Let us fervently seek the true baptism in the Holy Spirit, so as to be cleansed and to be made like Jesus

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Such a cleansing is indeed a most wonderful experience. How wonderful, too, to realise that God is willing to come into our hearts, that He is not repelled by hearts that are still unclean in His sight, and that He is eager, indeed, to come and cleanse us because He loves us. He wants to change us into His likeness and to fill us more and more with His life, with His gifts, with His nature. The Lord is in no way reluctant. He is amazing ! He does not hesitate to come to you and say: "You asked for my Holy Spirit : I have not waited till you were perfect on all counts in order to come into your heart, but I waited till you thirsted for Me, to be transformed by My Spirit, to be cleansed and filled with My very own nature so that your life will be a demonstration of what I am, ever more perfectly."

 

When the disciples of Jesus received that baptism, their lives were turned upside down. They went out into the streets, and began to speak in the languages of all the different peoples who were present in Jerusalem at the time. What were they saying ? They were speaking about the wonders of God, they were revealing the hidden things that the Holy Spirit had just imparted to them, the things they had just been filled with. They were speaking about the wondrous things God had done. How did they know about the wonders of God ? They didnít even know how : they were speaking in languages they had no natural knowledge of. Notice that the Holy Spirit who had just entered into them was already beginning to reveal the wonders of God to them, and through those Holy Spirit-given languages they were explaining and revealing the wonders of God to other men who could hear them speaking their own languages - an amazing supernatural occurrence. Whether your mother-tongue is Spanish, German, French or Italian, or even if you are speaking in a language you donít know, then the presence of the Holy Spirit is going to reveal Godís wonders to you : He will use your lips and mouth to impart those marvels to other people. You will receive deep revelations about the Lord Himself ; you will be able to take them into your own heart and to disclose them to others. When the disciples were speaking, their spirits had already received those revelations. When we speak in tongues, it is our spirits that are speaking, it is our spirits that are being built up. But it is the Holy Spirit within us who inspires those things, and what He inspires is truly wonderful. Hallelujah !

 

Immediately, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and of course, he addressed the crowd. He was no longer speaking in tongues, but using his own language to disclose divine wonders that pierced the very hearts of all those who opened themselves up to his words. Peter witnessed to the Lord Jesus Christ and to His mighty works. He spoke about the glory of God, about the Cross of Christ, about how Christ was crucified and then rose from the dead. He spoke about the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus. He spoke all those things from the depths of a heart that had been freshly filled with the Holy Spirit. More important than the terms he used was the presence of the Holy Spirit who inspired the speaking and covered it with His anointing. That is why Peterís words moved the spirits of the listeners : the Spirit of the Lord was expressing Himself through Peterís spirit. The Word, straight from the Holy Spirit, was issuing from Peterís spirit and lips, and being carried straight into the hearts of the listeners, since were are told that three thousand were converted. So you see that Peterís words owed their power and their cutting edge to the presence of the Holy Spirit, who anointed those words, and pierced and penetrated the hearts of the listeners. It was the Holy Spirit speaking out of Peterís mouth.

 

In Acts 2:37 we read: "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart.". Peter had spoken briefly, simply and powerfully. You see how powerful the Holy Spirit is : God was speaking out of the disciplesí mouths. When He speaks through you or me, he demonstrates His power. If your hands are anointed by the Lord and you lay them on a sick person, the power of God flows out through your hands. If you speak out when the Spirit of the Lord fills you, then the power of God issues from your heart and anoints your words. We need to speak words that are oracles of God, words issuing from the Word and the Holy Spirit, so as to reach peopleís hearts.

 

If we revere the Lord and respect the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we will no longer be at liberty to say foolish or equivocal things, to make off-colour jokes or meaningless, coarse, worldly remarks. We will constantly be aware of the Lordís presence, and of the fact that He wishes to save or to build up those who are listening to us. We will always be connected to the fountain of Godís living water, so that His anointed words will issue from our mouths and be carried right into peopleís hearts. If we are not really and truly baptised in the Holy Spirit, what is it that will come out of our mouths ? A mixture of sortsÖ!

 

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