When Vickie and I lived in South Florida, I would see each day on my way to and from the church a large billboard that advertised the Florida lottery and its possible payout. At times, that payout would be in the tens of millions of dollars and others times in the hundreds of millions of dollars. To many Floridians, this was quite tempting, so tempting that thousands and thousands of people each week spent their hard-earned money for what might equal a one chance in 150 million of walking away with the lottery prize. Think about this … a person would walk into a 7-Eleven and spend $5 or $10 on lottery tickets knowing that their chances of winning were next to none. Did that stop them? Nope … and the State of Florida was all the more grateful for the weekly generous contributions.
A couple of weeks ago, God showed me that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was not a Holy Ghost lottery. In other words, at this great outpouring in the upper room, God didn’t say that He would pour out the Holy Spirit upon the man sitting on the third row, second seat and then ignore the persons sitting to his right and left. It wasn’t a baptize one person and then skip four people lottery. It couldn’t be said that the Spirit baptized individuals were the ones that beat the one in 120 odds in the Holy Ghost lottery. No, no, no. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit was for all.
Immediately after reading this blog post, I challenge you to take the time to read the account of this great outpouring found in Acts 2 and pay particular attention to the number of times that the word “all” is used. I know that you’ve read this chapter many times, but read it one more time and notice the great emphasis that God placed upon each and every one (all) of His children being filled to overflowing with His precious Holy Spirit. Acts 2 makes it perfectly clear that God didn’t bypass or ignore some individuals while pouring His Spirit on others. Understanding this will give all of those desiring to be baptized in the Holy Spirit a confidence that this gift from heaven was theirs for the asking!
So, please help me spread the word. While 44 of our states in America have a state lottery, as far as heaven is concerned, there is no such thing as a Holy Ghost lottery. Based upon what we read in the Book of Acts, all who ask can and will receive the baptism in the Holy Ghost. That’s shouting news!
