One glance at Acts and you probably recognize a power in the early church that is sometimes missing in today’s church. Where did the early believers get such boldness to speak up? Where did they find the words when confronted with skepticism? How could they stand before the high court and proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ? What fueled their passion in the midst of intense persecution? The answer??
The HOLY SPIRIT!
The Holy Spirit is often neglected and misunderstood. There is no magical formula to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and there is not a second baptism. Paul says in Ephesians 4:5: “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” While there is only one baptism of the Spirit, there are multiple fillings as seen in the Book of Acts. We need to strive to be filled with the Spirit. You may wonder… how can I do that? Let’s examine this by looking at one person in the New Testament: Philip. His story is found in Acts 8:26-40.
Let me summarize this story. One day, an angel came to Philip and told him to go south down the desert road that leads to Gaza. Philip went and when he got there, he ran into an Ethiopian eunuch. It appears that perhaps this official was coming from Jerusalem and he had brought the Scriptures with him. When Philip arrived, the eunuch explained that he didn’t know what he was reading. Philip explained the Scriptures to him and he was saved.
From this story, let’s examine two things that can help us be filled with the Spirit:
- Make yourself available to the Holy Spirit!
This is really hard for those who operate by a to-do list. It’s also hard for those who may be distracted easily. But when it comes to the Holy Spirit, we must be flexible. If we ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit, then we miss out on a bigger purpose God has. We don’t know what plans Philip had for the day, but he put them aside and obeyed.
- Let the Holy Spirit control you!
Philip obviously demonstrated this when he let the Holy Spirit control his words and actions. The Apostle Paul writes: “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Wine controls us. The flesh wants to control us. But the Holy Spirit wants control too. And it’s so much better to let the Holy Spirit control us than anything else. Philip didn’t have a sermon planned nor did he know what he would say. But the Holy Spirit did it for him. All he did was offer to him his voice and his time. We, too, can walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Let Philip’s story encourage you today.