Acts 8.3 Receiving the Holy Ghost

Verse 14. Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who when they were come down prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thine money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Now the tenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, right at the end, verse 44. Peter has been preaching in the household of Cornelius, and something remarkable happens.

While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. They of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. Now the 19th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

This refers to the ministry of Paul at Ephesus. Verse 2. He said unto them, that is a community of alleged disciples, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. He said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said unto John's baptism.

Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them.

And they spake with tongues and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. The last scripture reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 12.

For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bound or free, and have made all, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

Amen. I direct your attention to three verses that we have looked at previously from the Acts of the Apostles and the eighth chapter. And the verses are the 14th to the 17th.

I say three verses, there are four here. Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who when they were come down prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. Now we have been engaged in these studies from the Acts of the Apostles since the turn of the new year, and inevitably sooner or later we had to come into this eighth chapter, in which I warned you certain issues of tremendous importance are to be found. Important issues obviously for the expanding early church, two thousand years or so ago, and important issues with us today in our understanding particularly of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

Last week we were looking at the problems posed by such men as Simon Magus, and the threat of magic and evil powers to impede the progress of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. And now we come to this very controversial subject of the reception of the Holy Spirit. Well might David Howard, who is missions director of the InterVarsity Fellowship of Latin America, comment on this passage from Acts 8. Probably no passage in the New Testament on receiving the Spirit has caused more discussion and divergence of viewpoint than the case of the Samaritans.

This particular experience of the reception of the Holy Spirit has much in common with that described in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. You remember there on the day of Pentecost, the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, 120 of them were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and certain extraordinary things happened as a result of that spirit baptism. And later on, directing his remarks to a large crowd that had gathered, the Apostle Peter disarms them of any conclusion that they might have made that this particular experience was restricted to the eleven, or indeed to the one hundred and twenty.

Notice as the Apostle to this large crowd, repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. You see the similarity there in terms.

Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter harking back to the experience which has just been his, and that of his colleagues. The same verb, I say, that is used here in Acts chapter 8, when we read that hands were laid on the Samaritans, and they received the Holy Ghost.

Now there is another similar incident, in fact there are one or two more, in the Acts of the Apostles, but one in particular which I think is important for us to look into at this stage. And I refer to the occasion when Peter was preaching at the household of Cornelius. Remember how this Roman centurion was spiritually sensitive, he wanted to know more about the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

So Peter goes along and he brings the word of the Evangelist to this Gentile community, and as he does this, the Holy Ghost falls upon all who hear what Peter has to say, and we are told that they spoke with tongues, and they magnified God. And Peter of course was thrilled at the work of the Holy Spirit, so much so that when he returned to Jerusalem and reported to the members of the church there, what had happened, he describes it in these terms, chapter 11 and verse 15, as I began to speak the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

So here you see an equation that can be drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, and that is that the reception of the Holy Spirit and the baptism in the Holy Spirit are synonymous terms. They refer to the same thing as set down here, I say in the Acts of the Apostles. And that brings us to the subject of controversy that is rife today in evangelical circles, for there is a veritable theological seesaw that has as its fulcrum the term, the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

And there are within the church, unfortunately, there is a diversion of opinion, a division in understanding this whole doctrine, a does not affect ordinary Christians in the in the pew, but affects some of our leading Bible teachers in the United Kingdom today. For instance, listen to this man, making comment about the doctrine of the baptism in the Spirit. According to the scripture, we have been baptized with the Spirit, because we have repented and believed.

I would appeal to you not to urge upon people a baptism with the Spirit is a second and subsequent experience, entirely distinct from conversion, for this cannot be proved from Scripture. Now listen to another equally eminent and well-versed Bible teacher. There is nothing, I am convinced, which so quenches the Spirit as the teaching which identifies regeneration with a baptism in the Holy Ghost.

Well, here I say, you've got a polarization, an extreme position taken, well not an extreme position, but an opposite position taken on the subject of the baptism of the Spirit. Some people who equate it with regeneration, and some people who say it must of necessity be a second and distinct experience. Now why am I saying all this, and basing these remarks particularly on this case where we read of the Samaritans being baptized in the Spirit, receiving the Holy Spirit? Well you see, and I'll come back to this in a moment or two, here at Samaria were a group of people who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, were baptized, that is, in water, and later on received the Holy Spirit.

A very unique and a very interesting occasion is this one that we read of here in the eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. And some people look to this chapter, and indeed to Acts 19, and one or two other portions of God's Word, as substantiating the case that Spirit baptism is a distinct experience from that of regeneration. And so the controversy ensues, and one wishes, if I can speak personally and be quite frank, that the controversy didn't exist, for even if you don't believe this, I'm rather a timid person by nature, and I do not like to engage in the realm of controversy.

In fact I almost find myself in the same position as the one featured in Lewis Carroll's Ditty. You remember, as I was going down the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today.

I wish, I wish he'd go away, but the controversy won't go away. Unfortunately, it continues to boil over, it continues to spill over, and some of the heat that is engendered is not in keeping with the New Testament principle of loving our brethren and respecting the viewpoints that they cling to. Now it would be presumptuous of me this morning to suggest that in any sense I can resolve this difficulty.

But on the other hand, it is incumbent upon me as a pastor not to shy away from controversial subjects, and as best as I, as best I can, humbly and in the name of the Lord, ever a learner in the Scriptures myself, to suggest certain things that you must consider as you give your attention to this subject, and to the challenge of knowing a life that is dominated, that is controlled by the Holy Spirit. For when you've finished with all your terminology, when you've finished with all your doctrine, the thing that really matters is how you live, and what power there is generated by you, and how closely your life approximates to that of the Lord Jesus Christ. How holy is your life? For surely the person who knows the fullness of the Spirit, who knows the baptism of the Spirit, should radiate that supreme quality, the third person of the Trinity, holy, the Holy Spirit.

Well then, on saying this, let me address one or two remarks to you further, in order to develop the subject, and leave it open for your consideration. I want to speak to you for a little while about the term, the baptism in the Spirit itself, and then I want to flick through, and I will have to do this very hurriedly, what could be referred to as the Pentecostal passages in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and then I want to offer one or two propositions, which I think that everyone will agree with, no matter what side they take in this particular argument that ensues today in the Evangelical Church, and then finally, as I have time, I want to ram home what is certainly a necessity in the experience of all of us, and that is that we should know, in fullest measure, the indwelling of the Spirit in our lives. But first of all, then, let's come to this emotive term, the baptism in the Spirit.

Let's not shy away from this term. It's a good scriptural term. What does it mean? Let me ask that first, and then let me direct your attention to the few occasions when we discover this term in the New Testament.

What does it mean? Well, if you're interested in language, in words, in etymology, it means this, to plunge, or if you like, to sink, to drown, to drench, to be overwhelmed. An Old Testament illustration is that of Naaman. You remember how he's told to dip himself in the Jordan.

Now, that was full immersion, no sprinkling. You didn't see Naaman when he went under, because the Jordan covered him. He was completely overwhelmed.

Indeed, though I'm no expert in the Hebrew language, I believe that the word dip there, in the Hebrew, does carry the same meaning as baptize, the word which you come across sometimes in the New Testament. Here's another illustration of the meaning of the word. In Mark's Gospel chapter 10 and verse 38, we're told of the Lord Jesus anticipating his death, and we are told that he appreciates something of, and I quote, the baptism with which I am baptized.

He was aware of the suffering which would overwhelm him, and that's another thought that you must always associate with the term baptism, being overwhelmed, immersion and overwhelming. I say these are two facets of the meaning of the word which are highly important. Now, in the record of the Acts of the Apostles, and particularly on the day of Pentecost, we find an illustration of men being immersed and overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit.

This is what happened to them. They were baptized in the Spirit, they were immersed in the Spirit, they were overwhelmed by the Spirit, and the net result of being overwhelmed by the Spirit is it made an impact on other people. It was something that was observable.

It wasn't something that just occurred within the inner recesses of the heart, because that can't be seen by the eye. It was something, I say, that could be discerned by the crowds, and that was the reason why the people gathered together in such large numbers. Well, this is what the disciples experienced on the day of Pentecost, and others on subsequent occasions.

This immersion, this overwhelming in the Holy Spirit. But, if that's the meaning, or facets of the meaning, what about the occasions when this term is found in Scripture? Now, the way some people talk today, you would expect to find it on every page of the New Testament, but actually you don't. You only discover it on seven occasions in the New Testament, and four of those are quotations of the words of John the Baptist, recorded in the Gospels, each Gospeler narrating the same event.

These seven quotations, I think, can be put into three categories. There is, first of all, what I would call the prophetic. Then there is the historical.

Then there is what I would call the didactic, or the doctrinal. What do I mean by this? Well, here's a Baptist anticipating the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read his comment in Matthew's Gospel, in chapter 3 and verse 11, and there he says, speaking of what the Lord Jesus will do, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.

He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Now, you get exactly the same reference in Mark's Gospel, in Luke's Gospel, and in John's Gospel. So that's four of the five prophetic references, expecting this deluge of spirit baptism to come into the experience of those who have trust of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The fifth occasion when you come across this prophetic reference to the baptism in the Holy Spirit is found at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, and there the Lord Jesus Christ is instructing the disciples to wait at Jerusalem, and he says, reading the fourth and fifth verses of the first chapter, he said, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. So those are the five prophetic references, expecting the baptism of the Spirit to come to the experience of the early church believers.

Now, what about this historical reference? Well, I mean by historical, a comment as to this having happened in the experience of certain people, and for this I take you to a passage we've already looked at a moment or so ago. Here's Peter relating what's happened at the household of Cornelius. Peter's back at Jerusalem, and he's giving a report to the disciples there, and he refers to the falling of the Holy Ghost upon Cornelius' household, and says, Peter, I read his words again, the 16th verse of chapter 11, then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

You see the point? He's looking back upon an experience that these people have had at Cornelius' household. Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. This is what had happened to them, a fulfillment of the promise of John, and indeed of the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So there is a historical reference to this, and then there's what I call a didactic or a doctrinal reference, and here I refer you to a verse that we looked at earlier in three or four readings this morning from 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and there the Apostle is setting down the glorious fact of the unity that exists in the Church of Jesus Christ, and the unity that should exist particularly in the local church at Corinth, and he underlines his argument by referring to the unifying ministry of the Holy Spirit, and he says, for as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many, being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bound or free, and have been made all, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

Here is the Apostle looking back upon some experience that has happened in history of which the Corinthians have had part and parcel, and he's saying by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, there's no exception. All these people at Corinth realized what Paul was referring to, the baptism in the Spirit. It had been theirs, they were rejoicing in it, and they were empowered by the Holy Spirit, and they were of course to know more of his fullness, and more of his fruits.

That was the reason for Paul sending the letter to the Corinthians, correcting them on certain misdemeanors in which they had engaged. Now I've gone through this little survey of the terms, of the occasions when you find the term the baptism in the Spirit, just to show you that there are seven, and that it is not a frequent term that one comes across in the New Testament. Now having done that, let me also engage in a little excursion into the Acts narratives, where we read of the baptism of the Spirit, of the coming of the Spirit on communities of people.

I shall have to be very rapid in the way that I survey this. The first occasion of course was in Acts chapter 2, you take that for granted, there are 120 who receive the Holy Spirit in a very unique fashion. Certain things happen, which to my knowledge have never happened before, and I make that as a dogmatic assertion as far as Scripture is concerned at any rate.

There was this rushing mighty wind which could be heard, there were these cloven tongs of fire which could be seen, and then there was this endowment of power, this overwhelming of the Spirit within their hearts, within the lives of the disciples, which manifested itself in the speaking of known languages, which were recognized by the crowds which gathered. So that was one occasion. Then you come to Acts chapter 8, and here are the Samaritans I say, receiving the Holy Spirit.

Their instance, their circumstances are quite unique in one sense. I say that because this is the first time that the Christian Church has crossed over the threshold into a non-Jewish community. Here is the ministry of Philip ensuing at Samaria, and these people believe they're baptized, but they don't receive the Holy Spirit.

Then Peter and John, the apostolic delegation, come down from Jerusalem, and it's when the disciples lay their hands on these Samaritan believers that then they receive the Holy Ghost. Verse 16 seems to suggest that God purposely has suspended the normal activity of the Holy Spirit in the experience of the Samaritans until the disciples have come down from Jerusalem. For as yet, as yet, He was not, He was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Implicit there is the idea that the Spirit has not come at the moment, but He's going to come, and He's going to come in power, and He's going to come in great glory. When these apostles from Jerusalem recognize, as they come into Samaria, that the gospel is to be preached to non-Jewish communities as well as to the Jews themselves, so Peter and John come down and they lay hands on these Samaritan believers, and the normal work of the Holy Spirit takes over as these men are baptized in the Spirit, and they give some evidence which is not noted in detail as to the reception of the Holy Ghost. That was the second occasion.

The third, the experience of Paul. I haven't time to go into it in any detail. Paul, who's been converted on the Damascus Road, is, he is brought into contact with a man called Ananias.

Ananias lays hands on Paul, so that he might receive his sight again, and at the same time Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit. Again, you read that in Acts 9. Come through to Acts chapter 10, here is Peter preaching to the household of Cornelius. We've made reference to this, so there's no need to stay on this particular topic.

Peter preaches, and as he preaches, dynamically, without the laying on of hands at all, the Spirit comes down, and these people speaking tongues, they give evidence, and they prophesy giving evidence that they've received the Holy Spirit. Go on to Acts 19, and there is Paul at Ephesus who comes across these men, who know something of John's theology, and something of John's baptism, but they don't know fully the gospel of the Lord Jesus, so Paul re-educates them. They are baptized, and then they receive the Holy Spirit, and give evidence to this, by speaking in tongues.

Why have I engaged in this historical excursion? Well, if you've kept up with me, to show you something that strikes me as being obvious, as you go through the passages of Scripture, and that is the variety of methods in which God deals with these people. The, there are occasions when men are first of all baptized in water, before they receive the Holy Spirit, and then there are occasions when they receive the Holy Spirit, and after that they are baptized with water. There are occasions when men receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands.

Three occasions, if you include the experience of Paul, and then there are other occasions where hands are not laid on. There is no imposition of hands for the impartation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the point that I am trying to underline and emphasize, and I think it needs shouting from the housetops these days, is that God is infinitely varied, varied in the way that He deals with His people. You cannot say that everyone must go through the same hoop, in the receiving of the Holy Spirit.

Your experience may be different from someone else's experience, and this is the delight, delightful variation that there is in Scripture, concerning the experimental doctrine of the Holy Ghost. This is what you would expect from the words of the Savior, who speaks about the wind of the Spirit, blowing where He wills. No one can tell the wind when to blow, or where to blow.

The Lord Jesus refers to the, refers to the Spirit in terms of the fire, and no one can tell a fire when to burn out. Rather, the fire and the wind, they have their own initiative, they have their own power, their own way of manifesting themselves. Well, so does the Spirit, as He works in the life of the believer.

So my one point in going through this historical excursion, is to demonstrate that there is no pattern that is constant throughout these experiences, related in the acts of the Apostles at all. There is a delightful variety, but there is underlined for us the truth of the matter, that when people were baptized in the Spirit, they knew it. You didn't have to convince them of it, they knew it, and what is more, other people recognized it also.

Well then, I don't know how many friends I've still got with me at this point, but let's push on a little bit, because I want to put one or two propositions to you, which I think everyone, more or less, will agree with, concerning the doctrine of the Spirit. The first one is this, no one can be a Christian, without having had something of the ministry of the Spirit in his life. No one can be a Christian, without having had something of the experience of the Spirit in his life.

I repeat, what happened at Samaria was unique, and there were circumstances as to why the normal work of the Spirit was suspended, so that the disciples recognized that the gospel was to be preached to non-Jewish communities throughout the world. Jesus Christ emphasizes, I think, the proposition that I put to you, because when he was talking to Nicodemus about his theological problem, Jesus said, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. So you cannot be a Christian, without having received something of the work of the Spirit in your life.

Then a man hath not the Spirit of Christ, says the Apostle Paul. He is none of his, he has no association at all with the body of the Lord Jesus on earth, his church. So I put that forward as a proposition, which I reckon none can gainsay, clearly taught in the Word of God.

But another proposition that's almost absurd, because it must be recognized by all of you right now, is this, that there is a genuine disagreement as to the position of a baptism in the Spirit in the understanding of evangelicals today, whether it's coincident with or subsequent to conversion, and we must recognize and appreciate and respect the opinions of those who differ from ourselves, whatever our opinion might be. Let me put another proposition up. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that speaking in tongues must, I emphasize must, accompany the baptism of the Spirit.

Conversely, let it be said, nowhere in the Scripture does it say that speaking in tongues will not follow, in some instances, the baptism in the Spirit. You cannot pick and choose with Scripture. You must look at the acts of the Apostles and related Scriptures in the epistles, and agree with what Scripture says, and not in any way be directed by your own bias, by your own wishes or desires.

Nowhere are we told specifically to seek for the baptism in the Holy Spirit as such, but we are told to desire earnestly the best gifts of the Spirit, and to be filled with the Spirit, or to be being filled with the Spirit. Again, I put that forward as a proposition that none can gainsay. Nowhere is there one specific way in which God deals with his people, stated in Scripture.

Rather, as I've shown you from this excursion into the acts of the Apostles, variety and unpredictability seem to be the watchword in the Spirit's ministry. And now, here is a statement which I think is very important. At our conversion, potentially, we receive everything from Jesus Christ.

I repeat that, and I want to read a Scripture that I think is of importance, because it substantiates it. At our conversion, potentially, we receive everything from Jesus Christ. Listen, Ephesians 1 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

You can't get round that one. It's a plain statement from the Apostle. Jesus has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

And as we have seen in the, in the Acts of the Apostles, with the one exception of the, of the experience of the folks at Samaria, their knowledge of, their experience of, the baptism of the Spirit was immediate or coincident with salvation. It wasn't split up on that occasion, on the majority of occasions. Only one, which I suggest to you, is something of an exception.

Undoubtedly, therefore, as David Watson argues in his book, One with the Spirit, Spirit baptism is linked with Christian initiation. Now let me put another proposition, and here you may take issue with me. Not everyone who has been initiated into Christ by the Spirit, has been overwhelmed by the Spirit.

Not everyone who's been initiated into Christ by the Spirit, has been overwhelmed by the Spirit. Initiated is a status. Overwhelmed is an experience.

And what perhaps more of us need today, is the overwhelming of God's Spirit. And finally, and here I offer this without qualification, thinking that no one will take me up on it. In the last analysis, it is not terminology that matters.

It is not an ability theologically to dot your I's and to cross your T's that's important. What really matters is that men and women know the power and the fullness, and demonstrate this in their own lives of the Holy Spirit. Terminology can be fruitless.

The life that is filled with the Spirit is fruitful. Well, let me conclude by making one or two comments regarding the fullness of the Spirit. There may be some here who say, well, all right, I'm not so bothered about the controversy, but I am bothered about being filled with the Holy Spirit.

You say, in an unqualified fashion, that this is a New Testament teaching. It is a New Testament directive. Indeed it is, my friend.

Ephesians tells us, be being filled with the Holy Spirit. And you say, well, I know that I'm a Christian. I know that I've been initiated into the family of God, but this overwhelming of the Spirit, that, that I'm not so sure of.

That I wish I knew at least to a greater degree. How do I go about knowing this in my own life? How do you go about it? Well, follow the instructions of the Acts of the Apostles. Peter, preaching to the crowd that gathered on the day of Pentecost, said, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus.

The word repent means turn around. If you're going to know the fullness of the Spirit, there needs to be an about turn on your old life. Anything that savors of self, of selfishness, everything that is incompatible with the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, must be rooted out of your life.

Repent, turn right around. That's what the Apostle tells us to do in the Acts of the Apostles. And another thing that we're instructed is in the fifth chapter and the 32nd verse.

And that is to obey the Lord. It says, Peter, we are his witnesses of these things and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. There must be an obedience in your walk with God.

If you are constantly to know a daily fullness of his Spirit, an obedience I say, to do what God directs you to do, instead of reserving the right to make your own decisions on any matters, whatever they may be. I cannot be spiritful if I am self-centered. Rather, I must be crucified with Christ, so that the Spirit can control my life.

Repent, obey. The third, and there are only four altogether. The third, thirst.

Jesus said, if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He was referring then to spiritual blessings, says the Lord Jesus Christ. From the innermost belly of a man, from his innermost being, should come out rivers of living water.

That's being overwhelmed with the Spirit. That's not just initiation. That's knowing the Spirit in your personality.

That's knowing the Spirit in such a fashion that other people can recognize it. Being overwhelmed by the Spirit. This is what the disciples knew, I say, on the day of Pentecost.

This is what was known by the Samaritans and by the members of Cornelius's household and by the Ephesians. Overwhelmed by the Spirit. The Spirit of God shedding abroad Himself in your life.

Do you know this? Do you know the joy unspeakable and full of glory of what this, of which these scriptures make reference to on one or two occasions? If you don't, yet you would like to know it, then thirst after it. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ, thirsting, repenting of your sins, obeying what He tells you to do, and finally, and gloriously, I direct you to the 11th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, where the Lord Jesus Christ sets down superb teaching on the reception of the Spirit, and He tells us there that it is necessary for a man who wants to receive the fullness of God's Spirit day by day, to ask. Ask and it shall be given you.

Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Do you remember how Jesus put forth His teaching? In terms of a man who was embarrassed because someone had pitched up late at night, and he hadn't got any bread, and so he went round to his neighbors, and his neighbor was tucked up in bed himself, and he wasn't going to be disturbed.

He wasn't going to get out and to meet the request of his colleague. But this man knocked, and he knocked, and he knocked, and he gave the neighbor no peace. Why? Well, because he said in the sixth verse, I have nothing to set before my friend.

I'm absolutely bankrupt. My larder is absolutely empty. I've nothing, and I require what you've got.

And I suggest to you that if more of us emulated the despairing scene which our Lord Jesus projects in this parable, then we would know more and more of His fullness. When we recognize that of ourselves we have nothing at all, and yet we can come to Him because He has a plentiful supplier, and He is prepared to give His Spirit to those in fullest measure who ask Him. Says the Lord Jesus Christ, it is necessary for us to come with belief in our hearts, not unbelief.

This was the trouble, you see, as the Lord Jesus develops this teaching on asking for the Holy Spirit. It was a trouble on the part of some people. He expected that unbelief might be in their heart.

They might be afraid. Says the Lord Jesus, if a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? If he ask a fish, will he put a fish, give him a serpent? If he ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? Are you afraid to ask your Heavenly Father? Afraid as to what might happen to you? You come with all your English reservations. You come with all your respectability, and you think, oh Lord, if something happened to me like occurred in the experience of certain people in your word, or in the experience of certain in revivals, in days gone by, oh Lord, this, this, this just frightens me.

But you wouldn't be afraid to ask your parents for anything, would you? And neither should you be afraid to ask God for the fullness of His Spirit day by day. You are to recognize that He Himself is able to meet you at the point of your need. If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Never worry about the way God is going to deal with you.

He'll always deal graciously. He'll always deal lovingly. He'll always suit that blessing to your experience that you particularly require.

God in His grace is prepared to pour out His Spirit upon His children. It's part of our legacy through Jesus Christ. Potentially we have everything at conversion, but whether we've cashed in everything and the potential has become an actual experience in our lives, only you can answer that question.

But let's forget fighting over terminologies, as we seek the Lord for His blessing in our lives day by day, respecting the experience of others who differ from us, and yet all together coming around the throne of grace, asking God to do a mighty work in our hearts and our lives for Jesus' sake. Amen. Our Father, as we have come around your Word this morning, so we ask that not only our interest academically shall be excited in the things of the Spirit of God, but rather may it be our desire to open our hearts to the fullness of the blessing of the Holy Ghost day by day and week by week.

May we know that same endowment, that same power from on high, as was witnessed and cherished by the early church, that as they made an impact upon their world, so we too may continue to make an impact upon the world in the 20th century. So hear our prayer and send us away, those who must go at this point in our morning worship, with the consciousness of the blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, now and until the Savior comes. Amen.