Beyond Normal Part 3: Holy Spirit Activate
Do you ever feel like you’re running on empty – like you have nothing else to give? If that’s you, you’re not alone! Life has a tendency to chew us up and spit us out. God knew life would be like that, so He gave us the special gift of the Holy Spirit to meet our needs above and beyond anything we could ask or think.
Be Baptized With the Holy Spirit
Jesus instructed His disciples and others to wait together for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:4-8 says, “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”
The disciples were already saved – they had accepted Jesus as their Lord and were baptized with water. But Jesus was talking about another baptism – one of the Holy Spirit. The subject of being baptized in the Holy Spirit has tripped many Christians up. Many say that “weird, tongue-talking stuff was for them and not us.”However, the scriptures shed a different light on the subject.
Regardless of your knowledge or beliefs concerning the Holy Spirit, we know that our mission is to tell others about Christ – to share the gospel. The Holy Spirit makes it possible to share the message of Jesus in a powerful way. Freely we have been given, freely give.
Jesus told His apostles to wait for the Holy Spirit to give them the power they would need to be witnesses. You see, the power of the Holy Spirit isn’t just for us personally, but ultimately He is there to help us be a witness of Jesus. That’s our goal – bring more people into the Kingdom of God. Amen?!
Get a Fill-UP
The Holy Spirit is a precious gift that not only the apostles received in Acts but that you and I received when we made Jesus the Lord of our lives – when we asked Him into our hearts. But wait, there’s more! Not only do we receive the Holy Spirit on the inside, but we can receive an extra filling from Him whenever we need or want it.
We can get filled up in many different ways:
Going to church
Listening to worship music and singing praises to Him
Reading the Bible
Talking about the goodness of God with other believers
Prayer - spending time talking with Your Father
Praying In the Spirit
However, sometimes my prayers seem fruitless – especially when I run out of what to say. Here is when we need the Holy Spirit activated in our lives. Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t know how to pray? Your words seemed futile and weak? That is why praying in tongues or in the Spirit is a needful gift. It’s a heavenly language that doesn’t make sense to our minds, but the Spirit of God is praying and interceding for us. It is a gift that we, as believers, desperately need.
Holy Spirit Fire
Acts 2:1-4 says, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
I love the picture of how the Holy Spirit came – as FIRE! What do we know about fire? It spreads. The flame of the Holy Spirit is still spreading today in every born-again believer. After the disciples received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, what did they do? Did they just keep it for themselves? No! They shared. They laid hands on others to receive the same gift.
Peter preached in Acts 2:39, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” That includes you and me! We are the ones afar off!
2 Timothy 1:6-7 makes mention of the gift of the Holy Spirit being bestowed by the laying on of hands. Paul was writing to Timothy and tells him, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
That scripture is quoted many times as to why we shouldn’t fear. The Holy Spirit is not to be feared either. He gives us power and love and a sound mind. And wants to be understood so he can fully be the helper He came to be.
I want to encourage you to dive deeper with the Holy Spirit. Thank Him for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and receive a fresh filling of Him today. If you would like to know more, click on the related articles.
Related Articles:
Beyond Normal Part 1: Who Is the Holy Spirit?
Beyond Normal Part 2: Your Advantage
How Do You Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
