Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Last season we realized that we are living in the Last Days of this dispensation, meaning Christ's return is even sooner than we had thought. We had said how to prepare for meeting the Savior, only in passing though, so in this blog we will talk more.
We begin the Race to salvation by first believing The Word of Truth when it is revealed to us for "without faith, it is impossible to please [God]…" (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus Christ is Lord because with His Life He paid for our sin. God raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him the greatest Name making Jesus Lord. Unfortunately some are disqualified at this first part of the Race simply for not believing. In Jesus Parable of The Sower and the Seed, this is the group represented by the Wayside. We have avoided disqualification here so now we are "on our marks."
The next step in the Christian Race is to repent of our past sins and determine to live like Jesus in the future. Those who fall out of the Race at this stage do not endure temptations. They either enjoy the pleasures of sin instead of the rewards of righteousness, or they are weak so they fall when tempted to continue transgressing against the Law of God. If already a believer, the temptation is to commit sin randomly. Whether unbelievers or Christians, we have to take the Way God has made for us to escape temptation: faith in His Word. When Jesus was tempted in the Wilderness, He used the Word of God to endure. Using the Word of God is easy, for example, the next time we are tempted to mistreat someone we should say aloud with faith, It is written, "You shall
love your neighbor as yourself," and we too shall endure temptations (Mark 12:31). To prevent disqualification for sin, believers must obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We have reached the Water Baptism stage. In this part of the Race we have to find a local church and express our wish to be Water Baptized. I had to take a class for several weeks to learn the implications of my decision for Water Baptism. Upon successful completion of the course, I was baptized in the Name of Jesus. The year was 2004. Christ Himself was Water Baptized in the River Jordan before beginning Service to God, the Father. It is written that "the Spirit like a dove [descended] upon Him" immediately after He came up out of the water (Mk. 1:10). If you guessed that receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit is next, you are right.
We have made it to another important first part of the Christian Race—the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we are still only in the early stages. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a little more complicated than Water Baptism, which is probably why it has been misunderstood. We have gone from "tarrying" for the Holy Spirit to excluding Him altogether. What happened? The former probably due to ignorance, God knows the reason for the latter. I thank the Lord for helping us to grow, since receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential to the life of the believer. According to Scripture, we must express this wish as well. At this stage in the Christian Race, we simply let the minister know that we would like to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, now we have made Jesus Christ our Lord and have been Water Baptized in His Name.
We may not have to be Water Baptized before Baptism of the Holy Spirit can take place, but we must have received Christ Jesus as our Lord before we can receive the Gift of God's Holy Spirit. Accepting Jesus as Lord is a spiritual cleansing prerequisite to receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
The minister will ensure that all the conditions have been met, and then he or she will most likely pray to God first for the Promise. One of two things could happen next, we could just begin to speak with other tongues after hearing the spoken Word of God like Cornelius and his household did, or he may lay hands on us and the Gift of the Holy Ghost be imparted then (Acts 10:44, 19:6). Either way we will speak in other tongues (foreign languages) as the Spirit gives us the Words to say (utterance) (The Amplified Bible, Acts 2:4). We may even prophesy at the same time, but we must speak in tongues, else we have not yet received the Gift of the Holy Spirit. I did both. I spoke in other tongues and prophesied like the Ephesians in Acts Chapter 19, when I first received the Holy Spirit more than a decade ago. Speaking in tongues was my most memorable New Birth experience.
If you thought we felt like a brand new person in the earlier stages of the Christian Race, you have not spoken in tongues yet. For me saying Words I do not understand is very humbling, but again absolutely vital to the life of the believer, as the infilling of the Holy Spirit advances us to the next lap in the Race to Salvation.
You may have noticed I was Water Baptized after receiving the Holy Spirit (like Cornelius and his household). Incidentally, I had begun the Race to Salvation at the age of 12. I had made Jesus my Lord, had gotten Water Baptized and was "tarrying"
for the Holy Ghost, but my life was uncommitted, so in the late 90's, I began the Race again from scratch and have been obedient to the Gospel of Jesus Christ ever since, so help me God. Maybe I could have just picked up where I had left off, but I had been living in sin for years, and I believe the Holy Ghost led me to start over.
If we have not been disqualified so far, we are now ready for perfecting. At this next lap in the Race, finding a group of Christians to assemble with regularly is not a bad idea. Actually it is written that we should congregate with other Christians (Hebrews 10:25). This means becoming a member of a local church. It may be the same church in which we began the Race. It must be a church that believes and practices the Gospel of Jesus Christ; knowing that the Race is not over, but that we are all running together, helping to perfect each other all the way.
Finally remember: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. And now that we are born again children of God, The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong…. But he [who] shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (John 3:3, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Mk. 13:13).
Yours in Christ's Love, Denise.
