BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

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Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive power to be His witnesses when the Holy Spirit comes on them on the day of Pentecost. It was it necessary for them to be endued with God’s power, for without it they would not be able to boldly proclaim what Jesus had done for them and for everyone else who would believe on Him.

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 GW

God is love and doesn't want anyone to perish; He wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth, that Jesus has already taken all their sin away and if they would just put their trust in Him and in what He has done, accepting Him as Lord and Savior, they would be reconciled to Him and also be saved from eternal damnation.

That very popular verse comes to mind:

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 NIV

To be effective witnesses of the love of God that is demonstrated through Jesus, we need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, for it is the Spirit who guides us into all truth. God has given us His Spirit so that we may know all that He has freely given to us in Christ. The Holy Spirit will always glorify Jesus.

After salvation, like the early disciples we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. These are two separate events in the life of a believer. You will recall when Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22) now, that was the point when they were Born Again.

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Now if that was when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, then why would Jesus later tell them to tarry in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes on them? Jesus’ last words right before His ascension would've been redundant to say the least, but that isn't the case. Besides, let’s not forget Thomas wasn't present at that time and later when Jesus appeared to them again, this time with Thomas present, Thomas exclaimed “My Lord and My God” (John 20:26-29), I would submit to you that, that was the moment Thomas was Born Again according to Romans 10:8-10.

There are several instances of believers being filled with the Holy Spirit starting at Pentecost and afterwards. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon Jewish believers (Acts 2:1-4), at Cornelius’ house the Holy Spirit came upon Gentile believers (Acts 10:44-46).

After the revival led by Phillip at Samaria, the apostle went and laid hands on the new believers and they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17). When Paul met 12 believers in Ephesus, he specifically asked them if they had been filled with the Holy Spirit, it turned out they didn't even know there was a Holy Spirit, what did he do? He laid hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7).

From all the accounts in the Book of Acts, we see it is Born Again Christians who are being filled with the Holy Spirit and that there were physically observable, undeniable signs that accompanied the baptism in the Holy Spirit - they spoke in tongues and prophesied

If you haven’t been filled with the Holy Spirit yet, I would encourage you to receive Jesus’ promise of the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord to baptize you in the Holy Spirit, He is the One who baptizes us in the Holy Spirit Ask Him and by faith receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Holy Spirit gives the words, you do the speaking. So by faith open your mouth and start praising Him with the words and syllables He gives you, in a language you don’t know. Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit today.

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Experience the refreshing that comes from the presence of the Lord, get baptized in the Spirit. Don’t let fear stop you, your Father has promised to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13) and He is well able to protect you from any form of deception. 

If you are already filled with the Holy Spirit remember that you are to be continually filled, just like the early believers, so keep on building yourself up in your most holy faith by praying in the Spirit, that is by praying in tongues. Blessings.