The Holy Spirit

Introduction

I am so excited for this sermon series that we are beginning today for several reasons.

The first is, I get to see where we are at together, as a church body. When we put it out there for you all to decide what we should talk about, there were four big topics that you all landed on.

I think that’s pretty awesome! As a church, we are definitely in “one accord”.

The second reason I love this is I shared this with our Pastors. I wanted THEM TO KNOW where we are at as a church. That was important to me that they had the chance to peak into your souls and see what’s keeping you up at night.

The third reason I like this approach is becuase there was definitely some confirmation for me. As I am praying over you all and constantly preparing to Pastor this house, the questions were in step, for the most part, with where I believe we are at together as a church.

Now, there were some questions that didn’t make it into the series, and so one of the things that I want to do is address them in another setting. So, stay tuned for that, becuase your question might get answered!

And if at the end of this series, you still need an answer, come talk to me after service.

But, if you really do need counseling, then you’re going to counseling, OK. I’m going to walk you right over to our local Psychologist, David Martinez, and we will immediately begin your evaluation.

Transition

Today, we are going to talk about the Holy Spirit.

Everyone say, the Holy Spirit.

Now, I am excited about this! I actually wrote an entire chapter about the Holy Spirit in my book two weeks ago, and so this is all very fresh, studied and relevant for today.

But I have to issue a caution to EVERYONE in the tent today!

One of the things that I LOVE ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE is that we are uniting people under the banner of being a spirit-filled, Bible believing & teaching Church.

In the tent this morning we have people who have a Pentecostal back ground, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic, Calvary Chapel… do we got anything else?

So what happens is our theology is informed by our experiences.

What we believe about the bible and about God is only informed by our experiences.

And though that might not sound bad, there is some danger when you do not personally examine what you have been taught.

But when we unite under the banner of being a Bible believing church, here is what happens...

So, no other book, or organizational document, is greater than the scriptures.

No tradition is greater than the scriptures.

We will go to the word of God time and time again for truth, and how we should apply it.

We will interpret the text the way it was intended for the readers back then. Then we will seek to apply the scriptures into our context today.

Let’s say this together....

The Bible was not written to me, but it is for me.

Receive the Holy Spirit

So let’s start off by laying a foundation for when someone receives the Holy Spirit.

At what point does someone receive the Holy Spirit?

The moment you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you received the Holy Spirit.

Why? Because Jesus always brings company.

Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

This scripture is part of the Hebrew Shema, which is the Jewish confession of faith.

It set’s the tone early in the scriptures that God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus are all one.

So when you say yes to Jesus, and you accept him into your heart, He doesn’t come in and tell the Holy Spirit, “You stay outside. He was only talking to me.”

That’s not how this works. Jesus doesn’t come alone.

In the New Testament, Paul wrote a Christology masterpiece in his letter of Colossians and here is how he explained Jesus to the church.

Colossians 2:9 (KJV 1900)

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

So it is theologically inaccurate to say that you received Jesus then, but you didn’t receive the Holy Spirit. They are one. They cannot be separated.

So when you said yes to Jesus, you also received the Holy Spirit into your life and he takes up residence inside of you.

What Is He Doing?

Now if you are wondering, well what is going on inside of me now that the Holy Spirit is here?

Here is what is happening according to Jesus.

John 14:16–17 (NIV)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Let’s hit the pause button here and point out somethings about what Jesus is saying.

He is saying that the Holy Spirit is our advocate.

The Holy Spirit cannot be seen.

He lives within you.

John 14:26 (NIV)

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Jesus, now names the advocate as the Holy Spirit and he explains that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things.

Let me read one more to you from Jesus.

John 16:13 (NIV)

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Jesus reiterates the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our life as he guides us into all the truth.

And I love what else is said here, the Holy Spirit will hear from God, and tell us what God is saying.

So for everyone who has received Jesus, I want you to know that the Holy Spirit is actively working in your life right now! You’ve got to acknowledge that he’s working in you, and give an attentive ear to him so that we can be led into all truth.

How many of you are glad that the Holy Spirit is working in you? How many of you are glad that when you said yes to Jesus, it was more than an emotional response, but it was receiving Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God into our lives!

What about Baptism of the Spirit?

Now let’s go a little deeper this morning…

Are you all with me so far?

There is something that is called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and through the scriptures we see that it is not one and the same as receiving the Holy Spirit.

First, let’s read John and Jesus’ words about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 1:8 (NIV)

I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:4–5 (NIV)

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 baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Ok, so we are getting different language, or new language. Are these one and the same? They’re not.

Both John and Jesus talked about something that was to come, and the Holy Spirit had already been filling people throughout the Old and New Testament.

Joseph – Genesis 41:38

Bezaleel – Exodus 31:3

Joshua – Numbers 27:18

Gideon – Judges 6:34

Samson – Judges 13:25

Saul – 1 Samuel 10:9-10

David – 1 Samuel 16:13

When Jesus spoke about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to the disciples, he had already talked to them about the Holy Spirit. We read that in John 14. But beyond that, he also filled them with his Holy Spirit.

John 20:21–22 (NIV)

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Prior to this moment, the disciples did not need to receive the Holy Spirit becuase they were with Jesus!

But Jesus has been crucified, he is resurrected, but he is coming and going. He is appearing, and then disappearing. Now his disciples needed to receive the Holy Spirit so that they would have the advocate with them to guide them to all truth.

So Jesus gives to them the Holy Spirit… but later, he says, I’m going to baptize you with my spirit.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

So let’s first analyze the words Jesus used.

He said he was going to baptize them, and that word baptize comes from the Greek word bapto, which means to submerge or to immerse.

So he tells his disciples, “don’t leave Jerusalem; in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

And now, one of the most important verses that you can read about the Holy Spirit follows;

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

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.”

The Holy Spirit gives us power to become a better witness of Jesus.

Prior to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we receive the Holy Spirit. But when we are baptized by the Holy Spirit WE are immersed in the Spirit.

So he was in us, but now we are in Him.

As we read on in the Book of Acts, we see just how demonstrative the Baptism of the Holy Spirit it.

Acts 2:1–4 (NIV)

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.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Let me just break this moment down for everyone.

Jesus tells them to wait, and that’s exactly what they did. They waited in Jerusalem, and on the Day of Pentecost, which is a Jewish feast day that occurs 50 days after the passover, the Holy Spirit baptized the believers who were still in Jerusalem. The miracle of Pentecost is that they were all Baptized with the Holy Spirit and they supernaturally spoke in other languages.

Why did this happen?

The Feast of Pentecost brought many people from around the world to Jerusalem. These were Jews who resides in other countries, and spoke foreign languages. When they were the commotion, they saw men and women of Galilee speaking in their language.

At first they thought that these people were drunk, but Peter stands up and preaches the first gospel message and 3,000 people were added to the church that day.

What did Jesus say would happen?

They would receive power to be better witnesses, and that’s exactly what happened on that day.

The Aftermath of Pentecost

So after Pentecost, what do we find in the scriptures concerning the Holy Spirit and now let’s also talk about speaking in tongues.

There are more instances of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit happening in the Book of Acts. We see it in Acts 8:17, Acts 9:17, Acts 10:44-46, and Acts 19:6.

In each of these passages, we see that the function of the Holy Spirit is empowering believers to be better witnesses.

Today, we teach and preach that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is still something that every believer should pursue!

We live in a world and in a time where you don’t want to do it without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Why would you want to live your life as a Jesus follower and not be baptized with the Holy Spirit?

We all need more of him, we all need more of his power, and the darker than this world gets the brighter the church needs to shine.

Now, some churches don’t feel this way, and they may not teach it this way. We respectfully disagree, but let’s get our hearts in the right place on this subject.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t make me better than you, it makes me better than me.

And so we teach that everyone should pursue the baptism of the Holy Spirit here at Lighthouse.

What About Tongues?

Now I want to bring one more point into this message, and that is on the gift of speaking in other tongues. In Acts 2, we see that everyone was supernaturally enabled to speak in tongues in order to witness to those around them.

Beyond that, we see this happen in some of the other occurences in Acts that I already mentioned, and finally, we get writings from Paul about speaking in tongues. Those are in Romans 8, and 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.

We won’t deep dive into tongues, but I will make statements that are all backed by scriptures and I’ll even share some with you.

Paul spoke in tongues and encouraged everyone in Corinth to do the same.

1 Corinthians 14:18 (NIV)

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

1 Corinthians 14:5 (NIV)

I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

Now verse 5 is when Paul begins to take us into an orderly way of speaking tongues. This was necessary because in Corinth, there was some crazy things happening in the church. People who spoke in tongues were completely out of order, and it was taking something that God gave them, and they were misusing it.

Sound familiar?

So Paul makes these statements to tell them, “Hey I speak in tongues! And I want for all of you to do it too! But I want things to be done in order.”

But here’s what I don’t believe the church should do, I don’t think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.

As a matter of fact, here’s how Paul ends his letter on tongues.

1 Corinthians 14:39 (NIV)

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

So praying in tongues is a gift, but don’t misuse the gift. And if someone doesn’t speak in tongues, that’s OK too. Speaking in tongues doesn’t save you, Jesus saves you. That’s it.

Conclusion

Today, my hope with all of this teaching is that it would unite us Lighthouse. The scriptures should bind us together!

I’ve been asked this question more and more and I want you to hear my heart.

What kind of church are you?

One that believes and teaches the Bible.

And that’s typically followed by, “Yea I know, but are you reformed? Are you charismatic? Are you a Calvinist? Are you Pentecostal?”

And I come back to, we study, preach, teach and believe the Bible.

I know you want to back me into a corner and reduce me to the lowest common denominator of a tribe within Christianity. And you can do that if YOU want to, but hear my heart. I don’t want to be labeled as anything other than a disciple of Jesus, who reads the Bible daily. Who studies the Bible the way it was intended for the person it was written to. And I want to make applications from this ancient eastern text into the modern western culture that we are living in.

You see, the church has done a lot of fighting over the years. And do you want to know what that made a mess of? Our witness! It’s messed up our ability to faithfully and authoritatively represent Jesus. And Jesus gives us and baptizes us with his Spirit sot ath we can be BETTER WITNESSES.

Imagine having an incredibly fast car, like a Lamborghini, but all the tires were almost flat. They weren’t completely flat, but they were really low on air.

Are you going to drive that car to its full potential? Of course not!

Because before you’ve even had a chance to floor the gas pedal, the tires are flat.

I feel like thats what has happened with our churches as we have fought over things from our misinformed experiences and we never sought to understand the truth for ourselves.

We’re not going to be that church… We’re not going to be that group of Jesus followers. We’re going get our theology straight. We’re not going to fight or break up over non essentials. We’re going to point out areas where we can lovingly disagree, and we’re going to win our city through the Power of the Holy Spirit!