By Andrew Williams
Acts of the Apostles 11:16 NLT- Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
Good morning fellow disciples.
Up until this time when Peter went into Cornelius’ house, the gospel had only been taught to Jews. When the Jewish believers in Jerusalem heard that Peter had gone into a gentile’s house and even ate with them, they criticized Peter.
It wasn’t until Peter gave them a full report of what happened that they stopped objecting to Peter’s mixing with gentiles and started praising God.
Acts of the Apostles 11:15-18 NLT
[15] “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. [16] Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ [17] And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” [18] When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
Here are three points from this testimony:
1. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from the Father to those who believe in Jesus Christ,
2. It is given to those who have repented of their sins and have received eternal life. And,
3. Don’t discriminate against others because of your cultural or religious beliefs, always remember that it is God who saves, heals and delivers.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, because of You we can be born of the Holy Spirit, baptized with the Holy Spirit, and live empowered by the Holy Spirit. Thank You for saving, healing and delivering us.
We will be your effective disciples who will go into all the world to make disciples of all nations. Amen.