Faith Walk / William Carroll
We will be talking about the word of God and how he moved in my life as I stood on his word. His signs and wonders that I have seen during the last forty years praying for my needs and the needs of others. I hope to encourage a new generation of believers to pray the word of God and to believe that He will move on their behalf. God answers prayers!
Faith Walk / William Carroll
Ep 61 Baptism of Fire: Understanding the Holy Ghost in Modern Faith
Ever wondered why the modern church often feels powerless compared to what we read about in the Book of Acts? The answer might lie in how we've misunderstood and marginalized the Holy Spirit's role in our faith journey.
This episode cuts through denominational barriers to explore the transformative power of the Holy Ghost baptism that Jesus promised His followers. Building on Peter's experiences in Acts, we examine how the apostles recognized that the Holy Spirit falling on Gentile believers was the same experience they had on the day of Pentecost. This revelation fundamentally changed how they understood God's plan to reach the world.
Many believers have reduced the "gifts of the Spirit" to spiritual trophies or personal abilities, but Scripture reveals them as manifestations of God's presence flowing through yielded vessels. The question isn't "how many gifts do you operate in?" but rather "are you available for whatever manifestation God wants to express through you today?" When we grasp this distinction, we move from self-focused ministry to Spirit-empowered witness.
The denominational labels we cling to—Baptist, Pentecostal, Assembly of God—matter far less than we think. I've witnessed Baptist congregations operating in more spiritual power than some Pentecostal ones. Why? Because the Holy Spirit "doesn't give a hoot about your traditions" or what name is on your church sign. His priority is reaching lost souls through empowered believers.
Whether you've been taught these experiences aren't for today or you're hungry for more of God's power in your life, this message challenges you to pursue the radical Christianity that transformed the first-century world. Subscribe now to continue this journey through the book of Acts and discover how the Holy Spirit wants to work through you today.
Well, welcome to Faith Walk and listen I was kind of on a roll, so this is going to be the third kind of in a series and listen, I'm trying to do 10 minutes because people, you know, if you do 20 minutes they say that's the best podcast time. But 20 minutes people scan through and they, you know, 10 minutes. Sometimes people listen 10 minutes, sometimes they won't, you know. But if they get some of it, if they get some of it, god can plant a seed in their heart and they can change their life. But listen, I was on a road, we were talking about Peter, and we were talking about how the word came to the Gentiles, how the Holy Spirit, while Peter was speaking, fell upon the Gentiles Just at first. They received the gift, the promise of the Father fell upon them. They began to speak in tongues, and so that was so that the Jews knew that the Gentiles had received the Word of God, that the Gentiles were considered the sons and daughters, that the Gentiles were able to receive the gospel and to be partakers with the gospel, with the jews, like peter and the apostles. Okay, well, listen, peter, after this happened, you know, uh, peter was speaking in the in the holy spirit fell upon them and peter went back to the church and he was, he was telling, was telling them of his preaching of the gospel and the Holy Spirit falling upon them, and then began to speak in other tongues, just like we did on the first, and then, with boldness, those people went out and shared the gospel. But anyway, peter was testifying of what had happened and in Acts, chapter 10 and 15, he says he's telling them now, he's explaining to them. He says I began to speak. The Holy Ghost fell upon them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that. He said, and this is in the Gospels Jesus said this John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. John said there's one coming after me, that is before me, whose shoes I'm not worthy to unlatch. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire. So see, we're lining up the Gospels with Acts, we're lining up the gospels with the Holy Spirit, with the power of the Holy Spirit that should be in believers' life, the power of the Holy Spirit that should be in the church. The power of the Holy Spirit that we should recognize is a gift from God. He is the gift, he is the only gift. I know some people will go. Well, in Corinthians 12, it says gift. Well, that word gifts.
Speaker 1:There is manifestations. It's the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in your life. Each one of those manifestations word of wisdom, word of knowledge, tongues, interpretations, faith, discerning of spirits Each one of those, each one of those are a manifestation of the Spirit of God in your life, not a gift that you can claim. Oh, you know, a few years back, a lot of people in the charismatic circles were going you know, hey, brother, how many gifts are you? You know, and people go well, I'm a three gift man. I operate in the word of wisdom, knowledge, discerning the spirit. And somebody else would say well, I'm a five gift man, you know, and I had some brothers, uh, some pastor brothers, asked me one time and they said well, william, you know, uh, what? Uh, how many gifts do you got? And I said all of them and he said they go. They looked at me kind of with disdain and said all of them. You know nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. I said, because they're not gifts that I can come claim, but I have the Holy Spirit, who is the gift giver, who manifests those gifts in my life that people might know God. So I'm a nine gift man, because I can operate in every gift that the Holy Spirit opens my heart to operate in. So I'm not going to limit myself to word of wisdom, word of knowledge, healing tongues, interpretation, prophecy, discerning of spirit. I'm not going to limit myself to the manifestations of God, because it's through the Holy Ghost I serve Him, I seek Him, I allow Him to work in my life, each gift as he needs, because there's time that each gift is needed to reach somebody, and that's what the manifestation or gifts are for. So, gifts, manifestation.
Speaker 1:But anyway, john, he said in Acts 10, 15, he says John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. And then, after they were filled with the Holy Ghost, he said you know, hey, these people can be baptized with water. So, in other words, which one was more important, the baptism of the Holy Ghost or the baptism of water? Now, I think they're both important, I think they both have their place, but which one is important, the baptism of water or the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, or the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire that we might be witnesses, dynamic, dynamite, witnesses to the power of God in our life and the lives around us. You know, that's just a question I have to you for you to answer and listen.
Speaker 1:You don't have to agree with me. You can say you know. Well, you know, I just don't believe in that outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I don't believe in the baptism. You know, some people call it the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the baptism, because he said he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire and that's what happened on the day of Pentecost. You may say I don't believe it's for today. Well, I do.
Speaker 1:You know, in anybody that's been baptized with the Holy Ghost and the evidence of speaking in tongues with that Holy Ghost fire, I'm going to tell you you can't convince them. You can't convince them that it wasn't God, because it was God. And let me tell you this it's just like if you've been saved, I can saved. I'm not going to be able to convince you that you're not saved. If you know where your standing is in Christ, I can't say, well, you're not saved, you're not. You know. No, I am saved. You know you would say, yes, I am saved. So I just want to tell you, you know, don't knock others because you haven't experienced things that they have experienced. See, that's where we get denominations from. We get denominations for one group.
Speaker 1:You know, maybe this church is, uh, you know, I I've seen baptist churches full of the holy ghost, with the man people, evidence of speaking in tongues, prophecy um, laying hands on the sick. You know, that's something Paul talked about and I've seen them, you know, and they were more Pentecostal than some of the Assembly God churches I've been into. So you know, I mean, the Spirit of God is wanting to move. He doesn't give a hoot about your traditions. He don't give a hoot about what name you put upon your door or what name you put upon your Christianity or your walk in the faith. He really doesn't care. What he cares about is reaching the world, reaching lost sinners, that they might be saved, that they might be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, that they might be witnesses into all the world.
Speaker 1:You get somebody that was a rough scallion like me, that kind of did what he wanted to and kind of ran how he wanted to, and I'm going to tell you what and you get him changed. You get him radically saved. You get him filled with the Holy Ghost and power and that fire that Jesus is talking about and John is talking about and Peter's talking about, and then you've got somebody to be reckoned with. You got a radical Christian, and radical in a good way. You got a radical Christian just like the first day. That's what I want to be.
Speaker 1:I want my ministry to be an outflow of the Holy Spirit of God. I don't want it to be in me. I don't want people to say, oh well, william came and prayed for me and he healed me. No, because I didn't heal you. You know, if I come and pray and God heals you, it's because it was God in me, not me. It was the Holy Ghost. It was the gift of healing, the manifestation of healing through the gift of the promise of the Father, which is the Holy Ghost. Does that make that clear?
Speaker 1:I'm trying to make it really simple, especially for people who've never heard this, who've been taught. You know this isn't for today. You know God doesn't do that today. You know we have the Bible. We don't need anything else and, like I said, you can set that Bible on your table and it'll never affect anybody. You know this Bible.
Speaker 1:The only good it's for is to teach you that you may learn of God and learn of the Holy Spirit and get it in your heart. When you get the Bible in your heart and you begin to ministering out of your heart and out of the overflow of the Holy Spirit in your heart, then you're a world shaker. You'll change lives and you'll see people come to know Lord, whether they come to your church or not. See, that's always been my thing. If I get somebody saved, if I pray with them and they're saved and I can tell there's a change and there's a change in them. You know, I don't care if they come to my church or go to some other church, it doesn't matter to me. What my job is to do is bring the lost to the realization that Jesus Christ is the Lord. Until next time, god bless you.
