What you don't know can hurt you
God's Gift
It's hard to talk about Holy Spirit without understanding both the Old and New Testament Pentecost.
So let’s begin our conversation there.
Pentecost as recorded in the book of Acts was not the first Pentecost.
The first Pentecost is recorded in Exodus 19 and 20. God gave Moses and His people the law. It was one of the three mandatory feasts that every Jewish male celebrated yearly. (I explain more in my book “Precious Holy Spirit”.) It is a holy day on the Jewish calendar. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament types of Pentecost are important for today’s believer.
Everything in the Bible is important, right?
But in the grand scheme of things, is knowing about Pentecost a deal breaker?
It was to Jesus.
He communicated the importance of Pentecost to not only His disciples, but His followers as well. He commanded them to stay in town until they received God’s gift- the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:1-5
Acts 2:1-4 On the day of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, God sent the Holy Spirit, not just to rest upon people, but to fill them, to indwell them. There is a huge difference between His indwelling presence and His presence resting on people to accomplish specific tasks.
It’s important to understand Pentecost is NOT
- a religion or group of people.
- extinct like a dinosaur.
- weird.
- emotionalism.
Old Testament Pentecost God gave the law.
New Testament Pentecost God gave Precious Holy Spirit.
It’s “The Promise” Jesus talked about.
Pentecost is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send precious Holy Spirit to become a resident inside believers.
Pentecost is an event that actually occurred on Pentecost Day. But it’s much more than an event. It announced the arrival of Holy Spirit to dwell; not with, but in believers.
Precious Holy Spirit
Pentecost made experiencing and receiving the Person of Holy Spirit available to every believer, not just a select few or only for specific tasks.
Holy Spirit came to be a living dynamo – the power generator – inside each believer.
Disciples had Great Training, but training wasn’t enough!
You Were Made to Know God
Christianity is not one more self-help program!
It’s not God’s intention to just help you act better. Yes, the Bible outlines laws and regulations of conduct that are necessary for successful living. But many of the biblical mandates are impossible to live out through our natural efforts. We need more than more will-power; we need real power-Holy Spirit Power. We need the Holy Spirit empowerment, wisdom and love to live out biblical principles. And the reality is…He is available to help believers–including you today.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
But the problem is…
We know about Jesus; He’s the Savior of the World. We know and want to share with everyone how much God the Father loves us. But, it’s much harder to talk about the Holy Spirit, because we don’t know much about him. Even His name “Holy Spirit” is offend misunderstood.
There is lots and lots of fiery controversy over the doctrine of the Holy Spirit! The temptation is to tell ourselves something like, “I’m no Bible expert. I’ll leave the controversy in the hands of scholars.”
It’s true that none of us will ever, EVER totally understand everything about Precious Holy Spirit. But He is simply too important in our spiritual life to ignore Him!
So, in the light of all the controversy…Does experiencing Holy Spirit really matter?
Yes! It absolutely matters!
Don’t miss all God has for you just because you don’t understand things.
Questions are a good thing.
If you have questions about Holy Spirit then you are in good company. The Apostle Paul found a small group of believer’s in Ephesus “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.” –Acts 19:2 NIV
Did you catch that?
They hadn’t even heard that there was a Holy Spirit. I can hear lots of questions in that statement. Maybe they sounded something like the ones I’ve been asked. Questions like…
What is the Holy Spirit?
Who it the Holy Ghost?
What does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit?
Did I receive the Holy Spirit when I got saved?
Has being filled with Holy Spirit passed away
Who should be filled with the Holy Spirit?
What will happen when a person is filled with Holy Spirit?
Will I act wierd if I get filled with Holy Spirit
Why should I be filled with Holy Spirit?
How do I get filled with Holy Spirit?
The question that got me started…
on this journey to be filled with Precious Holy Spirit began when Alicia moved into the house on the corner. She knew God in a way that I wanted to know Him. There was something different about her. When I went to church with her I sensed the power and presence of God. I had to ask, “What is different about you?”
She responded, “It’s the Holy Spirit!”
The Holy Spirit?
I had no idea who He was. I had gone to church my whole life. I loved God. I loved the Bible. But I knew nothing about the Holy Spirit. Knowing more about Him became very important to me, because I wanted to know Jesus better. I wanted to experience His love in my life like never before.
I want to ask you a question,
“Why is experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit import to you?”
Because you, just like the disciples and believers in the early church need Holy Spirit power to help you know Jesus better and fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
Especially in light of the troubled age we are living in today!
I hope you know Jesus as Savior and Friend, that’s the first step.
I hope you know, really know God the God Father as a loving father, protecting, providing and guiding.
But don’t stop there, you need to experience the communion of the Holy Spirit that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
I thank God for the saving grace of Jesus that I enjoy as a believer. I revel in my heavenly Father’s love, but we are missing so much if we fail to experience the power of the Holy Spirit and the strength that a friendship with Him brings.
Fellowship means friendship.
We can’t be friends with someone we don’t know. Precious Holy Spirit is my friend. I call Him Precious Holy Spirit because He is my friend. He’s not an it. He’s not someone far off. He’s my precious, precious friend. I was filled with Precious Holy Spirit when I was 12 years old and He’s been my friend ever since. I’ve made staying full a lifelong pursuit, because I want to fulfill God’s purpose for my life.
“
The Disciples had great training, but
training wasn't Enough
After three years of intense training, Jesus warned his followers that He was going away. You can imagine their alarm.
Jesus explained that He had to go, because God had more for them. Even after three years of intense discipleship, praying with Jesus and experiencing hands-on-training; they still needed something MORE. Jesus said, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 NIV He is so much more than a power source. He is a Person — the third person of the Trinity, Precious Holy Spirit.
You and the people in your church or your class can discover and experience what the disciples experienced on the day of Pentecost.
The Disciples Needed Help- They Needed Holy Spirit.
And what about you?
- Would you like to be more loving?
- Would you like to have someone help you understand the Bible?
- Would you like to know Jesus better?
- Do you sometimes know what you should do, but lack the spiritual stamina to do it?
- Would you like to have a prayer partner that ALWAYS knows how to pray the perfect will of God?
If you answered yes, to any of these questions, then just like me, ….you need the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit came to help believers live victorious lives.
We all need some help… all of us need His Help!
1. Holy Spirit enables you to obey and follow God’s laws and instructions. (Ezekiel 36:27) Chapter 1 of the book “Precious Holy Spirit” uncovers the mystery of Pentecost by establishing the historical events of both Old and New Testament occurrences.
2. His presence brings you abundant life that overflows. (John 7:38,39) Chapter 2 of the book “Precious Holy Spirit” shows the significance of His presence and how it brings life to the believer like water does to a desert.
3. God’s Gift enriches and blesses every area of your life. (Romans 14:17) Chapter 3 of the book “Precious Holy Spirit” illustrates that every believer can receive God’s life empowering presence.
4. Holy Spirit helps you pray more effectively. (Romans 8:26) Pnema, the wind or life giving breath, covered in chapter 4 of the book “Precious Holy Spirit”, helps believers understand Holy Spirit’s role as their prayer partner.
5. Holy Spirit helps you to love more deeply. (Romans 5:5) Chapter 5 of the book “Precious Holy Spirit” emphasizes how Spirit filled living can ignite spiritual passion to love God and people.
6. Holy Spirit anointing enables believers to do the works of Jesus. (John 14:12) Chapter 6 of the book “Precious Holy Spirit” encourages believers to allow Holy Spirit anointing to flow through them so they can fulfill their life purpose.
7. Holy Spirit empowers believers to be His effective witnesses. (Acts 1:8) Chapter 7 of the book “Precious Holy Spirit” reminds believers to plug into God’s power to be agents of change in a dark world
Are You Hungry for more of God?
Resources on Precious Holy Spirit
Experience His Fullness
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7 Teaching Sermons
Precious Holy Spirit
Titles include:
Teaching Session 1-
The Who, What and Why of Pentecost
Teaching Session 2 Experiencing His Presence in the Wilderness
Session 3- Receiving God’s Gift
Session 4- My Favorite Prayer Partner
Session 5– Receiving and Living Out God’s Love
Session 6- The Purpose Behind the Anointing
Session 7- Plug Into the Power