Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyvert. In Acts chapter 19, verse 2,
Paul asks this question to these people living in Ephesus. He says, have you received the
Holy Ghost since you believed? I've entitled this message, Have
You received the Holy Ghost. Now, if someone came up to me
today and asked me this question, have you received the Holy Ghost
or have you received the Holy Spirit? I would think what they're
asking me is, do you speak in tongues? Do you perform miracles? When most of the charismatic
movement thinks of the Holy Spirit, they think of the ability to
speak in tongues, some kind of heavenly language, and that is
the evidence that one has received the Holy Spirit. His ability
to speak in tongues, his ability to heal the sick, he has these
supernatural works that he's enabled to do. Now, Let me say
that I don't believe for a second that there is any truth at all
in the charismatic movement. When someone's claiming to speak
in tongues, they're not speaking in tongues, they're just making
noise. The scripture teaches that only through the laying
on of the apostles' hands were these supernatural gifts given. And when the apostles died, there
was no one left who could lay their hands on someone and transfer
these supernatural gifts, and we don't need them. We now have
the full canon of the scripture. We have the written New Testament.
They didn't have that. So when people speak of having
these gifts, they have a spirit, but it's another spirit. It's
not the Holy Spirit, and I wish we could consider this question
without this baggage that is prevalent in our day with regard
to the charismatic movement. I repeat, it's not of God. It's not of God. If you're in
that, you're in something that is not of God. But let's consider this question.
Have you received the Holy Spirit? Now let's see what led Paul to
ask this question. Verse 1 of Acts chapter 19. And it came to pass that while
Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper
coast, came to Ephesus and finding certain disciples. Now it says
they were disciples, doesn't it? But the people in John chapter
six were called disciples who went back and walked no more
with Christ. It's one thing to be called a
disciple. It's another thing to be a disciple. The Lord said, if you continue
in my word, then are you my disciples. Indeed, but it is said that these
people were disciples. And he said unto them, have you
received the Holy Ghost since you believe? Now that's an unusual
thing to ask someone. I believe that Paul saw in these
people something that troubled him. Something didn't measure
up. They claimed to be disciples,
they claimed to have been baptized, but something didn't measure
up. So Paul asks this question. Have you received the Holy Spirit
since you believed? And their answer verifies his
suspicion. Their answer was this. They said
unto him, we've not so much as heard whether there be any Holy
Ghost. We've never heard of the Holy
Spirit. We do not know what you are talking about. Verse three, and he said unto
them, unto what then were you baptized? Now, why would he have
asked this question? Well, he knew that in Christian
baptism, the Lord taught us to baptize in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If they had been baptized, they
would have heard of the Holy Spirit. And so he said, what
happened during your baptism? What kind of baptism did you
have? And they said, into John's baptism.
But he knew that John spoke much of the Holy Spirit. It was John
the Baptist who said, I baptize you with water, but he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He knew that if
they were truly John's disciples, they would have heard John speak
of the Holy Spirit. John had much to say of the Holy
Spirit, so he understood that these people had not really heard
John's baptism even. And so he replies in verse four,
then said, Paul, John, verily baptized with the baptism of
repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him
who should come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. Now, the
baptism of John and Christian baptism, the only difference
is Christ had not yet died when John was baptizing people. And
he said, change your mind and look to him who is to come. Don't
look to your works, you look to him who is to come. But when
the Lord died and was raised from the dead, he taught to baptize
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but
they're the same thing, the same thing. One before the death of
Christ, one after the death of Christ, but they teach the same
thing. We should believe on Christ as everything in salvation. Baptism,
you think of the act, you're above the water, you go under
the water, you're raised back up. You're saying in baptism,
my only hope is that when Christ lived, I lived. When he died,
I died. When he was raised from the dead,
I was raised from the dead. That's what baptism signifies. Now, verse five says, when they
heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now, these people were not rebaptized. You see, baptism is for believers. The Lord said, whoso believeth
and is baptized shall be saved. Now, the reason he said that
is because he's letting us know that only believers are to be
baptized. Not unbelievers, not babies,
believers. And so they were baptized really
for the first time. They had gone through some kind
of religious ritual of going under the water and coming back
up, but it wasn't baptism. But now they're baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands
upon them. Remember, Paul was an apostle.
And we read in Acts chapter 8, when they saw Simon Magus, we
saw by the laying on of the apostles' hands, the Holy Ghost was given. And this is this ability to speak
in other languages. This is the ability to handle
snakes, to drink deadly poison. to heal the sick, to raise the
dead. They had these supernatural gifts
then, and like I said, this died out after the apostles. But Paul,
the apostle, laid his hands on them, and the Holy Ghost came
upon them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied, and all
the men were about seven. But let's go back to this question.
Have you received the Holy Ghost? Question. Who is the Holy Ghost? Now, they had said we have never
even heard whether there be a Holy Ghost. Well, who is the Holy
Ghost? The Holy Spirit is the third
person of the Trinity. Now, we know from the Scriptures,
only from the Scriptures. This is not something we could
know naturally or figure out. But we know from the scriptures,
God is one God in three distinct persons. God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now there's no one like Him.
Somebody says, explain that to me. I can't explain that, I just
believe it. It's what's revealed in the Bible
concerning the person of God. He's one God in three distinct
persons. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter 5, we read when
Peter spoke to Ananias, he said, why has Satan filled thine heart
to lie to the Holy Ghost? And to keep back part of the
price of the land whilst it remained, was it not thine own? And after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived
this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men,
but unto God. When he lied to the Holy Spirit,
he lied unto God. God the Holy Spirit is a person. He's not a force, he's not an
influence, he's a person. He's just as much God as God
the Father and God the Son. Now he is introduced in creation. The very first verses of Genesis
says the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. He was involved in the creation
of the universe. He's called in scriptures the
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit
of Truth, the Spirit of Grace, the Spirit of your Father, the
Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of life, the Spirit of glory. I love this name the Lord gives
him, the Comforter. Anytime you or I are comforted
by the gospel, it's God the Holy Spirit who ministers that comfort
to us. He's called the Eternal Spirit.
He never began to be. He is eternal. He's the Lord. The Lord is that spirit. I love the way God the Holy Spirit
is called by Paul, the Lord. Now, it's God the Holy Spirit
who wrote the Bible. Now, the Bible is the inspired
Word of God. That's what it claims. And Peter
said this in 2 Peter 1.21, that holy men of God spake as they
were moved. by the Holy Ghost. There is no
true revelation from God apart from this book, what the Holy
Spirit has recorded. I'm so thankful for the Word
of God. And God, the Holy Spirit, wrote
this book. It was the Holy Spirit who came
upon the Virgin Mary and caused her to conceive the Son of God.
You see, Christ Jesus was born of a virgin. If he would have
been born like you and I are born, by a son of Adam and a
daughter of Adam, he would have had a sinful nature, but he was
not born of the seed of Adam. He was born of a virgin, and
only through that can he not be a sinner. He is the Son of
God. Listen to this scripture. The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest
shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." God
the Holy Spirit is the author of the new birth. Except a man
be born of the Spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of
God except a man be born of the Spirit. He cannot see the kingdom
of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. You
see, if you are a Christian, God the Holy Spirit has birthed
you. He has given you life. You have a divine life that you
did not have before. You see, the new birth is not
God changing a man. It's Him putting something there
that was not there before. That new nature, that holy nature,
that sinless nature, born of the Spirit of God. The Spirit
can't give birth to that which is sinful. That's why every believer
has two natures, a holy nature and a sinful nature. Somebody
says, well, I can't see that. Well, then you only have one
spirit. If you're a believer, you know you have two natures.
You have a holy nature and you have a nature that is nothing
but sin. Now, he is the creator of spiritual
life. The Lord said it is the spirit
that quickens, that gives life. The flesh profiteth nothing. We're born into this world dead
in sins. The scripture says the natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. You hath
he quickened who are dead in trespasses and sins. And we will
remain dead until God the Holy Spirit gives us life, spiritual
life, eternal life. In Romans chapter five, verse
five, we're told that he is given. to us. Now, when the question
is asked, have you received the Holy Spirit? Well, you have if
he's been given to you. If he hadn't been given to you,
you haven't received him. But if he's been given to you, you
have received him and you've received him like a baby receives
life in the womb. That reception didn't cause the
life. The life caused the reception. It is conceived, it receives. First Corinthians 2.14 says,
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
because they're foolishness unto him. If you don't have a new
nature. spiritual nature, if you're not
born again, you cannot possibly understand the gospel. It's just
going to be foolishness to you. If somebody says, I think what
you're saying is foolishness, well, if you don't have the Spirit
of God, you'll think it's foolishness. That's what the Scripture says
you would think. You see, The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness
unto him neither indeed can he know them because they're spiritually
discerned. I have to be given a new nature. I'm shut up to God birthing me
into the kingdom before I'll ever understand the things of
the Spirit of God. And this life comes through the
preaching of the Word. Peter spoke of preaching the
gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. Paul said in
1 Corinthians 1.21, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to save them to believe. Now it's not the power of the
preacher, it's the power of God, the Holy Spirit, taking his word
and begetting life through that word. It's not the gifts and
the skill of the preacher. One preacher is no different
than another. We're just flesh. It's God the Holy Spirit that
takes the Word and blesses it and creates spiritual life. We read, being born again, not
of corruptible seed. but of incorruptible, by the
word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." Second Thessalonians
2.13 says, we're bound to thank God always for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord. Because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth. Now what is the evidence of sanctification
of the Spirit? Belief of the truth. Belief of
the truth is what happens when one is sanctified, given life
by the Spirit of God. In 2 Corinthians 3.17, Paul said,
the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is liberty. Now, most people's religion is
bondage. It makes people very unhappy.
They're not getting to do what they really want to do. And they're
doing what they really don't care to do, but they are in bondage. They're afraid of what will take
place. If they don't, they're afraid
they'll be judged, they'll become sick. God will take something
if they don't do this. And that's not of the Spirit
of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there's liberty. There's freedom. The freedom
of knowing that I stand before God without guilt. I stand before
God justified because of what Christ did for me. I don't owe
anything but love because all my debts have been paid and I
am walking with the Lord because that's what I want to do, not
because I'm afraid not to. That is what I want to do. Where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Now, Paul made this
statement in Romans 8, beginning in verse 12, Therefore, brethren,
we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For
if you live after the flesh, you shall die. But if you through
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you've not received
the spirit of bondage, again, to fear, afraid of what's going
to happen to you, afraid God's going to punish you, afraid God's
going to take something from you if you don't measure up.
You've received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba,
Father. Let's go back to verse 13 for
just a moment. If you live after the flesh,
you shall die, but if you through the spirit do mortify the deeds
of the body, you shall live. Now, does that mean that God
the Holy Spirit enables you to put to death sin in your life
so you do not have the same sinful passions, you do not commit the
same sins that you did before you were saved. God the Holy
Spirit enables you to mortify the flesh and to put it down
and you become more holy and less sinful. Well, in the context,
Romans chapter 7 completely denies that. In Romans chapter 7, what
I read is Romans chapter 8, and you've got to look in Romans
chapter 7 where Paul said, what I hate, I do. What I want to
do, I don't do it. He speaks of the two natures.
What Paul is saying is if you, through the Spirit, put to death
any hopes of being saved by the deeds done in your body, you'll
live. And the only way you will do
that is by the Spirit of the Living God. In Ephesians 1, 13
and 14, we're said to be sealed. Every believer is said to be
sealed with the Spirit of God, and He's preserved. And God the
Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance. He's the guarantee
that we will stand justified because we have His Spirit. That's proof that He has done
something for us. And there's a knowledge that
comes with God the Holy Spirit. were renewed in knowledge after
the image of Him that created Him. That's what the new birth
is. It's a new creation. bringing something from nothing.
There was nothing there in us to work with. We're nothing but
sin. He created a new nature, and here's the knowledge of that
nature. It's where Christ is all. Anyone who has been taught
by God the Holy Spirit knows that Christ is all. He's all that God is. He's all
that God requires. He's all that this book speaks
of. He is all in my salvation. I'm not saved because of anything
I've done. I'm saved because Jesus Christ
is all. That is the knowledge of the
new nature. Paul said, now we've received
not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God,
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God. If you have the Holy Spirit,
you know everything that you have from God. He's given freely. It's not His response to something
you have done or not done. He gives it freely. Grace really is free. Have you received the Holy Spirit? Well, if you have, and if I have,
two things will be very clear. Number one, I am a great sinner. Now somebody that has the Holy
Spirit understands that. A natural man cannot understand
sin. He thinks sin is actions. He doesn't understand that sin
is in nature. He thinks you become a sinner when you sin. He doesn't
understand that you sin because you are a sinner. Born in sin,
dead in sin, wicked, evil, unable to save yourself. If you have
the Holy Spirit, you see that about yourself. And if you do
not see that about yourself, it's because you've never been
born in the Spirit. You see, He's the Holy Spirit, and there's
no understanding of sin without God the Holy Spirit. But not
only do you understand that you're a sinner, You understand that
He's a greater Savior. You understand something about
the all-sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ. That when He said,
it is finished, nothing else is needed. All sin is put away. All sin is blotted out. All sin is forgiven. You have
His righteousness. What a glorious Savior He is. He's incapable of failure. He's
able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Now, I would like
to close by looking at a passage of scripture from Philippians
chapter 3. And in this, Paul says in verse
3, we are the circumcision. We are the true Jews. Now, the Jews are not the people
who live in the Middle East, although there is a national
Israel. But the true Jew is the believer. Somebody with a circumcised
heart. Somebody that has been given
a new nature. That is the true Jew. And Paul
says, for we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit. in the Holy Spirit. There is no worship of God without
the Holy Spirit. The flesh, my flesh, your flesh,
cannot worship God. It is only by God the Holy Spirit.
That's why I don't say, come worship God with us. I hope you
do, but I know you only will if God has given you a nature
that can worship. Holy Spirit. Now, how do I know
if I'm worshiping God in the Holy Spirit? He says, we are
the circumcision which worship God in the Holy Spirit and rejoice
in Christ Jesus. If you worship in the Spirit,
it will cause you to look only to Christ. That word rejoice
means glory and boast in. Same word that Paul used with
reference to Galatians 6.14, God forbid that I should glory.
saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you have the
Holy Spirit, you will look only to Christ. You'll have confidence
in only in who He is and only in what He did. We are the circumcision
which worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh. Now, if you really are worshiping
God in the Spirit, If you really do rejoice only in Christ Jesus,
you really will have no confidence in the flesh. You don't have
any confidence in anything you've done. Anything that comes from
you, you realize is sinful. It's unacceptable. God can't
accept it. It's of the flesh. You have no confidence in the
flesh. You have no confidence in your fleshly experience. You
have confidence only in Christ. Now, somebody that has God the
Holy Spirit, that's received Him, they worship God in the
Spirit, they rejoice in Christ Jesus, and they have no confidence
in the flesh. Now, we have this message on
DVD and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg praying God
will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's our prayer.
Amen. To receive a copy of the sermon
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