Leonardo
da Vinci had started work on a large canvas in his studio. For a while he
worked at it, choosing the subject, planning the perspective, sketching the
outline, applying his own natural genius. Then suddenly he ceased, the painting
still unfinished, and summoning one of his students he invited him to complete
the work. The student protested that he was unworthy and unable to complete the
great painting the master had begun. But Da Vinci silenced him with these
words: "Will not what I have done
inspire you to do your best?"
That
which God has started, may we be inspired to complete with excellence and
reverence, using the gifts given to us by our Divine Teacher to His honour
and glory. Just as the early disciples were to continue the work of Christ
throughout events described in the book of Acts, so we are to continue His work
as His body, the Church, here on earth. We do this, as they did in Acts,
through the enabling and empowering of Christ's gift, the Holy Spirit:
Jesus said in Luke 24:49, “Behold,
I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem
until you are endued with power from on high.”
And in Acts 1:8 He said, “But
you shall receive power when 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.”
But
We must firstly realize what Christ’s gift is.
In John 14:16-17 Jesus
says, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that
He may abide with you forever— 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.”
When I first became a
born again Christian if you had asked me what Christ’s gift is, I would have
answered “Salvation”. Now I know that
salvation is the Father’s Gift (Salvation through His Son, Jesus). Jesus’ gift
to His Church is the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Bible passage I have quoted (John
14:16-17) says the Father is the one who
“gives us another helper”, the Holy Spirit, but it is at the request of
Jesus, so is ultimately His gift to us.
At first this gift was
forbidden to me by the teaching I had in my first Church, which taught that
speaking in Tongues was of the devil and Spirit Baptism happens at New Birth. It
was not until I left my home and went to university in London that I would
realize what Christ’s gift really is and, indeed, how important it is.
We must
freely receive this gift.
In Acts 2:38-39 we read, “Then Peter said to them,
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you
and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God
will call.”
Legendary Spanish artist
Pablo Picasso was virtually unknown when he painted his famous portrait of
American writer Gertrude Stein in 1906.
Picasso gave the portrait to Miss Stein since, as the artist himself
recalled with a smile, at that time in his career "the difference between a gift and a sale was negligible." Some years later, the portrait attracted the
interest of millionaire art collector Dr. Albert Barnes, who asked Miss Stein
how much she had paid Picasso for it. "Nothing,"
she replied. "Naturally, he gave it to me." Dr. Barnes was incredulous
that such a priceless work of art could have been a gift.
If you have ever thought
about the gospel for very long, you can probably appreciate Dr. Barnes's incredulity.
Think of what we have been given in Christ: forgiveness, eternal life, and all
the riches of heaven, all at a cost we could have never paid! But that is not all; we have the privilege of
sharing this treasure with others. But the greatest gift of grace is the Holy
Spirit Himself. In Him are all the gifts. The Holy Spirit is the seal bearing
the image of Christ (Ephesians 1:13), enabling us to paint the image of Christ,
the Master Artist, in our lives and in His creation. The Holy Spirit endows and
empowers us with His gifts of grace.
After backsliding in my
Christian life for about four years I finally came back to the Lord in 1985
when I was in Imperial College, London. Simon, my next door neighbour in Tizard halls of
residence, was a born again, spirit-filled Christian and I saw something in him
I did not have in my Christian life. One night I was really depressed and felt
compelled to go and speak to Simon. As I was about to knock on his door it
opened, and I almost knocked him on the head! He was going for the Christian
Union meeting and asked me to go with him. That night the speaker was talking
about what Jesus has done for us in His death, resurrection and the sending of
the Helper, the Holy Spirit. I felt like the speaker was speaking just to me
the whole time and at the end I recommitted my life to Jesus and decided to
find out more about the Holy Spirit.
Soon after my
recommitment I started going to Holy Trinity Brompton Church,
right behind my halls of residence. It was there that I enrolled in an Alpha
Course (an informal course for pre and new believers). At the end of the Alpha Course
we had a Holy Spirit Weekend where we went to a big mansion in the countryside
to have teaching on the Holy Spirit, ending with a time of praying for the
Baptism with the Holy Spirit, a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit over our
lives to equip us with the power gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
and empower us for witnessing for Him (Acts 1:8).
All the way through the book of Acts you see this two-step experience (conversion then a later baptism with the spirit) – Acts 19:1-6 gives us just one example:
All the way through the book of Acts you see this two-step experience (conversion then a later baptism with the spirit) – Acts 19:1-6 gives us just one example:
“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul,
having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some
disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there
is a Holy Spirit.”
And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they
said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of
repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come
after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on
them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and
prophesied.”
This promise was not
just for the early Christians but for every subsequent generation (Acts
2:38-39).
It
was during this time that I realized I needed to be baptized with the Spirit as John the Baptist says in
Matthew 3:11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who
is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to
carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (see
also Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33).
Water Baptism is full
immersion in water, but Spirit Baptism is to be fully immersed in the Spirit.
Yes, when we are Born Again the Spirit of God lives in us and we are baptized
into the body of Christ, the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13), but there is a “second blessing” after salvation where
not only does the Spirit live in us but we live and move in the Spirit. This is
called Spirit Baptism or Baptism in or with the Holy Spirit.
On the last day of the
Holy Spirit weekend we all gathered in the main meeting room in a large circle
to be prayed for to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. I was ready to
receive and knew that if I asked in faith for the Holy Spirit, I would indeed
receive Him:
Just as Jesus says in Luke
11:11-13, “If a son asks for bread from
any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will
he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he
offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask Him!”
Nicky Gumbel, who was
teaching us during this weekend, just came through the door to the room and
stood at the opening. He simply said, “Come
Holy Spirit!” In an instant I saw a white light bathe all of us and I saw a
vision of a huge dove coming to rest in the centre of the circle. I felt waves of
joy and power come over me and a sensation like harmless but powerful
electricity pulsating through my body. What I can remember of that time is that
I just could not stand still for the joy that I was feeling, and I started
running around the room. Then the room seemed too small, so I went outside and
started running around the circular gravel driveway. There was a bubbling up
within my spirit and I opened my mouth to find a new language starting to burst
forth.
It was at this point I
stopped dead in my tracks.
Was this the dreaded “Speaking in Tongues” that I was
starting to utter and had been taught was from the Devil? At that moment I
quenched the Spirit and although I continued to experience breakthroughs in
understanding the Bible, deeper times of prayer and fellowship with the Lord
and witnessing my faith to others with boldness, I was not fully opening up
this new gift.
Next week I will
continue to share how I broke through to keep on using this wonderful gift but
now I would like to lead you in a prayer to receive the Baptism with the Holy
Spirit.
- Even if you have received it before, you can pray for a fresh
infilling.
- Lay your hand on your heart or your forehead.
- Ask the Father for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the name of
Jesus.
- Expect to be filled with His power.
- You receive by faith, but just like anything else, you need to put
your faith into action. After praying for the baptism do not resist any
unction of the Spirit to speak in Tongues or jump or run or dance.
Dear Heavenly Father, I
am a believer in Jesus Christ, and I ask you in His name for the baptism of the
Holy Spirit with power. I believe and receive from You. In Jesus' name, amen.
Now open your heart and respond in faith to
the Spirit’s outpouring.
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