A fresh anointing

In our opening verse, the disciples prayed and they were filled with the Holy Spirit but wait for a second… was it not just a short while ago the apostles were praying in the upper room and  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:4). Interestingly even before this, when Jesus appeared to them the first time after His resurrection He said “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:23)

So I ask, how often did they receive the Holy Spirit or get an infilling of Him? If we assume John 20:23 was the first time, was that not enough? Actually, the moment you believed Jesus and became saved, you had the first infilling of the Holy Spirit by placing a mark on you that guarantees your inheritance of eternal life. (Ephesians 1:13-14). But after this, we have to continue to experience a release of different dimensions of the Holy Spirit(spiritual growth) and also a fresh anointing, and both of these come by seeking. Just take a look, in John 20:23 when Jesus released the Holy Spirit on the apostles, it was a dimension to forgive sins. The next one, the apostles waited and prayed in Jerusalem and the dimension of the holy spirit to speak in tongues was released upon them on Pentecost. Now the next one, Peter and John were released from prison and warned severely not to preach the gospel, and so together with the disciples, they prayed for a fresh anointing to speak with great boldness and God released it.

You should have heard this statement:  “the Christian life is not a sprint but a marathon”. Often you don’t just die after you accept Jesus but you’re faced with a long journey ahead. Most people start with great enthusiasm for Jesus when they have that first infilling of the Holy Spirit but then the spirit needs to be reactivated again and again, not just for a release of a new dimension, but also to revive what is already received. We do so by asking in Prayer, fasting, attending retreats, and other forms of revival programs. Even Sunday service is one of those. Sometimes you need a fresh anointing to enter a new season because the oil for the last season is finished. Consider these events in Jesus’ life His baptism, His transfiguration, His prayer the night before His crucifixion, and even His regular prayers in the mountains alone. (Mathew 14:23)