Episode 14 Notes – April 25, 2015

April 25, 2015 by Tricia Draper

The Messengers Radio Show 4-25-15 (14)

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We are going to recap all we have learned about the Holy Spirit. If you have any questions, visit our archives, or contact us on our website, themessengersradio.com. We would love to have any feedback.

The Holy Spirit

Who is the Holy Spirit? He plays many roles in the life of a believer. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Comforter, and Teacher. He empowers us. He reveals the deep things of God. He leads and guides us through this life. It’s important to know that when we were saved we were marked by the Holy Spirit. In “The Bible Way to Receive the Holy Spirit”, Kenneth E. Hagin explains that the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He leads. He guides. It is up to you to respond. The Bible says in Romans 8:14, “For as many are led by the Spirit of God, they are sons of God.” “As many are led.” Not “as many were made to do.” So, it’s important to remember that He does not force Himself on you. He gives you words, but you have to Speak them. You have to talk. You are His mouthpiece.

When you received Christ, you were sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit. But having the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit are two different things. It is like having a glass of water poured on a sponge when you receive Christ as your savior, and then putting that sponge in a tubof water when you receive the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit.

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Why Do We Need The Holy Spirit?

We learned that The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. He is fully God. He is eternal, omniscient, and omnipresent. He has a will, and can speak. He is alive. He is a person. We receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. But, as we said, having the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Spirit are two different things. So, now we are going to find out WHY we need the Holy Spirit. God sent the Holy Spirit to help and comfort us, but the real reason he sent Him is to glorify Christ, and lead believers into all truth.

Why Need to be Filled?

Witnesses

So, why do we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit? First, we need to understand that learning to be filled (controlled and empowered) by the Holy Spirit by faith is one of the most important discoveries of your Christian life. Jesus told His disciples, “…You need to be empowered with the Holy Spirit in order to be effective and fruitful as My witnesses throughout the world.”

In Mathew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15, (read ?) In John 20:21-22 Jesus said “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you. And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Here we see that Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel. But He emphatically said in Acts 1:4 “…Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.” In Acts 1:8 He tells them, “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.”

This is where we come in. We, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, and are living for Christ, are responsible for those who lack knowledge. It is just like an average non-believer. They don’t know about Christ, therefore they can’t believe. It is our responsibility to teach them and disciple them. The point is not just to save them from Hell. The point is to have a relationship with God. This happens by the Holy Spirit. So if we are not out there telling people about Christ, then we are held responsible and will answer for it on Judgement Day. The same is true with the Holy Spirit. We need them to know the truth and be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that they can not only have a close relationship with God, but so they can go teach others about Him. That is how we can reach the world; teaching others to teach others.

Fruit

The Christian’s relationship with the Holy Spirit is important, in that the Christian life is a life of faith rather than a life of works, and is not based on emotions. We see in Romans 1:17 “The righteous will live by faith.” It’s active, in that, as one walks consistently in the power and control of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will be produced in his life.

The same power of the Holy Spirit is available to you to enable you to live a holy and fruitful life for Jesus Christ. If you are willing for Jesus Christ to live in and through you, you will bear spiritual fruit as naturally as a healthy vine will bear an abundance of fruit. The fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” The only way you can produce fruit is through the Holy Spirit.

You cannot live a holy life apart from the help of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to even know Christ apart from the Spirit. Jesus himself said in John 3:5, “No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” It is impossible for you to become a Christian, to understand the Bible and other spiritual truths, to pray, to live a holy life, to witness or do anything for the Lord Jesus apart from the person of the Holy Spirit of God. So, that is why we need Him so much!

The Holy Spirit came to enable you to know Christ through a new birth, and to give you the power to live and to share the abundant life that Jesus promised to all who trust and obey Him. We learned about trusting God. This is a very important part of our walk with Him. We can trust the Holy Spirit because He is our Guide and Counselor. He leads us into all wisdom and truth. John 16:13 states, “But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak His own message; but He will tell whatever He hears, and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come.” As you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit reveals its truth to you. He makes the Word of God relevant and meaningful when you need it. I can read a scripture at different times, but when I need a revelation for that time in my life, the Holy Spirit will reveal a new side of it that I had not seen before.

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Jesus was confined to a body and could only be one place at a time. But He knew the Holy Spirit would be with your everywhere you go, all the time, leading and guiding you. Trust the Holy Spirit in you, resting on the knowledge that in Him you are becoming everything God planned for you to be.

We have talked a lot about the Holy Spirit. Let’s just point out some of the things we have discovered so far. We have the Holy Spirit in us when we are saved, but we must be filled with the Holy Spirit to become an empowered Christian. We must give of ourselves fully to Christ, and let the Holy Spirit take control. He will comfort, guide, and intercede for us. Together with the Holy Spirit, we can take the World by storm. It’s not just a suggestion, it’s a command! God loves us so much; He wants us to enjoy our time here on earth. He doesn’t want to be an insurance policy. He wants to have a close personal relationship with each of us. He made us! He loves us!

Why Not Filled?

So, this begs the question, why is the average Christian not filled with the Spirit? Remember, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit when we are born again, but that is different than being filled and empowered by the Spirit. Bill Bright explains that we are living in disobedience to God when we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, since He gave us this command. He states that there are 2 major reasons that average Christians today are not filled; because of a lack of knowledge, and from unbelief. In 1 Cor. 3, Paul describes a worldly believer, one who is not filled with the Holy Spirit, as one who acts like a non-Christian. Although the worldly believer has received Christ, he has also allowed his worldly nature to reclaim the throne of his life through sin. God still has possession of this person, and Christ is still in his life, but the individual has fallen into sin in his life. He does not understand the gift that is offered him. Not yielded to God, they are usually miserable, even more so than non-Christians, because the believer knows there is more out there in his walk with God. Defeated and fruitless, he depends on self-effort to live the Christian life instead of drawing on the supernatural, inexhaustible resources of the Holy Spirit. Grasping with self-interest in one hand, and groping for God’s blessing with the other, this person fails again and again to live the Christian life in the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.

As a result, he has become increasingly confused and frustrated and does not know what to do about it. He does not know how to live by faith-instead he lives by feeling; he tries rather than trusts. He doesn’t know how to stop being worldly or how to become a spiritual Christian. The only one who can enable him to change is of course, the Holy Spirit. The average Christian doesn’t know how to experience the great riches and resources that are his heritage in Christ, so he lives in spiritual poverty.

This is where we come in. We, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, and are living for Christ, are responsible for those who lack knowledge. It is just like an average non-believer. They don’t know about Christ, therefore they can’t believe. It is our responsibility to teach them and disciple them. The point is not just to save them from Hell. The point is to have a relationship with God. This happens by the Holy Spirit. So if we are not out there telling people about Christ, then we are responsible for that and will answer for it on Judgement Day. The same is true with the Holy Spirit. We need them to know the truth and be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that they can not only have a close relationship with God, but so they can go teach others about Him. That is how we can reach the world; teaching others to teach others.

Lack of knowledge is not the only reason the Christian are not filled with the Holy Spirit. Many of them basically do not trust God, and are afraid to relinquish control of their lives to the Holy Spirit. They fear that God will require the unthinkable from them-that He will change their plans, ask them to give away all their wealth, take all the fun from their lives, make them endure tragedies, or something similar. In fact, while there will be changes, the result is much better! God is the God of Fun!! He loves us, and wants us to have fun! He didn’t make us to be miserable, He made us to prosper. God always blesses those who trust and obey Him. The happiest people I meet are those who have learned to totally trust and obey God in their lives, no matter what their circumstances.

God alone is worthy of your trust. I urge you to come freely to Christ and say, “Lord, here I am. Take my life and use it for your glory!”

As God reminds us in 1 John 4:18, “We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what He might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us, and shows that we are not fully convinced that He really loves us.”

Rom 15:13