Not sure if I ever received the Holy Spirit
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The bottom link is how God gave me the Holy Spirit. https://repent5610.wordpress.com/20...s-powerful-how-do-we-receive-the-holy-spirit/
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Thanks, I prayed for my wife's sister to be healed and she was. It was her heart.
If I may, I would like to address this a little bit. There are requirements to receive the Holy Ghost.
1. You must believe Jesus IS the Son of God, That Jesus came down from Heaven in the flesh and died for your sins on the cross, and on the third day rose again to sit on the right hand of the Father to make intersession for us.
2. You must forgive everyone or you will not be forgiven.
Mat. 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
3. You must not condemn/ judge anyone.
“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
4. To receive the Holy Ghost, you must be baptized (as some have already mentioned) in the name of Jesus for both the remission of sin and to receive the Holy Ghost.
Now I am sure I am gonna catch much backlash for this, but I am going to say it and see where it goes since it does touch on this.
On Judgement day there will be three locations that people will go based on the three spiritual levels they are on.
1. Those that do not believe in Christ. These are your atheists, people who worship idols of wood and stone, etc..
2. Those that believe Jesus is the Son of God (requirement 1) but are not filled with the Holy Ghost.
3. Those that have believe Jesus is the Son of God (requirement 1) and filled with the Holy Ghost.
The first two groups have darkness in them. It isn't until you receive the Holy Ghost that you have any light in you.
And again, each group goes to a different place.
1. The first group will go to hell and ultimately cast into the lake of fire.
2. The second group will go to the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21).
3. The third group will go to the Kingdom of God (3rd heaven).
There is no darkness in God's kingdom of any kind. And you will notice in Revelation 21 that the Spirit of Jesus, when He comes with the New Jerusalem, will light up the New Earth because those that believed are dark inside. Also, notice there is no water on the New Earth. This is so they cannot baptize themselves to get to the Kingdom of God. The New Earth will NOT be in the Kingdom of God just as Hell and our Earth is not in the Kingdom of God. BTW, and I am going out on a limb here, not only is the Holy Ghost a requirement to enter the Kingdom of God, it is also a requirement to go up on the Day of the Lord (rapture) and they will go directly to the Kingdom of God.
Your fate is sealed here on this earth and in this life.
Go easy on me people, I know some of you can be borderline judgemental of me ( I have already experience this). And this goes against the 3rd requirement. Be careful.
The kingdom of God is All of the saved people and they are all in His church. See Acts 2:47…”and the Lord ( Jesus) added to the church those who were being saved.” The kingdom is made up
Of people. We call it the universal church as opposed to local congregations of churches here on earth. The universal church is made up of all the saved people of the earth. God knows who are truly saved and who claim to be saved but are not. Read Matthew 7 to see the “religious” “believers” who thought they were saved but Christ says they never were. This is the kingdom of God. And it is in existence now. People are in it NOW. It is not being saved for some future time or for some future people.
When you read Revelation you read about only 2 places at the judgement. One is heaven where all the saved go and the other is “hell”, the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels where all who “know not God and OBEY NOT the gospel go. See 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.
If you read Luke 16, you read about what happens immediately after death. Jesus went to “Hades” when He died on the cross. That is not the same place as Hell. It is a place where the souls of the dead go and “WAIT” for the end of the world. Jesus called it “Paradise” to the thief on the cross. Luke 16 describes it as “Abraham’s bosom.” The judgement is the final end for everyone and heaven will “come down from the sky” like a bride adorned for her husband and all the saved will go into heaven at the same time just as all the lost will go into “hell” at the same time.
I must disagree. Just “feeling” and “thinking” you are saved is not reliable. Just read about those “believers” in Matthew 7. THEY thought they were saved, too. They were “active” in their faith. They claimed to have prophesied in the name of Jesus and said they had cast out devils and done “wonders” in His name. If you had asked them, they would have said, “We KNOW we are saved.”Whether or not they did these things IS not the point—they BELIEVED they were saved, but Jesus says they NEVER WERE SAVED! He gives the answer WHY in verse 23. They were lawless. They were doing many things that were not in the law of Christ—without law or without “AUTHORITY” from God.
Saul of Tarsus is another example. He said he THOUGHT he ought to do many things that were CONTRARY to Jesus, Acts 26:9. Was he sincere? Yes, absolutely sincere, but he was sincerely wrong. He said he had lived “in all good conscience” while doing wrong. Acts 23:1 His conscience didn’t bother him because he “THOUGHT” he was right with God. He was going strictly by his own thoughts and his conscience. The Bible never tells us to go SOLELY by our “feelings” or our own thoughts. They are NOT Reliable.
So, saying “if you know you are saved, you are” was not true for those believers in Matthew 7, nor was it true for Saul of Tarsus; and it is not true for anyone today. The Holy Spirit says to PROVE ALL THINGS. 1 Thess. 5:21. That’s how we know—by what the Bible says. It doesn’t matter what I “THINK.” It’s all about , “What does God say in His word?” That’s how we “know”; and we can show book, chapter, and verse for it.
Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Romans 10:17.
Another thing to consider is immediately after stating He never knew them Jesus provides insight as to their problem . It would seem they neglected to lay a proper foundation (Matt. 7:23-29, Luke 6:47-49) And according to Hebrews 6:1-2 the foundation includes the essential elements of the NT rebirth as presented at Pentecost; faith in Jesus, repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus for remission of sin, and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
I think in Matthew 7:23 Jesus Himself tells us what is the problem. He said they were practicing “lawlessness”. That means that they had no authority or “law” from God for at least some of the things they were doing. Perhaps their plan of salvation was not according to God’s laws or word; it could be many things that they were doing or “practicing” for which they had no authority from God.
2 John 9 says that if you do not abide in the doctrine of Christ, you do not have God. We are not allowed to have our own doctrine in which WE decide how to be saved, or how WE want to worship. Christ has a “doctrine” and we are to obey Him—not please ourselves.
Feeling and thinking you are saved based on confidence in your own righteousness is not reliable, as we see in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. (Luke 18:9-14) These many people in Matthew 7 had the wrong foundation and were not saved believers. They were make believers who trusted in their performance/works for salvation and not in Jesus Christ alone. (John 3:18) Jesus never knew these many people which means they were never saved (Matthew 7:23) regardless of what they "claimed" in verse 22. The heart of the reason why these many people were lawless is because they were not and never were saved. *In context, Jesus says to beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. (vs. 15) In verse 17, Jesus points out that a bad tree bears bad fruit. So, now we get the full picture after reading Matthew 7:23 in context. (Matthew 7:15-23)
*Matthew 7:21 - Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
*John 6:40 - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
Repentance actually "precedes" (saving) faith in Jesus. Acts 20:21 - testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:38 must be read alongside verses like (Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 13:38-39; 15:7-9; 16:31; 26:18) and consider the fact that forgiveness is explicitly tied to repentance/belief/faith and not water baptism before reaching your conclusion on doctrine.
Luke 24:47 - and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. *What happened to baptism?
Acts 3:19 - Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. *What happened to baptism?
Acts 5:31 - Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. *What happened to baptism?
Acts 10:43 - Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. *What happened to baptism?
Acts 11:17 - If therefore God gave them the same gift (Holy Spirit) as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” 18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life.” *What happened to baptism?
Acts 13:38 - Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. *What happened to baptism?
Acts 15:7 - And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. *What happened to baptism?
Acts 16:30 - And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” *What happened to baptism?
Acts 26:18 - to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. *What happened to baptism? *Hermeneutics.
*So, the only logical and Biblical conclusion when properly harmonizing scripture with scripture is that faith in Jesus Christ "implied in repentance" (rather than water baptism) brings the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 13:38-39; 15:7-9; 16:31; 26:18) *Perfect Harmony*
Remember that baptism is sumberging yourself in the Word to conform to it, and not just water that you dip your flesh in.
Oh jeez. Necro post. I've been saved for going on 3 years now. Never looked back. leave the past in the past, sir.