MEMORY VERSE: And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Luke 24:49
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 21-22
The moment an individual confesses his sins, repents of them, and accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour, an indwelling of the Holy Spirit takes place i.e. the Holy Spirit comes and dwells inside him. The Holy Spirit is not racist, sexist or tribalist. The bible says,”whoever calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). It does not matter who the person is or where the person is from, the moment one gives his life to Christ He (Holy Spirit) comes to dwell inside one. Every born again christian in the world has a measure of the Holy Spirit inside them, and the same Holy Spirit that dwelt inside Jesus ,when He was on the earth, is the same Holy Spirit dwelling inside all believers all over the world. The Holy Spirit, dwelling in the believer, assures him that he is a child of God. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Also, from the day one gives his life to Christ, his body becomes the temple of the living God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Only the bodies of ‘believers’ are the temple of the God.
Asides the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, there is an infilling of the Holy Spirit or the enduement of power. Jesus told His disciples, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high”( Luke 24:49). Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The baptism of the Holy Spirit or infilling of the Holy Spirit or the enduement of power is a totally different experience. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for unbelievers. John 14:17 says, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Speaking in tongues goes hand in hand with the baptism of the Holy Spirit or the infilling of the Holy Spirit. When you go through the scriptures, you will find that whenever a fellow receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit he starts to speak in tongues (Acts 10:45-46). Note this, speaking in tongues is not an evidence of new birth but an evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This brings us to the question, why must you - if you are yet to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with an evidence of speaking in tongues - hunger for the infilling of the Holy Spirit? Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the gateway to the supernatural manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. Power to heal the sick and work miracles does not come until one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Not until one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit, one cannot receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
NOTE: The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (which happens at salvation) is basically for fruit bearing. The infilling of the Holy Spirit (which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit) is for service. The entire spirit filled brothers and sisters have in them an account of all the power they will ever need to be over in life. When the Holy Spirit is upon an individual, it means the individual has being filled with the fullness of God, has in him power to put him over in life, power for supernatural praying,etc.
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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world
