Baptism in the Holy Spirit

We're going to be talking about baptism in the Holy Spirit.
And if you don't know, today is Pentecost Sunday,
and you might wonder, wow, was that kind of worked out, kind of planned?
Yes, it was.
We actually had a calendar, so this was pretty cool.
So if you don't know much about baptism in the Holy Spirit,
there's some people that are kind of like, boy, I'm not quite sure about that.
Some are really excited about it.
There's other people that are kind of curious.
And there's some other people that are like, yikes, I don't know about this.
But we're going to talk about it.
Is baptism in the Holy Spirit biblical?
Or is it just made up by a bunch of crazy Pentecostals?
We don't know.
So we're going to jump right into it.
So today is the birth of the church, of the church that we know.
And so Jesus just arose from the dead, and he was joining the disciples,
and this is what he said in Acts 1.
In verse 3, he says,
To the same apostles also, after his suffering,
he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs.
So what's going on here is the disciples,
they were preaching that Jesus could conquer death,
and now Jesus had just showed himself, in fact, that he had risen from the dead.
And he was seen by them over a 40-day period
and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.
Now, most churches in America,
they don't really preach much about the kingdom of God.
Now, not so much here at Bridge.
In fact, we're in a series, a very long series about the kingdom of God
that's living in a supernatural world.
But most churches really don't talk about that.
Instead, the Western church, the American church,
they talk about, you know, how to get into heaven.
However, Jesus really preached about how to get heaven into you now.
It's available now.
Jesus said,
Pray that your kingdom, what?
Come.
Not afterwards, not after you die, but now.
And so in verse 4,
Jesus said to his disciples,
While he was with them, he declared,
Do not leave Jerusalem,
but wait there for what my father had promised,
which you had heard about from me.
For John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now.
So Jesus commanded the disciples not to leave Jerusalem
because there was a coming promise of the Father.
So what was this promise?
Well, we learn in verse 5
that John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now.
In Acts verse 8, it says,
But you will receive the power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the furthest parts of the earth.
You see, the whole point of the baptism of the Holy Spirit
is to demonstrate God's power
and to enforce this kingdom of God,
the thing that we've been talking about,
the thing that happens in the supernatural.
We're going to be showing people in the natural.
And that's what Jesus was saying,
that when the promise comes,
when the promise of the Father comes,
that the Holy Spirit will come upon you.
And so let's talk about this promise of the Father,
because that's something that we kind of miss.
Where did this promise come from?
And so to find that out,
we got to go way back in Genesis.
This is where it all started.
So in Genesis 12, God is talking to Abraham.
This is what he says to him.
He says in verse 2,
So God is promising Abraham's descendants
and the families of the earth
that they are going to be blessed.
And that sounds like a pretty awesome promise, yes?
Yes, it's an amazing promise.
And so what happens?
Well, some time passes.
Abraham doesn't have any descendants.
And it seems like God
isn't really doing good on his promise.
Abraham's just kind of chilling out.
And so finally, a couple chapters later,
Abraham asked God,
what's going on?
Now, verse 2,
But Abram said,
O sovereign Lord,
what will you give me
since I continue to be childless
and my heir is the leeser of Damascus?
Abram added,
Since you have not given me a descendant,
then look,
one born in my house will be my heir.
But look,
the Lord's message came upon him.
It says,
This man will not be your heir,
but instead a son
who comes from your own body
will be your heir.
The Lord took him outside and said,
Gaze into the sky,
count the stars,
and if you are able to count them,
then he said to him,
So will your descendants be.
Okay?
So now God remade this promise.
He assured Abraham,
no, this is going to happen.
Trust me,
this promise is going to happen.
This blessing is going to happen.
And so now came the time of the covenant.
Now, covenants here in America
are a little foreign to us.
We don't do a lot of the covenants
like they did in the Bible.
But one covenant that we do typically do
is through marriage, right?
When you get married,
you exchange vows with one another, right?
And I don't remember my vows with my husband,
but that's okay.
I think we're doing all right.
And when you exchange those vows,
there's promises.
And this is what happened
in the case with God and Abraham
when he did the animal sacrifice.
Genesis 9,
Now, I don't know if about you,
but that sounds like the beginning
of a church barbecue to me.
A little meat chapel going on there.
But you can imagine
as they're cutting these animals in half,
how much mess this was making.
I mean, how much blood was happening.
And you see this in every single covenant
in the Bible.
There's always blood.
That represents the covenant.
And even in marriage,
that is actually a blood covenant
when you have relations with your spouse.
That is through the exchange.
And so in Genesis,
Abraham is entering into a covenant with God.
And that smoking fire pot and that torch,
they are making promises to one another
as they're walking through these pieces of animals.
You know, you can just imagine
Abraham's robe just covered in blood
as this exchange is happening,
as these vows are being exchanged.
So let's move on.
What were those promises that night?
Galatians 3 talks about that.
Starting in verse 16, it says,
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham
and to his descendant.
Scripture does not say,
and to the descendants,
referring to many,
but, and to your descendant,
referring to one,
who is Christ.
So who was making,
or sorry, who was walking
between those pieces of animals?
That was the one,
the descendant,
the Christ.
And then you also had God the Father.
So there is this agreement between Jesus
and God the Father,
walking the smoking fire pot
and this torch going between
these pieces of animals.
And guess what?
Abraham's descendants
are the beneficiaries of it.
And you know when God
makes a covenant with Jesus,
you know it's going to be good, right?
It's going to be good.
And Galatians 3,
continuing on,
it says,
What I am saying is this,
that the law came
430 years later
and did not cancel
a covenant
previously ratified by God.
So it was to invalidate the promise.
So the law
is not going to
nullify this promise.
This promise came
before the law,
okay,
and it still stands.
For if the inheritance
is based on the law,
it is no longer based
on the promise,
but God graciously
gave it to Abraham
through the promise.
Okay,
let's put the pieces
together here.
A lot of scripture,
okay?
Remember back in Acts 1-4,
Jesus said,
Do not leave Jerusalem,
but wait there
for what my father
had promised.
Well,
when was that promise made?
It was made
all the way back
in Genesis 15,
in that sacrifice.
And then continuing
on in verse 4 in Acts,
it said,
Which you had heard
about me,
which we're going
to get to in a minute,
for John baptized
with water,
but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now.
Okay,
let's connect the dots here,
okay?
We're going to jump
ahead into Galatians.
Galatians 3.13.
So Christ has redeemed us
from the curse
of the law,
having become a curse
for us,
for it is written,
Cursed is everyone
who hangs on a tree.
That the blessing
of Abraham
might come upon
the Gentiles
in Christ Jesus,
that we might receive
the promise
of the Spirit
through faith.
Okay,
so what was the blessing?
That blessing
was from Genesis 12,
that the families
of the earth,
that's you,
us two millennia leaders,
that is the Gentiles,
that is the Jews,
are going to be blessed
through Abraham.
That's us.
It's the people after us.
It's our children,
okay?
And then what is the promise?
Well,
it's that same promise
made at the time
of the sacrifice
in Genesis 15.
And so if you could wrap
all this up in one sentence,
it's the promise
of the coming Holy Spirit.
But it's not just
the Holy Spirit,
there's more to that.
That also means
you're going to become
one with Christ.
So that if you are
one with Christ,
that means you are now
Abraham's seeds
according to the what?
The promise.
According to the Holy Spirit.
I see some light bulbs
going off.
Now we know
that it's the promise
of the Holy Spirit
because remember
when the Pharisees
came to John
and they were like,
what are you doing?
What did John say?
Matthew 3,
it said,
I baptize you in water
for repentance,
but the one coming after me
is more powerful
than I am.
And I am not worthy
to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you
with Holy Spirit
and fire.
So who was that person
coming after John?
It was?
It was Jesus.
That was actually
his cousin.
He was coming after John.
And so,
in Jesus
is that seed.
It's that singular seed
that we saw
in Galatians 3.
And so what John
is saying is this.
Jesus is bringing
the kingdom of God
and he's going to do it
by baptizing us
in the Holy Spirit
and in fire.
So let me kind of
illustrate what this
looks like here.
So in Acts 2,
this is what Peter said.
It says,
Peter said to them,
Repent,
each one of you,
and be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the giveness
of your sins
and you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise
is for you
and your children
and for all
who are far away
and as many
as the Lord
or God
will call to himself.
For which promise?
The promise
of the Holy Spirit.
and that is
for you personally
and those
who are far away
and those
who are coming
in later
than the people
coming after us.
It is for us.
And Peter gives us
three steps.
He says,
number one,
you need to repent.
You need to repent.
You need to go
to the way
of the Lord.
Second one is
you need to get baptized.
Okay,
we're talking,
we'll talk a little more
about the process
of baptism in a minute.
And finally,
you need to receive
the gift
of the Holy Spirit
for the promise
which was all the way
back in Genesis 15.
So let's look at
Galatians 3 once more.
It says,
Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law
by becoming
a curse for us.
Because it is written,
cursed is everyone
who hangs on the tree.
So here Jesus is,
he is the curse,
he is taking on
all of our sin
for us
so that we can receive
that promise.
In order that
Christ Jesus
is the blessing
of Abraham
that will come on
to the who?
To the Gentiles,
to us
so we can receive
that Holy Spirit.
And then we can receive
that,
not only receive
the Holy Spirit
but receive it
by faith.
So we have
that redemption
of Christ
because he died
on the cross.
That was the final
blood sacrifice.
And we have
that blessing
because of that,
because of that promise
way back in Genesis.
And so that last part
is so important.
It is by faith.
It is by faith
because we don't need
Jesus to come
and die for us again.
He cannot die
on the cross again.
His work is done,
it is finished,
end of story,
period.
Right?
It is done.
And the only thing
that we can do
is to respond
to what Jesus did
on the cross
by what?
By faith.
So remember
we just talked
about in Acts 1.
But wait here
for what my Father
has promised
for what you heard
about me.
Right?
For John baptized
with water
but Jesus will be
baptized with the
Holy Spirit.
Okay.
So now there's
probably some of you
thinking,
wait a minute here,
didn't we receive
the Holy Spirit
the moment we get saved?
Let's look at
what John says.
John 20.
On the evening
of that day,
the first day
of the week,
the disciples
had gathered together
and locked the doors
in the place
because they were
afraid of the
Jewish leaders.
Remember,
they are afraid
of getting killed.
The Jewish leaders
are not particularly
happy with them
right now.
Jesus came
and stood among them
and said to them,
Peace be with you.
And when he had said this
he showed him
his hands and his side.
And the disciples
rejoiced when they
saw the Lord.
So Jesus said
to them again,
Peace be with you.
Just as the Father
has sent me,
I also sent you.
Now here's the
important part.
After he said this,
he breathed on them,
receive the Holy Spirit.
Okay?
So here's the disciples
locked up in this room.
Jesus shows up
by coming through
the walls,
miraculously,
because he can do that,
because he's cool like that.
And then what does
Jesus do?
He breathes on them.
And as soon as
he breathes on them,
they receive the Holy Spirit
just like that.
Because you know
when Jesus does something,
it happens.
It's not a might happen,
it's a will happen.
And the disciples
all have the Holy Spirit.
So then why
did Jesus say
to those same disciples
in Acts verse 8,
or chapter 1 verse 8,
you will be baptized
in the Holy Spirit
not many days from now
if they already
had the Holy Spirit.
Now did the disciples,
you all agree,
they have the Holy Spirit,
right?
Yes,
they have it.
So what is Jesus
saying in Acts?
Guess what?
There's more.
There's more.
And you will receive
the power of the Holy Spirit.
And I love how
the disciples,
they start out
in this locked room,
but as soon as
the Holy Spirit
comes upon them,
they go out
and they're public.
Peter,
Peter,
Peter,
we all know Peter,
right?
He goes out
and starts preaching
publicly.
The same ding-dong Peter,
the same one
who denied Jesus,
he starts talking smart
and he is being bold.
The Holy Spirit
changed him.
He is now a new man
in the Holy Spirit.
So let me make
the distinction here.
This is very important.
You, however,
are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit.
If indeed the Spirit
of God lives in you,
now if anyone
does not have
the Spirit of Christ,
this person
does not belong to him.
Okay,
this is what this passage
is saying.
Every believer
has the Holy Spirit.
It has the Holy Spirit.
As soon as you
accept Christ
in your life,
you have the Holy Spirit.
However,
not every believer
has that power
of the promise.
You see,
the disciples
had the Holy Spirit
when Jesus breathed
on them,
but it was a little while
after when they got
the power of that promise.
After that Holy Spirit
fell on them,
we call it baptism
in the Holy Spirit.
And that power,
the whole point of that,
was to help show
and carry the kingdom
of God forward.
And you guys see
the distinction?
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
is not salvific.
It is not required
to be a child of God
to be saved.
That is not a requirement.
However,
the baptism in the Holy Spirit
is the promise
of the Father.
It's just that extra boost.
It's like the shot
in the arm.
It's an addition
to redemption.
Now,
I'm going to talk
to some of you.
They're probably thinking,
well,
there's some pastors,
theologians who say
there's only one baptism.
Well,
let's interpret Scripture
with Scripture here.
Okay?
1 Corinthians 12 says,
for in one spirit
we are all baptized
into one body.
Whether Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free,
we are all made
to drink of one spirit.
Okay?
Like I said,
when we are accepted
into Christ,
when we accept Christ
into our life,
we are all baptized
into one body.
Into one body.
And the reason for this
is no Christian
is meant to do
Christianity alone.
This is a group activity.
I know sometimes
group activities
can be kind of lame,
but this one's a cool one.
And this is why
coming to church
and being in fellowship
is so important.
It is not a solo act
because we are part
of one body.
And you see this
throughout Scripture
of the Apostle Paul.
He uses language
about being different
parts of one body.
Jesus too,
He continually talks
about one another.
You can't one another alone.
You can't.
You cannot participate
in the kingdom of God
by yourself.
You need to be in community.
That's why.
So that's your first baptism.
The second baptism
is you have water baptism.
Think about the Great Commission.
Okay?
Matthew 28.
Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations,
baptizing them
in the name of the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
That is water baptism.
Most of you have been
water baptized.
Okay?
And we're going to be doing
some water baptisms here
probably in the summer
when it's a little bit warmer
and you don't have to be
in cold water outside.
Right?
That is water baptism.
That is done by the church.
And finally,
there is spiritual baptism.
Church baptizes in water,
but Jesus baptizes us
in the Holy Spirit.
Remember what John said.
But I will baptize you
in water,
but Jesus will baptize you
in the Holy Spirit
and fire.
Guys,
Jesus is the head of the church.
Yes?
We all agree?
He's the head of the church.
And if there is something
that he wants to give us,
do you think it's going to be good?
Yes.
Yes.
And so,
I don't understand
where people say,
well,
Jesus doesn't want to give
that power out anymore.
That the baptism of the Holy Spirit
is over.
But yet,
they want to be there
at the time of the disciples.
No.
It is still going on.
Jesus is the same
yesterday,
today,
and forever,
right?
In Hebrews.
So,
if Jesus was baptizing
in the Holy Spirit
back then,
what makes you think
he stopped?
He didn't.
And his ministry
isn't done.
Okay?
There are still people
not in relationship
with Jesus.
His ministry
has not stopped.
So,
it's crazy to think
that we would,
something that Jesus
was doing back then
is rejected today.
It's not.
It is still going.
So,
let me recap.
We have three baptisms.
The first one,
baptism into the body
of Christ by the Spirit,
meaning that you're now
part of the Christian,
the Big C Church,
the body of Christ.
The second one,
baptism in water.
That is done
by the church
that brings deliverance
from the world
that sets us apart,
kind of like a visual
representation
that our sin
has washed away.
And finally,
baptism in the Holy Spirit
by Jesus.
And that is
to receive
that extra power
that was promised
back in Genesis
to demonstrate
that the kingdom
is here
on earth
right now.
And we can do that
through signs,
through wonders,
through prophecy,
and through all other
sorts of gifts
of the Spirit.
So let me give you guys
some biblical examples here
so I can kind of demonstrate
what this really looks like.
Okay,
let's just jump over
to Acts 8.
So the church
is being persecuted.
And Philip,
he is actually
one of the original deacons,
and he is later
going to become
an evangelist,
and you'll see this
here in Scripture
in just a minute.
So in Acts 8,
starting in verse 5,
Philip went down
to the main city
of Samaria
and began preaching,
began proclaiming
Christ to them.
The crowds were paying
attention with one mind
to what Philip said
as they heard
and saw the miraculous
signs he was performing.
For unclean spirits
crying with loud shrieks,
they were coming out
of many who were possessed
and many paralyzed
and lame people
were healed.
So there was great joy
in the city.
So notice,
Philip is preaching
about the kingdom of God.
He's not just talking
about how to get to heaven.
He is preaching
about the kingdom of God
and performing signs
and miracles
through the power
of the Holy Spirit.
People are being delivered.
Demons are fleeing.
People are getting healed.
You're seeing
these things happen.
The power of God
is happening now.
But when they believed,
Philip,
as he was preaching
the good news
about the kingdom of God
and the name
of Jesus Christ,
they began to be baptized,
both men and women.
Now you see
those first baptisms.
Now,
and that's when Philip
kind of starts
to become the evangelist.
Now he is promoting Christ.
He is showing Christ.
He is demonstrating Christ.
That's what evangelism is.
It's not,
you know,
at a street corner
with a megaphone saying,
you know,
repent,
you know,
you're a sinner.
No.
What evangelism is,
is saying,
you know,
God loves you.
He blesses you.
He wants to heal you.
Let me pray with you.
Let me walk with you.
That is evangelism.
And that's exactly
what Philip was doing.
Verse 14.
Now,
when the apostles
at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria
had received
the word of God,
they sent to them
Peter and John,
who came down
and prayed for them
that they might receive
the Holy Spirit.
For he had yet not fallen
on any of them,
but they had only been baptized
in the name
of the Lord Jesus.
Okay.
So the Holy Spirit
had not fallen upon
the Samaritans,
correct?
Now,
were they saved
and baptized
in the body of Christ?
Yes.
Yes.
Was the Holy Spirit
living inside of them?
Yes.
Absolutely.
Had they received
the baptism
of the Holy Spirit?
No.
They had not received
the baptism
of the Holy Spirit yet.
So here's what happened
in verse 17.
When they laid
their hands on them
and they received
the Holy Spirit.
You notice
that the baptism
of the Holy Spirit
happened after salvation.
After they were brought
into the body of Christ.
And it was the same
as the disciples.
Remember,
they had received
the Holy Spirit
after Jesus breathed
on them.
Right?
And so,
if you're in Christ,
you've got to ask yourself,
have you received
everything that Christ
wants for you?
Have you received it yet?
See,
the Samaritans
had only been baptized
into the body of Christ.
They were going to heaven.
They believed Jesus.
But they hadn't received
that full power
from that promise
from back in Genesis.
And then when John
and Paul came to Samaria,
that they, what,
were going to receive
the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
No,
that they might receive
the baptism
in the Holy Spirit.
It's a might.
It wasn't guaranteed.
And what happened?
Peter and John
had to literally
lay hands on them
and impart
that baptism
of the Holy Spirit
upon them.
It wasn't expected
to be automatic.
It was an impartation.
Matthew 7,
if there's anyone
among you
who,
if a son asks for bread,
will give him a stone,
or if he asks for a fish,
will give him a snake.
If you then,
although you are evil,
know how to give
good gifts
to your children,
how much more
will your Father
in heaven
give good gifts
to those who ask him?
So,
for those who are still
wondering about
this baptism
of the Holy Spirit,
why would God
withhold good gifts
from you?
He doesn't.
You need to ask him.
You need to ask him
for this baptism
in the Holy Spirit.
It is a gift
readily available
that you might receive,
but you need to ask for.
Let me give you
another example.
Saul,
also known as Paul,
was persecuting Christians.
Okay?
And so what he does,
he goes down this road
to Damascus,
he gets knocked
off his donkey,
he has this encounter
with Christ,
and he believes
right then and there.
He believes
in that moment.
And then Ananias
in a neighboring city
gets his vision
to pray over Saul
and here's what happens.
In Acts 9,
verse 17,
So Ananias departed
and entered the house
and placed his hands
on Saul
and said,
Brother Saul,
the Lord Jesus
who appeared to you
on the road
as you came here
has sent me
so that you may see again
and may be what?
Filled with the Holy Spirit.
And guess what?
When that happened,
when the hands were laid,
Paul was filled
with the Holy Spirit.
Paul already had
the Holy Spirit in him.
That happened
on the road to Damascus.
When he saw Jesus,
he believed
that Holy Spirit
was right there.
It was already inside him.
But it wasn't
until Ananias
laid hands on Paul,
literally laid hands on Paul,
that that Holy Spirit
had to come into him.
Let me give you
one more example.
This is in Acts 19.
When Apollos
was in Corinth,
Paul went through
the inland regions
and came to Ephesus.
He found some disciples
there and said to them,
Did you receive
the Holy Spirit
when you believed?
They replied,
No,
we haven't even heard
that there was
a Holy Spirit.
Well,
that's a problem.
So this is how
Paul solves it.
So Paul said,
Into what then
were you baptized?
Into John's baptism,
they replied.
And Paul said,
John baptized
with baptism of repentance,
telling the people
to believe in the one
who is to come after him,
that is,
in Jesus.
And then when they heard this,
they were baptized
in the same of the Lord Jesus.
Okay,
Paul realized right away
they had a problem.
They really didn't know,
understand what the Holy Spirit was.
They really didn't even
understand what Jesus was.
So Paul had to explain
to them who Jesus was.
And when they believed,
boom,
the Holy Spirit
came inside of them.
They were part
of the body of Christ.
And then,
after that,
verse 6,
and when Paul placed
his hands,
again,
placed his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit
came upon them
and they began
to speak in tongues
and to prophesy.
Okay,
there is that physical aspect.
There is that touch
of,
okay,
the Holy Spirit
is coming upon you.
But you have to
be adopted
into the body of Christ
before you can receive
that power.
That is the promise.
That is the full promise.
Now,
I'm not going to get
into tongues and prophecy.
That's going to be,
Pastor Tim's going to talk
about that in a couple weeks.
But let me just give you,
I'm going to give you
a really quick story.
I've got a couple minutes here
about what it was like
for my baptism
in the Holy Spirit.
It's different for everybody.
For some people,
it's a wild story.
It's dramatic.
For me,
it was not.
At least initially.
I remember,
I was in,
I went to a very large church
back in Michigan
and the pastor
was preaching
about baptism
in the Holy Spirit.
At that time,
I was a fairly young Christian
and I was really,
I really wanted,
I was hungry.
And I'm thinking,
man,
this sounds really cool.
If God has this for me,
I really want it.
And so after service,
I went up
and they prayed over me
and they're kind of waiting
for me to speak in tongues
as evidence for baptism
in the Holy Spirit.
Nothing really happened.
I'm like,
all right,
whatever,
but okay,
sure.
I go home that night
and I got thinking about it.
I was reading my Bible
and I said,
God,
I really,
really want this baptism
in the Holy Spirit.
It seems really cool.
And I said,
I was just,
I was really bummed.
I was honest with the Lord.
I said,
God,
when they prayed over me,
nothing happened.
Nothing happened.
God,
did you not give me the promise?
Did you not give me
the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
I mean,
am I an exception?
And all of a sudden,
I don't know what happened,
but some time had passed,
at least an hour,
and I was in the corner
of my bedroom
and apparently I had been
talking some gibberish
and I realized
something had come upon me.
Something had changed.
And in that moment,
I was so on fire for Christ.
I was at church
any opportunity I could.
And I remember,
I was young.
I was 17,
18 years old in college,
a very interesting college,
in music school.
You can imagine
what happens in music school.
I wasn't interested
in any of that.
I didn't want to go
to the parties.
I didn't want to do
those things.
All I wanted to do
was talk about Jesus.
And I was bold
because they were not
very nice to Christians there,
but I didn't care.
I didn't care.
And I loved it.
And it had changed
who I was.
I wasn't a timid,
well, I was never
a timid person,
but when it came to Christ,
I took that energy
that I had
and I gave it
towards Jesus.
And that's what
the power of the Holy Spirit,
the baptism of the Holy Spirit
does.
It emboldens you.
And it emboldens you.
And as I began
to learn about
the Holy Spirit
and in the years coming,
the 10,
oh my gosh,
that was almost 20 years ago.
I'm getting kind of old.
I started to learn
what the power
of the Holy Spirit is.
And it wasn't really, guys,
until the last,
I want to say,
five, six years
that I really understood
what that power
of the Holy Spirit is.
It's a journey.
It's a journey.
And it doesn't stop here.
And so I'm going to
pause here.
As this message
is going to get
continued on.
And I'm going to ask
everyone here
and anybody here
that is not a part
of the body of Christ,
who does not know
if they're going to
go to heaven today,
I want today
to be an invitation.
I want today
to be the first baptism
for those
who don't know
who Christ really is.
If you are wondering
if you're going to go to heaven,
if you're wondering
that did I do enough
good things
to go to heaven,
you'll never make it to heaven.
I will tell you that right now
because the only way
to heaven
is through faith.
That's it.
It is through faith.
And today is the day.
Today is the day
to go through
that first baptism,
to be accepted
into the body of Christ
because it's an incredible
experience
to have that Holy Spirit
living inside of you,
to have a renewed spirit.
And so I want everybody
to close their eyes,
bow their heads,
and we're just going
to pray together.
Whether you've been
a Christian for years
or if this is the first time
you're praying this,
I want us to all
pray this together.
I want us to all
remember and be reminded
of the Holy Spirit
or to receive the Holy Spirit
if this is your first time.
So I want you to pray
this in your heart.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I repent of my sins.
I repent of my past.
And Lord,
I ask you
to wash away
the things of my past,
to wash me clean, Lord.
And Lord,
I have faith today
that you are my God,
that you are my Savior,
and that Jesus Christ
came for me on the cross.
And Lord,
I ask
that I will be part
of your family
and I will be part
of the kingdom of God today
and to be part of heaven today.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
So,
if today was your first time
ever praying that prayer,
I want you to come up
after service.
I want you to come up
after service.
We want to really pray with you.
We want to bring you
into this family.
And for those who just need
healing,
if you need prayer
for family,
if you need prayer
for others who are seeking God
and want adoption
into the family,
also come up for prayer today.
Because we don't need
to keep walking,
wondering,
if we are part
of the body of Christ.
We can know.
We can know
right in this moment.
And we can know
we are part
of the kingdom of God.
So, dearly Father,
God,
we just,
we love you.
We just thank you
for what you did for us.
And we thank you
for sending your son,
Jesus,
to die for us.
On the cross.
To be that sacrifice.
So that we can receive
the promise
that you had given
through Abraham.
That we as the descendants,
that we can live with you
for eternity.
And in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Alright,
thank you very much.
If we can have
the prayer teams come down.
I hope you guys
have a blessed week.
Have a great Memorial Day.
And have a great Sunday.