Pentecost 2023
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Do You Have The Holy Ghost?
Do You Have The Holy Ghost?
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Key words here:
Do hunger and thirst. They are blessed or they will be blessed. Blessed not only means happy or fortunate, it means divine favor on the life of the individual.
Blessed are they which do hunger. Hunger here means to be famished, to hunger indicates an earnest desire......someone say “earnest desire” intense desire. It is an intense need......I need to be righteous, I want to be righteous.
Thirst- The Thayer Greek Lexicon records “figuratively, those are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened.”
I want to be righteous I need to be righteous.
Is there anyone here that wants to be righteous.
Let me tell you a secret:
We can’t be righteous on our own, The LORD imputes his righteousness on us.
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
And when we believe on Jesus, when place our trust in Him, Romans 4:24 says:
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
When we believe on Jesus and when Jesus comes into our lives, when we fellowship with Him, when we walk with Him, we become righteousness.
Paul describes this to Titus, a Bishop in the LORD’s church as “a pattern of good works.”
But the key here is that you have to want it......you have to earnestly desire to be righteous. That means you’ll stop at nothing to be filled with the righteousness of God. You’re going to seek Him.....like never before.
And this is why some people have yet to receive the Holy Ghost. You’ve got to want it.....you’ve got to desire it intensely! You’ve got to pray and seek the face of the LORD!!! And ask Him to fill you!
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Notice here that Jesus breathes on the disciples and says “receive ye the Holy Ghost.”
Notice they felt something, and notice that Jesus says “receive ye the Holy Ghost” but they did not receive it at this moment.
And this is where a lot of people get confused. Because there are some people that believe because they felt something that they received the Holy Ghost.
Yes, after you are baptized you feel something. You feel brand new, you feel clean......you feel forgiven....you feel refreshed and perhaps you feel the presence of the Lord move on you and it may make you feel good but that’s the breath of God blowing on you......it’s not in you yet. YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST YET!
Let’s look at what the word says. I want you to follow the word......don’t go by what people are telling you. Follow the word!
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
And again,
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Jesus before he dies, before he is resurrected and before he ascends to heaven. He spends his last moments with the disciples, prior to his death, after his resurrection and before his ascension talking about what matters most.
For those of us who have loved ones that have gone on to be with the LORD. They spent their last days telling us things of the utmost importance.
At the Last Supper (John 14th chapter through 16th chapter) Jesus is telling them about the Holy Ghost......that is one of his last conversations before he is about to die.
The next chapter Jesus says:
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Receiving the Holy Ghost is of the utmost importance. That’s why Jesus came and died for you! So that the comforter can come.
Well how do I receive this Holy Ghost?
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
You receive through faith.
You receive the Holy Ghost through prayer.
You receive the Holy Ghost by calling on Jesus. I know that this is a contention point with some......because there are some who believe you get it by saying Hallelujah. And that may have been the way you got it....but I’ve been outside of Bibleway and I’ve seen a great many people receive the Holy Ghost by simply calling on the name of Jesus! It is scriptural, it is what the Bible says to do!
You receive the Holy Ghost through praise......you believe, you ask, you seek, you knock until the LORD answers you......you praise Him for it. It is promised to you! You don’t have to beg for it, you don’t have to knock yourself out to get........just believe, ask, seek, knock, and praise Him for it!
You can receive the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands (Acts 8)
You can receive the Holy Ghost by believing and hearing the preach word (Acts 10)
The Bible declares that on the day of Pentecost that all believers were meeting together in one place. They were waiting for the promise, the promise of the Holy Ghost.
The LORD told them don’t leave Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Holy Ghost.
Stay right there.......don’t get distracted by all of the other things that are going on in your life.
The most important thing in your life is to receive the Holy Ghost.
And that’s why some haven’t received it. Because they have other things that are more pressing. They have dinner cooking at the house, they have family members waiting on them to go out to dinner, the ball game or the tv show is on.......and the infilling of the Holy Ghost is not a priority.
But Jesus told them, don’t get distracted......stay there until you receive it. Stay there.......keep calling on the LORD until you receive it. And this isn’t just for the Holy Ghost.......keep calling on the LORD until he delivers, until He heals, until He fixes it! Tell your neighbor keep calling on Him until something happens!!!
PREACH ACTS 2.
Close with Romans 8 chapter.