Who is Like Yahweh?
Micah, whose name means “Who is like Yahweh?” ask the pointed question, “And what does the Lord require of you?” He goes on to answer it as well, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
Sometimes, more than answers given, the questions asked tells you about how people perceive something, what is important to them, and what they are getting from it. Asking questions is part of learning. A recent article I read notes that asking transcendent questions is a practice that enhances brain activity in youth and spurs their growth.
Transcendent thinking is looking beyond the immediate context to understand at the bigger picture and implications. [1] It actually challenges growth in the brain the executive functioning by boosting the collaboration between executive control and the default mode of the brain. [1]
Questions will themselves challenge growth. We see this with how Jewish people would commonly handle the Bible with asking questions and answering questions with a question. The purpose was to get people to think deeply rather than just take information at face value and not question it.
Recently, I was in a discussion about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Many people in the discussion agreed that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is given for empowerment within the body of Christ to witness Christ. Some said Christians were not genuinely following Christianity without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, could not have revival without it, and were not preaching the true gospel without it.
From this, we can ask many questions. One, do those who are not baptized with the Holy Spirit but are saved have the Holy Spirit? It says in the Word that the Holy Spirit is given to us at the time of our conversion to help us walk in holiness. So the answer to this in the Bible is clearly, yes.
So what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and why do we need it? The immersion (or baptism of the Spirit) was given to empower the body to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth, making Jesus known by His power. The baptism of the Spirit was evidenced by prophesy, speaking in tongues and/or other manifestations of the Holy Spirit. This is also clearly laid out in the Bible.
So what are the manifestations of the Holy Spirit? There are several gifts of the Spirit. There are nine outlined 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Also, there are manifestations beyond the nine gifts of the Spirit. As an example, Pentecost itself was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in speaking in other languages particular to individual tribes and not a heavenly language which is outside this list.
So another question may be, do people get all the manifestations at their baptism? This is not clear in the Bible but it doesn’t seem so. Using Pentecost again, they manifested a supernatural gift of speaking in the language of a select tribe but gifts such as healing were not mentioned. As a result of Pentecost and this unusual manifestation, many came to know Christ. Another solidification that this baptism is to reach people for Christ.
It does not specifically say that we get all the gifts but it says we should earnestly desire the best gifts, especially to prophesy. Also, as we partner with the Holy Spirit in sharing His gifts, we have some say in when and what gifts manifest. Paul speaks that things should be done orderly in a way that draws others in and helps them to encounter God.
How incredible the gift of prophesy can be in helping people know there is a God. If God speaks to your heart that someone has a love for video games for example, and you mention this to them, they feel known and seen by God. Often when I pray, people will say something like “you were right on for what I needed.” God sees the beginning from the end and knows exactly what to say to help people get the freedom they need.
While the disciples received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and many came into the Kingdom of God, it was not until the disciples were persecuted and gathered together to pray for courage and “spoke the Word of God with boldness” that they really began to see manifestations of miracles. And tongues then seem to be one of the gifts that came to others when they baptized them in the Holy Spirit.
So that brings us to another question, is there more than one Holy Spirit baptism? It seems so as there are clear examples, such as Peter, where further power came upon people at a later time for miracles signs and wonders. They received a level of power, but could keep asking for greater empowerment by the Spirit. I would love to argue that we don’t have to stop after one immersion, but can keep asking for more.
And what about impartations? This is where someone is walking in certain gifts and they impart it to another by laying their hands upon them. Paul would tell the church, already baptized with the Holy Spirit, that he longed to come to them and impart some spiritual gift.
Impartations is more an ease of a flow in a certain gift. For instance, I flow most easily in the gift of prophesy. This was imparted as a gift, I believe, from my first pastor. I release it when I am praying with someone to strengthen their faith. As they hear from God and know it is Him speaking through me, they have greater faith for Him to move in their lives. I then pray for their healing or other needs.
I also received what seemed to be an impartation of poetry from my generational line. My mother would write poetry for children and about God. One day as I was praying before the Lord, suddenly everything that came out of my mouth rhymed. I was taken back and started laughing. All day long as I prayed, it rhymed. Then after that day, I seemed to be able to write prophetic poetry in conversations with God. I would ask Him questions and it would rhyme and He would answer me in a rhyme. It feels a little like praying in tongues but in English.
God seems to show us that He is outside any box we establish. As an example, what about if someone is baptized in the Spirit before they are saved? There is an example of this with the gentiles who were hungry to receive the message. They went and got Peter based upon the Holy Spirit’s leading. And even while he was still preaching, the Holy Spirit came upon them and so then, seeing they were manifesting the gifts from the Holy Spirit coming upon them, he baptized them in the name of Jesus (salvation).
The questions can go on and on, but the bigger transcendent question around this is What is God doing? What does God want from us? What God is doing in our time is mobilizing His body. He is spreading the gospel message, empowering His people to live differently, and demonstrating a different Kingdom that is not anything like the World. And what does He require of us: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Based upon this, I wouldn’t say that the Baptism of the Spirit is “required.” I would say that love of our neighbor is required. My mother did not have the baptism in the Spirit but she was a beautiful Christian that loved Jesus. In her last years, people would frequently be drawn to her. She was a salvation magnet as they would come up to her when we would go for walks because she shined with God’s glory. She clearly had the Holy Spirit and trusted the Lord. She was so loving to everyone she met that they often adopted her and called her mom. I know she is in heaven without any doubt.
However, being empowered by the Holy Spirit through a baptism of the Spirit, as I prayed over a woman at a conference yesterday and watched God heal her of deep trauma, there was nothing like it in the world. As the Holy Spirit was fully released among us, He moved in great power. How priceless to stand on this holy ground. With this woman, she sobbed, I held her, and God moved so powerfully among us. It happened over and over again the past few days as God moved in power to heal and deliver people. It left me grateful, hungry for more and in awe.
So why wouldn’t we want this for someone and for ourselves? If we don’t want this for someone who needs it, are we walking in love? Are we walking humbly before God? His answer to the leper has always been, “Yes, I am willing!” But then here is another question, is the baptism of the Spirit needed for people to experience the power of God and move freely among us?
Something I recently read suggested that Catholics experience more miracles and healings than Pentecostals. The reason is their faith. They believe that the blood and flesh are in the elements of communion which strengthens their faith to actually believe for miracles.
The deeper question is maybe, are we hungry for all God has for us? Are we willing to say yes to God when He presents us with opportunities to make a difference? Are we afraid of God moving among us freely because we do not fully trust and surrender ourselves fully to the Holy Spirit?
As an example of multiple baptisms, I think of John G. Lakes who kept asking to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. He already spoke in tongues, but it wasn’t until God hit him with such power that it threw him back three feet that he stopped asking for this power. And as a result, he was considered the most influential man in South Africa as he brought God’s healing to many and even raised the dead. He had a deep hunger for the things of God, especially healing, that was birthed out of suffering grieving the death of many family members. Many of them died from illness before he received this baptism of power that was so immense that it latterly changed the dynamics of even his blood.
So clearly hunger, desperation and desire play a huge part in the ways and power which God moves among us. That brings up the question of can revival happen outside Pentecostals who are baptized with the Holy Spirit? While Pentecost was clearly related to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the folks that pressed in for this did not have an immersion prior to this event. And in actuality, many revivals have happened in other denominations. Whitfield was an Evangelical and launched Methodism.
Billy Graham, another Evangelical Christian, brought a powerful sense of God’s presence and conviction in a way that led others to Christ and would be considered a revivalist for His time. While he did not pray in tongues in public as to bring as many to Christ as possible, He flowed freely in the Holy Spirit and made Him evident in His sermons. He spoke of the incomprehensible vastness of the power of God. Billy Graham shared with those who attended his sessions that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was, “an experience of the Holy Spirit in His fullness and anointing.”
One last example from the Bible of revival happening outside of Spirit immersed believers is Nineveh. They were not even believers at the time. They were evil and mean. Yet, this crazy Jewish prophet named Jonah showed up being raised from the dead and puked out of a belly of a whale and they quickly fasted and repented of their evil. A revival of their time, spurred not by their goodness, but their need.
One last question I have on this is why does gifts of the Spirit flow differently at different times? When a deliverance speaker is preaching, God seems to move mainly in deliverance. When someone in speaking on the Father’s love and healing wounds, God seems to move in this. When I am at the altar praying for people in different environments, I see different responses. Why is this? And why at some places or times is there little movement of the Holy Spirit among us and at other places or times, huge winds of power?
There are two things that probably impact this. First, since the Holy Spirit seems to love to partner with us and flow in agreement with us, some of this has to do with how freely the Holy Spirit is released to operate among us. Some (not all) of the great moves of the Holy Spirit in Christian settings have been when He has been put central and allowed to move freely among us.
Second, I think this is also due to faith. It is not only that God is moving among us and we invite Him to do this but what do the people around have faith for? Perhaps if they have never seen or heard of a miracle before, they have little faith for it to happen in their lives. Perhaps they are not hungry enough for what God can give to them or resistant to it. And perhaps it is not clear enough that it is available.
Possibly that is why we see that some people have to go through a long treatment program to get free from addiction while another person receives Christ, someone prays for them and they have a testimony of complete freedom. They never turn back or use again. Smoking is another example of this. Some people crave and go through tremendous pain to quit, while others just get freedom from a single prayer.
Faith is about what we believe. Do we believe we have authority through Christ? When the sons of Sceva tried to cast out a demon, they did it in the name of Jesus that Paul talks about. They didn’t understand their authority in Christ as believers but were instead just trying to copy cat Paul. As a result, they were beaten and ran out naked. We need to genuinely understand our authority given to us in Christ through the Word of God and walk in this to be empowered. If we do not understand our authority or believe we have authority through Him, we cannot walk in it. We have to receive the robe, ring, and shoes we are provided and put them on and operate out of them.
We have to remember that power and these manifestations of the Spirit are God’s idea and not ours. When Jesus walked the earth, He performed many miracles. The Holy Spirit was upon Him at different times overall and when needs presented themselves to heal, deliver, and set free countless people. While the Pharisees stood back insulted and jealous, He moved towards it boldly and unashamed.
Coming back to the initial question that is hidden in Micah’s name, “Who is like Yahweh?” While His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, the ones that are like Yahweh is His people. We were made in His image. We had a specific unique DNA design and fingerprint of God that is unlike any other when we were formed. Micah is a unique fingerprint of God. There was no other prophet like him. He was designed to be a representation of God in everything He did. God called him to “walk humbly” before Him. And in Micah 4:5, he says, “All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.”
To walk here as noted in these verses in Micah is to be an extension of, as a lifestyle and pattern of conduct. We are to be a pattern of conduct and extension of Christ in our individual expressions. This is what God holds for us and designed us for. How this is uniquely walked out is in our fellowship with Jesus and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him free room to manifest through us.
Hebrews 2:6-8 speaks about this place of authority that we have through Jesus with the quoted question, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.”
When we care deeply about the person who is lost or the person who needs healing, we are reflecting His image. To pray for others and see their healing is also like Jesus. And to grab someone’s hand and make them feel included is also like Jesus. Ultimately in sharing His gifts, we are sharing His love with the world. This is how we look most like Him.
Micah, who walked humbly with God, was called to be a prophet. He was empowered with the power of God to shift situations by his prayers and proclamations. Out of this passion, he was also called to confront and call people to repent. He says in Micah 3:8, “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgressions and to Israel his sin.”
What if he had denied this power or refused it? Perhaps God would have raised up someone else in his place or all this incredible kingdom work that he was called to would have not been accomplished.
So a question we can ask from this is, “What is God inviting you into? and, How has God equipped you for where He is calling you?” God desires that you embrace who you are, how you are wired and operate using the gifts he has provided you.
And, as your walk comes from your relationship with Christ, “How do you cultivate depth in your relationship with Christ? What are some ways you could stretch yourself to grow deeper in faith, authority, and trust of the Holy Spirit? What are some ways you could invite Him to move more in your life in power? “
Holy Spirit, have freedom in our lives. Expand our lives to include more of You in them! Let Your power flow freely through us and we walk in love towards everyone we meet. Let our lives be an adventure with You. Empower us to walk humbly and like Jesus through the world in every step we take.
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