The baptism of the Holy Spirit was so important for carrying out the Great Commission that Jesus told His disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received the promised Holy Spirit.
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. Acts 2:1-4
Obviously, the disciples had no idea what they were waiting for. There was no script for this plan. It was not something that they could make happen out of impatience, passion, or restlessness. All they knew was that Jesus had asked them to remain in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. They didn’t know how long they had to wait or what they were exactly waiting for.
Isn’t this how God works with us sometimes!? He tells us to wait or to be patient, but we don’t know what we are waiting for or why we should be patient. Chances are that if we knew the reason, we would try to make something happen and solve it with natural means. That still doesn’t stop some of us from conjuring up natural reasons and developing solutions for imaginary problems! I am so thankful that the Lord patiently works with us and waits for our half-baked ideas to come to their own logical dead end, so we finally ask Him for help.
The disciples must have thought they had learned everything they needed to know from Jesus until the Holy Spirit overwhelmed them. They spoke with tongues that they were not familiar with, yet they didn’t feel awkward. Peter opened his mouth and gave the first gospel message, and, most likely, he surprised himself and his colleagues with the revelation he had just received.They found out that they were not in control of this spirit-filled meeting. This was a remarkable day!
The day of Pentecost ushered a new era for the disciples, and at the same time, it was the day that the new testament church was formed. For the first time, the disciples felt empowered to own the truth and retell it. Now they could clearly see why Jesus had to be crucified. The baton was passed from Jesus to the disciples through the person of the Holy Spirit. Emanuel came to stay with them and anointed them for bold and courageous expansion of in the Kingdom of God on the earth!
Have you experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? If you have, do you continually sense the leading and the revelation of the Holy Spirit as you live your everyday life and try to reach others?
If you have not received the Holy Sprit, is there anything that holds you back? The scripture shows us that the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit has many others gifts that imparts to the believer for the purpose of equipping the saint for intercession and ministry. There is nothing spooky about it. It is God’s idea and God’s gift to empower the believer for the work commissioned by Him. If you desire it, begin praying for it and study the scriptures that reference the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.
