WE’VE GOT THE POWER – 2
“WHAT’S THE PURPOSE?”
Introduction: Last Sunday, I spoke on, “Where It All Began”. We talked about where and when the New Testament Church actually began. I hope we can all agree that according to Scripture, that The New Testament Church began on Resurrection Sunday, when Jesus breathed on His followers the “breath” of the Holy Ghost and not on the day of Pentecost.
I’d like to give you just one more thing to think about on that subject before moving on to our topic this morning: When Jesus said that He would rebuild the Temple in 3 days, what did He mean? (expound).
Well, let’s move on to the topic at hand today called, “What’s the Purpose?”
I want to begin by pointing out that there are three distinctly different baptisms available to every human being. They are:
· Salvation – The baptism of Christ. Acts 2:38 says, “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (expound – Jews out of bondage).
· Water baptism - Matt 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
· Baptism in the Holy Ghost - Acts 2:4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
It is this third baptism that I want to dwell on here today (prayer).
I. What happened on the Day of Pentecost?
A. All of the people that were there on the Day of Pentecost, were Baptized in the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues. Look at Acts 2:1. It says, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (NKJ)
Let’s break this down in the Hebrew.
1. Suddenly - aphno (af’-no); unaware, i.e. unexpectedly.
2. Sound - echos (ay’-khos); a loud or confused noise ("echo"), i.e. roar; spoken of the roar of the sea waves (expound).
3. Wind - pnoe (pno-ay’); respiration, breath.
4. Filled all - pleroo (play-ro’-o); to cram full; to fill up; to fill to overflowing. (expound).
B. Now let’s look at Acts 2:4. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
1. Speak - laleo (lal-eh’-o); to utter a voice or emit a sound. 2) to speak
a) to use the tongue or the faculty of speech. b) to utter articulate sounds. 3) to talk. 4) to utter, to tell.
2. Tongues - glossa- 1) the tongue, a member of the body, an organ of speech; 2) a tongue; the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations or a language directly from God.
3. Gave – to supply; to give over to one’s care; to furnish – to endue; to cause to give forth; to cause to come forth;
4. Utterance - apophtheggomai (ap-of-theng’-om-ahee); to enunciate plainly, to speak out; to speak forth that which is given to speak. To declare plainly; to pronounce.
C. Now let’s look at Acts 1:8. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Let’s break this down as well.
1. Receive - lambano- to take with the hand, to lay hold of, any person or thing in order to use it; 2) to take up a thing to be carried; 3) to take upon oneself; to take what is one’s own, to take to oneself, to make it your own. 4) to take to oneself, to lay hold upon, to take possession of, 5) to catch at, to reach after, to strive to obtain; 6) to take a thing due, to collect, to gather what is offered.
2. Power - dunamis- force, strength power, ability; a) inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth power for performing miracles or moral power and excellence of soul. A power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts
D. So what happened on the day of Pentecost? The New Testament Church received the Power (this was after salvation) to do what Jesus said when He said, “Follow Me and I will MAKE you fishers of men.
II. What is the purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost? The answer to this question has a two-fold answer. The answer is: A promise given and a power given.
A. We call the Book of Hebrews the “Faith Chapter”. Do you know why? Because it talks about the faith of those great men and women of the Bible that have come and gone before us. You should take the time to read it. I want to touch on a couple portions of Scripture found in that book today. I think if we do that then we will see just what the purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is all about. In the Old Testament, Holy Ghost power was mighty for the Jews because of their faith.
1. Now look with me at Hebrews 11:29-34. It says, “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
2. Notice that the Holy Spirit worked for the Jews on the “outside” but was unable to work for them on the “inside” - - - for salvation had not yet come which is why they were commended for their faith and not kingdom power. (expound).
D. In the New Testament church though, the Holy Spirit works from the “inside” of every believer. Because of the baptism of Jesus, every believer now receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. And because of that power, we have the gift of eternal life. (expound).
E. But the baptism (in the Holy Spirit) gives us the supernatural might, supernatural power, supernatural ability, and supernatural strength to fulfill the great commission – as individuals and as a church body. II Corinthians 10:4 says, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)” (KJV) So, then what is the purpose of the Holy Spirit? Well, let’s look at the first purpose – that of a promise made.
F. Look at Hebrews 11:39-40. It says, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (KJV) Listen to how the New International Version puts it: 39 “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (NIV) So, what’s the promise? Look at Luke 24:49. It says, “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.” (KJV) (expound) Now look with me to Isaiah 59:20-21. It says, “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.” (KJV) (expound – in the last days, I will pour out . . . .). So the first purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is to fulfill the promise.
G. The second purpose is for us to have the power of the Holy Ghost at our disposal. There are many things we can do with this power. Some are:
· A Supernatural Witness and boldness - Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (NKJ) Matthew 10:7-8, "And as you go, preach, saying, ’The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (NKJ)
· To speak to God without interference - 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” (NKJ)
· To build myself up - 1 Corinthians 14:4-5a – “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, . . . “ (NKJ) 1 Corinthians 14:14 – “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” (NKJ)
· To pray for things you are not even aware of. 1 Corinthians 14:2 says, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.” (NKJ)
· When in church, to be used in all nine gifts of the Holy Spirit to benefit the whole church. I Corinthians 12:7-11, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, 9 to another faith, to another gifts of healings, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (NKJ) (Expound).
· To build faith that can move mountains - Jude 1:20, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,” (NKJ)
· Evidence that you’ve received the promise – As the Spirit fell they spoke in tougues.
· To build up the church - 1 Corinthians 14:5 – “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.” 1 Corinthians 14:12 – “Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.” (NKJ) 1 Corinthians 14:26-27 – “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.” (NKJ) Ephisians 6:18 – “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—“ (NKJ)
· A sign for unbelievers - 1 Corinthians 14:22 – “Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.”
· To glorify God and to speak of the future - John 16:7-15 says, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (NKJ)
Conclusion: William Temple said, “Nobody can be indwelt by the Spirit of God and keep that Spirit to himself. Where the Spirit is, he flows forth. And where there is no flowing forth, he is not there.”
J.B. Phillips said, “Anyone who opens his personality to the living Spirit takes a risk of being considerably shaken.
You can e-mail me at: Sharing_Him_Today@msn.com
