I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matt 3:11 NKJV
December 6, 1971 – I was sixteen years old, had just gotten my drivers license, and I got my parents car to go to something called a fellowship because Debbie, a fellow high school student had invited me to come. I met Debbie at her house and we walked over to Michael and Nancy’s apartment, because it was close by. There, Debbie and Jerry prayed for me to get filled with the Holy Spirit, and I did. My world was rocked…and things have never been the same. Thank you Jerry and Debbie!
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 1:8 NKJV
Jesus spoke these things to the apostles whom He had chosen which included Judas. Yes, Judas the betrayer and Peter the denier were still part of the fellowship at this moment. All twelve had abandoned Him at His arrest in the garden, so I’m sure no one was ready to throw those two out of the fellowship. Aren’t you happy Jesus took them back in and never condemned them? Had Judas not left after the Ascension and hanged himself, even the son of perdition would have gotten filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Who replaced Judas among the twelve apostles of the Lamb? I believe it was the one selected by Jesus Himself, Paul.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:3-4 NKJV
The power of the Holy Spirit was what the apostles received on the day of Pentecost and with that power they went to the ends of the earth, with Andrew going as far as Scotland and Thomas as far as India, with power evangelism – signs, miracles and wonders. When the power of the Holy Spirit gets ahold of you, your life changes forever.
I want to show you the awesome power of the Holy Spirit to change lives, and then we will look at what the Boat Rocker can do in your life…
Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately… And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
Apollos, a wonderful man of God, yet not filled with the Holy Spirit, leads a small group of Jewish people to the Lord, but hasn’t been instructed yet regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is different from Philip in Acts 8 as Philip was obviously filled with the Holy Spirit but was not trained yet to get the new converts filled. Believe me, it does take training!
Paul’s first question, his first concern, was whether they had received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues and the other eight gifts. I believe in the book of Acts it was the standard and the norm for every believer to get filled with the Holy Spirit immediately after getting born again. I believe the whole NT was written in light of that reality. Here, because Apollos hadn’t been filled himself probably until Aquila and Priscilla got ahold of him, these new believers didn’t know about the Holy Spirit.
So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
The Holy Spirit came in and rocked their world, and this is when things got fun…
8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
When God is moving, and rocking peoples socks off, it gets to be so much fun! Think of it..one school! He must have brought them in, taught them who they are in Christ, got them filled with the fire of God and sent them out. Everywhere they went they started fires. People were healed, lives were changed, people who had hated each other for decades forgave each other in tears, families were restored, jobs were found, everyone was touched. And Jesus was glorified!
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
It always happens like this! Through it all Jesus took Paul to another level. Demons went crazy, and they started attacking their own people!
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
People with demons, the exorcists, were trying to cast out other demons, and the demons in the man called them out, and then he goes full Bruce Lee (in the movie ENTER THE DRAGON, I think he fights five hundred guys in one scene) on them…grab your popcorn and imagine this scene!
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know (Grk. GINOSKO: know experientially), and Paul I know (Grk. EPISTAMAI – to comprehend or be acquainted with); but who are you?”
Don’t think demons don’t know who you are. They know!
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
One guy fights seven guys…and wins. Don’t ever fight! Jesus never did. When they tried to throw Him off a cliff, He just WALKED THROUGH THEM and left. Just walk in the reality of who you are in Christ, a prince or princess in the royal family of God, an ambassador of the King, and use your authority!
17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20
Look at the results of this mighty Holy Spirit ministry!
So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. Acts 18:24-19:21NKJV
ABBA is your Father, the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, the Supplier of your every need like the perfect Father He is; YESHUA is your Redeemer, Your intercessor and Advocate who guides you as the Head of the Body, and the Holy Spirit, the RUACH KODESH is, well…He is your Boat Rocker!
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. John 16:7 NKJV
To me it is one of the most extraordinary statements in the NT, that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would be of greater advantage to us even then the personal presence of Jesus. I hear people say, “If Jesus just walked in the room, everything would change.” Well, the Holy Spirit is here, He is in the room, He is in you. He is ready right now to change anything and everything from darkness to light for you and I, because He loves us, He values us and He is FAR greater than any enemy – sickness, poverty, marital problems, family issues, physical enemies, memories, demons, etc. – that is against you. There is an old American saying – the ship is sinking, don’t rock the boat! If your ship is sinking, if you are in a helpless situation, you need Someone to rock the boat, to turn the whole thing around. Call for the Boat Rocker! Open your mouth and say, “Boat Rocker, come and save my sinking ship!” and begin to pray in that heavenly language, and EVERYTHING will change! Amen? Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…