Reigners Radio

What is the “baptism with the Holy Spirit”? Whole denominations have been built on differing interpretations of the scriptures that refer, directly or indirectly, to some form of baptism. Our focus will be on how baptism in the Holy Spirit contributes to our goal of knowing God. For our purposes, baptism with the Holy Spirit is the infilling or immersing of the believer with and in the Holy Spirit. This experience occurs many times over the life of the believer. One of the reasons we are “emptied” is to make more room for the “infilling” (figuratively speaking, of course). When we are born again, Jesus comes to live within, and our spirit is regenerated by the Spirit; by definition we are birthed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, a one-time event. But throughout our life, subsequent baptisms, both infillings and immersions, where we are filled inwardly in our soul and immersed outwardly in the Spirit, will occur. The Lord has a specific relationship for each of us, and it is best to let Him reveal Himself as He

The Holy Spirit has power and authority over all three realms: spiritual, supernatural and natural. He knows no other purpose or existence than to be an extension and expression of God; He is trustworthy and reliable and utterly consistent with the nature and intent of a holy God. So as we pursue knowing God, and learn to distinguish the activities of the Holy Spirit from all other sources, we can have confidence that the Spirit is in fact revealing the nature of God to us in the manner and timing established by the Father and made possible by the Son. Since we know by experience that the Father loves us, and we know by experience that the Son loves us, we also know by experience that the Holy Spirit loves us. And that love is so big that He spends every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every year, doing nothing but arranging every circumstance in our life to bring us into greater healing, wholeness and dependence on the Father and intimacy with the Son. The Holy Spirit reveals Himself

The Holy Spirit has power and authority over all three realms: spiritual, supernatural and natural. He knows no other purpose or existence than to be an extension and expression of God; He is trustworthy and reliable and utterly consistent with the nature and intent of a holy God. So as we pursue knowing God, and learn to distinguish the activities of the Holy Spirit from all other sources, we can have confidence that the Spirit is in fact revealing the nature of God to us in the manner and timing established by the Father and made possible by the Son. Since we know by experience that the Father loves us, and we know by experience that the Son loves us, we also know by experience that the Holy Spirit loves us. And that love is so big that He spends every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every year, doing nothing but arranging every circumstance in our life to bring us into greater healing, wholeness and dependence on the Father and intimacy with the Son. The Holy Spirit reveals Himself

The Holy Spirit has power and authority over all three realms: spiritual, supernatural and natural. He knows no other purpose or existence than to be an extension and expression of God; He is trustworthy and reliable and utterly consistent with the nature and intent of a holy God. So as we pursue knowing God, and learn to distinguish the activities of the Holy Spirit from all other sources, we can have confidence that the Spirit is in fact revealing the nature of God to us in the manner and timing established by the Father and made possible by the Son. Since we know by experience that the Father loves us, and we know by experience that the Son loves us, we also know by experience that the Holy Spirit loves us. And that love is so big that He spends every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every year, doing nothing but arranging every circumstance in our life to bring us into greater healing, wholeness and dependence on the Father and intimacy with the Son. The Holy Spirit reveals Himself

Throughout history, apprehension has been expressed that since the activity of the supernatural is not seen or controlled by us, we can be controlled by it, and therefore there is a danger that we can be deceived and led into doing something offensive to God. First of all, let’s settle it that if God was not strong enough to keep us from being deceived, what makes us think that we are! Second, this thinking reflects that ingrained lack of trust in the love God has for us. He can be trusted with our training, and though He will often put us into situations WE cannot handle, He will never put us into a situation that HE can’t handle! As we partner and cooperate with the Spirit, He will maintain whatever balance is necessary to keep our focus on Him and not on what He is doing.  

Before Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they communed with God and with each other on a spiritual level: spirit to Spirit. Their spirit dwelt within them and through them, permeating every aspect of their soul (mind, will and emotions) and body. This means that every spiritual aspect available in the Spirit was flowing from Him to each of their spirits, then through their soul and body. Each had the full knowledge, understanding, wisdom, compassion, motivation, power, authority, dominion, strength and ability that was inherent in the Spirit. What we today call the manifestations of gifts of the Spirit was a normal part of their everyday existence. But once they sought and accepted a knowledge of their own, their spirits died, and they no longer had access to the Life that had been sustaining them from the Spirit. Gone also was that source that enlivened their soulical, supernatural abilities to funnel the spirit nature. Those capabilities either became dormant, misused, or misi

Before Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they communed with God and with each other on a spiritual level: spirit to Spirit. Their spirit dwelt within them and through them, permeating every aspect of their soul (mind, will and emotions) and body. This means that every spiritual aspect available in the Spirit was flowing from Him to each of their spirits, then through their soul and body. Each had the full knowledge, understanding, wisdom, compassion, motivation, power, authority, dominion, strength and ability that was inherent in the Spirit. What we today call the manifestations of gifts of the Spirit was a normal part of their everyday existence. But once they sought and accepted a knowledge of their own, their spirits died, and they no longer had access to the Life that had been sustaining them from the Spirit. Gone also was that source that enlivened their soulical, supernatural abilities to funnel the spirit nature. Those capabilities either became dormant, misused, or misi

There are numerous teachings available on the Holy Spirit and it is not our intention here to present an exhaustive account of His nature, actions and character. What we want to look at are some practical ways of relating and cooperating with the Holy Spirit with the goal of knowing God. The Holy Spirit is fully God. Though the word “Trinity” is not found in scriptures, there are definitely references to God as multi-parted. Though we continue to be curious about how God interrelates, we don’t wait for full understanding to accept the level of revelation God has given on this subject as “enough for now.” We know the Holy Spirit is a person, in that He has character, specific attributes, can speak for Himself, move, interact and has all other attributes of personality. So He can be grieved, pleased, patient, persistent, empowering, kind and expectant all at the same time. As you pursue the knowledge of the Lord, you will experience the Holy Spirit Himself firsthand. For instance, when we speak of the manifes

The Holy Spirit is a person and wants to be known as a person. We don’t know what we don’t know, and we don’t know the dynamics of how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate. We do know that who we truly are, a spirit, DOES know how the aspects of God relate, and so we can have confidence that what the Lord is teaching us is bringing us closer to the complete relationship He wants us to have with every aspect of Himself, as Father, Son, Holy Spirit and His Body. We don’t have to know all the answers or understand Him fully in order to trust Him and have a relationship with Him; God is not touchy or petulant, and is not nearly as concerned with our approach to Him as we often think He is. We are going to take a very practical approach to expanding our relationship with the Holy Spirit and embracing His activities and gifts. This approach is in no way meant to counter what others may teach, or have experienced. You are free as always to take it or leave it; our purpose here is to share with others what God has

Often our greatest temptation is to react to a supernatural experience by taking on the responsibility of understanding or responding. Perhaps the greatest lessons we can learn are: 1. Respond quickly. Stop what you’re doing as soon as you have the slightest impression that there may be something going on. It’s better to be overly reactive and wrong than afraid of making a mistake and miss the Lord’s knocking. Our goal is to become very sensitive to His slightest whisper or impression—we don’t want to force the Lord to have to use a bullhorn, whether through circumstances or supernaturally, to get our attention. 2. Respond accordingly. Let the Lord teach you how to respond. We are not to just hear and understand, but hear and respond, sometimes without understanding. We honor our heritage as sons and co-inheritors when we live according to our identity, giving His lessons our attention and first priority, making room for Him first.

Often our greatest temptation is to react to a supernatural experience by taking on the responsibility of understanding or responding. Perhaps the greatest lessons we can learn are: 1. Respond quickly. Stop what you’re doing as soon as you have the slightest impression that there may be something going on. It’s better to be overly reactive and wrong than afraid of making a mistake and miss the Lord’s knocking. Our goal is to become very sensitive to His slightest whisper or impression—we don’t want to force the Lord to have to use a bullhorn, whether through circumstances or supernaturally, to get our attention. 2. Respond accordingly. Let the Lord teach you how to respond. We are not to just hear and understand, but hear and respond, sometimes without understanding. We honor our heritage as sons and co-inheritors when we live according to our identity, giving His lessons our attention and first priority, making room for Him first.

Often our greatest temptation is to react to a supernatural experience by taking on the responsibility of understanding or responding. Perhaps the greatest lessons we can learn are: 1. Respond quickly. Stop what you’re doing as soon as you have the slightest impression that there may be something going on. It’s better to be overly reactive and wrong than afraid of making a mistake and miss the Lord’s knocking. Our goal is to become very sensitive to His slightest whisper or impression—we don’t want to force the Lord to have to use a bullhorn, whether through circumstances or supernaturally, to get our attention. 2. Respond accordingly. Let the Lord teach you how to respond. We are not to just hear and understand, but hear and respond, sometimes without understanding. We honor our heritage as sons and co-inheritors when we live according to our identity, giving His lessons our attention and first priority, making room for Him first.

Often our greatest temptation is to react to a supernatural experience by taking on the responsibility of understanding or responding. Perhaps the greatest lessons we can learn are: 1. Respond quickly. Stop what you’re doing as soon as you have the slightest impression that there may be something going on. It’s better to be overly reactive and wrong than afraid of making a mistake and miss the Lord’s knocking. Our goal is to become very sensitive to His slightest whisper or impression—we don’t want to force the Lord to have to use a bullhorn, whether through circumstances or supernaturally, to get our attention. 2. Respond accordingly. Let the Lord teach you how to respond. We are not to just hear and understand, but hear and respond, sometimes without understanding. We honor our heritage as sons and co-inheritors when we live according to our identity, giving His lessons our attention and first priority, making room for Him first.

Hopefully by now you will be encouraged to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you through supernatural experiences and will have become comfortable starting to follow the “8 Steps.” Remember that He has a unique relationship with you, so although you can learn from others, He alone knows the path He has laid out for you, and is jealous over His rights and responsibilities toward you. You may indeed have experiences that you’ve never heard of or imagined for yourself. Our goal is that you would have objective ways of evaluating and participating, and if necessary, taking authority within and over whatever the Lord has for you. Remember also that this is only part of God’s overall approach to bringing you into wholeness and dependence on Him, not the only means, and certainly not above questioning.  

Because we are one with Him as a spirit-being, we grow in confidence in that still small voice. We test what we hear and experience against the nature and character of Christ. We are encouraged by His call to greater dependence on Him, rather than more work, higher standards, greater knowledge in our self. We enter into greater rest and the strength of stillness, even as He works in and through us. More and more He draws our focus toward Himself, with a witness of His Life and Truth bearing fruit in our life. We learn to walk gently with Him on His path, step by step, with growing understanding of His ways, because we have experienced His love for us personally. This is true communion, true fellowship, His Life.

As we experience the supernatural as part of our training and everyday life, we become more and more familiar with and responsive to the witness of our spirit to His Spirit. Because we are one with Him as a spirit-being, we grow in confidence in that still small voice. We test what we hear and experience against the nature and character of Christ. We are encouraged by His call to greater dependence on Him, rather than more work, higher standards, greater knowledge in our self. We enter into greater rest and the strength of stillness, even as He works in and through us. More and more He draws our focus toward Himself, with a witness of His Life and Truth bearing fruit in our life. We learn to walk gently with Him on His path, step by step, with growing understanding of His ways, because we have experienced His love for us personally. This is true communion, true fellowship, His Life. Receiving Supernatural Experiences Hopefully by now you will be encouraged to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you through su

We are not learning how to defeat the enemy to please God, win souls or for rewards in heaven, but because it is part of our training as sons, since we already please God, are expressing His life, and are experiencing eternal life now. If the emphasis is on our being able to do something a certain way or using the right words, the success of the encounter will rely on our strength, memory and ability to apply what others have taught. For us, our success in the encounter will be determined on whether we depended on the Lord for instruction, strength and authority on a personal level in that particular situation. It’s all about our relationship with our Father, not about overcoming the devil. The more we focus on Him, the more He will set others and us free. Having said that, the Lord will put in your path books, people, tapes, etc., that will provide you with the opportunity to learn what the Lord wants you to learn. As He does this, ask the Lord, for example, “Lord, is this from you?” and, “Lord, what do you

We are not learning how to defeat the enemy to please God, win souls or for rewards in heaven, but because it is part of our training as sons, since we already please God, are expressing His life, and are experiencing eternal life now. If the emphasis is on our being able to do something a certain way or using the right words, the success of the encounter will rely on our strength, memory and ability to apply what others have taught. For us, our success in the encounter will be determined on whether we depended on the Lord for instruction, strength and authority on a personal level in that particular situation. It’s all about our relationship with our Father, not about overcoming the devil. The more we focus on Him, the more He will set others and us free. Having said that, the Lord will put in your path books, people, tapes, etc., that will provide you with the opportunity to learn what the Lord wants you to learn. As He does this, ask the Lord, for example, “Lord, is this from you?” and, “Lord, what do you

Does God want to prevent us from ever being hurt? Are there things that we learn ONLY through pain -- like, the joy of being healed, knowing God as The Healer, knowing the process of overcoming pain, moving out of His strength regardless of the pain we experience. Though some of what these have learned may be interesting and helpful, their teachings and insights will need to be especially scrutinized. Why? Because our goals are different! We are not learning how to defeat the enemy to please God, win souls or for rewards in heaven, but because it is part of our training as sons, since we already please God, are expressing His life, and are experiencing eternal life now. If the emphasis is on our being able to do something a certain way or using the right words, the success of the encounter will rely on our strength, memory and ability to apply what others have taught. For us, our success in the encounter will be determined on whether we depended on the Lord for instruction, strength and authority on a persona

We are not learning how to defeat the enemy to please God, win souls or for rewards in heaven, but because it is part of our training as sons, since we already please God, are expressing His life, and are experiencing eternal life now. If the emphasis is on our being able to do something a certain way or using the right words, the success of the encounter will rely on our strength, memory and ability to apply what others have taught. For us, our success in the encounter will be determined on whether we depended on the Lord for instruction, strength and authority on a personal level in that particular situation. It’s all about our relationship with our Father, not about overcoming the devil. The more we focus on Him, the more He will set others and us free. Having said that, the Lord will put in your path books, people, tapes, etc., that will provide you with the opportunity to learn what the Lord wants you to learn. As He does this, ask the Lord, for example, “Lord, is this from you?” and, “Lord, what do you