Luke 24:49
"Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."
What of Today’s Verse…
The disciples had to tarry until the day of Pentecost not for their own preparation only; they had to wait until the Lord was glorified historically. When He was glorified, what happened? "Therefore being the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." The parenthesis in John 7:39 ("For the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified") does not apply to us; the Holy Ghost has been given, the Lord is glorified; the waiting depends not on God’s providence, but on our fitness.
The Holy Spirit’s influence and power were at work before Pentecost, but He was not here. Immediately Our Lord was glorified in Ascension, the Holy Spirit came into this world, and He has been here ever since. We have to receive the revelation that He is here. The reception of the Holy Spirit is the maintained attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive quickening life from the ascended Lord.
It is not the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which changes men, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into men’s lives by the Holy Ghost that changes them. We too often divorce what the New Testament never divorces. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ: it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.
The baptism of the Holy Ghost does not make you think of Time or Eternity; it is one amazing glorious NOW. "This is life eternal that they might know Thee." Begin to know Him now, and finish never.
Words of Wisdom
God Is Always Willing To Forgive Us
Daniel 9:17-19
Now therefore, O our God, hears the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and causes thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness’s, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
The Desolate Sanctuary
Do you see the results of sin in your church?
Most of us can think of one or two "inherited consequences" in our lives. Others may have made bad decisions, but we seem to be suffering the results. This is what Daniel was experiencing in Babylon. He knew he was there because his nation was being punished for generations of sinfulness. So he prayed for his people-God’s people. From the land of punishment, he begged the Lord for forgiveness. His plea for mercy was based solely on God’s compassionate character.
The Lord still disciplines his people when they refuse to walk in his ways, only now God’s people are the church rather than an actual nation. Do you see the results of sin in your church? Spend some time today praying for the Lord’s forgiveness and guidance.
Dear Lord, for your own sake, smile again on your desolate sanctuary…
