“Wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5). This was the command Jesus gave to His disciples before He gave them the Great Commission. Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Jesus did not just hand the disciples a job to do. He also left them the tool and power to do the job and to do it right.
If the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not important then why did Jesus make it a command? It seems to me that if He was saying ‘Hey, this power is available if you want it; if not don’t worry about it,’ then He would not have commanded His followers to receive it. So to me this must be pretty important and something we need to pursue.
I guess the other question is do we need the empowerment of the Spirit today? My answer would be yes, but am I alone? Over the last several months I have heard people say things like the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not important, people still do good works without it, people still have active ministries without it, it is only a formality, etc. I know people can do good works and God’s work without the baptism of the Holy Spirit but could you imagine how much greater they could be with that power working in them? How much greater their ministry could be?
As far as I can tell our mission or commission has not changed since the early church. We are to still share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world, reach out to those in need, and shine our light for those who are lost. Why, if our mission is the same, should we feel that we do not need the same Helper, the same power, as those who actually met and lived and studied under our Lord and Savor Jesus Christ? To me, we need that same power. To me, witout it is like going into battle without ammunition or the correct ammunition.
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