The Promise of the Father

Luke 24:47-48; That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. 49; and behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
The promise of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit, was to be given and until they were clothed in this power, the followers of Christ were to wait and not attempt to start the task of preaching and teaching the Word to the lost world. It must be understood that we are ‘born of the spirit’ when we truly repent of our sins and are ‘born again’ as directed by Jesus in John 3. When we come in faith to Christ, renouncing our sins, turning from them, believing that Christ died for the full payment of our redemption from the curse of death, we are ‘born again’ born of the Spirit of God and become a child of God.
The work of the Holy Spirit is defined in John 16:7-8, which reveals to us that when Christ sent the Holy Spirit into the world, his work would be to ‘reprove the world of sin and of righteousness, and of judgment.’ He said that the ‘Comforter’ would guide us into all truth and show us things to come. He would also glorify the Son and show us the plan of God for our time. At the baptism of Jesus, John declared that this ONE would baptize with the Holy Ghost. To baptize is to ‘totally immerse’. Matthew 3:11.
So, the Holy Ghost is the agent in our new birth, but the promise of power comes in the total submission to Him, who now lives within us as children of God.
In the second chapter of Acts, when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. The Feast of Pentecost was in memorial of the giving of the law to Moses, fifty days after the Passover Feast in remembrance of the deliverance from bondage in Egypt. As the believers worshipped, prayed, praised the Lord, their Redeemer, Savior and their God, they totally removed all of SELF from the equation. They totally surrendered to the Holy Spirit who spoke forth to the Father in the heavenly language, presenting their spirit to the Father. They were endued with power, to serve, to witness and do the work their Lord set before them. As the scripture tells us, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, His permanent abode as long as we keep it clean and free from evil and worldly habits. Our body becomes the control center for Him to administer through us the gifts and power of God. John 16:14, Acts 1:8; Acts 2: 38-40; John 1:12.
We will discuss more next time. Questions?? e-mail me at: u2mother@msn.com