Empowered by The Holy Spirit

The story continues…

After hearing God’s audible voice, we didn’t know what to do, so we exited the church and sat in our van thinking what to do with what had just happened. We eventually decided to call the pastor and ask for a meeting. What happened next was just as miraculous as hearing God’s voice.

The night of the meeting arrived, and we were anxious to hear what the pastor had to say. He arrived at our home expecting only to find my cousin and me, but instead, he saw that about thirty Latino family and friends gathered to hear him. I imagine a preacher’s dream come true. He spoke for about an hour on the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. During his teaching, I told myself things such as: “this can’t be true,” “that’s not what they taught me,” and then came the moment of truth.

He closed his Bible, clapped his hands once, and started to rub his hands together and asked: “who wants to be first to be prayed for to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.”

At that moment, I looked around the room and saw one of my Sunday school teachers, another one of my cousins. I knew that if she spoke in tongues, it had to be true since I trusted her and believed her to be a true woman of God. As I was thinking these thoughts, she sprung to her feet and said: “Me.” That was the last word she spoke in her known language as tongues began to flow from her mouth as she walked straight towards me.

Before she got to me, I fell to the ground in tears, speaking in an unknown language. I had been filled with the Holy Spirit.

What a gracious God we serve. That night He baptized with the Spirit about twenty of those gathered without the pastor even laying hands on them. What I did not know was that my ministerial journey was about to begin.

The promise of The Holy Spirit is within the mighty plan God has for a life of service in His Kingdom.

Have you received the promise?