I was filled the Holy Spirit – we simply called it “baptism of the Holy Spirit” – in a personal time of prayer. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a specific supernatural experience with the Holy Spirit that marks your history. I am convinced the coming three years will bring a similar outpouring of the Holy Spirit like the one at the time of the “Jesus People Movement”! It will be God´s wonderful equipping for the time to come.
If I had to describe the Holy Spirit, I would call him “Jesus unlimited“ – as in Jesus without limitation or boundary. When the disciples where with Jesus and saw his signs and wonders, they had not experienced Pentecost yet. The disciples learned to live as followers of Jesus, they were taught by Him and lived with Him. Yet something was missing. On the Mount of Transfiguration, they saw Jesus in a cloud of glory and before their very eyes the reality of heaven became visible. With their own eyes they saw Moses and Elijah, and heard the voice of the living God (Mk 9:4 et seq). And still they asked themselves whether Jesus truly was the Messiah. They were missing something. How was Peter able to walk on water and later deny Jesus in his greatest hour of need?
There is an answer. The disciples lived with Jesus – but without the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us the greatest gift He could possibly give – the Holy Spirit! That is why the resurrected Jesus said to the apostles:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8; NIV)
The Holy Spirit is the living representative of the resurrected Jesus on earth (see John 14:26; 15:26)
He is not some special equipment for a few “Speed Christians” tuned to the Holy Spirit. He is the power of the triune God (see Col 1:15-17). Without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit the apostles of Jesus would never have been able to serve Jesus and do the works of God. They needed the equipping and empowerment of heaven – just like you and I!
With joy we look back on 30 blessed years of TOS. These are 30 years in which we have seen the promise of Acts 1:8 become a living reality for us. At the same time, the baptism and the equipping of the Holy Spirit is both a colon and exclamation mark for the time to come! Perhaps you have had wonderful spiritual experiences like the disciples. Perhaps you remember the time of your “first love” when you used to burn in the word and in the spirit, and you were on fire for the living God. But now you have become more like a “refrigerator Christian”, disillusioned and the fire inside has died down. Could it be that in some way you have lost that precious gift – being filled with the Holy Spirit? Is it possible that the fire of the Holy Spirit slowly has burned down and now only the cold ashes of your past experiences remain? Perhaps you need a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit! How He desires to come afresh to light the fire of your love once again. We can only be equipped by the Holy Spirit if we are willing to follow and serve Him. If you say “yes” to this and allow Him to lead and change you, then you can confidently pray, “Come Holy Spirit, fill me afresh!”
Take time for this and wait for Him. He will reveal Himself to you and mark your life once more. Write to me! Testify and encourage others by sharing what happened in your life!