Gtcotr/ws032013
Matthew 3:11 “I 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.”
Key Scripture: Acts 2:39 "For 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."
The
“Promise” spoken of herein is the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1
4 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;
5 for John truly baptized
with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from
now."
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."
“Endued”
means to be fully plunged into and completely clothed by, in this case, “power
from on high”. This is a picture of baptism in/with/of …
Acts 1:8 "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."
The
Promise of the Father through Jesus the Son is that we shall receive Power to
be a witness and manifest that witness to the whole world.
Jesus
was nailed to the cross on a Friday, the day Passover was set to begin in the evening.
Jesus died at about 3pm and was hurriedly prepared for burial and buried in a
borrowed tomb before sundown. Three days later, on the first day of the week, a
Sunday morning, Jesus rose from the grave victorious over the devil, death,
hell and the grave.
For
40 days after His resurrection Jesus appeared to more than 500 of His followers
giving witness to His resurrection and instructions concerning the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit. Jesus then ascended from the Mount of Olives and was
received up into heaven with the promise that He would return in like manner.
Seven
days later, the 50th day since Passover, on Sunday, which is the
first day of the week and the day marking the beginning of the Feast of
Pentecost, 120 Believers in Jesus were assembled together in the upper room of
a house on Mount Zion, in one accord. Suddenly there came a noise as of a
rushing mighty wind and it filled that upper room …
Acts 2
3 Then there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.
Now,
having received the Promise of the Father and being endued with power from on
high, these 120 Spirit-Filled Believers immediately went out from their meeting
place and into the streets of their city and began testifying to the goodness
and grace of Almighty God. Peter told those listening that this was merely what
the Prophet Joel said would happen in the last days: God would pour His Spirit
out upon all flesh.
These
outpourings continued to happen to individuals, families, and groups of people
throughout the rest of the New Testament.
·
It
happened when Philip the evangelist went down to Samaria in Acts 8. People
heard his preaching and were saved and water baptized. Then later the Apostles
John and Peter arrived, laid their hands on those Born Again Believers and they
were filled with the Holy Spirit.
·
It
happened to a Roman Centurion named Cornelius and his family when Peter went to
their house in Caesarea as recorded in Acts 10. While Peter was talking, the
Holy Spirit fell upon all those in the house and they were all baptized with
that same evident spiritual fire from heaven. Afterwards Cornelius and his whole
family were water baptized and received into fellowship as the first Gentile
Believers.
·
It
happened to a group of disciples in Ephesus who had never before heard about
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Acts 19 tells us that they were re-baptized in
water and then filled with the Holy Spirit.
All
of these accounts go to prove that God has a continuing plan to baptize
Believers in the power of His Holy Spirit. He can and has given His Holy Spirit
before, during, and after Believers are baptized in water. God can do things any
way He desires without regard to what anyone else thinks.
Scriptures
do clearly tell us that God gives the Holy Spirit to
those who:
·
Obey Him – Acts 5:32
·
Ask Him – Luke 11:13
Important Points:
1.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit gives power to the Believer.
2.
This power enables the Believer to manifest the Word and works of
God as a witness to the world.
3.
Believers receive the Holy Spirit when they pray and obey.
Commentary:
After Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to
His disciples and told them to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the
Holy Spirit. He further told them that they would be endued with power once the
Holy Spirit came upon them and charged them to manifest this power of God as a
witness to the world. The first Church was birthed only a few days later on the
day of Pentecost. In response to the united prayer of the believers assembled
in Jerusalem, God poured His Spirit upon people and they became a great witness.
Similar occurrences took place throughout the New Testament revealing how one
generation became a witness to their whole known world. There is no doubt that
the Holy Spirit was given to empower people to manifest the works of God. This
like empowerment has happened in each generation since and must continue until
Christ comes again. The Church must be birthed in every generation through the
fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. For this promise of the Holy Spirit is unto you
and unto your children and your children’s children in their generation for as
long as the Lord calls men to be saved. Have you been filled with the Holy
Spirit since you believed? Offer yourself to God as a willing vessel and ask
Him to fill you with the promised power of the Holy Spirit.
