This sermon is taken from an a sermon preached by
Rev. Gerald Van Horn in 1968
RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT!
INTRODUCTION
Through the centuries God continued to deal with humanity by sending His Holy Spirit on specific occasions to do special things and bring about, special works.
Then, God began to promise through His prophets that He would pour out His holy Spirit on all humanity
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. (Joel 2:28—32).
John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Jesus, prophesied the infilling of the Holy Spirit for all
Matthew 3:11 11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit £and fire.
John 1:32-33 32
Jesus promised to send the holy Spirit
Luke 24:49 49Behold, 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.”
John 7:37—39 37On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those £believing in Him would receive; for the £Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 16:7 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Acts 1:5—8). 5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be £witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Peter identified what happened on the Day of Pentecost as fulfilling Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:17—21).
Peter further declared that the infilling of the Holy Spirit is for all, including us today Acts 2:38-39 38Then 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. 39For 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 do not teach that glossolalia, speaking in tongues, is the only evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The best proof that one is baptized in the Holy Spirit should he:
• a close walk with God.
• shall walk of power in the Holy Spirit.
• The fruit of the Spirit will be evident in one’s
life.
However, we believe God has given an immediate sign of the infilling of the Holy Spirit: speaking with other tongues as the Holy Spirit gives utterance.
MESSAGE
1. The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1—21).
a. Supernatural phenomena included:
(I) the “sound of a rushing, mighty wind” (verse
2, ).
(2) “cloven tongues, as of fire” (verse 3).
3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of
fire appeared and settled on their heads
b. The human response: speaking in other tongues
(verse 4) something new;
4 All the believers were filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other languages
as the Spirit gave them the ability to
speak.
2. The outpouring at Samaria (Acts 8:5—24).
a. Philip’s ministry included:
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and
proclaimed the Christ[a]there. 6When the crowds
heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did,
they all paid close attention to what he said.
7With shrieks, evil[b] spirits came out of many, and
many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8So there
was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:5—8).
(1) People being saved.
(2) People baptized in water.
(3) Healings.
(4) Casting out demons.
b. Peter and John (Acts 8:14—24)
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria
had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and
John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for
them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any
of them; they had simply been baptized into[c] the
name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John
placed their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Spirit.
(1) Prayed for them
(2) laid hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced
sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of
Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him
their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the
divine power known as the Great Power.” 11They
followed him because he had amazed them for a long
time with his magic. 12But when they believed
Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom
of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were
baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself
believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip
everywhere, astonished by the great signs and
miracles he saw.
.
(3) The passage does not specify the sign.
(4) The response was spectacular enough, however,
that Simon the sorcerer wanted to buy it.
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the
laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them
money 19and said, “Give me also this ability so
that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive
the Holy Spirit.”
3. The Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit
(Acts 10:24—11:18).
a. Peter preached (Acts 1O:34—43)
b. The people received (Acts 10:44—48).
1) While Peter spoke, they began speaking
in tongues
(Acts 10:44-46)
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the
Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
45 The circumcised believers who had come with
Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy
Spirit had been poured out even on the
Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in
tongues[a] and praising God.
(2) Peter as convinced they had received because
they spoke in tongues (verse 47). 47“Can anyone
keep these people from being baptized with
water? They have received the Holy Spirit just
as we have.”
C. The Gentiles defended and acepted.
(1) In Jerusalem (Acts 11:11—18)
Peter testifies to the Church ,
“ V-15 15“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came
on them as he had come on us at the
beginning.
(2) The leaders in Jerusalem were convinced
because the Gentiles received the Holy it just
as the 120 on the Day of Pentecost (verse 18).
4. The outpouring at Ephesus (Acts 19:1—6).
a. This outpouring came after they were saved and
baptized in water 1While Apollos was at Corinth,
Paul took the road through the interior and
arrived at Ephesus. There he found some
disciples 2and 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.” 3So Paul asked, “Then what
baptism did you receive?” John’s baptism,” they
replied. 4Paul said, “John’s baptism was a
baptism of repentance…… 6When Paul placed his
hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and
they spoke in Tongues[c] and prophesied. 7There
were about twelve men in all.
b. They received when Paul laid hands on them and
prayed for them.
(1) They spoke in tongues.
(2) They prophesied.
5. Paul’s experience.
a. Paul wrote on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
b. Paul spoke in tongues “more than all of them I
Corinthians 14:18).
CONCLUSION
Speaking in tongues is the first physical sign that a believer has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
