God’s Promise of His Spirit
Open Your Bible
Joel 2:18-32, Zechariah 10:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:2
BY Guest Writer
Scripture Reading: Joel 2:18-32, Zechariah 10:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:2
It feels like I am always waiting for the Holy Spirit to move, and I have grown weary in my waiting, angry with my unmet expectations of Him. I have distrusted Him and come to believe He has poured out Himself on every son and daughter but me.
For many years I believed the Spirit was a second blessing, the first being salvation alone through faith alone, and the second coming only through the laying on of hands and impartation of the gift. But when I began to read my Bible I began to see the gift of the Holy Spirit was not a second blessing as much as a coupled blessing: my salvation came with a built-in helper and comforter and teacher, just as Jesus promised it would (John 14:15-31).
My stumbling block then, it seemed, was struggling to believe this and live as though it were true—to live as though the Spirit Jesus said He would send had indeed come and lived within me, empowering me to bear His fruit, speak His truth, live in His fullness. Because I did not believe the Spirit came with my salvation, I had spun my wheels for years waiting for something. But what? More? Some evidence that I was a true believer?
I believed I was not enough of anything for the Lord of the universe to condescend to me and give me gifts. I had read Joel 2:29 and the quoting of it in Acts, but had never noticed the words, “Even on my male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Acts 2:18).
Even on.
Those two small words began to shift something in my belief about my salvation and story. God, the Creator of all, who came in the form of Jesus to earth, and left His Spirit to lead His children into all truth, had not omitted the male and female servants from the gift. He had not passed over the lowliest and poorest. He did not have levels of Christians or levels of the Spirit to give to those Christians, because the ground before the cross of Christ was level.
Jesus is not merely a respecter of persons but a hunter of faith. Faith is the only prerequisite for the gift of the Spirit. Faith alone, and nothing else.
I know there are many views on the role of the Holy Spirit, and maybe you’ve felt confused by what you’ve heard. Today, if you’re wringing your hands and waiting, hoping and praying He won’t pass you over, I want to assure you that, if you are His child, He has not passed you over. He has given His Spirit to even the male and female servants, everyone who belongs to the household of God—no matter how long or short your walk of faith has been.
If you have trusted in the work of Christ to save you, the Holy Spirit is the seal of God upon you, helping and comforting you, strengthening and encouraging you, and empowering you for the work of God. He is the seal that was promised to the all the children of God, and if you are God’s, you have been given the seal, the guarantee, of redemption. Therefore, we need not fear, but rejoice and be glad. For the Lord has done astonishing things (Joel 2:21); He has come to rescue the souls of even you, and even me.
Lore Ferguson Wilbert is a writer, thinker, and learner. She blogs at Sayable, and tweets and instagrams at @lorewilbert. She has a husband named Nate, a puppy named Harper Nelle, and too many books to read in one lifetime.
55 thoughts on "God’s Promise of His Spirit"
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I’m believing God to continue to pour out His Spirit on this land. We are desperate for it.
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You can have more of Jesus!!! Acts 2 describes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which is still very much relevant today as it was then. All throughout Acts we see that every time Jesus gave someone the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues. True, there is a spiritual gift of tongues when prophesying to a congregation that not everyone has, but there is also a personal gift of tongues that is simply for you, when you are seeking Him, that Jesus has given EVERYONE. Everyone can speak in tongues, all you have to do is ask Jesus to fill you with His Spirit. When that happens, heaven quite literally touches earth. So many people are scared to speak in tongues and seek that experience, but why would you not want everything that Jesus has for you? Why would you not want MORE of Him? I encourage everyone to pray about this and ask God to give you a revelation of His spirit. Ask Him to bring Heaven to your room, to give you courage, and give up control. Let your spirit pray.
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You know you have received His spirit when you have the “evidence of speaking in other tongues”! It’s the truth … I’ve experienced it!
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How do you know you receive the Holy Spirit? Evidence by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance…..this is how you know. Repentance, water baptism in Jesus name and infilling of the Holy Spirit. This was a great lesson!
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Yes ma’am! You said it!
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Jesus is not merely a respecter of persons but a hunter of faith. Faith is the only prerequisite for the gift of the Spirit. Faith alone, and nothing else.
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THIS IS SO GOOD. I have always believed the Holy Spirit to be a gift “coupled with” salvation, but I LOVE how you worded this. ✨
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Lore, you are selling yourself short. Yes, we get a deposit of the Spirit at salvation, by which we begin to hear His guiding and correcting voice. This deposit is also a seal of our salvation, as it says in Colossians. However, there IS a second gift of the Spirit given only by the laying on of the hands, which gives us the power and authority to preach the Gospel IN power, that draws all men to repentance. The second gift brings BOLDNESS and will be evidenced by a large increase in the fruit you bear by way of souls won. However, the second gift, my friend, does NOT come by waiting, but instead from violently pursuing it (I am referencing the verse in Matthew that says, “… the Kingdom of God is taken by violent men, and violent [wo]men lay hold if it.”) like the persistent widow. Do whatever you need to to receive it. Ask people to pray for you over and over if necessary; KEEP ASKING GOD and be willing to yield your spirit to His. Do not be afraid; He will answer you. Waiting is not the solution to receiving the second gift. However, if you ask for the second gift, you must be ready to encounter the living God and you must lay down all of your preconceived notions of the Holy Spirit. Yielding looks lime receiving Him in body, mind and spirit. You may tremble, you may laugh, you may receive another language by which you may speak only to Him. If you are offended by the last sentence I wrote, that’s probably why you haven’t received the gift. You need to receive whatever God has for you on His terms and take a risk in opening your whole self up to Him.
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