In this video, I’m going to talk about how you can receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit.
We’re also going to discover five steps that will guide you to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I’m also going to show you how to recognize you’ve received the correct spirit. Yes, the correct spirit. There are many people today who have been deceived by the power of another spirit.
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Step #1 Ask and you shall receive. Matthew 7:7-8 it says: “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.”
While Christ instructed His disciples with the parable of the persistent widow, we learn that this widow knocked on her friend’s door asking for bread at midnight. She had faith that her friend, regardless of the time, would open their door and give her what she was seeking.
In the same way, we are taught to seek God fervently in prayer, and to ask for the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is why Paul said “…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
When we ask God for the Holy Spirit, remember what Jesus said, in Luke 11:13: “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?” (Luke 11:13)
It’s God’s will and good pleasure to give us His Holy Spirit to guide us to Himself. In Ezekiel 36:27 God reveals the reason for giving us this gift. In whatever spiritual or physical state you are in, ask God, faithfully, for the gift of His Holy Spirit. He has promised to grant our petition for this gift. And think about this, God loves us more than we love our children…
“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:27)
Which takes us to step #2. Repentance. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38)
To repent is to turn away from the desires of the flesh. To turn from sin. This is essentially making a conscious decision to go to God and ask Him to help us relinquish our lusts and sinful desires.
“Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” (Pro 1:23)
To turn from our sinfulness at the counsel of the Lord, requires us to study the Scriptures. How else are we to know that we are on the wrong path if we’re not acquainted with His Word?
This is why Jesus said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Revelation 3:19)
It has never been God’s desire to destroy the wicked. In Ezekiel 33:11, God says: “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
You see, God wasn’t just speaking to the literal house of Israel. If you’re God’s, then you are Abrahan’s seed according to the promise. Which makes you a spiritual Israelite. The moment you make a decision to relinquish your sinful desires to God and get baptized, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And God considers you a part of His family.
Paul, in Romans 9 explains this saying: “…they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” (Rom 9:6-8)
Once we’ve made a conscious decision to turn from our sin to God, then we have to make a public profession of our faith in God through baptism.
Which takes us to step #3.
Acts 2:38 also tells us that we are to “be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and [then] we’ll receive the gift of the Holy Ghost… This is the next step, after the repentance of our sins.
Making a complete surrender to God is the key to receiving and keeping the gift of the Holy Spirit. If we follow the steps God has delineated for us in His Scriptures, we won’t be deceived. The requirements written, clearly tell us that God must be obeyed. Which takes us to step #4.
In Acts 5:32 the apostle tells us that God gives the Holy Spirit, only to those people who obey Him. Notice “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32)
And through your example, the Holy Spirit then speaks to others, that they may too be granted this valuable gift from God. We can see this in Acts 10:44, which says: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
Which takes us to step #5. Witnessing.
In John 15:26 Jesus said: “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…”
To witness is to glorify the Father, by showing others the wonderful things He has done for us through His Son. John 16:13-15 teaches us this principle:
“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.” (John 16:13-15)
In the same way the Holy Spirit teaches us about Jesus Christ, we too are to give witness of Him and not to ourselves.
Otherwise, we’ll be found guilty of pride and self-sufficiency, which leads us to sin. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that sin saddens the Holy Spirit, and this makes Him leave us.
If the Spirit of God is not abiding in us, then another spirit comes and takes possession. And the state of the person who loses the Holy Spirit, is way worse than before.
This is why Jesus taught His disciples how an unclean spirit can take possession of someone, in Matthew 12:43-45.
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. [Empty, swept, and garnished, because the Holy Spirit has left the person.] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”
The Holy Spirit abides with us as long as we strive to live a life of obedience through the power of Jesus Christ. His purpose is to enable us to live a life of victory over sin. We must walk in the Spirit that we may not return to the lusts and desires of the flesh.
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Gal 5:16-26)
Understanding that God doesn’t force Himself nor His precepts upon anyone, we have to continually strive with the lusts that beset us, and abide in Christ, through the help of the Holy Spirit. The last thing we want as Christians is to have His Holy Spirit withdrawn from us. If we sin, God has given Christ as our advocate in heaven, to plead His blood on our behalf to the Father. But the goal is to stop sinning. In Psalm 51:11 we’re given an example of true repentance:
“Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Psalm 51:9-12
After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband killed, the Holy Spirit, through a prophet, showed David the severity of his sin against God in what he had done.
David, coming to his senses then prayed to God asking Him not to take His Holy Spirit from him. In the prayer we can see that David needed to be restored and renewed after sinning, which also tells us the degrading effect of sin upon us.
If we persistently disobey the Holy Spirit, we will grieve Him away. This is very important for us as Christians to understand. Should anyone teach you that once you’re saved, you’re always saved, don’t believe them.
King Saul is a sad example of what happens once the Spirit of the Lord has been withdrawn.
God, through the prophet Moses, instructed Israel to remove from the congregation anyone who used divination, or who practiced witchcraft. (Exo. 22:18, Deut. 18:10)
1 Samuel 28:3, it tells us that Saul had removed those who had familiar spirits and wizards out of the land. So he had a perfect understanding of God’s instructions. But, he chose to disobey God and decided to disobey the Holy Spirit. When Saul enquired of the Lord, He no longer answered him. Instead of praying to God as David did, in penitence and repentance, he decided to seek a woman with a familiar spirit. You see, if God has already taught us the right way, and we choose to disobey, there’s nothing more He can do for us. The story tells us that the devil took complete ownership of Saul’s destiny, while he was disguised as Samuel, a dead prophet.
As you study the Scriptures, God will show you exactly what you need to know. But He does this in stages.
Isaiah 28:10 says: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little…”
As we learn more about the love of God, we will be shown the ways of righteousness.
Because Saul lost his connection with God, yielding to temptation, the protection of the Lord was removed.
This, we want to avoid at all costs.
What happens when we receive the Holy Spirit? And, how do we know that we have the Spirit?
Have you ever asked yourself these questions?
Now that we understand that the Holy Spirit is given to us for guidance and instruction. Also that He’s interested only in teaching us what Christ has spoken, did you see any examples of individuals losing control of their bodily functions while in the Spirit?
When the apostles spoke to the people about receiving the Holy Ghost, the Scriptures tell us that they brought the people to a state of repentance. These individuals were in their right minds, because they asked “what shall we do?”
Every time the preaching of the gospel was shared, the crowds answered, intelligently, and penitent. They wanted to know what they needed to do to be saved.
1 Timothy 2:4 tells us that it’s God’s will to save us, but He has a method. That is, through the knowledge of truth, notice: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)
This is why Luke 1:77 teaches that John’s position was to give knowledge of salvation unto God’s people by the remission of their sins… after the people understood what their duty was toward God, then they repented and got baptized.
Every example where the apostles were preaching and teaching the gospel of the kingdom, shows us the people repented and got baptized.
The Holy Spirit manifests in His people through preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and healing.
The only time we see anyone losing their bodily functions, where the individual was babbling in tongues and shaking uncontrollably, was during demon possession.
According to Paul, the act of speaking in tongues is to speak to the people either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by doctrine. (1 Co. 14:6)
The phrase “speaking with tongues” means to speak in other languages. We see this during pentecost, when cloven tongues of fire, rested in the heads of the disciples. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit then gave them the ability to preach the gospel “in other tongues” it says, “as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:4.
This means, they spoke the Word of God in other languages so the multitude that had come to gather in Jerusalem could understand the gospel in their mother tongue.
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” Act 2:1-11
This story tells us the truth of what speaking in tongues, through the power of the Holy Spirit means.
Here you don’t see anyone rolling around the ground, or dancing in the spirit, or twitching, none of that. Instead, you see the coherent preaching of the gospel in different languages. This is why it’s so important to understand the truth of this matter.
Anytime you see people wallowing in the ground and foaming at the mouth, the text tells us these individuals were possessed by devils.
“And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.” (Mar 9:20)
Take a look at this video and then tell me, now that you understand the truth, is this how the Holy Spirit manifests to His people?
As you can see, no one was sharing the gospel. There was power, but it wasn’t the power of God. These people were possessed and bewitched by these unclean spirits. The experience is real, this is indeed a spiritual manifestation, but it’s not the Holy Spirit. This is why we have to be careful of these things.
But, don’t think that this is the only way the devil manifests. In John 8:44 Jesus said that anyone who performs the lusts of the flesh belongs to the devil. Notice: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
So we have to be very careful to understand what the Scriptures say concerning these things, so that we won’t fall prey to the devil’s deceptions as some people have. You can’t tell some of these people they’re deceived, they’ll defend their experience because the manifestations of the unclean spirit are strong.
Thank you so much for watching. If you have been blessed by this video, I ask that you like it, leave me a comment, and share this information with your friends. I have a lot of great Christian videos I’m sure you will enjoy. Below, you’re going to find a few links where you can purchase my Bible study guides, if you wish to support my channel.
With that, let’s end our study with a Word of prayer.
Father, please grant us the gift of Your Holy Ghost is my prayer, in Jesus name, Amen.