Releasing the Pressure

Have you ever been in a situation where you could feel the pressure… to perform?

Maybe at work...

The boss has given you a task and it is a make or break moment. The future of the company depends on how well you do with this given task… NO PRESSURE… but if you fail, we all fail.

Maybe at home...

Your schedule is piling up and you feel pressured to be all things to all people.

You want to be a good spouse taking care of the needs of your husband or wife.

You want to be a good parent taking care of the needs and schedules of your children.

You want to be a good provider either by bringing home the bacon… or cooking it.

You want to keep the cars fixed, the house clean, the laundry done, the floors swept, the bills paid, the lawn mowed, and… I can feel the anxiety already on the rise in the room!

Maybe at church...

You want to appear like you have it all together. You don’t dare reveal that you’ve had a rough week.

You’re a team lead or a volunteer and you don’t want anyone thinking less of you.

You want to impress - but not for God’s glory - but to hide the truth regarding what’s going on inside.

No doubt, we have created a culture of pressure and yes… it even has made its way into the church. AND… it can cost us dearly if we do not keep it in check.

This evening, we are continuing our series on the Holy Spirit and we will be talking about the reception of Spirit baptism in the hopes of relieving and undoing the pressure that can come with it.

We believe tonight that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for ALL believers. It is not a gift reserved for a select few… it is the empowerment of God’s people to be His witnesses all over this world.

The Great Commission is a calling for all believers to go and make disciples. It is a God-sized mission we cannot do on our own. BUT… because it is universal to all Christians it means that everyone is a missionary and everywhere a mission field.

Jesus DID NOT SEND the 120 in the upper room UNTIL they had received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Why? Because it is the power we need to accomplish the mission God has given us. To attempt the mission without the power is like going to battle with an unloaded tank. It just doesn’t make sense!

Lastly, we believe that the initial physical evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance… and it is within this belief that pressure begins to rise up. People feel the pressure to “perform” by speaking in tongues to prove they have been baptized.

Tonight we are going to undo the pressure… not by changing our beliefs… but by changing our approach.

Why Tongues?

Does the Bible clearly state that tongues in fact is the initial physical evidence of Spirit baptism? The answer is no… HOWEVER… Scripture clearly presents a pattern.

Consider the Holy Trinity.

The word Trinity never appears in Scripture yet we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

We can see the triune existence of God in motion all throughout Scripture. It is NOT God merely transforming and becoming what we need in the moment. It is God in three persons… all three distinct persons… yet the one and only God. Scripture gives a clear pattern.

Consider what took place at Jesus’ water baptism.

Matthew 3:16–17 NIV

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Nowhere do we see the word Trinity used… but God can be clearly seen as three distinct persons.

Tongues as evidence to Spirit Baptism is the same.

There are numerous passages that show us this pattern.

Acts 2:4 NIV

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

Acts 10:44–46 NIV

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,

Acts 19:6 NIV

6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

These are just three examples of tongues immediately being heard and observed the moment people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. God filled the people with His Spirit and supernaturally empowered their speech.

I did a study on this particular topic while completing my masters and in my own independent study, I concluded that without a doubt… this is God’s design regarding Spirit Baptism. The Scriptures support and declare this truth.

But it is within this doctrine… that the pressure begins to build. “IF I am Baptized THEN I must speak in Tongues. IF I don’t speak in tongues, THEN I am not Baptized.”

And to relieve the pressure, some churches have done away with the physical evidence of Spirit Baptism. In fact, there are moves even within the Assemblies of God to change this doctrine under the weight of this pressure.

Now, I believe God NEVER INTENDED for this to be a point of pressure on anyone. But… in our broken and fallen culture, we put pressure on the seeker of Spirit Baptism instead of simply receiving it as the gift that it is.

WE DO NOT SEEK TONGUES. We seek the empowerment that results in speaking in tongues. IF we believe that tongues are given as the Spirit gives utterance, than we need to seek the Spirit that gives us the ability to speak in other tongues.

I cannot tell you how many times I have watched preachers and evangelists put the pressure on in this regard.

“Repeat after me”

Blowing in the face of the seeker.

Pushing on their chest or shaking their head.

Making declarations like “the secret is in the laying on of hands.” Well… what if that person lays on the hands and… nothing happens?

Yelling or jumping as if more cheer leading and hype will get the job done.

And all the while there stands a believer who is trying to figure out what in the world am I suppose to do?

Yes… I have seen some genuinely receive the Baptism despite the emotional shenanigans going on in the altars… but I have also seen MANY leave the altars discouraged because… they feel like they did something wrong. They didn’t receive. No tongues were spoken… so that must mean I am a powerless believer that is unworthy of God’s promised gift to me.

It is this feeling… it is this pressure… that would cause many in our fellowship to want to challenge a biblical doctrine. We don’t want people feeling discouraged so lets change what we believe.

Well, I have a different solution… instead of changing our beliefs… lets change our methods and relieve the pressure.

Breaking Through the Hype.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit has NOTHING to do with your ability to perform… in any way or fashion. It has EVERYTHING to do with receiving a gift from God by faith.

The Baptism in the Spirit is not about you.

Remember what I said several weeks ago? The indwelling of God’s Spirit received at salvation is FOR YOU. He comes as an advocate, a helper, who guides us, leads us, convicts us, etc.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for those that are AROUND YOU. The indwelling fills you up. The Baptism is the overflow that touches the world. The indwelling is God working in you… the Baptism is God working THROUGH you.

In BOTH cases… it is GOD WORKING. We receive… God Works. As God works… we RESPOND by faith.

Consider the indwelling… if God reveals something to your spirit… something you are to do… does God force you to do it? NO. It requires a response by faith. And nobody questions that response (so long as it lines up with the Bible). We simply do as the Spirit leads us and guides us to do.

Spirit Baptism is the same thing. Tongues is a response of faith. As He is immersing you with His power, He will not control your tongue… But the Spirit WILL tell you what to say! You speak as the Spirit gives you utterance.

To often we place the pressure and the emphasis on us. How do I know this? Because of the responses I hear when a person does not receive.

There must be something wrong with me.

I must have upset the Lord.

I must not be seeking hard enough.

Can’t I “receive” the baptism in my own way? I don’t have to speak in tongues to be baptized.

Can’t I go and make disciples without receiving this empowerment? I have a lot to offer the ministry on my own.

The problem is… we make this too much about us… and not enough about God! And we have even done this over the years… in our prayer services.

Over the years… we became more focused on the hype and emotion thinking it would help people break through and receive.

BUT CHURCH… THERE IS NOTHING TO BREAK THROUGH. There is no secret prayer, no secret method, no secret phrase, no secret chord. There is only… BELIEVING AND RECEIVING. It is a GIFT. It is a PROMISE. IT IS FOR YOU.

Many think that we’ve gotta get the music loud enough, the people dancing enough, the preacher shouting enough, etc. We are dangerously substituting performance for presence.

There is no choir, no band, no preacher, no sound, no amount of performance and hype that can ever compare to the presence of God!

If you’re looking to be entertained, then go to the local movie theater. But if you are looking to be empowered… then stop seeking the goosebumps and hype and start seeking the Spirit of God!

I look back at Acts 1 and 2 when the 120 were first baptized and I don’t see a preacher, I don’t see a band. I don’t see a special scheduled event, I don’t even see an altar call. I see four things we need to take note of.

One, I see obedience. Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until the promised gift of the Father had come (Acts 1:4-5). The Bible identifies Jesus’ words to the disciples as a command… and the disciples took it seriously. THEY DID WHAT JESUS TOLD THEM TO DO.

Some of want the gift that God has promised us… but we are unwilling to obey. Perhaps we ought to check our level of obedience before we go changing doctrines and beliefs!

Two, I see hunger. I see a group of disciples that are hungry for what Jesus was offering. They desired to receive this empowerment. So all who were in the upper room were in constant prayer (Acts 1:14). No believer was excluded from this time of prayer. They sought the Lord.

Three, I see community. I see a group of 120 people who were brought together by the name of Jesus. Acts 1:14 says they all joined… together. Acts 2:1 says they were all together… in one accord. Jesus was the key… the foundation of their togetherness. The people were unified in Christ.

Again, I have watched people who sought to bring disunity to the body wonder why God withheld His Spirit Baptism from them. If you are sowing discord, if you are trying to bring division, your heart is in the wrong place. You are moving against the move of God in the body.

Four, I see faith. I see a people of faith that believed what Jesus told them. They believed the promised gift was coming. They didn’t know what this would look like or how it would happen, they simply believed the words of Jesus - The baptism was coming.

And the people did what they would naturally do when someone offers a gift… they simply received it.

Receive the Gift.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit was referred to by Jesus as “the gift my Father promised which you heard me speak about” in Acts 1:4. When it comes to Spirit Baptism, it is ESSENTIAL that we never forget that it is a PROMISED GIFT.

Consider the promise first.

When God makes a promise… He keeps it. It will be exactly as He promises. We do not have to worry whether or not God will make good on His promises… we can completely trust Him at His Word.

In fact, after the 120 are baptized and Peter begins to address the skeptical crowd that witnessed what happened… what does he refer back to? A promise that the people were aware of.

Peter reminds them of the words of Joel in Acts 2:17-21

Acts 2:17–21 NIV

17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

God always makes good on His promises! Peter just laid out an explanation of what just happened BUT HE ALSO LAID OUT WHAT THE PEOPLE CAN EXPECT TO SEE IN THE DAYS TO COME!

Secondly, Jesus said the baptism in the Spirit was a gift. What do you do when someone offers you a gift? YOU RECEIVE IT.

The experience of being Baptized by the Spirit is simply the reception of a gift God promised to give you.

The Greek word used here is epaggelia (A-pong-gelia) and it means “to announce the fulfillment of a promised good thing to be given.”

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a promise that is given to all believers who show up to receive it. It is not something we earn by being worthy of, it is something we are given by showing up to receive what God has promised to give us. So… how do we show up to receive?

We remain OBEDIENT to the Lord.

We remain HUNGRY for more of His Spirit.

We remain UNIFIED with the body of Christ.

We remain FAITHFUL in believing.

Notice there is no mention of seeking tongues or repeating phrases or playing loud music or jumping or running around a room. It’s not about a moment we create… its all about a giver, who is God, that has promised you this gift.

So… are you ready to receive from Jesus the gift that God has promised you?

First… how is your walk with the Lord?

How is your level of obedience? How hungry are you for more of His Spirit? How unified are you to His body… to His people? Where is your faith at today?

Do you come with doubt and skepticism or do you come ready to receive? God is willing and has promised to pour His Spirit out on those desire to receive.

If you desire to receive but you recognize that things are not as they should be in your walk with Him, lets get back online with Jesus.

Lets seek Him… and repent. Lets honor Him and put our self in check.

Secondly, lets receive.

Can we call out to God and ask Him to pour His Spirit out in this place? Can we seek the Baptism of the Spirit and when He comes on you… faithfully speak in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance?

It’s not about hype tonight… hype is a moment… hype comes and goes. It is ALL ABOUT HIS POWER, HIS PROMISED GIFT. We need more of God in these last days.

Lets remove the pressure to perform and simply receive. Let’s not change what we believe… let’s change how we receive. We do not have to manufacture a move of the Lord… God has promised to move in those who will receive!