SPEAKER_00 0:01

Amen. Amen. Amen. Want to get right into this next part of our service because the Lord has a treat for you today. I also recognize that there's this interesting dynamic of this weekend, and I don't think they compete with one another, but it's Pentecost Sunday, which is when we're focusing on the promise that was purchased for us by Jesus. And it's also Memorial Day weekend, where we're remembering the people who purchased our freedom as a nation with their blood and with their sacrifice. We're remembering that they purchased a freedom for us, that we have a responsibility to walk in. And just like Pentecost, Jesus purchased that promise for us, and he was the reason that we received the promise of the Holy Spirit. We have to make sure we're walking in that. That we're living in that, that power is in us and through us. And I I love that things lined up the way that they did uh for our special guests to be here today, because uh that is exactly what they do. They go everywhere they go, they light fires of you need to be about the father's business. You need to make sure that you have all that he promised and that you are living it out, that you are doing, being who he called you to be, doing what he called and commissioned you to do. And everywhere they go, they light those fires. And I'm so excited uh to have them here today. I want to say a couple of things before I just turn it over to them, but I want to be brief. It's hard to be brief when you honor someone as much as Melanie and I honor this couple, but John and Ann Bosman, pastors John and Ann Bosman, are here with us today, and we met them 25 years ago. And for those 25 years that we've known them, uh we have had profound encounters with God under their ministry. And the longer I know them, the more I love them, and the more that we are impressed with the caliber of people and followers of Jesus that they are. And a few things about them. They're from South Africa, and John uh has and Anne have been in ministry. Well, they celebrated. Here's one thing I want to back up. They just celebrated 61 years of marriage. Come on. Was it last week? Last week, 61 years of marriage. That's um worth honoring and celebrating. And they've been in ministry for over 56 years of their life. That is incredible. And so I met them 25 years ago. Well, they uh moved, he pastored in was it um was it Zimbabwe? Well, your first pastorate position, was it Zimbabwe or Zambia? Born in Zimbabwe. South Okay, South Africa, okay. So then he moved to the United States and to Louisiana of all places. He got an assignment from the Lord to pastor in Lake Charles, where they were at Glad Tidings Assembly of God, and they grew that church from hundreds to thousands. And uh then around the time we were meeting them, God was releasing them from that uh assignment, and he was going into full-time evangelistic work and all the things that he does. They're true five-fold ministers. I've seen them for decades and decades. They operate in all five of those ministry offices that we see in Ephesians 4: Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. And I have so much respect and honor them so much. Melody and I uh I take it very seriously when we put someone in front of you because there's more than just a teaching or a sermon or some, it's it's an impartation of their spirit. It's God saying, I want to put someone in front of you and take a piece of their spirit. Melody and I, there's not not a whole lot of people we would say, I want a part of their spirit to be on our life. But 61 years of marriage, they have two sons, five grandsons. Uh, the fruit of their ministry is absolutely incredible. They've seen um tens of thousands, tens of thousands of people saved, healed, and delivered. They've planted thousands of churches, and and here's here's another reason I want to be like them when I grow up. At their age, I won't say what that is because Anne is here. And so at their age, in their 80s, they've just said yes to a new ministry assignment. They found out that in Zimbabwe, where he was born, it's a full circle ministry moment. So they've launched this project through their ministry. I'll talk about it more after service, called Zim 500. They found out that all the missionaries had been run out of Zimbabwe, and there was not one missionary left in Zimbabwe. And they said, We're gonna do something about it, we're gonna get involved. They partnered with another ministry, and their goal is to plant 500 churches in Zimbabwe, indigenous churches in Zimbabwe, uh, with uh by the year 2033. Come on, let's get and so this is a cup of saying, there's there's no such thing as retirement. There's no American dream. We're kingdom people. We don't calibrate our life and make our plans according to those things. We're going to do what the Lord has called us to do until we no longer can do what the Lord has called us to do. And so Melanie and I look at John and Ann Bosman and say, Lord, we want some of what you've placed on them to rest on us. We want to be like them. We admire and honor the fruit of their marriage, the fruit of their life, the fruit of their ministry. And so would you please welcome, stand and give a great welcome to Pastors John and Ann Bosman.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Thank you. You may be seated. Well, thank you, pastors, for having us here today. This is quite a remarkable group of people here this morning. And what a lovely place God has blessed you all with for the beginning stages to be able to meet like this. Now he said at our age, okay, let me tell you something. When we met them, these kids, they were really kids, and now look where they are, busy planting and putting something great and wonderful together for the glory of God. You know, the I love all of the word of God, the entire Bible, I love it because it is nourishment to my spirit. And unless you nourish your flesh, you will not have strength. But your spirit indeed needs nourishment as well. And we nourish our spirit by reading the word of God and making sure that we build a foundation from which we operate in the world that we are living today. I love all of the word of God, but my most favorite scripture is recorded in Psalms 119, verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. You see, unless I walk according to the word of God, I do not know if I'm walking in the right direction, because the word of God also has his will for my life. And my life is hidden in Christ, and it's hidden for my destiny, which is eternity. Now you have to remember, unless you read the word of God, you will not know who you are in Him and who you are with Him. You will never know what you have in life in the spiritual realm, and you will never know where to put your next step in the spiritual realm. But how do I get to know these things? By reading the word, by memorizing the word, because it is so important to get the word deep down in your spirit, ladies and gentlemen. Because you see, we will all face difficult times in life. Jesus said, in this world, you will have trials and tribulations. So what do I do when I find myself in a difficult spot? I look up to the Holy Spirit, the one that has come as my helper, and I say, Holy Spirit, help me. And he reaches down deep into my spirit, and he pulls out a verse and it says, God is my refuge, God is my strength, a very present help in time of trouble. That's how I built him into me with greater emphasis than he that is in the world. How do I get to build that within me? According to Psalms 91, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high God shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And I will say of the Lord, you are my refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Then I get to a time when I am happy in the Lord and everything is going well in my life. And what do I do? I praise him, I worship him, and I say, I will rejoice in the Lord my God, for he has given me the garments of salvation and has clothed me with a robe of righteousness. What a privilege we have to know. We don't have to walk on our own ways and think. I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. Well, maybe I should go this way. No, maybe that way. No, no, no, no. The word of God has an answer to every question, it has a solution to every challenge in life. So this morning I have come to encourage you, fall in love with God's word again, over and over and over again. And the one that we celebrate today, the Holy Spirit, will lead you and guide you through the word of God and help you in the time of need, or he'll help you rejoice in the Lord. God bless you as my husband comes to bring the word.

SPEAKER_02 12:43

Well, good morning. It's so good to be with you today. I really, really mean that. It means more to me than you would ever know. Thank you very kindly, Pastor Ben, for your kind introduction. You and Melody are so special to us. So very special. You know, we've been traveling around the world to so many countries, we've been in so many conferences and in so many churches. But I want to tell you, both of you, something that I've never told you. When we met you at first in Shreveport 25 years ago, my wife and I said, if we were still pastoring, we would have loved to have that couple on our staff. They were exceptional from the moment we met them. Somehow, God must love all of you greatly to give you this couple to be your pastors, to lead you into what God has for you during this time. It's a great time to be alive. Thank you. No amen, but a few nods. I said it's a great time to be alive. Oh, let me try that one more time. I said it's a great time to be alive. You see, the fact is that I have learned that everything in Texas is bigger, louder, nicer, smarter. So I know right now I am not in Oklahoma. Maybe close, but we're not there. We're in Texas. Well we do everything bigger and better because we serve a bigger and better God. So at the count of three, let me hear you give the Lord a shout of praise. One, two, three. Oh, bless God. So happy to know that you're alive. Heavenly Father. We come to you now in the name of Jesus. And in the power of the Holy Spirit. And I pray, Lord, that these next few moments will become life-changing minutes. And that you will be honored and glorified and magnified. You are greater God and greatly to be praised forevermore. Amen. Today I uh want to talk to you about a very significant matter. Something that many believers do not fully understand, or many others may be uncertain about. My overall title this morning is going to be The Three Baptisms. I heard my good friend Pastor Denny Duran, and it was their pastor for many years, preach on the subject some years ago. But I want to take on somewhat of a different approach. Because when we talk about three baptisms, we realize that the Bible speaks not of one baptism, but of three very distinct baptisms that together form God's complete work in the believer's life. Hebrews chapter six, verse two refers to the doctrine of baptisms, not baptism singular, but of baptisms plural. So the three baptisms scripture mentions are number one, the baptism into Christ, secondly, the baptism in water, and thirdly, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Now, please note that you are saved by the first, the baptism into Christ. You are identified by the second, the baptism in water. And you are empowered by the third baptism, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Now, we're not going to have time to fully cover all specifics of all three of these baptisms this morning. But for context purposes, I will summarize the first two: the baptism into Christ and the baptism in water, but then I'm going to spend more particular time in the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Because, as Pastor has said, today is Pentecost Sunday, the day that the church worldwide celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But even more than just the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it was also the moment when the church was powerfully birthed to fulfill the mission of Christ. So we realize today that when we are celebrating Pentecost, we are celebrating the fact that the Holy Spirit was poured out, but we also celebrate the fact because of the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the church was born. And today we are celebrating river life as an extension of the birth of the church of the living God. And we can celebrate that with great enthusiasm. So let me touch firstly on the first baptism. The first baptism occurs when the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. I want to say that again. The first baptism occurs when the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. It is also referenced as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Not the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But we would usually know it as being born again, or it is simply known as the moment of our salvation. First Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 13 says, for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. So when we were saved, when we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were baptized into the body of Christ. At salvation, the Holy Spirit does something supernatural. He places you into Christ. You do not join Christ, you are placed into Him. Now, what happens at this baptism? You are born again. You become a new person. Your sins are forgiven. You were lost in sin, and now you were found. You were dead in your sin, now you are alive in Christ. Your old sinful nature is broken through redemption. You are a new creature, you are baptized into Christ. At that moment, your identity is completely changed. The Holy Spirit places you into the body of Christ. Who is the body of Christ? It's not a denomination, it's not an organization, it's all the Those who have been baptized into the body of Christ worldwide. And it's important for us to realize that baptism into Christ by the Holy Spirit is the only baptism that is required for salvation. It's not salvation plus, it's not redemption plus, it's not blood plus. It's saved by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ and nothing and no one else. Well, the second baptism is known as water baptism. Now, most of us are very familiar with this baptism, the baptism in water. And one of the reasons for this is because it is the only one of the three baptisms that can be seen with the physical eye. You cannot see physically the other two. Now, after we have been saved, after we have been baptized into the body of Christ, we should be obedient to the instructions of the Word of God, and we should make ourselves available to be baptized in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And when we do so, when we follow in obedience, we identify with Christ's death and resurrection. And when you get water baptized, it is a clear indication that the old person is cut off, left in the water, buried in baptism. And when you rise up out of the water, it signifies and clearly states that you are rising up as a new person. You are buried in the body of Christ. Now your body is buried in the water. But when you rise up, you rise up with resurrection power and you're identified with Christ. Now, I do want to say this very clearly that water baptism is not optional. The Bible makes it clear that after you have become a child of God, the next step is to be baptized in water. And I can spend a lot of time talking about that. And there's a reason why baptism is important. Baptism in water, that is. Luke chapter 7, verse 30. It says, but the Pharisees and lawyers, listen to this, rejected the will of God for themselves. Why not having been baptized? The Pharisees, the lawyers did what? They rejected the will of God. How did they do that? By not having been baptized. Baptism in water is not a denominational thing. It's not an expectation of man. It is the identity with Christ in his resurrection. So let me step off of that and spend just a little bit more time in the third baptism. Matter of fact, the more I speak on the first two baptisms, the more I feel like I want to say a little bit more about each one of them. But our emphasis is not there. And as a matter of fact, I thank, I think most of you understand the first two baptisms that we talked about. So the third baptism is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The reason why we're going to pause there is, as I've already said, we're celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Ladies and gentlemen, and I may say that again later on, just like the baptism in water should not be optional, the baptism in the Holy Spirit should not be optional either. We normally talk about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Why do I say that? I'm saying that because when we were saved, we were baptized into the body of Christ. And I'm going to say a little bit more about that in just a moment. And when we were saved, the Holy Spirit took up residence on our inside. So now when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, baptized into the Holy Spirit, it's not only that the Holy Spirit is now in us, but that we are into the Holy Spirit. We are baptized into the river. So that the river will take us wherever it wants to take us. And I'm not going to go wherever I want to go. I'm going to go where the river is going to take me because I'm baptized into the river of the Holy Spirit. Now, this baptism is where many people stop short. They are saved, they may be baptized in water, but they are not walking in power. And for that reason, we are going to drill a little deeper into the truth of the baptism into the Holy Spirit. Let us make this clear. That when you were born again, the Holy Spirit takes up residence on your inside and gives you the ability to cultivate or grow the fruit of the Spirit. After you have been born again, the Holy Spirit is alive on your inside, and he gives you the ability to cultivate or grow the fruit, to be sanctified, to become more like Christ, to display more of the characteristics of Christ. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit gives you the ability to develop the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At salvation, you receive the ability to cultivate the fruit, but with the baptism into the Holy Spirit, he gives you the ability to develop the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That's why it's so very important for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We should not only become like Christ, we should do the works of Christ. That's why we need the gift. That's why we need the power of the Holy Spirit. And it's so exciting to me that Matthew 3, verse 11 says that Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Not Pastor Ben, not me, nobody else, but Christ. Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In Mark 1, verse 8, John points to Jesus and he says, I indeed baptize you with water, but he that is Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Everybody say, Jesus. Come on, we're in Texas, shout, Jesus! Jesus is the one that will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. Oh, I want to give you the definition, and maybe on the screen. Yes, it is, right at the bottom. We're not each at the top now. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is when Jesus immerses the believer, immerses you in the Spirit for what? Supernatural empowerment. The spirit within you gives life, the spirit upon you gives you power. Now think about this. If you are a child of God, you have been birthed into the body of Christ, or baptized into the body of Christ, you've been baptized in water, it means you have the form, but you don't have the power. So if you have been baptized into the body of Christ and you've been baptized in water, you have all that you need, excepting that you don't have the power to do what God really wants you to do. I wish I had a glove, then I could have explained it beautifully. But if you take a glove and you look at the glove and you see it is perfect, it's called a glove. Room for your hand. It's got everything it looks like. As a matter of fact, you look, lift up a glove, it looks like a hand. But that glove has no ability in itself. You can take that glove, put it on the counter, it'll lie there until it rots. A glove can have, can do nothing on its own. But the moment you take your hand and you put your hand into the glove, now suddenly that glove has power, and that glove has ability to do something that it could not do on his own. Therefore, it's the same and you're and my life. Our lives are like a glove. We may have the form, we may have the shape, we may have everything that's needed, but we don't have the power until the Holy Spirit moves in. And when the Holy Spirit comes in, you have the power to do the works of Christ and cast out demons and heal the sick because you are now filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, as I mentioned previously, that today we are celebrating the moment when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church. And the scripture relates to us that on that day that the disciples were powerfully baptized in the Holy Spirit. Pastor Ben read Joel and also read out of Acts. But if you would look at Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 4, it describes it this way. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, oh I can preach on that for a moment. The moment designated in time by the will of God. Oh, let me move on. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Now, ladies and gentlemen, don't miss this. They were all with one accord and in one place. They were all at the same place at the same time. And when they were all together in the same place at the same time, they all did something together. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. And it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire and sat upon each of them. Everybody say, each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Well, my text on the screen stops, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, but it continues, and they all spoke in other tongues. Now I'm not going to concentrate on that. Pastor Ben is going to teach you about speaking in tongues. Not this morning, but probably he has already ten times over. But I want to talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And each one of them received supernatural gifts out of the hand of God. And from that moment onward, they were no longer functioning in their own power. They were functioning with the authority of the Creator God. They were functioning under the authority of Jesus Christ, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. They were anointed to do the works of God. And if I talk to you about the anointing right now, I will tell you to concentrate on that aspect that it says, then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire, and one sat upon each of them. You don't need somebody else's anointing. You have a flame on your own head. Don't ask somebody else. Pray for me that I may have your anointing. You can't have his anointing. You can't have her anointing. You don't want their anointing. You have your own anointing because there's a flame on top of your head. Now, this outpouring was so powerful that it attracted the attention of thousands of people that gathered to witness what is taking place. Then seizing the moment, Peter delivered a life-changing sermon explaining exactly what had just happened. His anointed preaching brought many of the Jewish listeners on a deep conviction by the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 2, 37 recalls this response. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? How can we experience what you have just experienced? How can we experience this power that human tongue cannot describe? Then Peter answered, repent, get saved, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sin. Repent, be baptized. Number three, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call all the way in Salina, Texas. Everybody. Now again, notice the progression. I want to repeat again, listen to it again. What Paul or Peter is saying to them. He's saying to them, repent. He says, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, these three things cannot be separated. You cannot say, Well, I'm saved, thank God, I'm on my way to heaven. No, there is more to it than just to be saved. There's something like baptism, the identification with Christ. There's something like the baptism into the Holy Spirit, where you receive the supernatural power to do the works of God. And I want you to look with me at 1 John chapter 5, verses 7 and 8. It gives us some clear revelation, again, regarding the three baptisms. Verse 8 says, and there are three that bear witness on the earth. The spirit, the water, and the blood. And these three agree as one. Again, the blood, the water, the spirit. The blood speaks of salvation. The water speaks of baptism. The spirit speaks of Holy Spirit baptism. It's repeated over and over. When you are saved, you become a new creation in Christ. When you are baptized in water, the old life is buried and left behind. And when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you are empowered to walk victoriously in the new life in Christ. This final baptism is the vital key to living and ministering in supernatural power. And we see this happening all through Scripture. Acts 19, verses 1 through 6 give us a good description. And I'm not going to read all of those verses. I'll just summarize it for you. When Paul is coming to Ephesus, he finds a group of people. He meets with a group of believers in Ephesus. And he asks them this question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit? They said, We have not even heard of the Holy Spirit. They had experienced repentance, but they had not understood the fullness. Now, again, I was going to stop myself by going too wide. But why did Paul ask them when when they said, well, we saved, you were baptized? Well, if you were baptized, how is it then that you did not hear about the Holy Spirit? Because if you were baptized the way you should have been baptized, you would have heard. Baptized into the Father, into the Son, and into the Holy Spirit. Then he recognized they were baptized with the baptism of John and not the baptism of the authority, according to Acts 28, verse 18 through 20. So what did he do? He then baptized them. So they were already saved, but then he baptized them and then he laid hands on them. And the Bible says, and they all received the Holy Spirit. You see, you cannot change that truth. It's all through the Bible. The same, and I want to hurry over this. The same example is when God took the Israelites out of Egypt. When they left Egypt, it was an indication of salvation when they were freed from slavery. In our redemption, we are slaved from the slavery of saved from the slavery of sin. We are redeemed, we are set free. The next thing that happens with them is a cross over the Red Sea, which is a type of baptism. And then they were led by a column of fire and night in a cloud during the day, which is a type of the Holy Spirit. Again, all the way from the beginning. It's always been the three. The tabernacle is the same thing. You enter the gates with Thanksgiving, get into the courts of praise. The first piece of furniture you find, the praise and altar, shedding of blood. What is the next one? It is the basin with water, the cleansing of the hands. Which is the first one you meet after that? It's the menorah, the lampstand, a type of the Holy Spirit. The one after the other after the other. God desires every believer to experience the fullness of all three baptisms. That's why it's all through the Word of God. And I'm going to come to a close now. I want to ask you a question. Where are you in your relationship with Christ? Have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior? Have you been baptized into the body of Christ? I want to ask you, have you been baptized in water? If not, why not? Have you personally experienced a baptism into the Holy Spirit? That divine immersion that brings natural power or supernatural power, strength, and spiritual help into your life? If you've not been baptized into the Holy Spirit, why? Tell me why are you trying to live the overcoming life in your own ability? If you're not going to succeed, if Jesus Himself desires to baptize you with power from on high, why would you refuse what heaven so freely offers? Why would anyone say no thank you? To the very power God has provided for you to function in glorious ministry. Listen to me, child of God. As a believer in Christ, when you have received the power of the Holy Spirit, signs and wonders will begin to follow you. And this will follow you, the Bible says, and these signs shall follow them that believe.