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 The day the Church became the Church.

• Mark 1:8 (NKJV) – I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
• Baptism comes from the Greek root word, baptize, meaning to repeatedly dip, immerse, submerge. To cleanse, to wash, to make clean.  To overwhelm.
• Waiting was phase one – Acts 1:4-5, 8 (NKJV) – And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. … 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.”
• 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.
• Filled comes from the Greek word, pimplemi, means to be fulfilled or filled – used in reference to the wind filling a sail on a boat.

And we are to be repeatedly filled with God’s Spirit.

• And not only are we filled one time, we are commanded to be continuously filled – Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV) – And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.

Holy does a church, baptized in the Holy Spirit, look?

• They fellowshipped together – Acts 2:42.
• The worshipped together – Acts 2:47.
• They were on one accord and had all things in common – Acts 2:44-46.
• The fear/awe of God was upon them – Acts 2:43.
• Souls were being added to the kingdom daily – Acts 2:47.
• They had the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-26.

So how did we get so far away?

• The great falling away has started – 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 (NLT) – Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. ³ Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.

Who’s winning in you?

• There’s a war going on inside of you – Romans 8:5-6 (NLT) – Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. ⁶ So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
• What vessel are you – 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NKJV) – But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. ²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
• Hebrews 12:29 (NLT) – Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. ²⁹ For our God is a devouring (utterly consuming) fire.
• No doubt fire is a change agent to whatever it encounters – Acts 17:6b (NKJV) – “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”

* The audio corresponding to this post is under “media” on this site – dhfirstag.org – and is available on Monday