Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matt. 5. 6

R Realize. Realize that the Holy Ghost  is already given. (The term Holy Ghost is used interchangeably with Holy Spirit). He is here now. On the day of Pentecost, He came in the capacity to be poured out on all flesh for supernatural ministry, as spoken by the prophet Joel:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2. 16, 17, 21). Peter related this as he was explaining what was happening to the disciples who were "all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2. 4). The purpose of the outpouring of the Spirit is for a more intimate walk of love and worship to our heavenly Father, and for evangelism, to effectively preach the gospel so that "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved".

The Bible makes it clear that it is now simply a matter of believers receiving the Holy Spirit. Paul asked the Ephesians believers if they had received the Holy Ghost. The apostles prayed for the Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 19. 1-6;   8. 14, 15). The Samaritans had heard the word of the Lord (had been begotten of the word of truth), and they received the Holy Spirit upon their lives (upon their flesh) for supernatural power in the service of the Lord. Realize, He has already been given for this church age. Now, Receive.

E Enter immediately. Understand this, that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you before God, and that by His  righteous life, and, by His perfect sacrifice for you, God sees you as righteous. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness...but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness"(Rom. 4. 3, 5). By faith in Jesus Christ, we receive a work of the Spirit in regeneration, and by faith in Jesus we receive a work of that same Spirit for supernatural empowerment. It is all through what Christ has done for us. If you are saved, you are fully qualified to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Believing on Jesus is what makes the ungodly righteous in the eyes of God. It is not by your efforts, by your seeking, nor by your "holy" life that you can "buy" the Holy Spirit's power in your life. As Paul asked the Galations, "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?...He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Gal. 3. 2, 5).

No, it is not by your works or your goodness. It is by Jesus Christ. He is the Lord, and the Lord is that Spirit (2 Cor. 3. 17), and He is right here with you now, "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17. 27, 28). He is here with you now, but He won't force His blessings, nor His power upon you. It is by your choice that you receive Him.

Understand this, too, that carnal, baby, and misinformed believers can receive, too. The Corinthians were carnal (1 Cor. 3. 3), and they had received. Peter was misinformed in his own mind, and he had received. It took a special vision from the Lord to convince Peter that he was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10), and this was many years after Jesus had commissioned them to preach the gospel to "every creature"! Peter was misinformed, thinking the gospel was only for a limited group of people,  but God gave him more light through the Spirit to get the gospel out to more people. That's why we need the fulness of the Spirit upon our lives, so God can lead our thinking and our actions into all truth. We are all misinformed until God straightens us out. It takes the Spirit.

It is by hearing the Word and believing it as a little child, that we enter into and continue in the things of the kingdom of God. Jesus is the righteous one. He did the work for us. He is the anointed One. We look to Him and rest in His work on our behalf, and God confirms the Word with signs following.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest...For my yoke is easy, and my burden light" (Matt. 11. 28, 29). Jesus has provided everything you need. Come to Him now, and by faith in His word enter immediately and receive.

C Contact. The Holy Spirit is the tangible person of God who is a Spirit, who is born into our spirits. This is not just a mind trip. The Bible shows us how the Spirit of God operates in a believer in many different ways. He saves us "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour"(Titus 3. 5, 6), God Himself dwells in us and on us as we receive Him. The Bible refers to this two-fold operation of the Spirit of God in our life. This first operation is the re- birth, the regeneration, of the human spirit, which is being born of the incorruptible word or being begotten by the word of truth (1 Pet. 1. 23;   Jas. 1. 18). Then there is the baptism of the Spirit, which is a distinct and separate operation in which He comes upon our lives (upon our flesh) with supernatural power for effective service.

John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter very clearly refers to these operations of the Spirit in the life of the believer:
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world [the Spirit convicts of sin]...which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost" [the Spirit fills with power] (Jn. 29, 33).
"Jesus...being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me...ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts 1. 1-5).
"And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto  us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?"
(Acts 11. 15-17).

God gives believers the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This occurs when He, the person of the Holy Spirit is received by faith in Jesus Christ, again, as written,
"And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us...purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15. 8, 9). Again,  Peter was explaining to the Jewish believers what had happened when he went to the Gentiles and began preaching the gospel. He told how the Spirit of God came upon them and they began to speak with other tongues and magnify God just like what happened on the day of Pentecost. There was a controversy in the early church over God moving in the lives of believers in a tangible way, and, there is controversy today over God manifesting Himself in a tangible way in the lives of the believers. It needs to be explained.

As stated earlier, the person of the Spirit of God is the tangible substance of God that dwells in and upon people just like you, as a person are tangible substance. (You can "feel" when a person walks into a room, even if you don't see or hear them). In the Bible, the tangible Spirit of God was transferred from one person to the other by the laying on of hands, with or without tangible physical feelings.

On the day of Pentecost, there is no record of hands being laid on anybody (Acts 2). When Peter preached to Cornelius' household, no hands were laid on them. In fact, they interrupted his message by speaking out in tongues and magnifying God (Acts 10). But there are instances where hands were laid on people in order to transfer the Spirit upon them (Acts 8. 17;   9. 17;   19. 6). Healing, coupled with the spoken word of faith, can also be transmitted by the laying on of hands (Lk. 13. 12, 13;   Acts 28. 8).

So, your contact with God is by faith in Jesus Christ. If hands are laid upon you, let that be your faith point of  contact so that the instant you are touched, you receive from the Lord the fulness of the Spirit that He promised. When you touch a "live" electric wire, it doesn't take long for you to receive that. God is here with you now. He's "live". With or without hands being laid on you, by faith, Receive!

E Expect / Express. Expect God to give you utterance and give expression to that utterance. "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2. 4). These were Jews who knew the scriptures. They knew it was foretold that God's people would prophesy, would speak out the word of God by the Spirit. They knew the scriptures said their heart would rejoice and their tongues would be glad (Acts 2. 17, 26).  Jesus had already breathed the Spirit into them (Jn. 20. 22), and they had already been experiencing a new found inner joy (Lk. 24. 52, 53). Now, there was more. Life more abundant. No doubt, there were some who remembered Isaiah 28. 11, 12 that foretold this: "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear." Later, Paul quoted this as referring to the gift of different kinds of tongues that served as a sign to the unbelievers, to those who "would not hear".

Throughout the Bible, people who were filled with the presence of God had a response. Those who were filled with the Spirit, gave expression to it. DO NOT TRY TO HOLD BACK. GO INTO THIS BOLDLY ON THE PROMISES OF GOD, THAT YOU ARE GOING TO RECEIVE ALL THAT GOD HAS FOR YOU AND THAT YOU WILL NOT LET ANYTHING DISTRACT YOU AND THAT YOU WILL EXPRESS IT.

Open your mouth and give breath to your faith. You are doing it on the basis of the promises of God's Word. Dive into the river. Don't just dangle your big toe in it. You don't need to test the water. The promise has been given to you through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Even if you just groan out in Jesus' name and wiggle your tongue--do it in submission to the Lordship of Jesus in your life, and do it as an expression unto the Lord of your receiving His promise. Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord. Don't hold back from Him. He died to give you this abundant life. Receive!

I Identify / Indict any and all fears, unbelief, unforgiveness, hatred, and bitterness.  Have you come to the river and you just can't make the leap?  Just as the Spirit of God is substance, so is fear, skepticism, unbelief, unforgiveness, hatred, and bitterness a spiritual substance. Many times well meaning but uninformed people will speak fear, skepticism, and unbelief upon us, and we receive it! Many times we have hurts and self pity that we hold to, holding grudges against those who hurt us.
As long as we are receiving these lies and evil ways, we are not receiving the truth that will set us free. Lies and evil ways are the thieves that steal, kill, and destroy--that rob us of our loving heavenly Father's blessings for life more abundant (Jn. 10. 10).  Indict means to declare guilty. See the things in your life that are guilty of robbing you of your blessing from God, and boldly and decidedly renounce them out loud, confessing your consecration to Jesus alone.

Paul was reminding Timothy to "stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands". He reminded him that "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind  (Gk. self-control)" (2 Tim. 1. 6, 7). How do we stir the gift of God up in us?

Identify those concepts that we are believing and holding to that does not line up with the word of God, and renounce them. Confess out loud that you are separating yourself from all beliefs and concepts that don't line up to the abundant life promised by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His word, and boldly confess the word of God over your life.

Just as we have received fears and unbelief through people's words, and confessed them, now let us receive God's Word and confess that on our behalf.
Let us make our total consecration to Jesus Christ alone as our Lord, trusting in Him alone by receiving what His word says we are.  He loves us and gave His life for us, and as we put our trust in Him, he will not give us anything bad.

"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Sprit to them that ask him?" (Lk. 11. 11-13). In full confidence of His love for you, ask Him for His supernatural power to be upon you and receive.

VVoice.  Give voice to your faith. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10. 10).  "Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: but he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God" (Lk. 12. 8, 9).

There is great power in what proceeds out of our mouth. We are recreated by the new birth in the image of God, and just as God operates in the kingdom and universe by His words, so do we operate in the kingdom by the words of our mouth. This is the tremendous importance of our tongue being under the control of the Holy Spirit.

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters (but this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive...)"(Jn. 7. 37-39). When you drink of the Spirit by faith, then out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. This comes out as words being expressed from our mouth.

Open your mouth in expectation and even if you can only groan in faith, give voice to your faith, telling God in your heart that you are now receiving. Absolutely do not try to speak your own language. Speaking out the utterances of the Spirit does not proceed from your mind. Just launch out and open your mouth and speak what comes out of your belly, from your innermost being, trusting God to give the the language. It is better to have only a groan, trusting God, than to do something from your own mind and call it God.

E Encourage. Candidates who desire to receive the baptism of the Spirit should be encouraged to focus on simply responding to the promise of God's Word in faith, stepping out in doing what the Word says to do. Keep the candidate from being distracted. Don't permit a crowd to gather around the candidate with several people giving instructions all at once. This is confusing. Give the Word and encourage the candidate to yield in faith.  This is true submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what man thinks. You are submitting your whole life to the Lord.

Further encouragement can be given by others all praying quietly in tongues, trusting God to do the work in the candidate's heart. Those who are close by should not pray in their native language, as this can be distracting. The candidate might get his mind on what the people are saying, and be distracted from yielding to God. Have only one person giving the instructions to the candidate then pray, trusting God. This is a work of God in a person's life.

Conclusion:
By following these seven steps, you will find that believers can RECEIVE the Holy Spirit in the capacity of the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues, immediately without tarrying. The disciples tarried in Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit into this church age, but now He is here. The only delay is obstacles we allow that keeps us from receiving in faith.

The candidate who receives should soon be taught of the tremendous benefits of praying, singing, and worshipping in his/her tongues prayer language, and, of praying in the Spirit while reading and studying the Word.

And last, the candidate who receives should be encouraged to help other believers to receive the fulness of the Spirit of God so they, too, can enjoy the abundant life in Jesus Christ in the manifest presence of Father God, and so they too, can be more effective witnesses of Him.

Summary of Points: RECEIVE

R--Realize the Holy Spirit is given in this church age to be received in fulness.

E--Enter immediately because of what Christ has done for you. He is your righteousness before God.

C--Contact the tangible Spirit of God by faith in Jesus Christ. If hands contact is made, receive instantly on contact.

E--Expect to receive His utterance and be bold to express it. Dive in the river.

At this point, a candidate should be filled with the Spirit and speaking in tongues.
If not, there is further ministry...

I--Identify / Indict any fears, unbelief, unforgiveness, hatred, bitterness, and renounce them, confessing total consecration to the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

V--Voice your faith by opening your mouth to give utterance from your belly, not speaking your own language from your own mind.

E--Encourage candidate to focus on responding in faith to the promises of God. Encourage by quietly praying in tongues, trusting God to do the work.

Conclusion:
Teach candidate the importance of using their prayer language constantly.

1. Paul spoke in tongues constantly, and he said for us to follow him as he follows Christ.  1 Cor. 14. 18;   11.1;   Philp. 4. 9.

2. To build oneself up on one's faith and to keep oneself in the love of God.
1 Cor. 14. 4;   Jude vs. 20, 21;   Rom. 5. 5.

3. To pray out the will of God for your life. Rom. 8. 26, 27.

4. To worship God from your spirit.1 Cor. 14. 15-17; Philp. 3. 3;  Jn. 4. 23, 24.

5. To receive revelation from God. 1 Cor. 14. 2, 6, 26;   2. 12.