Essentials #9. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Teaching #9. November 19, 2006.

I am posting my notes on Pastor Tom’s teaching from Sunday, November 19th. These are MY notes. Not a transcript. Not his notes. Any misquotes, mistakes, or mystifications are my fault (or something like that). All verses are from NASB 1995 unless noted.

Opening and other things:

Tom read: Isaiah 11:1-10

1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
10 Then in that day
The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;
And His resting place will be glorious.

Barth read: 1 Peter 5:5-11

5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
[Promise] 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Tami. Two visions. (Paraphrased)
1) While hearing an old song [begins, “Through thick and thin....” It is called “Tapestry” and is by Teri DeSario - I think] she saw an old tapestry, the type you find in a museum. It was worn and the colors were faded. The colors of a new tapestry are bright, but side-by-side the old one is much more valuable. We are like the old tapestry: we are worn, but we are very precious in the eyes of God.
2) She saw broken pieces of pottery, but they were being picked up and put into a beautiful mosaic. God is using our broken pieces to make a beautiful mosaic.

Michelle. (paraphrased) - I had a picture of an old, run-down house, it looked abandoned. Then I saw a bright light coming down from heaven into the house. The light poured out of the windows. I was given a hammer, and I said, “Lord, I do not know how to use it.” But God said that he would show me what to do. Then I saw the brothers and sisters of this church, all coming together to the house, with tools to repair it. I could not see what the house would be like, but I knew it would be beautiful

Mike read a statement from the team that was in last week. It contained a number of scripture references that he asked us to mediate on:
1 Corinthians 13:3; 14:31-33.
Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89; Hebrews 4:16.
Revelation 19:10
James 3:17
1 Timothy 5:19

Tom - Essentials #9:

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

There is no right or wrong way to receive Him. There is simply the invitation to come.

Tom’s testimony about a revival in Ephrata when he was 14. Tome gave his life to Jesus. Then Tom saw someone praying in tongues. He could either be envious or be humbled to seek that for himself. He chose envy, and spoke against the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Then Jesus got a hold of him in college and transformed him.

Tom: I wanted to talk about sanctification and justification today, but first I need to talk about the power that makes these possible.

Justification - “just as if” my sin never happened. It happened before us and for us.
Sanctification - we participate in being perfected by God’s hand, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Genesis 1:2. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Genesis introduced the idea that “God is Spirit.” The word in Hebrew translated as spirit means “breath.” So does the word in Greek.

Luke 4:16-21
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus walks into His hometown, and proclaims, “This Scripture has been fulfilled.” He speaks with power and authority. How did He get like this? What changed in Him? Only a little time before, He was merely the “carpenter’s son.”

Prequel:

Luke 3:21-22
21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

The Holy Spirit descended, and God the Father announced His approval. Then He spent 40 days in the wilderness, being tempted. Then he went into the synagogue and spoke with power and authority.

Luke 3:16. John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Before Jesus had done anything of His earthly ministry, the Father approved Him, affirmed Him. We do not need to “do” or to “perform” in order to receive His approval and affirmation. Be free from the legalism that binds us.

2 Corinthians 6:4-6
4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,
6 in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love,

Luke 4:1-2
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

Jesus going from the Jordan to the wilderness. The devil’s temptation of Jesus. It was attempts to provoke Jesus. Provocation is a mark of the temptor. To try to get Jesus to move away from His chosen task.

Luke 4:14. And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

Jesus moved in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was released and able to speak with the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no way to come to the power of Jesus except though the Holy Spirit.

John 7:38-39
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Matthew 3:11. "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Mark 1:8. "I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Luke 3:16. John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John 1:33. "I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'

All four gospels bear witness that John the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus would baptize in (with or by) the Holy Spirit. It is not unusual to have the 4 synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) to say the same thing, but it is usual to have all four. And it must be significant.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

What does “baptism” mean? It is a Greek word, borrowed from shipping terms. A ship that sank was “baptizo..”

Illustration. Picture a sponge being placed in a bowl of water. Is the water in the sponge? Or the sponge in the water? Yes.

In baptism in the Holy Spirit, we are immersed, saturated, filled, buried, and suffused with the Holy Spirit.

Names and aliases of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 2:25. And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

The Holy Spirit as inspirer.

1 Corinthians 2:10. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

The Holy Spirit as revealer. God wants to reveal Himself to us.

John 14:26. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

The Holy Spirit as helper, teacher, counselor. (also can be translated as: confirmer, corroborater, the one who authenticates the word of God and empower us.

John 15:26. “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me...

The Holy Spirit as testifier, the Spirit of truth, the helper, comforter, ever proceeding from God, to us. Note: comfort is not the cessation difficulties, but comes from our unity with Him.

John 16:8. “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment...”

The Holy Spirit as the one who convicts of sin, who convinces us of our sin.

The Comforter comes and brings conviction. If He did not do that, we could have have unity with God the Father or with Jesus. His conviction drives us to the cross.

Revelation 22:17. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

The Holy Spirit as inviter. He invites us to the water of life.

Romans 15:16. ...To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit as sanctifier. We are on a life-long trajectory to become like Him.

Romans 8:16. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God...

The Holy Spirit as witness. He testifies and bears witness that we are not God’s children.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not getting the Holy Spirit again. It is a submission to the person of the Holy Spirit so that we can become more like Him, more like Jesus, more like the Father.

Romans 8:26. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words...

The Holy Spirit as intercessor. He helps us in our weakness.

Acts 2 is the pivotal place where we can see the power of God unleashed upon His people. This is post-crucifixion, post-resurrection, and post accession of Jesus. A remnant, the small group of people that remained, gathered here in the upper room.

Acts 1:5. “...For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus took up and confirmed the words of John the Baptist. Jesus would baptize His disciples with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 11:15-16
15 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.
16 “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Peter is recalling both his own baptism in the Holy Spirit and the one that happened to Cornelius the Centurion and his household. What happened to Cornelius, the gentile, was the same thing that happened to Jesus’s disciples in the upper room.

In Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, and elsewhere, there are various stories of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:1-48 is the story of Cornelius.

Acts 10:47. “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

The received the Holy Spirit just as the disciples did at the beginning.

Acts 19:1-7 is the story of the 12 disciples found at Ephesus by Paul. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit?”

Acts 19:8. And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

Right after seeing the 12 disciples released into the baptism in the Holy Spirit, Paul is proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God, just like Jesus did, in the power of the Holy Spirit, after His baptism.

I cannot “do” the kingdom of God without power from on high. In order to be able to obey and follow, I need power.

What was the first sign of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Many Pentecostals say that it is tongues. Tom says that tongues is the first sign of the real effect of the Baptism. That is, restored fellowship of man with God.

The reason that God coordinated all of history from Genesis to the Crucifixion and resurrection was not so that people could talk in tongues. He did it to reunite Himself with His precious creation, His people. He wanted to restore fellowship, communion, communication, between the Shepherd and the sheep. And with all three person of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

1 John 1:3. ...What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:9. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Corinthians 13:14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

1 Corinthians 14:2. For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.

Then why tongues? First to speak to God.

In the Garden of Eden there was a breakdown of communication, of communion. But the old language remained, and it was able to unify mankind. In Genesis 11:1-7 (the story of the Tower of Babel) this perfect, unifying language helped mankind to defy God, trying (in their beliefs) to reach Him. God could have done anything: hit “restart,” smite some things, or whatever. What he chose to do was to destroy the unifying language. He took them from communion to confusion.

So why baptism in the Holy Spirit? So we could speak in tongues? A qualified “yes”. We are moving from our own government to His government. In tongues, He was doing something to man’s heart.

Mark 7:20-23
20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
23 “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

The baptism in the Holy Spirit and tongues was to change what was in the heart of man. He wanted to change what filled a man’s heart.

The mouth was involved in the day of Pentecost. Resurrection life was happening in the heart and coming out of the mouth.

Where we see tongues, we see the potential to rearrange hearts.

Conversion from going to God to get something to God has come to me to get something.

With the Holy Spirit, our prayer lives can become lives of prayer. Paul wrote, “Pray without ceasing.” God would not have said that without giving the power and the ability to do so. In tongues, we have intimate fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:6-10
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9 but just as it is written,
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

The rulers of this age crucified the Lord of glory. But God has prepared marvelous things for those who love Him, revealed to us the Holy Spirit.

Worship

1 Chronicles 29:13. “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.” NASB

1 Timothy 1:12a. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord...” NASB

1 Timothy 1:12a. “I am constantly grateful to... the Lord Jesus Christ...” Wuest translation

I like to complicate things. But after the events in church last Sunday, I was musing about worship. It struck me that worship is simply saying, “Thank You Jesus. I love You.”

Soaring violins, plaintive guitar chords, or rumbling organs may enhance the experience, either emotionally or intellectually. So can reading a psalm or a passage in a devotional; taking communion or hearing a stirring testimonial.

But worship at its most basic is “Thank You. I love You.”

Slander and Gossip

Update: I have been thinking about this topic for a number of weeks. I needed to write it down to clear my head. This did not grow out of Sunday's events, unless you want it to. However, Sunday did trigger the need to get it out of my head.

Proverbs 16:28b. “...And a slanderer separates intimate friends.” NASB

Proverbs 16:28b. “...And a gossip separates close friends.” NIV

Proverbs 16:28b. “...And a whisperer separates close friends.” Amplified

The following is my opinion on how slander operates.

Divided and fractured relationships indicate slander.

In Old Testament terms, a slanderer creates division between the person that he is slandering and the person that he is speaking slander to.

In the New Testament, Jesus has a kingdom. And Satan, the slanderer, has a kingdom.

When one Christian slanders another Christian, he is creating an additional type of division. A slanderer, a gossip, is not standing in the Kingdom of God. He is standing in the kingdom of the devil, the slanderer. He is doing the will of the devil in the Church.

The slanderer, the gossip, the accuser creates division between the person he is talking to and the person he is talking about. He also creates divisions between himself and the people that he is talking to and talking about. He is fracturing his own relationships.

Eventually, that person will only have “deep” relationships with the people who enjoy the gossip and slander. And cliques are born. With everyone else, he will have only surface relationships.

This may be a way of detecting a slanderer when one is not in the “in crowd.” Do I detect “shallowing” relationships? Does the person say he has better relationships outside of the church he is attending than inside?

Note: slander grows out of the flesh, out of fallen human nature. It is identified as a character trait of Satan, but that does not make slander “demonic” in sense that slander must be accompanied by evil spirits. I wish it would. If my skin crawled every time I heard a slander, I would see it easier.

My bible study notes for this are posted as the first comment.

Essentials #7. Salvation, Part 2

Teaching #7. November 5, 2006.

I am posting my notes on Pastor Mike’s teaching from Sunday, November 5th. These are MY notes. Not a transcript. Not his notes. Any misquotes, mistakes, or mystifications are my fault (or something like that). All verses are from NASB 1995 unless noted.

Essentials #7: Salvation (part 2)

Galatians 3:1-2
1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

Foolish! You saw Jesus crucified, you saw Him dead. Did you receive your salvation, did you receive the Spirit by faith? Or by works?

John 3 and Nicodemus - Jesus told him, all of the elite with him, that he needed a new birth. Something by faith.

Galatians 3:26-29
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

Now, you are all sons, through faith. Paul saying “understand again, that we all began as sinners; we all need to know Jesus.”

John 3 and Nicodemus - Nicodemus came to Jesus because he needed to know who Jesus was. “You are a teacher from God.” But he did not know who Jesus was; that He was the Son of God.

Mike: Do not listen to me. I began where you all began. I came from the same dirt. Only those who are born of the Spirit can say anything about these things, about Jesus, about the Holy Spirit. Don’t listen to me because of my position, my rank. I have not the right to say anything except that I know the grace of God. He did what He did when I was on my knees.

The love of God, poured out in Jesus is the most precious thing. And if there is something in our lives that we consider to be more important, God cannot allow that.

John 3:1-7. Recap. Nicodemus: We know that you are from God. Nicodemus did not have problems with Jesus being a teacher, but with what Jesus said about Himself, that He was God.

John 3:7. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” Jesus is essentially saying, “You know nothing about spiritual matters.” This was a shock to him (“amazed”). But He did not say this to humiliate him, but to enlighten.

John 3:9-10
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?

Nicodemus paraphrased: He is from God, and I am teacher of Israel, but I do not understand what He is saying.

John 3:8. “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We see the effects of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives of others, but we have not seen Him.

John 3:11. “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.”

Jesus paraphrased: I have experiential knowledge of the things that I have seen and that I have experienced.

John 3:12. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

Salvation is an earthly thing, because it has to do with man who is earthly.

John 3:14-15
14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

This is the gospel, presented by Jesus to Nicodemus in a way that he, as a good Jew, would understand. During the exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel, dying from snake bite, could “look on” the bronze snake and be healed (saved from death). [Numbers 21:6-9] Jesus will do the same for Nicodemus.

John 12:32. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

“Lifted up” - not the normal Greek word for this (like being “lifted up” onto the cross). This is a word that means “to be lifted up and out from the earth.” It refers to His ascension, not to His crucifixion.

John 3:16-21. At this point, the tenses and pronouns change. It would appear that John’s quotes of Jesus ends and some commentary on what Jesus said begins. Experts disagree. However:

John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

“Love” Greek word is “agapao.” “The love in one’s heart is a measure of the preciousness of the object loved.” This love is based on the value of the object. “I love so-and-so because he is precious to me.”

God loves us because we are precious to Him. Is it because we are good? Because we perform so well? Where did this preciousness come from? It came from the original design. The born again of “the same as the original act.” We were made in His (Their) image. We were disgusting in our sin. But God looks past that to what could be redeemed, changed, altered. That is, we need to be born again like the original.

He would change us from children of wrath to the children of God because of our preciousness to Him.

The Greeks did not have a word for this kind of love. It is not expressed in their language. Paul, Jesus, and John gave Greek a new understanding.

**Assignment
1 Corinthians 13. Redefines love
Ephesians 2:1-7. A description of the process of our transformation. We can see the salvation of God.

So what about our part? What is our response?

1) Thank you, God
2) Deeper. What do we have control over in this world? Houses? Money? Jobs? What of value do I have? What is precious to God?

Genesis 2. We got physical life and spiritual life. The spiritual life died. We have only the physical life left from the original intent, the original creation. The only thing I have left to give is my physical life, the “dead in sin” life.

The only thing that we have to give in response to this great gift is our life. “Everything that I have about me is Yours. Change and transform us.”

Matthew 10:39. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

God knows how we needed to change and knows how to do it. And in Jesus, He changed mankind forever.

The only thing a church should be is a people who know that they are redeemed; with Jesus as the cornerstone and the Holy Spirit bringing transformation.