At The Alter Pt. 2- How Does One Receive The Holy Ghost?

AT THE ALTAR Pt. 2 - HOW DOES ONE RECEIVE THE HOLY GHOST?

It is not difficult for one to receive the Holy Ghost. In my experience, many who received the Spirit have been surprised at how easy it was. What is imperative is that the hearts of the seekers meet the requirement that God is looking for. What is that requirement?

WANT NOTHING BUT GOD

Luke 14:26

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Jesus starts off by letting us know that if we desire to follow Him we must hate all relatives, and even our own lives. Not only this, but we must be prepared to suffer unto death if necessary (take up our cross) and follow Him. Please note here that Jesus does not mean that we should literally hate our loved ones. He is a minister of love, not of hate. However, he means that we should hate any influence that seeks to take precedence over His. Consider Matthew’s take on the principle:

Matthew 10:37

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Here is the root of it all. The individual must love no one and nothing more than Jesus. This becomes significant in the cases where individuals have loyalties, soul ties and relationships that prevent with their hearts from being totally submitted to the word of God. That individual must be willing to let go, from the heart, all the relationships that are founded in sin, and held together by iniquity. They must be willing to be holy.

Not only is this the case, but Jesus said that they must also hate their own lives. What is it that makes them who they are? What has their ego been built on? Their perception of themselves? They must be willing to lay down all lust and pride, and be willing to take up the holy life of Christ.

When the individual is willing to give over their lives to Jesus, then they would have been found worthy of the Holy Ghost. But how does one get there?

Let us break this down even further.

HOW DOES ONE RECEIVE THE HOLY GHOST?

Romans 10:6-8

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

The only righteousness an unsaved individual can come forth with, is the righteousness of belief. However, look at the scriptures break down the operation of faith in the unsaved heart.

Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven (that is to bring Christ down from above). When the unsaved heart has come to faith (belief), they will no longer see God as afar off, and uninvolved with them. They will believe that God has already paved the way for them to be saved. They will comprehend that although Christ died to save the whole world, He was also very mindful of them as an individual. They will believe that God will meet them where they are.

Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) They will also believe all that concerns the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will believe that He is the son of God who was risen from the dead, having paid for their sins. They will comprehend that they will not need another to pray to God for them, but that they themselves have an audience with God. He hears their heart.

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: The word does not need to be taken from heaven in tables of stone, or from over the seas, from other countries. The words of the preacher have been heard and eternity in the heart has borne witness to it. Their conscience allows them to confess that the Word of God is true, and that it relates to them. This truth that has borne witness in the heart simply needs to be acknowledged by the soul. Confession here stems from the soul agreeing with the truth that their spirit has borne witness to. It is because of the acknowledgement of this truth that confession is made with the mouth. The unsaved will begin to speak the word of faith, which is to simply testify that the word of God is true. This can be done by asking God to move on their behalf, save them, and such the like. This will attest to their belief in God (out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks).

However, belief is the limit of the extent to which they can go. It is God that must do the act of saving, which He calls the workmanship of His hands.

Romans 6:10

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Here is where the mystery is unveiled. The heart must believe unto righteousness. This simply means that when the heart believes, it must believe until the righteousness of God is given to them. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12). When the unsaved believes upon Jesus, He gives them power to become the sons of God, or in simple terms, He gives that which allows them to become the sons of God – the Holy Ghost.

Therefore, the righteousness of the unsaved (belief) causes God to respond with His righteousness (the Holy Ghost).

This is important, because many believe in what is called the “Sinner’s Prayer”. Which is simply the quoting of the above scripture, convincing the unsaved to repeat after them, saying that Jesus is Lord and that He died for their sins, and rose again the 3rd day. Though it is not impossible for one to be saved through this means, it is not a safe method of evangelism. Confession is made based on the disposition of the heart. So though we may encourage the individual to repeat after us, is our prayer expressing what is in their heart? Is it their most sincere desire? If it is not, their confession is not real.

Therefore, they must fulfill righteous belief, which will be manifest by God saving them.

With that said, what does belief entail?

- Confidence that the gospel of Jesus Christ is truth

- A yearning in the heart for God

- A willingness to let go of sin and to live for Christ.

How then does one come to belief?

Romans 10:13-14, 17

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith is developed in the heart when the individual hears the word of God. When the word that is preached connects with eternity in the heart, eternity will cause that individual to know that the gospel is true. It will bring its own belief. However, the soul will have to agree with what his spirit is saying before it can be accounted righteous.

The word is a drawing and washing agent. It can bring someone to salvation as long as they keep hearing it. Therefore, have confidence in the word of God, and do not compromise the truth! And they shall know the truth, and the truth shall make them free. (John 8:32)

THE WORD OF GOD

Note well that the gospel (word of God) includes:

- The love of God for the individual. This includes a general love or admiration for that soul, genuine care about the situations they face, but also sharp rebukes where needed, condemnation of sin, and warnings of judgement.

- The mystery of Christ. It teaches that Jesus died for the sins of the world, rose the 3rd day, and has made Himself available to all who call upon His name to be saved. He will then possess those that believe on Him, and remain in them, preserving their souls unto salvation.

- The truth about suffering for Christ (take up your cross and follow Him).

- Purpose (God’s eternal purpose for that soul, His experiential knowledge of the soul before the foundation of the world through His foreknowledge, His passion to save them, and His righteous design for their lives.

- The gospel of faith – which points to believing in God.

- Knowing, without hesitations or doubt, that God is able to totally deliver them from all/any sin, and able to change their preferences to righteousness as well as keep them from ever returning to sin.