Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:14-22

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.

Today’s title is “Holy Spirit As The Gift of God”

The bible says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”. We believers should be ready to give an answer to everyone who wants to know more about our faith. But we often feel at a loss what to say when people ask questions like “What is faith? What is God like? Who is Jesus Christ?”. As a matter of fact, I heard from a person that he never heard a satisfactory answer when he asked “What is faith? to his Christian friend. I am not sure whether I can satisfy the person with good answers. I will have to get myself ready much more to effectively share the hope that is in me. Being a pastor, I think I can give a more reasonable explanation of why many Christians fail to give satisfying answers to such questions. I believe it is very difficult to give a short and precise answer to questions like “What is faith?” because the concept of faith is essentially very broad. Faith is a broad term that has various factors. Faith has intellectual, emotional, and volitional aspects. It has moral and spiritual aspects too. So our answer to the question of faith must take careful consideration of the context and circumstances. As the great persecution broke out in Jerusalem, believers were scattered. By God’s providence, those who are scattered preached the gospel wherever they went. Phillip who was one of the seven deacons went to Samaria where even apostles were reluctant to go before the persecution. Phillip preached the gospel. Great healing and signs and wonders followed his preaching. A lot of people of Samaria accepted the gospel message preached by Phillip with great joy and were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Apostles in Jerusalem heard the good news. They sent Peter and John to welcome and encourage and follow up the new converts of Samaria. The apostles particularly prayed that the new converts might receive the Holy Spirit. For them, receiving the Holy Spirit must have been viewed as essential in the life of new converts. They prayed laying hands on them. They received the Holy Spirit. As I read this passage, I wondered what would the apostles do if they come to our churches today. They will surely welcome and encourage us to stay in faith. At the same time, I believe they would do the same thing to help us to receive the Holy Spirit or even more. Many Christians if not all need to receive the Holy Spirit to prevail against the exceedingly hostile world around us. I would certainly need to be filled with the Holy Spirit more. How about you?