Jesus gave His disciples explicit instructions to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised Holy Spirit, the Helper, to come. He promised the Holy Spirit would teach them and help them remember all He had said. (John 14:26) Jesus made it clear the Holy Spirit would empower them to be a witness for Him.
And so they waited. About 120 believers in all gathered together to wait and pray. (Acts 1:15) Think about how hard it must have been to wait and not get impatient, discouraged, or give up. To wait and not run ahead of God. To take Jesus at His Word. To know the truth and be willing to yield to God’s leading in their life. To trust Him and obey Him even when nothing seemed to be happening.
Then, at God’s appointed time, the promised Holy Spirit came and indwelt all of Christ’s followers.
The Holy Spirit is a person. She is God. She is the third person of the Holy Trinity. She comes to dwell inside every person who receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her Savior. The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into our hearts and moves us from death to life. (Romans 5:5; Romans 8:11) She confirms in our hearts that we are God’s children. (Galatians 4:4-7; Romans 8:16-17)
The most important characteristic of the filling of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was power. When the Holy Spirit came and filled all the disciples, they were no longer cowering in fear behind locked doors. Suddenly, this little band of believers boldly began to declare the glory of God. It was a REAL change. Change from the inside out.
In Jerusalem that day, there were men and women from every nation under heaven present in the crowd. Fifteen different regions and dialects to be exact. And every single person present heard what the disciples were saying in their native language, in their own tongue. (Acts 2:6-8)
The Holy Spirit had filled the disciples, and She would empower them to be witnesses for Jesus in the world. Now, they would go and tell.
The Holy Spirit is the only source of life and power in the believer today. You and I cannot live out the Christian life without the Holy Spirit’s power. Only the power of God can completely change a person’s emotions, thoughts, words, and actions. When the Holy Spirit lives in us and works in us, She enables us to be obedient to God, She helps us fulfill the Great Commission, and She empowers us to make an impact on our generation.
Prayer: Holy God, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to dwell personally in me and in all who believe. Holy Spirit, I confess I have no strength, energy, or power on my own to fulfill God’s call on my life. I need Your enabling today and every day. So come and live Your life through me. Use every part of my being—my emotions, my thoughts, my will, my actions, my words, and my time as Your own. Fill me with Your power. Set my words on fire so I will declare Your glory and point others to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.