Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit!

From the desk of Dr. Mary Tisdale Green

RECOVER ALL WEDNESDAY

Peter’s instructions for how to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38–41.
1. The word of God must be heard. Peter has preached that in God’s plan Jesus was crucified, raised, and exalted as Lord over all the universe and that forgiveness of sin and spiritual renewal can be had from him. The Word has been heard.
2. The sovereign God must call men and women to himself, or they will never come. Verse 39 says, “The promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, everyone to whom the Lord our God calls to him.” No one comes to faith in Christ unless the Father draws him (John 6:44, 65). The preached Word is heard with conviction and power only when the effectual call of God lays hold on the hearers.
3. We must “receive the word.” Verse 41: “So those who received his word were baptized.” Receiving the Word means that it becomes part of you so that you trust the Christ it presents. You trust his provision for your forgiveness. You trust his path for your life. You trust his power to help you obey. And you. The Holy Spirit gives Power, Boldness, and Confidence — Jesus says in Acts 1:5 and 8 that baptism in the Spirit means, “You shall receive power . . . and you shall be my witnesses.” This is an experience of boldness and confidence and victory over sin. A Christian without power is a Christian who needs a baptism in the Holy Spirit. I am aware that in 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says that baptism in the Spirit is an act of God by which we become a part of the body of Christ at conversion,

PRAYER: Therefore, I invite you to experience the greatest thing in the world: Repent, trust Christ, open yourself to the power of his Spirit, be baptized in his name, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen