Acts 1:4-5, “4 …Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus promised the disciples before He ascended to heaven that He would send them the Holy Spirit, the third person in the God nature. He called the Holy Spirit, “the Father’s promise.” Jesus then said that as John the Baptist baptized people in water, He was going to baptize them with the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus then declares, “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And further in Acts 2:4 Luke, the writer of Acts, records, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Therefore, Jesus kept His Word and the disciples received the Father’s promise- the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.
Have you received the Father’s promise since being born again? If not, ask Jesus today to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and endue you with great power. After you have prayed, patiently wait on the Lord to confirm His gift by listening in your heart for a language you have never learned. Once you hear this new language in your spirit begin to speak it out with boldness because you have been given the gift of speaking in tongues as the evidence of your baptism in the Spirit.
Now today and the rest of your life, pray in your new heavenly language, as often as you can because Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:4, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself.” Therefore, receive the promise of the Holy Spirit and build yourself up in your most holy faith by praying in the Spirit! And live as witness for Jesus wherever you go!
Reflection
Action
- If you haven’t received the Father’s promise with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, make time today to receive it.
- If you have the Father’s gift, take time today to pray in other tongues.
- Be a witness for Jesus everywhere you go!