Reinhard Bonnke: Why Americans Take the Holy Spirit for Granted

I realized even at that young age that although the experience of Spirit baptism is unforgettable, imparting thrills is not God’s purpose. The Holy Spirit enters human flesh and blood personally to confer divine potential on those who serve Him.

According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit indwells every born-again believer. “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Rom. 8:9, NKJV). Jesus had said, “’He dwells with you and will be in you’” (John 14:17).

But the Holy Spirit does not take up residence in us for nothing. Jesus said that this baptism, or anointing, would empower Christians to be His witnesses (see Acts 1:8). It would give them not only the boldness to share their testimonies but also the evidence-signs and wonders- to back them up.

I know that for some Christianity is only a perfunctory, mechanical routine. Like the brilliance of old master paintings covered with layers of varnish, it loses its pristine color as layers of religiosity and formality are imposed on it.

But the Holy Spirit makes debates and arguments about miracles unnecessary because He does what people try to deny! Year after year, for weeks at a time, in the teeming multitudes of our campaigns God is at work.

We bulldoze vast acres of land to make room for people to stand. Torrents of people pour in and listen breathlessly to the gospel, responding to its call often by the hundreds of thousands. In one meeting more than 1.5 million gathered, with more than 1 million coming to Christ. It is beyond anything that has occurred in previous history. The explanation has to be God’s Spirit.

Along with the conversions, many miracles occur. On one occasion, a mentally deranged man was brought to a campaign service. While I was preaching, he suddenly looked around, restored to his right mind, dementia gone, and asked in bewilderment where he was and why.

Then a pregnant mother came to a mass campaign. She carried in her womb an unborn baby who had been confirmed dead and was to be removed by surgery the next day. During the healing session she screamed-the infant had moved. She came forward to tell us. A healthy son was born a few hours later.

A few years ago a far more awesome healing occurred in Nigeria. I was preaching, and a man named Daniel was brought in and laid in an adjoining room. A medical doctor had certified him dead and a mortician had embalmed him.

Suddenly he began to breathe again! There were more than 10,000 people present to witness the miracle. Now a fit man, he visited the United States last year. Christianity began with power signs such as these and continues to spread as a result of them.

Physical Response to Supernatural Influence
The Holy Spirit has many operations beyond conversion. The baptism in the Spirit is an extension of His initial work in us. He overflows both body and spirit, physical and spiritual.

I recall driving alone in Africa one day and suddenly realizing that the vehicle I was in was full of God. I was overwhelmed by glory and light, lost to what I was doing. The car went on, presumably driven by angel hands.

My 176-pound body seemed fragile under the weight of the presence of God as self-consciousness turned to God-consciousness. He helped me to understand how the Spirit can impact audiences even when they are so huge they stretch out of my sight. I saw that one man is nothing, but when God is with him, he is everything.

Scripture asks, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). Spirit baptism is more than a subjective belief. Onlookers in the days of the apostles saw the evidence of it (see Acts 8:18, for example).

Paul described the experience of the first Christians of Colosse as “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance” (Col. 1:11, NIV). He added his own testimony, saying that his “struggle” for the gospel was “with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:29).

At times, signs of New Testament exuberance have been scorned as “enthusiasm”- in the sense of frantic possession by a supernatural force. But we have to acknowledge that baptism in the Spirit is physical as well as profoundly spiritual. Speaking in tongues, for example, is the ideal evidence and sign of God’s physical indwelling.

For some, tongues are offensive. Human instinct protests against that kind of personal invasion. But God made us to be integrated into His being. Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man, was the supreme example of the perfect man, God in the flesh. Scripture calls it a mystery; yet baptism in the Holy Spirit opens up heavenly mysteries.

We are warned not to despise the gifts of God. Anything God gives-including tongues-is a wonderful privilege to enjoy.

Holy Spirit baptism is not only a privilege but also the secret of the present world revival, the greatest expansion of the Christian faith since apostolic times. It is proof that the Lord is keeping His promise to “pour water on the thirsty land” (Is. 44:3).