The Word Made Plain

Guest (Female): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 19, verses 1 through 3.

Tony Clark: Father, thank you so much for this time in your word. We pray that your Holy Spirit would teach us this morning. Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit would give us ears to hear your still, small voice speaking to us. Lord, we pray that you would really, really, just really give us ears to hear. Lord, reveal the secrets of our hearts, we pray today in Jesus' name. Amen.

Acts chapter 19, looking at verses 1 to 3. The title of this message is "Something Is Missing". "Something Is Missing" and this is part one of this message. Now, you can always tell when something is missing. Whether that is in a certain food, whether it comes to decor, or by looking at a person. With all of these examples, you can say to yourself, "Something is missing. Something isn't right." The same was true in these verses that we are about to study.

Let me give you a perfect example of what I'm talking about. America, according to the Barna study he took some time ago, 70% of Americans claim to identify themselves as Christian. But when I look at America, I have to say something is missing. Something isn't right that 70% of America claims to be a Christian. That means that something is wrong with America's Christianity as I begin to look at the lives of Americans.

Now, by way of background, here is Paul on his third missionary journey in the city of Ephesus. He will find himself face-to-face with a group of believers who seem to have something missing from their lives, something so important that it will prompt him to ask them this vital question: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" There was something outwardly that Paul saw. Maybe they seemed dull and dry, listless or lifeless in their witness and walk with the Lord.

As Paul talked to these disciples, he realized that even though they were disciples, which is a word that means "disciplined ones", even though they were students, there was a dullness in them, a dryness about them that could only be cured by the Spirit of God coming upon their lives. Look what it says there in verse 1. "And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus and finding some disciples."

Now, we were introduced to Apollos, that man who was called mighty in the Scriptures according to chapter 18 of Acts in verses 24 to 28. He remained in Corinth while Paul came to the city of Ephesus. He wanted to keep his word to the believers there and come back to them according to Acts 18 and verse 21. He arrived there by way of the upper region, which was a more direct route.

Outside of the cities of Antioch of Syria and Alexandria in Egypt, Ephesus was one of the great cities on the Mediterranean Sea. The population of the city during this particular time was approximately 250,000 people. The Temple of the Greek goddess Artemis, that's her Greek name, her Roman name was Diana, was located there. The worship of Artemis was also a great financial boom to the area because it brought tourists and festivals and trade.

So once Paul arrived there, he found some disciples, the end of verse 1 says. Let's see what else happened. Look at verses 2 and 3. He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "Well, we have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said to them, "Well, into what then were you baptized?" And so they said, "Into John's baptism."

Now, these verses have caused great controversy in the church and I will not bore you with the details because most of you can care less about them. However, it is surrounded around Paul's question to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" or "Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed?" And depending upon a person's theological position, they would emphasize either word "when" or "since".

Like I said, I will not get into the weeds of this debate, but I think that it could be translated either way and we will see by the time we finish this study. So after Paul asked them this very important question, they responded by saying that they have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. Then Paul responded in verse 3 by asking them, "Well, into what then were you baptized?"

He asked them this because Jesus clearly said in Matthew 28 in verse 19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." So they responded by saying that they were baptized into John's baptism. They were not saying that they have not heard about the Holy Spirit at all because John the Baptist taught them in Luke 3 and verse 16.

He says, "I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." So they were saying we have not heard that this has happened yet. And now Paul is about to instruct them on the ministry of Jesus Christ like Aquila and Priscilla had to do with Apollos. They needed to know about the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Oh, let me pause right here and ask you: have you received the Holy Spirit when or since you believed? Now, I know that some of you who are a little more theologically savvy will protest and say, "Well, Pastor Tony, I thought when I opened my heart to Jesus, I automatically received His Holy Spirit." And I would say you did. Paul would later say in Romans 8:9, if any man does not have the Spirit, he is none of His. In other words, if you don't have the Holy Spirit, you're not even a Christian.

When you opened your heart to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit took up residence within you, or watch this, He made your heart His home. You have the Holy Spirit, but the real question everyone wants to know is, does the Holy Spirit have you? Does He have control of your life? This is the issue. Now, for you note-takers, because it's not going to be on the screen, Ephesians 5 and verse 18 says, "And do not be drunk with wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."

The Greek word for "filled" there is *plerōō*. For those who want to spell it, it's spelled like it sounds, *plerōō*, P-L-E-R-O-O, but it's pronounced *plerōō*. And it's a word that means "total control". Just as alcohol totally controls an individual, so too we should allow the Holy Spirit to totally control our lives. So once again, yes, you have the Holy Spirit, but I have to ask you, does the Holy Spirit have total control over your life? That's the real question.

See, there are three different relationships we can have with the Holy Spirit that is described by three words: with, within, and upon. There are three Greek prepositions corresponding with these three words used in the New Testament. There is *para*, *en*, and *epi*. *Para* means "with", *en* is like our "in", and *epi* means "upon". See, the Holy Spirit is with us before we are Christians, convicting us of our sin and showing us our need for a Savior. Oh, we see this in John 16 in verses 8 through 11.

Now, once we repent of our sin and accept Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior, then Jesus comes and lives in us by His Holy Spirit according to Ephesians 3:17 and John 14 and verse 17. Now, finally, there is an "upon" experience we can have with the Holy Spirit where the Spirit of God comes and overflows our lives. Oh, we see this in Acts 1:8. It says, "And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." The Greek word is *epi*. "Upon you, and you shall be my witnesses."

It is this *epi*, upon experience that is missing from a lot of believers' lives and what was missing from these believers in Ephesus. This dynamic power to be a witness, to speak for the Lord, to live for Him in a godly way. This is missing from the church today. This is an experience that is separate from our salvation and I'm going to prove it to you.

To prove this point, do you remember how Jesus breathed on His disciples in John chapter 20 and verse 22 and said this: "Receive the Holy Spirit." At this point, the disciples were born again. They had the Holy Spirit. If Jesus said, "Receive the Holy Spirit", do you think they received it? Yeah, they received it. So this is where they were born again.

Then why did Jesus tell them in Acts 1:4 to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them? Didn't they have the Holy Spirit when He breathed upon them? Oh, yes, they did, but there is an *epi*, an upon experience we can have with the Holy Spirit after salvation that will give us the divine dynamite power we need to be a witness for Jesus Christ, which is what is missing in a lot of believers' lives today.

Another example of this is in Acts 8 and verses 5 through 25 with the Samaritans. They believed the gospel that Philip the evangelist preached to them. He preached the gospel, they received it, and they were baptized, which means that the Spirit was dwelling in them. But when the church in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had received the gospel, they sent Peter and John to them, watch this, to lay hands on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

Hold up, I thought they got it when they believed and were baptized. What was the purpose of Peter and John going down there to lay hands on them if they had it all already? So it is an *epi* experience, it is an upon experience that is missing from a lot of people's lives today. And I see this missing in the church in America as well.

The amazing thing is that it shows that the Holy Spirit will come upon the believers in Samaria when Peter and John went down there, laid hands on them, and it's the same thing that's going to occur when Paul in verse 6 that we're going to get to God's will next week. Paul, after he instructs them, he's going to lay hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit. They were already Christians, they were already disciples, we see from verse 1 they were disciples.

But when Paul laid his hands on them, then the power of God came upon their lives at that particular point. Now, here in Acts, Paul said to the Ephesians, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed?" or "when you believed?" It really doesn't matter which word is used. I say this because Paul is acknowledging that there is a relationship with the Holy Spirit that when they believed or since they believed, that they didn't have.

What Paul is saying is a person can believe the gospel message and yet not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the overflow *epi* experience until a later time. And this is what we're seeing here. Like we saw with the disciples, Jesus breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit. Like we saw with the Samaritans, they believed and were baptized then Peter and John came down there later, laid hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit.

Just like these disciples here, they were disciples, they were followers, they were students of the Lord but then received the overflow of the Spirit of God when we get to verse 6. So I believe that Paul asked these believers this question because he observed something missing in their lives, like a lack of fervency, a lack of love, a lack of passion, a lack of fire for the things of God.

I believe that this is what is missing in the church today and what is missing in many people's lives here that's under the sound of my voice. A lack of a real dynamic sense of the Holy Spirit in your life. It's like you're ho-hum Christians. I have to ask you, does that describe some of you here today? You have no real enthusiasm for the things of God.

You know enthusiasm comes from two Greek words, *en theos*, which means "in" or "full of" and *theos* is God. It means enthusiasm means "full of God". Full of the Lord, not full of mess, but full of the Lord. And this is what is lacking today. Maybe Paul saw a spiritual deadness in their lives. So it is really a good question for him to ask and for us to ask ourselves. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is a dynamic force.

And the Greek word for power is *dunameos*, where we get dynamic, dynamite. It is a dynamite force in our lives, it's divine power from on high. It's something that makes us alive to the things of God. It brings a fire in our lives for God, an *en theos*, an enthusiasm for the things of God. When you see someone with the *epi* experience, they are full of God, full of enthusiasm for the things of God.

When the Spirit of God sets us on fire for Him, and this is what's so amazing is that this is what is lacking in the church today. And it's unfortunate because there's certain theological circles that will tell us that this experience is not valid. And they have theologically argued it away. And then we wonder why we see such a dryness in the church today. Such a deadness.

People claiming to be Christians but there's no power. There's no *en theos*, there's no enthusiasm for the things of God. You're more enthusiastic for your sports and for your team. But when it comes to the things of God, this is what enthusiasm means: *en theos*, in or full of God. I see it all the time. Oh, many of you can't wait until you get home. You love coming to this early service so it don't mess with your one o'clock kickoff.

You just can't wait. And with anticipation you went yesterday and got the chips and the soda. Order the pizza, you got the pizza going to meet you there, man going to meet you at the house. Just in case you ain't there the neighbor going to let them in. And we're very enthusiastic about our teams. But when it comes to prayer, when it comes to Bible reading, when it comes to the things of God, we're not too enthusiastic about that.

Oh, we're Christians, oh, we're Christians, but many of us are ho-hum Christians. You lack fire, you lack enthusiasm for the things of God. You judge me, Pastor Tony. Well, yes, I am. And you're admitting that that's you that I'm talking about. That's why you say you're judging me. Isn't that a wonderful thing we were talking about that in leadership this morning? The whole thing of how Satan has taken one little thing, one little word, and has used it to shut Christians up. It don't shut me up but it shut many of you up.

But it was obvious that something was missing when Paul saw them. He said he found disciples so he was excited. I found some disciples, some disciplined ones, and he was all excited and he was like, I can see his face, it looked like, "What's up with y'all?" And it prompted him to ask, "Have y'all received the Holy Spirit when or since you believed?" Doesn't matter which one.

"When or since you believed?" They said, "We never heard so much as there is the Holy Spirit." He said, "Whoa, whoa, what's up with y'all? What were you baptized in?" "John's baptism." He said, "Sit down, we got to talk." And I wonder, I wonder when people come in contact with us, do they sense something is missing? Do they see and they turns their face up and say, "You're a Christian?" because they know that something, they don't know how to label it, they just know something is missing.

Something is not right in our lives. And we're going to see Paul give these believers in Ephesus some further instructions on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because they've heard of Jesus, because John pointed at Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Then John said, "Hey, there's one coming, that Lamb right there, there's one coming and He's going to not only baptize you with the Holy Spirit but with fire."

So they knew about this, but they didn't know that these things had happened. So Paul is going to instruct them and give them some instruction. Let me conclude with this because we have to talk about some stuff. Is something missing in your walk with Christ? Do you lack a passion for the things of God? Are you enthusiastic for God? Or would those around you look at you and say something is missing?

People can tell. They can tell. Our families can tell, those closest to us can tell that something is missing. I can tell you right now, I'll be the first one to tell you. For those of you who know, this is of course my first time teaching here because I was in California. And it's always funny when people hear California, they immediately think we're on some kind of vacation. When you hear that I go to California, it's far from a vacation.

I spoke ten times while I was out there up and down Southern California. We were in four different hotels and it was just nuts. It was nuts. And so I came back and of course whenever I come back, I gotta hit the ground. It's just madness. I wish I can come back and take a few days where I can just exhale. No, I come back and there are meetings and it just.

So I came back on a Tuesday evening, and then Wednesday was church, so I was right back at it at church and then Thursday's meetings all day long because I'm back now and so everybody gotta pull, pull. And then Friday, Thursday I think Thursday was a board meeting. So all-day meetings and then board meeting that night and then Friday we had Friday prayer and seven different pastors came and so you just.

So I needed the Holy Spirit upon my life. I'm gonna let you know. I was not enthusiastic about anything but getting some rest. And my attitude showed it. And I was trying to hide it, and when you're trying to hide it and it just oozes out, and I was struggling. I was struggling hard. And then on top of that, when we got back, of course, you know the, "Hey, here the grandkids, they missed y'all." Okay. Okay.

So little ones all over the house and the house is a wreck and just oh, where are they going to stay? Overnight. Oh. Oh, okay. Okay. I was struggling. I've been struggling since I've been back. So my point is people can always tell when something is missing. When Jesus is not upon your life. When your attitude doesn't reflect the Spirit of God being upon it. When your words are sharp and when you're snapping on people.

When you're on edge and everything kind of gets on your nerves, your nerve endings are exposed, people can tell. People can tell. I'm reminded, you know in the great Psalm 23 when it says that He anoints our head with oil. The purpose of the anointing, the shepherd would anoint the sheep's head with oil for two reasons.

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