This week, I will be sharing my holy ghost baptism testimony with you. As I write this blog post, one scripture comes to mind –
When you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
– God
Jeremiah 29:13
For as long as I was in the church, I honestly do not remember hearing about the Holy spirit before 2016. Perhaps, I just did not pay attention to the teachings about Him. The person of the Holy spirit did not make sense to me until 2016 in my foundation class led by sister Taiwo.
She spoke so highly about Him, she taught us about how only Him is able to help new believers like myself at that time and all believers in our walk with Jesus. She spoke so highly of Him, that I also began to crave a relationship with Him as well. I desired to be baptized by the Holy ghost, just like the apostles of old. That I may be able to do all that God wants me to do here on earth and ultimately that my mortal body may be raised in glory & transformed to live forever at the end of time.
So after I decided to start to live for Jesus, got baptized in His name by immersion, on a Sunday afternoon I joined men and women in an upper room to pray and wait for the baptism of the Holy ghost.
I remember that at a point in the prayer session we formed a circle with our hands joined to the next person side by side as we all prayed in unity for the outpouring of the Holy spirit upon our lives. As the Holy ghost came down upon people in the midst, there were different manifestations with different tongues gushing out from the bellies of men and women as the Holy spirit gave them utterances.
I was really longing for the infilling and baptism of the Holy spirit in that upper room on that day but for some reasons I may not be able to explain, I did not blast out in tongues like many people in that room at that time.
I left that meeting dissappointed but with my mind made up to be baptized by the Holy ghost, come what may!
As I got to my room on that Sunday afternoon, I dropped my bags, knelt by my bed side and cried out to God with all my heart and mind that I may be baptized in the Holy ghost. I prayed with all the energy I could surmount till I slept off.
Then I had a dream that I was walking, only to be accosted by some men dressed in black from behind me. I turned towards them in anger to open my mouth only for heavenly tongues to flow out of my mouth. As soon as I started to speak at them in tongues, they fled. As they ran off, I woke up from my sleep bursting out in tongues and I continued for some minutes. As I rounded off, I remember that I felt the peace of God that surpassed my understanding overwhelm my chest that day.
That was how I got baptized. I am so grateful to God for putting the desire in my heart as well as the ability to press on in the place of prayer. Because, in my 5 years of walking with God, the Holy spirit has helped me tremendously!
- In times when my body was weary, tired, exhausted and could not love God the way my heart and spirit desired. I have asked the Holy Spirit and He has enabled and strengthened me.
- In times when I was confused and didn’t know which way to turn or what to do, the Holy spirit has spoken to me in different ways and forms that I may not fall into error.
- The Holy spirit enlightens me about the mind of God per time. When things happen or interesting events take place, I often ask the Holy spirit for what God is trying to teach or show me in that moment.
- The Holy spirit gives me ideas about things to do and how to do them.
- The Holy spirit reveals things that aren’t so obvious to the human eyes to me, given that I ask Him. For example, I have had opinions about people but then I usually ask the Holy spirit so that I do not make wrong judgements. And He has shown me and told me things about these people that I wouldn’t have known from mere interactions with them.
- In the times that I have wanted to react to people or things based off of how I felt in the moment. The Holy spirit steady keeps helping me rein in my emotions while I follow His lead. This one, I cannot thank Him enough for!
If you are a perhaps struglling in your walk with Jesus, double check to see if you are:
- Holy Ghost baptized
- Constantly engaging Him for help
Being a Christian without the Holy ghost baptism or without engaging Him is like having a beautiful car without the keys to the car or without turning on the Ignition.
And if you are like me five years ago longing for the baptism of the Holy spirit, or relationship with Him. Determine in your heart to seek Him, ask for Him and God who is the giver of all good gifts will give you the Holy spirit in Jesus name.
On 11:00 p.m. January 1, 1901, Agnes N.O. Ozman La Berge, who began attending Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas (Stone’s Folly or Mansion), requested that hands, most likely those of Charles Parham, be laid upon her so that she would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, while typically praying the benediction of Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
I would like to share a deeply transformative experience that occurred after I had been away from church and faith for nearly twenty years. I was saved and baptized when I was 7 but that was a long time ago. I had stopped reading the Bible, praying or going to church for 20 years. So this was very unexpected for me. I had prayed for the first time in forever and asked God to intervene in my life and get my attention because I was spiritually dead. I had a house, a family and a business but there was something missing.
So I was at my great aunt’s funeral, which was nearing its end, I was sitting quietly at the back of the congregation. As I was reflecting on my own absence from faith over the years, I was unexpectedly touched by the Holy Spirit in a manner I had never anticipated or believed possible.
Suddenly, I felt a sensation like lightning striking my chest, followed by an overwhelming flood of divine unconditional love that surged through me. I can only describe it as liquid light, almost pouring over me like honey. Tears were pouring out of me like never before, feelings of pure peace and contentment and joy.
It felt like my heart would explode from love if it kept growing in strength. This was so intense that my wife had to assist me to the bathroom because I was unable to feel my body and needed to completely surrender. If it had been a normal church service I would’ve been at the altar. Despite my concerns about how others might view me at the funeral, I could not resist the power of what was happening to me, I was receiving what some call the baptism of the Holy Spirit, others say he just refills you with his spirit and that you received the baptism at conversion. Either way, this was the work of God.
Once in the bathroom, lying on the floor and fully surrendering to this experience, a vision began to unfold….I was enveloped by a brilliant, golden-white light, and I saw cathedral-like windows stretching endlessly upwards into the distance…the golden white light pouring into the room. Within this light, a throne appeared covered in jewels of all kinds. Nobody was sitting on it, as I remembered Jesus said no man had seen the father but him. And to the right of the throne was a lamb gazing at me. Above the throne, three golden crowns adorned with red jewels emerged, which I later was told by the Holy Spirit was the promises and inheritance God has made to me and my family. Our crowns of life.
The next morning, the Holy Spirit instructed me to share my testimony with every church in my county. I have been following this guidance, speaking to a few people at times and, at other times, addressing entire congregations. I still feel his presence daily as there are times there is a warm fuzzy fire like sensation in my chest when I need soothing or directing. Jesus referred to this as the living water springing forth from within. I have learned to pay attention to this as often it’s him getting my attention to something happening around me or guiding me.
This experience has served as a profound reminder of God’s presence and promises, despite my long absence from church and scripture. I share this testimony to highlight the transformative power of divine love and grace and to affirm that even after a significant period away from faith, God’s presence can reach us in the most unexpected and profound ways.
Thank you so much for sharing your testimony with us. 🙂