Minggu, 29 Mei 2011

The Holy Spirit booklet

Have you made the wonderful discovery of the spirit-filled life?

Every Day can be an Exciting Adventure for the Christian who knows the reality of being filled with the Holy Spirit and who lives constantly, moment by moment, under His gracious direction.

The Bible tells us that there are three kinds of people.

Natural Man

(one who has not received Christ)

"A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Spiritual Man

(One who is directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit)

"He who is spiritual appraises all things...We have the mind of Christ"
(1 Corinthians 2:15).

Carnal Man

(One who has received Christ, but who lives in defeat because is trying to live the Christian life in his own strength)

"And I brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to carnal men, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still carnal. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshy, and are you not walking like mere men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

God Has Provided For Us an Abundant and Fruitful Christian Life

Jesus said, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22, 23).

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

The Spiritual Man -

Some spiritual traits which result from trusting God:

The degree to which these traits are manifested in the life depends upon the extent to which the Christian trusts the Lord with every detail of his life, and upon his maturity in Christ. One who is only beginning to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit should not be discouraged if he is not as fruitful as more mature Christians who have known and experienced this truth for a longer period.

Why is it that most Christians are not experiencing the abundant life?

Carnal Christians Cannot Experience the Abundant and Fruitful Christian Life

The carnal man trusts in his own efforts to live the Christian life:

1. He is either uninformed about, or has forgotten, God's love, forgiveness, and power ( Romans 5:8-10; Hebrews 10:1-25; 1 John 1; 2:1-3;
2 Peter 1:9; Acts 1:8).

2. He has an up-and-down spiritual experience.

3. He cannot understand himself - he wants to do what is right, but cannot.

4. He fails to draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life.

(1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Romans 7:15-24; 8:7; Galatians 5:16-18)

The Carnal Man -

Some or all of the following traits may characterize the Christian who does not fully trust God:

(The individual who professes to be a Christian but who continues to practice sin should realize that he may not be a Christian at all, according to
(1 John 2:3; 3:6, 9; Ephesians 5:5).

The third truth gives us the only solution to this problem...

Jesus Promised the Abundant and Fruitful Life
as the Result of Being Filled (Directed and Empowered) by the Holy Spirit

The Spirit-filled life is the Christ-directed life by which Christ lives His life in and through us in the power of the Holy Spirit (John 15).

One becomes a Christian through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, according to
John 3:1-8. From the moment of spiritual birth, the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit at all times (John 1:12; Colossians 2:9, 10; John 14:16, 17). Though all Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not all Christians are filled (directed and empowered) by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the source of the overflowing life (John 7:37-39).

The Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ (John 16:1-15). When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is a true disciple of Christ.

In His last command before His ascension, Christ promised the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to be witnesses for Him (Acts 1:1-9).

How, then, can one be filled with the Holy Spirit?

We are Filled by the Holy Spirit by Faith;
then we can Experience the Abundant and Fruitful Life Christ Promised to each Christian.

You can appropriate the filling of the Holy Spirit right now if you:

Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit
(Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39).

Confess your sins.
By faith thank God that He has forgiven all of your sins - past, present and future - because Christ died for you (Colossians 2:13-15; 1 John 1; 2:1-3; Hebrews 10:1-17).

Present every area of your life to God (Romans 12:1, 2).

By faith claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit, according to:

His Command - Be filled with the Spirit. "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

His Promise - He will always answer when we pray according to His will. "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him" (1 John 5:14, 15).

Faith can be expressed through prayer...

How to Pray in Faith to be Filled
with the Holy Spirit

We are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith alone. However, true prayer is one way of expressing your faith. The following is a suggested prayer:

"Dear Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have been directing my own life and that, as a result, I have sinned against You. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ's death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I now thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit."

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If so, bow in prayer and trust God to fill you with the Holy Spirit right now.

How to Know That You are Filled (Directed
and Empowered) with the Holy Spirit

Did you ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit? Do you know that you are now filled with the Holy Spirit? On what authority? (On the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word: Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:22, 23.)
Do not depend upon feelings. The promise of God's Word, not our feelings, is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. This train diagram illustrates the relationship between fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience) ( John 14:21).

The train will run with or without the caboose. However, it would be futile to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, we, as Christians, do not depend upon feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word.

How to Walk in the Spirit

Faith (trust in God and in His promises) is the only means by which a Christian can live the Spirit-directed life. As you continue to trust Christ moment by moment:

Your life will demonstrate more and more of the fruit of the Spirit
( Galatians 5:22, 23) and will be more and more conformed to the image of Christ ( Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Your prayer life and study of God's Word will become more meaningful.

You will experience His power in witnessing ( Acts 1:8).

You will be prepared for spiritual conflict against the world ( 1 John 2:15-17); against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17); and against Satan (1 Peter 5:7-9; Ephesians 6:10-13).

You will experience His power to resist temptation and sin
(1 Corinthians 10:13; Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 1:19-23;
2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 6:1-16).

Spiritual Breathing

By faith you can continue to experience God's love and forgiveness.

If you become aware of an area of your life (an attitude or an action) that is displeasing to the Lord, even though you are walking with Him and sincerely desiring to serve Him, simply thank God that He has forgiven your sins - past, present and future - on the basis of Christ's death on the cross. Claim His love and forgiveness by faith and continue to have fellowship with Him.

If you retake the throne of your life through sin - a definite act of disobedience - breathe spiritually.

Spiritual breathing (exhaling the impure and inhaling the pure) is an exercise in faith that enables you to continue to experience God's love and forgiveness.

Exhale - confess your sin - agree with God concerning your sin and thank Him for His forgiveness of it, according to 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 10:1-25. Confession involves repentance - a change in attitude and action.

Inhale - surrender the control of your life to Christ, and appropriate (receive) the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith. Trust that He now directs and empowers you; according to the command of Ephesians 5:18, and the promise of
1 John 5:14, 15

You will want to share this important discovery...

If this page has been meaningful and helpful to you, please share it with someone else.

Millions of copies of the booklet, "Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-filled Life?" have been distributed in most major languages around the world. As a result, thousands of Christians have learned how to experience the power and control of the Holy Spirit, moment by moment. Through the abundant life which Christ promises, and which they are now experiencing, they have become more effective in sharing their faith in Christ with others. Experience has confirmed the validity of Christ's command to the disciples to wait until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit before going forth to the world to share the good news of His love and forgiveness. Most Christians, when they have learned this truth concerning the Holy Spirit, want to be actively sharing Christ and helping to fulfill the Great Commission in our generation.

If you would like to order a copy of this resource, visit New Life Resources online.

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"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

Step 1: Be Sure

If you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can be sure you are a Christian. You are not a Christian because you go to church, or because you do good things. The Bible says "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Christ came to die for our sins, so that "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12 ).




Transferable Concept 1

Be Sure you are a Christian

You can be sure you are a Christian if you have truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The Bible says "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). You have been saved for all of eternity because of your faith in Jesus Christ by the grace of God.

Your feelings will not always echo your salvation. There will be days when you don't "feel" saved. But your feelings don't determine your salvation; your faith in Jesus does. "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12 ).

Key verses

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
John 3:16, 17

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Romans 10:13

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9

To read the full version Click Here


Transferable Concept 2

How You Can Experience God's Love and Forgiveness

If you have asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior, you have been completely forgiven of all your sins. The Bible says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Jesus’ death on the cross took away your sins. He died so that you could be free from the guilt and shame of your sin and experience God’s total love and forgiveness.

Now God sees you as if you had never sinned. We are told in the Bible “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). You are now one of those who are in Christ Jesus, free from condemnation! God has also made a way for you to be forgiven if you sin in the future. As Christians, we are promised “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Go now and thank God that you can experience life as one completely forgiven!

Key verses

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name” (I John 2:12).

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).

To read the full version Click Here

Step 2: The Holy Spirit

God has given the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. When Jesus left this earth, He said that God His Father would send the Holy Spirit to be in His disciples. If you are a Christian, you can ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit each and every day.






Transferable Concept 3

How You Can Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

You can live an abundant life as a Christian by the power of the Holy Spirit. God has not left you to live your life as a Christian out of your own efforts, alone and frustrated. Jesus has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit! He told His disciples, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you” (Luke 24:49). When you first accepted Christ as your Savior by faith, the Holy Spirit was given to you by God to assure you of your salvation. But He has more for you! God wants you to be filled (directed and controlled) with the Holy Spirit so that you can live an abundant and fruitful life, one of fulfillment and powerful witness of Jesus Christ to those around you.

You can be filled with the Holy Spirit the same way you became a Christian—by asking God to fill you with the Holy Spirit by faith. Here is the promise Jesus gave to all believers: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is as if you had a million dollars in the bank; you just have to go in and ask for it. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is worth far more than a million dollars—it will give you a life of powerful witness and great fulfillment—and the gift is already in your spiritual bank account. If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit today, ask God to fill you, and then thank Him in faith for doing so. You will begin to experience a life empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Key verses

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Luke 24:49

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13

To read the full version Click Here


Transferable Concept 4

How You Can Walk in the Spirit

If you have asked God in faith to fill you with His Holy Spirit, you can be confident that He has filled you according to His promise. Now you are able to live everyday walking in the fullness of the Spirit He has given you. The Bible compares people to trees; the way to know a good tree is by its fruit, or by the actions of the person: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). God wants every Christian to produce good fruit and has given you the Holy Spirit so that you can live a life like Jesus Christ, one of love and of power.

As a Christian, you must make a continual choice between walking according to the desires of your old self and walking according to the desires of the Holy Spirit. We are told in Galatians 5:16, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” You can learn to walk in the Holy Spirit as you read and obey God’s Word, give thanks to Him in all things, and continually confess yours sins to God and ask for forgiveness. If you want to live your life walking in the Spirit, tell God now that you want Him to teach you. Because it is what He wants for you, you can know that He will do it.

Key verses

“For if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).

“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:8).

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Romans 8:13,14).

To read the full version Click Here









Step 3: Bible

God has not left us without help in leading the Christian life. He inspired holy writers over the centuries to write the Bible - 66 books organized into the New Testament and Old Testament. You can learn about Jesus; learn how to live a Christian life; and study the lives of godly men and women of old by reading the Bible. God has given you "His instruction book" to help us live a victorious Christian life.







Step 4: Church

You are not alone in living the Christian life. All the true Christians in the world are now your spiritual brothers and sisters. We encourage you to seek out other Christians near you who can help you grow in your Christian life. You can learn about God; spend time with other believers; worship God; and help and serve others in your local church







Step 5: Prayer

God has given us the privilege of talking with Him. Talking with God is called prayer. We can pray to God at any time; Christ said He would be with us always. God as our heavenly Father loves to spend time with us. We can pray to Him and tell Him we love Him; we can ask Him for His help; we can pray for others. You can pray to God throughout the day, but it is also good to set aside some time each day when you can spend concentrated time in prayer to God.





Step 6: Share Your Faith

When Jesus left His disciples, He told them that they would be His witnesses - that they were to tell others about Him. As Christians, we have the privilege of telling other people the good news that Christ died for them. There are many ways of doing this; you can talk to people, you can send them an e-mail, you can give them a Christian book. You can also ask God to have His love shine through you. It is important also to pray for people you know who need to come to know Christ.