I preached the New Year's Watch-night service on the 31st Dec 2013 with the sermon title, "Marking Milestones". Today I celebrate and rejoice in the fact that I was baptized in the Spirit 32 years ago in a Christchurch flat while praying with my brothers and sisters in Christ one late afternoon on Sunday. The following day, Monday I was baptized in water in a church, all done within 17 days of my encounter with Christ. My experience was more like Cornelius and his household who were baptized first with the Spirit before water baptism (Acts 10). Otherwise, the general pattern follows after Peter's inaugural sermon in Acts 2:38, "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." I knew then and I know now that what happened in the Acts of the Apostles could also happen to us and to churches that seek God.
The first Pentecost in Acts which was unique in a way but was "repeated" several times throughout Acts, in Acts 8, 10 and 19. Paul, the persecutor turned apostle was also said to be filled with the Holy Spirit when Ananias prayed for him 3 days after Paul's encounter with Jesus Christ (Acts 9). Now we are in the middle of Passover and Pentecost which falls on June 8th this year according to the Christian calendar. The Jewish calendar has it a week earlier. Would you seek after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your lives and in the life of your church?
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