MEMORY VERSE: ‘If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?’ Luke 11:11-13.
LESSON AIM: To show the conditions for receiving the Holy Spirit, and His vital importance to the body of Christ on earth.
‘Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But like every other promise, it is given on conditions. There are many who believe and profess to claim the Lord’s promise; they talk about Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine agencies.’ Christian Service, page 253.
1. What must happen in our lives, before we can receive the Holy Spirit? Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9-13. Consider how the Apostles felt their need of divine help. Acts 4:23-24, 29-31.
COMPILER’S NOTE: There are three principal stages to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus said: ‘But ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.’ John 14: 17 last part. Firstly He is alongside everyone, wooing and drawing them to Himself, speaking to the conscience and working to show them a better life. Then once we have surrendered to His pleadings, we are converted, and He gives us a new heart, with new thoughts and new views of God. Then He comes to dwell in us, in our hearts, in our bodies which are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. He was beside us. Now He is in us.
From this point a third stage begins. He sets us to work. It begins with asking Him where He needs us to be today, in His mission field. It might be just meeting someone at your front door, or it might be something more challenging. The secret is to keep asking Him. How? What? Where? When? As we start to work for God in witnessing to His goodness and telling others of the everlasting Gospel, we soon know that we need divine help. We cannot touch hearts. We cannot give the words with convicting power. So we must ask and ask and ASK. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to accompany our word. It is the work of heaven that we are involved in, therefore no spiritual gift of heaven will be withheld as we work in the field of the world. But because God’s work plan is one of co-operation, we must Ask at every stage and keep asking. The more we request, the greater the gifts of the Holy Spirit we will receive. Which stage do you find yourself in? Keep moving forward with purpose.
NOTE: ‘The Saviour knew that no argument, however logical, would melt hard hearts or break through the crust of worldliness and selfishness. He knew that His disciples must receive the heavenly endowment; that the gospel would be effective only as it was proclaimed by hearts made warm and lips made eloquent by a living knowledge of Him who is the way, the truth, and the life. The work committed to the disciples would require great efficiency; for the tide of evil ran deep and strong against them. A vigilant, determined leader was in command of the forces of darkness, and the followers of Christ could battle for the right only through the help that God, by His Spirit, would give them.’ Acts of the Apostles, page 31.
2. How are we shown that God’s willingness to give the Holy Spirit is based on our desire to share with others of the gifts of life? Acts 4:29, 33.
NOTE: ‘There are many who long to help others, but they feel that they have no spiritual strength or light to impart. Let them present their petitions at the throne of grace. Plead for the Holy Spirit. God stands back of every promise He has made. With your Bible in your hands say, I have done as Thou hast said. I present Thy promise, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” We must not only pray in Christ’s name, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This explains what is meant when it is said that the Spirit “maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26. Such prayer God delights to answer. When with earnestness and intensity we breathe a prayer in the name of Christ, there is in that very intensity a pledge from God that He is about to answer our prayer “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”’ Ephesians 3:20.’ Christ’s Object Lessons, page 147.