When Jesus told His disciples these things in Acts 1 verses 4, 5 I think it was meant for us also. He said, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what He promised. Remember I have told you about this before, John baptized with water but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Was that a cultural thing, or was it just for the disciples and the people of that day? I don’t think so.
What was one of the reasons the Holy Spirit was poured out, or what was so important about it then as well as now? Jesus told them, and us, the reason in verse 8 when He said this, “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Isn’t this power still needed today for us to be effective witnesses for the Lord? In the day we live, I believe it is needed just as much as it was needed back then.
Was this baptism only for the Jews? No way, every believer would need this same power to be the Lord’s witnesses. This experience was not just for the Jews, but God wants even the Gentiles and all who would believe the Lord’s message to receive it. Read what Peter said speaking of the Gentiles in the book of Acts 10:34–35, ”I see very clearly that God doesn’t show partiality, in every nation He accepts those that fear Him and do what is right.” Then in verses 44-46 it says, “Even as Peter was saying these things the Holy Spirit had fallen on all who had heard the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles too. And there could be no doubt about it, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.” These Gentiles had the same experience that the people did on the Day of Pentecost. What was amazing about what had happened? First the people received power when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
Let’s read what else happened, it says in Acts 2:1–11, “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
Everyone heard them speaking in their own native language and they were bewildered and beside themselves with wonder. Think about this, these people were from all over and the people that were speaking were Galilean Jewish believers that didn’t know their language. This was not a miracle of hearing but of speaking. These people heard them speaking the wonders of God in their own language, praise God!!
I think about the missionaries today that have to spend hours learning the language of the people that they are going to minister to and these people knew the languages of the people without even learning them. How effective would that be for us today? In our culture there are a lot of different ethnic backgrounds and many different languages, what a blessing it would be to be able to speak each language.
Not only that, what about the power to witness with no fear. When the Day of Pentecost occurred there was a lot of persecution to believers, these were very trying times. They knew their lives were on the line when they witnessed for the Lord. Think about Peter, not long before this he denied the Lord three different times out of fear. But after he was baptized in the Holy Spirit he became very bold. Peter’s first sermon resulted in three thousand souls being saved! If Peter needed the baptism as well as the others that were with him, so do we.
So if you are a Christian and haven’t been baptized in the Holy Spirit and you are having a hard time witnessing, pray and ask God so you can receive it. Don’t hold back, do it today!
God bless you and have a great day!!
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