Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 May 2016 Joel 2:28

15 May 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Joel 2:28.   And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

And then it was the first day of the week – Sunday – the Lord’s Day…Glory Hallelujah! That means it’s time to get our weekly God-fix! And that’s meant in a positive manner.  It’s time to hie thee to the Lord’s sanctuary and raise the roof, or if it’s outdoors raise heaven’s roof, with songs of praise and worship, of adoration and awe and reverence to our wonderful Creator! 

And the good thing about all that is that it’s not a one way street. In return we will receive God’s peace and confidence, His encouragement and assurance, His strength and steadfastness so that we can successfully face the workday world for another week. 

And all God’s children gave out a delightful and grateful shout of ‘All praise and thanks be to our awesome God, who was, who is, and who always will be! Bless His holy name! Amen.’ 

And friends, today is a special day in the life of believers; it spells the formal beginning of Christ’s church; it’s the day of Pentecost, when the beginning of God’s promise in our Bit was fulfilled. ‘And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.’  

Before this, the Spirit of God worked from the outside, came upon believers individually, temporarily, often to perform some special work. But after that, the Lord’s Spirit was going to work internally, in a permanent manner. It would come upon each and every believer and dwell within them as soon as they believed; accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 

And that promise from Joel was also renewed by Jesus just before His ascension, when He told the disciples: ‘And, behold I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry (stay) ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.’ (Luke 24:49) 

And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘24:49. Here is the source of strength for effective evangelism. The promise of my Father stresses that the Spirit’s coming is not an afterthought, but an integral part of God’s eternal will. Endued conveys the picture of one being clothed with God’s enablement. Waiting is part of necessary preparation for the reception of God’s guidance and sanction.’  

And that is exactly what the disciples did; they waited in Jerusalem until they were clothed with God’s Holy Spirit, His enablement!  

Now listen to Luke describe the Day of Pentecost: ‘And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (purpose or mind) in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  

And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4) 

Oh how great is our God, my brethren! For as Jesus also told the disciples before His ascension: ‘For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ (Acts 1:5) And so said, so done! 

Now let me see if I can paraphrase an important distinction made here by the scholars. ‘2:4. Though verse 4 mentions only the filling with the Spirit, both the filling and the baptism occurred. Christ promised that the baptism would occur (1:4-5) and Peter later affirms that it did happen at Pentecost (11:15-16). 

The filling and the baptism are two different works performed by the Holy Spirit. Note their contrasts: (1) Following Pentecost every believer receives the baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor.12:13); hence the New Testament never commands the Christian to receive it. But the filling of the Spirit is not experienced by all believers, and so is commanded (Eph.5:18). 

(2) The baptism is permanent, happening but once and for all. The filling is ongoing, occurring continuously as seen in the present tense imperative of Ephesians 5:18, that is, “Keep on being filled.” The verse commands: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (riotousness): but be filled with the Spirit.” 

The filling of the Spirit is the controlling influence of the Spirit within the believer. Such control is neither universal or unending, thus it must be commanded and does recur within the believers (cf.4:8,31) The baptism is the act by which Jesus, through the Spirit, at conversion brings the believer into relation with Himself and makes the believer part of God’s people, the church. The filling is the continuous experience within the Christian whereby the Spirit, who already indwells him, keeps control over his life.’ 

Ah mih people, I know that sounds somewhat confusing, but if you take your time and read it, you will eventually understand what it’s all about.  (smile) 

And we’ll conclude with some of what happened after the Holy Spirit came upon the early church. ‘And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad (this sound occurred), the multitude came together and were confounded (confused) because every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? 

And how hear we every man in our own tongue (language or dialect), wherein we were born… Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt (perplexed), saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.’ (Acts 2:5-8, 11-12) 

Oh my fellow believers, that must have been a rather tumultuous day in ole Jerusalem! When you hear a bunch of uneducated Galileans speaking about God in your own language, it must give you pause for wonder. And you can’t blame those who thought that the Christians were somewhat inebriated either.  

So today, please, let’s sit and ponder what the Holy Spirit has done, is doing and has promised to do in our lives. And above all let’s try and keep our souls continually filled with Him, and thus let Him control us, for that is the epitome of wisdom! Have a blessed day of Pentecost! Much LOVE!

…what’s there to control and baptize us and keep us filled with Christ…the Holy Spirit…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 May 2013 Acts 2:4

22 May 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  Acts 2:4.  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Oh my beautiful Friends in Christ Jesus! How goes it this awesome Wednesday morning eh? I sure hope it’s going as well as possible with all of you. And if by chance it’s not going too good, then please don’t despair, turn to God, cry out to Him, lay your troubles before Him, and He will definitely help you through whatever problems you’re facing. That’s His faithful promise.

So ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised:) And let us consider one another to provoke (stir up) unto LOVE and to good works.’ (Heb.10:23) Now that shouldn’t be anything new or strange, because that’s our basic mandate for earthly living. 
 
And with those few words of preamble, we’re going to jump right into our Bit, before I get sidetracked again today. (smile) ‘And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’
 
A couple days ago, we began trying to explain the workings of the Holy Spirit, centred on its two basic aspects; baptism and filling. We talked some about baptism, today I want to finish that and move on to the filling aspect. Now most of today’s Bit will consist of the scholars’ explanations, because they do a much better job than I can.
 
And we’ll begin with some of their thoughts on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, based on this scripture, where Jesus is talking to the disciples. ‘He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.’ (John 7:38-39)  
 
The scholars then explain that, ‘One of God’s purposes since the beginning has been to dwell with humanity and enjoy fellowship with us. He does it in this dispensation through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1) occurs automatically when a person is saved; (2) is not an “experience” but produces spiritual experiences; (3) remains permanently; (4) is the basis of all the other ministries of the Holy Spirit; and (5) is the source of new life in the believer.
 
Illustration: When Paul met 12 disciples of John who did not know of the Holy Spirit, he knew they needed to be saved. So he preached the gospel to them (Acts 19:1-5).
 
Application: The Holy Spirit’s indwelling should motivate the believer to be careful not to harm his body nor indulge his body in sin. (1 Cor.6:19). (First Ref, Ex.35:31; Primary Ref. John 7:37-39; cf. 1 Cor.12:13)’
 
That gives us a basic foundation on the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Now let’s turn to a bit more in depth explanation of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, based on this verse: ‘For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond (slaves) or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.’ (1 Cor.12:13)
 
The scholars explain: ‘The baptism of the Holy Sprit is an act whereby the individual believer becomes united with Christ. Even though the effects of the Holy Spirit are realized at a believer’s conversion, which is thus experiential, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not experiential.
 
Illustration: The fact that all the Christians at Corinth were baptized in the Spirit shows that the baptism of the Holy Spirit does not itself eradicate the sin nature. Some Christians are confused as to when the baptism occurs.
 
There are four biblical answers to this question: The theological answer states the baptism of the Spirit is the effect of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and that the believer is united with Christ by this baptism. (Gal.2:20) Initially, the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred on the Day of Pentecost when the new church was baptized by the Spirit. (Acts 2:2) Personally, a Christian is baptized in the Spirit at the moment of conversion (vs.13) As the believer submits to water baptism, he testifies of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Rom.6:4-6)
 
Application: Because all Christians have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, they should also submit to the biblical ordinance of water baptism and become a part of a local church. (First Ref. Matt.3:11: Primary Ref. 1Cor.12:13; cf. Eph.1:13)
 
Oh Friends, that should suffice for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let’s hope we’re all better informed now on that point.
 
As per the filling of the Holy Spirit, the scholars explain that ‘Though verse 4 (our Bit) mentions only the filling with the Spirit, both the filling and baptism occurred. Christ promised that the baptism would occur (1:4-5) and Peter later affirms that it did happen at Pentecost. (11:15-16) (1) Following Pentecost every believer receives the baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor.12:13);hence the New Testament never commands the Christian to receive it.
 
But the filling of the Spirit is not experienced by all believers, and so is commanded. (Eph.5:18) (2) The baptism is permanent, happening but once for all. The filling is ongoing, occurring continuously as seen in the present tense imperative of Ephesians 5:18, that is “Keep on being filled.”
 
The verse commands: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (riotousness), but be filled with the Spirit.” Since Paul compares the influences of wine and the filling of the Spirit, the word control can aptly express the idea of either.
 
The filling of the Spirit is the controlling influence of the Spirit within the believer. Such control is neither universal nor unending, thus it must be commanded and does recur within the believers (cf.4:8,31) Peter and the others had been previously filled on Pentecost (vs.4)
 
The adjective ‘full’ expresses the abiding character of a Spirit filled man. (6:3,5; 7:55;11:24); but the participle form ‘filled’ (used in 2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 13:9) expresses an action performed at that moment.
 
The baptism is the act by which Jesus, through the Spirit, at conversion brings the believer into relation with Himself and makes the believer a part of God’s people, the church. The filling is the continuous experience within the Christian whereby the Spirit, who already indwells him, keeps control over his life.’
 
Ah Friends, I do hope that those explanations from the Bible scholars help us all to understand the reasons for and the workings of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives. It can be confusing for believers, but like everything else practice, study, and personal experience are needed for each of us to mature and grow in our walk with Christ.
 
So please study the material, there are lots of references in the explanations, look them up. For others can tell you all sorts of stuff, but until you look them up for yourself, you’ll still be lacking in true and total understanding.
 
Please realize that it’s ever so important for each believer to read the Word them self, to fully grasp its real meaning. And there’s plenty for us to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest today, so let’s get to it nuh. Much LOVE!
 
…the Father created the universe and all therein…Jesus paid for its sins…and the Holy Spirit helps us to walk a righteous path…