Who We Welcome and Why – 7

                                                         Who We Welcome and Why – 7

Subject – Welcoming Holy Spirit Baptism – Part 1

By Rick Welborne

Luke 24:45-53 (NKJV)
⁴⁵  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
⁴⁶  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
⁴⁷  and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
⁴⁸  And you are witnesses of these things.
⁴⁹  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
⁵⁰  And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
⁵¹  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
⁵²  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
⁵³  and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. 

--How beautiful…The Promise of the Father…Holy Spirit baptism. Yes, I know we have already spoke about welcoming Holy Spirit, and if you remember, He showed up. Pastor Neftali spoke about Him.

--Today is a little different because, not only are we talking about Holy Spirit, but we are talking about the New Testament experience that is available to every believer…Holy Spirit baptism.

--You cannot do an honest, sincere, and exegetical study of the New Testament without seeing Holy Spirit baptism as a viable experience for the believer today.

--My objective today is not to try and prove to you the experience of Holy Spirit baptism (the scriptures already do that) but to attempt to share with you why we should welcome this experience.

--Five reasons we should welcome Holy Spirit baptism:

1. We welcome Holy Spirit baptism and speaking in tongues because it is biblical.

--Let me say here the reason we Spirit filled believers speak in tongues is because it is in the Bible. Either we believe the supremacy of the Scriptures or we don’t.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
¹⁷  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

--The New Testament testimony is such that it tells us speaking in tongues is valid and valuable. Quickly:

Acts 2:4 (NKJV) ⁴  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

Acts 10:44-46 (NKJV)
⁴⁴  While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
⁴⁵  And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
⁴⁶  For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. 

Acts 19:1&6 (NKJV)
¹  And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
⁶  And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 

--Our position is not just about speaking in tongues; it is about believing the entirety of the Scriptures. We never need to apologize for what is biblical. Stop letting people shame you. 

--We can all be thankful for the A/G being birthed in Pentecostal fire and our history of speaking in tongues but it goes beyond tradition or even public opinion, it is about God’s revealed will in the Scriptures.

--Those who founded the A/G did not speak in tongues obviously because their grandparents had done it, or because the culture of the church supported it. Their motivation was to live out God’s Word.

--We continue to champion Holy Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues simply because we are determined to be obedient to a biblical hermeneutics that sees this experience as available today. 

 Acts 2:38-39 (NKJV)
³⁸  Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and 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.
³⁹  For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

--We welcome Holy Spirit baptism because it is biblical. Anything else mentioned in scripture as much as this would be a cardinal doctrine. I don’t understand the bias against Holy Spirit and the Word.

2. We welcome Holy Spirit baptism because speaking in tongues is the initial physical evidence.

--Less people speaking in tongues is definitely an indicator that fewer people are experiencing Holy Spirit baptism. Please understand, the purpose of Holy Spirit baptism is more than just speaking in tongues.

--Speaking in tongues is an outward sign of an inward work of Holy Spirit. The Bible identified those who were Holy Spirit baptized by saying they were speaking in tongues. Pentecost. Cornelius House, and Epehesus.

Acts 2:4 (NKJV) ⁴  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

Acts 10:46 (NKJV) ⁴⁶  For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. 

Acts 19:2-6 (NKJV)
²  he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
³  And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."
⁴  Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
⁵  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
⁶  And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

--When I first became a Christian I am sure the pastor and Ronnie Chunn probably got tired of me saying to them about anything I did not understand, “Show me in the Bible.” Speaking in tongues in particularly. 

--How do we know when someone is Spirit baptized? They heard them speak in tongues. Simon the sorcerer. 

--We must be careful to adjust our theology to the Word of God not adjust what we believe to our opinion or a denomination. Pastor Mark…if it is in the Bible, it is true.

--Remember we are saying that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence (the signpost of Holy Spirit activity) but the ongoing evidence is the Fruit of Holy Spirit. 

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) ²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³  gentleness, self-control. 

--Speaking in tongues is not an end-all but simply a door to Holy Spirit’s activity within us. Jesus said:

Luke 24:49 (NKJV) ⁴⁹  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued (clothed) with power from on high." 

--We should not relegate Holy Spirit or His work to a backroom somewhere but give Him preeminence in our lives and our churches. 

--People seem to not want Holy Spirit present because of abuses they have seen. People have abused cars but you don’t see people going back to horses and buggies. Paul:

1 Corinthians 14:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸  I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;

3. We welcome Holy Spirit baptism because speaking in tongues helps us communicate better with God.

--The apostle Paul spoke in tongues as he prayed and worshiped God. His prayer and worship were enhanced.

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 (NLT2)
¹⁴  For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.
¹⁵  Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand. 

--Most of the time when someone is Holy Spirit baptized, it is in an atmosphere of prayer and worship. As we open our mouths to worship God (in Spirit and truth) we begin to pray in the Spirit (in tongues).

--Bob finally came to church with his wife and got wonderfully saved. He wanted more. Holy Spirit baptism. I don’t believe we have to spit on people, yell at people, tell them to hang on, or to turn lose. Worship and ask.

--In a powerful worship service Bob did just that and he was gloriously filled with Holy Spirit. He spoke in tongues all during the worship service. He told me he had never felt so close to God.

--Praying in tongues gives us a means of praying beyond our human limitations. How so, Pastor Rick?

Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)
²⁶  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
²⁷  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

--Do you want to be powerful for God? Do you want to pray the will of God in every situation? Do you want help when you feel weak? Welcome Holy Spirit and be Spirit baptized and pray in tongues (in Holy Spirit).