Personal encounter
Acts 19:1-7
1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.
And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
I remember a distinct time in my life when I moved from being just a ‘disciple’ of Jesus to having a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit’s power in me.
In this passage of scripture we read today that Paul met some people at Ephesus who were disciples. They had faith and repentance but had not yet encountered the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The good news is that when these disciples heard that there was more to be experienced, they had open hearts to receive it. The result was a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit!
Going back to my own experience, although I had grown up in church, there was a time as a young adult when my eyes were opened to see that God was offering me more. A closer relationship with Him and a more powerful experience of the Holy Spirit was on offer, and I gratefully received it.
This reminds me, that there is always more of God to be known. Whether you have been a follower of Jesus for days or decades, there is an infinite wealth of power and mystery to be uncovered as we seek to go deeper with Him.
My prayer for each one of us is to have a renewed excitement and passion to spend time with the One who’s mysteries we will be discovering for all eternity.
Written by Shelley Witt