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And when they had prayed, the place was
Shaken where they were assembled together; And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, And they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts4:31 In John chapter twenty Jesus breathes on the disciples and they received the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter two the one hundred and twenty spent their time in prayer and fasting and they receive the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter four when persecution came on the church the disciples received the Holy Spirit again. This is not only for the disciples in the early church. When we are born again we receive the Spirit for the remission of sin. When we are initially baptized in the Spirit we receive the evidence by uttering in tongues and when we receive the gifts of the Spirit it is another outpouring of the Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit was never meant to be a one time deal. It was meant to be a repeated experience with greater impartation of gifts and ministry. Receiving the Holy Spirit was never meant for retirement. ‘I’ve got it so now I can relax and use my faith to get the blessings of Abraham.’ This last filling of the Spirit cited above was for the disciples to have boldness. They had received the baptism of the Spirit and now persecution has come on the church. So what they needed was a filling for boldness to preach the gospel and heal the sick and usher in the kingdom of God. If you are born again and have received the Spirit for remission of sin there is more. If you are born again and have experienced the baptism of the Spirit by uttering in tongues, there is more. There are gifts and fruit of the Spirit that God is waiting to bless you with if you yield to the Spirit you already have and obey God. The filling of the Spirit should be a repeated experience with greater gifts and fruit manifested. It seems to be the state of the church to fall back into religion once an outpouring of the Spirit has taken place. Rather than pressing in they become smug and indifferent to the needs of other churches and the world. They don’t press in. Pressing in means that you work out what God has worked in and you turn your life over to prayer and fasting for the kingdom of God. It is a continual moving forward for the kingdom of God. These are the last days. God is pouring out his Spirit in marvelous ways. To be a part of the movement of God we must devote ourselves to prayer, fellowship, the breaking of Bread, and the word of God. We must not become complacent or satisfied with yesterday’s blessing but press in for boldness and hunger and thirst for the kingdom. St. Paul said he forgets what is behind but constantly moves forward and so must we. Amen |