It was just as necessary for that group, the 120 who gathered in the Upper Room, to be in
Jerusalem as it was that they wait or tarry. So if waiting were a formula for receiving the Holy
Ghost, then why take the word "Jerusalem" out of this verse?
In other words, if it's still necessary for us today to wait or to tarry in order to receive the
baptism in the Holy Spirit, then it must be necessary for us to go to Jerusalem to do it!
Also, the 120 people in the Upper Room weren't waiting in the sense that they were getting
ready and preparing themselves to be filled with the Holy Ghost. No, they were waiting for the
Day of Pentecost to come. The Holy Ghost could not be given until then.
If they had been waiting and preparing themselves before they could receive the Holy Spirit,
the Bible would have read, "When they were ready, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."
But it doesn't read that way.
In Acts 2:1 and 4, the Bible says, "And when THE DAY OF PENTECOST WAS FULLY COME
. . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. . . ." (We will cover whether it is scriptural to tarry to
receive the Holy Spirit in greater detail in Chapter 6 of this study course.)
Someone said, "But waiting gets you ready to receive the Holy Ghost." No, it doesn't. Getting
saved gets you ready. The Bible mentions the only requirement for receiving the Holy Ghost. It
says, ". . . the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as
many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:39).
In other words, the promise of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for as many as have received
Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Any Believer Can Receive the Holy Spirit
By saying a person has to wait in order to receive the Holy Spirit, people are really saying a
person has to clean himself up first. But you can't clean yourself up except through repentance
of unconfessed sin (1 John 1:9). The blood of Jesus Christ is what cleanses believers from all
sin (1 John 1:9). If you are blood washed, you are ready right now to receive the Holy Spirit. If
a person who is saved is sincerely seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit, he can receive.
LUKE 11:9-13
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and
it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he
ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much
more shall your Heavenly Father give THE HOLY SPIRIT to them that ask him?
Biblical Example of Believers Receiving The Holy Spirit Without Tarrying
Any believer can ask the Father for the Holy Spirit and receive this precious Gift without
tarrying or waiting. For instance, after Cornelius and those in his household were saved, they
did not have to wait to receive the Holy Spirit.