Paul Email -9Oct2013- Acts 10 (Fighting Frustration)

How you doin? I'd like to ask for prayer for my frustration. I know that frustration doesn't come from God. Peace and patience comes from God. I find myself getting very frustrated with way to many things. I felt very convicted about it doing our prayer time this morning. The worship music playing in the background is seriously working on me. Acts 11 is working on me even more.

Acts 11:15-18, is another Scripture that speaks of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. "John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." This story is primarily about Jews and Gentiles coming together in Christ, but I hear the message about the baptism of the Holy Spirit most. Again, like the size of a miracle, I don't believe that God has the importance of the order of things that we do. In my mind I think that we need to be baptized into the name of Jesus (or in water) then baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Scripture in Acts 10:44-48 makes this very clear. "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water?" (10:47) This was in response to what was said in 10:44, "... the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message". I/we are the ones who get hung up on rules, regulations, and order. God just wants His children to come home. That's a good word. "They have received the Holy spirit just as we have. So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." (10:47-48) The Gentiles had already received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I'm thinking Peter, like Bill Johnson would say, was "making it legal". COME ON!!!!!!! Back to Acts 11. I love verse 17, "So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?”. Occasionally Peter gets out of his own way. RIGHT ON!!!!!!!

The church in Jerusalem heard about what was going in Antioch and sent Barnabas. "When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts."(11:23) He didn't try to shoot holes in their theology, question their authenticity, and disbelieve what God had done. I wonder why. First, he "saw the evidence of the grace of God". So how or why did he see the evidence? "He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,..." (11:24) I want that to be said about me. Not for my own edification or accolades, but for what the rest of verse 24 says, "... and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." SAY WORD!!!!!!! I love these great men of God. Full of the Holy Ghost and faith. Co-laboring with Jesus to destroy the works of the devil. COME ON!!!!!!! Here I am getting hung up in frustration. Help me Jesus. I pray for the Spirit of revelation to reveal more of the fullness of Jesus in me. SAY WORD!!!!!!! Be full of the Holy Spirit and faith today.   

PS   I feel Holy jealousy toward Barnabas. He was able to see the grace of God. There are so many theologies, doctrines, beliefs, and sadly enough opinions out there. But there is only one Spirit. I for one want to see the grace of God instead of being in agreement or conformed to theology, doctrine, or belief. It is my most consistent prayer, "Lord give me ears to hear and eyes to see".