INTRODUCTION

Today's lesson has a twofold purpose: Number one purpose is to help those who have not yet received the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Number two is to help Spirit-filled believers pray with those who are seeking to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Remember the lesson on the misconception of having to "tarry" or wait before one can receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost? Any layperson (Believer in Jesus Christ) can take the following seven steps and help any Christian get filled with the Holy Ghost. The steps we will be looking at today have been taught at different believers meetings,  used by both Kenneth E Hagin and many believers in the world and are still being used and delivering results till today.

Step 1 - Help
• Help the Believer see that God has already given the Holy Spirit and it is His/ Her responsibility to receive God's free gift.
• Above all else, the Believer needs to know that He needs not beg God for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This promise of the infilling of the Holy Spirit has been fulfilled in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and has been here since then. All that is required is for the Believer to receive the Holy Spirit. [Acts 19:1-6]. In this passage, Paul didn't tell the disciples to pray that God would give them the Holy Spirit, the Bible says in verse 6, ".....the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied".
Step 2 - Show
• Show the person who has come to receive the Holy Ghost that anyone who is saved is ready to immediately receive the Holy Spirit. [Acts 2:37-38]
• Once you are born again, there's nothing else required for you to do in order to qualify to receive the Holy Spirit. You don't have to make any restitution for past sins. Once your sins have been confessed and you have been forgiven, you are qualified.[1 John 1:9]
• Whatever the growth level, whether Carnal (sense-ruled or flesh dominated) or baby (early stage of Christian growth), any Christian (Believer) can be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says the Corinthian Christians were carnal, and yet Paul prayed for them that they will come behind in no gift [1 Cor.1:7]. Paul was not endorsing carnality, He was simply trying to get them to grow up in God and outgrow carnality.
Step 3 - Tell
• Tell people that when you lay hands on them, they are to receive the Holy Ghost. Anyone (please note) can lay hands on another in faith, for God honors faith. It's got nothing to do with position or title. Anyone (i.e a fellow Believer) can lay their hands on a person in faith as a point of contact.
• The Holy Spirit is received by faith, and faith is always "now" or present tense [Heb.11:1]
Step 4 - Still Tell
• Tell the candidate what to expect as he receives the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, he won't know what is happening when the Holy Spirit begins to move on him.
• Tell him/her to expect the Holy Spirit to move upon his vocal organs and put supernatural words on his/her lips as he/she yields to the Holy Spirit in coorperation. The candidate will have to speak out by himself/ herself.
• Remember, the person is the one who does the actual speaking, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives the utterance, but man does the actual speaking. ".....they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." [Acts 2:4]. Also read Acts 10:46; 19:6; 1 Cor.14:2,4,5,14-15,18,27-28.
Step 5 - Get Over Fears
• May be necessary to help some people get over their fears before they can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
• Many have been told that they might get something that is false or counterfeit when receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit thereby letting fear or unbelief set in.
• Encourage such with the words of Jesus in Luke 11:11-13. If your child asked you as a parent for bread, would you give him a stone?
Step 6 - Open Your Mouth
• Tell the candidate to open his mouth and be ready to use his own mouth and vocal chords, for the Holy Spirit will give utterance, but he (the candidate) must yield and give voice to that utterance.
• At the same time, the believer should tell God in his heart, " I am receiving the Holy Spirit right now by faith."
• When the Holy Spirit begins to move upon the believer, tell him to lift his voice and speak out whatever utterance is given to him by the Holy Spirit, regardless of what it sounds like.
• Tell the person to speak the words and language the Holy Spirit gives him, continuing to praise God and speak to God with those supernatural words until the language becomes more fluent.
• The person can have assurance and confidense that he has received the Holy Spirit when he can hear himself speak in tongues in a distinct language.
• John 7:37-39. Jesus said in this verse of scriptures that we are to come and drink of the Holy Spirit. In order words, Jesus is simply saying that receiving the Holy Spirit is like drinking water. Same principle is involved. No one drinks water with mouth shut. In the same way, a person must put action to his faith by simply giving voice to the unction of the Holy Spirit. This can't be done with the mouth closed. Remember, the Holy Spirit gives utterance; the person does the actual talking.
Step 7 - Avoid Distraction
• Keep the candidate from distraction. For instance, prevent the gathering of crowd around the candidate, giving instructions. This will confuse the person. Only have a few workers with specific instructions to help the person through encouraging them to yield to the Holy Spirit as some may be slow in yielding. [Give example of swimming]
• You can sometime simply speak in tongues yourself after praying with the candidate, and this will encourage the candidate to "follow you into the water", so to speak - into the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION -
You will discover that by following these seven steps (possibly today after this teaching if there is anyone who is not baptised in the Holy Spirit), you will help believers receive the Holy Spirit immediately without tarrying. As you assist believers in receiving the Holy Spirit, you will feel personally blessed and rewarded for your part in their receiving this wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit.

*Teaching is culled from "The Holy Spirit and His Gifts" by Kenneth E Hagin.

Contributor: Leye Olayiwola