Getting to know the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit at Pentecost

After the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Pentecost is probably the most significant event in Christian history. The first ever mass outpouring of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised them.

The twelve Apostles (including Matthias the replacement for Judas Iscariot) were all praying together in the upper room when their baptism with the Holy Spirit came.

Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

This was the beginning of life in the Spirit for the twelve Apostles and other disciples of Jesus, and what a dramatic entry into their midst – a mighty wind and tongues of fire!

The spiritual significance of wind and fire:

Wind:

The Greek word for wind used in Acts 2:2 is ‘pnoē (pno-ay)’ and can also be translated as ‘breath’ referring to the breath of God. This is similar in application and meaning to the Hebrew word ‘ruwach (roo-akh)’ in the Old Testament when God breathed life into Adam. In view of this I think it safe for us to say that at Pentecost, God breathed new life into the apostles and others with the power of the Holy Spirit, a real baptism of fire!

Fire:

Now fire in its Divine sense has three spiritually symbolic representations.

1.     God’s presence

• Moses and the burning bush – Exodus 3:2
• God comes to Moses in fire on Mt Sinai – Exodus 19:18
• God leads the Israelites in the desert by a pillar of fire at night – Exodus 3:21,    Numbers 14:14
• Ezekiel has a vision of God in fire – Ezekiel 1:27
• God appears as lightning in a storm – Psalm 18:14, 29:7, 144:6
• Fire from heaven destroys the sacrifice when Elijah challenges the       prophets of      Baal – 1 Kings 18:38 

2.     God’s Punishment

• Fire from heaven destroys Sodom and Gomorrah – Genesis 19:24, the disobedient priests – Leviticus 10:1-2
• God’s anger is described as burning like fire – Hosea 8:15, Nahum 1:6; Lamentations 2:4
• God’s future and final judgment is often depicted as fire - 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation 8:7-8, 9:17–18, 18:8
• Hell is described as consisting of fire - Matthew 5:22; 13:42; 18:8–9; Revelation 20:10, 14–15 

3.     God’s Purification

• God’s future and final judgment is often depicted as fire - 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation 8:7-8, 9:17–18, 18:8

Baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire

In Matthew 11 John the Baptist is telling the crowds that have come out from Jerusalem and the surrounding towns that he can baptize them in water for repentance of sins but the one who will come after him (Jesus) is the only one who has the authority to baptize them with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.

Matthew 3:11-12 (NLT)

¹¹ “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹² He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

So now we ask ourselves this question, “What do these depictions of wind and fire in the scriptures reveal to us about the move of the Holy Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost?”

Simply this:

The wind indicates the presence of God – the breath of God breathing new life into the apostles.

The fire indicates the presence of God as well as a spiritual purification and an infilling of power taking place within the apostles.

It also indicates a renewal has taken place – God is doing something new!

So today when we receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, we are assured of our new life in Christ Jesus in the same way that the disciples were on the day of Pentecost.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

How do we know baptism with the Holy Spirit is for us today and wasn’t just for the disciples in those days?

Acts 2:38-39 (NIV)

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Verse 39 above makes it abundantly clear that the promise is for all believers at all times!

Now at Pentecost with all this commotion going on around the disciples it was inevitable that it would attract some kind of attention, especially as there were many visitors in Jerusalem as it was the time of Shavuot – The Harvest Festival.

A large crowd thus gathered around the disciples and because the disciples were speaking in tongues, which many of the foreign visitors could understand as their own language, they were thought to be drunk!

But Peter stood up to address the crowd to explain to them what was happening and to tell them about Jesus.

Look what happened when he had finished talking!

Acts 2:41 (NIV)

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Ok, so let’s examine a little more closely the things that happened right after Pentecost and right after the disciples are filled with and are moving in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:

1.  They began to speak in tongues (actual known different languages of the world on this occasion) – vs 4

2.   Peter boldly addresses the crowd and speaks with wisdom quoting the Word – vs 14

3.   A Holy Spirit inspired conviction came upon the crowd – vs 37

4.   About 3000 people got saved – vs 41

5.   “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking  of bread, and in prayers” – vs 42

6.  The fear of God came upon the people and the apostles performed many signs and wonders – vs 43

7.  The first Christian family was formed, caring for one another – vs 44-46

8.  Continual praise was given to God and the Holy Spirit added new believers to their numbers every day – vs 47

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: The lead up to Pentecost

The next few weeks we will be looking at the influence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Lord’s disciples – the ‘twelve’ and other close followers of Jesus in the Book of Acts.

Mark 16:20 (NLT)

And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

The lead up to Pentecost

In Acts 1 we are told that Jesus appeared to the disciples on a number of occasions after his resurrection to encourage them. On one of these occasions whilst dining with them, he tells them not to leave Jerusalem until they have received the Father’s gift of the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:3-5 (NIV)

³ After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Just before the ascension of Jesus into heaven, he left the disciples with the instruction to wait in Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father which was the infilling of the Holy Spirit – power from on high.

Luke 24:49 (NLT)

 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

And in John 16:12-15, again just before his ascension, Jesus tells the disciples that he has lots to tell them, but they won’t be able to bear it all right then, but when the Holy Spirit comes, as in Luke 24:49 above, he will guide them in all truth, step-by step throughout their lives.

John 16:12-15 (NIV)

¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

So now we have the scene set, the lead up to Pentecost, where the disciples are waiting in Jerusalem to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and where they will receive power from on high to enable them to step out and fulfil their God-given purpose in Christ Jesus.

Acts 1:8 (NLT)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In the meantime, let’s have a look at what they were doing whilst they were waiting. They weren’t just hanging around, they were actively engaged in putting into place some very important spiritual principles.

1.     They were waiting in Jerusalem just as the Lord told them to. Being obedient to the Word – Acts 1:4; Luke 24:49.

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

2.     They were praying together continually – Acts 1:14. 

3.     They chose another apostle to replace Judas in obedience to the Word – Acts 1:20; Ps 109:8.

What can we learn from this to apply to our lives today?

Cultivate a daily lifestyle where prayer and obedience to the Word plays a BIG part – in fact the BIGGEST part and wait patiently for the Lord!

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: Who is it that baptises the born again believer with the Holy Spirit?

When we go through water baptism we are usually baptized by a pastor or an elder or another in authority at our local fellowship, but who is it that baptizes us with the Holy Spirit?

It is Jesus, our High Priest, who baptizes us in the Holy Spirit. Let’s have a look at the scriptures that confirm this.

Matthew 3:11 (NLT)

 “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m notworthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

In the above verse it is John the Baptist talking to the Jews and the person he is referring to as the one that will come after him is Jesus. The verse below also confirms that it is Jesus who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:33 (NLT)

Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

In the below verses we see that Paul imparts the Baptism with the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus when he lays hands on some disciples in Ephesus 

Acts 19:1-7 (NLT)

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.

“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.

And they replied, “The baptism of John.”

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: What did life in the Spirit look like for Jesus?

What did living life in the Spirit look like for Jesus – his daily life?

Knowledge of the Word!  Prayer!  Fasting! All self-sacrificial and obedient to the Word of God itself, and of course to the Father!

Jesus had a well-developed lifestyle of prayer when he began his ministry, and this continued all through his ministry on earth. There are at least twenty-seven verses in the New Testament that tell of Jesus praying.

Matthew 14:23 (KJV)

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

Luke 5:16 (KJV)

And he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed.

This is what the lifestyle of Jesus looked like - life in the Spirit Rom 8 - and we need to be imitators of Christ!

Eph 5:1 
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 

John 14:12 
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Miracles, signs and wonders – Gifts of the Spirit

1.     Changing water into wine – Jn 2:1-11

2.     Healings:

The official’s son – Jn 4:46-47

Peter’ mother-in-law – Mk 1:30-31

The Leper – Mk 1:40-45

The Centurion’s servant – Mt 8:5-13

The paralytic – Mt 9:1-8

The woman with an issue of blood – Lk 8:43-48

The two blind men – Mt 9:27-31

The man at the pool – Jn 5:1-9

The deaf and mute man – Mk 7:31-37

The blind man in Bethsaida – Mk 8:22-26

The man born blind – Jn 9:1-12 

The man with abnormal body swelling – Lk 14:1-4

The 10 lepers – Lk 17:11-19

Two blind men at the roadside – Mt 20:30-34

The ear of the high priest’s servant – Lk 22:50-51

3.     The great catch of fish – Lk 5:1-11

The 2^nd great catch of fish – Jn 21:5-7

4.     Casting out demons:

The man in the synagogue – Mk 1:23-28

The two demoniacs – Mt 8:28-34

The man who could not speak – Mt 9:32-33

The man who was demon possessed and blind – Mt 12:22

The Canaanite woman’s daughter – Mt 15:22-28

The boy plagued by a demon – Mt 7:14-21

The woman crippled by a spirit for 18 years – Lk 13:10-17

5.     Resurrection:

The widow’s son – Lk 7:11-18

The synagogue leader’s daughter – Mt 9:18-26

Lazarus – Mt 11:38-44

Jesus rose from the dead – Lk 24-5-6

6.     Calming the storm – Mt 8:23-27

7.     Feeding the five thousand – Mt 14:15-21

8.     Feeding the four thousand – Mt 15:32-39

9.     The fig tree withers – Mt 21:18-22

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: Jesus overcomes the Tempter

How did Jesus silence Satan and overcome temptation?

Through his knowledge of the Word! It is written.

Luke 4:4 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ^{(Deut 8:3)}

Matthew 4:7 (NIV)

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ^{(Dt 6:16)}

Matthew 4:10 (NIV)

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ^{(Dt 6:13)}

Three strikes and he’s out!

Matthew 4:11 (NIV)

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

What’s important for us to remember and put into practice from this little section?

1.     Fasting

Although there is no scripture in the Bible that commands us to fast, we do know that fasting was part of Jesus’ lifestyle and as we are called to be imitators of Christ it makes good sense for us to fast at times as well. Just before his encounter with Satan in the wilderness, we are told this:

Matthew 4:2 (NLT)

For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

And Jesus says this to his disciples just after his teaching to them on how to pray:

Matthew 6:16

“When you fast,…………..

Here the Lord says “When you fast” not “if you fast” so from this we can gather that there is an expectation for us to fast.

2.     Knowledge of the Bible

Knowledge of the scriptures should of course be a key priority in our daily walk as Christians and true followers of Christ! As Jesus is the Word, the more we know the Bible the more we will know Jesus!

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit and Jesus the Man

Jesus – The Spirit Filled Man

Jesus – the Spirit filled man. Now this is a statement worth pondering on!

Jesus the man, but not just an ordinary man, a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The kind of man that Jesus wants us to strive to be from day to day – being transformed to His image.

The example that every born-again Christian should be following of course is the example of Jesus, in fact, He is the only example we should be following. The words that every born-again Christian should listen to, follow, believe in and put into practice in our lives are those found in the Bible, the Word of God. His manual for our lives! Jesus and the Word are one.

All right then so let’s have a good look at how the Holy Spirit influenced the life of Jesus and what Jesus said and taught about him (the Holy Spirit) that we need to take hold of and mold our lives into and around. I guess what I need to say now is that every word that comes out from our Lord needs to govern our Christian walk. But let’s look at the specifics of the Holy Spirit.

A good place to start then is in the book of John. If we turn to Chapter 1, we read this from the words that John the Baptist himself spoke:

John 1:32-34

32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

In this chapter from verse 29, John the Baptist is witnessing to his followers that Jesus is the messiah. He goes on to tell them in the three verses above that he saw the Holy Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on Jesus. This was Jesus’ baptism in the Spirit directly from the Father in heaven and in addition to this, verse 33 tells us that it is Jesus who will baptise us (all believers who desire to believe and receive) in the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting to note too that it was only after Jesus was baptised in water and in the Holy Spirit that he began his ministry in great power and wherever he went and taught, miracles, signs and wonders and many other supernatural happenings accompanied his ministry as he moved in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants us to emulate him in this way too – he will baptise us in the Holy Spirit so that we are able to do as he did and do even greater things! A victorious Church that is moving in the power of the Holy Spirit and in unity. How cool is that?

Continues next week with....Jesus defeats the Tempter!

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit and Jesus the baby and the boy

The Holy Spirit and how he was influential in the life of Jesus as a baby and a boy when he walked the earth in human form.

The birth of Jesus:

Matt 1:18 (NLT)

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the above verse we are told that Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit thus making God the father of Jesus. This was a significant move of the power of God through the Holy Spirit that had never been done before and will never be done again in any other being – God and the Word becoming flesh in order to fully identify with man!

The verses we have read above show us that the Holy Spirit was active in the life of Jesus the man right from his conception in the womb of his mother Mary.

The Bible doesn’t say much about Jesus as he grew up as a child, or as a young man until he reaches the age of 30 and begins his ministry as a man in the power of the Holy Spirit – that is after being both water-baptised and then immediately baptised with the Holy Spirit.

We’ve established that the birth of Jesus was the work of the Holy Spirit, so let’s now look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the baby Jesus and then the boy Jesus.

The Holy Spirit and the baby Jesus – Luke 2:1-40

In these verses Luke describes three significant, supernatural encounters that occurred in the first eight days in the life of baby Jesus.

1.   An angel of the Lord and a company of the heavenly host appear to a group of shepherds in the fields to tell them about the birth of the long-awaited Messiah – Luke 2:8-20.

2.   At baby Jesus’ dedication at the temple in Jerusalem he is blessed by a man called Simeon who is described as full of the Holy Spirit. Simeon takes Jesus in his arms (a sort of laying on of hands and praying) and praises God for the birth of the Messiah – Luke 2:21-35.

3.   At the same time there was also a prophet named Anna at the temple who also thanked God for the Messiah and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Proclaiming to all that the long- awaited messiah was finally here!

The Holy Spirit and the boy Jesus – Luke 2:41-52

The next time Jesus is mentioned in the Bible is as a 12-year old boy. In these verses (Luke 2:41-52) we are told that Mary and Joseph and their family (including Jesus) went to Jerusalem to attend the Passover Festival. After the festival they leave for home, but Jesus stays behind without his parents realising. It is only after a day’s travel that they notice that Jesus is missing and return to Jerusalem to find him. It is three days before they find him, and this is what he was doing, remember he is just 12 years old:

Luke 2:46-47 (NIV)

⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

So, in the above verses we see that this 12-year-old boy is sitting among the teachers of the day asking them questions and they are amazed at his understanding and his answers to their questions. This is the work of the Holy Spirit rising up in him.

After this the Bible doesn't tell us anything further in the life of Jesus the the boy except that he grew in stature and favour with both man and God.

Coming next week: The Spirit filled life of Jesus the man.

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120