He’s Available
John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
These are the guys who were Jesus’ disciples, and this event took place after Jesus had been crucified, was dead, had been buried, and had risen again. Is this the moment these men were truly born again? That moment when Jesus breathed on them, and they received the Holy Spirit?
Now this precedes Pentecost. Jesus has yet to ascend to heaven. But Jesus can breathe on them and command that they receive the Holy Spirit. This is well before the Day of Pentecost.
Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The same ones who had been breathed on are now being told to wait for the promise from the Father, which is the Holy Spirit. This time Jesus isn’t telling them to receive the Holy Spirit; He is telling them they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Some might say that a believer gets all the Holy Spirit they will ever need when they are born again, but here we see men and women who were born again and received the Holy Spirit being told there was more to come.
Someone might say to this reasoning that it was because the Holy Spirit had not yet been fully released from heaven to do His part once Jesus ascended. But once the Holy Spirit was released, people got all of Him they would ever need when they were born again. But what does the Scripture show us about this?
Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men, and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. 14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When this occurred in Samaria, the Holy Spirit had been at work for quite a long time past the day of Pentecost. We know these people were born again by the testimony declaring they believed Phillip’s preaching and were water baptized in the name of Jesus. Yet they needed to be baptized in the Holy Spirit as a separate, distinct, and considered necessary experience by the apostles.
Anyone born again is granted the right to believe and experience being baptized with the Holy Spirit as a totally separate experience from being born again. If you’ve never had such an experience, I encourage you to ask the Lord Jesus for it. Consider what John the Baptist said,
Mark 1:8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
We belong to a risen, glorious Savior who baptizes His followers with the Holy Spirit and fire! Anointing is available to those who belong to Jesus, but it must be desired and believed. Just as Jesus was a real person and must be believed to be received, the Holy Spirit is a real person and must be believed to be given full access to our lives. I encourage you today to ask to be filled to overflowing measure by the Holy Spirit.
