In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of following Jesus and not relying on worldly knowledge or achievements. He highlights the suffering and sacrifice that Jesus endured, from betrayal to crucifixion, as a reminder of the power of God. The preacher challenges the audience to seek the power of God through prayer and surrendering their lives to Him, rather than relying on their own abilities or credentials. He warns against arrogance and pride, urging the audience to humbly follow Jesus as their ultimate example.

Now then, the genealogy goes on down through the chapter, now chapter four, and Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost. Now listen, what Jesus got there by the waters of baptism, he still has. It was not just an outward symbol, was it? But he now was filled with the Holy Spirit. And in John 3, the scripture says that God gives to the Son, not the Spirit by measure. We are measured, we are so limited, we have so little room, we take so little time to pray. There are so many frailties that hinder us, but Jesus, the perfect, sinless, blameless One, to Him was given without measure. And Jesus stayed full of the Spirit all the time from then on. All right, so now Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. And he was tempted, and defeated Satan with the Word of God. Now verse 14, and Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. He still has the power of the Spirit. What Jesus got in fullness, He still has. So He went into the fame of Him through all the region round about, and He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He was accustomed to going to the synagogue. He was accustomed to reading the scriptures. When He was twelve years old, He had been up to Jerusalem asking questions of the scribes, and they were astonished at His answers to His questions, and stood up for to read. They said, He's the best reader we've got. He likes to read. And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He opened the book, He found the place where it was written. He turned over to chapter 61, and looked at verse 1. Listen to it now. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach acceptably of the Lord. And then He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say unto them, This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears. It's written back in Isaiah, that when the Savior comes, the Spirit of the Lord God will be upon Him. He'll be anointed to preach. And I said, This is the first time you ever saw it. I've been coming here yet a thirty years, He said. You never saw it before. But the scripture's fulfilled today, filled with the Holy Spirit. And He started this public ministry, isn't it? All right. And they all bear witness and wonder why they said, This don't sound like Jesus. Well, I've known Him all these years. I've seen Him in the carpenter's shop lots of times. He's made plows and things, and look at Him with this. And they wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth, and they said, Is not this Joseph's son? Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if something happened? People say, That's not the same man. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a lot of people said, Oh, my, well, they're just entirely different, and they marvel at the grace of God on your speech. Wouldn't that be wonderful? So it is with Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, all right, so Jesus filled the Spirit, began His ministry. By the way, we drove into Nazareth last March. Drove into Nazareth and stopped in Yonder's the hill. What's that? That's the hill of precipitation. What do you mean, the hill of precipitation? Well, all of us who know the Bible know that means that's the place to hear Jesus. Now, filled with the Spirit. Thirty years he's been here, very popular. Thirty years, didn't get drunk. He always told the truth. Always did good work in the carpenter's shop. He always went to the synagogue. He is a good reader. He never—he's a model young man. Never did wrong. Everybody likes him. Now then, thirty minutes after he's filled with the Spirit and began to preach to them, they rush on him and race him out of town and try to throw him down that cliff and kill him. People don't get persecuted because they're Christians. They get persecuted because they're spirit-filled Christians. People don't get persecuted because you pay honest debts and quit getting drunk. You get persecuted because you're on fire for God and you just keep talking all the time, trying to get everybody saved. You see that? All right, so Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Wasn't that a wonderful day when Jesus stood up there and read, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Here it is in the Old Testament. Here it is. And the Spirit of the Lord is upon him because he has anointed me to preach. And so he started preaching and the power of God on him. And everybody wondered. They said, Good night. Isn't it strange how he talks? Well, he's been coming here all these years. And they wondered at the gracious word that proceeded out of his mouth. All right, I'm saying Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit and gave his witness. Now hear all the work of Jesus. And he's our pattern. If he was filled with the Spirit, it's silly for me to suppose I can do what he did and not be filled with the same Spirit. If he had miraculous power, it's silly to suppose I can do what he did and not have miraculous power too. You know that? He kept people out of hell. If I'm to enter into that ministry and be partners with Jesus and the work I do, shall ye do also. And as my Father sent me, so send I you. I've got to have what Jesus had. You know that? Jesus is our pattern. Let me tell you, on this matter of the Holy Spirit, you can settle all the important questions about fullness of Spirit and about tongues and about sanctification and witnessing. Everything's involved if you just find out what Jesus had and what he did and how he got it. And you know then what we ought to have and what he'll do for us and how we can get it too. For Jesus is our pattern. I'll be baptized like Jesus was. How am I to preach the work I do, shall ye do also? How am I to have reproach? Let's go unto him without the gate bearing his reproach. If the world hated me, it'll hate you also. Well, how am I to be filled with Spirit like Jesus was? And what's he going to do for me? Wasn't it for Jesus? He's my pattern. I'm to follow Jesus. Follow Jesus. You see that? All right. Now let's see then, how was Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit? Well, there are two short simple things. First, he was baptized. What does that mean? Baptized, that means Jesus said, I'm heading toward Calvary, up that way of sorrows. I'm heading toward that time the Father will turn his face away from me and I'll hang there in agony six hours and die. And then Joseph will take me and Nicodemus and wrap me in spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury. And they'll take me down that little hill and through that garden and by the winepress there at Gordon's Calvary. And they'll put me in that, in that holy stone cave and cut out a stone Nicodemus had there. And I'll lie there three days. And the third day I'll say, oh God, roll back the stone from the door and set on it and I'll come out. Jesus said, I'm giving myself up to die. When Jesus was baptized, it meant crucifixion and death and resurrection. That's what a picture, that's what baptism pictures brought. And for you it ought to mean this, when you were baptized, it ought to mean this old man I used to be. I'm going to count him dead. Let's bury the old fellow before he goes to sink any more than he does now. Let's bury him. And buried in the likeness of his death and raised in the likeness of his resurrection, raised to walk in newness of life. Not now for self, for Jesus. He died to save sinners and rose to save sinners. So I'm, I'm buried and risen to save sinners too. To have the cross, what for? To get sinners saved. That's what Jesus' cross was about. And so anybody says, I'm, I'm going to be baptized. Jesus was baptized. That meant this. Let's put it in these words. He gave himself up in perfect obedience to the soul winning plan of God. And that's what the fullness of spirit's about and for. And nobody's ever filled the Holy Spirit for other purposes. And that, all right, so Jesus was baptized. And that meant he gave himself up to die for sinners and get sinners saved. And so, you know, it's a remarkable thing that again and again in the Bible, the fullness of the spirit is connected with baptism. That does not mean that going down in the water and coming up may, guarantees you'll be filled with spirit. That means that what baptism means ought to make you fit to be filled with spirit, if you understood it. Did you really say goodbye to the old world? Did you really say this old wicked sinner, he's dead, I'm done with him, I'm going to live. Oh, you know, he'd be up rolling the roost again if you don't look out. But did you really mean that? All right, the Lord says, if you're really saying goodbye to your own ways and now Jesus just to live for you and get people saved, then you're ready. John the Baptist said, I need baptize you with water, but one comes after me who will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, he said. And it's told in Matthew, and in Mark, and in Luke, and in John, and then the first chapter of Acts, Jesus repeated it. He said, John truly baptized with water, but she should be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days since. And so there's a connection. So people are baptized, if it means what it ought to mean, well then that's a part of the condition. Not the baptism, but the heart attitude of surrender to the will of God about that. You know, Peter said in Acts 4.32, he said, we're witnesses of these things, and so also is the Holy Ghost whom God giveth to them, see, them that obey him. So when Peter preached at Pentecost, the men came, said, oh, what do we do? They didn't say what to do to be saved. They said, we want that. We want the rest. We want what all you got. What is it? We want that. How do we get it? And Peter said, repent, then you get saved, and be baptized, every one of you, referring to that, pointing to that, representing that, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, he said. For the gift promises you and your children to all that are for all. You remember in Acts chapter 19, there were a group of disciples, about twelve, over at Ephesus, and they'd been saved. Their disciples, Apollos preached to them. And Paul came, and he said, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? They said, no. Well, Paul said, what about when you're baptized? Well, they said, we don't know anything about the Holy Ghost. They said, didn't know about that. Apollos was here, and, you know, he wasn't here at the Pentecost, and he don't know about that. He just filled the Spirit himself, but he didn't know what to tell us. Well, Paul said, that meant when you're baptized, you're supposed to be filled with the Spirit because you lay life on the altar for Jesus. And when they heard that, they baptized again, and Paul laid his hands on them, prayed, and they filled the Holy Ghost. Now, don't misunderstand me. Baptism doesn't guarantee you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit, but what baptism means is one of the conditions. The heart attitude you ought to have if you're baptized, that's what the condition is. I give myself up to this business of soul winning, this old sinner's death, my money-making, soy on that, living for pleasure, never mind. I'm going from now on to live like Jesus to get people saved, you see. All right, last one. What else? And he prayed. Jesus baptized and prayed, baptized and prayed. What does it take to be filled with the Spirit? Ask for it. Luke 11, 13, if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? All right, God gives the Holy Spirit to those that ask. It's in the present tense, continuing to those that ask and ask and ask. Well, Jesus just prayed a short time, but Pentecost, they prayed ten days. Yeah, because Jesus didn't have to do any emptying, you see. Jesus didn't have to do any confessing. And a lot of us out in west Texas used to have, oh, we had rain every now and then. I don't remember hardly anybody ever grew up to manhood without seeing a rain at least once in west Texas. And it always rained every now and then. And so, but not very often. We hauled water up and put it in the cistern and so on. But when it rained, the ladies always wanted to catch some rainwater to wash their hair and wash pretty things in and so on. And so they have downed spots. First of all, first rain got to wash off the dust off the roof, because lots of sandstorms. And then, now then, turn the water into the old barrel. But good night. That old barrel's got brood meats in it and in there, so and so. Clean it out, okay. I don't know what, yeah, and it's water squirts out all around. It's been drying up four months, it's been in the water in that old barrel there. And it squirts out all the cracks. You got to tighten down the hooks, you know, and get the things soaked up and so on before it holds water. That's why you don't get filled immediately with the Holy Spirit, maybe. You got to clean up a little bit and get the hooks tightened a little bit and so on. So you leak pretty bad, you know. But Jesus filled the Spirit with that. But Pentecost, there's Peter. They're praying up in the upper room. They fasted and prayed and prayed. And Peter said, Lord, Lord, you know, I just lied and denied you. I'm so sorry, Jesus. And Peter had, I don't blame the Lord. I'd have kept Peter on his knees longer than that. And there's James and I said, Lord, we want to be big shots. We were asking, I want to be on the right hand. I want to be on the left hand. And they said, oh, Jesus, nevermind. And make us willing to be anything but fill us with the Spirit. And there's Thomas. Thomas said, Lord, I didn't believe it. I thought you was dead for good. Even when I saw you, I didn't believe it until I put my fingers in the nail, pricked my hand in the side. Lord, take out this wicked unbelief. Yeah, I can understand why it'd take a good while for them to get filled with the Spirit. And you too. See? Yeah. Praying, that's one of the conditions for the Spirit. We say, aren't you afraid to be a fanatic? Oh God, give us some good old fanatics. I sure love to see some. I sure love to see somebody. Real, real crazy about getting filled with the Spirit. Yes, sir. I would. They'd turn the world upside down. Come here also. I'd like to have some world upside down turners. I think it's starting around here. Wouldn't you? Oh, I said we told you not to talk in that thing. And look what you've done. I sure wish we had some good old Jerusalem fillers with the doctrine. And I started around here. I wish somebody just get plum crazy about being filled with Spirit and the power of God and keeping people out of hell. Wouldn't that be good? Yeah. Well, see now, look here. I don't want to waste any time about this. I'm willing to give a few minutes, but I don't want to be any fanatic. Well, the Lord said, you go on your way. The Lord Jesus said, took me 30 years away from home in heaven, living in poverty, despised and rejected. It took me with the traitor's kiss on the cheek and the bloody sweat of Gethsemane and the shame of Pilate's court, and then beaten with the Roman scourge, cat and iron tails, and then crown of thorns and mocked, and then up the Via Dolorosa, that way of sorrows, carried a cross, and then stripped naked, nailed her cross, and mocked me six hours while I died, and God turned his face away. Well, the Lord says, you want it easier, then I don't need you. You go on. I'll get some fanatic, some holder-roller. I'll get some friend called somebody a little off about things, not very smart. I'll get somebody else means business. God said, you just go ahead. Don't you think so? Don't you think so? Yeah. All right, friends, so we pray. All right, you want the power of God? Here. Jesus filled the Spirit because he gave himself up to the life that meant death and crucifixion and resurrection and all for souls, and now then he prayed, and so can we. Now, let's see. Here are some lessons, and what are briefly some lessons we may learn from Jesus, our pattern? Well, first of all, first of all, Jesus never tried to do any work at all for the Father until he filled the Spirit. The Lord Jesus, can't you think, he said at night, Lord, I'd like to get started. Can't you think, he said, my Father, I've been 30 years. My, I'd like to see the golden streets again. If I could only hear the angels sing. They love me so much, Father, and I've been away 30 years, and I haven't won a soul. Don't you suppose Jesus said, but Jesus said, I'm not going to start until it's right. I'm not going to do it until I have the anointing for it. Jesus did no public ministry until he's filled the Spirit. Don't you think it must be an awful abomination to God? I got a seminary degree. I know how to make a homiletic outline. I got a nice book of sermon illustrations. I can get me some good illustrations, and so and so. I can make alliterative outlines. Beware of that fellow. I don't, don't you suppose God gets awful tired of folks just because you've been to college and because you got smart and because you read some books and so on? Don't you think, God, because you got a slick tongue? Listen, our lightning rod salesman got that. That's not so much. Listen to me. Don't you suppose God gets awful tired of people rushing in where angels fear to tread and walking on holy ground roughshod without pulling off your shoes? Don't you suppose God gets awful tired of people crowding in with your culture and your degrees and your homiletics and your holy voice and maybe your collar turned backwards and the board of deacons back of you and a good salary and a nominational secretary, he boosts you? Don't you think God gets awful tired of that stuff where people don't know anything about the power of God? Don't you think so? You remember Nadab and Abihu, sir, the sons of Aaron, the priests? God said, now they're anointed. They take them down there bathed in water and they put on the fine linen garments, every one, and they put on the breastplate and the garments and the linen breeches and all the other clothes left outside. And God said, now you can start the altar here. Don't put any fire on it. I'll furnish the fire. You put the wood, then you put the sacrifice. I'll furnish the fire. Oh, they said, that's okay. We're not going to build a campfire. And they got a shovel and went and got some coals of fire from the camp, put it in here, you know, and maybe took a Stetson hat or maybe they took an old turkey, turkey wing fan. You ever have them at the fireplace in the country? You city slickers, you don't know enough me to tell you anything. And they fanned it and the fire started and so and so, and God killed them both. God said, I said, I'd fix the fire. Got too much human fire around. Got too much brains, got too much logic, got too much education, got too much denominational approbation. You got too many things that not from God. You better say, the Lord said, I want to work the miracles. Just try to get anybody saved without a miraculous change. Just try to get anybody into a preacher without a miraculous anointing of God. Just try to have a revival just by announcing and sermon subjects and ads in the paper and the banner across the street and so on without the divine intervention, the breath of heaven. I guess the Lord gets mighty tired of that. He killed Adab and Abihu and Aaron came in and looked pretty upset about it. And Moses said, don't you say anything about it, God will kill you too. Don't you think it's a pretty good thing God quit killing preachers that start trying to do it with human fire? A lot of you people would be dead, wouldn't you? Jesus didn't start preaching until he was anointed to preach. One time, years ago, I made a vow to God. I'll make it again tonight. I made it many times. I made a vow to God. I would never go to the pulpit again without waiting on God and asking and pleading and claiming and anointing from God on me. I'd never tried to preach in human wisdom and human personality. Oh, we need the power of God. Jesus never preached until he was anointed to preach. Isn't that pretty good? There's another thing. What happened when Jesus filled the spirit? He started out getting people saved, preached in the power of God, witnessed. You say, well, now here I believe you're all talking tongues. Jesus didn't. He could talk the Aramaic language. That's what the rest of them all talk. What's wrong with that? In Toronto, man, I preached to 1,700 one night and had 15 adults saved. And the man stepped up to me and said, brother, I should have been baptized in the Holy Ghost. And I said, well, if you mean the breath of God, that's helped me to have some part in tens of thousands of sinners being saved. Yes. He said, I didn't mean that. I mean, if you talked in tongues, I said, I talked in the English tongue tonight. Could you understand it? He said, yes. Well, that didn't seem like everybody else could understand it. He said, yes. Well, I said, what's wrong with that tongue? What's wrong with preaching so somebody understands you and get saved? What's wrong with that? You know, huh? What's wrong about the kind of tongues that do somebody something good in honor of Jesus Christ instead of showing you're so hot? Jesus said, no. He said, what kind of sign? Well, if you have the power of God and that's signing up. He said, what kind of sign to have at Pentecost? Well, I'll tell you. They said, how did Peter know he spilled the spirit if it wasn't the tongues? I'll tell you how Peter knew. They counted them up. Oh, boy, look at those converts that come up here dripping well out of the water. Whee! Line them up. Here they go. That's 2,986, 2,987, 2,000. Whoop! That's 2,990. Go on, count five more. 2,995, 2,996, 2,997, 2,998, 2,999, 3,000. Peter said, anytime you have something like that, you can say, I got it. And if you don't have somebody saved, why don't be bragging? You don't have it. Oh, but I just felt as light as a feather. Jesus didn't. Oh, but you say something just took over and I said things I don't understand. Jesus didn't. If Jesus didn't need to, you don't need to. Isn't that all right? What's wrong trying to be like Jesus? What's wrong trying to have what Jesus had and work like Jesus did and love sinners like He did and weep over them and get people saved like Jesus did? What's wrong with that? Oh, so Jesus is our pattern filled with the Holy Spirit. Someone said, well, I believe it filled the Spirit means sanctified and getting better every day. Good is Jesus Christ and getting better every day and better than all the bastards. No, Jesus didn't feel that way about it. No, Jesus didn't need to get sanctified. He's already perfect and sinless. He didn't have any eradication. That's a nice big word, isn't it? He didn't have any eradication of the carnal age. He didn't have any carnal age he needed to eradicate. If Jesus didn't, that's not what Jesus got. That's not what I'm getting. I want what Jesus had, the power of God. I was baptized like Jesus on a cold November day in a big old earthen tank out in Archer County, Texas. I thank God sometimes I preached in the power of God like Jesus did in some tens of thousands. Thank God. Brokers made sober. Harlots made pure. Infidels made into saints of God. Convicts and murderers and Catholics and Jews and Hindus and Muslims and Parsis, thank God. Now, I know what Jesus had. Almighty poor, but I'm one of his. And I've got a right to ask for what he asked for, and I've got a right to have it and use it, the power of God. All right. Jesus is our pattern filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, oh, do thy mighty work here. I think people ought to make a holy vow tonight. I will not go on without the power of God. I can have it. It's promised.