16 THE SPIRIT itself I Himself ] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children
of God.
The Work of the Holy Spirit In the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
From these scriptures, we can see the work of the Holy Ghost in the new birth. But there is
also a work of the Holy Spirit that God desires to perform in the life of every believer
subsequent or following the new-birth expe rience, and that is called the infilling of the Holy
Spirit or the baptism in the Holy Spirit. That is what Jesus was talking about in Luke 24:49 and
Acts 1:8.
LUKE 24:49
49 And, behold, I send THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER upon you: but tarry ye in the city
of Jerusalem, until ye be ENDUED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH.
ACTS 1:8
8 But ye shall receive power, AFTER THAT THE HOLY GHOST IS COME UPON YOU: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.
I had told the Lord that I believed in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but that I wasn't sure about
the tongues part. The Lord spoke to me again, "What does Acts 2:4 say?"
Of course, I could quote these scriptures from the Book of Acts, but just because you have the
Word in your head does not mean that you really know what it means. In other words, you
need to have the revelation of God's Word in your spirit to really know and understand what it
means.
I quoted Acts 2:4: "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." I got that far and said again, "And they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak. .. ."
Then I exclaimed, "Oh, I see it! I see it! It says, '. . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
began to speak WITH OTHER TONGUES' [Acts 2:4]. And when I get filled with the Holy
Ghost, I will begin to speak with other tongues too! Lord, that settles it. I am going right down
to the Full Gospel preacher's house and receive the Holy Ghost."
‘Tarrying’ Is Not a Formula For Receiving the Holy Spirit
I then walked over to the parsonage and knocked on the door. The Full Gospel pastor came to
the door. I said to him, "I've come to receive the Holy Ghost."
He said, "Son, you need to wait." (From that day until this I have never been able to figure out
why anyone would ever tell someone to wait to receive the Holy Ghost!)
Someone may ask, "Haven't you ever read in the Bible where it says to tarry? And everyone
knows that 'to tarry' means to wait." Yes, but that is not a formula for receiving the Holy Ghost,
because Jesus actually said, ". . . TARRY YE IN THE CITY OF JERUSALEM, until ye be
endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).