Ask for the Holy Spirit

Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne

Acts 1:4-5
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 2:2-4 (Literally a few days later)
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

That was Pentecost, the initial baptism or outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This event started the Church, it empowered the expansion of the Kingdom, and it gave tangible assurance to every believer. It was what Jesus promised in John 14.

John 14:15-17, 26
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments (loving and obeying Him are the prerequisites). And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The topic today is the command of Christ, ask for the Holy Spirit. The purpose of today is to allow you to be open to Him, not fearful. In my experience, the more open I am to the Holy Spirit, the greater my power in life. Also, in my experience, the Holy Spirit is not weird!

The Holy Spirit, often overlooked or suspiciously feared by Christians, is in fact God’s greatest gift to believers, because He is God living in you! Bette Midler was wrong, God is not watching us from a distance, He is here, and He abides within the Spirit of every believer. The only question is, will you allow Him control of your life?

Every believer has the Holy Spirit within them when they are born again.

Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

You cannot be a Christian and not have the Holy Spirit. And when you believe, God places His Spirit into your heart as a seal, an ancient sign of ownership. This seal of ownership guarantees our inheritance, our admission to heaven. And once God Himself lives within you, it’s like having heaven in your heart, every day. And He ain’t going anywhere!

When the Holy Spirit enters your life, you can be radically changed, if you yield to Him. When you yield to Him, He empowers your life like never before. What does the Spirit bring?

1: POWER TO LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY

Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

If you want to live a righteous and Holy life, the Holy Spirit is the only way. If you want to overcome sin in your life, things like lust, addictions, anger, fear or anything else, the Holy Spirit can give you the power to overcome, if you let Him.

2: WISDOM TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD

1 Corinthians 2:10-13
For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

People say they read the Bible, and it is dry and makes no sense. I don’t experience this. I study the Word every day, and things constantly jump off the page. God speaks clearly and every day from His Word, and as you yield to the Holy Spirit, you gain supernatural wisdom and understanding.

3: COURAGE TO FACE HARDSHIP

2 Timothy 1:7
for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

We love in a world of fear. Fear of war, fear of homelessness, fear of addiction, fear of loss, fear of using the wrong pronouns. By the way, I identify as royalty, and my pronouns are Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness.

With the Holy Spirit within us, we never need to live in fear, but can live in courage, in love, power and a sound mind.

4: COMFORT IN TIMES OF SUFFERING

John 14:26-27
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

If you are down, if you are in pain, if you are afflicted, then it is the Holy Spirit, God within you, who brings you peace and comfort. He reminds you of what Jesus has promised, from His Word. In the last several months of intense pain, the Holy Spirit has brought unbelievable comfort and peace to help me through.

5: GIFTS TO BLESS OTHERS

The Holy Spirit gives us special gifts, not for our own amusement, but to glorify God and minister to each other.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

If you sign up for our 101 course, we will help you discover your spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit always gives us gifts, although clearly, you don’t get every gift.

6: FRUIT IN YOUR CHARACTER

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

The gifts of the Spirit are evidence that you have the Holy Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit is evidence that the Holy Spirit has you.

YOUR RESPONSE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

This study was called Ask for the Holy Spirit, and that’s what I’m going to ask you to do today. Some will say, I already have the Holy Spirit, but that does not preclude you asking for more. I have my wife’s love, but I want more of that too! So, I want to challenge every one of us to ask for more of the Spirit. A deeper, closer walk, more power, more gifts, more wisdom. But receiving more of His Spirit all depends on how we respond. Possible responses include…

1: GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Grieving the Spirit occurs through sinful actions, such as bitterness, unforgiveness, and impure speech, which causes personal sorrow to the Spirit. Rebellion, which is knowing what God wants you to do and refusing to do it, grieves the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

How to Grieve the Holy Spirit (Things to Avoid)

• Sinful Attitudes: Harbouring bitterness, wrath, anger, malice, and slander.
• Unforgiveness: Refusing to forgive others as Christ forgave you.
• Disobedience: Violating God’s commands and ignoring promptings toward righteousness.
• Improper Speech: Using corrupt or unwholesome words rather than those that build up. As Christian, we need to put a guard on our mouths!

Every time you disobey God, you grieve the Spirit and limit the blessing He brings.

2: QUENCH THE HOLY SPIRIT

1 Thessalonians 5:16-21
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.

Quenching happens when you dampen the flame of the Spirit, ignore or suppress the Spirit’s promptings, such as neglecting prayer, ignoring divine nudges, or disregarding spiritual gifts.

How to Quench the Holy Spirit (Things to Avoid)

• Ignoring Promptings: Suppressing the urge to pray, witness, or act on a nudge from the Spirit.
• Despising Gifts: Ignoring or mocking the gifts of the Spirit or prophetic ministry.
• Neglecting Spiritual Disciplines: Lack of prayer, bible study, and worship.
• Not having a Gratitude Attitude: when we fail to give thanks, we stop what God is doing and quench the work of His Spirit. Be grateful for all that you have and are!

Quenching is a dousing of the flame of the Spirit in your life and causes you to slip away into mediocrity. Church going Christians must be careful of this one!

3: RESIST THE HOLY SPIRIT

You can respond to the Holy Spirit by either walking with Him or resisting Him. Stephen…

Acts 7:51
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

Resisting is simply fighting what God is doing instead of going with it.

If I run a current through Perspex, nothing happens, but if I run it through metal, I get a shocking experience. Why? Because the electrons in the metal line up and conduct the electricity, instead of resisting it. God is speaking to you right now, yield, don’t resist!

STEPS TO WALKING IN THE SPIRIT

Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

The word for filled is PLEROO, which means filled to the brim, ready to overflow. It was a similar word used at Pentecost, where they were all filled with the Spirit. The word PLEROO is in the present continuous tense, which doesn’t mean get filled once or twice, but be filled continuously. Literally PLEROO means be being filled, over and over again.

You can be filled to overflow, half filled, quarter filled or have a drop at the bottom. Your choice. Here’s steps towards being filled, controlled and thus blessed by the Spirit.

1: DECIDE NOW

Some are content to just fall over the line into heaven. But why live like a pauper when you can live like a king? The Holy Spirit is heaven in your heart, so decide now that you want to live a Spirit filled life.

Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Why let sin reign when the Spirit can. A sinful lifestyle looks pretty cool in your twenties, tough and dramatic in your thirties, sad and pitiful in your forties and tragic above 50. I don’t know any mature Christian who is sad he decided to live a powerful, righteous life. If you want to see real power, wisdom and joy in life, be being filled with the Holy Spirit! Without the Holy Spirit, the Christian life becomes difficult and dry. But with the Holy Spirit, life with God becomes alive and powerful.

2: ASK GOD

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

As now by faith to be filled with and controlled by the Spirit, and He will answer.

3: BE OBEDIENT

Disobedience quenches the Spirit, so be obedient. If he asks you to give something up for Him, do it. If He asks you to read His Word more, do it. If He asks you to fellowship more, come to church more, serve more, just do it!

1 John 3:24
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

4: BE AT PEACE

Disunity hampers the move of the Holy Spirit, so stay at peace with others. You may not agree with what others say and do but just agree to disagree agreeably.

Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

5: RECEIVE THE SPIRIT

John 7:37-39
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive,

I want more of His Spirit, do you? I think we should cry out right now to be filled with the Holy Spirit.