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Intro. You might say that the first word of the great commission is not go but wait. You are not to go until you have the power to go.
I. "NOT DEPART FROM JERUSALEM, BUT WAIT FOR THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER."
A. This not depart from Jerusalem is the same as, "Tarry ye in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high." That is found in Luke's gospel.
B. The promise of the Father is no doubt a reference to Joel:
JOE 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
JOE 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days.
1. The reason why I say no doubt a reference to
Joel 2 is when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, and the people were questioning as to what this meant, Peter in explaining to them the meaning of the supernatural phenomena that they were observing, quoted this promise in Joel.
2. During the Old Testament times the Holy Spirit was not upon everyone but only certain individuals.
a. When the duties overseeing the people in the wilderness became so great that it was humanly impossible for Moses to handle all of the problems, the Lord commanded Moses to bring seventy of the elders into the tent of congregation and He would take the Spirit that he had put upon Moses and put it on the seventy also.
b. We read in Numbers:
NUM 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that [was] upon him, and gave [it] unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, [that], when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
c. At this time someone came unto Moses and informed him of two men, Eldad and Medad, who had not come into the tent, and the Holy Spirit had come upon them and they were prophesying in the camp.
d. We read:
NUM 11:28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, [one] of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
NUM 11:29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, [and] that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
e. Moses felt that his job would be much easier if all of the people were filled with the Holy Spirit.
f. Joel foresaw this happening in the last days as God would pour out His Spirit on His whole church.
C. We also have another promise by John the Baptist;
MAT 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire:
II. "FOR JOHN BAPTIZED WITH WATER, BUT YOU WILL BE BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT IN A FEW DAYS."
A. The baptism of John.
1. John was the baptizer.
2. The water was the element.
3. Repentance from sin was the issue.
B. The baptism of the Holy Spirit.
1. Jesus is the baptizer. John said, "He shall baptize you."
2. The Holy Spirit is the element.
3. The power to be a witness is the issue.
C. The idea of baptism is that of being immersed, covered, overflowing.
1. Thus, Jesus wants to immerse you, cover you, overflow you with the Holy Spirit.
III. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BAPTISM.
A. The filling of the Holy Spirit is just as the word implies. Your life is filled with the Holy Spirit.
1. This takes place at conversion. This is what being born again is all about. It is being born of the Spirit into the new life of the Spirit.
2. "No man can call Christ Lord except by the Holy Spirit."
3. "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
which is in you?"
4. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit."
5. The purpose of the filling with the Holy Spirit.
a. To help us. Jesus promised His disciples that He would not leave them comfortless, that He would pray the Father who would give them another comforter, even the Spirit of truth whom the world could not receive because it did not know Him. Jesus said, "But you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you." The word comfort is a translation of the Greek word parakleton.
b. He is there to teach us all things. Help us understand the word of God.
c. He is there to help us to remember all things that Jesus taught. This is what is commonly known as the voice of conscience.
d. He is there to prompt us as to what to say, when we are called upon to give a witness.
MAR 13:11 But when they shall lead [you], and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
e. He dwells in us to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ.
2CO 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.
f. The filling of the Holy Spirit is subjective. He dwells within me to help me in my personal walk and relationship with God.
B. The baptism with the Holy Spirit. This is the overflowing.
1. It is one thing to fill a cup with water, and quite another to fill it till it overflows.
2. It is one thing to have the Holy Spirit flowing into my life, and quite another to have the Holy Spirit flowing out of my life.
3. This overflowing is what Jesus was talking about in
John 7:37.
JOH 7:37 In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
JOH 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
JOH 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
a. Verse 38 is John's personal commentary on the statement of Jesus about the rivers of living water gushing out of a person's life.
b. Jesus is describing the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
c. There are some who object to the term baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us in I Corinthians,
1CO 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
EPH 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
EPH 4:4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
EPH 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
EPH 4:6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
d. In both cases Paul is referring to the unity of the body of Christ.
e. There are many today who do not accept that unity, and insist that you be baptized into their fellowship. They are not willing to accept you if you were baptized in a Baptist church or some other denomination other than theirs.
f. Jesus in our text referred to two baptisms.
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
4. The purpose of the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
a. To give you the power to be a witness of Jesus Christ.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
IV. JESUS TOLD THEM THAT THIS BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD TAKE PLACE IN A FEW DAYS.
A. It was seven days later that the Holy Spirit came upon the waiting believers.
B. There are three Greek prepositions that refer to the different relationships that the believer has with the Holy Spirit.
1. Para: "He is with you."
a. With us to convict us of our sinful state.
b. With us to draw us to Jesus Christ as the only answer.
2. En: The same as our English in.
a. Dwelling in your body.
3. Epi: Over, upon, overflowing.
a. Flowing out of your life like a torrent of living water.
C. I will not insist on the term baptism, if it bothers you.
1. Some do speak of the experience as the filling of the Spirit.
2. Some refer to the experience as the gift of the Spirit.
3. I don't care what you call it, that is not important. The real issue is do you have Him? Does the Spirit pour out of your life like a torrent of living water?
D. The job we have to do is overwhelming, bringing kids out of this polluted culture to a vital commitment to Jesus Christ. In the natural, it is impossible, that is why we need the supernatural.
1. When Zerubbabel began the project of rebuilding the temple it seemed like an impossible task; there was a mountain of rubble.
2. It was then that the Lord gave to Zechariah a curious vision.
ZEC 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and he woke up and said unto me, "What do you see?" And I said I see a golden candlestick with a bowl on the top of it with seven lamps, and there are seven pipes going into the seven lamps. There are two olive trees by it one on either side. I then asked the angel that was talking to me, "What is this my lord." And the angel said, "Don't you know?" And I answered, "No my lord." Then he told me, this is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts. What are you O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain, and he shall lay the headstone shouting grace, grace.
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
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