The Holy Spirit (5)

Acts 2:1–4 ESV

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 8:5–8 ESV

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.

Acts 8:12–17 ESV

But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:44–46 ESV

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,

Acts 19:1–6 ESV

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Acts 9:11–17 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Lesson Five- Is It Scriptural To Tarry for the Holy Spirit?

Central Truth- The infilling of the New Testament believers with the Holy Spirit should be our Pattern today for receiving this blessed experience

Tarrying has been thought by many to be the prerequisite to receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit

Many believe that for every promise of God they must tarry and carry the burden in order to receive it

There is tarrying before the Lord- Seeking and Waiting earnestly for the things of God is a spiritual act

Before I preach and teach I take time to tarry in the presence of God

Sometimes I spend and hour or two, or even throughout the week i will tarry (Earnestly Seek) for the things of God in prayer

Yet when it comes to the promise of the Holy Spirit I don’t know if it is necessary to “tarry” for the baptism

Jesus said to His disciples before the day of pentecost in Luke 24:49, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

The NKJV says it like, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city 4 of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Some have supposed this was the Biblical formula for receiving, however, we would not be right to take the word “Jerusalem” out of the text. Jesus told them not only to wait, or “tarry”, but He said to wait in Jerusalem.

Why didn’t Jesus send them to tarry in Bethlehem?

Why didn’t they tarry in Jericho?

It was necessary that they wait in Jerusalem, because the Church had to have its beginning there.

Acts 2:1-4 “On the day of Pentecost* all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,* as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”

The disciples were waiting for the Day of Pentecost to come

They were not just waiting to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

If that had been the case, The bible would have said, “When they were full and ready the Holy Spirit came.”

But it doesn’t say that- It says, “On the Day of Pentecost…” This is what they were waiting for - the DAy

NKJV says, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come…”

After the Day of Pentecost there is no record in the Bible anywhere that anyone ever waited, cried, agonized, sang, struggled, or tarried to be filled with the Holy Spirit!

Kenneth Hagin says, “Some said ‘I believe in receiving the Holy Spirit the Old-fashioned way.’ I do too. You can’t get any more old-fashioned than the Acts of the Apostles. I propose that we look at Acts, see how they did it, and follow their example in getting people filled with the Holy Spirit.”

At Revival Generation Church we do it the old-fashion way

We heal the old fashion way

We anoint the old-fashion way

And we get people filled the old-fashion way

We are extremely biblical in both our preaching and our actions!

If you read through the twenty-eight chapters of the Book of Acts, What you find is that the events didnt happen over a few day, week, or even over a few years.

Around eight Years after the Day of Pentecost we see Phillip carrying the Gospel tot eh people of Samaria

Believers Filed in Samaria

Acts 8:5-8, “Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. 6 Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. 7 Many evil* spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. “

Joy is not necessarily a characteristic of being filled with the Holy Spirit. These people had great joy before they were filled with the Spirit.

We have Joy before, and we can have Joy afterwards

It is joyous to be saved

It is joyous to be healed

it is joyous to enjoy the blessings of God

Acts 8:12-17 “  But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

Philip had a glorious revival in Samaria

Hundreds of people were saved and healed

And all received the Holy Spirit

Notice that they received without waiting, without praying, without agonizing, without exception or disappointment

Believers Filled in Cornelius’ Household

Then ten years later after the day of Pentecost, the Bible tells us about Peter’s going to Cornelios’ house to carry the Gospel.

In the Tenth chapter of Acts, we get to see how an angel appeared to Cornelius and told him to send to Joppa and inquire in the house of a certain individual for Simon Peter, Acts 11:14, “He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!”

Neither Cornelius nor his household were saved- They may have been jewish Proselytes- they Believed in the God of Israel

They didn’t know the Jesus had died- and a person cannot be saved without hearing the Gospel, so Peter preached to them

They believed and were born again while Peter was preaching, and they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues before he had finished his message.

Acts 10:44-46 “Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers* who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues* and praising God.”

Notice that they were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking with tongueswithout tarrying- without waiting, praising or singing.

We make a mistake by thinking things have to be done a certain way,

God doesn’t have any cut-and-dried methods

It was while Peter was still preaching, these people recieved the Holy Spirit

Kenneth Hagin says, “I have seen people receive the Holy Spirit While I was speaking.”

Believers Filled in Ephesus

Then 20 years after Pentecost Paul journeys to Ephesus.

there He met some believers and introduced them to the person of the Holy Spirit

Acts 19:1-6 “  While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.* 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.

“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.

And they replied, “The baptism of John.”

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues* and prophesied

We can see from these verses that the believers in Ephesus never heard about the Holy Spirit., But when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues

Every one of them- without waiting, without praising, and without tarrying- was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues as the Spirit of God gave them utterance.

Paul said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

He didn’t say, “I have come here to pray that God would pour the Holy Spirit out on you.”

He didn’t send them to tarry- Just Like Peter and John didn’t do in Samaria

Paul’s Infilling With the Holy Spirit

Paul who laid hands on the Ephesian believers, previously was known as Saul of Tarsus. The account of His experience of receiving the Holy Spirit is found in acts 9

Acts 9:11-17 “  The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers* in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Saul later known as Paul, received the Holy Spirit immediately. He didn’t have to tarry or wait.

this is the one case by the way where it doesn’t say someone who received the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues

and although is does’t specifically state Paul spoke in tongues right here in Acts 9, Paul Said He spoke in tongues in 1 Cor 14:18, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.”

We know Paul didn’t start speaking in tongues before he got the Holy Spirit, So we shouldn’t build a theology around this instance

it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out when he started speaking in tongues

He started when He received the Holy Spirit, just as the rest of us do, because tongues goes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Kenneth Hagin says, “‘but I remember those wonderful times I had of seeking God for several years before I was filled,’ someone once told me.

‘have you stopped seeking God?’ I asked. ‘I remember that time I had last week seeking God. I remember the time today seeking God. I believe i n seeking God and tarrying. Spirit-filled believers need to seek God just as much as people who are not filled.’

‘Yes, but I learned many lessons’ the man said

‘you could have learn a whole lot faster with the Holy Spirit than you did without Him’ I said. ‘And isn’t it true thatr the very thing you learned when you did get filled was that you didn’t have to do all that?’

He laughed and said, ‘you are exactly right. The first thing I said after I received was that if only someone had told me , I could have received years before.’”

We Don’t have to wait five years, five week, or even five minutes. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift which every believer can receive right now!

Memory Text: Luke 24:49, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

Lesson in action: James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only.”