Stories on the baptism of the Holy Spirit Pt. 1

We are seeing lives changed in South Sudan. The Holy
Spirit is busy. This is my first of many stories from Sudan on the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit among God’s people there. It’s not full-scale yet, but we
are getting there. Pastor Martin Kiyinji of Christian Missionary Fellowship
International in Yei shared these encounters with me few weeks ago. God is
happening!!

It was at 10pm when some of
our church members rushed to my home. They had been praying as a group when
suddenly one of them started speaking in an unknown language. “Could it be
the Luganda language?”  They wondered. Others thought evil spirits
had possessed the young girl. So they wanted me to go with them immediately and
help cast out the demons in the girl.

This group of girls had recently
been prayed for by our visiting pastor from Uganda to be filled with the Holy
Spirit.

I went with my wife to see
the girl. We met her speaking fluently in an unknown tongue. We stopped the
brethren who were already casting out the “demons” out of the
girl and seized the opportunity to preach to the many onlookers who had
gathered. They had never seen anything like this before. We explained to them the mysteries of God. Many of them believed
that night.

A few days after, a group of
11 women from our church gathered and were prayed for to be filled with the
Holy Spirit. They were all filled and started going out in the nearby
homes preaching the gospel. They would strap their babies on their back and out
they would go in the hot sun. God is doing amazing things through these women.
Drunkards have believed through their witness and have joined the church.
Many of them have been water baptized now. We thank God for these great
works of the Holy Spirit.

Another boy, a student of
King’s college also got filled and startled his neighbors when he suddenly
starting speaking in tongues while praying. His neighbors knew him as my
disciple and ran to call me to come and pray for him. They thought he was sick.
This boy used to be so shy until that day. He changed from a timid disciple to
an evangelist overnight.

Our experiences will differ as far as this divine
encounter is concerned. But the drama will always be remembered by those who
have a witness.

Unfortunately today, some don’t believe nor acknowledge Him, some
don’t understand Him and some think His days are over, many others have no place for Him in their daily living. Pity!

Jesus said, “But you shall receive power (ability,
efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be
My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very
bounds) of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 Amp)

Peter preached on Pentecost day, “For the
promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and
for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God
invites and bids to come to Himself”  (Acts 2:38 Amp)

What was your first encounter with the Holy Spirit like?
Where you labeled a drunk, a religious fanatic, a hallucinating dreamer…? Did
you do something others thought was senseless?

How has your witness for Jesus grown since your first
encounter with the Holy Spirit?

Author: Uche Izuora

I'm inspired by God’s passion for His name in every generation, which provokes global worship through Jesus Christ. Becoming an emotionally healthy and transformative disciple, I aim to mobilize the Church to engage in cross-cultural missions and raise other like-minded disciples who discover themselves in Christ and seek to present and represent Him as Savior and Lord among the nations northward of Uganda. View all posts by Uche Izuora