Fire from Heaven

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is essential if we are to be effective in our Christian witness. When I was a child, I prayed 3 months without receiving the Spirit. But I knew that without the power, the fire, the anointing of God, I could never see men's lives converted. At Easter we used to have three Pentecostal Conventions in London. I determined to go and not leave until I had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit! The preaching was so long in the morning, there was no time to pray for people to receive the Holy Spirit! As a 13-year old I went up to those great men of God on the platform and said, "I only came to receive the fire, pray for me!" They took me to a small room, laid their hands on me, but their minds were on their lunch! I did not receive the Holy Spirit.

I was searching for something which does not come from men, the real power of God. One of those pastors saw my heart, opened the Scripture to me, then when he prayed and laid hands on me, it was as if the roof came off the building, I saw the Glory of God and felt the fire! The fire of the Holy Ghost, the power of God and the Glory of God came into my life! Now I had to become an evangelist! I had to preach Christ, and see the Power! That baptism was only the beginning! - If you want to be effective in ministry, you MUST be filled with the Holy Spirit!

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Why do we need the Holy Spirit? Jesus said it is the Spirit who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment to come (John 16:8). - It is not the preacher who convicts of sin, it is the Holy Spirit! Without this 'Baptism' we are powerless and ineffective. The whole purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is to fill us with power so that we can win the lost! The 'Baptism' is not so that we can sit at ease in church in a 'holy huddle', but to preach the Gospel with power and authority! What was the first thing Peter did when he was baptised in the Spirit? He won 3000 for the Kingdom! What did you do when you first received the Holy Spirit?!

My father, (a great man of God, converted in 1905 during the Welsh Revival, a great Bible teacher), told me when I preached the Gospel as a boy of 13 and no one repented, "Son, you haven't received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit yet!" It was a lesson which changed my life - because what I needed was the fire and power of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction, conversion and a changed life when I preach! I asked my father to lay hands on me. He did, but I didn't receive the Holy Spirit. As a result I spent the next three months in an agony, 13 years old, crying out to God, fasting and praying that God would give me FIRE and POWER through the Holy Spirit. When finally I received the Holy Ghost just days before my 14th birthday it totally revolutionised my life. From that moment God took control, things began to happen, people began to repent. Even as a student in Bible College I used to go every Friday to Hyde Park Corner in London. We'd set up a 'soap box', preach the Gospel, and every week, right in the centre of London, people would repent.



http://davidhathaway.podbean.com/e/baptism-in-the-holy-spirit-featuring-vinesong/

'Holy Spirit move me now' used by kind permission of Vinesong, www.vinesong.com