The Promised Gift

I am thankful for the ministry and the work of the Holy Spirit! As we continue our series Empowered this evening, I want to begin with a bit of reflection.

First, I want you to take a moment to reflect upon how the Holy Spirit has impacted you inwardly. I’m speaking about His help in the way of guidance, counsel, speaker of peace, etc.

Secondly, I want you to consider how the Holy Spirit has made an impact on you outwardly… specifically how Spirit baptism has empowered your witness.

I bring these points up at the forefront of our message this evening because i want you thinking about your personal experience in the Holy Spirit.

We have stated numerous times throughout this series that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is both personal and experiential. Every believer has the opportunity to know the ministry of the Holy Spirit personally. Every believer has the opportunity to experience the work and move of the Holy Spirit.

The last two messages, from the cross to Pentecost, has informed us of significant historical events that opened doors for us to be able to know and experience the Holy Spirit as we do on a daily basis. Tonight, we are going to talk about the actual point of connection. We are going to talk about receiving the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.

First off, I want us to look at our main verse this evening. It is found in Luke 24:49a. It reads, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised...”

In context, Jesus spoke these words to His disciples after His resurrection and prior to His ascension to heaven. What was it that Jesus was speaking of sending to His followers? The Holy Spirit. How was the Holy Spirit spoken of by Jesus as being? A promised gift. The door had now been opened, the way had now been made. The veil in the temple had been torn from top to bottom signifying that God’s presence could now dwell with those redeemed by Jesus’ blood.

From the cross to Pentecost showed us how and who is able to receive. Believers are eligible to receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith in Christ is the only prerequisite. Tonight, we are going to talk about what this reception looks like in the life of the believer.

Being that the Holy Spirit is a promised gift, we are going to look at the promise itself, the gift, the giver and the receiver. We will look at the inward and outward experience regarding the reception of Holy Spirit.

The Promise

Our God is a God of promise. What do I mean by that? God makes promises. God keeps promises.

When God says He will do something, you better believe it will come to pass. we refer to God’s promises quite often from the pulpit and I pray we lean upon His promises daily as we navigate life in this broken and fallen world.

2 Corinthians 1:20 reads, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Interestingly enough, verse 22 goes on to talk about a seal God places upon believer to show ownership - that seal being “His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

When it comes to God’s promises, we have every reason to believe they will be kept. And we certainly know this to be true regarding God’s promised gift of the Spirit.

In the Old Testament, we are familiar with the promise mentioned in Joel 2:28-29. This promise is later reemphasized in Acts 2:17-18 and refered to agin in Acts 2:38-39. Remember also from the Old Testament that Moses expressed a wish that one day all the people of God would be filled with the Spirit of God in Numbers 11:29.

In the New Testament, we see multiple references from Christ and His disciples… references making clear God PROMISED to send the gift of the Spirit.

I feel it very important to point this out tonight for this reason: God PROMISED the gift of the Spirit and with that we must also note the TIMING of when this promise would be fulfilled - IN THE LAST DAYS.

Again, I define the last days as the period of time stretching from Jesus’ ascension to heaven all the way to His return as told of in Revelation. WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS - the VERY days in which God said the promise would be fulfilled - the very days that Moses dreamed of!

The days of experiencing this promise is now! And the key to opening up the day to receiving this promise is faith in Jesus Christ.

This promise is for ALL of God’s people - all who have been redeemed and set free of sin. These are the last days - the days of the promised gift of the Holy Spirit!

The Gift and the Giver(s)

This point seems simple enough to understand - what was it that God promised He would send? The Holy Spirit.

I want us to stop here and think of all that God has given to us.

John 3:16 speaks of God giving His Son because of His immense love for us. In two weeks, we celebrate the coming of Jesus in the form of a baby, the true gift of Christmas. God gave us Jesus that He would give His life for the forgiveness of our sins.

Once we have RECEIVED forgiveness of our sins through the work and sacrifice of Jesus, we now become eligible to receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.

We receive Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is referred to as a gift in numerous places.

In Acts 2:38, Peter declres that those who repent and are baptized will receive the “gift of the Holy Spirit.” Luke calls the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, Samaria, and Caesarea a gift. At Samaria, Peter regarded the Holy Spirit as “the gift of God (Acts 8:20). With regard to Caesarea, Luke says that the “gift of the Holy Spirit” had been poured out (Acts 10:45). Or, as Luke reports in Acts 11:17, God gave the believers “the same gift” that the disciples were given at Pentecost. And let us not forget the words of Jesus as recorded in Acts 1:4 saying, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

The Holy Spirit is a promised GIFT. What is a gift? A gift is something given willingly to someone without payment; a present.

In this case… we know a payment had been made… by Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the price we could not pay so we could be forgiven of our sin. BECAUSE we have been forgiven of our sin, the Holy Spirit can now move in! The price has been paid and the gift extended to all who choose to believe in Christ as Lord and redeemer!

In order for the Holy Spirit to be a gift, there must be a giver included in the discussion. Again, this point is a simple reminder, but one we need to keep in mind as we talk about the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. From where or from whom does this gift come from?

In Luke’s writings, both God and Jesus are identified as the givers of the Spirit. Multiple Scriptures point to this truth. Why is this important to consider? Because God’s promises are yes in Christ! Remember, this gift was a promised gift of God. He PROMISED to give us the Holy Spirit. This gift is given because of Jesus and even through Jesus to the people of God.

The Holy Spirit is not someone we have to look for or find. The Holy Spirit is not someone we have to chase down. He is not a fleeting Spirit who comes on a whim or happens to coincidentally pass by. The Holy Spirit is someone we receive… a gift we receive from God.

God does not dangle the Spirit in front of us as one might do with a carrot to lead a donkey. The Spirit is given purposely as a gift to us from our generous Father and His Son. To me… we need to change our traditional terminology a bit. It’s not so much about seeking more of the Spirit as it is receiving more of the Spirit. We will talk about this more in depth in a moment. The Spirit is not One we have to find… He is received as a gift.

And that moves us into a most important part of our message tonight… what it means to receive. What does that personal and experiential reception look like? What does Scripture have to say on the matter?

Receiving the Promised Gift.

A lot of time can be spent defining and debating what it means to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit… and I find this truth to be unfortunate. Tonight is NOT about complicating what Scripture says, but rather it is about clarifying how simple this truly is… and how beautiful the gift of the Holy Spirit is!

How do you typically receive a gift from someone? Is it a complicated process? Is it a process at all?

The “terms” of receiving a gift are most often set by who? The one giving the gift. In this case, the ONLY requirement is that a person place their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. It is through this relationship that our sins are forgiven and that a person’s fellowship with God is fully restored. This means we can have a relationship with all three persons of the Trinity.

We can know God the Father on a personal level. We can know God the Son on a personal level. We can know God the Holy Spirit on a personal level. Our relationship with Christ is the key to opening the door to this restored fellowship.

So what must we do? First, let’s clear the air regarding what the “gift” of the Spirit is. it has been argued that the gift of the Spirit is the indwelling of the Spirit in the heart of the believer. We know the Spirit of God moves in as sin is moved out and we rejoice in this! Is this what is meant by the “gift” of the Holy Spirit? Others would say the “gift” refers to the baptism in the Holy Spirit - a separate experience from the indwelling of the Spirit. Is this what is meant by the “gift” of the Spirit?

I believe the “gift” of the Spirit is… THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT. Perhaps my approach here is too simple but hear me out. Yes, as we will look at in a moment, we believe in multiple receptions of the Spirit in different ways. But I believe both are a gift as the Holy Spirit Himself is the gift we receive! THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE GIFT IN BOTH INSTANCES.

I fear too much emphasis is placed on form instead of the gift itself. For instance, when it comes to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, we are NOT seeking tongues, but the Spirit’s baptism. Tongues is the evidence of such as Scripture has set forth this pattern. Too often the emphasis is placed on speaking in tongues rather than receiving the baptism.

Secondly, let’s clear the air regarding the actual receiving event. Is the indwelling of the Spirit and Baptism in the Spirit two separate events or are they one in the same reception? We believe they are in fact two separate events and we again see this supported in Scripture.

In John 20:21-22 we see an important dialogue take place between Jesus and His disciples. This is taking place after Jesus’ death but before His resurrection. this passage reads, “ 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Again In Acts 1:4, we see Jesus give this instruction, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

BOTH instances are a gift from God. Both instances include a reception event. One reception is for inward change, the other deals with outward change - a baptism.

The first reception introduces the believer to the advocate, our helper. The Holy Spirit moves in and becomes our guide in this life as we choose to live and stand for Christ.

The second reception in the form of Spirit Baptism affects our outward person. How so? Because this baptism is given that we might be empowered witnesses. Our speech is now empowered by the Spirit of God… our tongues now under the influence of His Spirit rather than any spirit of the flesh.

In either case, the Lord is giving… are we positioning ourselves to receive?

Final Thoughts

A moment ago I made a statement saying that the “terms” of giving a gift are most often set by the giver… but does the receiver have anything to do with it as well?

Like any gifts we have received over the years… a person can refuse to receive from God. God does not force His Spirit upon anyone. He is someone that must be received.

How does a person reject the gift of the Spirit at salvation? by not listening to the guidance of that now inward Spirit. And I would suggest this - to deny God’s Spirit access to your heart is to - deny God entirely. God does not want a portion of you, He wants all of you. And if a person refuses to receive what the Spirit is saying, you are… rejecting God.

Believers can also position themselves to not receive the Baptism in the Spirit. This happens through doubt, disbelief, and even misunderstanding of Scripture. Here is what I would suggest. Do not close your heart to what the Spirit of God wants to do! Do NOT seek tongues, but the Spirit’s baptism. Do NOT judge this reception by someone else’s emotional response. THE SPIRIT DOES NOT MAKE YOU DO CRAZY THINGS! he empowers our witness that we might make disciples of Christ.

As we are in the Christmas season… our minds are focused on the giving and receiving of Gifts.

Christmas is all about receiving the greatest gift God has given this world - the gift of His Son, Jesus. Tonight, I wonder if we can position ourselves to receive again from God the gift the Father promised - the Holy Spirit.

We need a fresh outpouring. We need those divine encounters. That can happen here, in your house, or even in your workplace. But we must be open to receiving what God is pouring out.

Prayer

First, is your relationship right with the Lord? This is the one requirement set by the giver of the gift. Sin must be cleared out in order for the Spirit of God to move in. PRAY

Second, are you ready to receive? No matter where you might find yourself, are you open to receiving what God wants to pour out?

Inwardly, are you listening to the Spirit’s voice? Are you sensitive to His leading?

Outwardly, are you ready to be an empowered witness for Christ?