Not only has God asked us to live according to His Word, He has also given us the help we need to do it.

Before Jesus was crucified, He promised to send another Helper.

In John 14:26, Jesus identifies the Counselor (or "Helper") as the Holy Spirit .

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the triune Godhead. Throughout scripture the Holy Spirit is associated equally with the Father and the Son as seen in Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

After Jesus rose from the dead He gave to the people this command :

"Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father has promised, which you have heard me speak about! For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 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" (Acts 1: 4,5,8).

Jesus knew that this "gift" would be necessary for them to do what He had taught them. Being "baptized" with the Holy Spirit would make them effective witnesses . We are His witnesses by...

Approximately 120 people obeyed Christ’s command to remain in Jerusalem and wait for this gift of power. For 10 days "they all joined together constantly in prayer..." (Acts 1:14). Acts 2:1-4 explains how the promise was fulfilled:

Later some believers gathered to pray for Peter and John who had been jailed for their preaching. Acts 4:31 says, "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

Peter and John were sent to Samaria where Philip was preaching to pray for people to receive this baptism. The result is written in Acts 8:17: "Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

Ananias was ordered by the Lord in a vision to go pray for Saul (who was later named Paul) who had just been converted. When he arrived at the house he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus...has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:17).

The Lord led Peter to the home of an Italian man named Cornelius who had been praying . While Peter was preaching to him the Holy Spirit fell on him and his entire family. Acts 10:45, 46 gives further details of the event: "The [Jewish] believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even among the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God."

Approximately 23 years after the initial Holy Spirit out-pouring Paul found a group of disciples in Ephesus and asked them, "Have you received the Holy Spirit after you believed? They answered, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’. . . When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. They were about twelve men in all" (Acts 19: 2,6,7).

Because copies of God’s word were scarce for several centuries after the New Testament was written, this revival fervency died away. Today, however, the Good News is being spread around the world. Those who have a genuine desire to know Jesus are receiving the Holy Spirit baptism in record numbers. Once again God is empowering men and women to be His witnesses as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8.

We need God’s power gift to help us to effectively make Jesus known to an evil world!