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Open Heavens Daily Devotional Tuesday 5th April 2016

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Acts-1:8
Theme: The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Memorise:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Read: John 7:37-39,
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (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.)

Message
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is very important to every heaven-bound Christian for many reasons. The first thing that comes to mind is the personality of the Baptiser, that is, the Holy Spirit Himself. He is the third person in the Trinity. From the beginning, God has been in charge of everything that goes on in the universe including the redemption of man. The Holy Spirit, being the third person in the Trinity plays a major role, not only in the redemption process but also plays the role of preserving the believer after the salvation experience.

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
Ephesians 4:30

There are lots of spiritual virtues the Holy Spirit imparts on believers when they receive His baptism. These virtues are very fundamental to the Christian experience. For example, in our text for today, we read of the flow of rivers of living water, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Just as water is very important to the physical survival of man, so also is the Living water very important to the spiritual survival of man. A Christian gets spiritually dehydrated and consequently spiritually dead as a result of the lack of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason why one wonders when some schools of thought say that the Holy Spirit baptism is an outdated Christian experience. It is not. Another fundamental blessing which accrues from the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what we find in the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ in today’s memory verse. Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there can be no power for Christians to evangelise or witness about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It would have been a different ball-game if the disciples of old were not empowered and emboldened by the coming of the Holy Spirit when they were apprehended by the Jewish leader:
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”
Acts 4:31-33
Beloved, do you think you are a weak Christian; afraid of coming out to exhibit your conviction that Jesus is Lord? Or, you are rising and falling because you cannot stand the wiles of the devil which are inevitable in this perverted generation? Are you being played with like a toy in the hands of demons? All you need is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To be baptised, however, requires your determination to please the Lord and live above sin. Pray earnestly for it and you will be baptised for power, refreshing and for a victorious Christian living.

Prayer Point
Lord Jesus, please send your Holy Spirit to me afresh, and get me refreshed and empowered today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 1 Samuel 13:8-14:46 and Proverbs 5:7-23

AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE
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