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RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

Text: John 20
20 April 2014

THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Lord Jesus gave a solemn promise to His disciples that they would receive the Holy Spirit. The following things may be highlighted.

1. Prayer of the Lord Jesus
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. John 14:16

a) Jesus is the One who prays that we might be given the Holy Spirit

b) He is confident that the Father will give the Holy Spirit as He prayed

c) The Spirit of God is given permanently

2. Explanation about the Holy Spirit
The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.     John 14:17

a) Another name for the Holy Spirit. He is called the Spirit of truth

b) Receiving of the Holy Spirit

i) The world cannot receive Him

ii) It does not see Him

iii) It does not know Him

iv) The disciples however know Him

v) He dwells with them

vi) Soon He would be in them

A SYMBOLIC GIVING OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD

There was a symbolic giving of the Spirit of God (John 20:1-23).

1. Jesus had risen from the dead

2. He had a number of special appearances to His disciples

a) Sometimes individually

b) At other times in a small group

c) However the disciples still could not bring themselves to fully believe in Jesus

3. The Lord then decided that He would give the Spirit of God to some of His disciples

a) He breathed upon them

b) He proclaimed that He had given them the Spirit of God John 20:22

4. Significance of this event

a) The disciple would have a foretaste of the Person and Power of the Spirit

b) They would be empowered to make the necessary preparation for the inauguration of the church to be founded in Jerusalem (Acts 2)

c) Every believer has been given the Holy Spirit     Ephesians 1:13-14

i) He is our sign that we truly belong to God

ii) He is our guarantee that we will be fully redeemed