MEET THE BAPTIZER, THE HOLY SPIRIT
We have met the Holy Spirit. We have seen that He is a definite person, a member of the Deity, as distinct as Jesus and God the Father.
The Holy Spirit is essential to have an Abba Father Christianity.
 He is our parakletos.
 He is the Convictor
 He is the Regenerator
 He is the Satisfier
We must examine now How do we get this relationship with the Holy Spirit, and what is the point of it.
This message is critical if you are to have a life changing relationship with God the Father and God the Son. It involves meeting the Baptizer, the Holy Spirit.
I KNOW THIS SUBJECT IS IMPORTANT
George Barna, has written a new book “Maximum Faith” based on years of research and interviews with mature self-professed Christians. He goal was to discover how people’s lives are transformed through their faith and relationship with God, and what factors stop or prevent that transformations from being realized.
 Four out of five self-identified Christian adults (81%) say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today.
 78% or three out of four self-identified Christians (78%) strongly agreed that spirituality is very important to them.
 Yet, less than one out of every five self-identified Christians (18%) claims to be totally committed to investing in their own spiritual development.
 About the same proportion of self-identified Christians (22%) claims to be “completely dependent upon God.”
Those figures help explain why a majority of self-identified Christian adults (52%) believe that there is much more to the Christian life than what they have experienced.
So I know that in this group today a majority of you are struggling in your Christian walk, struggling because you sense you are missing something in your Christian life, and struggling because there are things that hold you back and keep you from totally committing all of your life to Jesus Christ.
Hopefully the Holy Spirit will use this message to open your heart to see what you have been missing, and provide you with the reasons and the desire and the way to make that full commitment.
NOW I AM GOING TO ASK YOU TO DO A DIFFICULT THING.
I need you to set aside your Baptist prejudices and preconceptions. I want us to look at the Scriptures with an unbiased heart and mind, and discover if this message is directly from the Holy Spirit or not.
Baptist churches are uncomfortable discussing the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit”, because the truth of it has been corrupted into an emotional experience that results in speaking in tongues. This morning, I am praying that you will see the truth of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and when you see the truth, you will desire to know the truth, and you will seek that truth for your own life.
LET’S ASK FOR LIGHT
I want to focus on Acts 1 as we answer 5 questions this morning.
Acts 1:4-5 (ESV) And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The Five Questions:
1. What the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is
2. What are the results of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
3. The Necessity of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
4. Who can be Baptized with the Holy Spirit
5. How to obtain the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
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1. WHAT THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT IS
A. Baptism is a Definite experience which you know whether you have experienced it or not.
 Verse 1:4,5-You shall be baptized
Acts 19:2 (ESV) And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
 Baptism and Filling are the same in Effect
Acts 2:4 (ESV) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
FILLED: Persons to be filled with something, i.e., to be wholly imbued, affected, influenced with or by something, with the gen. of thing as with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9); with wrath (Luke 4:28); fear (Luke 5:26); madness (Luke 6:11). See Acts 3:10; 5:17; 13:45. Metonymically of a place (Acts 19:29; Sept.: Gen. 6:11, 13; Prov. 12:21) .
B. Baptism is a work of the Holy Spirit distinct from and additional to His regenerating work
 THE DISCIPLES: Already Born Again – John 15:3
John 15:3 (ESV) Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.,
 Already received the Holy Spirit, but not yet Baptized
John 20:22 (ESV) And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
 Acts 8, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit took place after salvation
Acts 8:12 (ESV) But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Acts 8:14-17 (ESV) Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
 EVERY BELIEVER has the Holy Spirit, but not every believer has been FILLED with the Spirit.
 Every Born again believer has the Holy Spirit
Romans 8:9 (ESV) You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
 Paul describes what happens when we are born again
Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV) In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
 Paul Prayed that this Would happen
Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
 TIMOTHY
 Faith in him through his grandmother, mother, but the Gift through the laying on of hands.
2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NKJV) Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
 You may be baptized with the Holy Spirit at Salvation
 Acts 10:43-46 (ESV) To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
C. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is our Privilege and Birthright
 Acts 2:32-33 (NKJV) This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
 Acts 2:39 (NKJV) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
 Spiritual Reality is not a Physical Realization
 1 Corinthians 12:13 (ESV) For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
 If as in the early church the Baptism with the Holy Spirit meant something definite, then it is apparent that many Christians in the church today are born again but have not experienced the definite Baptism of the Holy Spirit
 Can something this POWERFUL be ignored?
 It like someone saying they did not know they were pregnant and all of a sudden a baby pops out. It is hard for us to believe that the mother did not know!
D. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is always connected with and primarily for the purpose of testimony and service.
 Acts 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
 The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit Is Not To Make Us Holy
 Not To Make Us Happy, or more ‘Spiritually Powerful”
 It Is To Equip And Fit Us For Service.
RA Torrey makes the statement that “there is not one single passage in the Bible, either in the OT or NT, where the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is spoken of, where it is not connected with testimony or service.
2. THE RESULTS OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A. Acts 1:8 – You shall receive POWER
 This Power is manifested in different ways.
 1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV) All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
B. The Baptism Results In Differing Gifts Of Service
 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV) Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
 1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV) All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
 We do not all get the same gift
 Tongues is not the ultimate
 Tongues has largely ceased, as the need to authenticate the message has ceased.
 I am never going to say that it is no longer, for there are instances of Tongues being evident in South America and Africa, both to authenticate the messenger among the ignorant, and to bring understanding to the Word spoken.
 Even in the Corinthian Church, not all spoke in tongues.
 Nor does it result in being a powerful evangelist.
 Nursery worker
 Sunday School teacher
 Gift to do crafts, work with your hands
 The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is the beginning.
 Add to your faith virtue, virtue knowledge
 Need the Word
 Need testing
 Jesus after the temptation, returned in the Power of the Spirit.
 We make ourselves entirely at the disposal of the Holy Spirit, for Him to chose the field of service and equip us as He desires.
C. The Baptism with the Spirit gives you a power in service you never had before.
 Can you imagine being renewed on the wings of Eagles.
 Can you imagine a source of strength and power that overcomes being stoned, being shipwrecked, being betrayed, even having a hit put out on your life?
2 Corinthians 4:16 (KJV) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
3. WHO NEEDS THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WHO CAN HAVE IT?
A. The Disciples
 Luke 24:45-49 (ESV) Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
 Any work for God must be done in the Power of the Holy Spirit.
The Disciples had spent three years with Jesus Christ, and yet they could not begin their ministry without being Baptized in the Holy Spirit.
B. Jesus Christ
 Acts 10:38 (ESV) how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
 Luke 3:21-22 (ESV) Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
 Luke 4:1 (ESV) And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
 Luke 4:14 (KJV) And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
 Luke 4:18 (KJV) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
C. New Believers
 Acts 2:4, Acts 4:8, Acts 4:31-three separate occasions on which Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Every Child of God is under the most solemn obligation to see that he definitely receives the Holy Spirit, not merely as the regenerator, or as the indwelling presence, but as a definite enduement with power.
 This filling is an ongoing process.
 We need repeated fillings.
4. WHO CAN HAVE THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Acts 2:39 (ESV) For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
 Preach the Gospel not with enticing words of man’s wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. (1 Cor 2:4)
 It is not enough to preach the Gospel, not enough to preach it in simplicity, its purity.
 We must preach it in the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. HOW TO OBTAIN THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A. REPENT – Accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Acts 2:38 (ESV) And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
 Rest entirely upon what Jesus did on the Cross.
 There is nothing you can do to add to or increase your chances for salvation.
 Religion of Two Letters vs Four Letters.
 D – O Versus D- O – N - E
B. REPENT – Renounce all sin.
Acts 2:38 (ESV) And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
C. BE BAPTIZED
 Openly Confess Jesus Christ
 No Secret Believers
 Public Baptism is costly
D. BE OBEDIENT - Acts 5:32 – to them who obey Him.
Romans 12:1 (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (This before the Gifts are discussed)
 Heart of Obedience is in the Will
 God, here I am-send me where you will.
 Unconditional surrender of your will to God.
 DO you trust God to want what is best for you”
 What about my own son?
E. YOU MUST THIRST! John 7:37-39
John 7:37-39 (ESV) On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
F. ASK – Luke 11:13
Luke 11:13 (ESV) If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
 Definite Prayer for a definite Blessing
 Some teach that every believer has the Holy Spirit. (Rom 8:9)
 SO why pray.
 It is one thing to have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us way back in some dark corner of our being where we are not directly conscious of His presence, and quite another and more glorious thing to have this indwelling Spirit take entire possession of the house He inhabits, as He does when He fills us!
G. FAITH – Mark 11:24 – Believe
Mark 11:24 (ESV) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
 Faith goes beyond expectation
 Faith reaches out its hand and takes on the spot the very thing it asks of God.
 If it is accordance with His will, He will grant it (1 Jn 5:14,15)
1 John 5:14-15 (ESV) And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.