PONDER THIS

Jesus told the disciples to wait until they were given power from on high. We don’t need to wait. The Holy Spirit has already come. He has come. What we need to do now is to receive the promise.

Now let me tell you something. If you are a Christian, if you are truly saved; then you’ve already received that promise. You say, “Well, I don’t feel it.” I want to tell you something: If you repented of your sins, you did receive the Holy Spirit of God.

God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we’re the children of God. What is this witness? How do I know I have the Holy Spirit of God?

I don’t know that I have the Holy Spirit of God because of some emotional feeling. Emotions come and go. Our emotions are the shallowest part of our nature, but salvation is the deepest work of God. God doesn’t do the deepest work in the shallowest part. The Holy Spirit is the One who communicates the things of God. Your human spirit is the instrument of spiritual knowledge. And the Holy Spirit of God speaks to your human spirit that you belong to God. It is not an emotional feeling; it is an awareness.

When you get saved, the Holy Spirit of God comes into you. How else could you live like Christ apart from the Holy Spirit? It is impossible on your own strength. How is Christ in you? Through the Holy Spirit!

• When have you tried to live out your faith on your own? What happened?
• What does it look like to walk with the Spirit?

PRACTICE THIS

Talk to a mentor in the faith about how he or she has grown in his or her awareness of the Holy Spirit.