The Water and the Wind

 I think I must have dreamt about Stephen last night. You know, the first Christian martyr--that Stephen. The name Stephen, means "crown". What a heavy crown to wear, or what a majestic crown to wear; it's all about perspective. 

Of course, I had to read about Stephen when I got a chance today. Before I could read about his martyrdom, or even what led to it, I got caught up in the description of this newly appointed deacon. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles says, "...Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit...". I got stuck right there. I've been pondering how to share the Word of God concerning the Holy Spirit (Ghost) for quite some time, so it isn't strange to me that I'd get stuck there. You know, there's something about the Holy Ghost that makes people take notice when nothing else will. 

This Spirit that we so often speak of--and claim to possess within, is not simple, or light, or easily overlooked. The Holy Ghost makes His Presence known. He Is living and active. He enables us to do things that aren't within our own human capacity to do. 

The Spirit that was in Stephen and the rest of the early disciples of Jesus was the Comforter that Jesus promised before He left the earth (in Human form). The promise of God through Isaiah was "Immanuel" (God with us). In Acts 2:4, God changed that--no longer was He only with those who choose Him, but now He Is in any who invite Him and receive this unspeakable Gift! This Spirit, Is God dwelling and living in the believer. That initial transformation is so powerful that it can't be quiet--it is an explosion! How can God Who created the Heavens and the earth come to live in created beings and it not make a sound?

There is a sound and a wind/breath. When God breathes His breath making new creations spiritually, He takes over. The tongue speaks languages that it never knew. The heart is transformed into a heart that desires to please Him. The sight/perspective of the individual is drastically renewed. The mind begins to grasp things that those who don't have the Spirit can't. 1Corinthians 2:14 says, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Hard as the Spirit-filled individual might try and desire, there are just some things that will never be understood by those who don't have Him living, breathing, guiding and helping them from within. 

Don't dismiss the importance of the manner that the Spirit comes. Don't overlook the tongues or the languages. They are a key element to this exchange. You need to speak in tongues. It is not by accident that everyone in the upper room spoke with other tongues--not just the apostles, or only the men, etc. Everyone. It was prophesied by the prophet Joel hundreds of years before that day. And, Peter preached that message of repentance on the day of Pentecost to all of the people gathered in Jerusalem for the celebration. And, the apostles stood with him in agreement. Don't miss that. They had been with Jesus, too. And, they had just experienced Joel's prophecy--coming to live in them, empowering them (Greek:dunamis. We get the word dynamite from this word. Dunamis is not quiet but explosive!) to boldly declare that Jesus is Lord and make disciples of men.

Speaking in tongues isn't only important to signify that one has received the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues is a prayer language that bypasses the gates of Hell. This is your chance to talk to God without interference and privately--and it takes care of those overwhelming times when we don't even know what or how to pray! God thought of everything concerning us.

There is one more aspect. Along with the power, must be authority. Authority is in the Name. Lately, I've noticed people calling Jesus everything but His Name. Yes, He Is Father, and Son and Holy Spirit/Ghost; but He has a Name. It Is Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, we have authority. We heal in His Name; we cast out devils in His Name; and we baptize in His Name [Luke 24:47, Acts 2:38, 8:5-13, 10:47,48, 19:1-5, 22:14-17]. Remember Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus? Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and was afraid of what being seen with Jesus would do to his place among this highly-revered body. So he came to Jesus at night (see St. John 3:5,6*; read verses 1-21) recognizing the authority of Jesus and that He was truly from God. Jesus' response to Nicodemus' acknowledgement of His Divinity was to instruct him to be born again--of water (baptism-Greek word:"baptizo" which means to immerse.) and of Spirit. Nicodemus didn't quite get it--at least not at that moment. 

You can't have one without the other and be complete, in Him. Water baptism is important. It identifies the believer as a son and joint-heir with Christ. It also is the means by which we are cleansed from sin--past, present and future, by faith. Water cleans. 

Remember Noah and the flood? The Lord used a flood to cleanse the earth because He saw the horrific sinful state of mankind. He saved righteous Noah and his family to replenish the newly cleansed world and made a covenant with Noah that He would never destroy the earth with a flood again. 

God has kept His covenant with man; even as we wax more and more evil.

This is the perfect time to consider what you want your relationship with God to look like. There is no way to simply not choose (and just "be a good person")--that is a choice of rejection. You must choose to live for God or reject Him. There's no middle ground. Jesus has made the way. He paid the debt, IN FULL. We simply have to acknowledge that we need Him, accept this wonderful free gift of salvation and allow Him to empower us to live.

I, for one, don't know how I could possibly exist in this fallen world without Him empowering me to keep going. He really Is, my All in All. 

Choose Life.

#waterandwind