04/18/2024
Acts 1:8 –You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you and ye shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth.
- ITS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP
Notice, Jesus mentions the Spirit coming upon an individual. What a great privilege to host the mighty third person of trinity in us and through Him have unlimited access to the Father and the Son. God’s original intent was to dwell as close as possible to man. His glory covered Adam and Eve and they communed with God. The fall, although temporarily hindering man’s walk with God, brought about the redemption of all of mankind through the suffering Son and God paved an even closer pathway where He could now indwell us. Who can fathom the depths of His wisdom and love.
Heaven is a place where God in fullness will indwell His temple (us) and then, from there, glory to glory. The baptism of the Spirit is a fulfillment of God’s plan for man on this earth and offers us a vague glimpse into what heaven will be like one day where, the eternal God who put the stars in place with His fingers will now indwell us in His fullness.
When a person is baptized in the Spirit, God becomes real to Him like never before. Secondly, he starts to enjoy an intimacy with the Spirit like never before. God’s love and His essence start to permeate in and through Him in every way.
- DUNAMIS
In the baptism of the Spirit is imparted to us “power” from on high. You can call it ‘boldness’ or even ‘fire’. This was the one things that was clearly evident in the disciples and others as they were baptized in the Spirit. Those who were in hiding came out boldly proclaiming Christ, not worried about the consequences. Even amidst the most extreme of circumstances, they continued to have strength and great courage to face their accusers. If someone is baptized in the Spirit, they would or should have (have had) unusual boldness to witness for Christ. Do we have that boldness?
- MY WITNESSES
It was covered in an earlier point; that our motive should be to be a witness for Christ regardless of the cost. It is only then that God baptizes us with His Spirit. It is not for me or people to see me or to build my own kingdom or ministry, but it is to build Christ’s kingdom.
With the baptism of the Spirit, we become effective witnesses. The Spirit inspires our speech, and we know what to and when to speak. Our speech is filled with power and the wisdom of God. We start to see the powerful workings of the Spirit when we speak. God’s eternal kingdom is built as a result.
- – IT IS A BAPTISM-
John refers to the Spirit coming upon a person to a baptism. Baptism means completely immersed. Imagine being completely immersed (spirit, soul and body) by the fullness of the eternal Spirit. Then, what great transformation should have happened to such an individual? The final display of that is God filling a person’s speech system in his brain and then languages of the Spirit are birthed forth from deep within. Not just that, if the person knows how to yield, the Spirit can flow out of the person’s whole body as He did with Jesus that the person’s very presence touches lives or just touching the person can make one whole as with Jesus.
- John 7:37 to 39 –
Rivers start to flow from deep within. Words start coming out from deep within a person’s spirit and they do not have their origin in the natural mind. Rivers from the belly; from the inside of a person. You start to be led by your spirit ( Holy Spirit through your spirit).
Dearly Beloved, let us examine our lives experiences to see if they match with what we have seen in scripture and if it falls short, let’s keep seeking God till we experience all that is available to us. The baptism of the Spirit is just the beginning of the experiences that lead to greater measures of His fullness and glory. Oh, what glory awaits us on this side and other side of eternity. Amen.
