The Wait is Over!

At church yesterday the message God placed upon my heart emphasized the necessity of Christians to be baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.  It should be no surprise that the devil has sought any possible means to dissuade people from seeking the fullness of the Spirit.  Some have been deluded to think the gifts of the Spirit are no longer necessary today.  1 Corinthians 14:37-40 says, "If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. ³⁸ But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. ³⁹ Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. ⁴⁰ Let all things be done decently and in order."  No longer need we be ignorant, nor must we remain without power.  A pastor recently told me most churches are so concerned about "decently and in order" that "all things" are not encouraged.  I believe all things should be done decently and in order for our God is not a God of confusion:  we are the one who become confused!

Consider Saul who was later called Paul, an apostle and servant of the Most High God.  After Christ appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, Ananias was commanded by God to seek Saul out and pray for him.  This is Luke's account written in Acts 9:17-18:  "And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸ Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized."  Jesus is the One who baptizes His followers with the Holy Spirit and fire.

I find Paul's public recounting of this event in Jerusalem to a crowd most interesting.  He supplies additional information Luke did not record at first.  Paul's testimony from Acts 22:12-16 reads:  "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, ¹³ came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him. ¹⁴ Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'"  I am drawn to think over the question Ananias poses in verse 16:  "Now why are you waiting?  Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."  Paul had been filled with the Spirit:  what was he waiting for?  After praying with Paul, Ananias exhorted Paul to action.  "Why are you waiting?"  I hearken to the question the Ethiopian eunuch asked Phillip:  "Here is water:  what hinders me from being baptized?"

Why indeed are we often sluggish to obey God in both water baptism and the baptism with the Holy Spirit?  We need not wait any more!  Acts 1:4-5 records the words of Christ to the disciples after His resurrection before the day of Pentecost:  "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; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."  The Spirit was poured out upon the believers as they prayed in one accord in the upper room.  Does that mean we must wait to receive this as well?  Some mistake Christ's words as applying to us today, that "wait" means "quit serving."  Not at all!  The wait is over because Christ has ascended and God's Spirit has been sent!  Today is the day of salvation and the day of the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  It is only through the Spirit that we can serve God effectively, exercise spiritual gifts, resist the devil and all temptation, have understanding of God's Word, and victoriously engage in the spiritual battles we face daily.

Born-again Christians affirm that if a person will confess their sins, repent, and trust in Jesus Christ, they have assurance of salvation through the Word of God.  Yet some of these same believers (and I was once one of them!) stop short of believing if a person will confess their sin, repent, and ask in faith for Christ to be baptized with the Holy Spirit it may or may not happen.  How can this be?  Speaking for myself, I used to be the aforementioned person.  To put it bluntly, I for a while desired the baptism with the Spirit yet was unwilling to lay down my own will at the cross and humble myself.  I actually used scripture to fortify my position and hid behind a facade of spirituality.  In doing so to my shame I robbed God of glory and sacrificed my usefulness for His kingdom in exchange for pride.  But glory to God, He changed my heart and opened my eyes.  He showed me my great need for the fullness of the Holy Spirit, enabled me to believe the promises of His Word, and gave me faith to pray to receive.  Like John the Baptist I personally affirm that Jesus IS the One who baptizes His followers with the Holy Spirit and fire.  We have God's assurance in His Word in the matter and the testimony of the Holy Spirit to confirm the truth in our hearts.

Do you possess, by God's grace, the fullness of the Spirit?  Know that you can and that is His will for you. Jesus says in Luke 11:13:  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"   1 John 5:14-15 affirms:  "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."  Now why are you waiting?  Jesus says to you in Luke 11:9: "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."