Sermon . Receiving the Holy Spirit
Scripture Reference: Acts 2:1–4
May you, who eagerly desire, be filled with the joy of the Spirit, and may you
receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Being Filled with the Spirit:
God fills human beings with His Spirit. Enoch was a man who possessed
the Spirit of God. Similarly, Abraham, Joseph, Hannah, Zechariah, Elizabeth,
and John the Baptist—all were filled with the Holy Spirit. In the same
manner, Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the will and
intention of God. Before sin entered the world, it was God's purpose that women
would conceive through the Holy Spirit and bear children. However, after
the fall, humanity began to give birth through sin. If conception had taken
place through the Holy Spirit, the children born would have been holy. But
because of sin, all people born into the world are unclean by nature. As Job
declared, “My mother conceived me in sin.” Through His birth, God has
revealed that He is the Creator, affirming His divine origin and purpose
through His holy incarnation.
Mary
conceived through the Holy Spirit. If creation had continued without man
falling into sin, then all children would have been conceived by the Holy
Spirit, and they all would have been like Jesus the Lord. In that
holy state, there would not have been ordinary clothing but garments of glory.
However, man lost that glory through sin. Jesus Christ restored the glory
that was lost. Though Adam
lost it, the second
Adam—Christ—regained
all that was lost. All of creation came into being through the
declaration “Let
there be...”—and it came to be. In the same way, Mary conceived by the
Holy Spirit. As recorded in Matthew 3:11, John the
Baptist declared, “He
who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”—for
Jesus
is the one anointed with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:5,
Jesus Himself said, “John
baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.” That is why, on the day of Pentecost, tongues like flames
of fire rested upon them. The fire illuminated their
understanding, and those who received the Holy Spirit became
wise and discerning.
Wherever
there is 1) doubt,
2) suspicion,
3) unbelief,
and 4) distrust,
demons take delight. But baptism
with fire means the growth
of divine wisdom. The 120 believers in the upper room were
filled with knowledge and insight; hence, they spoke in diverse tongues.
Many who saw them were astonished and confused. But the truth remains: God will not fill a
heart unless it is first emptied. Only when the heart is cleansed and emptied
of sin, can it be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The
word "baptism"
in Greek means to
immerse or to
wash. In order to receive
the Holy Spirit, three essential things are necessary, as
implied in Matthew
12:31:
1. Prayer,
2. Forgiveness, and
3. Faith.
1. Lord, grant me the
Holy Spirit.
2) Forgive
my sins. 3) One must believe, with full assurance, that God will forgive
their sins and surely grant the Holy Spirit. Without these
three—earnest
desire, repentance, and faith—one cannot receive the Holy
Spirit. A person may fall into sin either due to demonic temptation
or due to lack
of understanding. Such trials often bring sorrow into the
household, even if it is as small as a mustard seed. But even with just a little sorrow,
like a mustard seed, the baptism of the Holy Spirit will not come. If there's
weariness or discouragement, they
will fall behind on the path to spiritual maturity. Even if we
know someone has not yet improved, the Holy Spirit does not abandon them.
Therefore, remove doubt
entirely from your heart.
Never
ask for the Holy Spirit with doubt. As it is written in Hebrews 4:1–3,
they could
not enter His rest because of unbelief. To not believe that the
Lord has heard your prayer is itself a sin.
In a person’s life, there must be no
place for unbelief or distrust. The first sin in heaven
was pride,
and the first
sin on earth was doubt.
Therefore, if pride or doubt is present, one cannot enter heaven. But
if you believe that every promise in the Bible belongs to you personally, you will surely enter
heaven.
Hymn
:
“Isn’t
everything of Jesus ours too? Yes, all is ours!”
1. If you have faith even as small
as a mustard seed, a mountain will be moved and thrown into the
sea.
2. But if you have even a mustard
seed-sized sin, you will not enter heaven.
When
a person receives Holy
Spirit baptism with fire, there is a trembling in the body, and
one may feel as though their entire being is burning. It is the connection
between the spirit and the Supreme Spirit (God). When the Holy
Spirit comes, one feels peaceful,
refreshed, and soothed. Sometimes, there may be confusion, but the Spirit will
settle and correct everything.
If
we remember the sins of the past—the things that are already behind us—the Holy
Spirit will not come. When Peter was sinking in the sea, the Lord said to him, “O
you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Doubt is extremely dangerous. It
is one of the greatest sins among all sins. The thought “Maybe God
did not hear my prayer” should never be allowed to enter our hearts. If a
person has doubt at the time of death, they will not enter heaven.
It is said that Satan brought a list of sins before Martin Luther, to
which Luther responded, “Are these all? Or are there more? If there are any
more that I am unaware of, they are also mine—I have committed them.” Then
Luther said with boldness, “God has forgiven all my sins,” and struck
Satan with his inkwell. Luther did not doubt.
Song lyric: “Who told you that you are a sinner, when you are made
righteous?... Let not your heart be troubled.”
As
written in James 1:6, “The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea,
blown and tossed by the wind.” Such a person is double-minded and
unstable in all their ways; they should not expect to receive anything
from the Lord. If there is doubt, the Holy Spirit will not come. One must believe
every single day, saying, “The Holy Spirit will come to me today.”
When these three are present—prayer, forgiveness, and faith—the Holy
Spirit will surely be received. It is by receiving the Holy Spirit that we
are made holy. Just as the sun’s rays fall on both good and bad places alike, so
also the Holy Spirit may fall upon both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Therefore, pray and receive with full faith.
May
the Holy Spirit be granted to you through today’s message and its living truth.
Amen.
This
message was preached by Father Devadasu
Ayyagaru in 1947, during
a Holy Spirit outpouring gathering in
Rajahmundry.
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