Date:      6th May 2007                                                                          (Sunday AM)                                                                       Ref: A0309

Place:     Kambah P.S.

Title: You Shall Be Baptised

Text:        & Acts 1:5

Illust:     Depending upon which statistic you look at, it appears that there is somewhere in the vicinity of 150 million Pentecostal Christian believers worldwide and David Barrett estimated in a Christianity Today article that the Pentecostal and charismatic church is growing by 19 million per year.

The Azusa Street Revival led by William J. Seymour is the watershed of the Pentecostal movement in the U.S. and worldwide. It began on April 9, 1906, in Los Angeles, California, at the home of Edward Lee, who claimed the infilling of the Holy Spirit. William J. Seymour claimed that he was overcome with the Holy Ghost on April 12, 1906. On April 18, 1906, the Los Angeles Times ran a front page story on the revival, "Weird Babel of Tongues, New Sect of fanatics is breaking loose, Wild scene last night on Azusa Street, gurgle of wordless talk by a sister". By the third week in April, 1906, the small but growing congregation rented an abandoned African Methodist Episcopal Church at 312 Azusa Street and subsequently became organized as the Apostolic Faith Mission. - Almost all mainline Pentecostal denominations today trace their historical roots to the Azusa Street Revival.[1]

As the Potters House we trace our roots back to the events at Azusa Street. Where a small group of believers contended for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues

I.                   The Holy Spirit

A.               He is a Person

i.                 What is Spirit? We live in a world of matter. Many people live only by what they can see, touch, feel. They deny the existence of a spiritual realm & existence. ~ Essential that under the constant bombardment of our materialistic culture that we maintain an understanding of the reality of the realm of spirit.

        Spirit is as real as matter but it is another mode of being than matter. A.W. Tozer

ii.               Now we want to look at the 3rd person of the God Head that is the Holy Spirit. – And I want to look firstly at why it is of the highest importance that we have a right view of the Holy Spirit from the perspective of worship, power & presence.

        Think about this; it really is vitally important from the standpoint of worship that we decide:

       Is the Holy Spirit really God and therefore worthy to receive our adoration, our faith and our love, or is it simply an influence emanating from God, or a power that God imparts to us.

       If the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, truly God and we don’t know this, then we are robbing a Divine Being of the love and adoration which are his due.

        Secondly, from a purely practical standpoint, we need to decide

       Is the Holy Spirit is a power that we in our weakness and ignorance are somehow to get hold of and use, something like ‘The Force” of the Star Wars movies or whether the Holy Spirit is a personal being infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely tender, who is to get hold of and use us.

       The one conception is heathenish, the other Christian. The one conception leads to self-humiliation, self-emptying and self-renunciation; the other conception leads to self-exaltation.

        Then there is the importance of His presence. You can’t have a comforter who is an impersonal ‘force’ yet this is clearly one of the roles of the Holy Spirit

         John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (KJV)

       Therefore you need to know the Holy Spirit as a person. Real Christian joy and peace comes when you come to know the Holy Spirit not merely as a gracious influence, but as the comforter, an ever-present loving-friend and helper.

iii.             He is a Person; - Need to settle this in your heart. Need to have this revelation; Following are just some of the aspects of the Holy Spirit’s Personality that Paul gives us.

       Intellect: The Holy Spirit investigates the deep things of God & then teaches them to believers

         1 Corinthians 2:10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (NKJV)

         1 Corinthians 2:13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. (NIV)

       Will:  The Holy Spirit has a will in that He distributes gifts “just as He wills”

         1 Corinthians 12:11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. (NLT)

        Emotion: The Holy Spirit can be grieved

         Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (NKJV)

B.               He is God

i.                 Want to zero in on the foundational aspect of the doctrine of the trinity:

ii.               Firstly it is clear from the earliest writing of the Christian church that the Holy Spirit was understood to be the eternal divine God

       Nicene Creed 381AD: “And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,”

       Chapter2, paragraph 3 of the Westminster Confession of Faith: In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. [1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (NKJV)] The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

iii.             What is important about these creeds & statements of faith is that they were the crystallised thoughts of men who sort to summarise the clear teachings of the Word of God. ~  We see:

       He indwells the believer along with the Father and Son.

         Romans 8:9-11 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (NIV)

       The benediction equates all three members of the godhead as equal

         2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (NKJV)

       He is very clearly God & He is a person.

II.                 The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

A.               What it is

i.                 This brings us to the Pentecostal distinctive; The baptism of the Holy Spirit.

       From the Statement of Faith of the Foursquare Church:

       We believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the incoming of the promised Comforter in mighty and glorious fullness to endue the believer with power from on high; to glorify and exalt the Lord Jesus; to give inspired utterance in witnessing of Him; to foster the spirit of prayer, holiness, sobriety; to equip the individual and the Church for practical, efficient, joyous, Spirit-filled soul-winning in the fields of life; and that this being still the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, the believer may have every reason to expect His incoming to be after the same manner as that in which He came upon Jew and Gentile alike in Bible days, and as recorded in the Word, that it may be truly said of us as of the house of Cornelius: the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning.

ii.               This is what Jesus promised in our text & ~ Baptised:

       Baptizo 1 to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk). 2 to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, bathe. 3 to overwhelm.

       An interesting example that clearly illustrates the biblical meaning of Baptism: Not to be confused with 911, bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped’ (bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptised’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. … There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle! Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989. [2] 

iii.             Two ways to approach a swimming pool. One you can walk up to the pool & dip your foot in, wave it around a little bit, test the water, think about what it means to get in the pool. The other way is to take a running leap & do a big bomby & experience the pool.

       A complete immersing in the Holy Spirit. – Not dipping your toe into an experience with God, but a complete surrender, a desire for a permanent change, a transformation in your life.

iv.             The Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. This is what the early Pentecostals like Seymour & Parham sought after; this is what the Bible clearly shows is the outflow, the outworking of the Spirit’s baptism.

       From the day of Pentecost throughout the ministry of the early church.

         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. (NKJV)

         Acts 10:44-46 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. (NKJV)

B.               Why You Need Him

i.                 The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an optional extra, it is not a nice to have it is something that Jesus desires & commands us to receive.

       It is the source of power to be the people God has called us to be. To fulfil the destiny the purpose that God has for your life.

       How many want to stand before Jesus at the judgement seat and explain to Him why you didn’t fulfil His purpose for your life.

ii.               To be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ, that is, to fulfil the Great Commission, His commission for you, we need the power of the Holy Spirit. & Acts 1:8 – The baptism of the Holy Spirit

       The “Foundations of Pentecostal Theology” puts it this way:

       The greatest promise to the whole world is, of course: “… that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16); but the greatest promise to the Church is: “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you …” (Acts 1:8)

iii.             To be effective in interceding before God for your own life, on behalf of others, you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit

         Romans 8:26-27 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (NKJV)

III.              Tarry in Jerusalem

A.               Tarry

i.                 How do you receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? – Firstly let’s look at what Jesus said to the disciples.

         Luke 24:49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (NKJV)

ii.               The word tarry is used a number of times in the NT to translate a number of Greek words. but this is the only place that the Gk word kathizo is used for ‘tarry’ – This word is more often translated as ‘to sit’

2523 καθίζω [kathizo /kath·id·zo/] v. 48 occurrences; AV translates as “sit” 26 times, “sit down” 14 times, “set” twice, “be set” twice, “be set down” twice, “continue” once, and “tarry” once. 1 to make to sit down. 1a to set, appoint, to confer a kingdom on one. 2 intransitively. 2a to sit down. 2b to sit. 2b1 to have fixed one’s abode. 2b2 to sojourn, to settle, settle down.[3]

         Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” (NLT)

         Revelation 3:21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (NKJV)

iii.             The sense is not so much as to just visit & wait, but to settle down, to make your home in a place. A commitment to be in a place. You need to fix in your hearts that you will put yourself in a place to seek the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Azusa St revival came about because people set themselves to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit & they prayed & fasted until. – Here is how the New Living puts Jesus words

         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.” (NLT)

iv.             This is not a suggestion from Jesus, this is a command. It is in the imperative mood of the Greek verb. The imperative mood corresponds to the English imperative, and expresses a command to the hearer to perform a certain action by the order and authority of the one commanding.

       This applies to believers today, to you! ~  A command from Jesus to set yourself in a place to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

B.               A Refilling

i.                 It is not enough that you be filled with the Holy Spirit once. You need a new filling of the Holy Spirit for each new day of Christian service. – We are more than just leaky vessels we also regrettably are carnal sponges that naturally in our flesh tend to soak up any carnality that we come across. Need the fiery refining presence of the Holy Spirit to be continually filling us, incinerating the carnality that seeks to take root in our lives.

         Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (NKJV)

ii.               A refilling, an infilling, need to be in a place to receive. To tarry. There is also a place for the laying on of hands. For an impartation from a Spirit filled believer to be an agent of the Holy Spirit

         Acts 8:17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (NKJV)

         Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. (NKJV)

iii.             Thirst this morning for the baptism, the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

IV.             Altar Call

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostals

[2]Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G907). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.

[3] Ibid.