Salvation Health Check: Do You Have the Spirit?

[DreamerOfTheHeart]

Of all the religions in the world, Christianity - true Christianity - is the only one which gives you the Spirit of God.

Those who are unsaved do not have the Spirit of God.

Those who are saved have the Spirit of God -- or are being led by the Spirit of God to that point.

So some questions you might ask yourself:

1. Are you always aware there is the Spirit within you?
2. Are you able to distinguish between your own internal voice and the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly?
3. Can you clearly recall times in your life when you have heard the Holy Spirit?

If not, and you can hear this, then start seeking.

There are a lot of people out there who think they are Christian, but do not have the Holy Spirit.

They are in all manner of churches. It does not matter.

What is done externally is meaningless, if internally you are not truly born again.

Handing waving and rituals do not tell you that you have the Spirit. Claiming to have the Spirit (of God Almighty) does not matter, if you do not. Being what you think is 'all about Jesus' does not matter.

You can go to church every Sunday of your life. You can wear all the right clothes and say and do all the right things. And be completely and totally wrong all along.

You can persuade others you are a real Christian, and be accepted as a real Christian. But, that does not matter if your heart is empty of God.

 

[1stcenturylady]

Of all the religions in the world, Christianity - true Christianity - is the only one which gives you the Spirit of God.

Those who are unsaved do not have the Spirit of God.

Those who are saved have the Spirit of God -- or are being led by the Spirit of God to that point.

So some questions you might ask yourself:

1. Are you always aware there is the Spirit within you?
2. Are you able to distinguish between your own internal voice and the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly?
3. Can you clearly recall times in your life when you have heard the Holy Spirit?

If not, and you can hear this, then start seeking.

There are a lot of people out there who think they are Christian, but do not have the Holy Spirit.

They are in all manner of churches. It does not matter.

What is done externally is meaningless, if internally you are not truly born again.

Handing waving and rituals does not tell you that you have the Spirit. Claiming to have the Spirit (of God Almighty) does not matter, if you do not. Being what you think is all about Jesus does not matter.

You can go to church every Sunday of your life. You can wear all the right clothes and say and do all the right things. And be completely and totally wrong all along.

You can persuade others you are a real Christian, and be accepted as a real Christian. But, that does not matter if your heart is empty of God.

I totally agree, and you have uncovered my greatest fear for the Church - all those living in a false assurance.

Most of my posts are on the importance of having the Holy Spirit. What does the Spirit do for us:

1. Makes us dead to sin.
2. We love what God loves.
3. We hate what God hates.
4. We bear the fruit of the Spirit.
5. We develop the mind of Christ.
6. We do not commit willful sin.
7. We can resist the devil.
8. Gives us gifts of the Holy Spirit.
9. Our prayers are answered, because we know the will of God.
10. Our testimonies are full of miracles He has performed.

How do we receive the Holy Spirit:

REPENT unto Jesus.
a. Not for blessings
b. Not for a ticket to heaven

Those are based are selfish carnal wants and needs.

Repent when you've fallen in love with Jesus. When you want to be just like Him. When you want to be scrubbed clean of all desire to sin.

When you've truly repented for the right reasons, He will give you His powerful Spirit to achieve in you all that you've desired. You will become like Jesus. You will be dead to sin with no desire to betray Him with sin. And you will start loving everyone else with a righteous love. You will have supernatural power the carnal man knows nothing about and scoffs at the very idea.

Anyone who still desires to sin, does not have the Holy Spirit.

 

[Tree of Life]

Anyone who still desires to sin, does not have the Holy Spirit.

This seems a little strong. Are you saying that Spirit filled Christians never have the desire to sin?

 

[1stcenturylady]

This seems a little strong. Are you saying that Spirit filled Christians never have the desire to sin?

I can only speak for myself, and that is no. But, then again I've been filled with the Spirit for over 40 years. I'm 70. So I remember the first 30 years of going to church with absolutely no power to not sin. Mind you I never stole things or lied. I was always very honest, but that was how I was raised. I loved my parents. My sin of choice was fornication and adultery. I even got pregnant once, but when asked if I wanted to have an abortion, I was horrified. I would never murder a child, or anyone for that matter. But even though I was "a good kid" when I was young as my mother told people, I wasn't saved. Oh, I thought I was, having been raised in the Church, and having the mind of my parents, and having read the laws of God, but I had no power over the biggest sin in my life - sex. I think that is why there is so much said about sexual sins in the Bible. It is very tantalizing. Probably the most powerful sin. I think one of the problems was trying to believe God existed. I never really knew if all I was taught about Him was real. He certainly never answered any of my prayers. My lost things I wanted back, stayed lost, etc. So when I was in a sexual situation on a date, I never really believed anyone was watching...

That all changed in 1977 when I was involved with the love of my life. But, he was married. That relationship brought me through a chain of events that lead to my salvation - the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

 

[Tree of Life]

I can only speak for myself, and that is no. But, then again I've been filled with the Spirit for over 40 years. I'm 70. So I remember the first 30 years of going to church with absolutely no power to not sin. Mind you I never stole things or lied. I was always very honest, but that was how I was raised. I loved my parents. My sin of choice was fornication and adultery. I even got pregnant once, but when asked if I wanted to have an abortion, I was horrified. I would never murder a child, or anyone for that matter. But even though I was "a good kid" when I was young as my mother told people, I wasn't saved. Oh, I thought I was, having been raised in the Church, and having the mind of my parents, and having read the laws of God, but I had no power over the biggest sin in my life - sex. I think that is why there is so much said about sexual sins in the Bible. It is very tantalizing. Probably the most powerful sin. I think one of the problems was trying to believe God existed. I never really knew if all I was taught about Him was real. He certainly never answered any of my prayers. My lost things I wanted back, stayed lost, etc. So when I was in a sexual situation on a date, I never really believed anyone was watching...

That all changed in 1977 when I was involved with the love of my life. But, he was married. That relationship brought me through a chain of events that lead to my salvation - the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks for sharing the personal story. But are you saying that you haven't sinned in over 40 years?

 

[1stcenturylady]

Thanks for sharing the personal story. But are you saying that you haven't sinned in over 40 years?

Not willfully, no. There is a difference between unknown sins we may commit while walking in the Spirit, and willfully going against the Spirit and sinning. Looking back I remember doing wrong things innocently that the Spirit later revealed the truth to me, and I had to repent.

Turn to Numbers 15, starting at verse 22 and read to the end of the chapter. There was a sacrifice for unintentional sins (which I believe we may commit while walking in the Spirit that the blood of Jesus automatically keeps cleansing - the Spirit reveals more and more as you grow in Him. You just keep turning away from temptations and the devil will flee like a scared rabbit when the Holy Spirit goes "BOO!" lol), but there was no sacrifice for willful, presumptuous sins - sins you know to be wrong but you let your flesh take over and rebel against the Spirit, quenching Him. What I find interesting in the sacrifice for unintentional sin is there was a portion of that sacrifice for a grain and drink offering. I believe that was symbolism for the Lord's Supper, which is why you should never partake of the Lord's Supper if you're committing willful sins. "some have become ill, and even died." I don't know if they correlate, but I think it should give us pause.

If you are interested in my testimony of what happened to bring me to being filled with the Spirit, let me know and I'll send you the draft of that chapter from a book I'm writing.