Receiving the Holy Spirit
Jesus promised to baptize His followers with the Holy Spirit so that they would be empowered to take the gospel to the world. This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost: (Acts 2:1-4). But we need to remember that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not only for the disciples, this experience was and is for all Christians. Christ empowers all Christians with the Holy Spirit so they may carry out the great commission he has given us in (Matthew 28:18-20)
So how do we receive the in filling of the Holy Spirit today? All we must do is pray and ask Christ to give us the power of the Holy
Spirit and he will answer your pray. If there is any doubt about this just look in (Acts 10:44-47). After the day of Pentecost there were occasions the Spirit fell upon a group of people while Peter was preaching to them.
Asking and receiving this power of the Holy Spirit gives us the power to say “I have found the Messiah “ and I am not talking about if someone comes up to you and asked are you a Christian and you say yes. I am talking about going out in to the world and talking about Christ and how he has changed your life. We must all be willing to “tell our stories”
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- Why did Jesus tell the disciples to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
- Is prayer with the laying on of Hands necessary to receive to Holy Spirit? Explain your answer.
- Why do we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to carry His message to the world? Or do we?
Prayer Activities
- Call you Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Pray with then and ask for the following;
- For God to fill you with the Holy Spirit.
- For God to open your heart to the studies.
- For God to give you the strength to minister for Him.
- For God to bless your prayer list and any special needs they may have.
- Include the following Bible Verse in your prayer (Acts 5:32)
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There must be more than one way to recieve the Holy Spirit, laying on of han ds is one we don’t see much in our church.
I believe the Holy Spirits equips us with the strenght and assurance to stand out for Him even in sight of persecution. I look forward to the out pouring of the HS the Bible calls the latter rain. We definetly need that to over come this Laodicea stage we’re in…and of course be able to withstand the trails of the end times.
All it will take is a ernest heart and prayer. Christ will alway equip you for the fight.
We have to experience the infilling of the Holy Spirit now so that when the latter rain comes we will know what is happening. If we do not the infilling of the Holy Spirit now, how will we know it then. This, to me, is a very scary thought. I pray we all seek infilling now that we may be blessed with the latter rain when it comes.
The sad part is there will be more people that who think they are ready but when the time comes the will be like the foolish virgins in (Matthew 25)
Funny, when I first read this I had an impression you were saying it would be a scary experince unless you’ve experinced it in a smaller dose first. I re-read and now see it in different light.
I guess the thought of missing it (the latter rain) would be scary…I agree there. I always wondered how that would happen, other than they may have not been truly connected with God to begin with. They were religious, not necessarly infused and changed by the Holy Spirit.
Thought…Elisha leaving Elijah his robe reminds me of laying of hand. Does any one have thoughts on this. Is it like passing something we posses to another indiviual. I would think then that we could do the same by having a close relationship with someone and hopefully inspiring them to take hold or lay on themselves God. Is that even possible…we know it is first initiate by God..I guess we still have to choose to accept it though. Just a nagging thought.
I like both of your thoughts, I worry about my friends and family. But like you said it must be their choice.
I don’t know if you would be afriad of the out pouring of the HS. When the apostles exprienced Pentcost it empowered them…on the contray they were fearless to take on the world and share Jesus in spite of becoming like Jesus and possibly getting crucified.
I do think we should be connected with God initmately now so that we are assured we’ll be connected then. It’s more like being faithful in the small now, so that it’ll be easier to be faithful later in the hard times.
I have a sermon I am preaching for the campmeeting called “7 reasons why I love Jesus” well one is because He chose my to be His pastor. Well the point is I feel an empowerment every time I stand up and preach and it all him.
We need the Holy Spirit now and in the future. The devil schemes are intesifying all the time but we should not be scared instead we should completely surrender ourselfs to God`s mighty hands for direction. His Spirit is sufficient.