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ILLUS - A race horse is fast and sleek and tall and strong. It's bred to race. But imagine a cow who wants to be a race horse. One day that cow wakes up and says, "Today, I'm going to enter the Melbourne Cup." What do you think would happen? We know that the best dairy cow in Australia can't be a race horse. But she's a good Pentecostal cow, "I'm confessing, I'm believing, I'm gonna win." But it's never going to be a race horse.
God makes different animals for different purposes - and the same is true of people.
We all have different gifts and abilities.
So today we're going to begin looking at the gifts and abilities God has given us - and what it means to be a steward of them.
Acts 10:44-48
We'll come back to these verses, but the first thing we need to realise is that there are spiritual gifts and there are natural gifts.
Over the years, there's been a reaction to anything that implies that one brand of Christian might be better than another.
And rightly so - God isn't interested in the brand - He's interested in our heart.
And people have been especially offended by the suggestion that Pentecostals might have something that others don't have.
So some teachers now are lumping all the gifts together - there's no difference between spiritual gifts and natural gifts.
They're all the same.
But there is a difference - spiritual gifts are supernatural - they're not natural at all.
ILLUS - You might go to a doctor and get some treatment and get better. But the gift of healing is not the ability to write out the right prescription. Thank God for good doctors, but that's not a gift of healing.
These gifts are supernatural - empowered by the Holy Spirit - they're not something we can just whip up in our own strength.
For instance, John Lennon didn't know God or involve Him in his life but he was still a very talented man.
But without the Holy Spirit's involvement, we are utterly incapable of exercising spiritual gifts.
That's the difference between spiritual and natural gifts.
So, how do we get these spiritual gifts?
Here are some Biblical facts about being baptised with the Holy Spirit.
Think about that: If He needed to be baptised in the Holy Spirit, how much more do we?
Even He had to be equipped for service, by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:4-8,12-17 - Philip in Samaria
Vs. 5 - Philip preached Christ
Vs. 6 - the multitude heeded the things spoken by Philip
Vs. 12 - they believed what Philip preached about the Kingdom of God, the name of Jesus Christ, and they were baptised
Vs. 14 - they received the Word of God
Were they born again? Absolutely. How many different ways can God say it?
So what was the response of the apostles when they heard about the Samaritans being born again?
Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, (15) who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. (16) For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (17) Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Interestingly, they were born again, baptised in water, but they still hadn't received the Holy Spirit.
With Cornelius and his household, it happened simultaneously when they were born again.
But that often isn't the case - in fact, that's the only time it's recorded in the book of Acts where people were born again and filled with the Holy Spirit at the same time.
ILLUS - Peter is preaching about Jesus, rambling a little bit, when all of a sudden God says, "Out of My way Pete. I'm coming through." And Peter watched on helplessly as God filled them with the Holy Spirit. If it had been left up to him, it probably wouldn't have happened because they were Gentiles. Peter responded with, "Okay, then, I guess we'd better baptise them."
Nobody had to sit Cornelius down after the service and say, "Okay, now these are the ten steps to being filled with the Holy Spirit."
But sometimes it doesn't just happen.
ILLUS - Acts 19:1-7 Paul in Ephesus found some disciples.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Any Christian who is not filled with the Holy Spirit, is not fully equipped to be a witness to Christ.
Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
The Greeks had a verbal tense used here called the present imperative1.
If you translated that verse literally, it would say: keep on being filled2 with the Spirit.
Even if you spoke in tongues 20 years ago, that's no guarantee that you're filled with the Holy Spirit now.
If you have already been baptised with the Holy Spirit, how do you keep being filled with the Holy Spirit?
The next verses, (Eph 5:19-21) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, (20) giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (21) submitting to one another in the fear of God.
John the Baptist said about Jesus, (Mat 3:11) I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Who does the baptising with the Holy Spirit?
So, if you want to be baptised with the Holy Spirit, we can pray for you, but Jesus is the one who does it.
Let me give you two evidences:
Remember Jesus said (Acts 1:8) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
If you're struggling to preach the gospel - you don't have the boldness - can't find the words - you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
ILLUS - Peter & John had been arrested, threatened and released. So they got together with the other believers and prayed to God for boldness.
This is what happened: (Acts 4:31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, [result?] and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Before we look at some Scriptures we need to understand that there are two kinds of speaking in tongues - the gift and the prayer language.
If it's the gift that's operating, it has to be interpreted.
1 Cor 14:13 Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.
Why? Verse 12: Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
Its purpose - like all the gifts - is for the edification of the church, so interpretation is essential.
But in verse 4: He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
That's talking about our prayer language.
It also says in verse 14: For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
How does it edify us? Our spirit prays.
I think that for today, the most pressing question people have is: If I'm filled with the Holy Spirit, do I have to speak in tongues?
I'm sure you don't want to hear what I think - so let's look at what God says.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Please note that even though this is one incident, that according to Acts 1:15 there were already about a hundred and twenty people.
Acts 2:1 says, "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."
So at least 120 people were baptised with the Holy Spirit - and according to verse 4 they all spoke in tongues.
I also want you to note that for the gift it says: (1 Cor 14:27-28) If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. (28) But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.
But here, as in other places where they were using the prayer language, all 120 of them spoke at the same time - and no-one interpreted, because it was the prayer language.
In Acts 9:17, Ananias prayed for Paul to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
It doesn't tell us there that he spoke in tongues, but in 1 Cor 14:18 he says, "I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;"
In Acts 10, Cornelius and his household all spoke in tongues.
In Acts 19:6 (Ephesus), they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
In Acts 8 (the Samaritans), it doesn't tell us what happened when they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
It just tells us that Simon the magician was so impressed that he offered the apostles money so he could buy the ability of imparting the Holy Spirit (vs. 19).
So I'm not going to try and build an argument from silence there, but we have to admit that it is quite possible that what grabbed his attention was that they spoke in tongues.
1 Cor 14:5 I wish you all spoke with tongues.
Paul was expressing his own wish, but we accept today that he was speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
How do you build yourself up? Praying in the Holy Spirit.
What does that mean?
The Greek word that's used in Jude 1:20 for "building up", is an extension of the word used in 1 Cor 14:4 for "edify"3. [He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself...]
So Jude says "building up" - Paul says "edify".
Jude says "praying in the Holy Spirit" - Paul says "speaks in a tongue".
The language is so close that we conclude that these two verses are talking about the same thing.
One says speaking in tongues, the other says praying in the Holy Spirit - one says edify yourself, the other says build up yourself.
Why would Jude call speaking in tongues praying in the Holy Spirit?
Acts 2:4 tells us that the Holy Spirit was the one who gave them utterance when they spoke in tongues.
Who is Jude writing to?
Jude 1: Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
Jude's letter is addressed to all Christians.
So not only Paul, but Jude writes for us to speak in tongues, and I find it interesting that Jude just assumes that they can pray in tongues.
Here's another Scripture.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
In preparing this study, I've tried to be sensitive to non-Pentecostals and yet be true to the Word of God.
But the biggest concession I can make is by saying that if you don't speak in tongues, I can't say categorically that you haven't been baptised with the Holy Spirit.
But I would have to say that the Bible overwhelmingly teaches that speaking in tongues is the norm, and that it's available to every Spirit-filled believer.
I would also have to ask, why wouldn't any Christian want the ability to be able to tap into a supernatural prayer language?
Don't all of us have times when we don't know what to pray?
What a blessing to be able to say, "Lord, I don't know what to pray. Holy Spirit, you please take over..."
And then pray in tongues.