Follow the link to view the message from this past Sunday. Title: The Holy Spirit Subject: The infilling of the Holy Spirit that was experienced by the Gentile believers at the home of Cornelius Notes for the message appear after the video.

Today is October 31.  This is the day we refer to as Halloween.  The night of Halloween is special because of its roots in the belief that evil spirits, goblins, demons, witches and other minions of evil would roam the earth seeking to do evil deeds because tomorrow, November 1, is All Saints Day.  All Saints Day is dedicated to recognizing the good people who were considered holy and just before God.  According to the old traditions from Europe, Halloween happened because evil wanted to rule before good was celebrated on All Saints Day.

            The worldly spirit that is celebrated on this day does not originate in good.  It originates in evil directed by the god of this fallen world, who is Lucifer, the devil, satan.  Please do something to help your Pastor today.  Stay away from celebrating evil spirits, demons and the enemy of your soul.

            There is a different kind of spirit that Christians should celebrate, instead.  That spirit is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit from God was sent so we could be empowered to share our stories about what Jesus has done in our lives.  The Holy Spirit influences people and draws them to faith in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit makes complete His arrival into the life of a believer when the believer is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks in an unlearned language.  We refer to this as being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  The baptism in the Holy Spirit is just as real today as it was in Peter’s time.  Let’s look for a few minutes at what happened in our story from Acts 10 that involved the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:44-46 NLT

[44] Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. [45] The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. [46] For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God…

            Peter and Cornelius had been given visions that had brought disciples from Joppa into the home of Gentiles in Caesarea.  Peter had shared the good news about Jesus with them.  The Gentiles were accepting Peter’s story and believing in Jesus as Messiah. 

            Then the unthinkable for the Jewish Christians happened.  The Holy Spirit fell on these Gentiles just like He had fallen into the lives of the Jewish believers in the upper room at Pentecost in Jerusalem.  They heard them speak in unlearned languages and praising God, and they were amazed that God had given His Spirit to non-Jews.  Peter’s vision had become a reality.

            Throughout history God has had people who worshipped Him.  The descendants of Abraham had been chosen as His special nation, but God did not prevent other peoples from worshipping Him and receiving everything He wanted them to have.  He always has blessed anyone who put their trust in Him.  And this great infilling of Gentiles by the Holy Spirit confirmed that fact.  Anyone who would trust in Jesus could be empowered with the Holy Spirit, just like the Jewish disciples.

            Let’s look for a moment at what had happened in the lives of these Gentiles.  They had come to Cornelius’s house at his invitation to hear what God had to say to them through Simon Peter.  They had trusted Cornelius and were willing to trust Peter because of their relationship with Cornelius.  They believed Peter’s story about Jesus.  Then, to confirm the story, the Holy Spirit had fallen on them, had taken over their spirits and tongues and had manifested Himself to them as He spoke through them in unlearned languages.

            These Gentiles had yielded in trust to God’s message about Messiah.  They had yielded to the truth they had heard.  They had yielded in faith and believed what was said about Jesus.  That yielding in faith was rewarded by the infilling by the Holy Spirit, who is promised to every believer who puts faith in Jesus.

            At some point in your life, whether in the past or here today, you have been exposed to the truth that there is forgiveness through the name of Jesus.  You have believed the message given to you from God by someone you knew or by someone they recommended to you.  You have been given the opportunity to ask for forgiveness and to become a follower of the teachings of Jesus, who is Messiah.  You yielded to receive the free gift of eternal life in faith.

            Will you yield to receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit, too?  If you believe in Jesus and put your trust in Him, then the infilling is for you, just like it was for the Gentiles at Cornelius’s house.  Raise your hands to heaven and let God know you yield to the good news that you can be filled completely with His presence right now.  Give praises to Jesus, and tell the Father you believe in His Son as Messiah.  God will do the rest.

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