WHY EVERY BELIEVER NEEDS TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
TEXT: ACTS 1:8 - 11
"And 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; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But 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."
"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
INTRODUCTION:
- Jesus is passionate about seeing the Kingdom of God grow.
- The power to make this happen is not found in human effort but Spirit effort(Acts 1:8).
- The baptism in the Holy spirit is power to do the works that Christ commanded us to do. John 14:"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."
- It is the ability to be effective in sharing the Gospel in several ways.
1. It is the power to serve.(Acts 1:8)
"But you will be my witnesses..."
It is power to serve God anywhere.
" in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and
to the ends of the earth."(v8)
2. It is the power to speak.(Acts 1:2)
"after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles he had chosen"(v2)
a. People do not naturally follow spiritual
instruction. There are several reasons why.
i. Hardness of heart(Matthew 13:14-15)
"And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears Bare hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.'"
ii. Fear of what others may say or do.(Matthew 13:21)
"But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word."
iii. The desire for other things.(Matthew 13:22)
"The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced."
3. It is the power to endure suffering.(Acts 1:3;8)
"After his suffering.."(v3)
a. The word "witness"(v8) is the Greek word from which we get the English word "martyr".
The death of Stephen serves as a stark reminder that true and faithful testimony to Christ requires total commitment, even one's life.
b. The book of Acts records the suffering of believers
1.They were threatened (Acts 4:21;9:1;13:45;21:27)
2.They were beaten(Acts 5:40;14:19;16:23)
3.They were imprisoned(Acts 5:19;8:3;12:4;16:24)
4.They were murdered(Acts 7:54-60;12:2)
4. It is the power to convince the skeptic(Acts 1:3)
"and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive"
a. We are living in a day of great skepticism.
b. People what proof that Jesus is alive.
c. It takes more to convince this generation than
the previous one.
d. One of the greatest proof is a spirit-filled
Christian.
5. It is the power to stay focused(Acts 1:9-11)
a. We need to walk by faith not by sight(v9)
"..and a cloud hid him from their eyes"
b. We need to be stedfast in our devotion(v10)
"They were looking intently up into the sky"
c. We need to be about the lord's work(v11)
"Men of Galilee," they said,"why do you stand here
looking into the sky?"
d. We need to be ready for his return.(v11)
" This same Jesus who has been taken from you
into heaven, will come back in the same way you
have seen him go into heaven"
6. How will we know when we are "baptized in the Holy Spirit?
Acts 2:1 - 4
"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."