Believe: The Simplicity of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit Pt 2

The podcast discusses the importance of belief and being open to learning new things from God. It emphasizes that any change or new teaching should be rooted in God's Word and accompanied by His authority. The message also highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in believers' lives, specifically in terms of being filled with the Spirit and allowing rivers of living water to flow out of them. Examples from the book of Acts are given to illustrate the power and impact of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Overall, the podcast encourages believers to embrace the work of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to empower and guide their lives. Welcome to CCI Fellowship's podcast. Thank you for joining us. At CCI Fellowship, we are reaching God, reaching each other, and reaching our community. We pray that this week's message challenges you in your walk with the Lord, causes you to grow in your faith, and encourages you in your love for the Word of God. Open your Bibles to John chapter 7. I want to continue on this idea of belief. Last week I talked about going a new direction, when God moves us into new things, and how to cope with the change, and how to thrive within the change. And when we think about that, we can think of it in the standpoint, or from the perspective of just moving into a new assignment, like Lauren is doing. But it can also be applied to moving into, perhaps, something new that God is teaching us. I found myself this week praying that same prayer, that simple prayer, God teach me something new. Well, when God wants to teach us something new, it may require us to let go of something that we had held onto before, or He might want to adjust some things. And so, when we're learning new things, it's a time of transition, it's a time of change. And that encouragement that any change that we go into needs to be established by God's Word, it needs to be accompanied by God's authority in our life, and that though the change may not make sense in the moment, we'll understand it later. Let that be something that you adopt, that you hold onto, when it comes to God teaching you something new, as well. Not just moving into a new activity, assignment, or location. The week before, Pete preached on belief, the simplicity of receiving the baptism of the Spirit, and that's where I want to jump off of and continue. The simplicity of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John 7, verse 37 to 39, says, On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive. I love when Scripture just lays it out plainly for us. There's a lot of times we read verses and we're like, OK, I need some insight in this Holy Spirit. I need some revelation here to understand what it is you're really talking about. And here Jesus just lays it out flat. This he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive, for the Holy Spirit had not yet, was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified, let's pray. Father, we worship you. We thank you, Lord God. We thank you, Father, that you live inside of us. You have caused your Spirit, Lord, to inhabit us. And we thank you, Father, that your presence is constantly with us, even in those moments where we don't necessarily feel it. When we feel down, when our faith needs to be stirred up, when we need to get focused on joy instead of on circumstances, God, we thank you that you never leave us nor forsake us. We thank you for the Holy Spirit that you have given us. We thank you, Father, for the gifts, the anointing that he brings, and the understanding, Lord, as Paul prayed over his readers, that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of you would come upon them. We so ask tonight, Father, that that same Spirit would come upon us, of wisdom and revelation, that we would grow in the knowledge and fear of you, in Jesus' name, amen. Note in this verse who it is that is receiving the Holy Spirit. It says, those believing in him. It seems like a pretty generic phrase, right? Those believing in him. It seems like a pretty encompassing phrase. It doesn't seem like it is something that is limiting. It doesn't seem like it is something that is only for a specific time in history. It seems like just as those who confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior would receive him, all of those who confess him, so all of those who believe in him have the opportunity to receive this Holy Spirit, and the result of the Holy Spirit coming in us is that rivers of living water would flow out of us. Rivers of living water. Not just a slow trickle. Not just water that comes every so often. In our days right now where we are waiting for the rainy season to come full force, these rains that we have received up until now have been nice. They have been needed, but they have been so very temporary and have only accomplished so much, and it leaves us in the place of, hey, great, it rains for thirty minutes, and it was a good amount of water, but then a week later we still are crying out for rain. A river is something that doesn't quit. A river flows. A river rages. A river is continually moving, and Jesus said of the Holy Spirit that rivers of living water would flow out of us. A continual flow of the Holy Spirit, a continual moving of the Holy Spirit, a continual life giving and life producing thing would come out of us as the Holy Spirit works in us, and this is for all those who believe, not just some. Not just for a certain time, but all those who believe. So I want us to go through the book of Acts here, and I want us to see the examples as I began to study, and as the Lord began to download this message to me, this phrase is what really stood out to me, filled with the Holy Spirit. Filled with the Holy Spirit. So we're going to look at the examples in the book of Acts and one later on of the use of this phrase, filled with the Holy Spirit, and we're going to see who it was that was filled, and we're going to see the result of that infilling of the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter two, verse one through four, it says, On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them, and everyone present, who was present? Who did that? Everyone made up of. They were made up of who? Believers. Every believer present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Now going off of John seven, it said the Holy Spirit, which had not yet been given, because Christ had not yet been glorified. So we find ourselves here in the book of Acts. On the day of Pentecost, Christ is gone to the cross. He rose again. He spent time with his disciples. He told them, Wait until you receive the promise of the Father, and he went up to heaven. He was glorified. Therefore the stage was set to complete this verse in John seven, that those believing in him would receive the Holy Spirit, and we find this happening. The word filled means to be furnished, to accomplish, to fill, to supply. It carries the understanding that the filling is to the maximum level, filled to capacity with no more space available. Furnished gives us the understanding of being enabled, or being equipped, or being given the capacity to use that which you have been filled, that with which you have been filled. I'll get it there in a second. So all of the believers were present. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and the result was that they began to speak in other tongues, or other languages, previously unknown to them. Now why point it out this way? What was the result of them speaking in these other languages? Well if you read on in Acts two, which I'm sure most of you already know the story, that men and women from all different nations were present, because they were there in Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost. And so there were many different languages represented, and these hundred and twenty believers came down from the upper room and spread out into the town, and it says that they were praising God as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now, understand this when it comes to the other languages. There's a couple ways that we can look at this, and what was the miracle that was done? Because some will say, well they spoke in other languages, and they're languages that existed. OK, I'll give you that. But these were people from Galilee. These were unlearned people. They're not people that knew multiple languages to speak. And so what you have is one, a miracle from the Holy Spirit, whether it is a known tongue, or whether it was a language from heaven, as 1 Corinthians 13 says, it doesn't matter. They began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance, whether they understood what they were saying or not. It doesn't say that they were automatically fluent, and they purposely formed the words in these other languages for people to understand. It says that the Spirit gave them the ability, and they were praising God. And so you have all of these people from all these different nations who heard what they were saying. I think there were two miracles done that day, not just the miracle of what one was saying, but also a miracle of what one was hearing. The Spirit was moving in the same and in every person, both the speaker and the hearer. Whatever it was, it really doesn't matter. We weren't there. We just have what Scripture says. Whatever it was, rivers of living water began to flow out from those who believed in Christ. And what was the result? Ministry, anointing, gifts began to be used, and God's kingdom was advanced. It said 3,000 people were added that day to the church. It wasn't that there were only 3,000 people in Jerusalem. It says that of all the multitude that was in Jerusalem, 3,000 got saved. 3,000 were added to the church. There was a result that came from the river of living water coming out of those who believed. In Acts chapter 4, verse 8 and 9, it says, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we've done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? In this instance, this is where Peter and John had gone to the temple. They saw the crippled man. The guy says, give me some money. Peter says, look at us. He looked at them, expecting to receive material sustenance. And Peter says, I don't have any money. Can you just imagine the disappointment and the heartbreak that he felt when Peter said that? Why am I looking at you? He said, but I have something else that you need. In the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk. And of course, that created chaos in the temple. And it says that the Holy Spirit filled Peter. Well, I thought he was filled on the day of Pentecost. He was. But we see that he's filled again. So was it not enough? Yeah, it was enough. But think about a river. If the source of the river stops providing water, the river dries up. That source has to be constant. That source has to be uninterrupted. That source has to continue to flow for the river to continue to flow. And so we see that Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke. He began to minister. He began to give a defense. He began to talk about Christ. And it says later on that they didn't know what to do with Peter and John. Verse 13, the members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. There was a river that was flowing out of them because they had received the Spirit. Later on in the chapter, in verse 31, it says, after this prayer, when Peter and John were let go, they went back to the believers. They went back to their company. They went back to the people who had been filled with the Spirit on the first day. And they prayed an amazing, an amazing prayer for boldness. An amazing prayer that says, now Father, look upon their threats and grant your people that with all boldness they may proclaim. And it says in verse 31, after this prayer, the meeting place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. Oh, well, you know, I know I'm supposed to tell people about Jesus, but I'm kind of shy. We have four Gospels of Peter being an excellent example of when to keep your mouth shut. Peter was talking before he was even thinking. He was not shy to talk, but most of the time his talking got him in trouble. And then we find after he's filled with the Spirit that he stands up with boldness. This same guy that when they, when the girl around the fire said, you're one of them. You're one of his disciples. He said, you've got the wrong dude. And adamantly denied Christ. But when the river began to flow out of him, with all boldness, he never denied Christ. All he could do was preach. All he could do was speak. All he could do was share. Oh, well, you know, I don't know if I could ever be so bold. Guess what? You can't in yourself, but you can in the Spirit when the rivers of living water are flowing out of you. In Acts chapter nine, verse seventeen and verse nineteen and twenty. So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road has sent me that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's a pretty good combination. I'm going to come and open your eyes. The blindness that you have been experiencing these past days is going to fall off. You are going to regain your sight. Yay, praise God, that's awesome. Then the Holy Spirit is going to fill you. Then the Holy Spirit is going to fill you. I came that you would be filled with the Spirit. Saul stayed with the believers, verse nineteen, in Damascus for a few days, and immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying he is indeed the son of God. The indwelling, the filling that Saul received produced an immediate result that he began to speak in the same synagogues that he was going in order to arrest people, preaching he is indeed the son of God. That river began to bring life. He was there. He was on the road to Damascus. He was going there with a task of bringing death. But that encounter with God, that moment of belief, produced an opportunity for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and where once he was about to bring death, he could only bring life, because that river began to flow out of him. Then, here's an interesting one, Acts chapter thirteen, verse nine and ten, Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, You are the son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good. Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Paul was here witnessing to the governor of Paphos. Elemas, the sorcerer, had attached himself to the governor, and he was trying to dissuade the governor from believing. Every time Paul said something, Elemas said something to refute it. I was preaching on the Holy Spirit one time, years ago, up in auditorium two, and on this side of the church there was a little group of people, where there was one guy who had the attention of everyone else around him, and he was dissuading them from listening to what I was saying. You want to talk about preaching in the midst of some spiritual warfare, that was a tough night. But this is what was going on. Paul was trying to preach. The governor is on the point of believing, and this sorcerer, this guy comes and is trying to dissuade him and tell him all of these lies and keep him from believing. And Paul, filled with the Spirit, not on his own ideas, and not out of his own frustration, because let me tell you, that is frustrating when somebody is trying to refute what you're saying, while you are saying it, not out of any fleshly reaction, he turned and looked to the sorcerer, filled with the Holy Spirit, confronted his soul, confronted his state of eternal status, and he said, you are a son of the devil, when are you going to stop interrupting the things of God? And as a result of this, pronounced judgment on Elemas that he would be blind for a period of time, Elemas was immediately struck with blindness. He ran out of the room, and it says that the governor believed because of what he had seen. This river, though it was used to bring judgment to one who absolutely deserved it, brought life to another. It was in the preaching, it was in the ministering, but it was also in the signs. It was also in the display of the Holy Spirit's power. Have you ever seen a river and thought, that man, that is a powerful river. There are places here in Honduras where you can go and see a river where the water isn't flowing all that much, but these huge boulders have been brought down from the mountains and deposited in the lower area, and you think, how strong must this river have been flowing to move such big boulders down to this place. Oh, that the rivers of living water would flow through us with such intensity that it would bring life to those that are ready to receive it. In chapter thirteen, still, verse fifty-two, it says, and all the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Paul had moved on to Antioch. The whole town came out to listen to him, it says. There were some Jews that started a riot, it says they stirred up the influential women of the town to disrupt what Paul and Barnabas were doing. They ran them out of town, and Paul said, on the way out, I will now go to the Gentiles. I'm done with you Jews. And they kicked the dust off their feet, as Jesus had talked about to his disciples. And it says, the Gentiles were very happy, because they would receive from this river of living water, they would receive the gift of life. They would receive this message, the opportunity of belief in Christ. Verse forty-eight says, many of them became believers, and God's message spread throughout the region. What happened? The river was flowing, believers were filled, God's message is spread, his kingdom advances. We can do all that we want, we can do all that we can come up with, all of the strategy, all of the planning, all of the preparation that we want to, but if the river is not flowing through us, it's a whole lot of effort on our own that would go much differently if we would just allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, and let his river flow through us. In Ephesians five, all believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. We have these instances in the book of Acts, where they are filled with the Spirit, and we see the result of those things that happen. We see that ministry is done. We see that anointing begins to flow. We see that the gifts of the Spirit begin to operate. We see that people that were bound have life. We see that God's word, God's kingdom is commanded. We see his word proclaimed. We see all of these things done, because, why, they believed. And because they believed, they received. Remember when Jesus told them, wait for the promise of the Father, you'll be endued with power from on high, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And their response to Jesus was, so, are you going to restore the kingdom now? They still had no clue what was coming, and no idea of Jesus' ultimate plan. They were still looking at Israel being restored to power. And Jesus said, you still don't get it. You are going to be endued with power. You'll be my witnesses, and you'll go all over the world. I still think, as soon as he was done saying that, some of them looked at each other and went, huh? What is he talking about? Did you hear him? Because this is what I thought I heard. Did I hear him correctly? Yeah, you heard him correctly. That's what I heard, but I still don't know what he's talking about. Well, he said to wait, so we're still kind of fearful that they're going to arrest us, so let's just go wait where he told us to wait. They were there because he told them to be there, not because they understood, not because they knew what to expect. They were there because they believed the word of the one who gave his life for them. Can we just believe in the word of the one who gave his life for us, and trust that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit today, just as much as they needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit then? In Acts chapter five, as the worship team comes, starting in verse fifteen, it says, So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead be filled with the Spirit. It's a command. It's not a suggestion. It's not a, you know, it would be good. It's not a, this could help you. It's nothing light. It's nothing passive. It's nothing optional. It's the word of God. Instead be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the Lord in your heart, and give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why does he want us to be filled with the Spirit? Takes us back to John seven. That rivers of living water would flow. And when rivers of living water flow, it brings life. It brings life to us, but it brings life to those that we come into contact with. It brings life to those who are hurting and dying. It brings life to those who need comforted. It brings life to those who are confused. It brings life to those who are bound. Be filled. It's a continual filling. It's a continual supply. Like I said, just like the source of a river never dries up. When it does, that's it. That's it. It's just water moving through and it'll end, but this river never dries up. When we stay connected to the source, there will always be water flowing through us. So let's, let's stand together. Before we sing this song, if you will accompany me in this prayer, it's your choice. Don't have to. But if you will accompany me in this prayer to ask God to fill us with his Holy Spirit. Just say this, Father, your word says that you will give the Spirit to those who ask you. I ask you upon your word that you would fill me with your Holy Spirit and that rivers of living water would flow out for me so that you would use me to bring life to other people