THE HOLY SPIRIT

HOW DO I KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT DWELLS IN ME?

ROMANS 8:11

In Acts the 19^th chapter we read where Paul arrived in Ephesus on one of his missionary journeys.  There he found some disciples, people who had chosen to follow Jesus.  For whatever reason Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”  Now, why did Paul ask them that question?  I’m not sure.  The only reason I can think of is the Holy Spirit prompted Paul to ask them; because here was their response- “No, we have not even heard that the Holy Spirit has been given.”

These believers did not have the Holy Spirit.  They did not even know that the Holy Spirit had been given.  That was tragic.

I don’t want us to be like those disciples.  That’s why we’re in our series on The Holy Spirit.  We’re learning more about him.  From what we’ve seen so far, it is important that we have the Holy Spirit.  Today, I want to help you understand how you can know that the Holy Spirit dwells in you.

Romans 8:11. Two times in this one verse it says that the Holy Spirit lives in you as a Christian!  God says, that as a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit living within you.  That’s an awesome promise.  But how can you know for sure that the Holy Spirit dwells in you?

On the Day of Pentecost, it was obvious that the Holy Spirit had come.  The believers heard a sound like the blowing of a violent wind; mysterious flames that resembled fire rested on each of them & they began to speak in tongues, that is other languages.

Now, do we have to have that same type of experience to realize that we have received the Holy Spirit?  No.  It appears from Scripture that the miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was a once-in-a-lifetime event as the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church.  Elsewhere in Scripture, there are only a few times when believers demonstrated any of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, most notably speaking in tongues.  And Paul made it clear to the Corinthian church that not everyone would receive the gift of speaking in tongues.

So, there has to be some other benchmarks that help us realize that we have received the Holy Spirit.  I want to ask & answer 6 questions this morning that will help you understand and realize that the Holy Spirit dwells in you.  First, let’s PRAY.

Here’s the first question:

1. HAVE YOU BELIEVED, REPENTED AND BEEN BAPTIZED?

The Bible tells us that initially, when you become a Christian, you are to do certain things in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Here’s the first one:  believe.  Ephesians 1:13 says:

“Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” – Ephesians 1:13

Now, one rule of sound Biblical interpretation is that we have to study all the verses on a subject before we can come to a conclusion on what the Bible actually teaches about that subject.  If you base your theology on just one verse, it will be inconclusive at best, and inaccurate at worst.

If the only verse we looked at is Ephesians 1:3 we would conclude that the only thing a person needs to do in order to receive the Holy Spirit is to believe.  But there is another verse, Acts 2:38, which says we need to repent of our sins and be baptized:

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38

So God’s Word is clear:  you believe, you repent, you get baptized, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples that I spoke about in Acts 19 had believed.  But they had not received the Holy Spirit.  So, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  The Bible says believe, repent and be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit.

 Some want to have a big theological discussion on exactly when the Holy Spirit enters a person.  But can we just believe what the Bible says, believe, repent and be baptized and obey that?

In his book, Forgotten God, Francis Chan wrote about preaching on Acts 2:38 and just believing and obeying what the Scripture says.  Francis said, that night, his 7-year old daughter, Mercy, came up to him and said, “Dad, I want to repent of my sins and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Francis went on to make these comments- “I loved the simplicity and greatness of her faith.  She didn’t need to debate the finer points of how and when, exactly, the Holy Spirit would come.  She just wanted to obey the passage to the best of her ability.  I realize Mercy doesn’t have the biblical knowledge many of us do, but I wonder how many of us have the faith she has.”

From a Biblical perspective it is really this simple:  you believe, you repent, you get baptized and you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  If you’ve done those things, God has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s the 2^nd question:

2. HAVE YOU PRAYED FOR THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Jesus promised this in Luke 11:13:

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:13

Now Jesus said that after he would leave, that is go back to heaven following his death and resurrection, he would be sending the Holy Spirit.  So, I think, that what he says here in Luke 11:13 is another promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit.  And Jesus did send the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

And we have just seen from the first question that when you believe, repent & get baptized that you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  So, I want to apply what Jesus said in Luke 11:13 this way. Pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible makes a distinction between receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  Peter was baptized in the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.  But 2 chapters later in the Book of Acts, it speaks about Peter being filled with the Holy Spirit as he testified about Jesus.

In Ephesians 5:18, Paul wrote to Christians, people who had received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and commanded them to be filled with the Spirit.  We need to be filled with Holy Spirit.  So we should ask God to fill us with the Spirit because Jesus said that God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.

The Baptist preacher, Dwight Moody was once asked why he frequently prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  He said, “because I leak.”

We all leak.  On occasion, we all quench the Holy Spirit in our lives.  So, we ought to pray every day- “Lord, fill me anew with your Spirit today.  Give me power to overcome temptation, cope with suffering, witness with boldness, understand your word and remain calm in the midst of turbulent times.”

Our tendency to leak and quench the Spirit may be one reason why we don’t realize the Spirit’s presence in our lives.  So, ask to be filled.  Then you will experience the fullness of the Spirit; you’ll be walking in the Spirit and you will know that you have the Holy Spirit.

Here is the 3^rd question:

3. IS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT GROWING IN YOUR LIFE?

Paul listed the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22 & 23:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.” -Galatians 5:22-23

The fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives are godly characteristics.  The Holy Spirit is working to develop God’s character in our lives.  It’s like Max Lucado says- “God doesn’t just want to get you into heaven.  He wants to get heaven into you.”  That’s why the Holy Spirit produces His fruit in our lives.  And as you see this fruit in your life, that is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence and working your life.

Now, here is what is characteristic of fruit that is healthy.  Fruit grows and ripens over time.  Paul told the Philippians that their love should abound more and more.  Peter wrote that we should possess qualities like goodness, self-control, love and kindness in increasing measure.

Over time, as you and I allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we ought to become more loving, more patient, more kind.  Here is the 4^th question:

4. ARE YOU SENSITIVE TO THE WORKINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 2:14:

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14

A person who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit will be resistant to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  But when we have the Holy Spirit living within us, we will be open, sensitive and responsive to the work and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

For example, if you’re hungry for worship, eager to learn Scripture and you rejoice when someone accepts Christ and is baptized; those things are an indication that the Holy Spirit is stirring in your heart and soul.

Question number 5:

5. DOES YOUR CONSCIENCE BOTHER YOU WHEN YOU SIN?

In John 16:8, Jesus declared what the Holy Spirit would do when he came:

“He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin.” – John 16:8

Years ago, the IRS set up what they called, “a conscience fund”.  The IRS set up a conscience fund so that people could pay back taxes anonymously & relieve their guilt over having cheated on their taxes.  One guy sent in two $100 dollar bills with a note that read-“I cheated on my taxes years ago, and I can’t get it off my mind.  I haven’t been able to sleep.  So, I am sending you this money.  If I still can’t sleep, I will send you the rest.”

Does your conscience bother you when you sin?  King David’s conscience bothered him big time after he had committed adultery & murder.  He wrote-“ When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”  David was experiencing a guilty conscience.

The Bible talks about how a person’s conscience can become corrupt and seared.  It can become numb; insensitive to the sin in our lives.  That’s why we can’t always take Jimney Cricket’s advice- let your conscience be your guide.

The switch to our conscience can get turned off through continuous rebellion against God.  This explains why people can sin without wincing; why sin no longer makes them feel guilty; why some people say that something God calls a sin is no longer a sin.  Isaiah warned about this when he wrote- “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.”

But, if you feel guilty when you sin, that is evidence that the Holy Spirit is very much alive in your life.  When your conscience troubles you, that does not mean that God has abandoned you.  Just the opposite.  Guilt is an indication that the Holy Spirit is active in your life, convicting you of sin, motivating you to repent and return to God’s will.

Now, how do you deal with a guilty conscience?  A London psychologist once told the late Dr. Billy Graham that 70% of mental patients in England could be release if they could find relief from their sins.  They were suffering from a guilty conscience.  Guilt is a tremendous burden, as King David testified to.  So, how do we get relief? 

We do what David did.  We come clean with God.  We own our sin.  We confess it to God.  Listen to what David wrote about this- “Then I acknowledge my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

I John 1:9 makes this promise about confessing our sins- “But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right.  He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.”

Confession really is good for the soul.  God not only forgives our sins when we confess them to him; he also removes the burden of guilt from our souls.

Final question……

6. HAVE YOU BELIEVED GOD’S PROMISES?

I want to talk with you about feelings vs. faith.  I do think that we do feel and experience “spiritual highs” from time to time.  I have experienced those times in my life when I felt like I was having a mountain-top experience with God.  Perhaps you have to.  I think that is the Holy Spirit stirring our hearts and our emotions.  And there is a place for that.

But even though we may experience a “spiritual high” from time to time, we don’t experience it all the time.  There will be times in our lives where we’re not camped out on the mountain top.  We’re down in the valleys of life.  Therefore, we cannot judge or base our walk with God upon emotion and experience.

There will be times you won’t feel or experience the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life.  But that does not mean that the Holy Spirit does not dwell within you.

Think back to your wedding day.  You were overjoyed on your wedding day.  You were walking on air.  You were euphoric.  And from time to time in your marriage, you may still have those special, electrifying moments.  But you may not have those feelings every single day.  So, just because you don’t feel married, are you any less married?  Of course not!

Likewise, even though you don’t always feel the Holy Spirit’s presence doesn’t mean He isn’t living inside you.  You still have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you even when you aren’t experiencing a spiritual high.

How do I know this?  Because God has promised in his word that you have the Holy Spirit living within you.  Let me just read a few of the promises that God has made to you in this regard.  These verses won’t be on the screen, so maybe, just close your eyes and concentrate as I share them with you.

Romans 5:4- “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

1 Cor. 6:19-“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

2 Cor. 5:5 Paul talks about our going to heaven- “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

The Bible states as fact that the Holy Spirit lives in you as a Christian.  This is where your faith comes in.  Will you believe this even though you may not feel it?  Do you really believe this?  If you will accept by faith the promise of God, who does not lie, that the Holy Spirit lives in you; then you will realize that the Holy Spirit dwells in you.

PRAYER

“Father, today, as we have studied your Word, may we believe and accept that the Holy Spirit lives within each of us who have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  May the promises of your Word reassure us of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.  May we be filled with the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, and all God’s people said…..AMEN!”

Believe, repent, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  That is the clear teaching of Scripture.  Now, perhaps you have already believed, but you need to take the next steps of repenting of your sins, confessing your faith, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.  If so, I invite you to walk forward while we sing our commitment song and we will help you take the next steps of faith.

If you have believe, repented, and been baptized but you need a church home, I want to invite you to come place your membership and join our church family.