Jesus our Baptiser in the Holy Spirit The Foursquare Gospel

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1 Page 1 Jesus our Baptiser in the Holy Spirit The Foursquare Gospel Jesus promises the Holy Spirit 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. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit. Then they gathered round him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:4-8) John the Baptist predicts the baptism in the Holy Spirit Three years earlier John the Baptist had led a brief renewal movement among the Jewish people by calling them to repent and receive forgiveness for their sins and be baptized in water as a sign of their new relationship to God (Luke 3:3). But John made it clear that the Messiah was coming soon and would baptize the people not merely in water but in the Holy Spirit. In Luke 3:16 he says: I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16) So Jesus is saying here in Acts 1:5, "This is going to happen in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. John immersed you in water; I am going to immerse you in the Holy Spirit. John

2 Page 2 drenched you in water; I am going to drench you in the Holy Spirit. Now what was this baptism with the Holy Spirit? What did they need and what did they get when this happened? What happened on the Day of Pentecost? Let's begin by looking at what happened when the day actually came. Acts 2:1 4: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 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 2:1-4) Filled with the Spirit So when the baptism with the Spirit comes, it is like a mighty wind immersing and filling all the house with sound. The effect on the disciples was they were filled with the Spirit (notice the word in verse 3: "They were all FILLED with the Holy Spirit"). Tongues of fire appeared on each of them and they began to speak in languages that they did not know. Verse 11 tells us what they were saying: "We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." So what they were filled with was an overwhelming sense of God's greatness and a sense of wonder at his works. The Spirit was filling them with his own vision of God and his own passion for God and his own prophetic words of praise.

3 Page 3 Peter explains what is happening As the crowds gather and are amazed and perplexed at these events, Peter explains what is happening in the baptism with the Holy Spirit, he says in verses 16 17: this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:16-17) So when Jesus said in Acts 1:4, "Wait for the promise of the Father," what he meant was, "Wait till the promise of Joel 2 is fulfilled." The promise of the Father is what is now being experienced by the disciples. Here we see Jesus doing the actual work of baptizing the disciples with the Holy Spirit. He enters into heaven. He receives from the Father what he had promised. And he pours out what the Jews are seeing and hearing at Pentecost, namely, the rushing wind, the tongues of fire, the speaking in other languages, the prophetic praise and exultation. What is baptism with or in the Spirit? What, then, does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? Is it the sound of wind, the tongues of fire, the other languages, the words of praise, the prophecies and dreams and visions? Does being baptized with the Holy Spirit mean that we have to experience all of these things or indeed any of these things?

4 Page 4 First of all, baptism in the Spirit is not the same as becoming a Christian. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says, we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13 NLT) Although Paul uses the word baptize here, he is using it in a different way. Paul is speaking of conversion here. He is speaking of what happens when you become a Christian. When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live in you. You receive the Holy Spirit. And you become a part of the body of Christ, the church. he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Saviour. (Titus 3:5-6) Elsewhere, Paul writes: those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all (Romans 8:9) When you become a Christian and put your faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you and you are a child of God with the promise of eternal life. Baptism in the Holy Spirit, being drenched in, filled with the Holy Spirit is something more, something else, something additional Receiving extraordinary power for ministry John Piper writes:

5 Page 5 Nicky Gumbel, who speaks about baptism in the Holy Spirit on the ALPHA course, gives the illustration of a pilot light in a gas boiler. When we become a Christian, we receive the Holy Spirit in our life. It is like the pilot light being switched on. There is a flame, there is fire. But, he says, being baptized with the Holy Spirit, is like that moment, when the boiler is fired up, and the small pilot light becomes a whoosh of flame. The little flame expands massively the power is switched up. The promise of power In Luke 24:49 Jesus says: 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. What Jesus promises his followers is power. Not earthly power or influence, but heavenly power, spiritual power. Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a matter of empowerment. He told them in Luke 24:47 that they are to preach to all the nations. The point of verse 49 is they and we - cannot do that with great success unless we are clothed with power from God that is, unless we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Power to share the gospel The second pointer that this is the essence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is found in Acts 1:6 8. Right after Jesus says that they would be baptized with the Spirit (v. 5), the disciples gather around Jesus and ask him:

6 Page 6 Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses. (Acts 1:6-8) Here the baptism with the Spirit is seen as a "coming upon" that gives power for witness. Story of Nicki Gumbel and John Wimber The empowering of an individual for ministry Described as Filling with the Holy Spirit Another reason for seeing baptism with the Spirit as a special empowering for ministry is that it is described as a FILLING with the Holy Spirit, and this idea of filling is almost always associated with this extraordinary power for ministry in the book of Acts. Notice that when the baptism with the Spirit happens in Acts 2:4, Luke says, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." The effect of that filling was a powerful and even miraculous testimony to the truth of Christ that resulted in 3,000 people being converted (Acts 2:41). In Acts 4:8 Peter is again filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks with such power that the Jewish leaders were amazed at his boldness in spite of his being relatively uneducated (4:13). In Acts 4:31 other disciples were praying and the place where they were was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The effect of their fullness was that they spoke the Word of God with extraordinary boldness and Christ-exalting power.

7 Page 7 In Acts 6 we meet Stephen who is full of faith and the Holy Spirit (v. 5). And Luke tells us in verse 8 that he was therefore full of power and did wonders and signs among the people, but especially in verse 10 the leaders could not resist the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke. His fullness gave him an extraordinary power for Christ-exalting ministry. In Acts 9:17 Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit at his conversion and the result was that he spoke with such extraordinary power that the Jews of Damascus were confounded (9:22). In Acts 11:24 Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit and faith and the effect Luke mentions was that "a large company was added to the Lord" (as at Pentecost). In Acts 13:9 Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit as he spoke to Elymas the magician and God gave him the extraordinary power to pronounce Elymas blind for a season (13:11). Being baptized with the Holy Spirit is when a believer in Jesus Christ receives extraordinary power for Christ-exalting ministry. Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells them not to get drunk on wine, but instead to be filled with the Holy Spirit! Keep on being filled with the Spirit! Sometimes, we might hear a Christian say something like: I was saved in 1978 and baptised in the Spirit in 1982.

8 Page 8 This is a similar principle to saying: I filled my car with diesel last month, so I don t need to fill it up again. Or I ate a really nice meal last week, so I am good to go. You fill a car, or a stomach, and it becomes empty again. Sometimes, the baptism in the Holy Spirit has been referred to historically as the second blessing. I am with D.A.Carson, who writes that we shouldn t just be looking for a second blessing., but a third and fourth and a fifth blessing How to be baptised with the Holy Spirit (Source: Nicki Gumbel Alpha talk) How do we receive this gift? We receive, like every other gift, by asking. Because essentially we have received the Giver that s the most important thing, the Holy Spirit. He has all the gifts. And not everybody speaks in tongues, but Paul says `I d like you all to speak in tongues verse 5 of chapter 14. He said, `Prophecy s even more important, but I d love you all to speak in tongues. It s available. It doesn t mean that everybody has to or everybody will. But we need to ask God and then co-operate. The only way to receive this gift is by starting to speak. When I first asked, I shut my mouth firmly! And then I said, `I haven t received it. But then someone explained to me you have to actually start to speak in a language other than English, and then the words began to come. Would you like to be filled with the Holy Spirit? You can be filled with the Spirit and you can speak in tongues.

9 Page 9 3 barriers to being filled with the Spirit: 1. Doubt: `If I asked, would I receive? Jesus says this: (Luke 11:9) So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; And you can see the disciples are looking: Mmmm a bit not convinced. So Jesus says a second time: seek and you will find. Still not convinced! Knock and the door will be opened to you. You can see they re thinking: Mmmm, not sure. Maybe other people if they asked, but I don t think me. So Jesus goes on: For everyone who asks receives Everyone includes you. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who seeks finds; and to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. That s the first barrier doubt. 2. Fear: The second barrier is fear. You can see the disciples saying, Mmmm, okay, convinced if I ask I ll receive. But do I want to receive? Would something terrible happen to me? And so Jesus says, Look, some of you are fathers. Supposing your son comes to you and it s lunchtime and you say to your son, What would you like for lunch? And your son says, Oh, I d love some fish and chips. And you say, Great, there s a good fish & chip shop down there, just on the left-hand side. And you say, Oh, I ll just pop down and get you some.

10 Page 10 And instead of popping down to the fish & chip shop you go to the pet-shop and you get a snake. And you come back and you say to your son, You know you asked for fish & chips? Here it is! and you give him a snake. Jesus said this: Which of you fathers, if your children ask for a fish he forgot to mention the chips! will give him a snake instead? Or if he asked for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you re evil, he says, `basically you re a pretty evil bunch! you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! `He s not going to give you something terrible he s going to give you the Holy Spirit! 3. Inadequacy: You may have thoughts like this I m not worthy. Other people don t know what I m really like. If I ask, I m not going to receive, because God knows what I m like and he knows that I don t deserve it. I can understand why holy people why vicars and people who ve been Christians for a long time why they would receive, but I don t think God would give the Holy Spirit to me. What Jesus says is not How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to really holy people who ve been Christians for a very long time. He says: How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! So shall we ask him?

11 Page 11 Community group discussion points and questions: 1. Read together the promises that were made concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 3:16, Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-8) 2. What happened on the Day of Pentecost? What did baptism in the Spirit look like? How did Peter explain what was happening? (Acts 2:1-4, 11, 16-17) 3. Read 1 Corinthians 12:13, Titus 3: 5-6, Romans 8:9. These verse all speak of receiving the Spirit. What is the difference between this and the baptism in the Spirit? 4. I think the essence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is when a person, who is already a believer, receives extraordinary spiritual power for Christ-exalting ministry. (John Piper.) What do you think about this statement? 5. Consider Nicki Gumbel s explanation of baptism in the Spirit (the difference between the pilot light and the fully firing boiler). Another term that we can use is filling with the Holy Spirit. Consider some of the verses highlighted in the message (Acts 4:8 / Acts 4:31 / Acts 6:5-10 / Acts 9:17 / Acts 11:24). What were some of the things that happened when people were filled with the Holy Spirit? 6. What are some of the obstacles to people receiving the baptism / filling of the Holy Spirit? (See Nicki Gumbel s three points of fear / doubt / inadequacy). What might stop us being filled with the Holy Spirit? 7. Pray for each other, based on Luke 11, and ask God to fill you / baptise you with his Holy Spirit!