Acts 19:1-6 – And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
This passage reminds me a lot of the modern church world. Paul asked a simple question that opened up a huge can of worms, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” Of course almost every type of Christian would say that they absolutely received the Holy Spirit when they believed. After all isn’t that the very definition of being a Christian? Apparently Paul was not of the opinion that becoming a Christian was all that you needed as far as receiving the Holy Spirit was concerned. Paul was specifically talking about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit which these believers had not yet received. Paul went on to lay hands on these Christians and when he did they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, began to speak in other tongues, and also began to prophesy. This was certainly a Pentecostal outbreak. if you believe what Paul said in this passage we have twelve people speaking in tongues and then we have twelve people prophesying.
So the point I want to make is this, we can be a Christian and totally unfamiliar with the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in other tongues, and prophesying. I believe these manifestations of the Spirit are essential in our private and public worship.
So how can you receive this anointing and also receive the gifts of the Spirit? It is imperative that you attend a church that is experiencing the power of His presence, where the doctrine of laying on of hands is practiced, and the gifts of the Spirit are in operation. It is not enough to say you believe in these things, you must step out and begin to experience the power of His presence.