THE HOLY SPIRIT

(Continued)

Luke 4:18,19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

                          Because He has anointed Me 

                          To preach the gospel to the poor;

                          He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

                          To proclaim liberty to the captives

                          And recovery of sight to the blind,

                          To set at liberty those who are oppressed,
                          To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

These words were spoken by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth after returning from His forty days of temptation in the wilderness, during which time He had been fasting from all food.
Prior to His wilderness temptation, Jesus was baptized of John the Baptist in the River Jordan. In Luke's account he says in Chapter 3:21,22
                         Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized;  and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
In effect, following his baptism by immersion in the Jordan River, Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit in order to be able to accomplish His earthly ministry.
Although Jesus was and is the Christ, the Anointed Son of God, or God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, when He came to earth, He confined Himself to a human body just like ours with flesh and blood. Although He was still God, He was also fully man, having divested himself of His Godly attributes of omniscience (all knowing), omnipotence (all powerful), and omnipresence ( able to be everywhere at one time).
It is therefore easy to see that Jesus had to fully rely on the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit in order to carry out His earthly ministry effectively.
It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus which enabled Him to see the dead raised, the blind receive their sight, the lame to walk, the deaf and mute to hear and speak, the demonized to be set free of all Satanic oppression and bondage, all multitude of diseases and mental torments to be healed. He brought hope to those who had no hope, he spoke directly to situations in peoples' lives through words of knowledge, he prophesied concerning the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem in particular. He prophesied His own death and resurrection.
When he needed God's wisdom in addressing "traps" of the enemy laid by the scribes and Pharisees, the Holy Spirit enabled Him to respond always in a manner which showed insight which defeated his opponents schemes to trap and trip him.
For those who sat in great darkness, He came as a light. He was and still is the Light of the World. As He said in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
His message brought conviction of sin to the broken and humble, who in turn saw their lives transformed by the revelation of God's grace, mercy and love. 

In all four Gospels, John the Baptist who was sent by God to "prepare the way for coming of the Messiah", Jesus, is recorded as saying concerning Jesus that it was He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke's accounts record John the Baptist saying Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a provision of the Lord for all believers subsequent to being born again or being saved (both Biblical terms). Our salvation does not depend on it, but our effectiveness in serving the Lord, and our fruitfulness in ministry may well depend on this provision. I once heard a quote from Rev. Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal minister in the USA who was at the forefront of the Charismatic Movement in the early 60's, where he stated words to the effect: "For a Christian to be born again but not baptized in the Holy Spirit is like sending a soldier to Vietnam without a rifle." (The Vietnam War was, of course raging at that time).
I was baptized in the Spirit in 1969 following water baptism, not immediately following, but as a result of prayer specifically for the Lord Jesus Christ to fill me with His Spirit - the same afternoon. I will forever be grateful to Bob and Jan MacPherson, a couple in the Church of England in Surfers Paradise, where I was attending church, who led a Wednesday night Charismatic home fellowship group.Teaching input from many, if not most of the leading figures God was using in the Charismatic Renewal at that time - people such as Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Dennis Bennett, Harald Bredesen, Charles Simpson, Howard Carter (who headed up the Logos Foundation), Paul and Bunty Collins from NZ, Michael Harper and many others - was provided through an extensive lending library of cassettes in Bob and Jan's home. 

When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I spoke in tongues. I was overwhelmed with a physical sense of God's presence in my life - like electricity going through my body, but not at all unpleasant. I could not stand up for some time, and my experience caused me to understand why the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost had to say to those observing what had happened to the 120 on whom the Holy Spirit had been outpoured: "These are not drunk, as you suppose." I literally felt like I was drunk in the Spirit. Having said that, though, I know not everyone's experience will be the same.
Let me finish by stating again that I firmly believe, on the basis of the Word of God, that the Lord is wanting every believer in Jesus who has committed his or her life to Him, to avail themselves of the "Promise of the Father" - to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, to be empowered from on high, to be fully equipped for effective Christian life and ministry in these challenging times in which we live.

If you are reading this, and you are not a Christian, this all might sound a little strange to you. That should not at all be surprising, because the Bible says: The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14. The starting point to understanding the things of God is to be, as the Bible says born again.

For help in taking that step into a new life as a follower of Christ, as a Christian, may I suggest the following resource: www.vision.org.au
Click on the "Growing your faith" tab, then "Looking for God." 
God Bless!
                         

                           

THE HOLY SPIRIT

(CONTINUED)

This current blog topic is not intended to give an exhaustive teaching on the person of the Holy Spirit. There is much to know and to learn concerning the Person, Work, Nature, Bible emblems, Characteristics, and Ministry of the Holy Spirit - which can be readily researched on the internet through various ministry sources.

That being said, let me briefly address another related topic concerning the Holy Spirit, which over the years has been fraught with divided and divisive opinion, each camp claiming to be able to support their personal stance with strong Biblical backing.

I refer to the subject of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the present day operation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians Chapters 12-14.

My motivation, in part, for addressing this topic at this time, has been kick-started by my concerns raised in my mind by high profile pastor, Bible teacher and author, John Macarthur's recent "Strange Fire" book and conference. John Macarthur is a fundamentalist Calvinist, who unashamedly has for many years publicly denounced the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, and the associated manifestations or gifts of the Holy Spirit. He is a cessasionist, meaning that he is of the firm belief that with the passing of the original 12 apostles and the completion of the canon of Scripture, that not only the ministry of apostles and prophets ceased, but also the gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12-14. He even boldy asserts that the gift of "speaking in tongues", one of the hallmark features of the Pentecostal and Charismatic experience is demonic in origin. He also states that those who practise speaking in tongues and other Pentecostal or Charismatic manifestations are actually guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. As a Christian who has been firmly in the Pentecostal / Charismatic sector of the Body of Christ (the Church) for some forty four years now, for all but two years of my Christian life, I can only respond to such claims with astonishment. My reading of Jesus' words in Matthew 12 concerning blasphemy against the Holy Spirit seems to signify that attributing the work or ministry of the Holy Spirit to Satan or demons is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. To that end, I feel people such as John Macarthur are on very, very dangerous ground.
In all four Gospel accounts, John the Baptist, whom God sent as a messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is recorded as saying of Jesus that it is He who would "baptize believers in the Holy Spirit" (and with fire, as stated in Matthew and Luke's accounts). This was obviously going to be a key element of His ministry to believers from the commencement of the Church age. 

In John 20, after the Resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week, He appears to ten of his disciples (Judas Iscariot had betrayed Him, and committed suicide, and Thomas was not there). In verse 21, Jesus encourages them with these words: "Peace be unto you; as my Father has sent Me, even so send I you".

Then verse 22 says: And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them, "Receive the Holy Spirit". It could well be argued that this was the point in time when the Holy Spirit came to indwell the lives of the disciples in the same way that He does when any person commits his or her life to Christ, being, as the Bible says born again of the Spirit.

Were these disciples of Jesus "baptized in the Holy Spirit" at that time? No, they weren't. In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 24, again, after the Resurrection of Jesus, just before His ascension to the Father,Jesus gives this encouragement and direction to the disciples: "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high".
In the first chapter of the Book of Acts, Luke records these words, adding more detail to the above direction given in Luke 24.
In Acts 1: 4 it reads: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which", He said, "you have heard from Me;
for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
Jesus further said in verse 8: "But you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
True to the words of Jesus, the embodiment of Truth, ten days later on the Jewish feast Day of Pentecost, which also was fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus, as 120 of Jesus' disciples and followers (men and women) were gathered in the Upper Room, being in one accord in one place,
Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:2-4 NKJV
The 120 in the Upper Room were the first New Testament believers to be "baptized in the Holy Spirit" by Jesus, the one who as foretold by John the Baptist would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

AH! BUT WAIT! THERE'S STILL MORE (In other words......To Be Continued).

THE HOLY SPIRIT

As a child, I did not come from a Christian home. My parents did not go to church, but I do remember going to a Methodist Sunday School for a while in Surfers Paradise on Queensland's Gold Coast where we were living. Then, as a teenager at about age fourteen I started attending the local Church of England youth group with another friend from school. That led to us being asked by the rector (minister) to become 'servers' - I suppose similar to altar boys in the Catholic Church. The church had two Sunday morning services - 7am and 9am. We were involved in the 7am service. Eventually, through a school holidays church 'coffee shop' outreach, I heard the gospel message clearly as one of the youth group leaders sat until about midnight one night sharing the message of salvation through Jesus Christ with me. I prayed the "Sinners' Prayer" and, at that point in time, my Christian life began. I knew that something had happened in my life. I literally did sense the experience of being 'born again' as the Bible says in John 3:3&7. I went home feeling invigorated, and woke up the next morning feeling a sense of God's nearness, and a real sense of His cleansing from my sin.

I knew from my Sunday School lessons earlier, and from attending the church services and hearing the Word of God preached that the God of the Bible was referred to as the Trinity, and that Christians believe, on the basis of the Word of God in a tripartite God - One God in Three Persons - God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1:26 as part of the creation narrative, the Bible says: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness........"

I could understand something of the concept of God being Father, and could also understand something of the person of Jesus through the Christmas story and signifance of Easter and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - even before any church or Sunday School involvement I probably had some exposure to Christian teaching, through Bible-in-Schools programs as well.

But, I remember the Holy Spirit being a total mystery to me. Actually as a child, with the King James Version of the Bible being the main Protestant Scripture source, the Holy Ghost was the terminology most heard - which sounded to me a little spooky. As a child, and into my early teens, ghosts were scary ethereal figures that haunted old dilapidated houses, and were the stuff of nightmares!
However, when I became a Christian, I learned that the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, as we mostly refer to Him now is a vital member of the Godhead - Yes, He is a He, not an IT, not some vague force, but a Person with Personality.
When Jesus was about to finish His earthly ministry, He told His disciples in John 14:15-18
"If you love Me, keep my commandments,
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; but you know Him
for He dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you".
The Bible tells us that when we commit our lives to Jesus Christ, when we confess our sin and our need of a Saviour and accept the work of Jesus shedding His blood and dying on the Cross, the sinless Son of God dying in our place, we are "born again" by the work of the Holy Spirit as he makes alive our human spirit which until that time has been unresponsive to the Spirit and Word of God. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Jesus' disciples were sad when He told them He was going away, but He reassured them that He would send another Helper and that He would abide or dwell with them forever. The Greek word Jesus used for another Helper is allos which means another of the same kind. The Holy Spirit Jesus would send would be their Helper, Counselor, Comforter, and Guide. The Holy Spirit's coming assured them of continuity of what Jesus both did and taught.
Every man, woman or child who personally commits their life to Christ and is "born again" of the Holy Spirit becomes as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:17 a new creation in Christ, able to commune or have fellowship with our Father God.

BUT WAIT...............THERE'S MORE!

If you want to know more about how you can be "born again" and can experience the life God has planned for you - not an easy life, but a life in fellowship with your Creator God, a life led by the Holy Spirit, a life filled with purpose and promise for the future - contact one of the following ministry contacts:
www.vision.org.au (Click on the Grow your faith tab at the top of the page, then Looking for God?)
www.livingwaters.com
www.wayofthemaster.com

If you have made a commitment of your life to Jesus Christ, please let me know in the comment section below.