Several years ago, I went on missions to a village in Northern Nigeria. There, I met a preacher who was shown the way out of his denomination because he was baptized with the evidence of speaking in tongues. He also believed in laying on of hands in healing the sick and casting out devils. This man worked with us on the field and I saw the grace of God upon his life but he was without a church because he was kicked out of his church.

The subject of baptism with the Holy Spirit is somewhat controversial among evangelicals. The pentecostals seem to have a consensus agreement on what it is and its benefits but there are opposing views here and there because of the issue of speaking in tongues and manifestations of spiritual gifts.

At first, I want you to know the baptism with the Holy Spirit was a promised gift. Before Jesus left his disciples, he promised them this gift and instructed them not leave Jerusalem until they are clothed with power from on high.

“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven" (Luke 24:49 NLT).

If this gift is not important to the believer's life, Jesus wouldn't have instructed the disciples to wait for it. The tone of his instruction made it sound compulsory and not optional. If it were an optional thing, they wouldn't have waited for it in the upper room. Further, If this baptism was important for the early believers to the point where they waited for it, would it be less important for you and me today?

The baptism with the Spirit is to your advantage. Anything God promises is for your benefit. In your christian walk, without the Holy Spirit, you will be rising and falling. Your prayer life will be weak and dull. I want you to desire this promised gift right now. It is not only for those in that generation but for you as well.

Acts of the Apostles 2:39 says, "This promise (of baptism with the Holy Spirit) is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God" (Emphasis mine, NLT)