Are you longing for a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit daily? Are you specifically asking for it? You can have it!
We're going to explore what it means to ask for and receive the daily baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Begin with Prayer. “Dear Father in heaven, bring us a thirst for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Please send the Holy Spirit to teach us about this Gift. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Read: John 7:37–39
- Step 1: Come to Jesus with thirst and believe in Him.
Read: Acts 2:38
- Step 2: Repent.
- Step 3: Be baptized with water.
Read: Acts 5:32
- Step 4: Obey God.
- Obedience is the test of discipleship. "It is the keeping of the commandments that proves the sincerity of our professions of love. When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart, purifies the soul from defilement, bears fruit unto holiness, we may know that it is the truth of God."1
Read: Luke 11:13
- Step 5: Ask God the Father for this Gift.
- In Christ’s Object Lessons, we have the following description of Jesus while He was on earth: "Not for Himself, but for others, He lived and thought and prayed. From hours spent with God He came forth morning by morning, to bring the light of heaven to men. Daily He received a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit."2
- Oh, how our hearts should be moved to know that Jesus Himself received a daily baptism of the Holy Spirit! Since He needed this Gift, how much more do we need this Gift every moment of our lives!
There are two major results from receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit:
- We receive the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23).
- We have the power to be a witness for Christ (Acts 1:8).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit transforms us on the inside to give us the character of Christ and transforms us on the outside so that we are a witness for Christ in all we say and do. God the Father is the Giver of all the good gifts and takes great joy in giving us the Gift of the Holy Spirit every day.
A Soft Heart Illustration
(Materials Needed: large bowl/basin, large sponge, large rock, and two large pitchers of water (or three), and a small plastic cup or drinking glass.)
Pour water over the rock. Say: “If we have a hard heart—one of stone—we can’t absorb the water of the Holy Spirit. Things like pride, bitterness, and anger make our hearts hard.”
Read Ezekiel 36:26, 27: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
Pour water over the sponge and say: “God will give us a new heart and a new Spirit, and our soft heart will be like a sponge that can soak up the Spirit who will transform our ways. And He can flow (be squeezed) from us, so we are like Jesus in our interaction with others.”
Demonstrate how easily the Holy Spirit can be “squeezed out” to others when we have a “soft” heart of flesh.
Filled to Overflowing Illustration
To continue the previous illustration, hold the cup over the large bowl/basin. Say to yourself: “This cup is us. It looks nice, but what use is it without something inside?”
Fill the cup halfway with water. Ask Yourself: “Is this how much of the Holy Spirit we want?” (No!) Fill it up 3/4 of the way and ask the same question. (No!)
Ask Yourself: How much of our heart do we want filled with the Holy Spirit? (All of it!)
Continue slowly pouring the water, letting it fill the glass and overflow abundantly into the bowl/basin. “When we are filled to overflowing with the Spirit, He can’t help but overflow into other people’s lives in our sphere of influence.”
Stop pouring, then ask yourself: "But are we content to just overflow once?”
Keep pouring the water again, using up first pitcher. “No, we want to continue asking for MORE.”
Start pouring from second pitcher. “Is there ever a time we should stop asking for this daily overflowing baptism?” (No!)
Keep pouring! “Don’t forget to ask daily for the baptism of the Holy Spirit so you can be effective witnesses for Him, always overflowing with much to give for God’s glory!”
To review, the five steps to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit are:
- Come to Jesus with thirst and believe in Him.
- Repent.
- Be baptized with water.
- Obey God.
- Ask God the Father for this Gift.
Ask Yourself: “Is there anything you need to do that you haven’t yet done, so you can receive the fullness of this gift?”
“Will we wrestle with God in prayer? Will we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit? This is what we need and may have at this time If we will walk humbly with God, God will walk with us.”3
Pray: “Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us for not longing after the Gift You promised. Help us to ask for and receive the baptism of Your Holy Spirit every day. Transform our hearts to have the loving character of
Jesus. Make us a fearless witness for Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Call to Action & Challenge
Every day ask for and receive a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. Practice receiving this Gift by faith, not by feeling. Follow His lead. And keep asking for more!
"All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind... Through co-operation with Christ, they are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence."4
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman \ Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
- Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing (Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1896), 146.
- Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1900), 139.
- Ellen G. White, Prayer (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2002), 87.
- Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1898), 827.
