Have You Been Baptized With the Holy Spirit?
Tom Shrader walks through Acts 19:1-7, explaining that the disciples Paul encountered in Ephesus were not yet converted believers but followers of John the Baptist who lacked knowledge of Christ's death, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. He argues that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a second post-conversion experience to be sought, but happens simultaneously with regeneration, alongside indwelling, sealing, and gifting by the Spirit. The sermon closes with a call to Spirit-filled obedience, defining being filled with the Spirit as living continually under the influence and direction of God's Word.
“If you are a Christian today, you are as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Acts
Recorded: 2000 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 39 min
Themes: holy spirit, baptism, salvation, tongues, obedience, conversion, spiritual gifts, filled with the spirit, new believer, seeking a second blessing, confused about spiritual gifts, questioning salvation, young adult, charismatic background, searching for assurance, skeptic exploring christianity
Scripture: Acts 19:1-7, Acts 18:19-21, Acts 18:23-28, Acts 8, Acts 2:1-8, Mark 2:18, Matthew 9:14, John 6:66, John 3:3, John 14:17, Romans 8:9, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Corinthians 12
Theological Themes: pneumatology, spirit baptism, regeneration, indwelling spirit, sealing of the spirit, cessationism, soteriology, spirit-filled living
Full Transcript
Introduction
Open your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 19. Years ago, before I was teaching — at that point I was in sales — a man gave me a piece of advice. He said, "Do not speak to be understood, but speak so you cannot possibly be misunderstood." If ever there was a time for that, it is this morning. We are looking at a passage that lends itself to a great deal of misunderstanding and confusion. Consequently, there is probably a great deal of controversy surrounding this passage, especially concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and prophecy.
What we are going to do this morning is slowly, deliberately, and methodically work our way through seven verses — Acts chapter 19, verses 1 through 7. Our goal is to clarify and identify the areas that lend themselves to misunderstanding. By the end of our time together, we will arrive at the conclusion that the idea of a baptism of the Holy Spirit — if by that we mean a second experience or event in one's life, something we are to seek after — does not exist biblically.
Paul Returns to Ephesus
Acts chapter 19, beginning in verse 1: "And it came about while Apollos was in Corinth." As we noted in our study of Acts chapter 18, verses 23 through 28, the account of Apollos was almost a parenthetical insert. What we are really looking at now is the beginning of Paul's third missionary journey. Apollos was in Corinth, and Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus. This was a fulfillment of what Paul had promised at the close of his previous journey in Acts chapter 18, verses 19 through 21.
Paul had been in Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila, teaching there, and the people had asked him to stay. In verse 21 of chapter 18, he said, "I will return to you again if God wills," and he left. It was indeed part of God's plan that Paul would return, and in Acts chapter 19, verse 1, he does.
The Word "Disciple" Does Not Always Mean "Christian"
Upon returning, Paul found some disciples. This may be one of the very first things that leads to misunderstanding of this passage. He comes to Ephesus, and after some period of time — we have no idea how long — he comes into contact with these disciples. We make a mistake if we assume that because the word "disciple" is used, these are necessarily followers of Christ.
That word "disciple" does clearly apply to every Christian — every Christian is a disciple of Christ — but in the New Testament it is not used exclusively to describe Christians. In Mark chapter 2, verse 18, we read of the disciples of the Pharisees. In Matthew chapter 9, verse 14, we read of the disciples of John the Baptist. To state it plainly: everyone who is a Christian is a disciple of Christ, but the word "disciple" is not used exclusively to speak of Christians.
Even some who are identified as disciples of Christ or followers of Christ fell away. In John chapter 6, as Jesus began to teach things that were difficult, verse 66 tells us that "many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore." The fact that they were no longer walking with Him is evidence that they were never truly converted. So we make a mistake if we assume that every time we see the word "disciple," it refers to someone who is genuinely a follower of Christ.
"Did You Receive the Holy Spirit When You Believed?"
Paul comes to Ephesus, finds some disciples, and asks them a very pointed question: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." This is critically important, and you will need to listen closely. The normal Christian experience is that when you believe in Christ, you have received the Holy Spirit.
Something prompted Paul to ask this question, and there are actually two schools of thought about what that was. One school says that this is simply the way Paul is — when he talks to people, he is always going to be talking about Christ and what it means to know and follow Him, so the most natural question he is really asking is whether they are truly converted. The second school of thought holds that as Paul began to interact with these people, he observed that while they had some external marks that might lead one to think they were Christians, something was nevertheless missing.
Ray Stedman puts it this way: "This puzzled Paul. These people knew something about Jesus. They appeared to be disciples of Jesus, but there was something missing. Perhaps Paul saw that there was no joy in their life, or no peace or certainty. Certainly there was no power. They were still under the dominion of the law, and had not yet been brought into the deliverance, joy, and peace of the full Christian message." So he asked, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
A Critical Translation Issue
Here is another reason this passage can easily be misunderstood. Not only is the word "disciple" potentially misleading, but the King James translation of verse 2 reads, "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" That is a mistranslation. Even the New King James has corrected it. The NIV and the New American Standard both translate the verse this way: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
When you read the mistranslation — "since you believed" — it is easy to see how someone could assume that something was happening subsequent to belief. The most accurate translation reads, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
Setting the Scene: Disciples Who Had Never Heard of the Holy Spirit
Let me say it to you again: that is the norm. The norm is that when somebody believes in Christ, they receive the Holy Spirit. Whatever it was that prompted Paul — whether it was just the normal flow of conversation, or something he saw in them — his instincts were right. These people were not Christians. They were not converted. They said they had not even heard about the Holy Spirit.
Now, we know they had heard about the Holy Spirit in some sense, because we are going to see they knew of John the Baptist, so they were familiar with the Trinity. But they had heard nothing about the Holy Spirit and salvation and how those things come together. In the conversation, it became clear that they had been baptized, so Paul asks, "Into what were you baptized?" And they answer: John's baptism.
Does that sound familiar? Remember, we looked at that a couple of weeks ago. We saw Apollos — a man who taught accurately about Jesus, but who only knew about John's baptism. If you were a follower of John the Baptist, you knew about repentance. As Paul says, John baptized with a baptism of repentance.
You knew about repentance, you knew that the sacrificial system was moving away, and you knew there was a Messiah coming — but that was really all you knew. You did not know about the death of Christ, the crucifixion we sang about, the resurrection, the ascension, Pentecost, the church, or the new life and new freedom you have in Christ. There was a voice crying in the wilderness, and that was all you knew: John the Baptist.
What John's Baptism Could Not Provide
In the midst of this, Paul says to them, "Into what were you baptized?" They said, "John's baptism." And he said, no — you are missing it. You may be religious, but it does not go far enough. John's was a baptism of repentance. What John said was, "Believe in Him who is coming." There is one coming — the Messiah. I am not even worthy to unloosen His sandal. John was pointing to Christ.
Indeed, Christ had come. He had died, risen, and ascended. Pentecost had happened. The church was established. But these disciples had no knowledge of any of this.
Donald Gray Barnhouse has a great illustration of this. These were Jews, and male Jews would have made at least one trip to Jerusalem in their lifetime. They had firsthand information about John the Baptist, and perhaps even this idea of Jesus coming, but they had no specific information about the Messiah, and they had no way to get it. You and I see a ship bombed, and within seconds we have photographs of it — but there was a communication gap in their world.
Barnhouse's illustration is this. Imagine a group of people in Virginia in 1775 who set off to the west. They want open land, and they are going to establish a new territory. They are moving through the Cumberland Gap when their wagon breaks down, and they say, "This is good enough. This is as far as we are going." They set up camp, clear an area, begin to farm, and live there. Then, fifteen or twenty years later, some other travelers come through, and they gather together and begin to talk. The settlers ask, "Who is king now? What is the king doing?" The travelers reply, "We do not have a king. There was a revolution. We have a president now — Washington." The settlers are astonished. They had known there were problems in 1775, had prayed about God working something out, and now there was a president.
It is the same picture here. These disciples knew the Messiah was coming. They had probably prayed for it and looked forward to it. He had already come — but because of information they lacked, they had no idea He was there.
Hearing the Gospel and Being Baptized
So Paul begins to share with them. In verse 5, when they heard this — the gospel — they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Let me deal with something very practical here, because we get this question often. "I was baptized as an infant — do I need to be baptized again? I was baptized as a baby in the faith I was raised in — do I need to be baptized again?" And we would say to you, yes, based on this passage right here.
These people had been baptized into John's baptism, but they were not believers. They did not know Christ and could not have known Him. By their own testimony, they had no knowledge of any of it at that point. Paul makes clear that now that they know, they should, as believers, be baptized. The same is true of you.
The Question of Genuine Conversion
I want to make sure we have the table set here and understand what we are talking about, because it has great application to us today. Just like these disciples — very religious people who spent a lot of time around the church, around believers, reading Scripture — they had never been converted. How about you?
That is what we find in a church like ours. There are many people who come from a Baptist tradition, or Methodist, or Lutheran, or Catholic. I was born and raised in the Catholic Church — Catholic grade school, high school, and college. I was around it all. I had heard about Jesus. I knew about the resurrection and the Trinity. But I never heard anything about Christ's death, and about finding eternal life in that death.
What I was taught — or at least what I believed — was that my salvation depended not just on what Christ did, but on something more. How did I live? What did I do? Was I a good man? Did I do good things?
It could be that you are here today under the same delusion these disciples were under — believing that you are going to heaven based on the fact that you are...
The Good News That Changed Everything
Being a good person, or a disciplined person, or being involved at East Valley Bible Church and serving in the junior high ministry — if anything was going to save you, you would assume that would do it. But that is not what saves us. That is actually great news — good news. That is what the gospel means.
The best news I ever heard came one Thursday morning when I walked into Phoenix Country Club and sat down as Larry Wright began to teach. For the first time in my life, I heard that I could know I was going to heaven. Not that heaven was available and I might be in now but could fall out some time — I heard that morning, for the first time in my life, that I could know I was going to heaven.
Do you know that this morning? You may be sitting here saying you don't, and you never heard that, and wondering whether anyone really believes this. If you are here this morning and you know Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior and you know that heaven is your future, raise your hand. Look around the room. These people have not just fooled themselves. They are not under some delusion. They have not conned themselves. They know what God's Word says.
They know what Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. There is no way to the Father except through Me, but if you believe in Me, you believe in Him. Heaven is yours. I go to prepare a place for you." You can know that. That was brand new to me, because all I had ever heard was: Tom, you have to do this, and don't do that, and you had better do a lot of good, because your good stack had better be higher than your bad stack. I was midway through my second year of college, I had a pretty big bad stack, and I did not see that good stack ever catching up. When I heard the gospel, I said, if that is true, God, I want that.
What Happened When Paul Laid Hands on the Disciples
They heard the gospel, and they were baptized. Now we come to verse six, which is a verse that can really lend itself to a lot of misunderstanding. Three things happen here. First, Paul lays hands on them. Second, the Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues. Third, they began to prophesy. Let us deal briefly with each one of these and try to understand exactly what the passage says.
Paul laid hands on them. There was nothing that Paul conveyed to them by way of power. Paul did not transfer or convey to them any authority or any power, and he did not move any gifts to them. Howard Marshall writes this: "The laying on of hands should be understood as a special act of fellowship, incorporating the people concerned into the fellowship of the church." We see this at key points in the book of Acts. As the Gospel expanded — remember back in Acts chapter eight, when the Samaritans believed — Paul laid hands on them. He was identifying those people as believers. It was an act of fellowship.
That is exactly what is happening here. Paul is saying, completely and unmistakably, that these are truly converted people. They understand who Christ is — the death, the resurrection, the ascension, Pentecost, the church. They understand it all.
Speaking in Tongues: What the Text Actually Shows
Here is the second thing: they began to speak in tongues. I have a friend who tells the story of going to a Pentecostal church years ago. They got hold of him and asked, "Have you prayed in tongues?" He said no. They took him into the back room, gathered around him, laid him out on a couch, put their hands on him, and prayed and prayed for him to speak in tongues. Finally, he just said, "Yamma, yamma, yamma, yamma, yamma, yamma." They said, "By George, he's got it!" and away they went. In fact, a man came up after one of our services and said he had been in exactly that position.
That is nothing like what you see here. These people were not seeking to speak in tongues — it simply happened to them. What the passage is actually speaking of is spiritual gifts: the gift of speaking in tongues and the gift of prophecy. We do not even have to guess about the nature of these tongues. Keep your finger in Acts 19 and flip back to Acts chapter two, where we saw a similar incident on the day of Pentecost. These tongues were not gibberish. They were known languages.
When Paul laid hands on them, he communicated to everyone around that these people were now Christians and were welcomed into the body. They began to speak in tongues — languages unknown to those speaking them, but heard and understood by the listeners. Look at Acts chapter two, verse one:
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all gathered together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance."
We might see how that could be misunderstood, so all we have to do is keep reading. "And there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitudes came together, and they were bewildered because they were each hearing them speak in their own language. And they marveled and were amazed."
The Gift of Tongues and Prophecy
In the day of Pentecost, the same thing we see in Acts chapter 19 occurred: they began to speak in tongues. This was a gift to the listeners — a sign that these people were converted. All of a sudden, they spoke in a language known to those listening but unknown to the ones speaking. The power of the Holy Spirit gave them that gift. They also began to prophesy.
The word that makes up the word "prophet" literally means to cause to shine, or to make to shine. As one teacher writes, a prophet is one who stands before the Word of God and causes it to shine — who illuminates people's lives with the power and truth of Scripture. A prophet is not someone who predicts what is going to happen. A prophet is one who takes the Word of God, opens it up, and shines God's light on it, so that all of a sudden it makes sense.
When I listen to Larry Wright, it happens to me all the time. He will be dealing with something and I will think, there it is — it connects to something I am teaching, and suddenly all of this meaning opens up around me. That happens because the Spirit of God is applying the Word of God to the heart and mind of a man, woman, or student of God. The prophet or teacher is simply the vehicle God is using.
What you see in that passage, then, is Paul identifying with these people. There is the gift of speaking in a tongue — a known language — and there is prophesying, telling the truth in a way that God uses to open people's eyes. It is what we ought to see anywhere there is genuine conversion: people whose lives are changed, who now have gifts, and who need to be using those gifts.
Avoiding Distortion and Neglect of the Holy Spirit
This passage is easily misunderstood. Most of what you see today, especially on Christian television, is a caricature of what this really is. That is not the norm. As we discussed in the first week, the book of Acts is a book of transition. The Bible is not yet finished, the doctrine is not definitively laid out, and the church is in formation. We make a grievous error when we look at a passage like this and say it describes the norm for today — that if you do not have this baptism after belief, something is wrong with you, and when hands are laid on new believers they ought to be speaking in tongues.
These people in the passage are not seeking any of this. It simply happens around them. It is the picture of God at work with a new believer, giving spiritual gifts. And there were about twelve of these men together.
That passage opens itself so readily to misunderstanding, and many of us who are conservative evangelical Christians are, I am afraid, often shy about the Holy Spirit as a result. We look at the charismatic or Pentecostal movement, we see what I believe are distortions and wrong interpretations of Scripture, and consequently, in order to avoid any error, we move in the opposite direction and speak very little about the Holy Spirit. By doing so, I would be afraid we miss much of what God has for us through the Holy Spirit.
Six Works of the Holy Spirit in a Believer's Life
There are six things the Holy Spirit does in the life of every Christian. The first is this: we are born of the Holy Spirit. John 3:3 says, "That which is born of flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." The New Living Translation paraphrases it this way: "Human beings can produce only human beings. The Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven."
Now here is a crucial question, and I do not want us to misunderstand it. Did you have faith and belief in Christ, and then you were born again? Or were you born again, and then you had faith? I would not be surprised if we get this wrong, because the vast majority of people today say they had faith first — they prayed a prayer, asked Christ into their heart, checked the box, and then were born again. They were told that because they believed, they were born again.
But what does Scripture say? Scripture says the flesh gives birth to flesh. Scripture says nobody does good, no, not one. There is nothing I can do in and of myself to be born again. I am born again through an act of the Holy Spirit, and then I have faith. This is really important: I am born again, and then I believe. My salvation is a work of God.
So when we say we are saved by grace and that we did nothing to earn it, here is what we mean. God the Father chose us before the foundations of the earth. God the Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross and secured the payment for the sin of His people. And the Holy Spirit applies that to us at some point in time in our lives and causes us to be born again.
This is why a conference with R.C. Sproul would be very helpful as you begin to work through that important but historically biblical doctrine. It is the Holy Spirit who causes us to be born again. If you are a Christian today, it is not because you were simply sitting there one day and suddenly thought you had figured it out on your own. You see it now because you were born again. God allowed you to see it. The Holy Spirit comes and opens your eyes to see.
The Holy Spirit and the Believer
When Jesus would teach, He would say afterwards — and it almost sounds awkward — "Those who have ears to hear, let them hear." Were there a group in there who didn't have any ears? No. He was saying: if you understand it, if you get it, then believe it. But only those in whom the Holy Spirit had done a work were ever going to get it.
If we are born again today, it is not because of an act of our will, but because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Not only are we born of the Spirit, we are baptized of the Holy Spirit. Now, that is not the same as saying there is some event subsequent to our conversion where all of a sudden we have this microwave experience — zap — and we are suddenly more spiritual. What Paul says is this: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" and "we were all made to drink" — that is, to participate — "in one Spirit."
So when one of your charismatic friends says to you, "Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?" you say, "Yes — I'm a Christian." Because everyone who is a Christian has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who is a Christian has been identified with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has come into that life and identified them with Christ. It is a work of the Holy Spirit.
Indwelt by the Holy Spirit
Not only are we born of the Holy Spirit and baptized of the Holy Spirit, we are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit now lives in us. Jesus spoke the night before He died to the disciples and said, "The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not behold Him or know Him — but you know Him because the Spirit abides with you, and the Spirit will be in you."
Let us be clear about what we are saying. As Christians, we have all been baptized into God's family. We are all part of the body of Christ — full members, vested members. There is no second experience for us. The Holy Spirit has not merely identified us with Christ; He comes in and indwells us, literally setting up residence in our lives.
That is what Paul writes in Romans chapter eight, verse nine: "Indeed, the Spirit of God dwells in you." The word refers to being in one's own home. Your body is now the home of the Holy Spirit. You are a temple of God. The Holy Spirit comes into your life, causes you to be born again, baptizes you, and indwells you.
Sealed by the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit also seals you. Ephesians chapter one, verses thirteen and fourteen: "In Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of salvation, you also believed and were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance." It is a guarantee. The idea of a seal carried the meaning of ownership, security, authenticity, and authority. You as a Christian are sealed — secured in that position — and there is nothing that can happen to break that seal.
If you are a Christian today, this is so important: you are as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there. I was listening to the radio, and someone was teaching an exercise I thought was excellent. He said to take four three-by-five cards and write on each one something absolutely critical to your life, so that at the end you have four cards, each with one item. Then look at those four cards and discard one, then another, then another — a kind of spiritual Survivor — until you are left holding just one card. He said: if whatever is written on that card is something you can lose, you will never be secure.
I presume that if you are a Christian, one of the things you would write on a card is "my personal relationship with Christ," and I presume it would be the last card you held on to. And because that is true, you are forever secure. There is nothing — nothing — that can break that relationship between you and God, because it is based on His strength, not yours. If you are a Christian today, you are as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there. You can know today with certainty where you will spend eternity.
Gifted by the Holy Spirit
Not only are you born of the Holy Spirit, baptized, indwelt, and sealed — you are also gifted by the Holy Spirit. Paul writes in First Corinthians chapter twelve: "There is one same Spirit that works all these things, these gifts in you." When you became a Christian, you were given a spiritual gift — a special enablement to work effectively and efficiently in the body of Christ. If you are a Christian, you have a spiritual gift, and your using it is desperately needed in the body of Christ.
Let me be clear. We have many people in this church who are involved in what God is doing in places other than East Valley Bible Church. Do not for a second think the only place God is working is East Valley Bible Church. Is God working here? I think He is. Is it the only place? No. I met a few weeks ago with a young man who heads up Young Life in the East Valley, and he said he thought eighty percent of the volunteers on his staff were from East Valley Bible Church. I love that. Crisis Pregnancy Center, Christian Family Care — the list goes on and on. These are good things that God is using. However, if you are not using your spiritual gift at East Valley Bible Church —
The Body Needs Your Gift
This body is deficient when you are not using your gift here. We are not anti anything as it relates to serving in outside ministries — it puts a big smile on my face when I hear we are out at the Crisis Pregnancy Center and places like that. But are you using your spiritual gift in the body of Christ?
Five Works of the Spirit at Conversion
We were born, baptized, indwelled, sealed, and gifted by the Holy Spirit. Let me group those five together for a moment, because they all happen simultaneously and instantly at conversion. When the Holy Spirit caused you to be born again, you were at that same moment baptized by the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, sealed by the Spirit, and given a spiritual gift.
Commanded to Be Filled
But the Holy Spirit does another thing — we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. Paul gives us the picture in Ephesians 5:18. He said, "Don't get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit."
He is pointing to people who drink a little wine and after a while are moving under the influence of it — saying things, doing things they would never have said or done otherwise. Haven't you ever heard someone say, "I can't believe I did that. I would have never done that if I hadn't been drinking. I would have never said that if I hadn't been under the influence"? Here is what Paul is saying: he wants you to live in such a way that you find yourself saying, "I would have never done that. I would have never said that if I hadn't been under the influence of the Holy Spirit."
We are commanded — it is in the imperative form — to be filled with the Spirit. That means to continually live in a way that we are under the influence of God's Word as the Holy Spirit applies it to our life. There is one word for this: obedience. I am filled with the Holy Spirit when I am obedient to what God has to say.
Do not talk to me about being filled with the Holy Spirit and then go about living in a way that is rebellious to what God has to say. Are you Spirit-filled? This is easy to figure out. Do you do what God says? If you do, the answer is yes. If you do not, the answer is no.
Have You Received the Holy Spirit?
You and I are born, baptized, indwelt, sealed, gifted, and filled by the Holy Spirit. When Paul came across those disciples, after spending a little time with them he essentially asked, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" I think he was saying there is something missing here.
I wonder, if he walked through this congregation this morning and stopped to talk with you specifically, whether he would find himself saying, "I have been watching you — have you believed? Are you using your gift?" As you take an inventory of your life, do you demonstrate God's presence, power, joy, and excitement? I think there should be some joy and some excitement in the midst of all of that. One of the things that happens when I am out at many churches or Christian organizations is that I miss the joy. I do not see it. Everyone seems to be there because they had to be there.
Apply This to Yourself
Here is what I do not want you to do. I do not want you to take these three questions and apply them to the person on your left or your right. I want you to apply them to your own life. Is there enough evidence around you that people will say, "Gosh, obviously he is a believer. Obviously she is using her gift. Look at the way they live. Look at the joy and the power. Clearly the presence of God is all over them"?
I had a baptism at eight o'clock this morning, and the woman being baptized used the phrase "the fingerprints of God all over me." That is the issue. Do people see the fingerprints of God all over your life? And I come back again to one word that will give evidence of it: obedience. When the Word says do it, you do it. When the Word says avoid it, you avoid it. That is the evidence of a Spirit-filled Christian.
Closing Prayer
Father, will You do that work as we leave this place? Will You allow us to go out with hearts that have been born again and lips that confess the truth of who Your Son Jesus is? God, I pray that when we leave here, people sense the presence and joy and love and excitement in our lives — not in some phony, contrived way, but as a result of the Holy Spirit's work in us.
God, I pray especially for the students who leave here and head to discipleship — that today might be a day when You draw them even closer and more intimately, as they love You, and I pray for the leaders involved in that. God, thank You for a place that cares and a church that loves for one single reason: because we love You. Thank You that we as Christians have been born again, baptized, indwelt, sealed, and gifted. And God, I pray that we are filled with Your Spirit. We pray it in Jesus' name, amen.