Acts chapter 19. Let's pray together. Our Father, Lord, in the only way that we
know how, the way that you have instructed us, by your Son, through
your Spirit, We call upon you in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we ask you now, bless, we pray, the assembling of ourselves
together. Lord, we thank you that you would
give us a desire to be here. Bless, we pray, this word to
your honor and glory and to our good, for Christ's sake. Amen. The Apostle Paul had wisely left a while back. In fact, it was in Acts 18.21
when he left Ephesus. And when he left, He left making the wisest statement that he
could have made concerning his return. He said in Acts 18.21,
he bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this
feast that cometh in Jerusalem. But listen to this, but I will
return again unto you. if God will. That's the language of a taught
believer. It's not just a cliché. I know
a lot of men may use it. Well, good Lord, if Wheeling
Creek don't rise, you know, that kind of stuff. You know, just
shooting from the hip kind of stuff. But a believer is convinced
of this. We're going to do that. if the
Lord will. That is what James 4, 13 to 15
says, Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go
into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell,
and get gain, whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth
for a little while, a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If
the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or do that." Paul
acknowledged the sovereign will of Almighty God, His power, His
purpose, when he said, I'm coming back if the Lord wills, if God
allows it, I'll be here. We'll be here next Sunday. if
the Lord wills. If God allows us the privilege
to be here, we'll be here. Maybe somebody here tonight won't
be here Sunday. I don't know. If God wills, we'll
be here. Well, verse 1 of Acts 19 says,
It came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth Paul, having passed
through the upper coast, came to Ephesus finding certain disciples. Now, we looked last week and
week four concerning Apollos and how he was preaching. He was preaching everything he
knew, but now he is proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ as the
fulfillment of all the types and shadows of the law. And he's
not merely or only preaching the baptism of John. That's what
we looked at last week. I entitled those last two messages,
Why Was Christ Baptized? And I entitled it that because
looking at the baptism of John, I had it in my mind, if I can
come to the point to why the Lord was baptized of John. And
we have a pretty good handle on why John was baptizing. And
if John was baptizing men and the Lord submitted to that baptism,
then everybody else being baptized, that would make more sense to
me. So I won't go over those last two messages. But Apollos
knew only the baptism of John. after Priscilla and Aquila took
him off to the side and talked to him. And Scripture says they
began to expound, verse 26 of chapter 18, expounded unto him
the way of God more perfectly. They preached Christ to him,
the fulfillment of the law. And now Paulus is preaching. Paulus was at Corinth and Paul
Came to the coast of Ephesus and he found certain disciples,
you know, often in Scripture when you see that certain disciples. Almost without exception. It's
pertaining to someone in particular that the Lord showed mercy to.
But if it's not, it's even if it's a person that God didn't
show mercy to, we learned something. through that certain person.
It's a certain. The Scripture says in Acts 16.1,
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple
was there named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman which
was a Jewess, and believed, but his father was a Greek. There
was a certain man who was Timothy. The Scripture says, Acts 16.14,
a certain woman named Lydia. Boy, we've learned some things
certain people, hadn't they? God taught us this. There was
a certain woman named Lydia. And the Scripture says she was
the seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped
God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened that she attended
unto the things spoken of. Paul. So Paul comes to Ephesus
by the will of the Lord, and he is sent here to find certain
disciples. I know this, that Paul didn't
find these certain disciples by his own ability and wisdom
and power, but he found them by the good pleasure and purpose
and will of Almighty God. Maybe Priscilla and Aquila said
something to him. I don't know. It doesn't say.
It just says that he found certain disciples. He found some that
were there. You know, the Lord places together
in a marvelous way, those that he's going to show mercy to.
You think about how we got together. Now, how in the world did that
happen? How? I'm not from around here. I was born, you know, a
long way from here. Central Louisiana, a long way
from here. And I went to Tennessee. I just, I'm bound and determined. I go, I'm going to be in Tennessee,
you know. Here I am. How did you get here?
The Lord put us together. We found each other by the good
purpose of Almighty God. It still amazes me how few times
you seem to be able to find a believer. And look, here's a bunch of them
by the grace of God. Here they are. certain disciples. Now, when he found those disciples,
Paul in the next verse, verse 2, he asked them a question that
was very striking to me. And he obviously, the Apostle
Paul, knowing that there was no true belief in the Lord Jesus
Christ without the reception or divine impartation of the
Spirit of God, obviously, based on this question that we are
about to look at, he detected just like Priscilla and Aquila
did with Apollos. Obviously, Paul heard something
that these men were saying that caused him to ask what he asked
them. Verse 2 says, He said unto them,
Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they
said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be
any Holy Ghost. You know, when a sinner is called
out of spiritual darkness, that sinner has received the
Spirit of God. That sinner, saved by the grace
of God, has received power from God, God's power, faith, assurance. He has received the Holy Ghost. If he's John 15, 26 says, The Lord speaking,
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from
the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the
Father, he shall testify of me. A man, a woman that believes,
they have received the Spirit of God. There is no such thing
as believing without the Spirit of God. without the reception
of the Spirit of God. So when Paul asked him that question,
you know, you first read that question and you kind of, you
think, what was he asking them? Well, here's something that we
can probably conclude without the Spirit of God revealing this.
Obviously, they said something and was trying to convince Paul
that they were believers. And you know, you start listening.
I make a statement every once in a while here, and I'll say
this. A believer talks like a believer. A believer acts like a believer. And whenever you hear something
that kind of throws a red flag, you know, for example, I've used
this illustration before, this is a good one. Somebody tells
me, I've been in false religion, so I know a little bit of what
I'm talking about. If somebody tells me, well, I'll
tell you what, I was raised in just some free will, you know,
denomination, it doesn't matter, they're all the same. I was raised
in this, I came up and I gave my heart to Jesus years ago and
I saved. I was saved. I was saved under
not sovereign grace. I wasn't saved under the gospel
of free grace. But I was saved. And I know I
gave my heart to Jesus. And I was converted. And later,
I just came. I came to the doctrines of grace. Boy, you know, red flags are
just going up all over the place here because you're thinking,
wait a minute, wait a minute. Now, what you're saying to me
is you're telling me that the gospel is not the power of God
and salvation, that any false preaching is good enough and
that anybody can be saved. And if somebody is sitting under
a false doctrine, you know, where Paul says if we are an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel than that which we've
preached unto you, let him be anathema, you're saying then
that what Paul is saying here under the inspiration of the
Spirit of God is not so. You're saying that someone sitting
under a false Gospel, a free will false gospel, can be truly
converted. And then later they just kind
of add the gospel to their repertoire of stuff. No. No. You know, your question to
me would be, can a man be saved under a false gospel? The answer
is no. No. How do you know that? Romans 1.16. Paul said, I'm not
ashamed of it, it's the power of God unto salvation. No gospel,
no message is preached that is blessed of God if it's not the
gospel of Christ. Free grace, that's it. So obviously,
they said something to Paul. And they're claiming to be believers. And Paul asked them. This is
what he is actually asking them so you can understand the question.
Here's the literal. He said, Have you beheld the
evidence of God's sealing grace in yourself? Have you received
the Holy Ghost since you believed? Has the grace of the Holy Spirit
been manifested in you? You say you believe. Have you
received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" Believing, did
you receive the Holy Ghost? Is there any manifestation of
God's Spirit in you? Is what he asked them. Is there
a manifestation of God's Spirit in you? 2 Corinthians 1.22 says, "...who
hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in
our hearts." The question that Paul asked
them was this. Is there a clear testimony of
God's Spirit to you in your soul? I've entitled this message this
evening, Have I Received the Holy Ghost? I think that's a
good question. I think that's a very good question.
Have I received the Holy Ghost? The question is this, that Paul
asks these men, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
Has He taught me of my completeness in Him? How does a man know if he has
received the Holy Ghost? I think this is a great question.
How does a man know Let me ask you this. You that believe, don't
you want to know? Don't you want to know? I do,
Scott, don't you? I do. I'm serious with you. Somebody said, are you kidding
me, Marvin? You mean you or Brother Scott or any other preacher?
You think Todd wants to know this, Andy? You think? I'm telling
you. A question like this comes up.
Have I received? What does the Scripture say?
about the evidence of the Holy Spirit in a man. I want to know. I'm talking about my soul. Have
you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? I want you to turn
with me to Luke 11.13. Luke 11.13. And then we'll look
at another verse in Matthew for just a second. Luke 11.13. If ye then," this is the end
of a parable that the Lord had given, "...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?" Turn over to Matthew
7.11. I'm going to let Matthew 7-11,
you know, explain what Luke just said, because let me tell you
the question that you had come up in your mind just then. You
say, well, wait a minute. If a man asks for the Holy Spirit,
hasn't he already received the Holy Spirit? If a man asks, Luke,
how much more should your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask Him? That would be my first question
that I'd ask. You mean if a man asked for the
Holy Spirit, hadn't the Spirit of God already been given to
him? Yes, he has. Matthew 7, 11 interprets this
in a way that we can understand. Same statement. If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your heavenly Father, which is in heaven, give
good things to them that ask Him? You know what Matthew and
Luke both said? The Heavenly Father, our Heavenly
Father, gives the manifestation of His Spirit, good things, the
manifestation of His Spirit to those that He's everlastingly
loved. There is something that we are given that tells us, that
convinces us, that shows us that we are God's people now turn
to John 16. I tell you what is the greatest
thing you get something like this subject like this. Don't
ever, ever, ever hesitate. Go to the Word of God and find
out. I said before, opinions, everybody's
got an opinion. Somebody says, what's the evidence
of the Holy Spirit? If they start quoting, you know,
speaking in tongues and they start going Let me tell you something. Go to the Word of God and find
out what is the soundness of these Scriptures and let Scripture
bear witness to Scripture. Listen to the words of our Lord,
John 16, verse 7 and 8. Nevertheless, John 16, 7 and
8. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth. It is expedient. It is for your good. It is expedient
for you that I go away. If I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
Him unto you." Now you listen to this verse right here. This
verse 8. For in this verse is the revelation
of the presence of the Spirit of God in you. When He is come,
He will reprove or convince the world of sin and of righteousness
and of judgment." Now, let's just look at those three things
for just a second, because as I've said before, many times
we read something like this, and we read it and we know it
sounds biblical, You know, you say, well, that's scriptural.
Yeah, but what does it mean? Tell me what it means, and then
I can settle down. If I don't know what it means,
I'm not going to settle down. If I leave out of here with a
question mark in my mind about what was said, it'll bug me. What does that mean? When the
Spirit of God has come, here is the distinguishing mark. Here is the evidence of the good
things that the Father gives those that He loves. If you,
being evil, know how to give good things to your children,
how much more will the Father give good things, the Holy Ghost,
to those that He loves? Here's the first thing. Now,
I'm telling you that here is the evidence. If you want to
know, have you received the Spirit of God? The Scripture says when
the Spirit of God has come, this is what He's going to do. Three
things He's going to do. Reprove the world of sin. The presence of the Holy Ghost,
number one, convinces the world. Now, let me say this concerning
the world. The Spirit of God is going to
convince the world of God's people, the elect of God's people. The
Spirit of God is not going to reprove each and every person
of these things right here, because each and every person doesn't
receive the Spirit of God. Only God's elect do. So when
it says the world, just like God so loved the world, He loved
the order of, Out of that world, out of that order of, God has
a people and only His elect are going to know Him. Only His elect
are going to seek Him. So when it says He reproves the
world, it's those that are in this world that are the true
Israel of God. He will reprove or convince the
world of sin. What is it? That this world, is a sinful place, and I myself,
in myself, in my flesh, there dwells no good thing, that I
can of myself do nothing to please God, that I can by my flesh,
by my will, by my power, I cannot elevate myself out of a fallen
condition. Have you received the Spirit
of God? Let me tell you the first thing that I can tell you truthfully. That is an evidence of God's
Spirit in you. You believe that you're a sinner. You believe that sin is a transgression
of the law. That's what you just read, Buzzcott.
Have you received the Spirit of God? You say you believe.
Have you received the Spirit of God? Has the Spirit of God
convinced you of sin? Has the Spirit of God convinced
you of the wickedness of this world? Now, I'm going to tell
you, left to yourself, left to a man's self, left to a woman's
self, let me tell you what they're convinced of. They're convinced
of that they can do something by their own self-righteous works,
that they are just as good as the other man, and that God somehow
is going to show mercy to them somehow. Somehow. Not a believer. A believer is
convinced, reproved of this truth. Sin is an awful thing. And Almighty God dealt with it
in a substitute for me. Have you received the Spirit
of God? If you have, you're convinced of sin. Without a substitute,
you have no hope. Secondly, The Spirit of God reproves
the world of God's people of righteousness. What does that
mean? That in myself, I don't have
any. In myself, my righteousness, the Scripture says, is just as
filthy rags. The Spirit of God, Christ's advocate,
teaches of Him alone. And if you've received the Spirit
of God, the Holy Ghost, you know that the only righteousness that
God accepts is going to be the righteousness that was wrought,
earned by the Lord Jesus Christ as a man. The man, Christ Jesus, who as
the man, the Son of Man, He who humbled himself, the obedient
servant, God's servant, who lived before God Almighty and obeyed
in every thought and word and deed perfectly the Word of God,
and that God Almighty would take that which He wrought and would
charge it to me and say to me in Him, Well done. You believe that? And you've
received the Holy Ghost. God has convinced you of that.
And you're convinced. It doesn't matter how many times
you've walked down the aisle or how many times you've read
through the Bible. I've had people tell me, I've read through the
Bible four times. I think to myself, I haven't. I've never read through it one
time completely, that I know of. I don't think I have. If
I had, it wasn't in one sitting, I can tell you that. Now I know
I haven't. Man, there are certain passages
I'll read them for the first time. You say, you call yourself
a preacher? I don't know, I guess. I don't
know. I think. Man, I don't have any righteousness
outside of this. If I'm convinced of the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ, that that righteousness is my
righteousness by the grace of God, then I'll receive the Holy
Ghost. And thirdly, he's going to convince
the world of judgment. What do you mean? That means
that if God has given me the Holy Ghost, there's no judgment
for me. Why? Because he was made sin
that I might be made the righteousness of God in him. You see, if a
man has received the Holy Spirit, God, by His Holy Spirit, convinces
him. Convinces him of the exceeding
sinfulness of sin, transgression of God's law, and the surety
of God's judgment against it. He convinces that man of righteousness,
that is, that righteousness is only by the Lord Jesus Christ. And thirdly, convinces him of
judgment, that it's gone from me. That's all of my hope. The Comforter has come. That's the only comfort I've
got. I don't have anything else. I know this, that I'm a sinner
in myself, that righteousness is by God in Christ, and judgment
has been put away by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. These
disciples, obviously, back in Acts 19, obviously, said they
believed and they professed to believe something. All men do
about salvation. They profess something about
salvation. Really, don't all men do? Men
talk about salvation, but there was something that caused the
apostle to question that profession. So he asked them, my question
this evening to me, to you, Is this, have you received the Holy
Ghost since you believe? Is there an evidence of God's
Spirit to you? I don't know. I don't know. I'm
talking about to you. Man looks on the outside. God
sees the heart. Here's my question to me. I'm
just, you know, am I convinced of my need of Christ? That's
a good question. Do I need Him? Am I convinced
that the only righteousness that's going to stand before God Almighty
for me is His righteousness? Man, I want to believe that.
I want to believe that. I pray I do. Somebody says, Boy,
do you ever have doubts? Yeah, I do. Yeah, I do. Man,
I tell you, I'm like the old songwriter. Tis a point I long
to know. Oft it causes anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I His or am I not? If I am, why am I thus? Why this
dull and lifeless frame? Surely, could those be worse
who don't even claim His name. I'm telling you, if I find myself
needing Him, Lord, I need Christ. I need Him. If God has convinced
me of my rebellion against Him as being found in Adam, and that
the only righteousness that God's going to accept is His righteousness
in me, and that He's put away my guilt, in judgment in my substitute,
then I've received the Holy Ghost. If we receive the Holy Ghost, I've trusted Christ for my salvation. Let me ask you this in closing.
Do you perceive a hungering and a thirsting after Christ for
yourself? I'm not I'm not talking about.
I'm not talking about coming to church. I'm not talking about
just merely going through the motions. I'm talking about this
knowing that the spirit of truth. The Lord said in John 14, whom
the world cannot receive because it seeth him not by faith. Neither knoweth him, for he dwelleth
in you and shall be in you. Has He taught you, the Spirit
of Truth, taught you of the One who is Truth? I'm talking about
what it does as it comes. All the focus comes to Him, to
Christ. That's who the Spirit of God
is. I know that there dwells an ever-believer that is in their
flesh. No good thing. But I'll tell
you, there's a new nature that loves God. There's a new nature
that's convinced. of my need of Him. Romans 8.14 says, For as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Led by God's Spirit. Led. That is carried, brought, directed
to know that they have no hope apart from Christ. You know Enoch,
Genesis 5.22. Walked with God. Boy, I read
that and I think to myself, that has got to be the most honorable
statement that I could, I mean, Enoch walked with God. I looked up that word walked
because I think to myself, do I walk with God? He did. Scripture says he did. So I looked
it up. He behaved himself. That's what
it meant. Enoch behaved himself. Enoch knew who he was and he
knew who God was. And he knew it was by the grace
of God that he was what he was. That's what it means, brother
Scott. I say this about you. Scott Richardson walked with
God, behaved himself. He brought down. The Lord taught
him something. He walked with God. That's not
just a mere set of rules and regulations that a man tries
to live by, but it's a walk of separation from this world. It's a walk that just alienates
yourself. by that new nature of the thoughts
and the tactics and the methods of this world. It is a self-denial of any worthiness whatsoever
in this flesh. The ultimate blessing of the
presence of the Spirit of God in a people. Here it is. Here is the ultimate blessing.
It's a settled consolation in your heart. It's a comfort that
settles me down and says to me, God's been gracious to me and
I have nothing else to say. I am what I am by the grace of
God. Have you received the Holy Ghost
since you believed? If God settles your heart, taught
you and convinced you of sin and of righteousness and of judgment,
I believe God's done something for you. And you're comforted
by that. You rest in that. I pray the
Lord bless this to your heart. Okay, Gary, would you leave us
in a moment?