Trust the Process
By Pastor Jeffrey Smith
Process is important. Process is vital to outcome. First, you must do things in the order required to get the desired result. There’s a crucial process that we, as Christians, if we become aware of will allow us to live the life God has ordained for us, and it goes as follows:
The baptism by the Holy Spirit, water baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A lot of people don’t even recognize there is a difference to begin with, but by understanding each of these three separate baptisms, we can navigate this life empowered by Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12 tells us that no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. None of us can say that we intuitively came to the conclusion that Jesus was necessary in our lives, it was the Holy Spirit who inspired you to reach out and accept Jesus. When we become saved, there is an exchange that takes place between our sin and the righteousness of Jesus. That’s salvation.
Most of the Christian life is internal. So much goes on inside, but water baptism is one of the primary ways we express our faith externally. While it’s not required for salvation, there is a real revelation and supernatural grace reserved for those willing to take the step of water baptism.
In each of the four gospels in the Bible, each writer mention Jesus’ ability to baptize in the Holy Spirit. All four gospels account that John only baptized in water, but Jesus was going for a total paradigm shift. Acts 1 tell us that Jesus was going to leave with them the gift of the Holy Spirit. Following Jesus’ ascension in Acts 2, the disciples receive the Holy Spirit and cause onlookers to be confused. They asked what was happening and Peter responds with a prophecy from Joel, that the manifestation of God’s power would come upon allpeople. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The onlookers were amazed and asked Peter what to do now, as they’ve experienced the outpouring of God’s power, and Peter responds in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Repentance is related to salvation. Being baptized is related to water. Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit is related to the Spirit.
