The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Matthew 3:7 - 12 (NKJV) 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not salvation.
What it takes to be saved.
Romans 10:5 - 10 (NKJV) 5For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Righteousness comes from the heart = relationship
Salvation comes from the word = confession
Acts 2:38 - 41 (NKJV) 38Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
When the Disciples were saved
John 20:19 - 29 (NKJV) 19Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Why He breathed on them!
Genesis 2:7 (NKJV) 7And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Dead men walking!
Ephesians 2:1 - 10 (NKJV) 1And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
“He made alive” – That’s what happens when a person is “Born Again”
Believed - 27Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Confessed – “Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Christians need to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:4 - 8 (NKJV) 4And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
A. Why? - Power!
B. When?
Acts 2:1 - 4 (NKJV) 1When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
While the Holy Spirit is a Person – reference last week’s message – He is a person of Spirit therefore He cannot be restricted in time or space. They were all filled!
Eight years after Pentecost:
Acts 8:9 - 19 (NKJV) 9But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 11And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. 14Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
They believed Philip
They were baptized in water
They sent for Peter and John
They prayed for the believers that they would receive the Holy Spirit
They laid hands on them
Simon recognized that they had received and wanted the Holy Spirit for himself
Paul received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit three days after his conversion on the road to Damascus
Acts 9:17 - 18 (NKJV) 17And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
He received the Holy Spirit Baptism when Ananias “laid hands on him”
Ten years after Pentecost Cornelius and the gentiles receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and tongues.
Acts 10:44 - 48 (NKJV) 44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45And 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. 46For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 47“Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
Twenty years after Pentecost the disciples at Ephesus received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:1 - 7 (NKJV) 1And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7Now the men were about twelve in all.
The Post-Apostolic Church
Tertullian in 240 AD wrote: “Not that in water we obtain the Spirit; but in the water we are cleansed and prepared for the Holy Spirit. Following Baptism the hand is laid upon us inviting the Holy Spirit.”1
Origen in 284 AD, “ For this reason was the grace and revelation of the Holy Spirit bestowed by the imposition of the apostles’ hands after baptism. Our Savior, also, after the resurrection, when old things had already passed away and all things had become new.. His apostle also being renewed by faith in His resurrection says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”2
Martin Luther 1546 AD. His great hymn A Might Fortress Is Our God 4th stanza “The Spirit and gifts are ours” The German History of the Christian Church states that Luther was “a prophet, evangelist, speaker in tongues and interpreter.”3
George Fox and the Quakers 1650 AD. “W received often the pouring down of the Spirit upon us, and the gift of God’s Holy eternal Spirit as in the days of old, and our heart were made glad, and our tongues loosed, and our mouths opened, and we spoke with new tongues, as the Lord gave utterance, and as His Spirit led us, which was poured down upon us on sons and daughters. 4
Count Zinzendorf 1727 AD. The entire congregation was overwhelmed by the Spirit and fell to the floor. At communion the Spirit came and they “hardly knew whether they belonged to heaven or earth…spiritual gifts began to be manifested in their midst, Christian women and young people were filled with the Spirit and prophesied. “ German historian Dr. Warneck declared, “This small church in twenty years called into being more Missions that the whole evangelical Church has done in two centuries.”
John Wesley 1790 “At about three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground… We broke out with one voice. ‘ We praise Thee, O God.” At one time while Wesley was preaching people “dropped on every side as if thunderstruck.” At another time as they started to sing John and Charles burst into loud laughter. He wrote, “we could not refrain, thought we were ready to tear ourselves in pieces.”
Thomas Walsh, a friend of Wesley wrote: “The influence of His Spirit wrought so powerfully, upon me that my joy was beyond expression, the Lord gave me a language I knew not of, raising my soul to Him in a wonderful manner.5
Charles Finney, 1873, “When I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit I wept aloud with joy and love and literally bellowed out the unutterable gushing of my soul.” 6
D. L. Moody 1899 “I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York – oh what at day – I cannot describe it. …I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had an experience of His love so that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different and yet hundreds were converted. I would not be placed back where I was before that blessed experience for all the world…7
ILL: I’m not even going to tell you about William Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival, or about Oral Roberts and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, or about Kenneth Hagen, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hynn or John Haggai, Joel Olsten – but you would never have known about any of them had it not been for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit!
I was raised a Mormon, ordained into the Mormon priesthood as a child but was saved at the age of 28 years, I was called into the ministry and have been an ordained Baptist minister for the past 49 years. I was testifying in a court case and the opposing attorney asked me, “Sir, you are not a normal Baptist Minister are you?” No I’m a Baptized in the Holy Spirit minister and as a result my ministry has built 96 churches, a world missions organization, an orphanage, a feeding program for 2,000 deprived children, and a TV program that is seen in 71 nations of the world!
II. How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Put away:
Pride, In 1918 Professor B.B. Warfield in his book Counterfeit Miracles stated that there had not been a miracle since the death of the original twelve apostles.8 Since there had been no miracles in his ministry (the only evidence he had) he had to conclude there could not be any. God will not give you anything you will not have faith for!
Fear
Luke 11:9 - 13 (NKJV) 9“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
Ask Jesus to baptize you with the Holy Spirit
Receive by faith
As an act of faith open your mouth and praise Him
Conclusion: The normal way of receiving is to have someone who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit lay their hands upon you. I will do it if you want to receive but I must give you a warning. – the Baptism in the Holy Spirit comes with a price!
Acts 1:7 - 8 (NKJV) 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
1 Eddie L. Hyatt 2000 years of Charismatic Christianity, Charisma House. p. 18
2 Ibid. p. 19.
3 Ibid. p. 77
4 George Fox, The Great Mystery of the Great Wore Unfolded; and AntiChrist’s Kingdom vol 3. AMS Press. 1975. p.13
5 William R. Davis, Spirit Baptism and Spiritual Gifts in early Methodism Cross Fire 1974. p.12
6 Hyatt. Op.cit. p.127
7 William Moody, The Life of D. L Moody, Revell 1900 p. 149
8 Benjamin B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles Banner of Truth 1983 p.23-24
