The Incoming of the Holy Spirit

The Bible points to power.

Jesus addressed His disciples just before His ascension into heaven. He said, "'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth'" (Acts 1:8).

This power expresses itself in varying ways in each of our lives. This is the power of preaching. Some persons have the capacity to stand in front of others as the vehicle through whom the Holy Spirit of Christ moves to change lives. Not everybody can stand up in front of large groups of people. But every one of us can share a personal witness, empowered by the Holy Spirit, sharing with others the testimony of what God has done in our lives.

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All of us are given the power of prayer. Every one of us can be a "prayer warrior," the man or woman who has that special dynamic in life in which you take hold of God on behalf of the needs of others and your own needs.

Some have the power of music, that gift of God that touches the heartstrings of life.

Some have the power of suffering and affliction. These are the ones who are able to go through the most impossible circumstances of life, not somehow — but triumphantly, bearing witness to God's grace in Jesus Christ. Every single Christian is promised this abundant life, the fruit of the spirit, power to be effective witnesses for Jesus.

III.

Why, if all this is true, do you and I not experience this kind of life to a greater degree?

Perhaps it is because some of us are not even aware of the potential that is ours to live a life in the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Also, I am convinced that part of the reason some of us have not discovered the secret of the incoming of the Holy Spirit into our lives is that we think we have to live lives of waiting. Somehow, if we yearn enough and pray enough, God will enter our lives in the Person of His Holy Spirit.

Perhaps this tendency to wait for some kind of special blessing from God comes from the experience of the New Testament apostles. In the first two chapters, we read how the apostles went to an upper room. There they continued in one accord and prayer. Jesus had promised that His Holy Spirit would come upon them. They were waiting for this experience. For days, nothing happened. Then, on the Day of Pentecost, as they were all in one accord, Acts 2:2-4 says:

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.