ASK

The Lord has given us wonderful promises for receiving the Holy Ghost,

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

Hasn’t our heavenly Father made a binding commitment here? The requirement in this wonderful promise is, ask! Yet Jesus doesn’t mean asking one time, but making a constant appeal.

OBEDIENCE

However, it is important to see the context here. We should also read the other texts, which speak about the same thing, for example,

“And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32 NKJV

The requirement here is, obedience! We can see here that we can’t support ourselves with only one text, we also have to consider the context of the promise. It doesn’t have to do with being obedient once with something that is pleasant for us. Rather, it has to do with obeying Him, our wonderful redeemer and friend. Obedience creates joy. Pray every morning for an obedient heart. Pray that the Lord will make you willing to do everything He wants and will help you accomplish it. This creates a good prerequisite.

DESIRE

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” John 7:37 NKJV

Here it has to do with the desire for the Holy Ghost. If you have no desire, or think you have too little, then you may pray for desire. It is a request according to God’s will, which will be immediately answered. When we ask our wonderful God He will create in us “the desire and the accomplishment”. We may also pray for the desire for a close relationship with God, to love Him with our whole hearts, to serve Him with joy, to have a growing desire for Jesus and His soon return and reunion in God’s kingdom, a desire to read God’s word and to learn from it, as well as the desire to help and be equipped to help save the lost.

BELIEVE

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.” John 7: 38-39 NKJV

Here the condition is, belief! We see here that our faith in Jesus Christ, our trust in God, is an important prerequisite for receiving the Holy Ghost. But when we pray with promises, then believing is easy.

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 NKJV

We actually have a promise here, which is expressed as a command. When God wants me to walk in the Spirit, then that clearly means that He wants to fill me with the Holy Ghost. And He shows us here that when we are filled with the Holy Ghost, then we aren’t at the mercy of our lusts anymore. The Holy Ghost [1] breaks the power of sin in us (Romans 8:1-17, especially v.2). Through the Holy Ghost [2] “the deeds of our body” are put to death (Romans 8:13).

Think of Paul, who said about himself,“I die daily.” It is something tremendously valuable not to be at the mercy of the works of the body (Galatians 5:18-21), but rather to grow the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

We can compare sin not being able to invade our lives to the assembly of binoculars. In order for no dust to get into the lenses the room has to be accordingly over-pressurized. This means that the air moves outwards when the door is opened. No dust can enter. In the same way, when we are filled with the Holy Ghost, “you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”.

SPRING IS HERE

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love... that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-17&19 NKJV

Maybe we don’t notice any of the power for a long time. It could be like it is in nature. In the winter the trees are bare and in spring green. There are tremendous power at work in this revitalization. But we can’t see or hear them. But then we see the results.

Thank God that He gives us abundant power.

Another example: We have known for a few decades that we have electric currents in our bodies. They are there. But we aren’t aware of them.

Ephesians 5:18 NKJV, “...be filled with the Spirit” or “let yourself be continually and repeatedly refilled with the Spirit”. Johannes Mager, Auf den Spuren des Heiligen Geistes, (Lüneburg, 1999), Seite 101

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me ...” Acts 1:8 NKJV

The disciples had the commission to wait until the power came. They didn’t wait idly.

“The disciples prayed with intense earnestness for a fitness to meet men in their daily intercourse to speak words that would lead sinners to Christ. Putting away all differences, all desire for supremacy, they came closer in Christian fellowship.” EGW, Acts of the Apostles, p.37

ASK. BE OBEDIENT. DESIRE. BELIEVE. THE WORK OF TEH SPIRIT. SPRING IS HERE.

QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION & DEVOTION

1. Why do you think we have the best qualification to receive the Holy Spirit?

2. Which is the hardest and why, to ask, be obedient, desire or to believe?

3. We have “electrical” power available through the Holy Spirit. What should we do with that power?