BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD!

Have you reached a point in your Christian Life where you have been Baptized in the Holy Spirit ? Often, the concept of being “Baptized” in the Holy Spirit is either ignored, or it is not even taught in the fullness of its’ importance. For a lot of Christian believers, the Holy Spirit is that part of God that is a mystery. The Holy Spirit is something better left alone. My early church experience taught me little about the Holy Spirit. The focus was on jesus and Salvation. I knew that once I had accepted Christ that He had put a sprit within me that came directly from Him. Being reborn in Jesus let me receive the Holy Spirit in my life. The gift of the spirit of God was mine, but what would that mean for me? What would the Holy Spirit do in my life? Wasn’t the key of Baptism to be immersed in water ? It was a symbol of my acceptance of Christ and a washing away of sin and my old self. Jesus Himself was baptized as a man, and that was when scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form. We as followers of Jesus have had the exact same experience. The Holy Spirit rests upon each one of us.

WHEN ALL THE PEOPLE WERE BEING BAPTIZED, JESUS WAS BAPTIZED TOO. AND AS HE WAS PRAYING, HEAVEN WAS OPENED AND THE HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED ON HIM IN BODILY FORM LIKE A DOVE. AND A VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN: “ YOU ARE MY SON , WHOM I LOVE; WITH YOU I AM WELL PLEASED. Luke 3: 21-22

JESUS ANSWERED, “VERY TRULY I TELL YOU, NO ONE CAN ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD UNLESS THEY ARE BORN OF THE WATER AND THE SPIRIT.” John 3:5

We must be reborn in Christ by dying to our old self and being born anew in the saving grace of Christ. Our sins are washed away in Jesus, bringing us purity and righteousness in the eyes of The Father through Jesus who abides in us, and we in Him. Once saved, the Spirit of God descends on us physically and transforms our hearts, our minds, and our very being. But the best part of all of this is that THERE IS MORE ! Once the Holy Spirit is in your life, the Holy Spirit can fill you with an unquenchable fire to become FULL OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD ! The Spirit can unleash a myriad of Gifts into you that will forever change who you are ! Everything changes. You are on fire for God and His Kingdom. Deep inside every believer is the desire to be MORE. More connected. More faithful. More fruitful. More Christlike. All it takes is asking the Holy Spirit to Fill you. To Guide you. To show you His Presence and enter your life in a way that will make you Powerful and Complete as a Kingdom citizen. It is about the fire !

“ I BAPTIZE YOU WITH WATER FOR REPENTANCE, BUT HE WHO IS COMING AFTER ME IS MIGHTIER THAN I, WHOSE SANDALS I AM NOT WORTHY TO CARRY. HE WILL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND FIRE. Matthew 3:11

WHEN THE DAY OF PENTECOST ARRIVED, THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE. AND SUDDENLY THERE CAME FROM HEAVEN A SOUND LIKE A MIGHTY RUSHING WIND, AND IT FILLED THE ENTIRE HOUSE WHERE THEY WERE SITTING. AND DIVIDED TONGUES AS OF FIRE APPEARED TO THEM AND RESTED ON EACH ONE OF THEM. AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BEGAN TO SPEAK IN OTHER TONGUES AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE…. Acts 2: 1-47

I try to imagine how it must have been for the disciples to spend actual physical time with Jesus. To hear Him speak. To absorb His teaching. To watch His miracles. To watch Him die….and the Miracle of His Resurrection ! To know HIs promise regarding the Holy Spirit and then Have the spirit descend and fill them ! To set them on fire for God and His Son ! Guess what ! The same exact thing can happen to YOU :) It has for me. I had been reborn and immersed in water. I knew Jesus as my Savior. On a really special men’s group event, the Holy Spirit baptized me. I asked for more. I asked for a deeper relationship with Jesus. I wanted to be and give more into the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit filled me, and all I can say is that it turned up a flame to share Jesus like I had never had before. A THIRST TO SHARE THE GOSPEL AND BRING OTHERS TO KNOW HIM IN A DEEP AND PERSONAL WAY !

The disciples could have remained hidden, or simply faded away…But They Didn’t ! They changed the World. Look around you. Does our world need changing.? Maybe things are even worse today than they were in the times of the Roman Empire. Those men built a movement and a following for Christ that knows no comparison. Their faith and belief changed the world ! We have that same opportunity if we take it on. I am, and so can you. SEEK THE SPIRIT. FIND YOUR GIFTS, USE THEM FOR THE KINGDOM ! The beauty of our relationship with God is that He IS ALWAYS THERE FOR US….ALL WE NEED TO DO IS SEEK HIS FACE :)

BUT YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU; AND YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE END OF THE EARTH. ACTS 1:8

OUR WORLD NEEDS US TO BE POWERFUL AND BRING THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST TO EVERYONE ! We need to do it right where we are in our daily lives. I highly recommend an exceptional book as you seek the Holy Spirit. River Dwellers. Living in the Fullness of the Spirit. By Dr. Rob Reimer (Amazon).

GO And Be Filled/JAA