EVIDENCE

We are in the days wherein virtually all Christians are claiming to posses the Holy Spirit. It became necessary therefore that we outline some of the evidences of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer in other to make those don’t have the Holy Spirit but think that they have to come to terms with the reality. The Holy Spirit cannot be hidden wherever he is found because the word of God says that whoever that has the Holy Spirit should have a testimony from God (1 John 5: 9-11).

The bible states further that the manifestation is given to those who receive him (1 Cor.12:7). Despite that Paul was an apostle yet the Church sought to see the proof of the Holy Spirit in him before they could confirm his apostleship (2 Cor.13:3). It is painful that in our time people are no more subjected to this spiritual scrutiny before they are approved as believers or ministers. When the Lord was witnessing to the good virtues of the Ephesians Church one of their qualities that he extolled was their insistence on scrutinizing every minister and member to know what manner of spirit that they poses (Rev.2:1-5).

God intended to safeguard his Church from the influx of unclean spirits and disguised Satan’s ministers, to achieve this he gave the Church the gift of ‘discernment of spirits’ (1 Cor. 12:8-10). But as it stands today because of spiritual dryness and poverty – denominations cannot access this grace of discernment; but we have it in abundance in Dayspring Assembly because we are a prophetic Church. This places us in a vintage position to speak boldly that much of the people that claim to have the Holy Spirit do not have him - even innumerable so called Pastors and men of God are destitute of the Holy Spirit. We may not exhaustively speak about the evidences of the Holy Spirit but we shall endeavour to speak on some primary but vital evidences that that must be present to signify the abidance of the Holy Spirit.

Peter said in his sermon to the Jew; Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of Holy Spirit (Act 2:38).The vital message that he conveyed here is – repentance from sin must precede the receipt of the Holy Spirit. So Holy Spirit is not given to sinners in their sinful state, rather it is given to those whose hearts are cleansed from their iniquities. In the book of Ezekiel 35:25-27, God stated categorically that one must be cleansed with a pure water (the word of God) from his impurities, and that the old heart and spirit must be removed before he shall give the person the Holy Spirit. But in our days people proclaim to have received the Holy Spirit without conversion and cleansing. So repentance from sins comes first before the receipt of the Holy Spirit.

Salvation is incomplete without the Holy Spirit. For one may have been baptized in water, yet if the said person is not baptized of the Holy Spirit he is not yet a child of God. The Bible says in Rom. 8:9, “anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.”

The Holy Spirit is the seal with which the children of God are identified. In Ephi 1:13 it is written… In him you also…who have believed in Him, were sealed with the Holy Spirit. Think about this as you read through this sermon. Are you sealed with the Holy Spirit? If your answer is no, why not seek to receive the Spirit of God now that you are alive. Belonging to a Church does not give the Holy Spirit, neither does water baptism. If someone anointed you with olive oil in the name of the Holy Spirit, that person has deceived you, because in the New Testament the Holy Spirit is not given through that means.

It is not proper for someone to claim to have Holy Spirit when the person is not sure. You can only be sure that you have the true Spirit of God by judging the manifestation of that Spirit. With the characteristics that we are going to discuss in this sermon you shall be in a position to judge the Spirit in you or in your church to know whether the said Spirit is of God. 1 John 4:1, beloved, believe not every Spirit, but test the spirit to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Just as there is the true God and false gods, even so there are the true Christ and false christs. In the same vein there are the true Holy Spirit and false spirits. Many have fallen prey to these false gods, false christs and false spirit. Jesus warned, “Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness” (Luke 11:35).

Let us examine some of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Cor. 12:7, it is written, To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for common good. With this verse we know that there are characteristics through which the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in our lives; which characters we must trace and indentify in our lives. If these traits are not in you it is better accepted that the Spirit of God is not there.

These are the traits of the Holy Spirit, if someone has the Spirit of God these characteristics must be seen in operation through the Spirit in his life. The true Spirit of God must show you the true Jesus and reprove you of sin, thus keeping you away from sin. He will always be grieved when you sin.

In addition to these, the Holy Spirit has fruits which he bears in the life of believers. This fruit proves that the believer has gotten the divine nature. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you say that you have the Holy Spirit, what of the fruit, do you have it? If you are lacking in the fruit, you don’t have the Holy Spirit.

Further more, the Holy Spirit imparts power on a believer in the way of gift of grace. As partly written in 1 Cor. 12:8-11, to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another gifts of healing, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues. It is one and the same Spirit, who portions to each one individually as He wills, and inspires all these.

These are the tools that the Holy Spirit employs in edifying and perfecting the Church. If one receives a contrary spirit, these evidences may not be there or may partly be there. ( Although the devil has a counterfeit of all these gifts of the Spirit for service but the bottom line is that he cannot demonstrate the core values of the Holy Spirit – which are righteousness and Holiness revealed without the Law) Sometimes it is difficult to discern among the Spirit of God, and disguised familiar spirits of Satan. However, the Holy Spirit lives up to His name by maintaining holiness in its totality, which virtue no other Spirit can exhibit.

All the works that God wants to accomplish is hinged on the Holy Spirit. The power with which God manifests His power in the world is the Holy Spirit. This is the reason why you need the Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be received through prayer (Luke 11:13), hearing of faith (Gal 3:2) and by laying on of hands of the apostles (Acts 8:17).

Though you may have been a worshipper without the Holy Spirit but you have an opportunity of being baptized with the Holy Spirit now – if you come to our God. What you need to do is, repent of your sins, and ask Jesus to come into your heart then ask God to give you Holy Spirit. However, it is better that you visit us at the Church of the living God, where it shall be easy for you to receive the Holy Spirit, and be cared for spiritually. We are waiting for you, God bless you as you come.