sin of the world – is what Saved them! (Jn. 1:29)
Today we are Saved by looking back to this Sinless, Spotless, and Efficacious Offering as payment for our sins – realizing that He [Jesus] died that we might “live.”
Pilgrim Outreach Ministries Bookstore
