What We Believe

God

He is the creator of our world and all that is in it.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

God is only good and only has good in store for you.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Our Foundation

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Salvation

The first step in Christianity is being born again/receiving salvation. It is not attending a church, being baptized, being confirmed, being a good person, praying, or reading your Bible… any of these things can be done without being a Christian. God loves every single person and wants us to have a relationship with him.

Salvation is God’s free gift that he offers to everyone.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (See John 3:1-21)

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The way to be saved is simple and clear:

Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

When you are saved you become a brand new creation, you no longer identify with who you used to be.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

We are not saved through our own effort or righteousness (you can’t earn salvation)

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit

Jesus is The Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

 

The Bible

There are two primary ways that God communicates with us, one is by the Holy Spirit and the other is by his written word which we call the Bible. The Bible is divided into two sections: the old covenant and the new covenant. Jesus doesn’t enter the Bible until you reach the New Testament. Since He is the reason that we are Christian, we should make the New Testament our primary focus. Unlike most books where you start in the beginning, it’s best to start in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and then read the history of the early church (Acts).

We “feed our faith” as we read and meditate on the Word of God. Feeding our spirit the Word of God is just as important as feeding food to the body. Jesus quoting the Old Testament said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Our spirit man needs the Word of God to grow. 

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God.

Our knowledge and understanding of the Word of God helps us to be more successful in life, especially in defending ourselves against the plan of the devil.

Matthew 4:4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus was the son of God, and yet He didn’t use his Divinity to defeat the temptations of the devil. Instead He used Scripture. If it worked for Jesus, then it will work for you and me.

The Scriptures are written by man but inspired by the Holy Spirit in order to bring God’s plan into our lives.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

It’s the job of the believer to grow in our understanding of God’s Word and use it wisely.

2 Timothy 5:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

In Ephesians 6:18 Paul uses a metaphor to refer to the Word of God “the sword of the Spirit”... this metaphor has many implications, one of which is that we handle it correctly, just as Paul instructed Timothy to do.

We should use the Word of God to fight the enemy (the devil), not other people.

If you can correctly handle something, then you can incorrectly handle that something. So let's do our best to genuinely seek God’s wisdom and direction from the Bible.

The Old Testament was full of types and shadows of what was to come in the New Testament. There are hundreds of prophecies written in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled as the Messiah. Prior to being a Christian, Paul was one of the most devout Jews and studied the Old Testament Scriptures thoroughly.  After meeting Jesus and being born again, he was able to use his knowledge of the Old Testament to point Jews to their long awaited Messiah.

Acts 17:11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

Walk by Faith

 

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God. Romans 10:17

Faith

It is with faith that we access everything that we want or need from God. Jesus was fascinated by and commended those people that operated in faith. He didn’t condemn or stop anyone from using their faith to get what they wanted from him.

In Matthew 8:5-13 a Roman centurion (one of the officers in the Roman army that was occupying and enslaving Israel) approached Jesus and asked him to heal his servant. Jesus offered to go with him to pray for him but the soldier said not to worry about it, just “speak a word, and my servant will be healed”... Jesus granted his request and commended him for his great faith.

Matthew 8:5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

In Mark 5:25-34 there was a woman who had an incurable blood disease, she’d spent all her money trying to get well from it but only got worse. When she heard about Jesus, she said  “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” and she snuck through a crowd of people and did exactly that and was completely healed. What’s interesting is that Jesus didn’t even know who it was that touched him, if he had known it was her then maybe you could say that it was his plan to heal her. When the woman finally presented herself he commended her for her faith. She got exactly what she wanted from God and used her faith to get it.

Mark 5:25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Other examples of faith in action:

Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 9:27-31, Matthew 15:21-28, Luke 17:11-19, Romans 1:17

Light of the World

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

Christian Development

As Christians we should be continually developing our character into the way that God wants us to live. We get instructions from this by the leading of the Holy Spirit and reading the Bible. We should focus primarily on the new testament scriptures that teach us to live like Jesus.

We have many scriptures that encourage us to grow and develop ourselves:

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Hebrews 5:12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Colossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God

The Law of Jesus

Many people today refer to the “do’s and don’ts” on the Bible. The Jews under the old covenant did the same thing during Jesus’ ministry (they had over 500 commands in the old covenant). Right before Jesus died, during his “last supper” with the disciples he gave them a new command, one that would sum up all the old ones.

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Many people know the “golden rule”...  Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. However Jesus upped the ante here because lets face it, human morality is all over the place. What one person deems acceptable to be done to them can be totally different than what you or I might find acceptable. Jesus said love one another as I have love you. That means in order to love somebody the Christian way, I have to first consider how Jesus treated people.

Right before Jesus told them this, he washed his disciples feet. Which is a pretty vivid example of loving them considering they were following him, not the other way around. Ultimately Jesus willing laid down his life for his disciples and for you and me… That’s an extreme amount of love.

We need to love people the way that Jesus loved others. Jesus asked his heavenly Father to forgive the very people that were crucifying him. That’s the Jesus kind of love.

Paul wrote about this very kind of love in 1st Corinthians 13, here’s a few highlights.

(AMPC) 4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. 5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. 6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

Jesus said that when you love people like this that’s how they will know you’re His disciple.

John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another

Fruit of the Spirit

When you are born again you receive God’s spirit in you and with that comes evidence that will show you and those around you that your life has changed. You probably didn’t get a letter from heaven notifying you that you’ve been born again, but on the inside of you you should have started to receive promptings from God’s spirit to make certain changes in your life.

Part of these promptings from God’s spirit lead us to what Paul called the fruit of the spirit. He wrote about it in Galatians 5:13-26

There are 9 fruit of the spirit as follows:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control (different bible translations might use synonyms for these words)

He also listed the works of the flesh (our carnal desires) that are opposed to the work of God’s spirit:

Gal. 5:19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like

This is a good way to check ourselves to see what’s causing our desires and feelings. Are we being motivated by God? If so then we should see the fruit listed above evident in our life and as a result of our decision. Are we being led our carnal desires? If so then you might find your decisions causing you to fall into that second list.

We can always ask God to help us develop the fruit of the spirit - even in moments when you don’t feel like it.

Good News

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Mark 16:15

Sharing the Gospel

One of the most important and basic functions of being a Christian is telling others about Jesus. We have been given this free gift of eternal salvation and a relationship with our creator and it’s available for the whole world to receive.

It’s our mission. Right before Jesus ascended into heaven he gave his disciples some very important instructions… to go into all the world and tell people the good news about Jesus, to teach them to obey the things that Jesus taught us, and to use supernatural power to do it.

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

It’s the goodness of God. First things first… nobody wants to be told that they are an awful sinner going to hell. Instead of reading people a bunch of scriptures to convince them of this, why not show them and tell them how good God is. Throughout the book of Acts you see where the leaders of the early church prayed for people to be healed and set free. They announced that the kingdom of God has come and that all are welcome in it. They revealed the goodness of God in word and deed.

Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

We are empowered to do it. Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1 that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them to be witnesses for him. He doesn’t expect us to do the job on our own, He comes and backs up our words and prayers with His power.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

When was the last time you told somebody about Jesus? If you have to try to remember that one time years ago that you told somebody about Jesus, it’s been too long. People all around us are living without hope, we have hope within us and it’s our duty to God and humanity to share that hope with them.

Generosity

The nature of God is to give and to provide, the scriptures are full of examples of this. As a Christian with God’s spirit living within us we take on his nature which inspires us to be generous.

From the beginning of mankind people brought offerings to God. They took from their own resources and presented it as a sacrifice to God (Genesis 4:3-5 Cain and Abel, Genesis 8:20-21 Noah).  Before man had been given the instructions for the old covenant often they gave 10% of their possessions and gave it to God (Genesis 12:20 Abraham, Genesis 28:22 Jacob). Later God gave Moses instructions for the covenant that He would have with them, this included them being generous - giving 10% of their possessions to God.

As with anything, things can be done out of religious obligation and duty; during Jesus’ ministry this was the case. Jesus warned the religious people about this practice of giving 10%... he said that yes you should give 10% but more importantly is the attitude of your heart. Sometimes we get caught up with the do’s and the don’ts, we get “religious” about them to the point that we missed the whole reason why we are doing them.

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

These guys were giving a tenth of everything, down to their herbs and spices - yet they were neglecting the more important issues in their heart: justice, mercy and faithfulness.

In the early church generosity was common. If somebody found out that somebody had a need, they would do whatever it took to meet that need. When one group of believers heard that another group had a need, they would take up special offerings to be given to provide for them. As Paul traveled he taught on giving and being generous and had people sending him gifts so that he was provided for.

Philippians 4:15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

We shouldn’t seek riches for riches sake, but for the sake of being a blessing to others. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth teaching them (and us) on the subject of generosity.

2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Not that this needs further explaining, but just to summarize these verses in a different way:

    • If you don’t give a lot, you won’t get a lot. If you give a lot, you will get a lot.

    • Giving should come from your heart, not from be pressured or persuaded. 

    • God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful joyous, “prompt to do it” giver whose heart is in his giving. AMPC

    • God is able to bless you abundantly so that you have everything that you need at all times and will have plenty left over to share with others.

    • God will supply you with resources to give and resources to consume.

    • You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.

Baptisms

There are 3 types of baptisms mentioned in the bible.

John’s Baptism unto repentance (Matthew 3:7-8, 11, Acts 13:24)

This baptism is no longer applicable for Christians today. It was performed under the old covenant as a preparation for the new covenant instituted by Jesus.

Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Christian baptism

This baptism should be experienced by every Christian, you can see this was the case for born again believers in the early church in the following scriptures:

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:12  But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Acts 8:16  because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 8:35  Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Acts 10:47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Acts 16:29-33 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.

This baptism is significant for the believer in leaving behind their previous identity/way of life and taking on the new identity as a Christian. As Gal. 3:27 states we “have clothed yourselves with Christ” this metaphor is showing that we leave behind our old identity and have taken on Christ’s. When people look at our lives they should “see Jesus”, when they hear us talk they should “hear Jesus”, we should represent Jesus to people here on earth.

Romans 6:3  Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Galatians 3:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

This experience is available to all Christians that want it, Jesus talked much about it’s coming and the book of Acts is full of documentation where members of the early church received it.

Mark 1:7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

John 7:37  On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Acts 1:4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Acts 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate experience from being born again.

In Acts 8:4-17 when Philip preached in Samaria many of the people received the word of God were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (in water). When the apostles in Jerusalem heard what happened they sent Peter and John to them and they prayed for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit for the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them.

Being filled with the Spirit can happen multiple times.

In Acts 4:23-31 the apostles were gathered together and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit this took place after they were already filled on the day of Pentecost.

Speaking in Tongues is one of the primary evidences that you have been filled with the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 2:1-4 on the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they all spoke with tongues.

In Acts 10:44-48 at Cornelius’ household the Jewish believers that came with Peter knew that the gentiles had received the Holy Spirit for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

In Acts 19:1-7 when the Holy Spirit came on them they spoke in tongues.