To properly receive this gift, and to make sure that you really do receive it when you first ask for it, here is a simple five step process that you can take that will help you receive this gift the first time you ask for it.
If you properly prepare yourself by going through these five steps, then you will definitely receive this gift the first time you ask and press in for it. Here are the five specific steps.
Table of contents
1. Right Motive
The first thing you must have before asking God for this gift is the right motive. This one right here is where many Christians miss getting it the first time around.
Some people may want this gift because some of their friends may have just received it, or they want the gift of tongues, or they want God’s power to be able to do what their will is rather than what God’s will is going to be for their lives.
In other words, they want this gift for their own selfish purposes rather than for what God wants to do with their lives.
The two main reasons each Christian should want to have this gift for are the following:
To be able to draw closer to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in your own personal relationship with each One of Them.
The number one thing that God wants from each one of us more than anything else is a one-on-one, intimate, personal relationship. Once you receive this gift, you will be able to draw that much closer to the Three of Them, and They will then become much more active in your personal life.
The second main reason that you will want this gift is so that you can have God’s supernatural power flowing through you so you can fully accomplish whatever God’s perfect will is going to be for you in this life. This is where you really enter into what is called the anointing.
The anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit operating through you to accomplish whatever it is God wants you to do for Him.
If God calls you to be a policeman, then He will anoint you with His power to be a great policeman. If God calls you to be a doctor, then He will anoint you with His power to be a great doctor. In order for God’s anointing to really be able to properly flow through you, you have to receive this gift.
You will have much more of God’s supernatural power flowing and operating through you if the Holy Spirit is residing up in your soul area rather than just down in your spirit.
Good case in point was an evangelist by the name of Dwight Moody. Before Dwight Moody received this gift, he was just a “good” evangelist in getting people saved and led to the Lord. However, two older ladies at one of his meetings told him one time that he would get many more souls saved if he would just receive this gift.
They told him that he was lacking God’s full supernatural power – God’s full anointing when he was preaching.
After he found out what this gift was all about and then properly received it from the Lord, his ministry took off like a rocket!
He led many more souls to the Lord than what he was doing before he had received this gift. I recall reading that after he had received this gift, he could not believe the difference in his preaching and the results he started to get.
He said he was preaching the exact same messages that he had been preaching before he had received this gift, but many more people would come up to the altar to get saved after he had received this gift as compared to how many were people coming up before he had received the gift.
He said that the power of the Holy Spirit operating through his ministry dramatically increased after having received this gift. As a result, he ended up becoming one of the greatest evangelists of all time.
The difference was the anointing – and what got the anointing on his ministry was receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit!
Many Christians, after studying what this gift is all about, and realizing that God can release this kind of supernatural power in their lives, will seek after this gift for the wrong reasons. They will seek after this gift to get the power of God operating through them so they can use it for their own selfish purposes and agendas.
So the first step you have to take is to make sure that your motives are right and pure with the Lord. If they are not, then God will not release this gift to you. He will not allow His anointing to be tampered with or to be used for one’s own selfish purposes.
You have to really want this gift because you want to be able to enter into a much deeper, personal relationship with God – and that you will now need His power and anointing to be able to flow through you so that you can fully accomplish whatever His divine destiny is going to be for your life.
God will be able to read right through your thoughts and motives on all of this. If you are not sincere with Him as to why you are really wanting this gift, or you are seeking after this gift for all of the wrong reasons, God will then see right through your impure motives and withhold this gift from you until you can come to Him for the right reasons and the right motive.
So the first step is that you make sure that you properly examine your motives as to why you are seeking after this gift.
If you can honestly say that you really want this gift for the above right reasons, then you are now ready for step two.
2. Decide If You Really Want It
Once you have examined your motives and you know that you can approach God with the right reasons and right motives for wanting this gift – then the next step is to decide if you really want this gift.
This may sound a bit redundant, but it isn’t. This gift is only for those who want to go all out for God. It is only for those who are willing to put the pedal to the metal for God.
If God is going to allow the Holy Spirit to release up into your soul area, then He is going to want you to do something with it. God has a specific plan and destiny for each person’s life. If God allows the Holy Spirit to release up into your soul area, then you are going to have God’s power available to you to do what He wants you to do with your life.
If you are not willing to be used by God for whatever He wants to use you for in this life, then His anointing is just going to be wasted and He will more than likely withhold this gift from you. Again, this is another reason why God may not release this gift the first time someone will ask for it. This person does not really understand the ramifications and responsibility that comes from receiving this gift.
If you are not willing to go all out for the Lord in this life, then you will be wasting both your time and His time by asking for this gift. Many Christians, after really realizing the responsibility and ramifications that come with this gift, really do decide not to press in for it because they know they cannot give God a full and unconditional commitment to fully serve Him.
Some Christians are also afraid to get to close to God in their own personal relationships with Him. This kind of unhealthy fear will also prevent you from being able to receive this gift.
These first two steps – having the right motive and really wanting this gift – will be the main determining factors as to whether or not you will receive this gift the first time you try asking for it. If your motives are not right, or if you are not sure that you really want this gift and the responsibility and ramifications that will go with it, then chances are, you will not receive it.
This is why many people do not initially receive this gift when they first go up for it at the altar calls at their church. They have not been properly prepared as to what this gift is really all about, nor have they been properly prepared as to what God will expect from them if He should release this gift to them.
If you decide that your motives are right and pure, and that you really do want this gift, and are willing to accept the responsibility and ramifications that will come with it – then you are now ready for step three.
3. The Full Surrender
Once you realize what this gift entails and that you will have to be willing to fully surrender to whatever God’s perfect plan and destiny is going to be for your life – then the next step is to take that big leap of faith and fully surrender everything over to God the Father. What God wants from you are four specific things:
- your body
- your soul
- your spirit
- your entire life
He wants all three parts to your being – body, soul, and spirit. If you notice in the above verse at the top of this article, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, God wants to sanctify you completely in all three parts of your being – spirit, soul, and body.
The fourth thing that God will want from you is your entire life – and this will literally include everything. It will include who you will marry in this life if marriage will be in God’s perfect will for your life, what your call or calls are going to be, and what jobs you will be taking in this life.
In the Bible Basics section of our site, we have another article titled “The Full Surrender.” In this article, I give you all of the main Scripture verses proving and showing to you that this is something that God the Father really wants from each and everyone of us.
If you are not willing to make a full and complete surrender of your body, soul, spirit, and your entire life over to the Lord – then He will probably not allow this gift to be released to you.
The full surrender prayer will be included in the final step where you will pray and ask God to release this gift to you.
If you can now say that you really do want to receive this gift for all of the right reasons, that you have no fear in receiving it, and that you will now be willing to fully surrender every aspect of your life over to God the Father, then you are now ready for step four.
4. The Full Cleansing
Before asking God to allow this gift to be released in you, I feel every Christian should be willing to go through what I call a full cleansing. What this entails is that you simply confess any known sins that you may have on you that have not already been confessed and forgiven under the Blood of Jesus. For those of you with a Catholic background, it would be like going to confession before receiving communion.
Imagine if you got a message from God the Father and He told you that He was going to send Jesus down to visit you at your house on a specific date.
What would be the first thing that you would want to do? You would want to clean your house from top to bottom.
Why? Because you would want Jesus coming into a “clean house” to visit you.
The same analogy can now be used with the Holy Spirit. Since this gift is receiving the presence of the Holy Spirit up into your soul area – the first thing you are going to want to do is to make sure that you have a “clean house” for Him to come up into. Your soul is your house. So how do you clean your soul up in order to properly receive His presence up into your soul? By fully confessing every known sin that you have not already confessed yet. You want a “clean slate” in order to really be able to receive Him up into your soul.
There are two parts to properly do this and they are as follows:
1. The first thing that you will want to do is take about 4-7 days to really do this right.
Get a pen and piece of paper and write down any known sin that you still have lingering on you that you know that has not been fully confessed before God the Father to receive His full forgiveness for. Once you write down everything you can think of, then ask God to show you any other sins that you may have in you that you may not be aware of that are sins in His sight.
Many of us have hidden sins that we are not fully aware of that really need to be confessed and washed clean under the Blood of Jesus. You may be holding unforgiveness towards someone and God is viewing this as a sin, but you are not.
You are not fully aware that this is a sin in His sight. Be sensitive to any sins that the Holy Spirit may bring up to your mind’s attention over the course of about 4-7 days. Give God that long to reveal to you any hidden secret sins that you may have in you that you may not be aware of.
After you have written down everything that you feel is a sin in His sight, then simply go to God in prayer and confess each one of these sins as a sin, and then accept His full forgiveness for each of these sins. Here is a sample prayer that you can use to make sure that you do this right:
“Father,
I now come before You to fully confess my sins of (the name of each of your sins). I fully admit that what I have done was wrong and sinful in Your sight. Father, in Jesus name, I now ask that you please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that Your Son Jesus has personally shed for me on the cross. I also ask by the power of the Holy Spirit that you give me the power not to do any of these specific sins ever again.
Father, I now believe that I have been fully forgiven and that my sins will no longer be remembered by You.
Thank you Father.
Thank you Jesus.”
Here is the Scripture verse backing up the above prayer and confession:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Notice that we have to first confess our sins directly to Him before He will forgive us on each one of our known sins.
2. The next and final step is to then deal with any type of heavier sin that you may have in your past. And here is where I need to give each of you a major warning.
Any previous “heavier” sins such as alcohol or drug abuse, any involvement in the occult, any involvement in a cult or false religion, or any involvement in a homosexual lifestyle – these types of heavier sins must not only be confessed – but they must also be renounced before God the Father.
When you fully renounce something before God the Father, you are telling Him that you will never, ever go back to that activity again. All of these heavier sins have one major thing in common – they are all major door openers to the dark side, to Satan’s realm where he and his demons roam.
Some people will get demons attached to them as a result of engaging in one or more of the above activities. If you do not confess and renounce these types of heavier sins before God the Father, then the demons who may have attached themselves to you as a result of engaging in any of these activities will still have a legal right to stay attached to you.
If you do not confess and renounce these types of heavier sins before God the Father, then what could possibly happen is that a demon will enter into your soul area when you ask for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit rather than the Holy Spirit entering up into your soul area.
There have been documented cases of this happening, and this was all because the person was not properly prepared before trying to receive this gift! And once that demon or demons enter into your soul area, then you are going to have to get them cast out of you by way of an actual deliverance!
So make sure that if you have had any past involvement in any of the above mentioned activities, that you both confess and renounce that sin before God the Father – and then go ahead and speak out loud to any demons who may have become attached to you to now leave you in the name of Jesus Christ, since their legal rights have now been fully taken away from them with you both confessing and renouncing this heavier sin before God the Father.
Here is a sample prayer and how to properly do this:
1. “Father, I now come before You to fully confess my involvement in (name the sin activity) as a sin. In addition to confessing this activity as a sin, I now wish to fully renounce my involvement in (name the sin).
Father, in the name of Jesus, I now fully renounce my involvement in (name the sin) and I promise and vow to You that I will never, ever return back to it again.”
Now you will need to speak directly to any demons who may have become attached to you as a result of engaging in this past activity.
This next part needs to be said out loud since demons cannot read your mind or your thoughts.
2. “I now come against any and all demonic spirits who may have become attached to me – either on the inside of me or on the outside of me as a result of my involvement in (name the activity).
I have now fully confessed and fully renounced my involvement in (name the sin) to God the Father and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
My past transgressions in this activity have now been fully forgiven under the blood of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You no longer have any more legal rights to stay attached to me in any way, shape, or form. My sin has now been fully forgiven and completely washed away by the blood of my Savior Jesus Christ.
I now plead the blood of Jesus Christ against each and every one of you. All of your legal rights have now been completely broken and taken away. You no longer have any more legal rights to stay attached to me.
Demons, I now command you, in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to leave me right now and forever more – and you are to never, ever come back on me again.
I repeat, each and everyone of you is to leave me right now in the name of Jesus Christ, and you are to never, ever come back on me – ever again! Go now in the name of Jesus Christ! I repeat, go now in the name of Jesus Christ!”
If you have drawn any demons in on you as a result of any participation in any of the above activities, then the above confession, renouncement, and engaging directly with the demons should take care of the problem.
One final note – when I say any involvement in the occult, I mean any involvement whatsoever.
If you have played with a ouija board even one time – if you have gone to a fortuneteller even one time – if you have been hypnotized even so much as one time – you need to go ahead and go through the above cleansing just to make absolutely, positively sure that you are clean and free of any demonic spirits before asking for this gift. It is much better to be safe than sorry on this.
I am going to go ahead and list some of the occult activities that will need to be confessed and renounced before God the Father if you do want to press in for this gift.
Any involvement in any of these occult activities need to be fully confessed and fully renounced before God the Father before attempting to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Here is the list:
- Fortunetelling of any kind
- Tarot Cards
- Ouija Boards
- Séances and any involvements with mediums or spiritists
- Astrology and any form of horoscopes
- I Ching
- Hypnotism
- Transcendental or any type of far eastern meditation
- Witchcraft
- Satanism
- Voodoo
- Channeling of any kind
- Astro projection
- ESP
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Any New Age techniques or activities
- Necromancy
If you are willing to pass all of the above four steps – then you are now ready to receive the baptism or release of the Holy Spirit so He can now release from your spirit to come up into your soul.
If your motives are right and pure, if you have decided that you really want this gift, if you are willing to make a full and complete surrender of your body, soul, spirit, and entire life over to God the Father, and are willing to properly go through the above cleansing process in order for the Holy Spirit to have a clean house in which to be able to enter into – you are now really ready to receive this gift and it will now become very easy for you to do so. The hard part is now over.
I really feel the reason many people do not receive this gift when trying to get it quickly at a church service is that they simply have not been properly prepared to receive it.
The above four steps will properly prepare you to receive this gift if you are honest with yourself when you complete these four steps.
5. Prayer to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
If you have successfully completed steps 1-4, then the only thing left to do is simply to go to God the Father in prayer and ask Him to allow the Holy Spirit to release up into your soul. It really is that simple. You do not have to go into any type of major travailing or prevailing trying to get God to release this gift to you.
Any travailing or prevailing would have been done in steps 1-4 where you had to make a personal decision with yourself as to who is going to run your life – you or God.
You may have also wrestled with the Lord on going through the cleansing process in reference to some past or hidden sins that He wanted you to confess as sins in order for your house to be clean enough to allow the Holy Spirit to enter into your soul.
If you have successfully passed those steps on the full surrender, having the right motives, and allowing God to clean you up on the inside with any sins that He wanted confessed, forgiven, and washed completely clean under the Blood of His Son, then the hard part is now over.
This gift will then be released to you by way of just a simple prayer and request to God the Father. Simply ask God the Father in a simple prayer request and you will then receive this mighty gift from Him. This gift is then accepted by simple faith and belief.
Here is a simple basic way that you can word your prayer to God the Father to receive this most glorious gift. Notice in the prayer that you are agreeing to make a full and complete surrender of your entire life over to Him.
“Father,
I believe that I am truly saved and born again. I believe that all of my sins have now been fully forgiven and washed clean under the Blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Father, I now by an act of my free will, turn my entire life over to You. I now place my body, my soul, my spirit, and my entire life into Your hands. I now ask that You place and enter me into Your perfect will for my life. I now ask that You set me up on the perfect plan and destiny that you have set up for my life.
Father, I now want to go one step further. I now want to receive the Baptism of your Holy Spirit – the release of your Holy Spirit to come up and enter into my soul from my spirit.
Father, in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, I now ask that you allow the Holy Spirit to enter into my soul. Father, from this moment on, by an act of strong faith and belief, I am now going to believe that the Holy Spirit has now entered into my soul – regardless of whether or not I feel anything.
Thank you Father.
Thank you Jesus.”
What completes this prayer request is your faith and belief that God has now granted it. If you have passed steps 1-4, then there is no reason for God to withhold this gift from you and you can now start walking believing that the Holy Spirit has now entered into your soul.
What you will need to do now is to start to establish a direct, personal, one-on-one relationship with the Holy Spirit Himself just like you have with God and Jesus.
Seek to establish a Father-child relationship with God the Father, and a best friend relationship with both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul tells us that we can enter into a good personal relationship direct with the Holy Spirit Himself. Here are two good verses giving us this revelation:
- “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)
- “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit …” (Philippians 2:1)
These two words above –”fellowship and communion” – tell us that we can enter into a personal relationship direct with the Holy Spirit Himself!
The word “communion” means to have a direct partnership with someone, to share with someone, to have fellowship with someone. These two words spell one thing – personal relationship!
What will really kick this gift into full operation is for you to start to establish a direct, one-on-one, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit Himself. Simply start talking to Him like you would a best friend. He is right there on the inside of you.
This is part 2 of our 4 part series on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
www.bible-knowledge.com
“This is the mystery of Pentecost: The Holy Spirit illuminates the human spirit and, by revealing Christ Crucified and Risen, indicates the way to become more like him, that is, to be ‘the image and instrument of the love which flows from Christ.’” (Pope Benedict XVI, June 4, 2006)
Dear Father, in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to stir up within me the fullness of Your Holy Spirit. Help me to grow in my relationship with the Third Person of Your Holy Trinity and to live in His power and use His gifts.
Lord Jesus, You promised, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). Help me to remember that I don’t know everything, and that this is okay, because the Holy Spirit understands it all. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and His understanding of everything that is happening in my life.
O Holy Spirit, Jesus asked the Father to give me the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17). Help me to recognize You in the scriptures. Open my mind to understand Your truths, and open my heart to accept Your truths in faith even before I gain right understanding.
O Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “The one who receives the seed that falls on good soil hears the word and understands it. He produces an abundant crop” (Matt. 13:23). Be the gardener of my life. Nourish the seeds of heaven that You have already placed within me and make it grow so that Your love, Your ways, and Your kingdom will always grow within me and produce much good fruit for others.
O Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “Do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say” (Luke 12:11-12). Help me to trust in You always. Help me to remember that with You, nothing is impossible, and that You work everything according to what is good and right and timely, even if it doesn’t seem so to me.
O Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and everything else you need will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33). Help me to let go of all my earthly attachments. First help me to recognize what I am attached to that is not of You, and then hold my hand as I walk away from the things of the world. Give me the determination and the strength to let go so that I have no other gods before me. I want only You.
O Holy Spirit, You are the Comforter. Help me to let go of the losses in my life. Heal my heart. And help me to face my sinfulness and to feel genuine sorrow for the damage ~ both intentional and unintentional ~ that I have inflicted on others and in so doing have inflicted on Jesus. Comfort me as I mourn my need for forgiveness, and give me Your spirit of rejoicing over this new growth in me.
O Holy Spirit, Jesus freely chose to suffer and die for me because of His tremendous love for me. I have pains in my life ~ hurts, wounds, sufferings, trials, difficulties ~ and I want to run from them. Strengthen me to follow in Jesus’ footsteps so that I can walk my road to Calvary without fearing evil, and lead me into my new life of victory and resurrection.
O Holy Spirit, Jesus said that He would not leave us orphans, but would send You to us (John 14:18). How often I have wept or complained because it seemed like You were not with me in my sorrows and sufferings! Help me to recognize Your presence in ALL situations. Help me to turn to You and find You, for You never leave me nor abandon me. You care even more about me and my problems than I do. You are working a plan for my benefit, to make good come from everything that happens to me. Help me to discover Your presence in every moment of my life.
O Holy Spirit, by the cross of Jesus we are healed! By His resurrection we live in the new life of total, unconditional love. Help me to share that healing love with all those around me. Jesus commanded, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Help me to declare with power the Good News of Jesus Christ. Send me to where You can use my gifts and talents to make a difference.
O Holy Spirit, You gave Yourself to the Virgin Mary and she said “yes” to becoming the mother of the Messiah. Help me to say “yes!” to whatever it is You are calling me to do. I want to serve the Father and make Jesus’ love more evident in the world around me.
O Holy Spirit, I have my own expectations about what I should and should not do. I now surrender to You my ideas, my limitations, my preferences, and my goals. Fill me, Holy Spirit, with all Your supernatural gifts! Empower me to accept and grow in the supernatural life as much as the early disciples did. I want to be useful to You. I want to go where You lead me. Holy Spirit, send me forth gifted and empowered to make a difference spreading the Good News of God’s forgiving love.
Come, Holy Spirit; renew me. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
© 2000 by Terry A. Modica
A Testimony from a reader of the Good News daily Good News Reflections:
Dear Terry,
Thanks for the beautiful reflection as well as for the link to the Prayers to the Holy Spirit. I saw this link about a year ago, printed it and use it very often during my prayers.
You mentioned about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit being a necessity in one’s spiritual life. Let me share a little on this subject. My wife and I were in quite a bad spiritual state (practically anti-God) when we were told that we could not have a child. The Lord in his mercy drew us to a prayer meeting where there were testimonies by people from various faiths including some priests and leaders from the local Charismatic Renewal. We listened in particular to two gentlemen, a father and son.
Their testimony was so powerful and it touched us so much that I went forward to be prayed over when the call was given and was prayed over by the older gentleman mentioned earlier. It was such a dramatic experience that it gives me shivers even when I think of it today, 30 years later. I was in tears, shaking and shivering, and I received the gift of tongues on the spot. My wife saw my experience, and she too went up and had a similar experience.
Life was completely different after that. We were able to tell the Lord that even if he wanted us to be childless, we would be happy, as his will was more important that our want. It is only after this acceptance that the Lord gifted us with a son ten years into our marriage.
The idea of this sharing is to inform those who have not had the privilege of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to go ahead and attend a “Life in the Spirit Seminar” and I can guarantee you that it will be an experience that will overhaul your life.
God Bless
Ken
Next: See Lord Send Out Your Spirit
a Multi-Media Meditation at Catholic Digital Resources
Or use this Novena to the Holy Spirit
Or read: Who is the Holy Spirit?
gnm.org
The Apostle Peter promises to those who repent and are baptized that they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The Bible tells us “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:6-8). Scripture explicitly states that we must first be born again. In order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we must be committed to new life in Christ. This is when the real transformation begins. What’s amazing about the Holy Spirit is how we are drawn to it. Before you even choose to become a Christian, the Holy Spirit is at work in you, showing you your sin, and drawing you to Christ.
To truly understand the Holy Spirit as a gift, it’s important to understand what the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is God – not simply a force. It is the third entity of the Trinity, manifested as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each person itself being God. Because of this, everyone who has repented and turned their life over to Christ has the power to receive the Holy Spirit. Another important thing to understand about the Holy Spirit is that we cannot see it; however, we can experience the Holy Spirit when we are filled with it. There are a number of verses throughout Scripture that speak on “being filled” with the Holy Spirit, including:
Ephesians 1:17: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him…”
Acts 4:8: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit sais to them, Rulers of the people and elders…”
Acts 13:52: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who seek Him. In the Book of John we are told: “Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, who those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost, when Jesus’ followers received the Holy Spirit. This is told in great detail in Acts 2. The account begins with the Holy Spirit descending upon a group of followers who upon receiving it began to speak in tongues. We are told in this account, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound of heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the houses where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, and the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). Because the Holy Spirit came down, the Apostles were enabled to spread the good news of Christ, just as Jesus had promised. With the decent of the Holy Spirit, a New Covenant was inaugurated. We know the Holy Spirit is working through us when we are drawn to Christ.
In Galatians 5:22-23 we learn about the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The Bible says “against such things, there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit’s presence our lives as Christians. We receive the Holy Spirit the moment we believe in Christ. When we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, we have a new awareness of Christ, and can begin entering a relationship with Him. The primary purpose of the Holy Spirit coming into our life is change. The Holy Spirit’s role is to mold us into the image of Christ so that we may live in His likeness.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is a privilege, given to those who place their faith in Jesus Christ. Once you accept Jesus Christ in the waters of baptism, you will receive this gift. With this privilege comes great responsibility. With the Holy Spirit guiding us, we must seek earnestly to remove ourselves from a context of sin, and obey the commands of God. Our thoughts and our actions should build up the kingdom of God. Just as the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we too as Christians can enjoy the fullness, greatness and power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, and enhancing our relationship with God. Accept the Holy Spirit at work in your life today.
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