The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Christmas is a time for gifts. People run around trying to find the best
deal, the best sale, the latest and greatest.
Each year news stories run about what the hottest toy is for kids. Commercials run about the perfect gift you
need for your significant other. Many
people cave into the secular idea of consumerism and that Christmas is really
tied to the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. They easily forget that Jesus should be the center of the celebration. In all the craziness and the store clerks
saying, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” we lose the reason we
celebrate this holiday “Holy Day”.
Jesus' birth at Christmas (Emmanuel: God with us) brought
several gifts to humanity...
God gives his Son as the gift of salvation to humanity.
The birth of the Messiah is foretold.
Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin
will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
The birth of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is fulfilled and
humanity is sent a savior.
In Matthew 1:21 (NIV)
21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the
name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
Luke 1: 31-33 (NIV)
31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to
call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign
over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.
Luke 2: 10 – 12 (NIV)
10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you
good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of
David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will
be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger.”
The gift of a relationship with Jesus Christ is there for
each of us. All we need to do is to
engage this relationship and call upon Jesus.
Jesus brings the gift of God’s grace to His people.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) speaks to this gift from God. 8For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not
by works, so that no one can boast.
This saving through faith is an unconditional gift that all
we need to do as the children of God is to accept this gift. The Holy Spirit grants us salvation freely
based only on God’s love for us.
Peace be with you. The
gift of God’s peace is given in John 14:27 (NIV).
27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give
to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid.
The gift of purpose is revealed in Jeremiah 29:11.
11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
The gift of God’s Holy Spirit is one that I do not remember
hearing much about in Church at Christmastime.
I heard all about it at Pentecost, but not so much else except for the
Holy Spirit coming to Mary to conceive Jesus.
Matthew 1: 20 (NIV)
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as
your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 1: 35 (NIV)
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will
be called the Son of God.
In addition to Mary there are a couple of other places where
the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to believers of Jesus Christ.
John 20:22 (NIV)
22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the
Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon
you…”
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
Acts 2: 1-4 (NIV)
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in
one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from
heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what
seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 8: 15-17 (NIV)
15When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there
that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet
come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:5-6(NIV)
5On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and
they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
The Holy Spirit is a gift from God and cannot be won, bought,
or achieved through deeds or works.
Acts 8: 18-20 (NIV)
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on
of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19and said, “Give me also this
ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because
you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
Pope John Paul II said that the marvels of Pentecost have
not ceased. This is the new
Pentecost. The move of the Spirit today
is leading an awakening of slumbering faith, changing lives, and engaging a
passion to make Jesus Christ known to the world (Peter Herbeck). Humanity needs to receive the Holy Spirit now more than any other time. We need the palpable experience of an encounter with God that is through the Holy Spirit.
This past October I attended an “Encounter with God” weekend
offered through our Church. This
encounter with God was a spiritual reawakening for me. It was a starting point where I began to feel
led by the Holy Spirit to explore my faith in ways I had never done or been
able to before. I felt God’s presence
stir in me a spiritual revival. My study
has become deeper, my prayer life has been multiplied, and I hear God’s voice
calling to me.
The gift of a Baptism in the Holy Spirit is one that every
believer should pray to receive. I
regularly include receiving the Holy Spirit in my prayers that my hands are to
do God’s work. The gift of the Holy
Spirit is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in Luke 24:49. Jesus’ disciples are led by the Spirit in
every aspect of their lives. John
Maxwell writes that leaders (believers) must be empowered before they can
empower. Whenever someone is filled with
the Holy Spirit something happens.
Empowered leaders express, reflect, and convey God’s power, by which
they empower others. The mystery of
Jesus Christ is revealed through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit permits humanity to respond
to what God fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit comes in power, and when received and obeyed will lead
to a transformed life in Christ (Peter Herbeck).
Love Take Me Over
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