INTRODUCTION
Paul is now on his 3rd missionary journey and we find him in the city of Ephesus
Paul is a traveller and with the sole reason to spread the gospel of Christ
Now Ephesus was a mighty and influential city in its day
Ephesus became the home for Paul over this period
Now although this city was influential with its trade and business, it was also a city that was caught up in idolatry, black magic and other occult practices
The residence of this city worshipped a god named Artimus which was supposedly a goddess of fertility.
There was a huge statue of this god stood in the temple of Ephesus
Once a year a huge festival used to take place in honor of this god where people used to do stupid things
Clearly from this one can see that the enemy had control of this city
As Paul arrives, once again he sees such an opportunity for the gospel to be preached
Wherever we go or wherever we are, there is darkness around, which is such an opportunity to minister the gospel of grace to our people who are lost
We need to be a people who maximise on the grace of sharing the gospel
We should take our example from Paul
We should also take our example from Jesus, who often had compassion on those who were lost
The people of Ephesus were lost and in need of a Saviour
Now what’s interesting to see is that Apollos whom we met in the previous chapter had come from Ephesus and is now in Corinth
Clearly he had been ministering here, but as we learnt last week that he didn’t have the full truth:
• That the Messiah they were waiting for, had come already
• Had already offered His life for many and died on the cross
• Resurrected on third day and is now seated at the right hand of the Father
• Further to that is that the Holy Spirit had been poured out on believers
We find that Paul meets a few converts of John the Baptist
And they like Apollos still don’t have the full truth
1. JOHNS BAPTISM- WATER BAPTISM
Now Apollos must have ministered to these guys and here they are all still awaiting the Saviour
Paul approaches them and asks them what baptism have they received
To which they reply, johns baptism, which is baptism in water
John’s baptism was only a sign of repentance from sin only, not a sign of new life in Christ
At the Jordan river, John was baptising people for their sins
John was the forerunner of Jesus, he prepared the way
Now Jesus had come already at this point
We even see Jesus being baptised by John himself
Not that Jesus needed to repent of any sin in His life, he did it to identify with us
Water baptism in itself does not save you, Jesus does
Baptism is only a sign of cleansing from sin
There is no magical thing that happens in the water
It is an outward declaration to everyone present that you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour
Water baptism is important, because here you are declaring to the world and also the enemy that you are identifying your life with Christ
That’s the reason why we don’t believe in infant baptism, because this is baptism for believers
APPLICATION
We see that Paul here according to scripture, baptises these 12 men again
Why, because they now understand what has happened and chose to identify their lives with Christ
You and i need to be baptised in water
If you were baptised as a baby, then you need to be baptised again
Please note that you will not loose your salvation if you are not baptised in water
But Jesus asks us to do that, don’t neglect it
If you have been baptised in water, please talk to us
2. SPIRIT BAPTISM
We then find in verse 6, that Paul placed his hands on them and they were baptised in the Spirit
But why did Paul take the time in explaining about the Spirit to them?
Because they needed the Spirit in their lives to live the Christian life
You may ask the question, when i believed did i not receive the Sprit?
Yes you did, at conversion; the Spirit came and sealed you into the family of God
At that point you became and son/daughter of the most High of God
At that point you were taken out from darkness and brought into His marvellous light
You are sealed for life
BUT, there is another baptism or infilling that place in the life of the believer
This baptism gives one power to exercise the gifts of the Spirit and live a fruitful Christian life
We see later on what the Holy Spirit does in the life of the believer in verse 11-12.
Was Paul able to do those miracles in his own strength? NO
Even if he tried he would have failed
After these 12 received the baptism of the Spirit, Paul now showed them the effects of having the power of the Spirit in your life
I believe that in this process they learnt from Paul and probably even identified gifting the Holy Spirit had given them
APPLICATION
Have you received the spirit?
Are things happening in places and areas that you enter?
Are you being used by God in the gifts He has given you?
Last week, we spoke on spiritual gifts and many of you came up for impartations of certain gifts
Now those gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to us, they get ignited when you get baptised in the Spirit
It is almost like a fire starts to burn in your heart and when you step out in those gifts things happen
These gifts together with the baptism of the Spirit, is not for our own glorification-it is for Jesus
Are you feeling weak and powerless in your Christian walk?
You need the baptism of the Spirit
This is not a once off incident, we need to constantly seek the Lord for more infillings
One baptism but many infillings
Illustration: think of a cup of water. You drink it and gets empty. When you thirsty again what do you do? Fill it and drink again.
It is the same with the Spirit, the more we give off, the more we need to ask for more infillings
CONCLUSION
Paul helped these folk understand the full extent of the gospel and what had taken place
They receive this message with gladness and are baptised both in water and the Spirit
Things are happening in Ephesus as Paul is being used by God to usher in His kingdom
God wants to use you today
• If you have not been water baptised please come speak to me
• If you have not been Spirit baptised, then i believe Jesus wants to pour out His Spirit on you today. This is one the promises of Jesus, He is dying to pour it out on you.
• If you have been baptised in the Spirit already, but feeling weak and dry, then i believe Jesus wants to fill you again and cause that fire to start burning again.
