Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program, we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark. But first, here's the message. burning in my soul.
In Acts chapter 2, beginning in verse 1. when the day of Pentecost arrived.
Now Pentecost means 50. And this was 50 days. after the celebration of the Passover. Also, let me Relight your fire regarding what happened in the life of Jesus. He was born of a virgin.
He lived. Perform miracles. Minister to people. And with his perfect life, the Lamb of God. Laid his life down upon the cross.
He died on a cross. Our substitute Taking the place for our sin, He died in order that we might live and have eternal life. Jesus died on the cross and gave himself. God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And then on the third day after he was buried in a tomb and the stone rolled away.
And Jesus came out of that grave. And he spent, according to the Gospels and according to Acts chapter 1, he spent 40 days talking with his disciples, teaching his followers, and with many. Proofs. He demonstrated that he was alive. And then, having been alive for these 40 days on the earth, on the 40th day, he ascended into the presence of God and he now lives to pray for us and live in us.
And he said to his disciples, You go to Jerusalem and you wait, you wait for the promise. Of the Father. You wait for the promise of the Spirit to come. He had given them many promises regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit. And that the Holy Spirit would produce his life in them.
He even made the bold claim that greater works than I have done will you do. in the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, the disciples were gathered on this feast day. And by the way, the Christian life is not a funeral, it is a feast, it is a celebration, and what we're about to see is the celebration of the birth of the church.
So, when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together, God's people. Praying together, they were waiting together, they were worshiping together, and suddenly there came from heaven, verse 2, a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire, as of fire, like fire, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were, watch this, all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages or tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. We see in here the promise of the Spirit.
The promise of the Spirit Fulfill. And if you want a fire burning in your soul, receive and respond. to the work of the dear Holy Spirit who lives in every believer. Let me remind you of the profile of the Holy Spirit. Don't be afraid of the Holy Spirit.
I know because of some excesses and extremism, some of you have seen some stuff that is crazy and bizarre, all in the quote name of the Holy Spirit. And you're saying, if that's what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, count me out. I don't want any part of that kind of craziness. And I don't blame you. There's a lot of misunderstanding regarding who the Holy Spirit is.
The Holy Spirit is not an it. The Holy Spirit is not an influence, but the third person of the deity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, He is the person of Christ. He is the person of God. He is the presence of the Lord in the life of the believer.
Now, the Holy Spirit has always existed. He didn't just begin to exist. On the day of Pentecost. No, the Holy Spirit breathed on the waters at creation. The Holy Spirit moved throughout the history of God's people and the lives of Israel and appeared from time to time, but now this is altogether different.
Altogether different. Because the Holy Spirit is now going to live. In The lives of all believers.
Sometimes people think what we need today is another Pentecost. No, we don't need another Pentecost. Pentecost, the day of Pentecost, was a day acted in history. We don't need another Pentecost any more than we need another Bethlehem. Or another Calvary.
What we need to do is to receive what God has given. And the promise that is not only to us, as Peter says in this passage, but to our children and our children's children and to all who call upon him. Bethlehem, Bethlehem is God with us. Calvary, the cross, is God for us. Pentecost is God.
In us. And the Holy Spirit resides in us. makes Christ real in us. The Holy Spirit comforts us. He's our helper.
There are various, multiple names. of the Holy Spirit given to us in Scriptures, and one of those is the helper or the comforter. The Holy Spirit is our prayer partner. Do you know the Holy Spirit enables you to pray even when you hurt so badly that you don't even know what to say or how to pray? The Holy Spirit, according to Acts chapter 8, enables you to pray and and takes your Feeble words.
and broken heart to the Lord. The Holy Spirit gifts His church with spiritual gifts so that we can serve Christ and do it effectively. The Holy Spirit comforts us in times of suffering. The Holy Spirit illuminates the scriptures to us so that when we read God's Word, we begin to understand as the Spirit speaks to us. The Holy Spirit is the witness of our salvation, bringing us assurance of our salvation.
How do I know that I'm saved? There are a number of reasons, but one of the primary reasons that I know that I know that I know that I know that I'm going to heaven, not because of what I've done, but because what Christ has done, is because of the witness of the Holy Spirit. You say, What is that?
Well, deep within the life of the believer, I can't explain it, I can't describe it, but I know because of the Spirit's witness in me that I belong to Jesus Christ. That's the role, one of the roles and responsibilities of the Holy Spirit. I could go on and on, but I hope I'm making the point that the promise of the Father, the promise of the Spirit, is for all of us. Not just for some of us, but to all who have received the Lord Jesus Christ. What happened on that day of Pentecost?
was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Lord poured out His Spirit. Baptize them with His Spirit and power. on that day.
Now Check in right now, what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? The baptism of the Holy Spirit. Is when we are placed into the body of Christ. We have this new identity now in Christ. Baptism, water baptism.
is when we are submerged in water, immersed in water. Placed underneath the water. It's actually a term baptizo, which means to dip or submerge. It was used in New Testament days when they would take a piece of cloth and dye it and dip it in the dye and it would come up another color. That's the idea here.
The baptizo is the baptism, the immersion of the believer in water. It's a symbol of believers' baptism, it is a symbol of our spiritual baptism when we are placed into the body of Christ, when we go down into Christ and come up alive in Him. And you cannot be saved apart from the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit is not something that happens in addition to receiving Christ. It's not a second work of grace.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not something that is subsequent after salvation. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is salvation. In fact, you cannot. Be saved apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. You say, How do you know that?
Well, for one thing, in Romans chapter 8, verse 9, let me show you a scripture. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.
So, if you belong to Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit. When Jesus came into your life, His spirit and dwells you with His very presence. And so baptism of the Spirit. for all believers. For all believers.
Here's another scripture, 1 Corinthians 12, 13. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body. That's talking about the church. Jews, Greeks, slaves, and free, and how many? All were made to drink of one.
Spirit.
So we are In this body of Christ. because of the baptism. of the Holy Spirit. because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And this produces spiritual Power.
in our lives. And that brings me to my second thought today regarding this burning in my soul. If you want God's Fire burning in your soul. And that's what we really need, right? Is that what we really want?
A century ago, a preacher by the name of DeWitt Talmadge. Wrote these words. They're so good, I wanted you to see them. We want in this age above all once. Fire.
God's holy fire burning in the hearts of men, stirring their brains, impelling their emotions, thrilling their tongues, glowing in their countenances, vibrating in their actions, expanding their intellectual power, and fusing all their knowledge, logic, and rhetoric into a burning stream. The awakening of the church, the anointing. of Christians. happened on the day of Pentecost and the effects we still may experience today. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message burning in my soul.
If you're walking through a tough season, Diamonds in the Dark is a message you need to hear. In this honest and hope-filled book, Dr. Graham shows you how God uses grief, warning. Loss and hardship to reveal spiritual treasures you'd never discover otherwise. We want to send you Diamonds in the Dark as a thanks for your gift of $10 or more.
Call now to request your copy? Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. four six two seven or text the word DIAMOND to 59-789. Don't let stress rob you of peace.
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PowerPoint with Jack Graham will return.
Now let's get back to today's message. burning in my soul. Not only should you receive the promise of the Father, the promise of the Spirit. but respond to the power. of the Spirit.
What happened? Three things happened on that day. First, there were three miracles. First, a mighty rushing wind. Jesus talked about this when he referred to the new birth as the blowing of the Spirit, the birth of the Spirit in our lives.
He said, you know, the wind blows where it wills. You can't control the wind. You know, weathermen. Try to Measure the wind, and we have all kinds of equipment. That is designed to measure the winds and its directions and its force, but they still don't get it right all the time because you can't measure the wind.
You can't count on where the wind is going to blow, but when it blows, This invincible, it's unstoppable. It's powerful. You can't change the wind. Just let it blow. Let the wind blow.
Sometimes when the wind blows, it's a gentle breeze. And a still small breath, a voice from God. It comes from deep within.
So there was the miracle of sound. They heard this mighty rushing wind, but there was also a miracle of sight because the fire fell. Fell on the altars of their lives as they were yielded to Christ. The fire came and danced on their heads. And notice it said it was like a mighty rushing wind.
It was like fire. These are symbols. We're not asking the Spirit to do what He did on the day of Pentecost. What we are asking the Spirit to do is to blow like wind through us and fall like fire upon us because the fire of the Spirit, when the fire falls, the fire consumes us. It consumes the dross and the impurities of our lives.
When fire... Moves in our hearts and in our lives. It disturbs the status quo. Too many people in churches today don't want to be disturbed. They don't want to be bothered.
But when the fire comes, it ignites everything around us. And then when the fire comes, you know, it's invincible, this fire. When the fire begins to spread, you can barely stop it because fire with fire produces fire. And that's what we're asking God to do: to ignite our fire, our lives together. And like human candles, let us light up the world for Jesus.
Let the wind blow.
Let the fire fall. Ask the Spirit of God to spread the fire, the light of Christ. the radiance of Christ. Through us. Are you an on-fire Christian?
Would your family and friends describe you as an Christian. Ignited on fire with the mission of Christ.
Well, once they were ignited. By the Spirit of God, then it says they began to speak with other tongues. is the word for languages. And they proclaim the mighty works of God. These weren't unknown tongues.
but known languages. This particular gift was a gift To proclaim the gospel, particularly specifically to the unbelieving Jewish nation at that time. What happened when these Jews, the city was gorged for Pentecost with about a million Jews. And so when this commotion begins to take place in this upper room, when the commotion begins to take place, then people begin to run. To see what was going on.
What was happening, in effect, was they were. proclaiming the glory and the grace of God. And everyone, it says, And a few verses later, heard in their own language. Was it a miracle of speaking or was it a miracle of hearing? The answer is yes.
I don't know exactly what was happening. Was Simon Peter standing up and speaking in Aramaic, his language, and everyone was here? You see, people were there from all over the known world, all over the Middle East. They spoke different languages. They had different ethnicities.
Jesus had told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel. How were they going to do that?
Well, God started the fire by bringing the world to them. Not some gibberish. That's not what this is about. This is about communicating the gospel of Christ in languages where people heard.
So I don't know if Peter was speaking in Aramaic and they heard in their language, or if these disciples were preaching in various kinds of languages, all of them, we're not told, but we're simply told that this was a miracle that took place on that day to Ignite the church on their mission to the world. And in verse 4, We're told what it was all about. that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were filled With the Holy Spirit. You see that in verse 4?
They were all filled in the Holy Spirit. They were all. On fire. Not just the apostles. But everybody in the room.
The Holy Spirit is not just for the preachers and the prophets. And the evangelist. But for everybody in the room who knows Jesus. In fact, in Ephesians 5.18 Paul, in explaining what The ministry of the Holy Spirit is about. He said, Don't be drunk with wine, that's debauchery.
But be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let me say a couple of things about this council. From Paul. First is the command. God has commanded you and you and you and you and you and every one of you, all of us who know Jesus, to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
is commanded. And if I'm not filled with the Holy Spirit, I'm not right with God. If I'm not living and walking in the Spirit, I'm out of fellowship with God. It's a command. I'm told it's not.
proper to ask Personal questions. But here's a personal question. Are you right now filled with God's Spirit? Meaning Are you under the control and the power and the domination of God's Spirit? It's a bit of a contrast, not a bit, it is a contrast here between being drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit.
You know what it is? If you want to know what it is to be filled with the Spirit, Just look at a person who's filled with alcohol or wine. They're controlled by the substance. And they do things that they normally wouldn't do. Maybe a quiet, shy person becomes boisterous and loud.
Or does things that they wouldn't normally do if they weren't under the influence of the alcohol.
So he says, don't do that. That's a command as well. But it's also this contrast. Don't be filled with wine. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Be under the control of the Holy Spirit. Be under the influence. of the Holy Spirit. So to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Is not some catastly explosive event, but it is the day-by-day yielding and giving our lives.
And asking the Spirit of God to fill us and use us for his glory. I pray most every day. Lord. I emptied myself that you might fill me with your Spirit. Renew my heart.
Cleanse me. And use me. For your glory.
Now don't get the idea That in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you have to beat your head on the ground and pray and cry and plead and beg God to fill you. You don't. You simply need to allow him to fill you, to permit him. Not persuade him, just permit him. to fill you with his spirit.
I used to have the wrong idea about how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I used to think That the way to be filled with the Holy Spirit, if I would get right with God enough, If I would be pure enough and holy enough, And strong enough and good enough. and better enough, if I could just do enough. Then God would fill me. That's totally backwards.
As you have received the Lord, walk in him. That's what Paul says in the book of Galatians. The way we receive the Lord, how? Is by grace through faith. The way we walk in him is the same way that we have received him, and that is by grace through faith.
We simply believe and receive what God has already given. You see, the Spirit of Jesus lives in you. Is He in control of you? You know, it's been said many times, it's well worn to say the Spirit is resident, but is He president? He's dormant in your life.
Is he dominant in your life? He's baptized you with his spirit. Are you filled with his spirit?
So it's commanded, it's contrasted. It's continual. The tense of the New Testament language here, in which we're told be filled with the Spirit, it literally means be being filled, be constantly, always being filled with the Holy Spirit. And there's one baptism, many feelings. One baptism, many feelings.
I've been baptized by the Spirit because of the gift on the day of Pentecost. I am now filled with the Spirit each day, and I need to be filled each day. You know why? Because I leak. And so do you.
And the fire wanes, and my passion drivels, and I need to be engaged again and experience each day. His presence, and therefore. His power. The way to be filled with the Holy Spirit is really simple. Dethrone self and enthrone Christ.
Allow Christ to be the center of your life. The spirit of life is a Christ-centered life.
Something He does in you and for you and through you as you. Make yourself available to him.
So, it's not doing something, promising to do better, promising if I go witness more, if I go to church more, if I read my Bible more, maybe God will fill me. I'm not saying these are not good practices. You know, they are. I'm not suggesting that we're to harbor sin in our lives and expect God to fill us. God won't fill what is already filled with something else.
But as I empty myself, have you ever seen somebody who's just so full of himself? You say, man, that guy is so full of himself. What does that mean? He just consumed with himself, talking about himself, thinking about himself. It's all about me, my and I.
He's so full of himself.
So what would it mean then to be full of Jesus? Mm? Talking about Jesus, full of Jesus. Not full of self. And if Jesus is on The throne of my life, if His Spirit is in control of my thoughts and my actions, my deeds, then.
Then I begin to live the life that He has promised and provided. For me, I simply receive this gift. You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message burning in my soul. Life doesn't always unfold the way we hope. There are setbacks, losses, and seasons that leave us asking: where is God in all of this?
In his honest and encouraging book, Diamonds in the Dark, Dr. Graham shares how God is not absent in our pain, He is present. and he is at work. This powerful resource walks you through some of life's hardest places to reveal spiritual treasures God plants along the way. If you or someone you love is facing grief, Fear or uncertainty, this message will help you find strength, clarity, and hope right where you are.
And when you give a gift of $10 or more, we'll send you a copy of Diamonds in the Dark as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. Or just text Diamond to 59-789. And don't forget to visit jackgraham.org, where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr.
Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again is jackgraham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? The way to be filled with the Holy Spirit is really quite simple. It's not the complicated thing that we've made it.
What we need to do is dethrone self and enthrone Christ. We need to allow Jesus the Lord to be at the very center, the very core. of our lives. The Spirit-filled life is a Jesus-centered life. It's something God does in you and through you as you make yourself available to Him.
This spirit-filled life doesn't come by doing something extra or promising to be better or promising to witness more, go to church more, read the Bible more. It actually comes as you empty yourself of your own priorities and allow Jesus to be number one in your life. And what does it mean to be full of Jesus at a practical level? It means that His Spirit controls our thoughts, our actions, our words, our deeds. And when that happens, we automatically begin to live the life that He has promised as He lives through us.
And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark, as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627.
You can also text the word DIAMOND to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about the impact you can have when you give everything to God. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
