27th Mar 26 | 16:08
Studies by Book
01 Acts 01 01-05 THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 10 Acts 01 04-05 Witnesses to Jesus
📖 Acts 01:01-05
10 – 13Jun2022 – *Witnesses to Jesus* - _Acts 01:01-05_ - THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - Bible reading: _Luke 24:48-49_
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You have kept us here as Your witnesses. To be Your witnesses, we must be baptised by Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
_Acts 1:4-5 And being assembled together with them, *He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; (5) for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now*."_
*We have understood that in our relationship with Jesus, we relate with Him as to a Monarch and us, His subjects. He commands and we obey. We are the Doulos of Jesus. If we do not accept this fundamental basis of our relationship with Jesus, then we cannot be in His kingdom*.
It was a command to the disciples to be in Jerusalem and in a few days, they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This was a command and it was not an option.
Many in the church struggle with the whole understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Let us put this matter to rest. *To be baptized with the Holy Spirit is a command for us to obey*. Once we have accepted that He commands us and we obey, then we will no longer wrestle with the matter of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
This is the heart of the Acts of the Apostles. We are going to see the outworking of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Apostles.
*_Luke 24:48-49 And you are witnesses of these things. (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."_*
Many of us are focused on the matter of the power of the Holy Spirit, which is a part of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but we lose sight of the purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. *The purpose for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is in order for us to be His witnesses*.
Why is it a command to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? It is because we are here to be witnesses to Jesus Christ. This is the task of every believer in Christ. *The church is a witness, a testimony to Jesus Christ*. We cannot be witnesses to Jesus Christ, without the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Why does God want us to be His witnesses?
*_Colossians 1:19-20 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (20) and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross._*
Jesus is the centre of God’s plan to reconcile all things back to Himself.
God longs for the world, both mankind and His creation, to come back into His Shalom. The world is torn asunder by chaos because man, along with creation, is alienated from God. It is through Jesus, that God is reconciling all things back to Himself, to this end, we are witnesses to Jesus Christ. To be witnesses to Jesus, we must be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
*_Acts 1:8 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."_*
*God gives us a command along with the explanation so that it becomes easier for us to submit to His will. Just because God gives us the clarification behind His command, it does not make His command, negotiable*.
The Lord explained to us this matter of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses. Nevertheless, let us not lose sight that He has commanded us to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
*_John 15:26-27 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. (27) And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning._*
The Helper, the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of truth. He will testify of Jesus through us.
*_John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— (17) 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._*
The world cannot have this experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
This experience is exclusively for the disciples of Jesus. We are witnesses to the world, pleading with the world to be reconciled with God. To this end, we are witnesses to Jesus Christ.
*_John 14:26-27 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (27) Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid._*
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Shalom. We experience Shalom in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. We display Shalom to the world, to whom, we are witnesses of Jesus Christ.
*My relief*
```“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You have put to rest for me that You have commanded me to be baptized with Your Holy Spirit so that I can be Your witness. Jesus, I submit.”```