VIII. THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
A. Jesus Christ commanded the disciples not to enter upon the work to which He had called them until baptized with the Holy Ghost.
1. The disciples are told that they will be witnesses, but first they are told to tarry.
Luke 24:47 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (v. 48) And ye are witnesses of these things. (v. 49)And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
2. The disciples are again reminded to tarry.
Acts 1:4 “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. (v. 5) For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
3. Why tarry? These men were trained personally by Jesus. What more did they need?
They were uniquely fitted for the work by experience, by association with Jesus, and by long training at His own hands, but the further preparation of baptism with the Holy Spirit was so essential that they must not move without it. R. A Torrey
They needed “power.”
4. Should we tarry?
a. No, not as the disciples tarried. For they tarried for the promise of the Father to be given. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given.
John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
b. Yes. If the baptism of the Holy Ghost does not occur at regeneration, then we should tarry until we receive that which has now been given.
B. Jesus Christ Himself, though the only begotten Son of God, did not enter upon His ministry until the Spirit of God had come upon Him, and He had thus been "anointed with the Holy Ghost and power."
Matthew 3:16 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:”
C. When the apostles found believers in Christ, they at once demanded whether the believers had received the Holy Spirit, and, if not, the apostles at once saw to it that they did.
“I have to admit that several years ago I was ignorant of the fact, concerning the
Biblical aspects of being Baptized in the Holy Spirit. It was not till I met a fellow
minister friend that I had recently come to know and I realized he had something
that I didn’t. Something I knew I needed but didn’t have. I had been saved many
years hence, but immediately knew that there was something more in my spiritual
life and I began to pray and seek God for what I needed and lacked. A year or so
latter I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.”
Richard Gardner from Sermoncentral.com
D. It is evident then that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary in every Christian for service that Christ demands and expects of him. There are certainly few greater mistakes that we are making today in our various Christian enterprises than that
of appointing men to teach Sunday-school classes and do personal work and even to
preach the Gospel because they have been converted and received a certain amount of
education, including perhaps a college or seminary course, but have not as yet been
baptized in the Holy Spirit.
To every candidate for the ministry we should put the question, “Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?” and if not, we should say to him as Jesus said to the first preachers of the Gospel, “Sit down until you are endued with power from on high.”
pg 220 - 221 The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit R. A. Torrey
