40 Days of Prayer - Day 1
The concept of the baptism, of the Holy Spirit is that there are two works of the Spirit: one is to lead us to accept Christ and be baptized in water. This work of the Spirit is for everyone.
The second work of the Spirit is to fill the Christian with His presence so he or she can truly live the Christian life and do the works of God. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and this work of the Spirit is not for the unbeliever—only the believer in Jesus Christ. For Jesus said the world cannot receive Him in this manner:
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 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" (John 14:16,17).
Jesus indicated that on, and after, the Day of Pentecost the baptism of the Holy Spirit became available to every believer when He said that He "shall be in you." This wonderful infilling-of-the-Spirit experience is available to you today.
Jesus is our example in all things. He was "born" of the Spirit, led by the Spirit from childhood into manhood, and baptized in water. Soon after His water baptism, He was baptized with the Holy Spirit, which He had prayed for at the time of His water baptism:
"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21, 22).
After the Spirit's infilling He was prepared to go forth in the power of the Spirit to do battle with Satan as never before:
"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season" (Luke 4:1-13).
He was empowered to preach and teach the kingdom of God, carry on a ministry of healing, and cast out devils:
"And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about. . . . The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year1 of the Lord" (verses 14-19).
Jesus said all who believe on Him would do even greater works than He did:
"Verily, verily, I say Unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12). :
When believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are empowered to do the same works as Christ because the same Spirit that filled Christ has filled them:
"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)" (John 7:38,39).
Before experiencing this Spirit infilling, God is with the believer because He Called and led him to accept Christ and be baptized in water. However, he will not have the fullness of the Spirit’s power within him until he receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus told the disciples td wait for the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost before they went forth to preach the gospel:
''And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.... 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" (Acts 1:4-8).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to every Christian today. God has promised to give the Spirit in fullness to us if we ask in faith:
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:14).
Concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Ellen White wrote: "I would that we had the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and this we must have before we can reveal perfection of life and character. I would that each member of the church would open the heart to Jesus, saying, 'Come, heavenly Guest, abide with me'" (2 Manuscript Release 26).
Some may question: Do I qualify to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit? There are two requirements. The first is to have received Christ as your Savior. The second is a decision to commit your life fully to Him. If you have accepted Christ and desire to follow Him in every aspect of your life, you qualify. If this is your desire and you want to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I invite you to pray the following prayer:
Father, I thank You for leading me to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I ask You to forgive me for all my sins. I desire to commit my life 100 percent to Jesus. I thank You for the promise to fill me with Your Spirit and claim the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in my life right now. Father, fill me with Your Spirit and manifest in me every fruit of the Spirit. I pray that You will so infill me with the presence of Jesus that His character will be fully manifested through me. I claim Your promise to empower me by Your Spirit to serve You as You lead me into ministry for Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
For the Personal Reflection and Discussion questions, see this post on the church website http://bit.ly/fAD0YM
The second work of the Spirit is to fill the Christian with His presence so he or she can truly live the Christian life and do the works of God. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and this work of the Spirit is not for the unbeliever—only the believer in Jesus Christ. For Jesus said the world cannot receive Him in this manner:
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 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" (John 14:16,17).
Jesus indicated that on, and after, the Day of Pentecost the baptism of the Holy Spirit became available to every believer when He said that He "shall be in you." This wonderful infilling-of-the-Spirit experience is available to you today.
Jesus is our example in all things. He was "born" of the Spirit, led by the Spirit from childhood into manhood, and baptized in water. Soon after His water baptism, He was baptized with the Holy Spirit, which He had prayed for at the time of His water baptism:
"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21, 22).
After the Spirit's infilling He was prepared to go forth in the power of the Spirit to do battle with Satan as never before:
"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season" (Luke 4:1-13).
He was empowered to preach and teach the kingdom of God, carry on a ministry of healing, and cast out devils:
"And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about. . . . The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year1 of the Lord" (verses 14-19).
Jesus said all who believe on Him would do even greater works than He did:
"Verily, verily, I say Unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12). :
When believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are empowered to do the same works as Christ because the same Spirit that filled Christ has filled them:
"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)" (John 7:38,39).
Before experiencing this Spirit infilling, God is with the believer because He Called and led him to accept Christ and be baptized in water. However, he will not have the fullness of the Spirit’s power within him until he receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus told the disciples td wait for the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost before they went forth to preach the gospel:
''And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.... 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" (Acts 1:4-8).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to every Christian today. God has promised to give the Spirit in fullness to us if we ask in faith:
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).
"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:14).
Concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Ellen White wrote: "I would that we had the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and this we must have before we can reveal perfection of life and character. I would that each member of the church would open the heart to Jesus, saying, 'Come, heavenly Guest, abide with me'" (2 Manuscript Release 26).
Some may question: Do I qualify to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit? There are two requirements. The first is to have received Christ as your Savior. The second is a decision to commit your life fully to Him. If you have accepted Christ and desire to follow Him in every aspect of your life, you qualify. If this is your desire and you want to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I invite you to pray the following prayer:
Father, I thank You for leading me to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I ask You to forgive me for all my sins. I desire to commit my life 100 percent to Jesus. I thank You for the promise to fill me with Your Spirit and claim the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in my life right now. Father, fill me with Your Spirit and manifest in me every fruit of the Spirit. I pray that You will so infill me with the presence of Jesus that His character will be fully manifested through me. I claim Your promise to empower me by Your Spirit to serve You as You lead me into ministry for Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
For the Personal Reflection and Discussion questions, see this post on the church website http://bit.ly/fAD0YM
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