The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans - What this Means to us Today

Alright, let's take our Bible and let's turn back to Acts 8. Tonight we will be in Acts 8, back in our verses from last week, verses 9-24. Now I will do something a little different tonight. I will turn to quite a few other portions of scripture. If you would rather write those down and look those up later, do that. I'd rather you follow me with your mind and your heart. I think that it is necessary for us to look at some of these other scriptures. But last week we were here in verses 9-24 and our message was all about Simon the Magician and he is what I call the unbelieving believer. He was this unbelieving believer.

Now if you are struggling with that term and the reality of the unbelieving believer, I challenge you to go into Matthew 13, the parable of the soils, the parable of the sower, of the seeds of the gospel and also go back into those verses we looked at last week, John chapter 2 verse 23-25. In those two portions of scripture you can see that there are those who profess belief in Christ but they are not true believers. But remember we saw that Simon did three things right. One hearing the gospel preached by Philip, he believed in Jesus, he was baptized like others who believed and he followed after Philip and the other believers.

But we saw that Simon did not possess saving belief, saving faith because there were four things about him that revealed that he did not have a believing heart. Actually what is revealed shows us that he possessed a horribly sinful heart. We saw that he saw himself as someone great. So Simon had a wrong view of himself. He saw belief in Jesus as a means to gain power so he had a wrong view of salvation. He thought the Holy Spirit was something he could buy so he had a wrong view of God the Holy Spirit and we saw that he had this horrific sin but he saw his horrific sin as something less than it was. So he had a wrong view of sin.

Now before we move on from Simon there is one spiritual truth and reality we need to see about Simon and this will help us as we deal with people today. It was not that the four things he got wrong caused him to lose his salvation, no. I say that because when I preach messages like we looked at last week and I talk about the unbelieving believer there are some that will say well you're saying he lost his salvation, but those observations reveal to us who Simon actually was as a person no matter what he professed to believe. Those observations about who he was tell us that he actually possessed a non-saving faith to begin with.

His words didn't line up with who he was and we see that today, sadly, often. But we have seen that on that day, the day of Stephen Stoning and death persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. And I have said that this persecution was successful and great. It was successful in that the Jewish religious leaders were able to do what they had always wanted to do. That was kill Christians and try to destroy the church. And it was great in that a great many if not most of the Christians were scattered out of Jerusalem. And in all of these events many were put in prison and even killed.

The church was truly ravaged like a wild animal would ravage and kill. Look at verses 1 and 3. I'm skipping verse 2. That's the verse that talks about how they buried Stephen. And Saul approved of his execution. That's the execution of Stephen. And there arose on that day, the day of his death, a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. But Saul was ravaging. That word speaks of a wild animal ravaging. It pictures a wild animal ravaging and killing.

Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. So as a result of this great persecution against the church which was actually God's predestined plan all along now, believers were scattered out of Jerusalem just like Jesus told his disciples in Acts 1a. So they were scattered in the Judea. They were scattered in the Samaria. And as we will see in our study of this book they were scattered really to the ends of the earth.

And here in these verses, really from verse 4 to verse 24 of chapter 8, we find Philip, we met Philip back in Acts 6, he went down to Samaria where he enjoyed great gospel ministry success. God enabled him to perform great miracles. These miracles were nothing but a vehicle for Philip's gospel preaching. And God enabled him to preach the gospel with great Holy Spirit power, so much so that a great many Samaritans believed in Jesus. The verses say they were baptized and they followed after Philip.

And get this, these are three marks of a true believer professing saving belief in Jesus, being baptized as a symbol, a picture of that saving belief in faith and following Jesus as a disciple. And of course it was in the middle of this great gospel ministry success that we found Simon last week. Well tonight I want us to take some time to explain the significance of what we see here in verses 14 to 17. First of all, if we do not zoom through verses 14 to 17, what we see here could cause us to ask some questions. Let me show you where I'm aiming, where I'm going. Why did Peter and John have to come down to Samaria?

Why was there a delay between when the Samaritans believed and when they received the Spirit? Why did the Holy Spirit come from the hands of Peter and John? Why not Philip? You ever thought about those kind of questions? There are more why questions that I'm going to answer tonight in the message. But then second, understanding what we have here in verses 14 to 17 must be seen in connection to all of chapters 1 to 10. And seeing how all of this fits together helps us understand what can be very confusing for some and understanding what we have here will keep us from great error and it will point out great error that is really all around us.

So the title of the message tonight is this, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans. I will add to that a little later. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans. Let's read verses 14 to 17. Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent to them Peter and John who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit for he, that's the Spirit, had not yet fallen on any of them but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And they, that's Peter and John, laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Now in my message tonight I want to do three things. First I want to explain the meaning of what we see here in verses 14 to 17. Second I want to explain the full picture by looking at these verses in relation to chapters 1 to 10. And then third I want to explain how this relates to us in our day, simply what this means to us and ultimately how it affects us in our daily walk with God. So number one, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Samaria, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Samaria on those Samaritan believers. Now to see what went on here, I want to go back to verses 4 to 8 and then we'll come back to verses 14 to 17.

I want to read them all together, it puts the picture in our minds. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the Word right after the persecution now. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord, that would be great unity, paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them and many who were paralyzed or lame or healed. So there was much joy in that city. Now we're going to skip over all of those events with Simon.

Verse 14, "Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit." Now this is what took place here. News of Philip's ministry success had gotten all the way back to the church at Jerusalem and specifically to the apostles.

So when they heard that Samaria and the Samaritans had received the Word of God, well, they sent Peter and John down to check things out. This is where remembering the context and the background that I shared last week really helps. Simply, it was a shock that the gospel and the Word of God had been accepted by the Samaritans. It was a shock that Philip had this great gospel success in Samaria. Actually, it would have been a shock to many Jews that Philip had even gone into Samaria to begin with or in the first place. Remember to the Orthodox Jew, nothing was worse than the half-breed Samaritan.

They were half Jew, that would have been God's chosen people, and they were half Gentile, being pagan people. So if we pay attention in our reading of the gospels, we can see the terrible disdain that the Jews had for the Samaritans. I referenced John 4 last week. It's a great example. But in John 4, we see where Jesus had to pass through Samaria, and we see two things. First Jesus' ministry to the Samaritan woman, and then as a result, his great ministry success in that particular city. And then second, we see the disciples and their disdain for the Samaritans even being in Samaria.

But here in verses 14 to 17, chapter 8, three particular things happened. First Peter and John came down to Samaria to help with the ministry. Remember that this was one man in this Samaritan town, Philip, and we see that God had given him great gospel ministry success. Verse 6 says that crowds listen to Philip's preaching in great unity. Verse 7 says that many were healed from demonic spirits and disabilities. And verse 8 says that there was much joy in the city. So when we look at what we see in all of these verses here, it is clear that God gave Philip great gospel success there in Samaria. Many were healed and set free.

Many believed the gospel. Many were baptized and were following after Philip. And Philip was all alone in the Word. So it is safe to say that Peter and John came down to help in the ministry. And as a matter of fact, when we continue through the book of Acts, we will see that there were lots of instances where men would go from one place to the next helping brothers in ministry. But there's more. Second Peter and John came down to give apostolic approval of the Word. Now here it is important to understand why it was Peter and John who came. Peter and John were apostles. Philip was not.

Philip along with Stephen was one of those leading laymen who was appointed to wait on tables. We saw that in Acts chapter 6. But Philip was not an apostle. As a matter of fact, he was even a Hellenistic Jew. He was not a native Jew. So what's my point here? The apostles were God's appointed leaders of the church. And they would remain God's appointed leaders of the church until they died off and they passed on that leadership to the elders of the church. Now it is not that elders are apostles. No, we do not believe in apostolic succession. Let me give you an example.

When we get into the letters that Paul wrote to Timothy, we can see that Paul was handing off his authority to Timothy. He was a pastor at Ephesus. He was an elder. He was not an apostle. No, but he was fading from the scene. But as God's appointed leaders, Peter and John had what we would call apostolic authority. But there is another point to see here. Not only were Peter and John apostles and leaders of the church, but Jesus had given Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now here is where I want to turn over to Matthew 16, verses 23 to 20.

It says, "Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?'" It's a pretty big question. And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah are one of the prophets. He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood is not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter. And on this rock I will build my church." Let me pause there.

He was not saying he would build the church on Peter. Peter his name meant small stone. Jesus was saying that he would build the church on himself. But he's referring to the fact that Peter was an apostle. But notice, "And I tell you, you are Peter, small stone. And on this rock, large stone, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Verse 19, "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Now this is simple. It's confusing for some, but simple. As a chosen apostle of Christ Jesus, Jesus gave Peter the authority to open the door of the gospel into saving faith to others.

That is what this term, "Keys of the kingdom" speaks to. Jesus had given Peter the authority to open the door of the gospel into saving faith to other people. Now I'm going to come back to this a little later. But here we see that Peter and John came down to give apostolic approval to the work. And it is certainly safe to say that their approval validated. It validated the work as of from God. Third, Peter and John came down to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Samaria on the Samaritans. Here we see that although these Samaritans had believed and been baptized, the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon them.

So Peter and John came, they prayed for them that the Spirit may fall on them, that they may receive the Spirit. But why did these things happen this way? And as we will see, this happened later again when the Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles in Acts chapter 10. But why? It is simple. This was all about the great unity and the oneness of the church that God was establishing and maintaining. For the great, great division between the Jews and the Samaritans that had existed for centuries.

Simply if the Spirit had been poured out without the approval and the participation of the apostles who came from the church at Jerusalem, then the divide would have been carried over into the church. There would have been two separate churches, the church in Jerusalem and the church at Samaria. To quote John MacArthur here, it's real short, God had designed one church. God had designed from the beginning one church.

Listen to Galatians 3.28 which says, "For there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Now MacArthur goes on to offer some additional insight here. I'm quoting him here. The apostles needed to see for themselves and to give first-hand testimony to the Jerusalem church that the Spirit came upon the Samaritans. The Samaritans also needed to learn that they were subject to and under the authority of the apostles. Simply we need to understand that this was God's plan all along to establish the church as one body.

Again, Galatians 3.28, "For there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." So here in verses 4-8 and then verses 14-17, we see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritans and we have seen a brief explanation of why it happened as it did. But a question or two I want you to think on now. Is it supposed to happen this way in our day? Some believe things like this. I'll answer that question a little later. Should we expect to receive the Holy Spirit like this in our day? Some do. Some see it this way.

Do we see churches doing things like this in our day? Certainly some do. As a matter of fact, some of you come from churches who believed certain errors like this. Number two, I want us to see the full picture of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I want us to see the full picture of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Now when I say full picture of the outpouring of the Spirit here, let me explain. We need to understand that the events here in Samaria, we need to see how they fit into the events that took place in Acts 2 when the Spirit was poured out on the Jews and when the Spirit was poured out in Acts 10 on the Gentiles.

Simply this is how things happened. This is very big picture. This is quick overview. First, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Jews first. Now in Acts 2 we learned that when thousands of Jews gathered in Jerusalem at Pentecost, quite a few things took place. As the apostles and the other believers were gathered together, the Holy Spirit of God fell upon them all and the Spirit of God manifested Himself on them, in them, and through them as they sound like a mighty rushing wind and as divided tongues of fire that appeared to rest on them all so that the believers spoke of the mighty works of God in other languages as the Spirit of God enabled them.

Now we learned these were not unknown tongues. These were known languages that those other Jews from the foreign lands were hearing. And as a result, a great crowd of Jews gathered around to see and to hear what was happening. So Peter stood up and he spoke up and he preached the gospel to them all. And through Peter's preaching here about 3,000 Jews were saved and added to the church. But my point here is this. In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit was poured out first for the Jew. Second, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Samaritans. Second, we have already seen that this took place in Acts 8 when Philip went down to Samaria preaching the gospel.

But when many Samaritans believed, they were baptized and they began to follow Philip. And when the apostles in Jerusalem heard what was happening here, they sent Peter and John down to investigate. And when they saw that many Samaritans had believed but the Spirit had not yet been given, Peter and John prayed that they may receive the Spirit. And my point here is this. The Holy Spirit was poured out second on the Samaritans. And then third, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles third. Now to see these events we have to go ahead into Acts chapter 10.

But in Acts 10 we see the events that took place which brought Peter to the house of Cornelius the centurion who was a Gentile. This was very, very controversial and very, very difficult for Peter and the Jews. But what took place here is simple. When God revealed to Peter that he showed no partiality with men and men and that he desired to gather to himself a people from every tribe and nation, God took Peter to the house of Cornelius where he preached the gospel. And as a result, Gentiles believed and the Holy Spirit was given to the astonishment of all of the Jews. And my point here is this.

The Holy Spirit was poured out third on the Gentiles. Now what we need to see and understand here is very important. In Acts chapter 1 to 10, Luke gives us a record of a great time of birth and a great time of development and a great time of transition. We see the birth of the church in Jerusalem at Pentecost. But at that time the church was only comprised of Jews. Then we see the continued birth of the church next when the Samaritans were brought into the church. And last we see this when the Gentiles were brought into the church.

So in a sense, at Acts chapter 10, the church was complete in that it was comprised of Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles representing all peoples, all tribes, all nations. So we see the development of the church from including the Jews to including the Samaritans and finally including the Gentiles. We see the transition of the church from being only Jews to being comprised of Samaritans and then with Gentiles as well. And when we fast forward to what Paul said to the Galatian church, we see it more clearly. It all comes together. It's almost like the Bible is meant to come together. Galatians 3.28. Paul says, "For there is neither Jew nor Greek.

You can wedge Samaritan in there. For there is neither Jew nor Samaritan nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There's not even male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." So it is very important to see Acts chapters 1 to 10 as a period of time of birth, of development, and transition. And this is a unique one-of-a-kind period of time in the life of the church. A question. Why is understanding all of this important? Warren Rizbi helps us here.

He says, "It is dangerous to base any doctrine or practice only what is recorded in Acts chapter 1 to chapter 10, for you might be building on that which was temporary and transitional." Let me repeat that because he hits the nail right on the head. Rizbi says, "It is dangerous to base any doctrine or practice on what is recorded in Acts chapters 1 to 10, for you might be building on that which was temporary and transitional." Rizbi goes on to say, and I'm putting this in my words, "When we understand that Acts chapters 1 to 10, those are transitional chapters, a transitional period in God's plan for the birth of the church with Acts 10 really being the climax, then that keeps us from many problems." I'll give you an example.

In the church, should we pray for another Pentecost? The answer to that is no. There was only one Pentecost. I have known people who were caught up in revival in revivalism, and they would pray for another Pentecost. Can we pray for revival, even great revival? Sure, certainly. In our desire for revival to pray for another Pentecost is, at best, a misuse of the language of the Bible here, or at worst, praying for something that was meant to only happen one time in God's plan for the birth and the development of the church. Another example. Should we lay hands on someone that they may receive the Holy Spirit like the Samaritans?

Some of you have seen this. The answer is no. That was only a one-time event in church history. As we will see, what took place in Acts chapter 8 was not normative. It was not the norm, but what took place in Acts 10 is. In Acts 10, we see happening what we should expect today. A sinner hears the gospel, they believe and receive Christ, all through a work of and receiving the Holy Spirit. And then they are baptized as a sign of being converted to Christ and receiving the Spirit.

So we need to see and understand the full picture of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and we need to understand that this was a unique, one-of-a-kind time of the birth and the development and the transition for the church. One more thing. I alluded to this earlier. And all of these things we see that Peter played a significant role as an apostle and the leader of the church at Jerusalem. Remember, the church at Jerusalem was the mother church. And as we will see later on in this book, it seemed that this church carried great prominence and even authority throughout the years.

As a matter of fact, in Acts chapter 15, they brought some great problems to the mother church. And in all of these events, we see Peter's significant role using the keys of the kingdom to open the door to the gospel and to the birth of the church. First to the Jews, who preached? Peter. Second to the Samaritans, who laid their hands on them? Peter. Third to the Gentiles, who went to the house of Cornelius? Peter.

And as we will see after Acts 10, it is almost like Peter fades into the background because Paul becomes the main character in the growth and the spread of the gospel and the growth and the spread of the church into the Gentile world. You've heard it said like this. Peter was the apostle to the Jews and he stayed there in Jerusalem, but Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles and he went all over the Gentile world. But then number three, how this relates to us in our day. How this relates to us in our day. Simply if we do not receive the Holy Spirit like we see in Acts 2 and Acts 8, then how do we receive the Spirit?

If we do not experience the Holy Spirit like we see in Acts 2 and 8, then how do we receive the Spirit? Again, much of what we see in chapters 1 to 10 is not what we call normative. Much of what we see in Acts 1 to 10 was only for those people in that particular time in church history. So that means that for us in our day, we take the rest of the New Testament to understand how we receive the Spirit. And to explain this, I want us to look at three portions of Scripture that teach us three essential facts. Three essential facts. First fact, if a person does not have the Spirit, that would be the Holy Spirit, they are not a Christian.

If a person does not have the Holy Spirit, they are not a Christian. We see this in Romans 8 verse 9, but I'm going to read verses 8 to 10. In the chapter 8, verses 8 to 10, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God, for you however are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ." Verse 10, "But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness." Now take note of what verse 9 tells us.

When a person comes to saving faith in Christ, they are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. Simply when one is born again, they come to live in the Holy Spirit, and not only does the believer live in the Spirit, but the Spirit lives in them. As a matter of fact, Paul clearly says that if a person is not in the Spirit, and the Spirit is not in them, they don't belong to Christ. This is real simple. Warren Riersby says, "The evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit within." The evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit within. So it is just that simple.

The person who does not have the Holy Spirit is not Christian to begin with. Second fact, there is no believer that does not possess the Spirit. Now this sounds redundant, but it's not. There is no believer that does not possess the Spirit. We see this in 1 Corinthians 12, 13. I will read verses 12 and verse 13. 1 Corinthians 12, 13 "For just as the body is one, and has many members, and all members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit." Now look at what verse 13 tells us, the church and individual members are the spiritual body of Christ, and we are formed as this body by being spiritually immersed into Christ with the Spirit. Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, all who have come into saving faith experience this work. The point here is this, there is no believer that has not experienced being spiritually baptized in the body of Christ, therefore being in the body and possessing the Spirit of God.

John MacArthur says, speaking of some kind of a delay for the believer in receiving the Spirit today, he says this, and I'm quoting, "There is no such thing as a Christian who does not yet have the Spirit since. By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body at conversion," and he's referencing 1 Corinthians 12, 13. So it is just that simple. There is no believer that does not possess the Holy Spirit. But then the third fact, the third fact, we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of our conversion. We receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of our conversion. Here I want to turn to Ephesians 1, 13 to 14. Ephesians 1, 13 to 14.

Paul says, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory." Here we see the actions of a person when they are converted to Christ. Here we see man exercising personal responsibility in their conversion to Christ. Paul says that a person hears the truth of God in the gospel, and they respond in a positive way by believing in Christ Jesus for their salvation.

And look what happens as a result, upon experiencing saving belief in Jesus, they are sealed with a promised Holy Spirit. And this sealing speaks of the preserving work of the Holy Spirit to eternally preserve the salvation of the believer. John MacArthur says of this work, this came out of his study Bible, many of you have it right in front of you. God's own spirit comes to indwell the believer and secures and preserves his eternal salvation. So, it's just that simple. While a person, when a person comes to saving faith, the spirit comes into the believer at the moment of their salvation.

So, if a person does not have the Holy Spirit, they're not a believer, and there is no such thing as a believer that does not possess the spirit, and we receive the spirit at the moment we savingly believe in Jesus Christ. So, we see no delay in receiving the Holy Spirit today, like we see back in Acts chapter 8, but a question, if that is the case, if that is the case, then how does Acts chapter 2 and Acts chapter 8 relate to us? It doesn't. Right now some of you are nervous. I'll repeat the question. If we see no delay in receiving the Holy Spirit today, like we see back in Acts 2 and 8, well then how does Acts 2 and 8 relate to us?

Well it doesn't. What I mean is this. Acts 2 and 8 does not relate to us in our day in that God does not work that way in our day and time. The way the Holy Spirit was poured out and given in that day was unique to that day and time. But Acts 2 and 8 certainly do relate to us and certainly do apply to us. Right now you feel better. What I mean is this. All scripture is God breathed out, is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for a proof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Second Timothy 3, 16. And there are many, many things that we learn from these scriptures.

For one, we can see that God certainly kept his word. For in this teaching we see many of God's promises fulfilled. God promised he would send the Spirit. He did that starting in Acts 2. He also promised all throughout the Old Testament that he would save even the Gentiles. And he did that starting in Acts 8 with the Samaritans and Acts 10 starting with Cornelius. And he does that all throughout the rest of the book of Acts. So I have explained what I call the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans. And I add to that title by saying what this means to us. What this means to us.

Now I want to close by pointing you to a verse in some teaching that is critical. If we are going to live the Christian life the way God wants. Let me repeat this. I'm going to end by going to some teaching into a verse that is critical. Life and death critical now if we're going to live the Christian life the way God wants. Some of you may know just where I'm going. A few pages over in Ephesians chapter 5 specifically verse 18 which is all about the spirit field, the spirit controlled life. I want to read verses 15 to 21. Verses 15 to 21. Paul's writing to this church and these believers. Now look carefully then how you walk.

That's the term he used often in this book to describe how you live. He says look carefully how you walk how you live. Not as unwise but as wise. Making the best use of the time. That would mean making the best use of the time and the day and the place where you're born and where you live. In other words don't live in the past. Because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery but be filled with the spirit. And the language there basically means be being filled, be continuously being filled with the spirit.

And he goes on to say addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. I'll pause there. Now I want to wrap up things tonight by reminding us that we are responsible to live the spirit filled life, the spirit controlled life. As a believer we possess the spirit. He's in us. We don't have to pray for some kind of a second outpouring. He's in us. But we are responsible to live the spirit filled life, the spirit controlled life. Yes we receive the spirit when we come to saving faith.

But we have a responsibility here to be filled and to stay filled and to live the spirit filled life. This is a part of our sanctification. This is a part of our obedience. This is a part of our responsibility to walk with Christ. And I would encourage you to go back to my teaching there. Go back to those messages I have preached on being filled with the spirit and what that means. Make sure those things are not very far from your reach and you are working to live the spirit filled life. And I will come back to that teaching in the future. As a matter of fact that is on my list.

Soon I will bring us back to the teaching on the spirit filled life. So the title of the message tonight is this. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans. What this means to us today. And no doubt I believe this has answered some questions for some of you. It has helped some of you see some of the error that maybe you were even raised around. And this helps solidify things also that you already knew that I have taught you. It just really all does come together.