As we dive into this first chapter of Acts, we really see 3 things happening - an introduction, Jesus’ ascension, and then the selection of a replacement for Judas.  The thing that really jumps out at me in this short introductory chapter this morning is how we see the coming of the Holy Spirit.

I think it is hard to understand the world without the Holy Spirit, the world or the Old Testament.  It is hard because it is pretty hard to really define the impact of the Holy Spirit.  It is one of those things that is a ‘mushy’ topic.  When a non Christian asks about the resurrection, I have a concrete event that we are talking about.  If the topic is baptism, again, there is an idea or a definition that we can discuss with boundaries, and with a definition.  But how do you define the Holy Spirit, and when a person might feel it, or when he has felt it, or what it does in our daily lives?  It is a difficult thing to pin down.  It is one of the elements of our faith that I typically don’t discuss right out of the gate with a new believer, because it as a bit of that mystical element to it that almost is akin to some kooky Middle East religion or something.  But, the Holy Spirit is a big deal...it marks the biggest difference between an Old Testament God-fearer and a New Testament Jesus-follower.

The easiest way to get a sense of what the Holy Spirit’s role is for a Christian is just to understand that it is often referred to simply as our ‘helper’.  It affects our lives both directly and indirectly.  It is God’s presence in our lives, and it is given to us when we submit our lives to God by placing our faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  For me, it wasn’t a wave of emotion or feeling that washed over me that was really obvious and that had a dramatic noticeable effect on my life; instead, I find subtle reminds that God is with me at various moments in time, through various channels - be it a friend saying something that I had actually prayed about that morning, or a strong sense or feeling that I should do a particular thing or make a particular decision, or a moment of perspective or clarity about an issue.  Everyone has these moments at different points in his life, but once we make a decision to follow Jesus, God actually puts His hands into these elements of life and we are, in effect, being guided by God in that way.

In the Old Testament, we see all sorts of crazy miracles and things that seem so dramatic that they seem like they must be fictitious...perhaps, since they didn’t have the Holy Spirit, we could think of the Old Testament as a time when God communicated through miracles, and the New Testament (after Jesus’ ascension) as a time when God began to rely on the Holy Spirit.  Granted, from time to time we hear stories about miracles happening these days, but more times than not, it is the Holy Spirit that is means of communication and influence from God.  To me, that is an idea that really helps to put a lot of what I read from the Old Testament stories into perspective.  And, as much as I say that I would love to see God do a major miracle that happened right in front of me, I have come to understand that I most likely have exactly what I most likely need - the Holy Spirit.