Everything you have ever wanted to know about the Holy Spirit
But were afraid to ask--Acts 2:1-4
Intro: we have so many people asking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the working of the Spirit of God, that I feel it is essential to present the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer.
1. Acts 1:4—Jesus taught that the infilling or baptism in the Holy Spirit would be essential to the work of God.
2. Matthew 3:11—Jesus is the one who baptizes you in the Holy Spirit, this is key, you must first experience Christ, the next step is to let the Spirit of God rest in your life.
3. Promise of the Father---Joel 2:23—God had promised the people of God that He would pour Himself out into their lives in the last days. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of God’s promise to man.
4. Jesus explained it was essential for Him to go, so the time or dispensation of the Holy Spirit could carry the work of God forward until His return. John 16:7
5. This was not a historical one time event as some state, but an on-going event to every generation. Acts 2;39
6. One all flesh—Acts 2:17—this is all inclusive—this doesn’t belong just to the Jewish nation, this isn’t just a Pentecostal church possession, the opportunity of receiving the Spirit of God is for everyone.
7. Seal—Ephesians 1:13—the Spirit of God working in our lives is God’s seal on our lives. As we operate in the Spirit of God, it is the sign to the unbeliever of God in our lives.
8. earnest—God gives us the infilling of the Spirit of God—as earnest on the rest of the inheritance. Ephesians 1:14
9. it empowers our lives to live for God---Luke 24:46-49
10. work of the Holy Spirit in our lives
· power to witness—Acts 1:8
· boldness to preach—Acts 4;31
· special gifts—I Corinthians 12:7-11
· spiritual fruit—Galatians 5:22-23
11. Names expressing work of Holy Spirit
· Comforter—John 14:26
· Spirit of God—Ephesians 4:30
· Spirit of Truth John 14:17
· Advocate—legal term-Lawyer John 14:16
· Teacher—John 14:26
· Helper—Romans 8:26
12. Symbol of Fire—Purifying Work of the Spirit of God—Matthew 3:11
The blood of Jesus washes our sins away, but the fire of the Spirit of God burns out the wood, hay and stubble. The Spirit of God sanctifies our lives in God. Jesus saves us from sin, The Spirit saves us from our self or the Adamic nature.
Close: this is just the tip of the iceberg—the Word is full of life on the subject of the Holy Spirit
