EVERY WORD OF GOD FOR DAILY LIVING BY PASTOR PAUL RIKA:
INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR Holiness Revival Movement Worldwide
TITLE: SEEK THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
DATE: WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 2021
TEXT: Acts 2: 1-8
KEY VERSE: Acts 1: 8 ‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’
Basically every person who is born again has the Holy Spirit in him or her because the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Christ. All believers have the Holy Spirit in them. However not all believers are baptized with the Holy Spirit. What the Holy Spirit does in baptismal measure is to put His power into a believer. Romans 8: 9, ‘But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.’
The key verse refers to believers waiting for the Holy Spirit’s coming from heaven. Now in our times, the Holy Spirit is already on earth, He is not coming from heaven. In their time two things happened: the Spirit descended on them and His power filled them as they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. In our time the Spirit is already in us, He doesn’t need to descend from heaven. What is required for the baptism is the power of the Holy Spirit. Although a reference is made in a question, “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? This specifically refers to baptism of the Holy Ghost and does not imply that some believers do not have the Holy Ghost. This is clear because after Paul ministered to them, they were baptized in the Holy Ghost and spake in tongues.
Every believer has to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a separate experience after salvation. When a believer is baptized in the Holy Ghost, the evidence is speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit moves you. Speaking in tongues is not the evidence that you have the Spirit of God inside you, but is the evidence that you are baptized in the Holy Ghost. This Christian experience is for all believers in Christ Jesus. It is the promise of the Father for all His children. When the disciples gathered for prayers in the upper room, they were all baptized in the Holy Ghost.
Thought for the day: Ask earnestly and God will give you.
Song for the day: Holy Ghost power, power fall on me (2x), As in the days…
Bible reading for the day: Nehemiah 1-3; Acts 2:1-13