Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.
And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
(ESV)
—Acts 19:1-12
by: Gabi Patz.
I once told someone I couldn’t wait to get to heaven so I could ask the disciples what it was like to walk and talk with Jesus daily, and to ask Moses what it was like to hear directly from the Lord. Their response was, “Don’t you think they’ll be excited to hear what it was like having the Holy Spirit living inside of you?” Inviting the Holy Spirit to dwell in us is a privilege that we have as children of God. If we neglect this opportunity, we are missing out on a huge gift. So, while the baptism of John was sufficient before Jesus’ death and resurrection, we now get to participate in something even better—receiving the Holy Spirit and being transformed from the inside out.
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