6 AN INVITATION. The apostle Peter
calls for Times when--maybe for the first time in your whole Christian experience--you give the Holy Spirit a chance to gain access to the
control center of your life THE MENU WILL FEATURE FRUIT. Jesus said, "You shall know them by their fruit" (Mt. 7:20). Consider the possibility that a young couple of identical skin pigmentation marry. Some time later, the young bride gives birth to a baby of a different color. Clearly they have a problem. The evidence is inescapable. She's been unfaithful to her bridegroom. She's been whoring with some other man and has born his seed. You are part of
the bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7). He is your heavenly bridegroom. that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Will you consider the remedy? 7 LET'S BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING. There's a good deal to be said for the suggestion that every 2 or 3 years all those who claim to be Christian should forget what they "know" about the Holy Spirit and look at him again as if for the first time. Many believers have a superficial knowledge of the third person of the Trinity. You may be one of them. While such casual familiarity with the Holy Spirit does not necessarily breed contempt, it has, in thousands of Christians, produced confusion, if not indifference. You appear to be ready to give the Spirit an opportunity to touch you in a fresh way. If that's going to happen, you must do what I did. Get acquainted with the person of the Holy Spirit Himself. NOT THE GIFTS, BUT THE GIVER. You may be fascinated with the gifts of the Spirit. And you should be. They are wonderful gifts. The Holy Spirit gives them to equip you for ministry. However, right
now The bottom line
evidence that you know the Giver--that you are directed and empowered by the
Spirit himself--is
not the possession of a particular gift (tongues, for example), but the production
of a special kind of fruit: This will begin to happen as you get squared away with what scripture says about the Holy Spirit's ministry to you, personally. There
are seven words which describe seven different facets Each
verse employs a different word to describe a different aspect of the
Spirit's ministry. A
combination of these seven words 8 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The first of these seven verses is Acts 10:45--
Before Jesus ascended
into heaven, he instructed his disciples to wait for He had challenged
them to So Jesus promised
them Sure enough, Then--to their amazement--as they began fulfilling their ministry to the world, they learned: The gift of the Holy Spirit was not limited to Jewish Christians! As
they moved about and talked with Gentile Christians, Thus was revealed a wonderful reality-- You
don't need to be a special kind of Christian 9 POSSESSING YOUR INHERITANCE. Like any gift, the Holy Spirit has to be acknowledged (key word) and appropriated (key word) to be fully enjoyed. There is a difference, you see, between an inheritance and a possession. The promised land was God's gift to the children of Israel. It was their inheritance. Their
possession was that part of their inheritance In exactly the
same way, God has given all believers the gift of the Holy
Spirit. He is part of the salvation package. Just because God has given the gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers, it does not follow that all believers are enjoying the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Obviously they are not. What
God has given, you must acknowledge and appropriate. Your That doesn't mean
you must beg or plead for the gift of the Holy Spirit. To beg
for something is If, for example,
you have $500 in the bank and receive a bill in the mail for $50, you don't
go to your banker and, with hat in hand, beg him or her a give you $50. The same is true
with the gift of the Holy Spirit. No! All you need to do is claim the resource God has already given you. The Spirit is yours existentially. He will become yours experientially when, by faith you acknowledge the gift of the Holy Spirit and, by a deliberate act of the will, appropriate him as your own. In that moment your inheritance will become your possession. 10 HOW TO APPROPRIATE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. If
you are uncertain as to whether or not you have possessed your full inheritance,
If I haven't, I do it now. By faith I acknowledge the gift of the Holy Spirit, and by deliberate choice I appropriate him as my own. I chose to possess my full inheritance in Christ. Take control of my life. Cause me to naturally and spontaneously bear the fruit of the Spirit for the benefit of others. Thank you for doing this. In Jesus' name, amen. I've found it useful to record meaningful decisions so later, when the enemy calls one of them into question, I have a "twelve stones" memory tool with which to resist him (Jos. 4:1-7). Date________________ Time________________ Location_____________ From the pen of George Croly comes one of the most powerful prayers ever written. I "discovered" it when I began using our hymn book as a prayer book. It is one of my favorites. I pray it often. Sometimes several times a day.
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