Sermons

The Spirit Empowers Our Witness

Acts 1 & 2

Satan has won a tactical victory in the church in America.  Here’s what I mean: Jesus died on the Cross, paying for the guilt of sin and breaking the power of sin, opening up salvation for everyone - and He commissions his followers to be his witnesses, telling people about Jesus everywhere we go.  And -- He promises to empower us for this through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

But now the one thing Satan doesn’t want is Spirit-empowered, Spirit-baptized people witnessing everywhere they go.  So what should he do?  How can he stop us from being baptized with the Spirit?  By making the baptism of the Spirit controversial, so we will either argue about it or steer clear of it. 

Because if we are arguing about the baptism of the Spirit, or steering clear of the baptism of the Spirit, we’re not seeking the baptism of the Spirit.  And this is tragic, because if we’re not seeking the baptism of the Spirit, we won’t have the power we need for witness, we won’t have the boldness we need for witness, and people won’t be saved from their sins and brought into relationship with Jesus.

My longing is that we here at Mercy Hill Church would not argue about the baptism of the Spirit, or steer clear of the baptism of the Spirit, but that we would understand the baptism of the Spirit, and seek the baptism of the Spirit. 

And so what I want to do today is look at Acts chapters one and two, to see what the baptism of the Spirit is.  Let’s turn to Acts chapter one.  If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand, and one of the ushers will bring one to you.  Acts 1 is on page 909 in the Bibles we are passing out.

So let’s start with this question: Why is the baptism of the Spirit so important?  One reason is because it is promised by God the Father and Jesus the Son.  Look at vv.4-5 of chapter one:

4              And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me;

5              for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

In v.4 we read that it is the promise of the Father: all through the Old Testament God promised that one day He would pour His Spirit like water to thirsty people.  And in v.4 Jesus says that He had given the same promise: “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Spirit not many days from now.”  So the baptism of the Spirit was promised by the Father throughout the Old Testament, and it was promised by Jesus during His earthly ministry.  It’s that important.

The second reason it’s important is because it empowers us for witness.  You can see that in v.8 --

8              But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The main reason we are still on earth is so that we will be Jesus’ witnesses.  It is so we will bear witness of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to people in our neighborhoods, workplaces, everywhere.  So where do we get the power for this?  From the baptism of the Spirit.  That’s why the baptism of the Spirit is so important. 

What if I was told that this drill would receive power and I would be able to drill holes all through this board?  How important is this receiving of power?  Very important!  Jesus has told us that we would receive power from the baptism of the Spirit so we could be His witnesses.  So how important is the baptism of the Spirit?  Very important.

So what is the baptism of the Spirit?  Let’s look at how it happened here: how did the baptism of the Spirit first take place?  Look at Acts 2 starting with v.1 --  

1              When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

So all the followers of Jesus, about 120 of them, were gathered together in one place. 

2              And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

3              And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

And all of this led up to what happened in v.4 --  

4              And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit …

Up to this point they had been saved – but the Spirit had not been poured out in all His fullness, because Jesus had not been glorified in His death and resurrection.  But on this day, for the first time in history, the Holy Spirit was poured out in all His fullness.  The Holy Spirit enabled them to see and feel the truth of the crucified and resurrected Jesus so they were filled with love for Jesus, joy in Jesus, worship of Jesus.

But in addition to being filled with the Spirit, they all spoke in other tongues: keep reading --

4              … and [they] began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

What did it mean for them to speak in other tongues?  Keep reading in v.5 --

5              Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

6              And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

7              And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

8              And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?

9              Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10            Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,

11            both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians--we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."

So Peter, for example, was filled with the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit enabled him to see and feel the truth of Jesus so he was filled with love for Jesus, joy in Jesus, worship of Jesus.  And Peter was filled with power to witness, boldness for witness, and so started speaking of the wonderful works of Jesus. 

But what happened next was amazing.  I think it was something like this: as he was speaking, he noticed that the words coming out of His mouth were in a language he did not know.  And the same thing was happening with all the other believers.

The Holy Spirit was enabling them to speak in foreign languages they had never learned – the exact foreign languages spoken by the foreigners who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Pentecost.  Here’s a map showing all these nations.  So all these nationalities were hearing about Jesus in their own language.

Now remember that Jesus said the baptism of the Spirit would empower them for witness.  That’s what happened.  The Holy Spirit enabled every believer to feel the truth of Jesus so much that they were bold to speak the truth of Jesus to everyone.  Then in ch.2 Peter preaches to thousands of people about Jesus; Peter – who five weeks earlier had denied Jesus – preaching about Jesus – who just five weeks earlier had been crucified in that very city.  That’s boldness – on the 120 believers, and on Peter.

And what was the result?  In v.41 we read that 3,000 people repented of their sins, put their trust in Jesus, and were baptized.  This happened as a result of the baptism of the Spirit. 

Are we here at Mercy Hill experiencing the baptism of the Spirit?  If you experienced a fresh baptism of the Spirit, what might happen in your neighborhood?  In your workplace?  If we experienced a fresh baptism of the Spirit, what might happen in our city?

So this raises the question -- how does the baptism of the Spirit happen now?  Everyone on every side of the controversy agrees that there are some aspects of the day of Pentecost that are not always repeated today, but there are some aspects that are repeated today.  And the way to see what’s always repeated today is by looking to see what’s said later on.  So here’s four statements about how the baptism of the Spirit happens now:

First, the baptism of the Spirit means receiving the gift of the Spirit.  In your notes I listed the different phrases that are used to describe the baptism of the Spirit.

                In 1:5 – “baptized with the Spirit”

                In 1:8 – “the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

                In 2:4 – “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”

                In 2:17 – God “pours out” His Spirit

                In 2:38 – “you will receive the gift of the Spirit”

                In 8:17 – “they received the Holy Spirit”

                In 10:44 – “the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word”

                In 19:6 – “the Holy Spirit came on them”

So the baptism of the Spirit means receiving the gift of the Spirit, experiencing the work of the Spirit.  It means the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of your heart so you not only understand but you also feel the truth of Jesus so much that you love Jesus, trust Jesus, worship Jesus, talk about Jesus.

Second, the baptism of the Spirit happens at conversion and frequently throughout our Christian lives.  Some godly people teach that the baptism of the Spirit is a second experience, taking place after conversion.  And that’s what happened with the first believers. 

But we have to keep in mind that the first believers were in a unique situation.  They had been saved over the past few years, and were following Jesus.  But they had not yet experienced the full outpouring of the Spirit – because God chose not to do that until Jesus had been glorified in His death and resurrection.  So for them, the baptism of the Spirit was a second experience they had to wait for.

But now that Jesus has been glorified in His death and resurrection, we don’t need to wait for the baptism of the Spirit.  God pours out His Spirit when we are saved.  You can see that in v.38 of chapter 2.  Peter has been preaching, explaining to the people of Israel that they have crucified the Messiah sent from God.  So the people cry out – what shall we do?  And look at what Peter says in v.38 --

And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In other words, they don’t need to wait.  Jesus will pour the Spirit upon them when they repent and trust Jesus.  So now the baptism of the Spirit happens at conversion.

But not just at conversion.  All through our Christian lives we should continue seeking and experiencing fresh outpourings of the Spirit.  You can see this in Acts 4:31.  Here we see a gathering of believers – including believers who had been filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost.  Look at what happened: 

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

So the same ones who were filled with the Spirit in Acts 2:4, were again filled with the Spirit in Acts 4:31 – with the same result: they continued to speak the word with boldness.  That’s also what Paul means in Ephesians 5 when he commands us to be filled with the Spirit.

So the baptism of the Spirit happens at conversion and frequently throughout our Christian lives.

Third, the baptism of the Spirit sometimes results in tongues.  As you read the rest of the book of Acts, you see that when Jesus baptizes new believers with His Spirit, sometimes Luke mentions that they speak in tongues, and sometimes he does not.

Now in the weeks to come we’ll talk more about tongues.  My conviction based on I Cor 12:29-30 is that tongues is not the sign of the baptism of the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit does not give the gift of tongues to every believer.  Tongues is a wonderful gift, but it’s not more wonderful than the gift of serving.  It’s not the ultimate spiritual experience.  The ultimate spiritual experience is given to every believer; it’s being filled with the Spirit, where the Spirit enables you to feel the truth of Jesus so you love Him, trust Him, worship Him.

Fourth, the baptism of the Spirit always empowers us for witness.  That’s what Jesus said in Acts 1:8 --

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

When the Holy Spirit opens your eyes so you feel the truth of Jesus, you will be empowered to witness.  You will so feel the truth of Jesus that telling others about Jesus will be more important than having people like you.  You will so feel the truth of Jesus – the certainty of future judgment, the saving power of the Cross -- that you will want to tell everyone about Jesus.  You will so feel the truth of Jesus that you will long to praise Jesus to everyone you see.

Let me give you an example from church history.  David Brainerd was a missionary to Native American Indians in Massachusetts in the 1700’s.  Here’s what he experienced when he was 22 years old:

One day I remember I walked a long way from the college, in the fields alone at noon, and in prayer found such unspeakable sweetness and delight in God that I thought, if I must continue still in this evil world, I wanted always … to behold God’s glory. 

So that’s the baptism – the filling – of the Spirit.  But now look at how this empowered him for witness.

My soul dearly loved all mankind, and longed exceedingly that they should enjoy what I enjoyed.  It seemed to be a little resemblance of heaven. (p.72)

That’s what happens when we are filled with the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit enables us to feel the truth of Jesus, so we are deeply satisfied, and we are empowered for witness. 

Questions?

So how can we repeatedly be baptized and filled with the Spirit?

First, repent of all known sin.  In Acts 2:38 Peter says: repent, and you will receive the gift of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is Holy.  If you are stubbornly clinging to known sin, you will quench the work of the Spirit.  So repent of all known sin.

Second, pray for more of the Holy Spirit.  In Luke 11:13 Jesus said – how much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.  So pray earnestly, persistently, for continued outpourings of the Holy Spirit.

Third, daily set your heart upon the truth of Jesus.  In Gal 3:5 Paul says that God provides us with the Spirit as we hear with faith.  So every day, and throughout the day, open up God’s Word, set your heart upon the truth of Jesus in the Word.  As you do this earnestly and prayerfully, the Holy Spirit will open your eyes so you feel the truth of Jesus and love Him, trust Him, worship and praise Him – and empower you for witness.