THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME (4)

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31 NKJV).

                                                                                                                                                                   
The Holy Spirit is given to the believers to inspire them to act for and on behalf of God.  His presence in believers should signal the end of their dormancy and redundancy in the church because He comes with such a force that would not let any person continue to be a mere spectator in the work of God. The presence of the Holy Spirit dispels every fear and fills the believer with holy boldness to confront the enemy and throw him out of God’s inheritance. The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy, “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” (2 Timothy 1:6-7 NKJV). Fear is a spirit –a contrary spirit from the devil. The Greek word translated fear in this verse basically means timidity with the deeper implication of cowardice. The Holy Spirit did not come to make us cowards but to imbue us with heaven-made courage that spurns the devil and demonstrates the power of God. As believers, we are the righteousness of God in Christ (1 Cor 1:30). “The righteous are bold as a lion” (Provbs 28:1 NKJV).

The Bible affirms that fear is a manifestation of the spirit of bondage. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15 NKJV). The spirit of bondage is the spirit of slavery, of repression, and of oppression. When people are in any of these conditions, they live in fear. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption into the sonship of God.  He reveals God to us as our Father and inspires us to cry out to Him “Abba, Father.”  A child knows no fear in the presence of his or her father. Likewise, as children of God there should be no room for fear in our hearts. The most fundamental job of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers is to establish them in the love of God as their Father. The spirit of fear is paralysed anywhere in our lives that experiences the revelation of the love of God. John the Beloved declared, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18 NKJV). God’s antidote to fear is the revelation of His love.

God’s love is perfect because it is unconditional.  He loved us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:6). He did not wait until we could earn His love. He knows we will never be able to earn it. Hence, His love for us is not subject to who we are or how we behave. He loves us not as reward for any meritorious input from us but undeserved gratuity based on our acceptance of the Jesus as Saviour and Lord. The Father loves us because He loves His Son in whom we believe for our salvation.  The Holy Spirit comes to help us respond appropriately to the Father’s love –“because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5 NKJV).  Therefore, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NKJV). We could not love God except as a response to His love, which the Holy Spirit unleashes in us when He fills us. Boldness, which implies absence of fear as we stand in ministry as Christ’s representatives, flows directly from our awareness of this unspeakable love of God for us in Christ. Knowing the love of the Father is the secret place of the Most High (Psalm 91:1). Dwelling in this secret place is what gives us boldness to speak up and out for Christ.

When the church prayed from the secret place, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31 NKJV). All who were filled with the Holy Spirit spoke the word of God with boldness. The Holy Spirit emboldened them to act on behalf of God. They did so because they felt secure in the assurances of the Father’s love. The Holy Spirit fills us to speak boldly for and on behalf of God.  We take the initiative and begin to declare our faith in Christ wherever we are. We should not live merely in reaction to the devil because that would mean that he determines our agenda. We should rather take him by surprise by acting and speaking as people who are standing in the secret place of the Most High. With Holy Spirit upon us, let us declare operation down, down satan as we turn our city upside down for Jesus. Don’t agree to keep silent again. Share your faith with boldness and be counted among those who are bringing in the great harvest into the kingdom. SILENCE, NO MORE!

THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME (3)

“⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ¹²Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12 NKJV)

When the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 disciples on the Pentecost day, the disciples responded with action –they spoke in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance and preached the gospel with remarkable unction that brought in three thousand souls into the kingdom. Action is always necessary for releasing the faith for the supernatural. A believer may be loaded with the power of God within but that power will remain a mere potential until it is released by relevant action by the believer. God fills you with the Holy Spirit to do something supernatural! For the church universal, the Holy Spirit did come on the Pentecost Day and has remained with her ever since.  For individual believers, the infilling of the Holy Spirit occurred when each person was baptised in the Holy Spirit. On that day, at that moment, the Holy Spirit moved in without measure. He resides in every believer with the fullness of the power of God waiting for the relevant action that will provoke His manifestation. Until we act, He remains dormant!

When the Apostles were threatened to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, they lifted up their voice with one accord and prayed to God. “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31 NKJV). Notice again that all who were filled with the Holy Spirit spoke the word of God with boldness. It was not only the apostles that preached with boldness, but as many as were part of that prayer meeting who became filled with the Holy Spirit.  Anytime the Holy Spirit comes upon a person, or group of persons, He always provokes some corresponding actions through which He manifests His power to honour Jesus and advance His kingdom. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter bore a powerful witness for Christ before the rulers of the Jews and declared that only the name of Jesus can bring salvation to humankind on earth. Such bold stand for what we believe excites God and provokes His interventions in the affairs of people. Will you begin to take a bold stand in His name?

Elymas the sorcerer held sway in the Island of Paphos, but soon ran out of luck when Paul and Barnabas who were full of the Holy Spirit arrived the island. Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of the Island had sought to hear the word of God from Paul and Barnabas but Elymas would not let him. “Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord” (Acts 13:9-12 NKJV). Signs and wonders reinforce the preaching of the Gospel.

Such power encounter as this, is part of the reason God fills His children with the Holy Spirit. The devil is doing so much that calls for our rebuke in order to checkmate him for the gospel to move forward in our time. God is waiting on you to unleash the power you are loaded with by doing something that will provoke the Holy Spirit in you to manifest His presence through you. Many a time all that is required of you is to make a faith declaration based on what you know is the will of God. Yes, God is depending on you to act on His behalf and He will back you up. Start today to release the power of God by speaking into the different situations you feel that demand His interventions. May the Lord depend on you to reveal His power in your sphere of influence in Jesus name.

THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME (2)

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4 NKJV)

The coming of the Holy Spirit is meant to equip believers to effectively represent Christ on earth and then to re-present Him to the world. This explains why every believer must not stop at nothing less than being full of the Holy Spirit and letting Him lead the way as we walk in the steps of Christ. It is erroneous to think that the Holy Spirit is meant for any special class of God’s children and not for others. I remember a dialogue that occurred between one young zealous charismatic and a priest in our student days.  The young charismatic had enthusiastically declared to the priest that he could preach the gospel and cast out demons because he was filled with Holy Spirit.  The priest took strong exceptions to such confidence and quietly asked the young charismatic why he could claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit when he was neither a priest nor a bishop.  He went on to explain that priests and bishops are representatives of Christ and therefore are the only ones that are filled with His Spirit.

Our text is clear on who was filled with the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost –“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Everyone among the one hundred and twenty disciples including the twelve apostles and others were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  God expects this pattern to be followed in all generations. Every believer in Christ should seek and expect to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Have you been filled with 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” (Acts 2:39 NKJV). Do not let anything prevent you from seeking to be filled with the Spirit of God.  God has not hidden His ardent desire to have anyone who desires, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The prophet Joel declared, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28 NKJV). You are included in this broad category of all flesh. Get filled with the Holy Spirit! Ask God to fulfil His promise to you and fill you with His Spirit. He will never disappoint you because He called and saved you for this purpose.

When you are filled you will know it.  when the disciples were filled on the Pentecost Sunday, they knew it. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4 NKJV). They spoke in the supernatural language as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Holy Spirit gave each person an utterance and each person spoke out what was given.  You are not to seek the utterance but the Spirit who gives the utterance. Some people seek the ability to speak in other tongues rather seeking for the Holy Spirit. The resultant effect is that we have people today who can speak in “other tongues” but who are evidently not filled with the Holy Spirit.  While the Holy Spirit can give one the ability to speak in “other tongues,” the ability to speak in “other tongues” cannot give you the Holy Spirit.  Go for the Holy Spirit with all the faith you can muster and the gift of tongues will be added to you.

When the Holy Spirit comes, He does so with all kinds of gifts, one of which is tongues.  Paul explained these supernatural gifts in his letter to the Corinthians; “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:8-10 NKJV). These nine supernatural gifts are included in the package the Holy Spirit comes with. You can ask for any of them and be sure He will give you attention.  God is eager to see you full of His Spirit and power such that you can effectively represent and re-present Christ on earth. May the hunger for the fullness of the Spirit drive you to the closet to pray until the fire comes upon you in Jesus’ Name.

THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME (1)

“This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33 NKJV)

The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the church on the day of the Pentecost was the logical conclusion of our Lord’s earthly ministry. It was on that day that He formally handed the baton to the Holy Spirit to continue His work in us, with us and through us. We can also understand Pentecost as our Lord’s inauguration of the church for her earthly ministry as His witness “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NKJV).  Our Lord had earlier hinted His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come and take His place when He goes back to the Father.

If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:15-18 NKJV)

Let me highlight some of the key points in this passage. First, the Holy Spirit is given to those who love God and demonstrate that love through obedience to His commandments. To experience an increasing presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life, you must live in obedience to God.  Second, the Holy Spirit is given in answer to the prayer of Jesus to His Father. God is still answering this prayer till today. Third, the Holy Spirit is coming to us as “another Helper.” This phrase requires an elaboration in order to appreciate its import better. The Greek word translated “Helper” in this verse, also signifies a Comforter, an Advocate, a Defender of a cause, a Counsellor, a Patron, a Mediator, and a Friend. Jesus had been all of these to His disciples while He was on earth with them. Hence, He described the Holy Spirit as “another” divine person who would be all of those to us when He comes.

Fourth, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. This means that as Jesus, He is the embodiment of truth, and therefore, a teacher of truth, a revealer of truth, and a defender of truth. At no other time in history does the church need the Spirit of truth than she does now. Our Lord promised, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:12-13 NKJV). As we learn to pay more and more attention to the Holy Spirit, we will overcome the current crisis of truth that seems to engulf the church worldwide. Only by the ministry of the Holy Spirit can we reverse the popular verse by James Russell Lowell, “Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne.” Only as we listen to the Holy Spirit and speak in His power and authority can we dethrone wrong in the heart of so many today.

Fifth, the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because it does not know Him and cannot see Him. When He came on the day of Pentecost, the world described those that received Him as drunkards. To this wrong accusation, Peter objected and explained in our text that what the people were seeing and hearing was the fulfilment of the promise of our Lord –the coming of the Comforter. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a testimony that Jesus was back on His throne at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

As we commemorate that initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit today, we expect that God will, as He has done throughout history, renew His work in our days and grant us a new Pentecost.

We attract a new outpouring as we exalt Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to exalt Jesus and whenever we focus on exalting Jesus, we prepare the platform for a new visitation from Him. As we enjoy the season of the Pentecost, let us pray that God will so fill us with His Spirit that people around us will both see His works and hear His words from us in Jesus’ Name.