Tag Archives: Baptism In the Spirit

You’re Part Of the Conspiracy Pt. 5

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles
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Photo by Deb. Maciorowski

This week I have been posting the transcript of last Sunday’s sermon at Cornerstone piece by piece here at Lillie-Put. If you have missed any of this series you can catch up HERE.

Here is today’s portion:

Part five of this series is about moving in power. Once you have been cleansed from your sinful behavior God calls you to undo the works of the devil not just in your own life but in the world. You see, Christianity isn’t just about fixing your personal life. It is not a self help program. It is a world help program. Allowing your own life to be healed and made holy is only step two after being born again. Step  three is about getting into the world and focusing the power of God on others.

Listen young men and young women, God has a ministry for you in the church and a mission for you in the world and it is time for you to start doing it!

You say, ” I am too busy to be in a church ministry.”

You say,  “I have my own family to take care of I can’t help anyone else.”

Then you are saying “no” to being part of the conspiracy.

You say, ” But that is not fair! I barely have the strength to take care of myself. How can I help someone else?”

Now you know why Jesus said to His disciples, “ ‘Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5John baptized withb water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

6So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, ‘Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?’

7 He replied, ‘The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’.” Acts 1: 4-8

The reason you feel you don’t have the strength to obey God’s commands is because you have not been filled with the Holy Spirit or because you are not walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is true, by ourselves we can do nothing (see John 15).  It is only when we are abiding in Christ, walking in the fullness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit that we can accomplish the things of God.What I am sharing with you is not just the teaching of the Assemblies of God; That is the teaching of Scripture and the command of Jesus. We may disagree on how the baptism functions but we cannot deny that Jesus said we needed it; Nor can we deny that there is no direct command anywhere in the writings of the New Testament writers where that order of Jesus was rescinded.

If you have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit let me encourage you to go to God in prayer to ask for it. Wait for it, that is to keep praying for it ever time you pray until you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have been clothed with that “Power from on high”.

I look forward to your comments and questions. See you tomorrow!

The Thing About Spiritual Gifts Pt. 2

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Uncategorized

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We are still in Romans 1:11 in our discussion through the book of Romans. If you have missed any of our conversations you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Romans 1: 11 reads,

 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—

The things about spiritual gifts is that they are spiritual. That may seem obvious, but for those of us in the western world when we think “gift” one of our first go-to thoughts is not “Oh I hope it’s a spiritual gift. I really like spiritual gifts.”

Some of my first thoughts when someone says they want to give me a gift are:

“How big is it?”

“How much did it cost?”

“Will it fit in my house?”

“Will I use it?”

I go to the functional. The useful. The practical aspects of the gift. Don’t you? Maybe you are more spiritual than I.

I seldom think.

“Will this gift make me a better person?”

“Will this gift make me a more effective Christian?”

“Will this gift help me to win people to Christ?”
“Will this gift help me to crucify the flesh?”

But the spiritual gifts are more important than any earthly gift could ever be.

The first spiritual gift we are given is salvation. The gift of eternal life. It comes when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and call Him Lord.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.- John 3:16

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

It is this first spiritual gift that Paul spends a good deal of the next 15 chapters expounding on. I wonder though, is this the spiritual gift he wanted to impart? I am thinking it is not. I am thinking his letter imparts the spiritual gift of salvation quite well. I am thinking perhaps the letter is a foundation, a 101 class, for another spiritual gift he desired to impart to the Roman church. It is a gift he imparted to many other churches as he worked his way through Asia and into Europe.

In Acts 19 we read,

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[b] and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

Could this “baptism in the Spirit” as it is called, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, have been the spiritual gift Paul wanted to impart to the Roman Church? If so what is it? What is it for?

I would love to hear your thoughts and we will explore more tomorrow.