Baptism With the Holy Spirit

I remember being initially put off by talk of being "baptised with the Holy Spirit" in my youth.  Frankly, I wasn't interested.  I was fine to repent and trust in Jesus to be born again, pray, and meet with other believers.  But I was not ready to submit to being baptised with the Holy Spirit because I saw it as unnecessary, not understanding that such a baptism is necessary to become the Spirit-fueled Christian God desired and intended me to be.  In retrospect I can see clearly I secretly scoffed at various spiritual gifts because I did not have them, and therefore I did not want them.  Ah, that Christ would graciously open the eyes of a blind believer such as myself is beyond me!

God used the scripture to open my eyes to my need - yes need - to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.  John the Baptist said of Christ in Matthew 3:11, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  I was happy to be baptised with water as a child in identification and obedience to Christ, but why the hesitancy to seek the baptism with the Spirit?  I started asking myself:  if Jesus is the one who does the baptising, why should I remain skeptical and aloof?  I discovered the promise of this "coming upon," this filling to overflowing of the Holy Spirit was for me through Peter's address on the day of Pentecost.  Acts 2:38-39 reads, "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ 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."  This is significant because Peter and other disciples had already received the Holy Spirit after Christ's resurrection (John 20:22), so Peter spoke concerning the power of the Spirit coming upon them promised by Jesus in Acts 1:8.

I thought, OK:  Jesus is the one who baptises with the Holy Ghost and fire, and the promise is for me as I am one who was afar off and called to salvation in Jesus.  But how could I know if I had been baptised with the Spirit or not?  Was I to seek a particular experience?  Would there be a feeling?  Thankfully, the scripture again came to my aid.  In his missionary travels, Paul met with believers in Jesus Christ and asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit "since they believed" (Acts 19:2).  They did not even know if there was a Holy Spirit!  Acts 19:4-6 says, "Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied." Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.  These disciples had repented and believed, but had not yet been filled to overflowing with the Spirit.  Paul believed it necessary for Christians to be filled with the Spirit, and as they humbled themselves before God in obedience, the Holy Spirit came upon them and miraculous power followed.  For any interested, more particulars of being filled with the Spirit can be found in a previous post.

It took some convincing, but ultimately I was positive I had never been baptised with the Holy Spirit, it was God's will I be baptised with the Spirit, and I strongly desired to be baptised with the Holy Spirit (a fervent desire I believe God provided), I asked God, and I was.  It is that simple.  Jesus compared the working of the Holy Spirit to the wind:  we can see the effects of the wind in the trees, but we do not know where the wind came from or where it is going.  The same is true of the Spirit.  We can see His impact, but we can't explain how He does His wonders.  Throughout the Old and New Testament we see people filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered for God's glory.  There is no magic formula, and no explanation I can give will satisfy your intellect.  Even as we trusted in God for salvation, we are called to seek and trust God and the truth of His Word for the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  I cannot convince you of your need to be baptised with the Holy Spirit or that God has spiritual gifts for you to operate in.  But are you willing to believe God's Word?  Has your will been entirely laid down?  If God has additional gifts for you to receive and exercise for His glory and the edification of the church, are you intent on receiving them?  Do you thirst for a closer walk with Jesus?  Are you willing to present yourself as a living sacrifice by faith, obey, and ask for this baptism and subsequent fillings of the Holy Spirit?  We are told to earnestly desire spiritual gifts operated in love (1 Cor. 12:31):  do you?  Luke 11:13 says, "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!"

A word of caution:  it is important our seeking of the baptism with the Holy Spirit spring from continually seeking Jesus Christ first and foremost.  If you are looking for power for yourself, testing God for proof of the Holy Spirit within you, desiring outward signs of spirituality to impress others, or a cool party trick, your heart is not right before God.  We are not to look to feelings or experiences to validate our faith, but to seek and obey Jesus according to God's Word.  When we do this, feelings and experiences will surely follow!  Read the book of Acts and see for yourself the indispensable power and influence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church.  His power and guidance is just as critical now as ever.  Place your entire being at God's disposal, allowing God to fill and empower your life completely for His purposes.  Once you have been baptised with the Holy Spirit, keep being filled with the Holy Spirit as you deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus.  He is the One who supplies us with Living Water!

Hot Showers and Creaky Knees

How easy it is to take things for granted!  Often it takes lack or denial of what we are accustomed to  before we recognise with gratefulness the gifts God has graciously supplied.

About 10 years ago I went on a trip to Israel and stayed in the Mugraby hostel in Tel Aviv.  It was a clean, affordable option close to the beach.  The only downside was in chilly November our group returned to the hostel late at night.  The toilet and shower facilities were shared between several rooms on a single floor.  By the time I was ready for a shower before bed, all the hot water had been used.  Let me tell you, I was surprised the water flowed from the shower head at that temperature!  Surely it was spitting sharp icicles, not water!  Ever since that experience, I have always been so thankful for hot showers.  I have had some cold showers since, but I thank the LORD the water is not always so cold.

Have you ever thanked God for your knees?  I hadn't - until I fully ruptured my ACL and needed surgery.  I can't recall ever thanking God specifically for my knees until I endured the pain of recovery and physical therapy.  Now that I am walking normally, can kneel when necessary, am able to golf and play baseball, I am not sour over minor swelling, tightness, and pain which will be likely part of my life for the duration.  I am so grateful to God that He has seen fit to heal me and enable me to do things I enjoy.  It took a major injury for me to understand sport and physical activities I have always been able to do are not a permanent fixture.  My knees are a gift God has provided me for this season of my life, and when God moves me into another season where sport is not possible I will still have Him, the Giver of abundant life.

I encourage you to thank God for something today you use all the time without thought but have never specifically thanked Him for.  You will discover quickly there is much more to thank God for than there are seconds in the day.  Every one of your trillion cells in your body cry out with thanksgiving to God.  All of eternity will not be enough time to praise and thank God enough for who He is and all He has done.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  Thank God for making His will known to us, and let us seek to fulfill it!

Just Business

"Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath."

Ezekiel 45:10

God's people were to be a reflection of His honest and just character.  Proverbs 11:1 says, "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight."  He commanded His people, "Be holy, for I am holy."  They were not to be like people who naturally showed partiality, favouritism, or nepotism, but to be honest, trustworthy, just, and conduct their business matters with integrity.  When discovered some people shrug at their own dishonest business practices and say, "That's just business."  If the God of Israel is also your God, the call to just weights and measures remains true regardless of what is socially acceptable.  In a "dog eat dog" world, we are to walk in light of the new nature God has given us through faith in Jesus and live His way.

From an early age people have the knack of always seeking preferential treatment for ourselves.  We eye the biggest slice of dessert, naturally seek the best deal, the most profitable investments, the biggest return for our money.  Both in Monopoly and real life we don't mind the concept of "Bank error in your favour."  Man shows partiality to himself over all, but those who are God's are to consider others more important than themselves.  That is the essence of biblical love displayed by Jesus Christ:  sacrificing self for the good of others.  If our benefit or profit comes at the expense of others through dishonesty, we ought to mourn rather than rejoice and seek to put things right.  The chief tax collector Zacchaeus demonstrated the connection between becoming a disciple of Christ with returning wealth gained dishonestly with interest in Luke 19.

Christians are not perfect, but we ought to strive to live justly in an unjust world.  If we skew the numbers for our own selfish benefit, we have become thieves worthy of just punishment.  To deceitfully enrich ourselves shows a fundamental lack of faith in God to provide for our needs.  Willful dishonesty for gain reveals we are greedy, dissatisfied, and ungrateful with what God has given us.  Our call as believers is not to measure ourselves by the world's distorted view of fairness, but to make decisions in light of God's justice.  Our assurance of forgiveness and salvation hinges upon this immutable characteristic of God as it is written in 1 John 1:9:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

We expect God to justly keep His Word, and we bring glory to His name when we trust Him, love others, and deal justly in our business.  In just business God delights!

Remember and Believe

When we see negative examples in the Bible of unbelief, folly, or wickedness, it is a portrait of stunning detail of ourselves.  Let us not scoff or shake our heads disapprovingly of what we do ourselves but learn from the unerring truth of scripture.  We can say in every case, "It is I, LORD!"  We may not have taken all sins to their ultimate fulfillment, but the potential and willingness to transgress is always present in our mind and members.

Last night I read Psalm 78, a comprehensive account of God's faithfulness, power, and miraculous dealings with the children of Israel.  Asaph provided a historical overview of many things God had done to deliver, provide, guide, and establish His people.  The common issue at the core of Israel's problems was their unbelief of God.  Though God had done much in the past and given great promises for the future, the people seemed incapable of connecting God's faithfulness in the past to assurance of His future faithfulness.  No matter what God did - the ten plagues in Egypt, deliverance through the Red Sea He parted, or provided water from rocks - the people tended to doubt God would come through in their current situation.  This unbelief provoked God to anger.

God did great wonders, but the people did not live in light of His certain love, strength, and power.  Here are a handful of verses all of God's people can relate to at points in our pilgrimage:

• The people forgot:  Psalm 78:9-11 reads, "The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. ¹⁰ They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, ¹¹ and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them."
• The people tested God in unbelief:  Psalm 78:18-22 says:  "And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. ¹⁹ Yes, they spoke against God: they said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? ²⁰ Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" ²¹ Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, ²² Because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation." 
• They flattered God with lies and their hearts did not remain steadfast:  Psalm 78:35-37 says, "Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. ³⁶ Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue; ³⁷ for their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant." 
• The people tempted and limited God because they forgot His deliverance:  Psalm 78:40-42 states:  "How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! ⁴¹ Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy..." 
• They were unfaithful and turned aside to idolatry:  Psalm 78:55-58 reads, "He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them an inheritance by survey, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. ⁵⁶ Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies, ⁵⁷ but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. ⁵⁸ For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images."

We may not have seen God's deliverance in battle, seen water flow miraculously from the rock, or experienced His deliverance from slavery, but we have more practical evidence of God's character and power than the children of Israel:  we have the Word of God provided for us!  There is the testimony of fulfilled scripture, Jesus Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  We also have our own testimony of God's faithfulness, power, and deliverance from the power of sin.  Though we are without excuse, we can justify the habit of making them!  I encourage you to read what God did for His people in Psalm 78 in full and consider the wondrous things He has done for His people and for you.  Let us not be as the children of Israel, forgetting what God did in the past so we doubt His present power.  Instead of bringing condemnation or guilt, the end of such considerations is genuine hope.  This is one necessary application of scripture, as it is written in Romans 15:4-6:  "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. ⁵ Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."