The Baptism in the Holy Spirit (7): POWER to SHINE the LIGHT of CHRIST

The Purpose of the Baptism in the Spirit is to receive power to communicate God’s blessing (life) to others (Acts 10:38). Once we receive His Spirit upon, we carry His power, and release it by speaking His words. We must have (1) His WORD in our heart and (2) His Spirit UPON us, to empower our words. By His death, Jesus purchased the Blessing of the Spirit, and then He ascended to Heaven on the resurrection morning (John 20:17) to appear before the Father to receive the Spirit on our behalf. Later that day He started giving the Spirit to His disciples - first, the Spirit WITHIN in John 20:21-22: “As the Father has SENT Me, I also SEND you.” When He had said this, He BREATHED on them, and said to them: “receive the Holy Spirit.” This is the Great Commission in JOHN. The 1st Blessing brings us into God’s Kingdom, which must come before being empowered to be His ambassador (2nd Blessing). Thus, His teaching up to that point focused on preparing them to receive the Spirit within. But once they received this 1st Blessing, He prepared them to receive the 2nd Blessing 50 days later, the BAPTISM in the SPIRIT, when they received POWER for ministry. So, the evening they received the Spirit within (John 20:22), He then talked about their MISSION, and the POWER He would give them to fulfil it (Luke 24:46-49) - the Great Commission in LUKE. Though they received the Spirit within, they had yet to receive the Spirit UPON, to empower them to witness. In the 40 days, He gave them their mission in greater detail. This is in all 4 Gospels and Acts. Mark 16:14-20 tells us what He said a week later (John 20:26-29) - the Great Commission in MARK, which says God works with us, as we SPEAK His WORD. Matthew 28:18-20 records what He told them later in Galilee - the Great Commission in MATTHEW. "I will be WITH you always" (v20) refers to His anointing with power as we go (Acts 10:38). Then at the end of the 40 days, He again gave them instructions for their mission in Acts 1:4-8 - the Great Commission in ACTS. He said the Spirit would come upon them giving them POWER to WITNESS (the Baptism in the Spirit). This was fulfilled a few days later (Acts 2:1-4). As we WITNESS, we release His POWER. So, the apostles RECEIVED (1) the Spirit WITHIN on the evening of the Resurrection (John 20:22), and then (2) the Spirit UPON 50 days later at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). One picture of sharing the Gospel is SHINING the LIGHT of CHRIST. The whole world is in darkness (1John 5:19), and so its greatest need is for us to SHINE the LIGHT of the GOSPEL (John 8:12,12:46). Jesus calls us to SHINE our LIGHT (Matthew 5:14-15). This is a command to PREACH the GOSPEL. We SHINE the LIGHT by our WORDS. This is different from doing good WORKS. Our WITNESS is VERBAL, but our WORKS are also important, for they back up our witness, giving it credibility. In a trial, a witness necessarily gives verbal testimony. Matthew 5:16: "Let (1) your LIGHT (witness to Christ) so SHINE before men, so that (2) they may see your GOOD WORKS, and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We are to glorify God both through our (1) LIPS and (2) LIFE (works). So, God commands us to witness with our lips (shine His light), and live in a way that our lifestyle fits our words, so people will believe us. Good works SUPPLEMENT, but do NOT SUBSTITUTE for our verbal witness. ‘Let your light SHINE’ means OPEN your MOUTH! This describes what happens in the spiritual realm when we witness, for the power of the Spirit radiates out of us as we speak His Word. We WITNESS by our WORDS (Phil 2:15-16), backed up by our WORKS. Isaiah 59:20 - 60:3: “My SPIRIT UPON you, and My WORDS, which I have put in your MOUTH, shall not depart from your MOUTH... Arise, SHINE; for your LIGHT has come and the GLORY of the LORD is risen UPON you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you and His GLORY will be seen upon you. Gentiles shall come to your LIGHT...” This says we SHINE in the darkness by SPEAKING God’s WORDS in the POWER of the SPIRIT. 2Corinthians 4:4-7: “…the LIGHT of the GOSPEL of the GLORY of CHRIST, the image of God, should SHINE on them. For we do not PREACH ourselves, but CHRIST Jesus the Lord. For the same God who COMMANDED LIGHT to shine out of darkness (He released LIGHT by speaking His WORD), who has SHONE in our HEARTS (through the spoken WORD of the GOSPEL) to give the LIGHT of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this TREASURE (the power of the Spirit to shine the Light of Christ through the Gospel) in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the POWER may be of God and not us.” We have the power of the Spirit upon us, and when we SPEAK the WORDS of the GOSPEL, we ACTIVATE this POWER (Acts 1:8), so goes forth with our WORDS to penetrate and illuminate their hearts (Romans 1:16). When we share the GOSPEL, His LIGHT SHINES out of us by the power of His SPIRIT, for as we SPEAK, His POWER is released with our WORDS.