Daily Scripture Reading: Acts 2:4 KJV
Acts 2:4 KJV
(4) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Today’s Devotional Is RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT
ALL THOSE WHO RESORTED IN THE UPPER ROOM ON Pentecost were filled with Holy Spirit. Men must be filled with the Holy Spirit to serve as deacons in the Church’s secular affairs. Barnabas’s recommendation that he was a good, holy man was more important than the fact that he had left his lands.
Most Christians believe that the filling with the Holy Spirit is the exclusive prerogative of a few. They have never considered it to be within their reach. The Church has been paralysed because she lacks the only power that she can use in the war against the world, that which was clearly pledged by her ascending Lord. Pentecost was supposed to be the example and type for all the years of this age. We have fallen well below this blessed level not because God failed, but because the Church neglected this privilege.
It is essential that we desire to see God’s glory. We must seek the power of the Spirit, not for our happiness or comfort nor for the good we might be able to achieve, but so that “Christ may be magnified within our bodies, by life and death.”
Clean vessels are essential. God won’t deposit His precious gift in unclean containers. To be able to trust God with what we want, we must first wash our hands in the blood of Christ.
He must be received by faith. The Holy Spirit has been granted to the Church, so there is no need to wait. We don’t have to struggle or wrangle in the vehemence and entreaty of asking for God’s help, but we can simply accept what God has to offer. He gives the Holy Ghost to those who obey Him (Act_5/32).
It is important to be open to the Holy Spirit doing whatever He wants with us and through us. You must not be afraid, hesitant, or unsure of your purpose. We must believe that God is filling us with new power, joy, and glory.
PRAYER for Today
O God, we pray that the Holy Spirit infiltrates us so that sin and self have no power over us but that the fruits and gifts of the Spirit may be abundant to Thy honor and glory. AMEN.