Receive Ye The Holy Ghost
After receiving the Lord into my heart I was a completely changed man. It is really true that all things become new. It was such a life changing time. I began to devour the Word of God for months. I remember how excited I was (and I still am 10 years later) and how excited my father-in-law G.J.Chandler was for me. G.J. who has long been a National Evangelist in the Church of God had been praying for me to accept Christ ever since I had married his daughter Dorinda which was now over 12 years. I remember one day he called me to see how I was doing (probably more to make sure that I stayed saved). I was sitting in my recliner with 6 books open on my lap and on the arm rests. I had a concordance, commentaries, and different Bible versions. My daily bible though new when I started reading it just a few weeks previously now had pages falling out everywhere. I told G.J. about the Bible falling apart and he told me to not worry about it he would send me more lol! He was so glad about what the Lord was doing in my life! I really couldn't get enough of God and I wanted everything that God had for me!
Soon I started having a desire to be filled with the Holy Ghost through the Holy Ghost Baptism. I was reading about it everywhere I could. I started asking others how to receive it. Most everyone agreed that you must pray and ask God for it but you must truly desire it with all your heart. I began bombarding God with prayer and continued to study on it. Every altar call at church I was on my face pleading with God to be filled. This went on for many weeks. One Sunday at church there was an altar call specifically to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I was the first one to the altar. I remember being so desperate that I was literally sticking out my tongue thinking that I would help the process along. I can laugh about it now but at the time I began to get a little discouraged. I did not receive it that day at the altar. I began to doubt myself. What was I doing wrong? Was there something wrong with me? Why would God deny me something that He has promised?
It had been a few months now and I still had not received the Baptism. Though I still had the desire I had started to believe that God would act in His timing not mine. I was down in my basement alone and no one was home. All of a sudden I felt that I needed to get up into my prayer room ASAP. God had prompted me before to get there fast to pray for someone but this time He had brought no one to my mind. I knew that it was God so I quickly got to our secret place, got on my knees, and began to pray and seek the Lord with all my heart! After about 15 minutes I thought that I was about to get sick to my stomach. I literally thought I was about to throw up. At that moment speaking in tongues was the last thing on my mind. It was too late. All of a sudden out of my mouth began to pour this beautiful heavenly language like I had never heard before! I couldn't stop and I didn't want to! It went on for about 15 to 20 minutes and when it stopped I just lay on the floor of the prayer room exhausted but laughing and full of joy! I have never been the same!
The Creator had filled me with His Holy Ghost Baptism in His timing! I love what Jesus says in John 20:22; And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." The Lord had breathed on me and into me! You see God is in charge. We cannot ever MAKE God do anything. He has never and will never make a mistake. His timing is perfect! To God be all the glory forever!
