Scripture: Mark 1:1-11; John 7:37-39
Theme: Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Title: I am Thankful for … the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
This month we are looking at things for which we are thankful. Last week we look at the subject of Grace:
+God’s Grace is Unmerited
+God’s Grace is Unearned
+God’s Grace is Limitless
+God’s Grace is Transformative
Today, I would like for us to look at another subject of thanksgiving. It is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is a subject that many people misunderstand. It is an experience that many people do not give the Lord enough praise and thanksgiving for in their lives.
We all know a great deal about water baptism. We all know that after we have come to faith in the LORD Jesus Christ that we need to experience water baptism. Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace. It is an outward testimony that the LORD has rescued you, redeemed you and now you are a New Creation in Christ Jesus.
We know that because that is what the Bible tells us. The importance of water baptism is recorded in the Gospels. It is also recorded that our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized in water by John the Baptist. He was not baptized because he needed to repent of His sins but as an example of what He wanted us to do. Jesus experienced the same walk that He wants all of us to walk.
It is not that baptism that I want to speak about today. It is the baptism that we see John the Baptist prophesying about, Jesus participating in and the disciples receiving on the Day of Pentecost. It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In other passages it is referred to as the gift of the Holy Spirit, the pouring out of the Spirit, the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
In the Gospels, we read that coming out of the water the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus – not as a dove but like a dove. The Holy Spirit came like a dove – in other words it came in peace, with authority and in power. The Holy Spirit came in Jesus’ heart, mind and soul in the same manner that years later it would come in the lives of all disciples; in peace, with authority enabling us to have supernatural power.
For 30 years Jesus had known his mission. He knew who He was and whose He was – He knew He was the Son of God and was One with the Father and Holy Spirit. He knew his mission. We read about it in 1 John 3:7-8
“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He (JESUS) might DESTROY the WORKS of the Devil.”
Jesus knew His mission. He knew what He had been born to do on this earth. From the moment of Creation the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had been aware that the time would come for Jesus to be born of a virgin, to grow up and to begin the mission of rescuing and redeeming.
+Jesus knew that He would experience a baptism of water.
+Jesus knew that He would experience a baptism of the Holy Spirit.
+Jesus knew then that He would fulfill the mission of enabling every man, woman, boy and girl to be restored back into the image of God; reflecting God’s glory and honor.
But for that right time to happen Jesus had to wait. He had to wait to grow up and wait for his cousin John the Baptist to grow up. It was all a part of the Holy Trinity’s plan. Jesus would be 100% God and 100% human. Jesus would forever show us the way that we can live in this life through His redemption and through the power and presence of His Holy Spirit; through being baptized by and into the Holy Spirit.
Everything we read about Jesus doing in the Bible are things that the LORD wants us to do and expects us to do.
Jesus says this:
John 14:12-14 (NIV)
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Now, Jesus wasn’t talking about us doing parlor tricks – we understand that from the temptations that the Devil wanted Jesus to do in the wilderness. The Devil wanted Jesus to do parlor tricks – make stones turn into bread, cast himself down from the Temple to cause a big scene.
It wasn’t the fact that Jesus could not do those things, for rest assured Jesus had the power to do all those things. But that is not the Jesus way. Jesus never has and never will misuse His authority or power. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life – Jesus is not into manipulation, deceit and trickery.
What Jesus was saying, was that after He went back to Heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit in His fullness. He says this over and over in the Gospels most notably in John chapters 14 – 17. It would be the baptism of the Holy Spirit that would give the disciples and therefore us the peace, the authority and the enabling power to do amazing and wonderful things:
+ The power to become like Jesus – not the Jesus before the Cross but the Jesus after the Cross – the Jesus that has been glorified by the Father. That is the Jesus that we can be like here on this earth and on the New Heaven and New Earth.
+The power of supernatural wisdom, knowledge and insight – this is what Jesus was talking about in John 16:8-15
+The power to make disciples – Matthew 28 and Acts 2
+The power to bear spiritual fruit – Galatians 5:25-26
+The power to pray supernatural prayers; praying in the Spirit – Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 6:18
+The power to live a life above sin – Romans 8:13
+The power over the Devil, Demons, Death, Hell and the Grave – Mark 16:15-18
+The power to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Let’s take a moment and reflect on these things – all of these things are a part of the life of the Born Again Believer who has received the fullness of the Baptism (Infilling) of the Holy Spirit. This is the life of everyone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ if they will avail themselves to the infilling presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
For in short; the baptism of the Spirit is an “immersion of the Spirit.” It is similar to what happens when you are immersed in water only the immersion is in the Holy Spirit. And when you are baptized with the Holy Spirit, the Bible says that you will receive strength, power and boldness from God to live the Abundant Life, to accomplish the work that the Lord has for you and be victorious over sin in your life.
So, if all of that is true, then why are there so many Christians depressed, defeated and dejected? Why are there so many Christians and churches for that matter living with so little authority and power?
Did the Holy Spirit lose His power or could it be that these people have either not fully received or been open to the baptism or infilling of God’s Holy Spirit? Could it be that they are not allowing God’s Holy Spirit to be in full control of their hearts, minds and souls?
Let’s look at some things this morning about the Holy Spirit and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
1. All Christians Have the Holy Spirit
All Christians – everyone who has called upon the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST to be their Savior and LORD have the Holy Spirit. Jesus makes this very plain to all of us when he talked to Nicodemus in John 3 –
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again (born from above), he cannot see the kingdom of Heaven.” – verse 3
“Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.” – verses 5 – 7
Being born again, being born from above means that you have repented, your sins have been forgiven, you are justified, regenerated, sanctified, a child of the Most High, a citizen of Heaven and have received the Holy Spirit.
For the Holy Spirit’s baptism, infilling, presence – or whatever you want to call it is a gift. It is a gift from God following our repentance. It is not something that we merit or that we earn. It is a part of God’s amazing grace – it is limitless and it is transformative.
The question that remains is simply this – it is not how much of the Holy Spirit you have – for the Bible is clear that you have access to all of the Holy Spirit – God doesn’t just give you pieces of the Holy Spirit – He doesn’t hold back parts of His Holy Spirit. No, you have access to all of the Holy Spirit.
The question has always been how much of yourself does the Holy Spirit have?
How much access to your mind, your body and to your soul do you allow God’s Holy Spirit? How surrendered are you to the Holy Spirit? How open are you to the Holy Spirit? How dependent are you on the Holy Spirit?
Those are the real questions.
For the truth is:
2. God Wants to Live in Our Hearts, Minds and Souls
It has always been God’s will that we would have the ability to make our Human bodies, souls and minds a Temple in which He can inhabit and be One with Us.
Let me say that again – It has always been God’s will that we would have the ability to make our Human bodies, souls and minds a Temple in which He can inhabit and be One with Us.
That is exactly what happened in the Incarnation – Jesus took on a human body, a human mind and a human soul. That human body, human mind and human soul housed the Divinity of God. Jesus was 100% human and 100% divine.
By doing so, Jesus showed us exactly the kind of human being we can be – a human being who can be a place where God can dwell – where His Holy Spirit can dwell – where His Spirit and Our Spirit, His mind and our Mind, His Soul and our Soul can be ONE – this is what Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-23
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be One in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in One, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
Now all of that may sound strange and I guess in many ways it does sound strange. But just because it sounds strange doesn’t mean it is not true or possible in this life.
It may sound otherworldly, supernatural and it should. For it is otherworldly and supernatural. It is mind blogging and at times very difficult to get a handle on. But just because something is beyond our comprehension doesn’t make it untrue.
Jesus said that we can be one through Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit. We can be one with Him – think about that for a moment – doesn’t that sound like something that can only happen in Heaven and yet, God says that it can happen, does happen and will happen here on earth if we desire it. We can be one with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And if you think that is crazy then as you continue to read the Bible you realize that not only does God want to be one with us – He wants to give us the ability to be a resource center of His power and authority here on this earth.
3. God wants us to Be His Resource Center
That is right – God wants you and me – saved, redeemed, sanctified, water baptized and Holy Spirit baptized to be His resource center here on this earth. He wants to give us uncontrollable power, unstoppable power and incomprehensible power and authority on this earth.
He wants us to be “little Christs” here on this earth – that is what the people of Antioch called the early disciples of Jesus – “little Christs” or Christians (Acts 11:26).
This is partly what Jesus referred to in John 7:37-39
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
“Out of his/her heart will flow rivers of living water.”
– Pause on that thought for a moment
– “Out of his/her heart will flow rivers of living water.”
These words spoke volumes to a people that knew what it meant to face drought/famine and seasons of arid dryness. Jesus captured their attention by talking about rivers of living water – rivers that would bring health, vitality and victory. Rivers that would help bring fruit, abundance and prosperity to the whole area.
What an amazing idea.
Now, it isn’t strange that the LORD used the idea of water. Like I said, these people understood drought/famine and arid dryness. The majority of the Holy Land was a desert.
It also connects us with today. We know this morning that we humans are made up of about 60% water. In other words we really are water bags walking around in skins held up by muscles and bones.
We need water. All life on earth needs water. Water is essential for our bodies to function. We couldn’t grow plants, keep our animals alive or wash and clean our food without water. Water is essential for our civilization and in many parts of the world water provides a means of transportation and is a source of power for many of our factories.
We don’t hear a great deal about famines or even long term droughts today. Our modern technology has enabled us to move water across great distances. However, just around 100 years ago there were major famines that caused millions of deaths:
+In Iran (1917-1919) that resulted in approx. 2 million deaths
+In Russia (1921) that resulted in 5 million deaths
+In China (1928-1930) that resulted in over 10 million deaths
+In Russia (1932 – 33) that resulted in over 7 million deaths
And in my lifetime, China experienced the greatest famine the world has seen for hundreds of years (1959 – 1961). Chinese scholars have estimated that over 40 million people died due to starvation because of a lack of water and food.
The Bible shares with us stories about famines – the famine that caused Abraham to have to move a couple of times. The famine that hit the nation of Egypt that enabled Joseph to come to power. The famines that happened during the life times of Elijah and Elisha all around Israel.
As interesting and important as all those facts are; Jesus was talking about more than just physical water. Jesus was not talking about each one of us becoming a pumping station that the city could connect to provide physical water to its citizens.
Although it is interesting that in these last days the nation of Israel has seen a resurgence of flowing water. There is so much water in Israel today that it is providing water to both its Palestinian and its Jordanian neighbors. The nation of Israel is becoming a living garden – a Promise Land right before our eyes. We serve a mighty God who is turning the desert into a garden (Psalms 107:35; Isaiah 41:18).
Jesus was talking about rivers of water that would flow from each one of us spiritual, emotionally and socially. Jesus was talking about each one of us becoming rivers of water that would not only satisfy our own spiritual, emotional and social thirst but would be a means for those around us to be refreshed and filled as well. In one way, we are supposed to become water pumping stations. Not of physical water – God will provide that; but of spiritual, emotional and social living water.
Now, think about that for a moment. Jesus wants to take a cup of water that will of course quench our thirst but transform it so that it becomes a river of water flowing through us and out of us. That is supernatural Holy Spirit water.
It is Jesus’ plan that we be more than filled and saturated. He wants us over flowing. For a full vessel is one that is overflowing.
This is what we need today. While our world does not face a global threat of a famine or a drought it does face a global threat of a spiritual famine and drought. In fact, in our country we are in the midst of a severe spiritual famine and drought.
The sad truth is the fact that we live in a nation where churches liter the landscapes but all too often many of them have no living water to provide either themselves or others. They have only the stale remnants of tired old traditions and rituals. They have the markings of an eternal living water station but upon closer examination all they have to give is lukewarm water at best and polluted water at worst.
They have no power in their prayers. They produce no transformed lives. They have no authority and make no impact in their geographical area for the cause and Kingdom of God.
Jesus came to do more than get rid of the Devil and his works. Jesus came to do more than destroying sin in our lives.
Jesus came to baptize us in His Holy Spirit so that like a river flowing our lives we will be able to bring healing, cleansing, purifying, salvation and discipleship not only into our lives but into the lives of others. The Lord wants us to become a geographical spiritual river in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our churches, in the places we shop and in the places we work.
Jesus promises us if we will do this then people would look to us for living water. People who need some emotional, social, spiritual help would look to us and we would be able to pour out from our resources of living water what they need to help them in all areas – physical, emotional, social and spiritual.
Just like water brings health, wholeness and life to an area so to we who have been baptized by and into the Holy Spirit are to able to bring Living Water all around us. God wants to co-partner with us to transform us, our families, our churches, our work places, our schools and our communities.
God wants to put Himself in us. He wants to be inside us flowing, stirring, purifying, sparkling, refreshing, moving, calming and giving life not only to us but to all those around us.
Why?
+ Because God has great faith in Himself and in Us.
+God has great faith in the power and presence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. God knows what can and will happen if His Spirit partners with Our Spirit.
The Old Testament is full of such examples – Moses, Deborah, King David, Elijah and Esther. Each of them did great things under the covering of the Holy Spirit.
But as great as those people where everything they did was just a foreshadowing of what the LORD wanted to do through the Baptism of His Holy Spirit.
For the LORD knows that when He is allowed to be fully in charge – you have a Mary the Mother of Jesus, you have an Apostle Peter, an Apostle John, an Apostle Paul along with the likes of a St. Augustine, a Martin Luther, a John Bunyan, a John Wesley, a Billy Graham and others.
This Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not just a one off.
Yes, we repent and we receive the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit but like Living water there are many infillings and baptism.
We see that in Acts 4 where the Church was facing some opposition. They knew they needed more power, more living water, more of God’s Holy Spirit so they got together and prayed. They opened up their hearts, their minds and their whole beings to the Presence of God; to His Holy Spirit.
Let’s listen in on their prayer – Dr. Luke writes part of it down for us:
“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29)
Wow!
What an impressive prayer – praying for boldness, knowing that God would use them to do all kinds of supernatural things – signs and wonders. Not doing them in their name or for them to get fame – but doing them in the name of Jesus Christ.
And how did God answer their prayers?
“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
This morning the greatest need of all churches and of all disciples of Jesus is to not just receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit but to live in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. To be fully surrendered to the LORD – lock, stock and barrel. To put everything in God’s hands. To allow the Holy Spirit to sit on the thrones of our lives and to infill us continually with His Holy Spirit. To allow the Holy Spirit to transform us into being God’s ambassadors. To allow the Holy Spirit to bring us peace, authority and power – power to live in a dark world but to do more than live – to live in victory.
This morning if you have allowed Jesus to save you, redeem you – then you have God’s Holy Spirit.
The question we must ask ourselves – Does the Holy Spirit have us?
Have we surrendered ourselves over to God’s Holy Spirit?
Does God’s Holy Spirit rule and reign in our hearts and lives?
As we close – let’s sing that little chorus “Not My Will, but Thine” – and in singing it this morning – why not ask the Holy Spirit to baptize you anew – why not give everything over to the Holy Spirit – why not allow the Holy Spirit to fill you once again enabling you to be a living water station that will change your geography.
Handout:
Scriptures that deal with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
• Matthew 3:11: …He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…"
• Mark 1:8: …He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…"
• Luke 3:16: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…"
• Luke 3:22: "…and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove."
• Luke 11:13: "…how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
• Luke 24:49: …stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (see fulfillment in Acts 2).
• John 1:33: …the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit."
• Acts 1:4–5: …the Promise of the Father…"; …you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…"
• Acts 2:1–4: "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages…"
• Acts 2:14–18: …I will pour out my Spirit…" (quoting Joel 2:28–29).
• Acts 4:31: …they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…"
• Acts 8:14–17: …prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit…"; …as yet the Spirit had not yet come upon any of them…"; …they received the Holy Spirit…"; …the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands…."
• Acts 9:17: …Jesus…has sent me…that you may…be filled with the Holy Spirit."
• Acts 10:44–48: "The Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word…"; …the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out…"; …people who have received the Holy Spirit…"
• Acts 11:15–16: "…the Spirit fell upon them…"; …you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…"
• Acts 15:8: "God…testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us"
• Acts 19:1–6: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit…?"; …the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied…"
• 1 Cor 12:13: "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free..."
• Gal 3:2: "Did you receive the Spirit...by believing what you heard?"
• Eph 1:13: "…marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit"
