Acts 19:1-7 – While Apollos was ministering in Corinth, Paul traveled on through the regions of Turkey until he arrived in Ephesus, where he found a group of twelve followers of Jesus. The first thing he asked them was “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

“No,” they replied. “We’ve not even heard of a holy spirit.”

Paul asked, “Then what was the meaning of your baptism?”

They responded, “It meant that we would follow John’s teaching.”

Paul said, “John’s baptism was for those who were turning from their sins, and he taught you to believe in and follow the one who was coming after him: Jesus the Anointed One.”

When they understood this, they were baptized into the authority of Jesus, the Anointed One. And when Paul laid his hands on each of the twelve, the Holy Spirit manifested and they immediately spoke in tongues and prophesied.

I think one of the most neglected and misunderstood functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the power to change. In this story these disciples who became the beginning of the church in Ephesus only knew the baptism of John the Baptist. I think there are probably a whole lot of people in the churches today that really have this exact experience. They know about the Bible and the importance of living a different kind of life from everyone trapped in the culture of the world but they do not have the ability to change their lives. They may or may not be a Christian but there is no real fruit or change in their lives because change is the result of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. John preached about repentance but repentance does not happen by the will of man, repentance happens when our fallen nature is liberated by the power of God to live a different kind of life. This is what Paul was getting at in this passage. “Have you received the power of the Holy Spirit in your life since you believed?”

After this question they answered, “We’ve not even heard of a Holy Spirit”. The next moment Paul laid his hands on these twelve men, the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began to speak in tongues and prophesy. They were receiving the power of God on their lives, this changed their world and repentance became their testimony. Most people realize they fall short of God’s best for their lives, the Holy Spirit changes all of that so that we become a different kind of person.