Baptism of Fire. I never quite knew what that meant till a few days ago.

Coleman and I had just finished up the second day of I Give Life training with a group of Baptist youth. These young people were very hungry. They all had their Bibles and were sitting on the edge of their seats as we taught. The last session we taught was on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, they dismissed everyone to eat. Evidently, they wanted to feed their natural hunger before God fed their spiritual hunger. First, spicy Chicken Biryani, then Baptism of Fire. 

When following Jesus, Water Baptism is the sign of our conversion. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience after salvation that is an ordination into our ministry. During this experience, we receive the power needed to do Jesus ministry in our worlds. It was only fitting that Coleman and I offered this gift at the end of our training because this encounter would ordain these young people into a whole new realm of ministry.

We called forward everyone who wanted to receive, and everyone came to the front. We explained what would happen then we began to lay hands on them. One by one, they began to speak in tongues. It started slow like fires often do, but then the intensity began to pick up. It felt like we were just fanning the flames.

God was immersing people in His power, and people were reacting differently to the Spirit. A couple of the young men were shaking. One young man got on his knees and wailed. There was sweat and tears. I looked at the girls’ side. Every girl was crying. It was really sweet and touching. Then, on the guys’ side, it looked more like a tribe about to go to war. At a certain point, Coleman and I just backed off and watched. The scene played out for over half an hour. One guy started jumping, then he passed out in his seat. He was out-out, mouth wide open, sprawled out on the chair. I don’t exactly know what was happening just that God was doing something. The whole room received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that afternoon. Like I said, most of the people were Baptist, which is a simple reminder that God wants every denomination to experience His fire.

We opened up the floor for testimonies. (I have learned to ask people after they are baptized in the Holy Spirit if they heard anything from God. It is a time when people are open and yielded to hear from Him.) One of the young men got up and shared that while being baptized he had an out-of-body experience. It was as if he was taken to a garden, and there, God showed him all his sins. Then, every sin was washed away. God told him that He was forgiven of everything and that God had work for him to do. Another young man said that he saw all of his sins too as he prayed. The young man who was on his knees wailing shared that as a pastor’s kid, he had been in many services and had encounters with God, but he had never experienced this before. This was the first time he had been exposed to the Holy Spirit's fire. He was responding quite differently than everyone else. Something big must have been worked out in him. He said that God had anointed him to do His will. Another girl, 11 years old, said that she saw Jesus. He was holding a beautiful crown that she was trying to grab. She asked Jesus for the crown, but He told her that she had work to do before she could receive. Her work was to share His message on earth.

These were just a few of the testimonies we heard. The amazing part is that none of the youth knew what to say. They have never heard the wild charismatic Christian testimonies. They told simply what they experienced, and it was right in line with how God works. We were astounded and blessed! Those young peoples’ lives were forever changed.

As I close this blog out, it’s important that you know about the Baptism of Fire. If we are to burn and shine as a light in this world, we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. If you have never received this before, it is very simple. God’s Spirit lives on the inside of you, and He wants to come up out of you. In the Book of Acts, every time someone gets baptized in the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in tongues and prophesy. I encourage you to read those accounts in the Book of Acts (Acts 2, 8, 10, 19). This is something that you need in your life. It will empower you to be a witness and commission you into your ministry as a believer. If you want more information, please reach out to me on Facebook.

Until next time,

Harry Judd