Once when he was eating with them, he [Jesus] commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” – NLT
In last week’s blog entitled “Are you Truly Born Again? Part 1” we discussed what it means, according to God’s Word, to truly be born again of the water [water baptism] and the Spirit [baptism of the Holy Spirit] and the lack of understanding in the body of Christ today.
Why is that? Is it because it’s easier to teach that you have to just believe, and by faith and the grace of God you are saved and anything beyond that is works? But what does Jesus say?
Matthew 28:20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
John 14:15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. (That Advocate is the Holy Spirit).
John 14:21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
We either allow God to work in us by faith and obedience or refuse to let him work by unbelief and disobedience. There is no in-between. We are to obey all of God’s commands. Receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a command. . . you MUST be born again.
In the opening Scripture of this blog, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem. What were they to wait for?
Let’s look at Acts 1:8. Jesus said:
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
They were to wait for the power. The baptism of the Holy Spirit.
So what did the believers do? They waited in obedience to Jesus. And what happened?
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Acts 2:1-4
How did the believers know they had received the Holy Spirit? They began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Why was this important, and why is it important for you today?
We need God’s Holy Spirit power to defend against the enemy. We need God’s power to be witnesses to the world of the good news of God’s Kingdom.
But the enemy doesn’t want you to have power over him, so of course he is going to deceive believers that they have the Holy Spirit when they believe – because if the whole body of Christ had Holy Spirit power, the devil would surely be defeated! And the enemy does not want you to enter into the Kingdom of God; he wants to take as many people to hell with him as he can – especially ‘believers’.
The deception of the enemy is the same with regard to water baptism. We will continue with this topic in Part 3 of next week’s blog.
I hope that you will continue to read the book of Acts in it’s entirety. Read it and believe it, for it is the truth. Trust in God’s Word alone.
To be continued. . .
