Jesus Baptises in Holy Spirit | Elder Ang Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from axt church.

We hope this message will light up your.

Day baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I will I

will go a little bit step by step, okay. You know,

sometimes I just want to start off by giving us

maybe an overview of what the gospel is, what the

full Gospel is.

And how this came about.

As also, I've been thinking once a month, I usually

hid into a juvenile detention facility somewhere Alam and you know,

we go in and we run something called the Christian class. Okay,

so it's for those who are they don't necessarily need

to be Christian, but it's usually done for the non Muslims.

And uh, it's a class where I go in and

I can talk about anything and everything, basically about the Bible.

So there'll be different people who will be there, some

who are interested to know about God, some who are Christians,

some who just wanted the extra time off and not

be in the cells, okay, and so they just want

to participate.

You know, I always ask the Lord Lord know, how

do I share? What do I share with.

Young people who are already incarcerated? How do I share

about hope? Because a lot of them. They are very hopeful.

They're always saying that I want to turn a new leave.

I want to change my life, not the minute i'm out.

Of course, of course, every time I see them their prayers.

Always know, pray that my mentioned date comes faster. Because

some of them are on remand some of them are

serving sentences, but usually they're there for different reason, and

they're like, no, I can't wait for me to get

out of this place. And they're always telling me I

want to turn a new leave. On to turn a

new leave, because some of them have got families. They

may be young, but they're married, they've got children, eighteen seventeen,

eighteen year olds. They got something and some people to

look forward to. And of course the saddest for me

is when I see incidences of recidivism. That means those

who have been released but they come back in and

I think that is quite sad. Sometimes No, because I

just remember a few months ago. No, you say that

once I get out a new leave and I really

really want to stop doing all that I've been doing.

All this they are in there for variety of reasons.

Of course, all of it infringing the pinial code. Of Malaysia,

So you get the whole works. And you know, whenever

I see the repeats and then I'll ask the what

are you doing back here? And then it's like yo,

yeah that though again you know sometimes most of them

if they're in there for drug related offenses. Of course,

addiction is not something not something that's easy to give up.

And the reality is sin is addictive. It is if

you think about it. And so I want to just

give you an overview of the full gospel. What is

the good news? What is the good news? Because this

is how I share with them, sometimes not so deep.

I'm going a little bit deep today, but I want

us to understand because sometimes when we teach and preach

in a very simplistic way, we get this impression that

the Gospel is almost like an insurance policy for heaven. No,

always think, ah, you believe in Jesus and you won't

burn in hell. You know, sometimes evangelists can preach like that,

no fiery messages.

No, believe in Jesus. Believe in Jesus and science.

We're also telling these kids, know this juvenile linc we

better believe in Jesus. No, you're gonna end up in

the fiery pits of Hell.

Uh.

You know this may produce a fear of hell, but

not necessarily the fear of the Lord, which is actually

the beginning of all wisdom.

Uh.

And I think that's more important for us to teach

people not about the eventualities of an outcome only, but

really about fearing God here and now. Because we know

when Jesus came to the earth it was to reign

over it as a new kingdom.

You'll realize that there's.

There's two advents, Okay. Edwin is basically the arrival of Christ.

That's why some just traditionally they celebrate the Edwin First Edwin,

of course, it is when Jesus came as a little

baby in a manger. And then in the future there

will be a second, the second Coming. But we know

when Jesus first came to the earth it was to

reign over it as a new kingdom. He didn't just

come for fun. He didn't just come to entertain us

during Christmas so that we have baby in the major songs.

He came actually to establish the Kingdom of Heaven. And

that's why sometimes you hear preachers saying the Kingdom of

Heaven has been inaugurated. That means it has already begun,

but it has not fully consummated yet. But rest assured

it has started. The minute Jesus arrived here on this

earth two thousand years ago. We know that the Kingdom

of Heaven is here, and now it has already.

Begun, and one day, one day.

Jesus will return again to finish and complete the work

of re establishing his kingdom in totality on this earth.

That's where it's called the New Heavens and the New Earth. Okay,

we won't go into that today, but suffice to know,

two thousand years ago Kingdom of Heaven was re establish

here on earth, and this means it could be entered

into in life, not just death. Sometimes we think of

our faith and we think of our salvation, and we

think of this journey in life. We are always just

thinking at the last point death. But God does not

just want us to live and think about eternity, because

he says, not only do I offer you eternal life,

I also offer you abundant life. And abundant living is

not just something in which you wait to the very end.

Abundant living is something in which you can actually experience

in the here and now.

But we need more of.

God for that, because the promise of abundant life is

in John chapter ten, verse ten. It's not something I'm

making up. And the reality is heaven on earth can

be experienced now, not just something that we wait for

in the final future. You'll agree with that, But I

know sometimes in life we are like ah, so difficult

to experience heaven on earth? Is it even humanly possible? Well,

humanly it's probably not possible, but we've gone all things

are possible. So what do we need to do to

be part of Jesus's kingdom?

Is the question?

If you want to experience heaven on earth means we

want to experience the established kingdom of God here when

we are alive. We therefore need to be His followers.

That's what all of y'all are, Disciples of Christ, Followers

of Christ. Basically, we need to be saved by Jesus first.

That is the fundamentals of our salvation. Saved by Jesus,

because he came the first time as what he came

as the savior of the world. One day he will come,

and he will return again during the Second Advent, but

he will come then as judge, and I am grateful

we are living in this time of grace where Jesus

is still operating as savior of the world. So the

simple question that we need to ask is God, Jesus,

what are you saving us from? Anyone ever asked that,

what is Jesus saving us from? And the simple answer

is Jesus came to save us from sin. I know

it's such a hard thing to say, right, sometimes it

is that all he's here. Well, really, he came to

save us from sin so that we are able to

be reconculed with God the Father and not separated from him.

Because God the Father is a holy God and sin

is the thing that created the gulf between us and

the Holy God. And so Jesus came to save us

from sin. Therefore, when you use the term save, it

essentially means that we are being salvaged from sins.

Ever heard of that term salvage?

You're trying to save something, you know, instead of throwing

it away, which is what usually happens with things that

we don't want. Yet you realize that there is still use,

there is still so much value, and you try to

salvage it, and so actually save men salvage from sins

rather than save from hell, because that's what sometimes we

always think. I'm safe from hell, I say for Ali Ruya,

thank you, thank you Jesus, I'm safe from health. Well,

the letter, which is safe from hell, is actually the

result of the former. If you are salvaged from sins. Yes,

I believe ultimately we will be saved from eternal destruction.

That is what the scripture teaches us. But hearing lies

the biggest problem. Many people want to be saved from hell,

but few want to be safe from their sins. And

it's the reality of it, because most of us enjoy

the pleasure of sin, and we want to escape the penalty.

That is me as well.

And that's why I empathize to a certain extent with

the boys in the Delinquent Center, because I always tell them, guys, look,

the only difference between me and.

You is you got caught.

Because if you want to talk about the level of badness,

we are both bad. I've done things which are not right.

I've done things which are not righteous. So in the

eyes of God, I told them me and you we

are the same. We are all sinners, and the unfortunate

thing for you is you're here because you got caught,

and I was trying to tell them that, look, there

is a way out. There's a way out for all

of us, and so many people we want to be

safe from hell, but somehow few want to be safe

from all sins, because again, sin is pleasurable. And that's

why I keep reminding them. I tell them, when you

hate out the pleasures of this world is going to

come knocking at your dog again, and it's going to

be one of the hardest things for you to overcome.

Because again, our flesh is as such is it really

wants to be entertained, It really wants to be fulfilled

in that sense. So really I understand, I tell them,

I understand how difficult, how challenging it is. And that's

why when I teach and when I'm sharing the Gospel

with them, I'm trying to tell them, guys, know from

the scriptures. We know from the beginning. It's not just

knowing that Christ came to save you from hell. It's

not so superficial. It's not just something that is as

simple as that. But he wants us, and you know, Jesus,

when he talks and when he teaches, he's always telling

people about the way. There is a way to live

your life. And that's why he is also known as

the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He did not

just tell you this is how you can be safe. No,

he says there is a way, and you can actually

start living righteously beginning from now. So Jesus' focus has

always been on life, not so much on just what

happens at death. That is something that we need to

understand when we read his teachings, when we try to

comprehend the gospel, we have to realize that he is

actually wanting us to live victorious lives where we are

at right now, not only at the end of it,

when we finally get victory over death.

No, he's saying that here and now, it's possible.

And this is the reason why the beginning of salvation

is always looked upon as a journey. It's a journey

that leads us to being saved from sin as a

ve finally, we will be saved from sin all together.

Amen. And what does it require.

Well, if it's a journey, there are steps in which

we need to take. I believe some of these basic

fundamental steps is repentance. It always starts with that right, Lord,

I'm sorry for the things that I've done because until

unless we acknowledge that we are sinners, means we don't

need Jesus, because again, Jesus came to save us from

our sins. But many of us we don't think we

have done anything wrong. That was actually the problem with

the Pharisees because they felt, hey, I didn't do nothing

wrong with I've been doing it right all this one

as opposed to someone who says, I'm a sinner and

I'm falling shot of God's orients. So repentance is needed.

The next thing that's needed is faith. Believe, and I

also believe that we need to do stick some of

the steps that Jesus has taught us. Know what do

we do when we embrace him? One of it is

being baptized in water. It's a command, it's an ordinance

that the church believes in. The other one is also

being baptized by Jesus in the Holy Spirit, which is

what I'm going to be teaching a little bit more

in depth in a short time. But all these fundamentals

you can see in Hebrews chapter six is recorded now

and this will give us the best start to our

journey of life in Christ important how we are saved,

and so salvation always begins with repentance. It begins with

us admitting that we have been on the wrong path

and we want to turn around to get on the

right path. And salvation as a process then requires faith.

Because we are all saved by grace. That means we

are all forgiven by God true faith. That's what the

scripture says in efficients we are all saved by grace,

true faith. We are not saved by faith. We are

saved by grace. But the thing that operates and the

thing that allows us to be saved by God's grace

is when we believe in Jesus, when we put our

faith and our hope in Jesus. And faith is composed

of some phases which I want to show us because

I want you to know that faith is constantly at work,

and your faith needs to be constantly at work. It's

not a once upon a time in my life that

I put my faith in Christ twenty five years ago,

and then after that it seems like a full stop.

I wait all the way to when I die and

don't go to hell. It's not that. If you think

about it. Faith has got three phases. That's expressed in past,

expressed in present, express in future. It's important for us

to see that way so that we can continue to

live the abundant life that God has for us. So

it says, by faith, we have been saved from the

penalty of sin. Okay, and I'm going to draw a comparison.

So by faith we have been saved from the penalty

of sin, all of us. When we put our hope

and our trust in Jesus. No longer are our lives

marked with the penalty of sin anymore. What is the

penalty of sin? It's death. That is what the scripture says.

This is what justification means. Sometimes you hear this word.

It's a big term, but don't be afraid of it.

What essentially means is when Jesus looks at us, when

God looks at us, we are made right because of

our faith. That means, when we believe in Jesus, Jesus's

righteousness comes on to us. Nothing we did but except

to believe in him. And then because of that belief,

how God the Father sees us now as believers of Jesus,

is now he sees his son's righteousness on our life.

That is what being justified means.

That means no longer are we bound by the penalty

of sin.

We have been saved from the penalty of sin. By faith.

We are being saved from the power of sin. How

many of you acknowledge that the power of sin is

still at work in your life? It is because we

live in this world. It's real in basa, it says

any niata, It's real. It's not something that is make believe.

Because you can you can feel like, oh I feel

I saved. No, God has saved me. And then Sally,

you leave the church and you live your cam that

you just had this amazing spiritual experience and you walk

down into the world again, temptations of life is at work.

But I believe we are all being saved from the

power of sin. That is the word sanctification. And all

of it is by faith as well, because we need

to continue to believe that Lord Jesus, I put my

hope and my trust in you, and it is by

faith that I believe you can help me, help set

me apart unto holiness. That is the work of sanctification.

That's what God is doing in our lives, our lives.

Sanctifying us, making us holy, is a process by which

the believer, day by day is being separated from sin.

I know it takes time, but God is doing something

in our lives. But we need to continue to exercise

faith because it is when we give up and stop believing,

that is when we are not being safe. But when

you keep on believing, then you know that the work

of sanctification is happening because by faith we will be

saved from the presence of sin. Ultimately. That is the

other theological term that sometimes we hear. It's called glorification

because one day we will all be in paradise, we

will all believe, and our future will be made perfect.

So God is actually working his perfection in our lives daily.

He's perfecting us, and you know it takes time. It's

a process. That is what I want us to be

able to see. Salvation is the entire process by which

God rescues us human beings from sin that is in

our lives. That means God wants to save us from

the penalty, from the power, and from the presence of sin,

because He promises us that we are overcome.

Us in him. Amen. Does that make sense.

And this is why a follower of Jesus is an

individual who It starts off with repentance. Lord, I repent,

Who do you repent to? We repent to God the

Father because all of us have fallen short of the

glory of God the Father because of our sins. And

when we have repented, and when we really have repented,

repentance means it's not just confessing. It may start as that,

but really it means you're sorry enough to stop doing

what you're not supposed to do. Basically, there's a utan

in your life, but you are saying, Father God, I

am sorry and I want to turn a new live.

And then after that we need to believe in Jesus Christ.

Faith Again, we are all saved by God's grace, true faith,

And who are we believing in? Who are we putting

our faith in? Faith and believe is the same thing.

We are putting our faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son.

And then we need to continue to be obedient because

Jesus says, no, when you believe in Me, make sure

you go through the waters of baptism. So that's why

I always believe water baptism is a very, very important

step to strengthen our faith and to help us in

our journey of salvation.

Very important.

And then it goes on to say, don't just stop there,

because you already have two parts of the Trinity. You

have two parts of the God. Here we are repenting

towards God the Father. We are believing and putting our

faith and our hope and our trust in Christ Jesus.

The third part and the third person of the god

Head is the Holy Spirit. And what do you need

to do with the Holy Spirit is simple. Actually, we

need to receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit

is a gift and I will explain it in a

short whilest time. It's a gift that Jesus gives to

his people, because it is Jesus that continuously prom me

the Holy Spirit to his followers. Do you realize that

in scriptures will make references in a short whiles time,

But right here you actually see that the entire God

Hate is at work in saving us. Right God, the Father, God,

the Son God, the Holy Spirit is at work. And

this is the way to be set free from sins,

sins of the past, sins of the present, and sins

of the future. The entire trinity must continuously work in

our lives.

Amen.

So while this process can be found in scriptures, it's

not written down, but you have to study the scriptures

and you realize that these are sound of the steps

that scriptures actually tell us go through these steps. But

many of us, when we are discussing, okay, what does

it take to be saved? A lot of times our

tendency and so human tendency, and it's not the wrong

it's not wrong thing. Our tendency is always tell me

what the minimum is. I want to know the minimum

requirement for admission to heaven. Hahaha, me included, don't we

all want to know what's the easiest way in? And

this means tell me what's the easiest way to become

a follower of Jesus. And hence many of us we

may stop at certain steps. No, we repent, or sometimes

we repent and believe it's the easiest thing to do,

because both these steps don't really need to involve other people.

And I can go into.

The room, Hi God, I repent towards you and I

believe in you, and then end of story. So a

lot of a suddens we stop there and does that

give us full assurance towards heaven. I'm not sure because

this has led many of us to only just one thing,

to accept Jesus as savior without accepting him as Lord.

There's a difference. Sometimes when we accept Jesus as savior,

we just take it as a lord. I put my

faith and my hope and my trust in you. I'm justified.

You have made me rightly full stop. But he is

not just my savior. He is also a lord. That

means we also need to live right for him. We

need to make choices for him, and that can only

happen when he sanctifies us. Is he lord of our lives?

Because if you think about it, the commandment, the ordinance

for water baptism is not something that.

The church came up with.

Is actually Jesus, in his own life an example, told

us to go through. But many of us don't think

it's a very important thing. We think it's just very symbolic.

But it's more than symbolism. It's actually a powerful act

of obedience when we go through it. So many of

us want to trust him, but we don't want to

obey him. I know you think about it's the truth

We all want to trust him because there are perks

that comes with trusting him, But actually what we need

to realize is obeying him is the work that He

wants to do in our lives.

And here is where I want to challenge it.

Instead of just knowing and fulfilling the minimum admission to heaven,

why don't we endeavor to discover the maximum acceptance of

a safe life here on earth because there is a

way in which we can live our lives, and that

means we choose to trust Him and obey his teachings.

It's too prong trust him and obey his teachings, because

if we genuinely want to follow Jesus, we would seek

the maximum resources avail made available in God to live

a righteous life because we are going to need it

to live an obedient life. We can't do is without

taking and appropriating all that God has offered to us.

So don't just.

Stop at repenting and believing, because that's what the thief

next to Jesus did, and that's what a lot of

people make reference to. All I need to do to

be safe is to repent and believe, because the thief

that was hanging next to Jesus. That was what he did,

and Jesus says, today you will be with me in paradise. Ever,

come to think about it, if you give it some thought, that.

Would probably be the minimum.

I would say, But you see, unlike the thief that

was hanging next to Jesus, if you tell me that

your life is going to end on that day itself,

then I think, just having the minimum, you're already on

your way to heaven.

I believe it.

But if like all of us, we have a whole

life to live, agay, a whole life will hit on

this earth to live, why don't we continue on? Not

just repenting and belief? Why don't we continue on to

go through and be obedient to Jesus' commandment and teaching

for us to.

Be what a baptize?

It's important, It's an important part and step of our

faith journey. It helps us because it is an act

of obedience. And then why do we just stop there?

Why just what a baptism? Why not desire to be

filled with the Holy Spirit as well? Because Jesus himself

promised to baptize us in Holy Spirit. And That's what

I'm trying to get at. There's the reason why I

told long story to be salvaged from sins. In this life,

we as believers, we need everything God has offered to us,

including baptism in water, including baptism in spirit, his forgiveness,

his grace, our need to obey His son, and our

need to receive the Holy Spirit. We need the whole

package because life in itself is not easy to live.

If we are just on an experience, a momentary experience

that we had.

It's more than that.

And I personally believe that from reading the New Testament,

the Holy Spirit fully dwells in believers. When the Holy

Spirit has been received by the recipient believer. That means

there has to be an act of reception of the

Holy Spirit in our lives. Until reception takes place. The

relationship with the Spirit is someone like that of the

First Disciples. Do you know the First Disciples had the

experience with the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is

with them. There's a little bit of a difference. Holy

Spirit was with them because the Holy Spirit was working

in the lives of the disciples, the twelve Disciples, convicting

them of sin, helping them to repent and believe. But

if you read further on, you realize that the Holy

Spirit is not yet in them. There's a bit of

a different with them and in them. And this is

what it means to know the Holy Spirit in person.

This is today's prayer. Actually, if you are following the

ex guide to the forty Days Prayer and Fast, that

we don't just know the Holy Spirit's power, but we

know him as a person, because you need to have

that intimate knowledge of who the Holy Spirit is. And

do you know it is Jesus who baptizes us with

the Holy Spirit. It's in scriptures Mark one eighth. It

says Jesus baptize us us with the Holy Spirit. Matthew

chapter three, verses eleven, he says, I baptize you with

water those who repent of their sins and turn to God.

This is John the Baptist saying. But he goes on

to say someone is coming soon who is greater than

I am, so much greater that I'm not worthy even

to be his slave and carry his sandals. And then

John the Baptist goes on to say this about Jesus,

he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

And then in Luke chapter three, verse sixteen, he says,

this someone is coming.

Soon who is greater than I am.

Again, this is John the Baptist, so much greater that

I am not even worthy to be his slave, and

untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you

with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And then in

John one, verse thirty three, he says, the one on

whom you see the spirit descend and rest is the

one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. All four

gospels make reference to Jesus being the baptizer of the

Holy Spirit in our lives. So what does it mean

when we read these gospels and all of them recorded this,

what does it really mean. Firstly, let's understand the baptizer.

Who's the baptizer. Jesus is the baptizer because the scripture

says Jesus baptizes.

Us in holy Spirit.

If you think about it, the word Christ c hrisd

means anointed one and it actually originates from the practice

of anointing a new king with oil. Okay, I think

in ancient medieval England they still do it. That's an

anointing in oil. And this is why when Jesus announced himself,

he actually quoted Isaiah sixty one, verse one. He says,

the spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me. For

the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to

the poor. He has sent me to comfort the broken

hearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and

prisoners will be freed. So that's how Jesus actually introduced himself,

for it was so important to the Gospel that the

one anointed by the Spirit would then anoint others.

That is Jesus's work.

He wants to continue anointing his people and his followers,

and that is how Jesus is able to multiply his

ministry through the followers he passed on blessing after blessing,

and he is still doing that today, baptizing his followers

in Holy Spirit, because that's the only way in which

the work of the ministry can continue to grow. That's

how we today have with us the Gospel. Do you

know that if it wasn't for the Holy Spirit in

our lives, no one would have the baldness and courage

to go and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Because when the Spirit came, that was what happened. They

all had the baldness and the courage to go and

speak and to share, not just within but also outside.

That's why I say, is no in Jerusalem, in Judea

and Sameria, and into the outermost parts of the earth.

And so Jesus is passing on his blessing. John fourteen,

verse twelve says, I tell you the truth, anyone who

believes in me will do the same works I have done,

and even greater works, because I'm going to be with

the Father.

So Jesus is really preparing his followers.

He says, I'm going to go somewhere, and then he

reminds them, if you love me, obey my commandments, and

I will ask the Father and he will give you

another advocate who will never leave you. We need the

Holy Spirit in our lives because the work of sanctification

without the Holy Spirit is going to be a very

lonely journey.

And so we need the Holy Spirit in our lives.

And this is also the reason why the apostles Peter,

John and Paul they will not contend with a response

to the Gospel until the Holy Spirit was received again.

Holy Spirit is a gift, and we must always understand

a gift. The way in which we respond to a

gift is actually as a recipient to receive. It's an

active act. Okay. And so if you read X chapter

eight and X chapter nineteen, you realized not the apostles,

they weren't content with a response to the Gospel until

the Holy Spirit is received. Let me read this to

you X chapter eight, verses fourteen to seventeen, and he

says this. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the

people of Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent Peter

and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed

for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit had not.

Yet come upon any of them, for they had only

been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then

Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and

they received the Holy Spirit.

Okay.

That's in chapter eight. In X chapter nineteen, verses one

to six, reads like this. While Apollos was in Corinth,

Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus

on the coast, where he found several believers. Did you

receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? He asked them. No,

They replied, we haven't even heard that there is a

Holy Spirit. Then what baptism did you experience, he asked,

and they replied, the baptism of John. Paul said, John's

baptism called for repentance from sin, but John himself told

the people to believe in the one who would come later,

meaning Jesus. As soon as they heard this, they were

baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then when Paul laid.

His hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them,

and they spoke in other tongues and.

Prophesied Amen, Hallelujah. These are records in.

The Book of Acts, and so the early apostles will

only contend that the believers had experienced the fullness of

the Gospel when they were convinced that Jesus had baptized

the believers in Holy Spirit. That's what the scripture tells

me from reading here. That means when Jesus baptizes in

Holy Spirit is essentially giving to believers the gift of

the Holy Spirit.

So what exactly is spirit baptism.

Firstly, we need to know the Holy Spirit was a

gift promised by Jesus himself before his death.

He already made the promise.

You can see the reference in John chapter seven, verse

thirty seven to thirty nine. After his resurrection, he made

a similar promise in Acts chapter one, verse five. Have look,

go back and refer to the scriptures, and I want

you to read the scriptures.

For yourselves as well.

But Jesus was only repeating a promise already made by

his father centuries earlier through the prophets of Israel. If

you read the accounts in Joel chapter two, verses twenty

eight to thirty. If you read some accounts in Ezekiel

and also Isaiah, you will read the mention of the

Holy Spirit. It's not something that only Jesus introduced them.

It's even in the Old Testament. It was ready there.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is a greace gift.

That's where you get that word carries mater. It's a

grace gift. That means that it is given to earth

because of God's mercy, not our Merriat. A lot of

times we think, ah, I can earn this. No, that's

why there's a there's a record in Book of Excess. Well,

this person was trying to appropriate the gift. You wanted

to purchase it, There's no way to do it. It's

a grace gift, not our merriat, but God's mercy. It

is a gift that cannot be earned. It cannot be bargained,

it cannot be worked for. It can actually only ever

be received. That means, if it's presented to you, your

hands has to be in a receptive way. Receive it

with gratitude, which also means, like any give you can

also refuse it, which is what sometimes we do. And

knowing so you see, if we look at the early

Church examples, spirit baptism is the gift which the followers

of Jesus received. Moreover, it was a definite give received

at a definite time. Why do I say this because

it wasn't something vague When the apostles went into a place,

they sort of knew whether the early believers had the

full Gospel in them. There was a definite fact concerning

which they can actually see. You know, you can name

a time, you can name a place Pentecost. It's probably

the most amazing and obvious example. You can name a

time and place when the Spirit of God came upon

the people.

Amen.

And so after Pentocost, the Holy Spirit was given to

many others. It was not just that one time, but

there was always a time and a place at which

each convert received the gift.

That's what I'm trying to get.

That is why it was natural for Paul to ask

the man in Ephesus, of whom he stood in the

same doubt. He had some doubts. He's like, did you

receive the Holy Spirit when you believe? Was the question

that Paul asked, And he asked a definitive question, expecting

a definitive answer. So he sort of expected Christians to

know the Holy Spirit, to know whether they had received him,

and to know when they had received him. He wasn't

just asking them an arbituary question that, hey, you know

the Holy Spirit and they're like, who, what's Holy Spirit?

Who?

No, he expected them to know that answer. Of course,

they didn't know, and that's where he was going to

introduce it to them and baptize them. Jesus himself. You

think about it, Jesus himself received the Spirit. Do you

realize that upon his baptism what happened? He rose up

and Jesus when he rec see if the spirit was

something that was visible and audible, Matthew chapter three, verses

sixteen to seventeen says it's after his baptism. As Jesus

came up out of the water, the heavens were open,

and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a

nerve and settling on him, and a voice from heaven said,

this is my dearly loved son, who brings me great joy.

You see, Jesus's reception of the Holy Spirit is true,

the form of a derth and a voice from heaven.

But with that it was something that was definitive, something

you could see, something you could experience, something you could hear.

Now we come to the question that a lot of

people ask about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. What

is the evidence to show the spirit has been received?

And is it only the only exclusive evidence? This is

where sometimes I know it becomes oh, how you see?

On one hand, the only sign that is mentioned on

every occasion when the evidence is described is actually the

gift of speaking in a different language tongues. On the

other hand, there also happened to be other manifestations listed.

If you read X chapter ten, verse forty six. This

is Cornelius's experience. Praise was mentioned on that occasion. If

you read X chapter nineteen, verse six, prophecy was also

mentioned in that occasion. And so if you ask me

personally on the basis of scriptures, I would say that

tongues and languages could always be the evidence of spirit baptism.

I won't just say it should always be the.

Evidence you following me, but what is certain is there

will be clear evidence and tongues is always the most

obvious manifestation when we experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

And so this is what I want to teach us,

and I want us to desire for it to wanting

because a lot of times I know when we talk

about baptism the Holy Spirit, most people agree with it,

but not everyone will agree with the evidence of it.

In other words, we will know it when the Holy

Spirit feels us and dwells in us. That is how

I that was my own personal experience as in I

know that the Spirit of God is in me. I

know that Jesus baptized me in Holy Spirit because there

was something that happened, something supernatural that took place. And

this is why my prayer is that all believers experience

the food of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We

must be clearly convinced from scripture and our own experience

about the need to receive the Spirit in addition to

repentance of faith, in addition to water baptism. Don't just

stop that. And this is why those who have experienced

the full Gospel, and for those of you who have

experienced it yourself, you also must be wholehearted in praying

for others. And the scripture she says, through the laying

on of hands, it's actually a very practical thing. There's

the reason why we lay hands on people when we pray,

because scriptures record that. And then of course you have

to come with expectant faith that the Lord will drende

his disciples in the Holy Spirit. I pray all of

us will experience that if you have not a ready

experience it, because I want you to know. My own

personal journey is that I can't imagine life without the

Holy Spirit.

Living in me, not just being with me living in me.

You see, many people have asked, what if nothing happens

after praying with such faith? Then, because I know some

of us, we were, Oh, I really wanted, but it

never really happened, never happened fifteen years ago. I don't

think it will ever happen. There is actually scriptural encouragement

to go on asking, and this is what I want

us to do. Go on asking, Luke, Chapter eleven, verses

nine to thirteen. And this is a simple scripture on

us sick and not. And if you remember reading it,

the last part says this, go on asking, go on seeking,

go on knocking. If you sinful people know how to

give good gifts to your children, how much more will

your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who

ask him.

I want to encourage us believers, ask us sick.

No, it is an encouragement actually when I read this

scripture to all believers to persist in prayer for the

give of the.

Holy Spirit in our lives.

And of course, the only way for the gift to

ever come into our lives is we must receive it

your hands, your posture, our faith posture. How is it

we are receiving it. When someone wants something badly enough,

they usually hang in there until they have it.

The Spirit does.

Not force his power on anyone, but with the cooperation

of people, the Spirit can use a willing vessel to

do supernatural things that is my belief, and His power

is released when our wills are blended with his. A

lot of times there's resistance on our side, whether it's true,

our understanding, or how we have interpreted scriptures maybe from before.

That's why I want to encourage you go back.

Read the scriptures for yourself and tell me that does

God not want every believer to be drench and to

be filled with His Holy Spirit through the baptism of

his son. It is Jesus who baptizes us in Holy Spirit,

because one day you will voluntarily overflow with the gifts.

When the Spirit fills us, it is to empower us

to live right. And it's always not just for ourselves only.

It's always for the building of His people, the edification

of the church. There is so much that we can

do with the Spirit in our lives. If we do

not receive the Holy Spirit, we are in a very

vulnerable and dangerous state, simply because God's power and God's

purity are essential to a clean walk through This very

dirty world is a very dirty world. It's a world

that the minute you step out, there's going to be temptations.

There's going to be so many things that's trying to

attrack you and until an unless the spirit of God

lives in us, we are filled with God's spirit sanctifying

us and no helping us to choose.

To do what is right.

It's going to be very difficult, and I want you

all to know this. Don't don't live without the Holy

Spirit in your life. That is why Paul actually says,

you know me. He was hopeful that they have other

gifts as well, but he says, I pray in tongues

all the time. I don't know how Paul actually could

have lived through the life in which he lived without

giving up his faith, because it does not make human sense.

But there was something and not something. It was actually

someone that was living in him that enabled him to

continue to live and do the things that he did.

We all need this. I'm going to invite the band.

I'm almost done.

To sum all this up. I want us to know this.

Christianity is the only religion which puts justification before sanctification. Okay,

how you think about it, All other religions followers have

to perfect themselves before being accepted. Do you realize that

we've got to do what is right? Do what is right,

do what is right, do what is right, and hopefully

at the end of it you have done all and

the right outweigh the wrong. But Christianity is different. God

accepts us as we are in order to help us

become who we ought to be. It's very different, but

that is what justification. When we come before him, we're like, Lord,

this is all of me, and he accepts us as

you are because what he sees now is his son

living in you. When you believe in what Jesus has

done for you on the cross of Calvary, but he's

not leaving you alone. You know how difficult it is

if it's like, oh, you're all right, because everything's going

to be all right.

But you have a whole life to live.

And that's why the minute we step out of church,

that's why the minute we step out after.

Came a powerful experience.

Do we step back into the realities and it's so difficult, Well,

don't stop that, because he's going to give us what

it takes for us to become who he wants us

to be. God is working. He is not just working

once upon a time in our lives. Because your faith

is in operation, past, present, and future. It is not

a stagnant faith, and Christians need to be constantly reminded

of the need to grow and mature.

That is what it is all about.

We are growing and we are maturing, and maturity comes

from walking in the spirit, not just singing and dancing

and clapping. Actually, in Ephesients five is very clear walk

in the Spirit. But to walk in the Spirit, you

need to first actively and knowingly receive Him into your

life first and foremost.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you, Godless