An extract from Chapter 12, entitled: 'Seeking the Baptism of the Holy Spirit' from the book 'Joy Unspeakable' by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, published by Kingsway.
Let us be clear in our doctrine. The Spirit does give experiences. I have tried to show that there is no experience possible to the Christian in this world higher than this experience of the baptism with the Spirit. There is only one thing beyond this and that is the glory itself. As Peter puts it there in 1 Peter 1.8: 'Rejoice with a joy unspeakable and full of glory.' It is a touch of the glory everlasting and there is nothing that brings a man nearer to that than this, the baptism with the Spirit. This is the universal testimony of all men who have ever had this experience. He gives experiences, he gives power, he has gifts that he can give. But the point that I am making is that we should not seek primarily what he gives.
Seeking Jesus
What should we be seeking? We should always be seeking the Lord Jesus Christ himself, to know him, and know his love and to be witnesses for him and to minister to his glory. That is what you find, of course, in the New Testament itself. The apostle Paul says that the height of his ambition is 'that I might know him'. Not that he might have experiences, but that he 'might know him, and the power of his resurrection. and the fellowship of his sufferings' etc.
