Receive the Holy Spirit

Introduction

Often times I myself get confused on these two baptisms or what was meant in Acts that they had one baptism but not another. Even as a young Christian I found this both concerning and confusing. I was always taught there you get baptized once and that is it. Not considering confirmation class. In my formative year or before I accepting my calling into pastoral ministry, I can remember wrestling with this and never fully grasping it or thinking others were making more of it than should be.

I had wrote it off as denominational thing where some denominations want you to be baptized again. In school though, I had to circle back around to this and discovered it was not a denominational thing but a deeper principle that often gets missed or skipped over because it is not easy to understand. Today I hope to make this less confusing. Today I pray you receive the Holy Spirit if you have not already.

Trouble in the text

I had to include the Luke passage to help us to understand the passage in Acts. In Acts, it says they had accepted the word of God but the Spirit had not come down upon any of them because they were only baptized in the name of Lord Jesus. This is puzzling isn’t it? If they believed and accepted the word of God and had been baptized, why would the Spirit not descend up on them. Isn’t this what we read in Jesus’ baptism? When he was baptized, the Spirit descended upon him. Luke has a slight variation with how he tells the story of Jesus’ baptism. All the people were baptized and Jesus also had been baptized. Luke adds something that other gospels don’t, Jesus was praying. Why was Jesus praying after being baptized?

However, this lines up with how Acts tells the story of these Samaritans. Why, like the Gospel of Matthew, did the Holy Spirit not automatically descend on them? Why does Luke add in those words about Jesus praying? All of these for me are clues that it is not a 3 step program to follow to receive the Holy Spirit. I believe this is Luke’s point in the gospel reading and Acts. How do you receive the Holy Spirit?

Trouble today

The same as what I opened with, we also want that same question answered. In some ways we have the worry that we are like the Samaritans and lack the Holy Spirit. Maybe this is why we struggle or feel alone or that something is missing in our lives. How many of you remember your baptism?

How many of you can still remember the words you spoke and the words spoken over you during your baptism? If you are like me, that is kind of hard as it was a long time ago. I didn’t know then what I know of course. So what can we do to explore this troubling area? Lets compare our lives and our words and actions to the passages we read earlier.

We have repented of our sins and believe Jesus Christ is Lord and we asked to be baptized. Or perhaps you were too young to understand and you made this choice later on. We were baptized and we were happy and excited. Or we made that decision and were told we don’t need to be baptized again because we had already been. Perhaps you still might be wondering what about those people of Samaria. Do I need someone to pray over me that I might receive the Holy Spirit? Maybe I should pray like Jesus did that I would receive the Holy Spirit? Maybe everything has already been done and there is no missing step.

We want to assurance of being filled with the Holy Spirit or understand what we need to do to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Grace in the text

While you may think I am oversimplifying it, prayer is the answer to all of the questions and concerns. The apostles, Peter and John, prayed for them and they received the Holy Spirit. Jesus was praying and received the Holy Spirit. Prayer is present in both these passages as what action was being done when the Holy Spirit was received.

While we know there is no question about whether Jesus would receive the Holy Spirit, the people of Samaria probably wondered how this would happen or what must be done or whether they would receive the Holy Spirit at all.

Jesus prayed. Peter and John prayed. Both received the Holy Spirit after praying or while praying. God answered the prayers. All were assured of this indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Grace in the world

Wouldn’t it be wonderful so simply pray and the Holy Spirit descends on us in this spectacular display? This is how we envision Jesus’ baptism. However, notice the account in Acts does no such thing. Peter and John laid their hands on them and they prayed.

There are ways to pray and lay hands on people. We often do this with people who need healing or we want God’s protection around them on their journey or any other situation or circumstance. However, I wonder why we don’t lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit.

It goes back to our baptism perhaps. As I was going through school and my mentor was working with me on this topic, he asked me who was actually baptizing the person? I said God. He said yes. It is also God who decided when one person receives the Holy Spirit upon their water baptism and at other times receives it later through prayer.

When we see the account in Acts, this occurs days perhaps weeks or months apart. In Luke, they are immediate. Some days I think we wonder about the Holy Spirit because we are feeling alone or drained or powerless in some situation or circumstance. On other days, perhaps we put it out of our mind and decide it is in God’s hands. Today though, I want to give that same opportunity that if you are unsure about the Holy Spirit in your life, then today come forward and we will pray together that if you have not yet received the Holy Spirit that you would.