THE
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
If you prefer, the 30 minute audio file of this message is: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AorNyYbt-j75aQwfPJ_gLw9Nbhs
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“If
only there were a way...”
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“I’m such a shy person; if only I could
witness better”
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“I sure wish I could help that coworker
who is struggling at home, but I just don’t know what to say”
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“Sometimes I struggle in myself, not
living up to what I know God wants me to do.”
Almighty God wants everyone to
know Him as more than some vague concept, more than God way up there in heaven,
more than some spooky mystical bunch of garbage that people fall into and end
up worshiping some fancy piece of wood or stone.
Well, how do people find this out?
It’s usually by
someone telling them. Just spouting out a bunch of nice sounding words you
learned from a book or someone told you is pretty ineffective in bringing about
the change of heart that has to happen for someone to come to Christ. Coming to
Christ transcends the intellect; it is not a mind game. We are saved by grace
through faith and faith is not an intellectual decision. Remember how we get that faith? Rom 10:17 says that it is the
result of personally hearing from God.
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The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a
promise from God to every believer. It
should be emphasized that this supernatural power is a promised gift for every
believer. Because it is a gift, it is received, never earned.
Some verses about
the promise:
Indwelling
John 14: 15
“If you love me, obey my commandments.
17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all
truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and
doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.
Baptized into
Luke 24: 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from
the dead on the third day,
47 and repentance for the
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem.
49 I am going to send you what my
Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with
power from on high.”
Acts 1: 4
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this
command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised,
which you have heard me speak about.
5 For John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you
will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Does Acts 1:8 sound like a wishy washy, maybe kind of thing? Of course
not, it is as definitive statement as we saw in Gen.1 when God said, “And let
there be…” and there was
The Promise is
for all believers:
29 Even on my servants, both men
and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
Peter was speaking to a group of people, not long after he received this
gift, and take note of their reaction and what he says to them. It shows how
God moved through the spoken word of a believer who was baptized in the Holy
Ghost:
Acts 2:36
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus,
whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this,
they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers,
what shall we do?”
What Happens when
you receive this gift?
The pattern for what happens when experiencing this gift is spelled out
through the book of Acts. In chapter 2 we see the very dramatic event on the
day of Pentecost, from which we get our label as Pentecostals. There are
several additional examples of believers receiving this gift. These include:
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2 Suddenly a sound like the
blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where
they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 8:14
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word
of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
15 When they arrived, they prayed
for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16 because the Holy Spirit had
not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus.
Here we see another way the Lord gives this
gift.
Acts 8:18 When Simon saw that the Spirit
was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money
19 and said, “Give me also this
ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your
money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with
money!
What was it that Simon the sorcerer saw that provoked him to act with such
ignorance (or was it stupid selfishness trying to maintain his control over the
people?).It is a safe assumption to say that they spoke in tongues, especially
in the light of these other verses.
Acts 10:44
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which
heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision
which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46 For they heard them speak with
tongues, and magnify God.
Acts 19:1
And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed
through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
2 he said to them, “Did you receive
the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much
as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said to them, “Into what
then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 Then Paul said, “John indeed
baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should
believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid hands on
them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and
prophesied. (NKJV)
Results in the
believers lives of receiving this gift
The gift is not just for you to have fun with it, or just to build
yourself up in faith (1 Cor. 14:4). Remember we talked about Acts 1:8. Being
filled with the spirit is God’s gift of power to be a witness of Jesus. This
requires power over temptation so that your life is the evidence of God
changing lives.
Remember, all you have to do is ask in faith, understanding in your heart that the Father wants you to experience Him in a supernatural way that will change your life for good and forever.
Luke 11:11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
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