Receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit Sunday is Pentecost. So, my topic is the work of the Holy Spirit in believers. When you received Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit came into you to dwell in you. His purpose in indwelling you is to transform you gradually to be like Jesus. But there is more. God also wants each of us to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit, also called Baptism in the Holy Spirit. This is an experience distinct from salvation and is given to empower us to be witnesses of Jesus as we live filled with the Spirit. Listen to two accounts of people receiving this gift. First, at Samaria, we read in Acts 8:14-17: When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Later at Caesarea, we read in Acts 10:44-47: While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So, how do we receive this gift? Just like any other gift of God. And how do we receive any gift from God? It is the nature of gifts that they cannot be earned. What you earn are wages. An employer is obligated to pay you your wages as payment for services rendered. They are not gifts. God’s grace provides gifts which can not be earned. This is true of salvation as Paul writes in Romans 4:4, 5: Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. If you work to try to earn God’s blessing, you are rejecting His grace. When you try to earn grace, you cannot have it! Grace is received only by faith: trusting God and accepting His gift on His terms. Since all of God’s gifts are of grace, all are received by faith. In Galatians, Paul deals with Christians who are in danger of turning from faith to relying on their own ability to keep the law. In chapter 2, he makes it clear that salvation is only by faith, never by law. As he begins what we call chapter 3, he gives them an example from their own experience to demonstrate that God’s gifts are received by faith. In chapter 3 verse 2, Paul writes: I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? This is a rhetorical question. They knew they had received the gift of the Spirit by faith. They had done nothing to earn it. So, he goes on to tell them they are being foolish to now think they must earn God’s salvation. And then in verse 5 he again stresses that God gave them His Spirit because they believed the message they heard, they had received the Spirit by faith. And in verse 14, Paul again stresses that we receive the promise of the Holy Spirit by faith. But what is the nature of this faith that receives the Holy Spirit? In Luke 11, Jesus teaches us about prayer. In verses 5-8, he tells a story teaching us to be bold in prayer, to ask for what we need. God wants us to ask for what we need. We should value His promises and recognize our need for His power. Take God at His word and do not be ashamed to ask. In verses 9 and 10, Jesus adds: So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened. Jesus is calling for persistent faith. The verbs mean to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Keep asking for what you need. Go further and keep seeking for all God has promised. Go deeper and keep knocking until the door opens. It is those persistently and intensely ask in faith who will receive from God. Jesus then teaches us to trust God as a child trusts his father. God is more dependable than any earthly father. If we can trust a man, surely we can trust God to give us only good things. If a sinful man will give food to his child, surely God will provide his children with the power they need. And what was Jesus teaching us to ask for with such confidence? He tells us at the climax of His teaching in verse 13: How much more will you Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! There is a gift of the Holy Spirit for which we must ask by faith. The faith that receives is bold to ask. It is persistent in asking with intense desire. And it is confident in God as our heavenly Father, coming to Him expecting Him to provide all we need. So, how does one receive the Gift of the Spirit? Start with the ideal context for receiving: an atmosphere of praise. Praise is the proper way to enter God’s presence (see Psalm 100:4). The last verses of Luke’s gospel tell us that God’s people prepared for Pentecost with praise. We find in Acts 2:11 and 10:46 that the gift of the Spirit is an experience of praise. Praise strengthens our faith to receive from God. Then there is the correct attitude, a focus on Jesus. As a Pentecostal, I expect speaking in tongues as the physical evidence of the experience and would not be satisfied without them, but that is not our goal. The goal of being filled with the Spirit is to be empowered as a witness for Jesus (See Acts 1:8). A gift should draw us to the giver, and Jesus is the one who baptizes us in the Holy Spirit (See Luke 3:16). The Holy Spirit always comes to glorify Jesus. So, to receive the Gift of the Spirit, one should hunger for more of Jesus, focus attention on Jesus, and praise Jesus for all He has done for us. Now let me give the simple answer to how to receive the Holy Spirit. It is to ask, to exercise faith by asking. Believe what you have heard from God’s word. Believe that God’s promise is for you. Trust God to keep His word. Ask to be filled with the Spirit and do so specifically, persistently, and expectantly. Come before God’s presence with praise. Focus your prayer and thoughts on Jesus, on knowing Him, on praising Him, on serving Him, and on being His witness. If you have already received God’s Gift of the Spirit, continue to focus on Jesus, to seek to draw closer to Him, to serve Him faithfully, and to live continually filled with the Spirit as His witness. If you know Jesus as Savior and have the Spirit dwelling in you, but have not yet been baptized by Jesus in the Holy Spirit, believe that the promise is for you, desire to grow in your relationship with Jesus, and ask to be filled until you know you are. If you do not know Jesus as Savior, then turn from self and sin right now to trust in Jesus and ask Him to forgive and transform you by His grace. Receive Jesus as your Savior who died for your sins and rose again to give you life.