The Gift of the Holy Ghost

The promise to the believer "is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call"

· Introduction; Before the birth and life of Jesus the Holy Ghost was promised through prophecy.

Joel 2:28-29 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, you old men shall dream dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit."

· The Holy Ghost is a promise; it is a gift from God and is promised to all who believe.

Acts 2:38-39 "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. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."

· Who is the Holy Ghost? In lesson three we found out the name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus.

John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever." Jesus promised you a comforter.

John 14:26 "But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things."

· The Purpose; If you have repented of your sins and accepted Jesus in your heart you are a child of God and in a saved condition. However God has promised something more for you. Now you need the Gift of the Holy Ghost for many purposes.

Comfort: John 14:18 "I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you."

Teacher, Revealer: John 14:26 "But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you."

Guidance: John 16:13 "Howbeit when He the spirit of truth is come He will guide you into all truth."

Power: Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."

· Gifts of the Holy Ghost. As we mentioned earlier the Holy Ghost is a gift. There are nine gifts of the spirit. These gifts are found in...

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 "For to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom to another the word to of knowledge by the same spirit; to another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit; to another the working of ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­miricles, to another divining of spirits, to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of toungues."

God will call upon you for the use of these gifts, as they are needed in His service.

· Evidence of the Holy Ghost

You may ask the question, How do I know if I have the Holy Ghost? There are many examples of people receiving the Holy Ghost in the scripture.

One example is Acts 2:4 "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other toungues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Acts 10:45-46 "And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the gentiles also was poured out the Gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with toungues and magnify God."

Acts 19:6 "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with Tounges and prophecied."

· Receiving the Holy Ghost: We have discussed the Holy Ghost as being a promise to believers. We discussed its purpose and who the Holy Ghost is. But now we need to find out how to receive this wonderful Gift. Let us look to the Word of God for examples of how people in the early church received the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:1-4 "And when the day of Pentecost was fuly 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 say 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."

This is the first record of people receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. These people were probably in church worshipping God when they received the brand new experience. Let us look at another example of people receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:17 “Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.”

Acts 19:6 “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with tongues and prophesied.”

We see examples of God’s people receiving the Holy Ghost when praying and worshipping God (Acts 2:1,4). We also have examples of them being filled when the Apostles laid hands on them. Many people receive the Holy Ghost in many different ways. But this we know, that Jesus said in …

Luke 24:49 “And behold I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

The word tarry means to wait, so we should not be satisfied until we are filled with God’s Spirit. We have a promise from Jesus (Luke 11:9) that if we ...

“…ask it shall be given you: seek and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

This concludes our study on the gift of the Holy Ghost. Don’t live beneath your privilege. God wants you to receive this Wonderful Gift.