Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

Raul Ries: The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to equip you and to fit you for service in the kingdom of God. That's what it's all about. God wants to equip you for service. He wants to empower you for service. He wants you to be a great witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. Today is another installment in our study of God's Holy Spirit. Raul will establish what it means to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We'll hear how this concept has been misunderstood and abused in the past, and we'll find out the critical role that it plays in our lives as believers. Today's lesson is titled "The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit." In Acts chapter one verse eight, here's Raul Ries.
Raul Ries: This morning we want to take you to the book of Acts, but what I want to do is I want to give you a biblical background in a doctrinal study concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is something that has been not only taught so much but is probably one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that surely has been abused and mistaught by many people. May the Lord this morning open our hearts to receive this wisdom and this power that God has in store for each one of us in this body here this morning. There's nothing really weird about receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, when you study the gospels and you come to the book of Acts and through the epistles, you will find that there are many phrases that are used for the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For example, some of the terms used in the scripture is baptize with the Holy Spirit. Another term used in the Bible is filled with the spirit, then another is the Holy Spirit fell upon them, and then the gift of the Holy Spirit and then endued with power from on high. So we have these phrases that are given to us in the scriptures, especially in the New Testament. And when you study the various phrases that are given here and its context, it became very clear that as you study these phrases, they're all the same experience. These are not different experiences that the Bible speaks about. For example, turn to the book of Matthew chapter three this morning as we begin to look at the study of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Here in chapter three of Matthew we have where now Jesus Christ has been around about thirty years and he's now about thirty years in age and he's going to begin his ministry with his disciples. And right before he even chooses his disciples as he is now coming forth and becoming that prophet and that king, he actually goes down to the Jordan River and there his forerunner by the name of John the Baptist, not only his first cousin by family name, but as he goes down to the Jordan River there he goes to be baptized by John the Baptist and also to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in his own life. Look what it says in chapter three beginning with verse sixteen. And then Jesus when he had been baptized in water, he came up immediately from the water. And behold the heavens were opened to him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting him upon him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We notice that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was also descending upon the life of Jesus Christ. It is important to understand that we need the baptism with the Holy Spirit in our lives. For example, in verse eleven of chapter three as Jesus again he says, and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus would become the actual baptizer with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would come and he would descend and he would be the baptizer that would come upon your life and my life. For example, once Jesus Christ was baptized you know that in chapter four verse one it says, and then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus himself would not dare go to the wilderness unless he had the full power of the Holy Spirit in his life. For that is the only way that he could actually stand against Satan. So many times when we stand against temptation or against Satan himself, if we don't have the power of the Holy Spirit, then we're not able to overcome temptation. When you study the Greek language and you're looking at these verses such as these, as Jesus Christ was baptized with the Holy Spirit and as he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, we begin to see that we have three prepositions in the Greek that are very important and we have to know them. First of all, the first preposition in the Greek that is given to us in scripture in John fourteen seventeen is the word with or the Greek word para. This is when somebody already has been witnessing to such a person or they've been praying for such a person when the Holy Spirit now begins to work in the life of that person's life and begins to work on that person's life to bring them to repentance. But it doesn't make them Christians. A person where the Holy Spirit is dealing with their lives does not make them a believer. It is not until you have the second preposition in the Greek and that is the preposition that we use here the word in or en. That is when the person comes to repentance in his or her life and asks Jesus Christ to come into his heart. At this particular time, the Holy Spirit comes within that person's life and now that person becomes a Christian, a believer. And then most people stop within experience. That's it. When yet we have a third preposition in the Greek and that is the word upon or epi in Greek. And that is the gift of the Holy Spirit that is given to us to receive dunamis power over our lives, not so that we can speak with other tongues. But the scripture is very clear that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to the child of God so that you can have power to witness and power to serve the Lord in his service. That's what it's for. Now you say, well does everybody receive the gift of tongues? No. Because the gift of tongues is not really the evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The true evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is a life of power over sin. It is the life that gives you the power to witness, the power to serve the Lord. That's what the scriptures teach. It is so important that we study the word of God. Jesus himself in the Gospel of Luke in chapter four. In chapter three he receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but then in chapter four verse one listen to what he says. And then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and then was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. You see you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that you can not only be filled but be led by the spirit of God to overtake Satan's strategy. Now are we baptized in the Holy Spirit only once? No. It is a continual infilling of the Holy Spirit in my life. Turn to John chapter seven. Jesus here is teaching on this. Verse thirty-seven of chapter seven of John's Gospel. And on the last day of the great day of the feast Jesus stood and he cried out and said, if anyone thirst let him come to me and drink. And then he who believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his own belly will flow or gush out or gushing over or overflowing will be rivers of living water. But this he spoke concerning the spirit whom those believing in him would receive for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Did you notice what he said? If you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit you are overflowing with God's love and God's grace and God's power. If everyone of us here this morning would allow God's Holy Spirit to come over our lives and to submit and to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit and then take your talents and the gifts that God has given to you, can you imagine what kind of a church we would have? It would go back to the first century church. That's the kind of power you find in the book of Acts. But today the church is in a state of carnality, in a state where we're not really yielding ourselves completely to God. We are disobedient. We're not obedient to God. And at the same time and as we live a life of disobedience we're praying and we're lifting our hands and we're asking God to fill us when yet our hearts are not with him. God help us to be an open vessel so that he can fill me over and over and over until my cup runneth over. That's what I desire of Jesus Christ.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Visit somebodylovesyou.com for Bible-based resources to help you obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. Raul's seven-part series titled "Filled, Empowered, and Equipped" is available on CD and thumb drive, and we'll tell you how you can get your copy in just a few minutes. But first, back to more with Raul Ries.
Raul Ries: Another situation that we see here as we begin to look at the baptism with the Holy Spirit. As I was studying this passage, it just clicked into my own mind that I need more power every time I preach or I teach or when I'm going to witness or when I'm going to do anything in the service of God. I need that power to have the boldness to teach or to preach. Otherwise how can we be strong in the Lord? There are many of you that are sitting here this morning that are totally living lives of frustration. Now the reason you're living these lives of frustration is because you have one foot in the world and one foot with Jesus Christ. You have a divided heart. God wants a complete heart. He wants a whole heart. He wants you like Peter and James and John and like the rest of the apostles when they came and they waited upon the promise of the Holy Spirit. They waited. They were all in one mind and one unity. And then the Holy Spirit came and baptized a hundred and twenty of them in the upper room. Now I think it's important that as we do deal with the baptism with the Holy Spirit that we understand that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not the within, but it's the upon experience. Acts one eight says, but you shall receive power, dunamis power. We get our word from the English power here the word dynamite or dynamic, you see. You will receive dynamite power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. There is the epi experience, not the with or in. This is the upon. You're already a Christian but you're seeking for the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. And when that power comes upon you, then you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. You see the purpose of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is to equip you and to fit you for service in the kingdom of God. That's what it's all about. It's nothing to be weird. God wants to equip you for service. He wants to empower you for service. He wants you to be a great witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A.W. Tozer says this about the Holy Spirit. I think there can be no doubt that the need above all other needs in the church of God at this very moment is the power of the Holy Spirit. We do not need more education, better organization, finer equipment, more advanced methods. What we need is more life and that life through the power of the Holy Spirit. I agree with A.W. Tozer. We need the power to overcome sin. Some of you are defeated Christians. You're living the life like the children of Israel in the wilderness. You're wandering. You have no victory, no joy in your lives. God wants to bring joy and victory to your lives, but he needs you to submit to him. And yet when you come to the place in your own personal life and you ask the question, what is the baptism with the Holy Spirit? Let me say to you that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience of which one may know whether he or she has received it or not. You should really know if you have it or not. What kind of power do you have this morning in your life? Are you overcoming your tongue? Are you overcoming your temper? This is what he's talking about. You see, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is received by faith, not by emotion or feeling. By faith. You have to come to a place in your life where you'll tell Jesus Christ, Jesus I am so sick and tired of my life that I need you to control my life. Lord, here is your vessel, fill your vessel until it's overflowing. God needs that from your lives. You see first of all, it is a command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter one verse four and five, the command is very clear here in the book of Acts. It says and being assembled together with them, he Jesus commanded the disciples 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 you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from today. Jesus taught it. He commanded it. As a matter of fact secondly, the promise of empowering in the life of the believer came and is very clear at the last words of Jesus in Acts chapter one verse eight where I read to you again. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Now this power can only be received through prayer as you come before God and you spend time in prayer with God. In the Gospel of Luke it is very clear in chapter eleven verse thirteen Jesus teaching said this. If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, then how much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him in prayer. If you're a mother or a father and if your child would ask you for a piece of bread would you give him a stone and say here kid chew on this? No. That would be sarcastic. That would be a dirty trick. So how much more if you're a good father and a good mother and you give everything to your children then how much more will your heavenly father give you the Holy Spirit if you ask him by faith through prayer. God wants to baptize you. God wants to baptize me. Fifthly here, the Holy Spirit is given to us not at tarrying meetings but waiting on God's time to be baptized. God's timing is perfect. In Luke twenty-four forty-nine Jesus said, but behold I send the promise of my father upon you. There is the epi experience again. But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. You see the disciples could go nowhere to preach and to teach or to witness until they were endued with power from on high. If they needed power then how much more do we need power today. How we need to ask God to fill us. But let me say to you my fifth point here, that in order for you and myself to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, there needs to be true repentance in our lives. We need to be sincere with God. You can't be playing little games with God. You can't be living a life of sin and asking God to baptize you with power because he won't do that. You have to repent. You have to change. You have to do what is right through obedience to God. In the book of Acts chapter two thirty-eight it's very clear. Peter said unto them, repent 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. It is only through repentance that this can come about. You see the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not just once that he fills you. But the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts indicates that there are times that there is one baptism but many infillings of the Holy Spirit. How I need for God to fill me not only once or twice or three times or four times but a hundred times and a thousand times. I need the power in my life. I need God to fill me with his Holy Spirit. You see the power of the Holy Spirit gives you not only the baptism gives you the power to defend the faith but also it gives you power again against rebuking the powers of Satan and his demons. To become overcomers in the kingdom of God, not so easily to be deceived or seduced by the enemy. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a definite experience in which one may know whether he received it or not, we already told you that. Secondly, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is the work of the Holy Spirit distinct from what from regeneration from being born again of the Holy Spirit. This is a separate experience. Thirdly the baptism with the Holy Spirit is always connected and is primarily for the purpose of your testimony and your service to Jesus Christ. That's what it's for. Your testimony, your witness, and your service in the talents and the gifts that God has given to you in the kingdom of God.
Guest (Male): We hope today's message has inspired and emboldened you to confidently step out in faith as you follow the leading of God's Holy Spirit. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's lesson was titled "The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit." If something you've heard today has resonated in your heart, we encourage you to get the complete copy by calling us at 800-634-9165 and sending a gift of five dollars or more to offset expenses. We'd also like to offer you additional guidance for a spirit-led life with Raul's seven-part series "Filled, Empowered, and Equipped." Available on CD and USB, this resource includes today's lesson along with six others focused on the person and work of the Trinity's third member. You'll find that when you surrender to him, the Holy Spirit will bless you with strength, boldness and spiritual gifts you can put to kingdom building work. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's seven message study. We'll send you the "Filled, Empowered, and Equipped" CD set for twenty dollars or the flash drive for eleven dollars. That's 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Join Raul for straight talk on the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel every Tuesday at 10:00 AM West Coast time. Now this channel also features podcast of all of these programs or you can look for them on iTunes and Spotify. On behalf of all of us here at Somebody Loves You Radio, thank you for your partnership. Every contribution helps us keep sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world. Join us next time as we continue our study of the Holy Spirit with encouragement to receive the unique spiritual gifts he gives. Operating in partnership with your fellow believers, you can accomplish more for the Lord in the building of his kingdom. This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.