The Danger of the ‘Third Experience’: Reclaiming the Sovereign Spirit

While the sermon attempts to encourage bold witness and spiritual vitality, it fundamentally compromises the Gospel by teaching that the Holy Spirit is a reward for human initiative rather than a gift of grace. The introduction of coercive altar call tactics and binding prophetic declarations creates a dangerous environment of spiritual manipulation, shifting the focus from Christ's finished work to human performance.

🔴
Theological Status: DEAD ORTHODOXY / DECISIONISM Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Sardis
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Faithful Parallels Smyrna • Philadelphia
Teaching that parallels the churches that endure suffering with true spiritual riches (Rev 2:9) and keep the Word of Christ without denial despite having "little strength" (Rev 3:8).
The Cold Orthodox Parallel Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
The Corrupted & Dead Parallels Thyatira • Sardis • Laodicea
Teaching that parallels churches with active heresy, synergism, therapeutic deism, or dead orthodoxy (Rev 2:20, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:17). These represent systemic, fundamental errors that corrupt the Gospel.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.

🧐 Overview

Theological Verdict & Summary

Sermon Summary: Does the Christian life require a 'third experience' beyond salvation, or is the power of the Holy Spirit the immediate possession of every believer? This analysis examines a sermon that urges Christians to seek a distinct, subsequent baptism of the Spirit through physical altar calls.

Pastoral Analysis: While the sermon attempts to encourage bold witness and spiritual vitality, it fundamentally compromises the Gospel by teaching that the Holy Spirit is a reward for human initiative rather than a gift of grace. The introduction of coercive altar call tactics and binding prophetic declarations creates a dangerous environment of spiritual manipulation, shifting the focus from Christ's finished work to human performance.

Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Sardis — The sermon exhibits a 'name that it is alive, but is dead' spiritual condition. It presents a sophisticated theological framework that appears orthodox but fundamentally relies on synergistic decisionism and coercive altar call tactics. By teaching that the Holy Spirit is a 'third experience' contingent upon human physical action (coming to the altar) and issuing binding prophetic declarations, the preaching substitutes the sovereign, finished work of Christ with human effort and subjective experience, resulting in a dead orthodoxy.

Big Idea: Christians should seek a third experience beyond salvation and water baptism: being baptized with the Holy Spirit, which provides the power for witness and transformation. [00:05:10 ▶️ 📄]


📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus

  • Primary Text: Acts 1:4-8
  • Usage Classification: Thematic
  • Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
  • Pulpit Decorum: ⚠️ CAUTION - The use of coarse language ('butt clench moment') and coercive emotional manipulation during the altar call compromises pastoral decorum.

✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative

"Christ is presented primarily as the example of Spirit-filling and the source of power for witness, rather than the finished work of the Cross as the basis for the Spirit's gift."

Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 26 | Referenced: 17 | Alluded: 2

📖 View 12 Passages Read Aloud
  • Acts 1:4-5 [00:04:01 ▶️ 📄]
    "on one occasion while he was eating with them he gave them this command do not leave Jerusalem but wait for that actually I need you to help me out wait for the it's a gift the gift that my father promised that's very important we're coming back to that which you have heard me speak about because John baptized with water but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit"
  • Acts 1:6-8 [00:04:35 ▶️ 📄]
    "now don't freak out just kind of I'm gonna help you then they gathered around him and they asked him Lord are you at this time I'm gonna restore the kingdom to Israel. He said to them, it's not for you to know times or dates the father is set by his authority. In other words, hey, they thought, oh, you're gonna give us power. You mean you're gonna take over Rome. He's like, actually, yeah, someday, but not now, not now. He's going, here's the type of power I'm gonna give you. Watch this. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my, what my witness is in Jerusalem and in all Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth."
  • 1 Corinthians 12:13 [00:23:42 ▶️ 📄]
    "For in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body."
  • Matthew 28:19 [00:24:06 ▶️ 📄]
    "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
  • Matthew 3:11 [00:24:54 ▶️ 📄]
    "I baptize you with water for repentance. This is John the Baptist. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He, Jesus, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
  • Romans 8:9 [00:26:52 ▶️ 📄]
    "if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, they don't belong to Christ."
  • Ephesians 5:18 [00:28:13 ▶️ 📄]
    "do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, and he's talking to people who are already Christians, be filled with the Spirit."
  • John 20:19-22 [00:28:40 ▶️ 📄]
    "On the evening, that first day of the week, when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came. I love this. Jesus came and stood among them and he just said, peace be with you. Now you would need to say that to me if somebody like Harry Potter style apparated through a door and talked to me. I would need somebody to say like, peace be with you. And that's what Jesus does. I think he said it with a smirk. And then he said, as the father has sent me, I'm sending you now. Watch what Jesus does to his disciples in [John 20](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+20&version=KJV). And with that, he breathed on them. Why'd he breathe on them? Because the Hebrew word for spirit is the same word as breath. The Holy Spirit is the breath of the living God. So he breathed on them and he said, watch this, receive the Holy Spirit."
  • Acts 2:38 [00:33:19 ▶️ 📄]
    "Peter replied, repent. How is somebody saved? They repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus. So salvation and be baptized, baptism, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will, step three, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
  • Acts 8:12-17 [00:33:54 ▶️ 📄]
    "When they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, step two, both men and women. ... When the apostles heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit."
  • Acts 19:2-6 [00:34:40 ▶️ 📄]
    "did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? ... They answered, now they might've attended churches like I went to in college. They said, no, we haven't even heard there's an Holy Spirit. So Paul said, well, then what baptism? So then here's what Paul's doing. He's going, well, let me make sure you're actually saved. He's checking their salvation. He goes, well, then what baptism do you receive? John's baptism, they replied. 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. On hearing this, they were stepped to, they were baptized. Step two. In the name of the Lord, Jesus. And then when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them."
  • Acts 1:5 [00:39:44 ▶️ 📄]
    "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

Key References: 1 Corinthians 12:14, Matthew 28:19, Matthew 3:11, Acts 2, Romans 8:9, Ephesians 5, John 20, Acts 1:4-5, Acts 2:38, Acts 8, and 7 more...

💧 Liturgy & Sacraments

Altar Call / Invitation Observed: Yes

  • Theological Conditions: Ask God to fill you with his spirit in a fresh way, Get out of your seat and come to the front, Kneel, Step over your pride
  • Sinner's Prayer: "God, whatever you got, I want it. Just start praying. Offering's going to start happening. Just do your thing. But this is where we want to focus. All of our campuses, just doing that right now. God, whatever you've got, I want it. I want to be filled with your spirit in a fresh way." 00:41:34 ▶️ 📄
  • Coercive Pressure: "I believe that very often the answer to prayer is spiritual breakthroughs on the other side of your pride. And I don't feel like there's a way to get there without stepping over your pride." [00:41:05 ▶️ 📄]

🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery

Word Count: 6,883 words

📌 View 15 Key Topics Addressed
  • The Baptism of the Holy Spirit [00:06:28 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor defines this as a distinct third experience for believers, separate from salvation and water baptism, promising power for witness.
  • Sermon Series Introduction: 'There Is More' [00:02:08 ▶️ 📄]
    > Introduction of a verse-by-verse study through Acts to make 'whole Christians' by covering the whole counsel of God.
  • Theological Distinction of Experiences [00:06:43 ▶️ 📄]
    > Categorizing Christian experiences into three stages: Salvation (most important), Baptism (public faith), and Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
  • Addressing Cultural Resistance [00:07:49 ▶️ 📄]
    > Explaining that resistance to the Holy Spirit's baptism is often due to 'bad packaging' (weirdness, emotionalism) rather than the biblical truth itself.
  • The Sign of the Spirit [00:12:32 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor argues that the true evidence of being filled with the Spirit is power for witness, correcting the misconception that speaking in tongues is the primary sign.
  • Evangelism Strategy [00:16:49 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor uses the biblical example of Luke writing to Theophilus to advocate for a personal, focused strategy of reaching 'one more' person rather than just chasing large numbers.
  • Supernatural Power [00:19:20 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor emphasizes that 'power' (dunamis) in Acts refers to supernatural healing and miracles, arguing that the church needs this divine power to tear down strongholds in a godless world.
  • Overcoming Theological Confusion [00:22:42 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor identifies theological confusion as a hindrance for some, specifically addressing the idea that there are only two Christian experiences rather than three.
  • The Three Experiences of the Christian Life [00:23:24 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor outlines a three-step progression: 1) Holy Spirit baptism into Christ (salvation), 2) Water baptism (leaving the old self behind), and 3) Being filled/baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 promise).
  • Theological Correction of Dualism [00:26:05 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor debunks two opposing errors: the Pentecostal error that lacking 'spirit baptism' means one doesn't have the Spirit at all, and the cessationist error that having the Spirit at salvation means no further filling is needed.
  • Etymology of Baptizo [00:29:51 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor uses a historical anecdote about a Greek doctor's pickle recipe to explain the difference between 'bapto' (temporary dipping) and 'baptizo' (immersion causing complete change).
  • Jesus' Dependence on the Spirit [00:31:28 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor argues that since Jesus, who was God, needed to be filled with the Spirit to perform miracles, believers need it even more for their daily lives.
  • The Three-Step Pattern (Salvation, Baptism, Holy Spirit) [00:32:48 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor argues that Scripture consistently presents a pattern of salvation, followed by water baptism, and finally the filling of the Holy Spirit, citing Acts 2, 8, and 19 as evidence.
  • Personal Testimony of Spiritual Breakthrough [00:36:08 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor shares his personal story of realizing he had a 'powerless Christian life' despite being saved and baptized, and his subsequent experience of being 'attacked by love' and receiving freedom from sin after asking for the Holy Spirit.
  • Call to Action and Prayer [00:39:10 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor urges the congregation to stand and pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing that this experience is available to them now and involves stepping over pride.
🖼️ View 12 Illustrations & Stories
  • Sermon Illustration [00:00:30 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor recounts a 2019 incident where an online commenter named 'Jerry' described his church as 'presbaptic hostile,' which the pastor reinterpreted positively as a blend of Presbyterian theology, Baptist mission, and Charismatic spirit.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:08:02 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor uses a series of humorous examples of 'bad packaging' to illustrate how good things are rejected: an art kit at Target, shampoo with a hairy-shouldered man on the bottle, jam that 'tastes like grandma,' and a disturbing menu item at an Indian restaurant.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:11:15 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor references a poll stating that one out of three people are 'weird' by definition, using it to argue that 'weird' people talking about the Holy Spirit are just weird regardless of the spiritual experience.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:11:15 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor references a poll stating that one in three people are 'weird' to normalize the idea that being filled with the Spirit might make one seem 'weird' to the world, urging the congregation not to 'throw out the baby with the bath water.'
  • Sermon Illustration [00:13:28 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor contrasts Peter's cowardice (running from teenage girls) in the Gospels with his boldness in Acts 2, illustrating the transformative power of the Holy Spirit that enables bold witness.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:15:13 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor maps the geographical expansion of the Gospel in Acts (Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the earth) to Lake Point Church's current reality: Rockwall as Jerusalem, DFW campuses as Samaria, and global missions as the ends of the earth.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:17:36 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor shares a personal habit of writing the name of a specific person on a card and taping it to his bathroom mirror to pray daily for an opportunity to share Christ with that 'one more' person.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:18:03 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor uses a humorous, self-deprecating joke about putting his son Hudson's name on the 'one more' card, only to retract it because Hudson is doing well, illustrating the point that the 'one more' is someone far from God.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:30:00 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor recounts a 'pickle recipe' from a 200 BC Greek doctor named Nicander to illustrate the difference between temporary dipping (bapto) and immersion that causes a complete change (baptizo), stating believers need to be 'pickled' by the Spirit.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:28:40 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor describes Jesus appearing to the disciples behind locked doors, breathing on them, and saying 'Receive the Holy Spirit,' only for them to wait 40 days later for the promise of being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:36:08 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor recounts his personal experience at age 27, where he realized his Christian life was powerless. He describes praying in his car at the Cool Springs Galleria Mall in Nashville, Tennessee, where he felt 'attacked by love,' experienced freedom from a lifelong sin issue, and received power for his ministry.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:36:27 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor references reading the book 'Joy Unspeakable' by Presbyterian pastor Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, which provided a theological case for the experience of being filled with the Spirit.
🚀 View 4 Calls to Action
  • Pastoral Charge [00:17:28 ▶️ 📄]
    > Write the name of a specific person on the provided card.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:17:42 ▶️ 📄]
    > Pray daily for the opportunity to share the love of Christ with the person named on the card.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:39:10 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor commands the entire congregation across all campuses to stand up.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:41:05 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor instructs the congregation to prepare for a specific action (implied prayer/response) in a moment, emphasizing the need to step over pride.

🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard

Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error

CategoryStatusReasoning
Gospel Presentation ❌ FAIL The Gospel Engine is broken. The sermon teaches that receiving the Holy Spirit is contingent upon a specific human action (coming to the altar) and subjective desire, effectively making salvation's power dependent on human will rather than divine grace.
Soteriology ❌ FAIL The sermon promotes Synergistic Soteriology and Decisionism, teaching that the 'baptism of the Spirit' is a third, distinct experience activated by human effort.
Bibliology ⚠️ WEAK The sermon relies on subjective prophetic declarations that bypass the sufficiency of Scripture, treating personal revelation as binding authority.
Hermeneutic ❌ FAIL The hermeneutic imposes a sequential 'three-experience' framework onto the text, ignoring the unified work of the Spirit in regeneration and sanctification.
Theology Proper ⚠️ WEAK The view of God is compromised by presenting Him as a deity who requires human coercion (altar calls) to release His Spirit, rather than the sovereign Giver.
Sacramentology ✅ PASS No specific errors detected regarding the sacraments of Baptism or Communion in the provided reports.
Confessional Depth ❌ SHALLOW The sermon lacks depth in explaining the theological necessity of the Spirit's indwelling at salvation, reducing it to a 'power-up' for witnessing.

⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework

What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.

Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.

The Law And Wrath:

"You killed Jesus you're going to go to hell if you don't repent and be saved that's just that's his sermon" [00:13:52 ▶️ 📄]

Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.

Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.

The Cross And Atonement:

"You killed Jesus" [00:13:52 ▶️ 📄]

⚠️ Theological Concerns

🔴 Critical Synergistic Soteriology

Root Cause: Decisionism / Synergism

"I believe that very often the answer to prayer is spiritual breakthroughs on the other side of your pride... I'm gonna ask you to get out of your seat, come right down to the front... just say, God, whatever you want, whatever you got, I want it. Would you please just fill me with your Spirit in a fresh way?" [00:41:05 ▶️ 📄]

The Belief/Behavior: He teaches that receiving the Spirit is a 'third experience' contingent on human initiative ('stepping over your pride') and physical action (coming to the altar).

Why It's Dangerous: This destroys the doctrine of Grace by making the Spirit's gift dependent on human effort, leading to spiritual anxiety and a works-based righteousness.

Biblical Correction: Then Peter said unto them, 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 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-39)

🔴 Critical Unbiblical Prophetic Declarations

Root Cause: Montanism / Subjective Revelation

"I feel like this is a prophetic word for some of you... In a few days, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit." [00:39:44 ▶️ 📄]

The Belief/Behavior: He declares, 'I feel like this is a prophetic word for some of you... In a few days, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.'

Why It's Dangerous: This imposes subjective revelation as divine guarantee, bypassing biblical authority and creating false expectations or spiritual pride.

Biblical Correction: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

🔴 Critical Coercive Altar Call Tactics

Root Cause: Coercive Evangelism

"I believe that very often the answer to prayer is spiritual breakthroughs on the other side of your pride. And I don't feel like there's a way to get there without stepping over your pride." [00:41:05 ▶️ 📄]

The Belief/Behavior: He equates 'stepping over your pride' by coming to the altar with receiving spiritual breakthrough.

Why It's Dangerous: This manipulates congregants into physical compliance under the guise of spiritual necessity, creating a false dichotomy between obedience and blessing.

Biblical Correction: But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

🟠 Major Pneumatological Error: Sequential Third Experience of Spirit Baptism

Root Cause: Wesleyan Holiness / Pentecostal Second Work

"Jesus, when he promises that these men are gonna be baptized with the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit, he is pointing out that there are three significant experiences that God wants to happen to every Christian." [00:06:28 ▶️ 📄]

The Belief/Behavior: He teaches that there are 'three significant experiences': salvation, water baptism, and Spirit baptism.

Why It's Dangerous: This fragments the unified work of the Spirit, suggesting that believers are incomplete without a subsequent 'third' event, leading to a perpetual state of spiritual inadequacy.

Biblical Correction: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether they be Jews or Gentiles, whether they be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

✅ Commendations

Evangelistic Zeal | Call to Bold Witness

The pastor effectively communicates the biblical mandate for believers to be bold witnesses, using the contrast between Peter's cowardice and his Acts 2 boldness to illustrate the transformative power of the Spirit.

Pastoral Sensitivity | Inclusivity of Diverse Backgrounds

The pastor demonstrates pastoral care by affirming the value of members with charismatic or Pentecostal backgrounds, seeking to build unity despite theological differences.


📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)

Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] All right, well, good morning, Lake Point family, and good to see you guys. Here's where I want to start. I want to start with a very full heart today. If you guys could pray at all of our campuses, would you pray to repeat this prayer with me out loud? You don't got to close your eyes. I just want us to start doing this. Just say, God, if there's more, I want all of it. All right, man, I am really excited. Okay, here's what we're doing today. Full heart. Let me set it up like this. In 2019, I was preaching one day,
[00:00:30] And there was somebody at the church online campus.
[00:00:34] And somebody sent me this screenshot where somebody at the church online campus had been watching and they watched the worship and they watched the preaching and then they watched the response of the room.
[00:00:45] They watched all of it.
[00:00:46] And then a commenter on church online said, what kind of church is this?
[00:00:52] And then some dude named Jerry, I don't know who Jerry is.
[00:00:56] Some dude named Jerry said, don't know they seem presbaptic hostile that's what he said uh which means that we are predestined to speak in tongues at a potluck dinner that's what that means and uh and honestly i i loved it
[00:01:11] i absolutely loved it i was like and here's why i loved it because um man presbyterians they are word of god people it's like good doctrine rich theology let's be rooted in the scriptures love it um baptists is they're great commission folks go into all the world make disciples of
[00:01:27] nations international mission board all the things so they're about the mission of God and then all the costals all of you all the costals they're spirit of God people and so man it's like tattooed
[00:01:38] on my soul that if I could ever be a part of something that fulfilled the mission of God by preaching the word of God and the power of the spirit of God I'm in I mean I just like I'm in
[00:01:48] That's like the vision for my life is to be a part of that.
[00:01:54] Now, what we are doing right now, and it'll probably take us about two years to get through this, is we're starting a series preaching verse by verse through the book of Acts towards that goal.
[00:02:08] The title of the series is There Is More.
[00:02:12] That's the title of the series, There Is More.
[00:02:14] Now, I just wanna give a little heads up.
[00:02:16] Here's why we're doing this.
[00:02:17] Number one, we're preaching verse by verse through this 28 chapter book, awesome book.
[00:02:24] The reason we're doing this, I'll just give you a heads up.
[00:02:26] I've got a deep conviction.
[00:02:28] It takes the whole Bible to make a whole Christian.
[00:02:31] It just does.
[00:02:32] And what happens is if I am just always preaching like felt needs topical series, I'm gonna gravitate towards all the passages that like I'm more comfortable with.
[00:02:42] I know they hit the sweet spot, all that stuff.
[00:02:44] But when we're going verse by verse, it forces us as a church to get through the whole counsel of God so that we can make whole disciples of Jesus. So we just, you know, more and more, you're probably noticing that more and more
[00:02:58] in my series planning, I'm like trying to go, let's do a book. And you're going to see that more and more. Now, why the book of Acts? Here's why the book of Acts. The book of Acts is a story
[00:03:07] about two things, a church that explodes in growth. They just see thousands and thousands of conversions and a great outpouring of the Spirit of God on that church as it explodes.
[00:03:18] When I look at Lake Point Church, I'm seeing two things. There is an explosion in growth. We are seeing thousands of people saved and caught up into the glories of Jesus. And then we're seeing
[00:03:30] more and more, you know, it's 10,000 people at a prayer meeting. We're seeing an outpouring of God's Spirit on the church as it explodes. So what I want to do anytime there's something like that
[00:03:39] happens, I want to grab the word and go, God, tell us what to do. And that's what we're doing in the book of Acts. So let me just drop right into it. Here we go. Acts 1. We're going to start in verse
[00:03:52] 4 and get rolling. I got a lot to get to today and it's really full of my heart. Now we're going to start in verse 4. Here's what's happening. Jesus has just been resurrected. He spends 40 days with
[00:04:01] his disciples explaining to them about the kingdom of God. Then it says this, on one occasion while he was eating with them he gave them this command do not leave Jerusalem but wait for that actually
[00:04:14] I need you to help me out wait for the it's a gift the gift that my father promised that's very important we're coming back to that which you have heard me speak about because John baptized
[00:04:24] with water but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit now don't freak out just kind of I'm gonna help you then they gathered around him and they asked him Lord are you at this time
[00:04:35] I'm gonna restore the kingdom to Israel.
[00:04:37] He said to them, it's not for you to know times or dates the father is set by his authority.
[00:04:41] In other words, hey, they thought, oh, you're gonna give us power.
[00:04:44] You mean you're gonna take over Rome.
[00:04:46] He's like, actually, yeah, someday, but not now, not now.
[00:04:50] He's going, here's the type of power I'm gonna give you.
[00:04:52] Watch this.
[00:04:53] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my, what my witness is in Jerusalem and in all Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth.
[00:05:03] Now, why are we calling this series that we'll be in for a very long time, There Is More?
[00:05:10] Did you notice what Jesus just did?
[00:05:12] He's talking to his disciples.
[00:05:13] Now, check this out.
[00:05:15] Jesus looks at them with a great commission to fulfill.
[00:05:19] Jesus looks at these guys and he goes, hey, listen, you have seen me.
[00:05:25] You've studied me.
[00:05:27] You've been with me.
[00:05:29] You've believed in me and you've been saved.
[00:05:31] you've been baptized you've heard sermons but something is missing there's more for you to receive can i just say something to you lake point church some of you here here is where you are right now you have studied the lord jesus christ you've walked with him you know all about him
[00:05:52] you've been saved you've been baptized you've been in church you've heard sermons but there's more and he wants you to receive everything that he has.
[00:06:05] Now, this is what we're seeing right here today.
[00:06:09] I wanna give you, we're gonna start with a lot of theology today.
[00:06:12] The sermon today, some sermons are more preachy than teachy, some sermons are more teachy than preachy.
[00:06:16] Today is theology.
[00:06:17] We're doing a lot of theology because I need you to see, a lot of people have resistance to what Jesus says here.
[00:06:23] I need you to see this clearly from the scriptures.
[00:06:26] So here, let me point this out.
[00:06:28] Jesus, when he promises that these men are gonna be baptized with the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit, he is pointing out that there are three significant experiences that God wants to happen to every Christian.
[00:06:41] Here are the experiences.
[00:06:42] Now check this out.
[00:06:43] Number one is salvation.
[00:06:45] This is when you believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins and give your life to him.
[00:06:49] Now, heads up, that's the most important one.
[00:06:52] If you don't have any of the other two experiences, you're still going to heaven.
[00:06:57] That's the important one.
[00:06:58] but after salvation, what he wants to do is he wants baptism. And so after salvation, baptism, that's when you go public with your faith and you leave the old in the water. I'll talk about
[00:07:09] in a second. But then when Jesus right here says, Hey, you guys, you've been saved disciples.
[00:07:15] You've been baptized disciples, but don't go anywhere because there's this third thing I want to have happen to you. Here's what it is. Is he, I said, I want you to be baptized with the Holy
[00:07:22] Spirit. Now, these three experiences. Now, as soon as I say that, there's like a blood pressure rising for people who come from backgrounds like mine in the room right now. That's like the butt clench moment. You're like, oh, what are we doing? What is, all of my worst fears are being confirmed
[00:07:37] right now. It's kind of, that's the vibe. Now, let me explain. The only reason anybody feels this way is I got a deep, is because of bad packaging. I really believe this because of bad packaging.
[00:07:49] Now, here's what I mean. A good thing in bad packaging, you'll reject. And I'll give you some examples of this. These are, I had a little fun with this this week. So these examples, good things,
[00:08:02] bad packaging, you're going to reject them. So this is an actual art kit at Target. It's just poor, all the moms in the room immediately like, okay, I get it. You know, by the way, in all these
[00:08:16] examples. I'm channeling my inner eighth grader. Just go with me and you can have fun. Now, before we show this next one, this is an actual for real packaging of a bottle of shampoo. They chose this
[00:08:28] guy. This is who they chose for their, uh, the packaging. Uh, I can only assume guy has very hairy shoulders. That's all I can kind of assume. Now, uh, next one, uh, don't throw it up yet.
[00:08:39] But this one, man, I think it's a case of poor translation.
[00:08:44] This just wonderful, sweet, precious.
[00:08:46] I think it was maybe a Japanese company.
[00:08:48] They were doing their best.
[00:08:49] But here's what they're going.
[00:08:50] Tastes like grandma, this jam does.
[00:08:53] Tastes like grandma.
[00:08:54] No, I don't know what to say about that.
[00:08:56] Now, last one, don't throw it up yet.
[00:08:59] This was at an Indian restaurant.
[00:09:01] I'm not even gonna read it out loud.
[00:09:03] It makes me feel weird.
[00:09:05] I'm gonna let you read it.
[00:09:06] and so, you know, how many of you would just want to pile this on your plate? I mean, is this what you're going for? Let me just, I'm just saying, if I saw that, I'm out. Now, I just also want to
[00:09:21] point this out. The most disturbing thing about this is that most of it is Eden. People chose this. Now, here's my point, is that a good thing with bad packaging, you'll reject it. Here's what
[00:09:34] of thing. This whole concept of being filled with the spirit in the Bible, it's a good thing that a lot of people have put inside of bad packaging and it makes onlookers go, I don't know if I want to
[00:09:47] have anything to do with that when it comes to being filled with the spirit. Now here's what I mean. I'll give you some examples. So some people, when you hear about the concept, the biblical
[00:09:55] concept, we just read it like from Jesus' mouth. When you hear about the concept of being filled with the spirit, you immediately think like weird emotionalism. You know, it's like all shofars and tambourines and tongues and raising hands and just, just craziness. And if you come, I'm a third
[00:10:14] generation Baptist pastor. If you come from a background like mine, you're going like, you're seeing everybody doing all that. You're like, man, the only time we raised our hands in church when we were voting somebody out at a business meeting, that's the only time we ever, that's it, man.
[00:10:25] and so you see that and you're like ah I don't know now can I just tell you this is an example of a good thing and bad packaging caused you to reject a good thing because you've seen well
[00:10:38] here's what you're doing you're going man everybody who ever talked about being filled with the Holy Spirit was weird that's like your experience they're like you know memorizing passages from left behind and flame tat you know tattoos and name of their kids Hebrew words and you know all
[00:10:54] this stuff. Can I just tell you something? Like I'm going to say something with a bit of an edge to it. All those weird people who talked about being filled with the Holy Spirit, can I just say
[00:11:03] something? They were just weird. They were just weird. They would have been weird without the Holy Spirit. They're just weird. Yeah, you just need to know that. There are weird people everywhere.
[00:11:15] I read a poll literally this week that one out of three people are by definition weird. So right now, can you look to your left now look to your right if it wasn't one of them it's you that's it so you
[00:11:33] just need to know this some people are just weird so man we don't don't go throw out the baby with the bath water just because the weird people were the ones that talked about this now here's the
[00:11:44] other one the the big hang-up that people have when you start talking about being filled with spirit. Some people have packaged this promise from Acts 1 with the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. Now, later in this series, we'll go into what does the Bible mean by that? How's it
[00:12:00] supposed to be? We'll talk about that later. But can I just point this out? And some of you might not like this, but this is Bible. First Corinthians 12 says that the spiritual gift of speaking in
[00:12:08] tongues is a gift, but it also says not everyone will receive it. There are five times in the book of Acts that people are filled with the Spirit five times. Three times they do experience that
[00:12:20] gift. Two times they don't. Here's my point. The sign of being filled with the Spirit is not the sign. The primary sign of being filled with the Spirit is not that you speak in tongues. Let me
[00:12:32] show you. Jesus tells us what it is. Watch this. What did he say? He said, here's what's going to happen. You're going to receive power. That's the sign. Can I just say something just really gentle?
[00:12:43] and I'm saying this because I love you.
[00:12:45] We have an increasing number of people in our church who you come from charismatic or Pentecostal backgrounds.
[00:12:51] Can I just say something?
[00:12:53] We need you.
[00:12:55] I praise God for you.
[00:12:57] There's a spirit of faith rising, a spirit of prayer, a spirit of expectation rising in our church.
[00:13:04] Thank you, thank you.
[00:13:06] But can I just say something to you?
[00:13:08] Listen, man, I am not very impressed that you've got a prayer language if you don't have any power.
[00:13:13] I'm not very impressed because Jesus said, here's gonna be the sign of somebody that's filled with my spirit.
[00:13:18] They're gonna have power.
[00:13:20] Power for what?
[00:13:20] What does he say?
[00:13:21] Power to witness.
[00:13:23] That is the sign that somebody's been filled with the spirit of God.
[00:13:28] Boldness to witness.
[00:13:29] This is what makes Peter a dude that's running away from teenage girls at the end of the gospels.
[00:13:36] And then he stands up in front of the same crowd that crucified Jesus.
[00:13:40] And here's his sermon in Acts 2.
[00:13:42] You'll see it in a couple of weeks.
[00:13:43] here's that guy sir running away from teenage girls at the end of the gospels just a few chapters later here's his sermon you killed Jesus you're going to go to hell if you don't repent and
[00:13:52] be saved that's just that's his sermon something changed in that man what changed he was filled with the spirit of the living God he was given a boldness and a power to witness what is this
[00:14:04] thing that happens to you when you're filled with the spirit listen I speak from experience there's a power in your life to share Jesus with people.
[00:14:12] There's a timidity that leaves you.
[00:14:15] You begin to look in your life and you start going, I don't have a spirit of fear.
[00:14:19] I now have a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.
[00:14:23] See, this is what begins to happen to anybody that's filled with the spirit.
[00:14:26] In fact, watch what this passage says happens because the entire story of the book of Acts is what happens in a church when people are filled with the spirit.
[00:14:36] That's the entire story.
[00:14:37] check this out so he says this you're going to be my witnesses where in jerusalem judea samaria and at the ends of the earth you just read that's the outline of the book of acts as we study this book
[00:14:48] together you're going to see it check this out here's the outline of the book of acts the gospel going to jerusalem and judea that's acts chapters one through nine samaria which was like the region surrounding and encompassing jerusalem and judea that that story is in acts
[00:15:02] eight through 12, the gospel going to the ends of the earth, that's Acts 13 all the way to the present. By the way, keep that up. Can I just point this out? Lake Point Church started in
[00:15:13] Rockwall, Texas. That's our Jerusalem. We now plant campuses in all of DFW. That's our Samaria.
[00:15:22] We have now planted 70 and counting churches in North America. That's our Samaria. We have global missions partners in 20 nations around the world, that's to the ends of the earth.
[00:15:37] That's what we're doing. So we didn't, listen, we didn't just make up this strategy. We opened our Bibles and went, that's what the Holy Spirit said to do by the mouth of Jesus. So we're going
[00:15:48] to do that. Now, I also want to point this out. Stay on this theme with me, okay? Power to witness.
[00:15:54] Watch who this book of Acts is addressed to.
[00:15:58] So Luke's, you got a dude that wrote this, dude named Luke.
[00:16:01] He was not a pastor, not a priest, not a preacher.
[00:16:04] This dude, he was just like a dude, a doctor that got filled with God's spirit and saved by Jesus.
[00:16:11] Here's how he opens the book.
[00:16:12] He says this, he addresses it to this guy in my former book, Theophilus.
[00:16:17] What he's saying is Acts is the second book of a two book compendium, the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, and he wrote it to this one guy, literally this one guy, his name was Theophilus.
[00:16:31] Now, on your way in, you guys think I got one.
[00:16:33] Yeah, I got one.
[00:16:34] On your way in, you got handed these little one more cards.
[00:16:37] This is what's happening.
[00:16:38] I want you to see where this came from.
[00:16:39] Like, this is a biblical strategy for us.
[00:16:41] Listen, I know that people, when they talk about Lake Point, they talk about thousands.
[00:16:46] That's what they talk about.
[00:16:47] I don't care about thousands.
[00:16:48] Here's what I care about.
[00:16:49] One more person knowing Jesus.
[00:16:51] Don't care about thousands.
[00:16:52] One more person knowing Jesus.
[00:16:54] Why has Jesus not returned yet?
[00:16:56] Do you know why?
[00:16:57] He's waiting one more day to give one more person one more chance to repent and come to him.
[00:17:04] That's why he's done that.
[00:17:05] So listen, here's the responsibility of every Christian everywhere is for you to be able to identify who's the one more in my life that's closest to me but farthest from God that I'm gonna ask God to give me the ability
[00:17:22] to bring to Jesus.
[00:17:23] So I wanna give you an example.
[00:17:25] Like, here's what I want you to do.
[00:17:26] This is like literally me and Jana do this.
[00:17:28] You should take this card, write the name of the person who's closest to you, but farthest from Jesus on this card.
[00:17:35] You can do what I do.
[00:17:36] You can put it on your, like tape it to my bathroom mirror so I see it twice a day when I brush my teeth.
[00:17:42] See it every day.
[00:17:42] And every time I see it, I'm praying, God, give me a chance to share the love of Christ with that one person.
[00:17:48] Every day, you need to do that every day.
[00:17:49] Now here's what, think about who's the person that's just desperately in need of conversion, just deeply wandering into egregious, a real ruffian, like really, really, really in need of desperate conversion.
[00:18:03] Like you could put the name Hudson Howerton on there.
[00:18:05] That's a joke.
[00:18:07] I gotta take that out.
[00:18:08] It's nowhere near as funny as I thought it was gonna be.
[00:18:10] So no, we're not gonna do that in the 11 o'clock service.
[00:18:12] I thought, Hudson, he's doing great.
[00:18:15] Now, but here's what Luke did.
[00:18:16] Here's what Luke did.
[00:18:17] Luke had, here's, Luke's card looked like this.
[00:18:20] He was like, Theophilus, I got one more.
[00:18:22] And he was so committed to that one guy that he had a relationship with knowing Jesus, he writes two entire books of the New Testament just to tell that guy about Jesus.
[00:18:33] Heads up.
[00:18:33] Some of you are like, oh, I can't do that because what if that person asked me a question I can't answer or I can't make like an airtight case for why Jesus was God.
[00:18:42] Listen, it didn't say, and you will be my defense attorneys.
[00:18:46] It said, you will be my witnesses.
[00:18:48] This is really important.
[00:18:49] A defense attorney makes an airtight case a witness just has to tell their side of the story.
[00:18:55] That's all Luke is doing here.
[00:18:57] He's just going, I cannot help but speak of what I have seen and heard.
[00:19:01] Here's what I saw Jesus do.
[00:19:04] Now, I also need to, let me, let's go a level deeper.
[00:19:08] Six times in the, now, if this makes you a little uncomfortable, I'm asking you to have an open heart and simply be going, what does the Bible say?
[00:19:18] That's what I'm asking.
[00:19:20] Six times in the book of Acts, this word power, it's the Greek word dunamis.
[00:19:25] Six times in the book of Acts, that word power specifically refers to the power of God to supernaturally heal the sick and the wounded.
[00:19:35] Six times.
[00:19:37] This power, supernatural power for healing, supernatural power for miracles, supernatural power for signs and wonders.
[00:19:49] This is what God wants to see and promises that a person and a church filled with the Holy Spirit will see.
[00:19:57] And that is his strategy for the gospel to go forward.
[00:20:01] Lake Point Church, we need to be seeing this actively in our church.
[00:20:07] We need to be seeing this actively.
[00:20:09] Now, it's awesome, man.
[00:20:11] I love the seven of you that are with me.
[00:20:13] It's gonna be awesome.
[00:20:14] Seven of us are gonna see signs and wonders according to your faith, it shall be done to you.
[00:20:20] Romans 15, I just wanna point this out.
[00:20:22] There's only one time in the whole New Testament where the apostle Paul goes, here was my evangelism strategy.
[00:20:28] It's Romans 15 and watch how he says it.
[00:20:31] He says this, he says, I'm not gonna venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.
[00:20:36] Watch this language, to bring the Gentiles to obedience.
[00:20:39] And what he means is to bring them to faith.
[00:20:41] He's talking about the obedience of believing in Jesus.
[00:20:44] And then he says, he goes, hey, I had three strategies to bring people to Jesus through witness.
[00:20:50] By word, so telling people about Jesus.
[00:20:53] By deed, serving people in the name of Jesus.
[00:20:57] And by the power of signs and wonders.
[00:21:01] He says, those were my three, everywhere I went.
[00:21:04] Everywhere I went.
[00:21:05] Now, some of you hear that, and I know this, is you hear that and like, power of signs and wonders, you're like, ah, makes me nervous.
[00:21:14] Every time somebody starts talking about that, the person gets weird or the church gets weird or things get crazy and you're kind of going can't we just be okay with two out of three two out of three ain't bad hey listen guys look at the world
[00:21:28] look at the rising darkness in the world the rising godlessness in the world the rising unbelief in the world you're saying two out of three ain't bad i'm saying two out of three ain't enough listen we need divine power to tear down strongholds in a world that is deeply deeply
[00:21:45] affected by unholy spirits. We have to be filled with the power of a holy spirit so that the unbelieving world is looking at us and going, I don't know. I don't even know. I don't know. One
[00:21:56] thing I know, that guy was blind and now he sees. That's all I know. That's all I know. Why is this so important? Look how important this is to the apostle Paul. He said this, he said, he said,
[00:22:07] it's down here. He said, for the kingdom of God does not consist, is not a matter of talk, but of power of power power for today this is what we should be seeking praying for and experiencing
[00:22:21] okay so these are you're seeing these let me let me move on so bad packaging some of you like ah crazy people the tongues all this stuff like let's just get that out of the way that's that's not
[00:22:31] we're talking about now here's the third thing the rest of the sermon let me finish this is the rest of the sermon for most people if you come from a background like mine your hindrance is
[00:22:42] theological confusion. And I'm going to skip ahead. You think, man, Josh, you said there's three experiences for a Christian, but I think there's only two. And that's maybe what you've kind of been taught. And here's what I mean. Here's why I say this. Here's what will happen
[00:22:59] to you. Some of you, you started following Jesus and then you started reading your Bible and there were things happening in your Bible that you were like, well, I'm not seeing that in my life.
[00:23:07] I'm not seeing that in the church. And if you're not careful, you'll give up and you'll have to develop a theology to explain your disappointment. When that happens to you, you got a problem.
[00:23:20] You got a problem. So let me help you. Let me help you. I want to give you a theology of this.
[00:23:24] Here's a theology of what Jesus is promising in Acts 1. You will be filled, baptized, whatever word you want to use, with the Spirit, okay? Here's the three experiences God wants every person to have. Number one, the Holy Spirit baptizes you into Christ. This is 1 Corinthians
[00:23:42] 12, 14. For in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body. I just need to tell you this different sermon. You would never have believed in Jesus if the Holy Spirit had not done a
[00:23:51] miraculous work in your life to open the eyes of your heart to him. You never would have done it.
[00:23:55] So this is saying, the fact that you were saved, the Holy Spirit did a work in you, okay? Here's the second experience, is a disciple baptizes you into water. Matthew 28, 19, go therefore and make
[00:24:06] disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:24:10] it. Now, this is important. So when you get baptized, just like the children of Israel, they went into the water of the Red Sea. And when they came out on the other side, they left their enemies behind them in the water. When you're baptized, you leave your enemy,
[00:24:27] your old self, sin, death, and the devil, you leave it behind in the water and you walk out of there with power to walk in the new. So that's what happens in baptism. Some of you need to be
[00:24:37] baptized. That's very, very important. But then here's the third experience Jesus is talking about in Acts 1. Then Jesus fills us with the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3, 11. I baptize you with water for repentance. This is John the Baptist. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose
[00:24:54] sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He, Jesus, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And in Acts chapter two, we'll see this in two weeks.
[00:25:05] What are the apostles?
[00:25:06] What happens?
[00:25:07] Divided tongues of fire come to rest on them and the Holy Spirit fills them.
[00:25:10] Now, some of you, as soon as I say that, you're like, yeah, Josh, exactly right.
[00:25:15] So when this was promised, that was the promise for what would happen to the apostles.
[00:25:20] That was about the 12 apostles.
[00:25:22] Wrong, wrong.
[00:25:24] Because this, John the Baptist says this in Matthew chapter three, the apostles aren't even there.
[00:25:29] The disciples haven't even been called yet.
[00:25:31] They're not called until Matthew chapter four.
[00:25:34] So this is not just an experience for the apostles.
[00:25:37] It's not just an experience for the 120 that were in the upper room in the book of Acts.
[00:25:41] John the Baptist is saying, hey, after me another's coming.
[00:25:45] He is so glorious.
[00:25:46] I would not be worthy to stoop down and touch his sandal.
[00:25:50] He's gonna have a ministry.
[00:25:51] This is his ministry.
[00:25:52] He's gonna baptize everyone that follows him with the Holy Spirit.
[00:25:56] So that is one of the ministries of Jesus.
[00:25:59] So this is the third experience.
[00:26:00] Now, this is the spot where there's like a knot in some of our theological heads.
[00:26:05] Some people are like, no, Josh, there's not three experiences.
[00:26:09] There's only two because we get the Holy Spirit at salvation.
[00:26:14] Now, can I just address this?
[00:26:16] That's true.
[00:26:18] That last sentence is true.
[00:26:20] The Holy Spirit permanently indwells every Christian at salvation.
[00:26:25] And can I just say something with a bit of an edge to it?
[00:26:27] and some, not all, some Pentecostal Christians, they turn people off to being filled with the spirit by saying things like, well, if you haven't been spirit baptized, then you don't have the Holy Spirit.
[00:26:40] Wrong, wrong.
[00:26:42] Do not pass go, do not collect $200, wrong.
[00:26:47] Do you not, I needed to wake you up is what I needed to do.
[00:26:50] Do you know how I know that's wrong?
[00:26:52] Because Romans 8, 9 says this, it says, if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, they don't belong to Christ. So we know this. So that's how we know that some more charismatic Christians are wrong, but check this out. But then some people who come from backgrounds like mine
[00:27:08] read that verse that's on the screen and they think, well, that's it. I had the only encounter with the spirit that I needed at salvation. God doesn't have anything else for me and it's wrong
[00:27:18] to seek it. I'm not doing the buzzer sound again. I promise. Now, let me, let me just point something out to you. Okay. Check that. That's, that's also wrong. That's also wrong. Now check this out.
[00:27:31] This is Ephesians five. I'm going to throw this verse on the screen here. I think it is it on the screen or is it a lower third? Yeah, it's a lower third. Okay. Ephesians five. Now, before I
[00:27:38] read it, class, let's have a class teacher moment for a second. The book of Ephesians was written to the church at Ephesus. Great job. Great job. You did way better than Saturday night. Let me
[00:27:51] just say that. Way better than Saturday night. Okay. The church at Ephesus. Now, class, second question, pop quiz. Was the church at Ephesus, was Paul writing to Christians? Yes. Now, so Paul's writing to Christians, and what does he say? He says, do not get drunk on wine, which leads to
[00:28:13] debauchery. Instead, and he's talking to people who are already Christians, be filled with the Spirit. Say, there's something else I have for you. I'll give you another one. And I want to show this to you from the scriptures. John chapter 20, Jesus has just been raised from the dead.
[00:28:28] The disciples are there. They're all like hanging out in this little bunker behind these locked doors because they're scared about, like, we don't want to get crucified, you know? And then this is what it says. On the evening, that first day of the week, when the disciples were together with
[00:28:40] the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came. I love this. Jesus came and stood among them and he just said, peace be with you. Now you would need to say that to me if somebody
[00:28:51] like Harry Potter style apparated through a door and talked to me. I would need somebody to say like, peace be with you. And that's what Jesus does. I think he said it with a smirk. And then
[00:29:00] he said, as the father has sent me, I'm sending you now. Watch what Jesus does to his disciples in John 20. And with that, he breathed on them. Why'd he breathe on them? Because the Hebrew word
[00:29:11] for spirit is the same word as breath. The Holy Spirit is the breath of the living God.
[00:29:19] So he breathed on them and he said, watch this, receive the Holy Spirit. Now you would think, well, great. There's no other experience for the apostles to have with the Holy Spirit. They've already received the Holy Spirit. Wrong. Watch what happens 40 days later. We just read it.
[00:29:36] Do not leave Jerusalem talking to the same people. Wait for the gift my father promised, which you've heard me speak about because John baptized with water.
[00:29:43] I'm gonna have you say a word out loud with me in a second, but you will be, you say it.
[00:29:47] Baptized with the Holy Spirit.
[00:29:49] Now this word baptized, it's the Greek word baptizo.
[00:29:51] I find stuff like that.
[00:29:52] I'm a nerd out for a second.
[00:29:53] I find stuff like this really cool.
[00:29:55] Greek word baptizo.
[00:29:57] There was a Greek poet and doctor, the guy's name was Nicander.
[00:30:00] He lived in 200 BC and he wrote down on a little papyrus paper, a pickle recipe.
[00:30:06] archaeologists recovered his pickle recipe and this is the only time i'll ever read you a pickle recipe in a sermon but this is what he wrote to make a pickle the vegetable should first be dipped
[00:30:22] the greek word is bapto into boiling water and then baptizode same word as acts one in a vinegar solution.
[00:30:35] Bapto is a temporary short-term dipping.
[00:30:39] Baptizo is an immersion for such a long time that it produces a complete change in the vegetable.
[00:30:48] It takes it from being a cucumber and changes it by immersion into being a pickle.
[00:30:56] Let me put it this way.
[00:30:58] You need to be pickled.
[00:31:00] That's what you need.
[00:31:01] You need to be pickled.
[00:31:03] Every one of us, we need to be so filled and immersed in the Holy Spirit that it produces a profound change in us.
[00:31:11] We're different, we taste different, we walk different, we talk different, we act different, we live different.
[00:31:18] This is what Jesus wants from us.
[00:31:20] Now, let me just take this because if you're like me, I needed somebody to prove it to me from the scriptures.
[00:31:27] What about Jesus?
[00:31:28] Did Jesus, who was our example, have this experience?
[00:31:32] I want to point this out. There are four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There is almost nothing, very, very few things are recorded in all four gospels. In fact, I'm going to list them.
[00:31:43] Here are the only things recorded in all four gospels, okay? The birth of Jesus, because that shows us the incarnation. The death of Jesus, because that shows us how he saved us. The resurrection, because that proves to us that he was God. The feeding of the 5,000, because that
[00:31:58] shows us carbs are good for us. And then the baptism, Jesus filling, his promise of filling with the Holy Spirit. And can I point this out? Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit in the
[00:32:14] gospels. After he is baptized in water, the spirit descends on him like a dove and the gospels say that the spirit descended and remained on him. Have you ever noticed this? Jesus never does a
[00:32:29] miracle until after he's filled with the Spirit. Can I ask you this question? Serious question.
[00:32:36] If Jesus Christ needed the Holy Spirit to accomplish his ministry, how much more do you need the Holy Spirit to live your life? How much more do you need this? This is just, guys, it's
[00:32:48] just here. Now, so it's the, let me just show it to you again. It's these three experiences, salvation, baptism, fill the spirit.
[00:32:56] It is over and over again in the scriptures.
[00:32:59] Again, let me just, a lot of, by the way, are we okay with sermons with a lot of Bible?
[00:33:04] Are we okay with it?
[00:33:05] Okay, we're doing a lot of Bible today.
[00:33:07] I wanna show you, once you see this pattern, you can't unsee it.
[00:33:11] It is everywhere in the scripture.
[00:33:12] You're gonna see it everywhere.
[00:33:13] These three things, okay?
[00:33:15] I'll give you a couple examples.
[00:33:16] Acts 2.38, Peter's preaching.
[00:33:18] And what did he say?
[00:33:19] Peter replied, repent.
[00:33:21] How is somebody saved?
[00:33:23] They repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus.
[00:33:26] So salvation and be baptized, baptism, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
[00:33:32] And you will, step three, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
[00:33:36] Salvation, baptism, filled with the Spirit.
[00:33:38] Acts chapter eight, we're gonna preach this entire book.
[00:33:40] You'll see all these things.
[00:33:41] Acts chapter eight, Philip goes up to Samaria.
[00:33:44] It says, but when they, what's the word?
[00:33:46] When they believed.
[00:33:49] Now, were they saved if they had believed?
[00:33:51] That's how you're saved.
[00:33:52] you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:33:54] So these people are, there's salvation.
[00:33:56] When they believe Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, step two, both men and women.
[00:34:04] And then, you know, the book just goes, and then Philip went away because that's all they needed.
[00:34:09] No, it's not.
[00:34:11] Here's what it says, two verses later.
[00:34:13] When the apostles heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
[00:34:18] When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
[00:34:23] Salvation, baptism, filled with the Spirit.
[00:34:25] Let me do one more, okay?
[00:34:27] And then I'm done.
[00:34:27] Acts 19.
[00:34:29] The Apostle Paul, greatest apostle who ever lived.
[00:34:33] The Apostle Paul goes up to the city.
[00:34:35] It says, there he found some, you say it, disciples, okay?
[00:34:40] And he asked them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
[00:34:45] Now, so they were disciples who had believed.
[00:34:48] So have they been saved?
[00:34:50] Yes, they've been saved.
[00:34:52] They answered, now they might've attended churches like I went to in college.
[00:34:56] They said, no, we haven't even heard there's an Holy Spirit.
[00:35:00] So Paul said, well, then what baptism?
[00:35:02] So then here's what Paul's doing.
[00:35:03] He's going, well, let me make sure you're actually saved.
[00:35:05] He's checking their salvation.
[00:35:06] He goes, well, then what baptism do you receive?
[00:35:08] John's baptism, they replied.
[00:35:10] Paul said, John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.
[00:35:14] He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is in Jesus.
[00:35:18] On hearing this, they were stepped to, they were baptized. Step two. In the name of the Lord, Jesus. And then when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them. Saved, baptized, filled with the Spirit. This is what
[00:35:36] God wants for you. Can I just say this? Don't you want to experience everything that God has for you? Don't you want that? If there's anything, if there's anything here, now if you're going, listen, let me land the plane here. Lot of Bible. How do you receive it? Well, Jesus said this in
[00:35:54] Acts 1.4. Watch what he says. He says, wait, wait for the promise of the Father. They wait and they pray. Let me just, let me help you. Let me tell you a little bit of my story. Okay, here's my story.
[00:36:08] For many years, I kind of just not, maybe nobody even taught me this. It's just kind of what I thought, I guess. I don't know why I thought this. I thought, man, there were two things that I needed,
[00:36:17] salvation and baptism, and then that was it. I was 27 years old. I started studying the scriptures and I started reading a book. In fact, I recommend it to you if you're a more theologically oriented
[00:36:27] person. I started reading the book by a Presbyterian pastor from the 1800s, a guy named Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. The title of the book was Joy Unspeakable.
[00:36:39] Joy Unspeakable. And he just goes through it and he makes a doctrinal, theological, textual, exegetical case that, hey, this is something God wants you to experience, okay? As I'm reading this book, it begins to dawn on me, I have never asked God to fill me with his spirit in a fresh way.
[00:36:57] I've never done this before. Now, at this point, that's a little embarrassing. I've been a pastor for like seven years at this point, however long it is, six years at this point. But I'm reading
[00:37:09] this book, and here's what happened to me. Before that moment, I did. I just, I felt like my Christian life, it was a powerless Christian life. I knew Jesus. I'd been baptized. I couldn't get
[00:37:22] victory over sin. I wasn't really confident to share the gospel with anybody. A lot of people now will comment on, and this is not, this may, please don't take this the wrong way. They'll comment on my boldness in my teaching, that I was a very timid person. And as this is happening,
[00:37:38] I just began to get this conviction from the scriptures.
[00:37:41] I need to ask God for this.
[00:37:43] So literally, here's the moment.
[00:37:48] I was driving around.
[00:37:50] I was in the parking lot of Cool Springs Galleria Mall in Nashville, Tennessee.
[00:37:55] I was praying in my car.
[00:37:57] I had become convinced that I needed to ask God for this, the gift my father promised.
[00:38:01] And I was praying in my car, forgot to do this.
[00:38:03] And I had been praying for two or three weeks this would happen.
[00:38:05] I don't really have words for why I parked my car there was an agony in me If you know it was almost like something was trying to be birthed in my life I parked my car. I broke down in tears and I don't the spirit of god just enveloped
[00:38:21] My car. Yeah, I don't know how to say it. I just Uh, the best language I have for it is it felt like being attacked by love That's what it felt like it felt like being attacked by love
[00:38:35] I don't know, I'll just be honest I did not speak in tongues It's not a spiritual gift that I have I pray for it, it's not a spiritual gift that I have Here's what did happen
[00:38:46] I got freedom from a sin issue that I had my entire life And there was a power That came to rest on my ministry That has been ever since And it's never been the same
[00:38:56] God wants that for you He wants you to be transformed To the likeness of Jesus He wants you to have power, power in your life power for witness. He wants that for you. So here's what I'm gonna ask you to do. At all of
[00:39:10] our campuses, I don't want to just give me a few, I don't want anybody to leave. Would you go ahead and stand up? Would you do it? We're getting ready to receive the giving. That's going to happen in
[00:39:20] a normal way. Honestly, just do your thing. Ignore it. Just pay attention to what I'm doing right here. Okay. For real, just stay with me. This is really important to me. Some of you, you are just
[00:39:30] like me and you've lived your entire Christian life and you saved, baptized, you have never asked God to fill you with his spirit in a fresh way. You've never done it. Can I show you something
[00:39:44] in this passage? I feel like this is a prophetic word for some of you. Watch what Jesus says in Acts 1. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
[00:39:57] I feel like some of you need to hear that.
[00:39:59] In a few days, you, you're waiting.
[00:40:02] Some of you, you're gonna wait 10 seconds and here in a second, I'm gonna ask you to pray.
[00:40:06] Some of you, you're gonna wait 10 seconds, this is gonna happen to you.
[00:40:09] Some of you, you're gonna wait 10 days.
[00:40:11] Some of you might wait 10 weeks.
[00:40:12] Some of you might wait for whatever reason you might be.
[00:40:14] Like me, it might take 10 months, but let me tell you this.
[00:40:17] This is a gift God wants for you.
[00:40:19] In a few days, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
[00:40:23] Some of you in this room.
[00:40:24] And that is gonna do something in you you've never experienced, a fresh power, a fresh intimacy with the Father, a new boldness to witness.
[00:40:33] Your life is gonna take on a purpose and a meaning you've never had before.
[00:40:36] You're gonna feel an experience, something in you.
[00:40:39] Your spirit will cry out with his spirit in a way that says, Abba, Father.
[00:40:43] You'll experience the fatherhood and the love of God in a way you've never known it before.
[00:40:47] But in a few days, some of you, this is gonna happen to you.
[00:40:50] Here's what I'm gonna ask, okay?
[00:40:52] All right, here's what I'm gonna ask.
[00:40:54] in a second, if you're realizing that, man, I just, I don't know what that is, but whatever it is, whatever God's got, I want it. At all of our campuses, I'm asking you to do something a little
[00:41:05] embarrassing because I believe that very often the answer to prayer is spiritual breakthroughs on the other side of your pride. And I don't feel like there's a way to get there without stepping over your pride. So at all of our campuses, what I'm going to do is in a second,
[00:41:21] if you're realizing, I just want to ask God to fill me with the Spirit in a fresh way.
[00:41:27] I'm gonna ask you to get out of your seat, come right down to the front, old school church camp style, just turn every stage into an altar.
[00:41:34] And I just want you to come down and just maybe kneel and just say, God, whatever you want, whatever you got, I want it.
[00:41:40] Would you please just fill me with your Spirit in a fresh way?
[00:41:42] So do you have the strength to just move forward and get over your pride?
[00:41:47] I want you to start moving like literally right now.
[00:41:49] All of our campuses, if you're realizing like, man. I just, I saw it. I just, whatever, whatever God's got for me, I want it. And I just want you to, all of our campuses, hundreds of people moving to Rockwall, just come down, make the,
[00:42:00] make the stage your altar, maybe get on your knees and just start going, God, whatever you got, I want it. Just start praying. Offering's going to start happening. Just do your thing. But this is where we want to focus. All of our campuses, just doing that right now. God, whatever you've
[00:42:16] got, I want it. I want to be filled with your spirit in a fresh way. Keep moving. And some of you are like, ah, should I? Let me just say this, man. You're going to see this. There is no
[00:42:27] breakthrough without stepping over your pride. There's no other way to do it. People can't even get to the altar. That's amazing. This may be happening at our campuses right now. I just want you to keep praying. And right now I'm going to lead us in prayer. And when I'm done, I want you
[00:42:41] to keep praying and just stay at the altars as long as you want. Okay. Father, hundreds and thousands of your kids right now are praying a Jacob prayer. And they're saying, God, I will not let you go until you bless me. God, we are asking you with humble hearts, fill us with your
[00:43:10] spirit in a fresh way. God, we confess that we are powerless without you. God, we need divine power to tear down strongholds. We need this. So father, I'm asking you to pour out your spirit in a fresh
[00:43:27] way on every one of your beloved children that took a step today just to go, God, whatever you got, I want it. Please give it to me. So I'm just praying right with your son, fill these people,
[00:43:39] immerse them with your spirit I pray that you would fill them from the top of their head to the bottom of their toes God I pray that even right now I can just even while I'm praying God
[00:43:49] I get you I just I have a sense of your great love for these children of yours I pray that you would be pouring out shedding abroad the love of God in their hearts and that from this day forward
[00:44:02] there would be a new power a fresh faith God we're asking this not just for these individuals but for our church.
[00:44:08] God, I'm just, I'm praying it with a boldness.
[00:44:11] Stretch out your hand in our midst to perform signs and wonders, to exalt the name of your servant, Jesus.
[00:44:17] We are asking for supernatural, miraculous power.
[00:44:21] God, with humility, we're praying for it.
[00:44:23] In Jesus' name, we ask for the gift.
[00:44:26] Holy Spirit, you are welcome here.
[00:44:29] Now, at all of our campuses, if you're praying that, I just want you to keep praying and we're gonna move into a moment of worship just for a couple minutes.
[00:44:36] Just stay in that posture of prayer.
[00:44:38] You pray as long as you need, but the rest of us lift your voices and sing in worship over these people.
[00:44:43] Let's go.