8 – THE HOLY SPIRIT – New Life Church, Teesside

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.”

Part of the ‘package deal’ of salvation is what most ‘Pentecostals’ call the ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit.’ This is God’s way of placing you in the realm of spiritual power so that you can enjoy the new life He has given you and also be effective messengers in transmitting the gospel to others. The Greek word that is often used when talking about
the power of the Holy Spirit means, ‘dynamite.’ The Holy Spirit is God’s dynamite!

The Holy Spirit is a Person

Throughout the Bible we have many, many references to the Holy Spirit. It is often the Holy Spirit that God uses to achieve His purposes. The Holy Spirit is very active and prominent in all that God does. The Holy Spirit is sometimes called the Counsellor, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Christ and often just, the Spirit. The word ‘Spirit’ must not cause you to think that the Holy Spirit is a force or power, because He is not. He is a person and He is part of the trinity – He is God the Holy Spirit.

In (N.T) John 15:26 all three members of the trinity are mentioned separately in one verse. Answer the following questions.

Who is coming? _____________________________________________

Who is sending Him? ________________________________________

Where is He coming from? ___________________________________

Here are just some of the things the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.

- - - He helps us live for God.
    - He can be lied against.
    - He can be grieved.
      He helps us praise God and glorify Jesus.
    - He convicts people of sin.
    - He speaks.
    - He inspired the Bible and helps us understand it.
    - We are born again by the Spirit.

Here are two examples of what the Holy Spirit will do for you.

From (N.T) Luke 12:11-12 Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will help us and defend us when we find ourselves in difficult situations and we don’t know what to say. During these times, “the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

From (N.T) Romans 8:26 we are told that He will help us when we don’t know how to pray, He will “intercede for us with groans that words cannot express.”

The Holy Spirit produces Fruit

When you were ‘born again’ the Holy Spirit was very involved. In fact (N.T) John chapter 3 tells us that all those who are Christians were born again by the Spirit of God.

What does (N.T) John 3:6 tell us flesh and spirit give birth to? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(See also (N.T) – 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Titus 3:5)

Other verses in the Bible make it very clear that when you became a Christian the Holy Spirit automatically comes to live within you. Here are some examples:

Romans 8:9

“Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

1 Corinthians 3:16

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?.”

(See also (N.T) Romans 8:11, 15&16, Galatians 4:6, 1 John 3:24, 4:13)

Because the Holy Spirit lives with you, and if you choose to follow His desires you will produce the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit are the characteristics God is pleased with and wants to see in us. But if you do not follow His desires you will produce sinful characteristics. The decision is yours! You are actually a walking battle ground! Two powers are fighting for control of your life – and you choose which side wins. The passage that describes this is found in (N.T) Galatians 5:16-26. To understand this you need to turn to it and notice the following.

These two forces are mentioned in v16-17. Who or what are they?

1. ______________________________________

2. ________________________________________

How should we live? (v16) ___________________________________________________________

What is contrary to the Spirit? (v17) ___________________________________________________________

Because you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit lives in you and is working in your life, but because you are a human being, the ‘old you’ – the sinful nature, still causes you some trouble. If you follow the desires of your sinful nature what are the type of things that it will produce? (v19-21)

From these verses list 5 things that the sinful nature produces.

1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________

Following the desires of your sinful nature affects your thoughts as well as your actions. What does v21 say is the danger of doing these things ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What this is saying is that if a person is continually and always living this way it proves they are not really a Christian and therefore will not inherit God’s kingdom. John put it very clearly in his epistle:

1 John 3:6,9

“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”

It is important that whenever you do any of these things you repent immediately.

Now read v22 and notice what the fruit of the Spirit is.

God wants to develop your Christian character; He does this as you follow or walk in the Spirit. It’s a bit like a tug of war, with he Spirit on one side and your old sinful nature on the other. You are in the middle! The Spirit is stronger, but you must agree to go His way and say No to your sinful nature. These qualities grow in your life as you develop as a Christian.

Every day you need to pray something like this: “Lord I agree to let your Holy Spirit work in and through me today to produce those qualities that are pleasing to you. In Jesus Name. Amen.”

The Holy Spirit gives Power

Even though the Holy Spirit was central to you becoming a Christian and experiencing God’s pardon and forgiveness, and even though every Christian has the Holy Spirit living in him to produce fruit, the Bible clearly shows that there is another, separate activity of the Holy Spirit for you to experience, i.e. – the power of the Holy Spirit. We all need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us live a more victorious and powerful Christian life. Even Jesus needed the power of the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus

In (N.T) Luke 3:21-22 just before Jesus begins His public ministry, He is baptised in the river Jordan. From these verses what happens after Jesus is baptised?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Before Jesus begins His ministry the power of the Holy Sprit comes upon Him. The power of the Holy Spirit was vital if He was going to be able to preach, teach and heal. If Jesus who is God, needed the power of the Holy Spirit to be effective in His ministry, how much more do we?

In (N.T) Luke 4:14-21 we have recorded to us what Jesus did when He began his public ministry. From v14 what power did Jesus have?

____________________________________________________________________________________

In v17-21 He goes to the synagogue and stands up and reads from (O.T) Isaiah 61:1-2. He then sits down and proclaims that these words are about Him – (v20-21).

From v18 who does He say is upon Him? ______________________________________________

From v18-19 what 5 things did Jesus bring through the power of the Holy Spirit?
1. _______________________________________ to the poor.
2. Proclaim ________________________________________
3. Recovery of ______________________________________
4. To release _______________________________________
5. To proclaim _____________________________________

If you try to live your Christian life in your own strength you will fail.

The New Testament church also needed the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit in the Early Church

There are many verses and passages throughout the New Testament and particularly in the Acts of the Apostles that describe the power of the Holy Spirit at work. The Bible reveals that the early church was operating in great power via the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Most of the verses are from (N.T) the book of Acts.

To illustrate this point turn to (N.T) Acts 5:12-16 which
gives a picture of just one incident of what it was like in the early church – and how God wants it to be today! From this passage write just 3 things that impress you:

1.______________________________________________________________________________ 2.______________________________________________________________________________3.______________________________________________________________________________

What a tremendous picture of a powerful church, and as we will see this occurred after the coming of the Holy Spirit. The early church were operating and moving in the power of the Holy Spirit and as a result they were seeing and experiencing some incredible things taking place – miracles, healings, wonders, deliverance and most importantly people believing and becoming Christians. Dot it again Lord! (Some other exciting examples can be found in Acts 3:1-10, 5:12-24, 8:26-40, 9:32-43, 12:1-10, 13:1-12, 14:8-9, 16:16-34, 19:11- 20, 20:7-12).

In 1 Thessalonians 1:5 Paul described it this way:
“our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with POWER, with THE HOLY SPIRIT and with deep conviction.”

In Hebrews 2:3-4 the writer describes it this way:

“How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

The promise of the Holy Spirit

Before Jesus returned back to the Father He promised that after He had gone He would send them the Holy Spirit. In (N.T) Luke 24:49 Jesus tells them to wait in the city, “until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Now turn to (N.T) Acts 1:3-9 where this is explained and described in more detail. I would suggest you read this.

From v5 what is this experience described as?__________________________________

From v8 what was this power for? ____________________________________________

As already explained, every Christian has the Hoy Spirit and has been born of the Spirit, something that happens automatically when you become a Christian. But we also need to be baptised (immersed) with the Holy Spirit. Being baptised with the Holy Spirit is an entry into the power of God, it makes it possible for you to experience a deeper dimension of God’s power in your life. It enables you to live an effective and powerful life for God.

In Acts 2:1-21 where we read about what happened on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came what did the disciples do when they were filled (baptised) with the Holy Spirit? (v4) _______________________________________________________________________________

This tells us what happens when a person is baptised with the Holy Spirit. It tell us how a person can definitely know they have been baptised with the Holy Spirit. There are three other occasions in the Acts of the Apostles where we are give clear accounts of what happened when people were baptised with the Holy Spirit. The first one is found in Acts 10:44-46. This passage tells us that when the Holy Spirit was poured on these Gentiles (non-Jews), “they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”

The second passage is found in Acts 11:15-17.
From v15 in what way did the Holy Spirit come on these people? He came on them

_______________________________________________________________________________

Was this different to what the disciples had experienced on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 (v17)_____________________________________________________________________

The third example is found in Acts 19:6.
What happened when Paul placed his hands on these believers? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From what we have seen, what was the one thing that happened when people were baptised in the Holy Spirit?_______________________________________________________

In each incident we discover that when people were filled with the Holy Spirit there was one recurring phenomenon which was accepted as the sign that someone had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was the speaking in tongues.

According to Acts 2 :38-39, this experience is for anyone who has “repented.” It is a promise for, “all whom the Lord our God shall call.” (i.e. – have been saved, repented, believed etc)

This experience is for all Christians, not just a select few. God promised, “I will pour out my Spirit on ALL people.” (Acts 2:17)

Tongues

The gift of tongues may seem rather weird and pointless. You can read more about it in (N.T) 1 Corinthians 14. It is a sign of the coming (baptism) of the Holy Spirit, it can be a great help in personal prayer, it can be spoke out in a meeting and someone may interpret (another gift) and you might sometimes hear people singing in tongues. So what’s the point of it? The tongue is the hardest part of the body (N.T) James 3:7-8. God wants to demonstrate His mighty power in you by tackling the toughest part first. So expect to speak in tongues when you receive the Holy Spirit.

Concerning the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter proclaimed,

“The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for ALL WHOM THE LORD OUR GOD WILL CALL.” (Acts2:39) That means it’s for YOU!

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all believers. You can experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit. You can be filled with the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you!

From Acts2;41 what was the result of Peter’s preaching after he had been baptised with the Holy Spirit?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Have you received (been baptised) in the Holy Spirit?

You need to receive the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit needs to be received. Just as Jesus needed the power of the Holy Spirit to do His work and just as the early Christians needed that power, so today, every Christian needs the power of the Holy Spirit to do God’s work

How to receive the Holy Spirit

Here are some of the important keys to receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

You need to Obey.

You need to do what the Lord says. From Acts 5:32 what must you do to receive the Holy Spirit?

____________________________________________________________________________________

There needs to be a level of obedience in your life. You must be seeking to live for God and obey His commands. It is helpful therefore to ask the Lord to cleanse you from all outstanding sin so that you can approach Him with confidence. In other words you need to clear your conscience. (See Acts 24:16)

If God wants you to do something, but you won’t do it, or if you are habitually doing something that you know is wrong – then God may withhold this blessing from you. You need to ask God’s forgiveness and turn away from that which is wrong.

(N.T) Ephesians 4:30 says:

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

You need to ASK.

It’s important to ask Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Complete the sentence from (N.T) Luke 11:13:

“how much more will your Father in heaven _________________________ __________________________________________________________________

You won’t receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit unless you ask.

You need to THIRST – DESIRE

On one occasion when Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit He used water and thirst to illustrate the fact that we must have a desire if we are to receive the Holy Spirit The passage where He spoke about this is found in (N.T) John 7:37-39.

What did Jesus say we must do if we are thirsty? (v37) _______ _________________________________________________________

What did Jesus say would happen if we had a real thirst (desire) and came to Him to drink (receive)? (v38) ___________

_________________________________________________________

Who was Jesus referring to? (v39) __________________________

A real thirsty person will give anything for a drink. We all know what its like to be thirsty in the natural. Here Jesus says that we have to have the same desire spiritually if we are to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist put it like this in (O.T) Psalm 63:1:

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

You need to BELIEVE

If you have a real desire you must ask with faith – you must believe that He will answer your prayer, after all as we have seen, He has promised He will do (See Luke 11:13 above).

In (N.T) Matthew 21:22 Jesus says:
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

In (N.T) Mark 11:24 Jesus again says:

“ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

In other words if you are to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit you must believe you have received your request when you pray.

You need to APPROPRIATE

Having prayed, and believing God has heard and answered your prayer, you should now in faith receive. Begin to praise God out loud and expect to receive a new language (tongue) with which you can glorify God. Allow the streams of living water to flow form within you and out of you. Open your mouth and speak out the words that come from deep within you.

Having prayed and believed – receive the Holy Spirit. What you need to understand is that God does the filling, You do the speaking.

If you have prayed and believed, then you need to accept that God has answered your prayer, He has filled you with the Holy Sprit. What you need to do now is speak out those inarticulate sound forms in your mind – by faith speak them out. God is not going to waggle your tongue for you, He is not going to make you speak – you must speak.

This is exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost in (N.T) Acts 2. In Acts 2:8 we are told that, “All of them were FILLED with the Holy Spirit and BEGAN TO SPEAK IN OTHER TONGUES as the Spirit enabled them.”

What you say at first will possibly seen strange to you, but eventually it will flow even though you don’t know what you are saying (See N.T 1 Corinthians 14:2). This isn’t a language you’ve learnt like French. It’s a spiritual language that expresses what’s in your heart, as such, it might sound like nonsense syllables.

When the Lord baptises you in the Holy Spirit you can, and will, speak in other tongues, provided you don’t let prejudice and fear hinder you. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, He will prompt you to speak as you yield to His direction. Your own natural words will at times seem inadequate to praise God the way you’d like to. The Holy Spirit will lead you and encourage you (but never force you) to speak out in tongues. So speak it out loud – nowhere in the Bible do we read they whispered tongues. Even if it sounds ridiculous, in faith believe it is from God, because it is. (Luke 11:13).

In this way you’ll experience for yourself what happened at the beginning at Pentecost. Henceforth there will be no doubts as to whether or not you have received the Spirit!

What other blessings does the Holy Spirit bring?

Being baptised in the Holy Spirit has many benefits. Without going into great detail, here are some of them.

It enables you to pray in the Spirit and sing praise in the Spirit.

The baptism in the Spirit makes it possible for supernatural communication (in tongues) to take place as distinct from the normal prayer and praise expressed in ordinary language. In this way you are able to express yourself to God supernaturally. (See N.T – Acts 10:46, Romans 8:26-27, 1 Corinthians 14:14-15)

It is a means of personal and private edification.

As you exercise this gift personally and privately, you will be edified (strengthened, built up, encouraged). Even when you are in the depths of despair and gloom, your inner man will be strengthened and edified.

It enables you to experience a new dimension of power and boldness.

When a person is baptised in the Holy Spirit a new power is experienced. This is what Jesus said would happen and when the early church experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit this is exactly what did happen. No longer were they hiding in fear, now they were out in the open, boldly declaring and demonstrating the gospel – they were even ready to die for the cause. (See N.T – Acts 1:8, 2:14-41, 3:1-26, 4:18-21, 31-33, etc) You can read through almost every chapter in the Acts of the Apostles and you will see the incredible power and boldness that the early church operated in.

The Holy Spirit gives gifts

Another benefit of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that it opens up a whole new dimension of spiritual life and power. It is not a goal, it is a gateway – a gateway to a whole new dimension of supernatural activity so that you become eligible for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You now become a prepared vessel so God can use you to operate in the gifts of the Spirit as He chooses.

One of the ways in which Jesus continues His work here on earth is through His body, the church – through every Christian. Every Christian has a vital part to play in representing the Lord Jesus. If we are to do this effectively, we need to be able to do the things Jesus did when He was on the earth. This is why the ’gifts of the Holy Spirit’ are so important. These gifts are not natural gifts, such as music or art, although the Holy Spirit will and does certainly uses these abilities or talents when a Christian makes them available to God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural gifts and abilities given by God to accomplish His purpose here on earth. All of these gifts are mentioned in (N.T) – 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. Read this passage and see if you can identify how many gifts there are and list them below.

_________________________________ (v8) The ability by the Holy Spirit to know about something and know how and what to do about it – how to solve it. (See N.T – Luke 20:19- 26)

2) _________________________________ (v8) The ability by the Holy Spirit to know about a situation that you would not know other than God revealing it to you. (See N.T – John 4:16 -18)

3) _________________________________ (v9) The ability by the Holy Spirit to believe God for something that is beyond the ability of man to experience. (See N.T – Acts 14:8-10)

4) _________________________________ (v9) The ability by the Holy Spirit to bring healing to someone who is sick in body, mind or spirit. (See N.T Acts 28:8-10)

5) _________________________________ (v10) The ability by the Holy Spirit to bring powerful creative healing to a person or powerful creative solution to a situation. (See N.T – Matthew 15:29-38)

6) _________________________________ (v10) The ability by the Holy Spirit
to inform a person about their situation and what to do about it, or to
predict about what is going to happen to a person or a situation. (See N.T – Acts 11:27-30)

7) _________________________________ (v10) The ability by the Holy Spirit to ‘sense or know’ what is wrong spiritually in a persons life. (See N.T – Acts 16:16-18)

8) _________________________________ (v10) The ability by the Holy Spirit to speak to God in prayer and praise in languages never heard or learned. (See N.T – Acts 10:44-48)
This gift has two uses. 1) To help you praise or pray to God privately. 2) In public worship to help you praise or pray to God, or to give a message for the church. In this case, the last gift of the Spirit will be needed.

9) _________________________________ (v10) The ability by the Holy Spirit to explain and interpret a message in tongues so that those listening are helped and encouraged. (See N.T – 1 Corinthians 14:5, 26-28)

(N.T) 1 Corinthians 12:11says, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

From this verse, who decides which person is given these gifts? _________________________

An on-going experience and way of life

Receiving the Holy Spirit is only the start. The Bible commands you to be continually filled with the Spirit. The initial receiving of the Holy Spirit, or baptism in the Spirit, is a once-for-all experience, whereas being filled with the Spirit is meant to be something ongoing – a way of life.

(Read N.T – Ephesians 5:18)

Literally, this is saying, ‘Go on continually being filled with the Spirit.’
Paul gives us a clue about how we can do this. He contrasts the work of
the Holy Spirit in our lives with the influence of alcoholic drink. While
the two are opposite, there are parallels, too. The drunkard is an habitual
drinker who becomes controlled by drink. Every aspect of his life is influenced by it – his behaviour, family life, job, driving, finances, etc. In a similar way, the Spirit-filled person is dominated by the influence of God’s Holy Spirit in every area of his life.

How does a drunkard stay drunk? He keeps drinking! And you stay filled with the Spirit by being every day alert to His presence and letting Him fill your life. You yield to His influence by feeding on God’s Word, by prayer, by speaking in tongues, thanksgiving, worship, and fellowship with other Christians.

Alcoholism dulls the senses and drags its victim down. But living filled
with the Spirit enhances every aspect of life, lifting the Christian to a higher level of everyday fulfilment and usefulness to God.