Sunday, December 17, 2006

How to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (Part 1)

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ She said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?’ Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.’” (John 4:10-11, 13-14)

I’m sure when this Samaritan woman woke up that morning, she had no idea what was in store for her that day. A routine trip to the well to fetch some water was about to turn into the most important encounter of her life. As she was drawing water, a Jewish traveler spoke to her and engaged her in conversation; an encounter and conversation that should have never happened in their culture, given the hostility between the Samaritans and Jews. The Jewish traveler, Jesus, offered her something beyond her wildest imagination. He offered her living water; water that, once you drank from it, you would never thirst again. As the story goes on, she accepted His offer and that day she became a child of God.

So what was the “living water” Jesus spoke of? Jesus reveals the answer later on in the book of John. “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water,” but this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39) The living water that Jesus spoke of was the Holy Spirit that was to be poured out upon all mankind after His death and resurrection. Fifty days after His death, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those waiting in the upper room. The out pouring of the Holy Spirit was accompanied with such signs that people from all of Jerusalem gathered to see what was happening. Peter stood up to explain what the people were witnessing. “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.” (Acts 2:32-33)

This event is what is commonly referred to as the “Baptism in the Holy Spirit.” After Jesus’ resurrection, He gave this command to His followers. “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” (Acts 1:4-5) The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is many things, but its result is a dynamic out flowing of the Holy Spirit through the lives of ordinary every day people. There is an interesting reference to “living water” in the book of Genesis. “And Isaac's servants dig in the valley, and find there a well of living water.” (Genesis 26:19 YLT) The water was “living” because it was bubbleing, flowing, and springing forth. The water was not just stagnant or placid, but it was alive, moving, and active. So it is with us when we experience the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that is resident in us bursts forth and begins to flow in ways that gives witness to God, His word, and His will. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit opens up for us new dynamics in God, both in our relationship with Him and in His ministry through us. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is like when the children of Israel stood around and sang to a dry well. “From there they continued to Beer, that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, ‘Assemble the people, that I may give them water.’ Then Israel sang this song: ‘Spring up, O well! Sing to it! The well, which the leaders sank, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.’” (Numbers 21:16-18) When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, our wells spring forth, watering both us and those around us.

I believe that this scripture in the book of John gives us the keys to receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Over the next few posts we will be looking at these keys.

More to come… David Robison

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