GOSPEL MEDITATION
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, part 2
Matthew 3:11; 28:19–20; John 20:21; Acts 4:23–31
- Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
- Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
- Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
- Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
- Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
- Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
- John the Baptist, from day one of Jesus’ public ministry declares that Jesus will baptize “in” the Holy Spirit.
- John baptized in water, Jesus will baptize in the Spirit. And most commentators say this means being placed into water and thus into the Holy Spirit. This is an indwelling but also an empowering.
- Jesus’ directions for His followers is that we are to “Go” and make disciples per Matthew 28:19–20.
- Disciple making involves both evangelism and teaching. The “new born” is to be cared for, taught, that he or she might grow up into the stature of the fullness of Christ—a life long process.
- In John 20:21, Jesus states that just as He was sent by the Father, so He sends us out into the world also. In a very real sense then all of us are to be apostolic, sent ones to preach that the kingdom has arrived.
- And so that we might be equipped to do this work, and to do it boldly, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit.
- After Peter and John were released by the Temple authorities, though warned to stop preaching about Jesus, they continued nevertheless.
- Meeting with that first congregation, Acts 4:23–31, Peter and John reported what they had experienced. After a prayer, the room they were in was shaken and they received a second Pentecost, they were again filled with the Spirit. Spirit#2