Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Have You Received The Holy Ghost?

“He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.”-Acts 19:2

Perhaps you are like the believers in the Bible that say: “we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost?” Many people have not heard of the Holy Ghost.  Many have not received the Holy Ghost.  Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? 

The Holy Ghost.  The representative of God the Father, and Jesus the Son of God.  Jesus said: “the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom I will send in my name.”  The Holy Ghost comes because Jesus sends Him.  The Holy Ghost is directed by God, and by Jesus Christ.  The Holy Ghost is not like any other “ghost” or “spirit”.  It is not a rogue agent, seeking to possess without permission.  The Holy Ghost is the character and goodness of the God who created Him, and the Christ who sends Him.  It is this Holy Ghost that makes a person holy, righteous, and godly.  It is the Holy Ghost that helps teach us to be like Jesus.  It is the Holy Ghost that gives us power to live holy, and defeat Satan and his demons.  Without the Holy Ghost there is no holiness.  Without the Holy Ghost there is no life.  The one baptism that we must be baptized with, is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost is very much like the air we breathe.  The air flows and moves without being seen with your natural eyes.  Yet we can see the effects of it.  The dancing of a leaf on a tree.  The swirling of the dust on the ground.  The air surrounds us, and it fills us.  It fills our lungs with oxygen, giving life to the blood that flows through our veins.  Without it, we suffocate and die.  With it we breathe and live.  The Bible tells us that when God created the first man, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.  When you are filled with the Holy Ghost, the life of Christ is breathed into your soul, and you become alive.  You might ask: am I not already alive?  In the natural sense, yes.  You have air in your lungs, blood in your veins, and a beating heart.  You are living.  However, when you are burdened with sin, and living in wickedness.  Hating yourself, and your neighbor.  A slave to passions of drink, lust, theft, sex, and many such things.  Though you are walking around, you are not alive.  You are dead in trespass and sin, so says the Word of God.  You are without the true life, everlasting life.  The true life that can make you thankful when you have nothing.  That can make you content when you are in distress.  That can make you love your enemies, bless them that curse, and pray for them which despitefully use you and curse you.  The true life that can make you an honest man, a loyal husband, and loving father to your children.  That can make you a holy man of God. The life within your soul that lets you know that you are born anew and walking the holy way to heaven.

This is part of what the Holy Ghost is and what the Holy Ghost does.  Like the air, or the wind, it is what it does.  The impact on the outside is evidence of the presence on the inside.  Just like when you walk outside and feel the wind on your face, it brings you into connection with all life on earth.  Life that feels the same wind you feel, and breathes the same air you breathe.  So, when the Holy Ghost comes inside your soul you can feel it.  It brings you into connection with Almighty God.  This is the character of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost is life.  This kind of life can come to you if you believe in Jesus and turn from your sin.  Then determine to serve Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to fill your heart and soul.  The Holy Ghost will come and give you everlasting life from God.