Every Christian on earth met the Holy Spirit (experienced His work) when he or she was saved. The Holy Spirit is as important as the Father or the Son. The Holy Spirit is God, but He is the “forgotten God.” And yet all the work of God in the human heart is done by the Holy Spirit.
- You can’t be SAVED without the Holy Spirit. “Except a person is born of the Water (the Word) and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
- You can’t KNOW you are saved without the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit Himself bears witness to our spirit that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). If you ask me if I am a Christian, I would admit that I can’t explain it, but would go on to say, “I just know inside.” : Ed Hackney, Duke Classmate, carried papers on campus, overflowing with God’s love, and many students asked Ed, “How can you be so sure you are saved?” He always replied, “I have inside information.”
- You can’t UNDERSTAND the Bible without the Holy Spirit. “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God…nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14).
I have a microfilm reproduction of the entire Bible – all 1245 pages and 773,747 words printed in a one inch square. But I can’t make out one word of it. Only with the aid of a high-powered microscope can it be read. And only with the aid of the Holy Spirit can I understand the Bible.
- You cannot PRAY without the Holy Spirit – Romans 8:26. : A pastor visited a woman dying of cancer, and she said, “I am so racked with pain that I cannot gather my thoughts together to pray.” A pastor said, “Well, you can groan, can’t you?” “Oh yes, she replied, “I do that all the time.” “Well, never mind that you can’t formulate prayers. The Holy Spirit translates your groans into eloquent petitions and presents them to the Father.”
- You cannot LIVE A HOLY LIFE without the Holy Spirit. 5:16; Romans 8:2-4.
- You cannot SERVE GOD without the Holy Spirit. The Bible says when you are saved you not only get the GIFT of the Holy Spirit but the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Pet. 4:10. Many of God’s people are running around with their tongues hanging out trying to serve God. What’s wrong? They are trying to accomplish a supernatural task in the energy of their own flesh. It’s insanity but we do it all the time.
- You can’t WITNESS without the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Jesus Himself never preached until after the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and He commands us to “tarry” for power before we try “to carry” the gospel to the world (Luke 24:49f). : Why have thousands been trained to share their faith who never win a soul to Jesus?
- You can’t BE LIKE JESUS without the Holy Spirit – the fruit of the Holy Spirit is a portrait of Jesus (Gal. 5:22-23). It isn’t your fruit. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. You can’t sit in a church or a chair and try to work yourself up to love, to joy, to peace, etc. Such is a natural product of the Holy Spirit living in you.
- You can’t have ABOUNDING JOY AND HOPE without the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
- You can’t HAVE THE KINGDOM OF GOD DWELLING IN YOU without the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).
Conclusion: Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot become a Christian and we certainly cannot live the Christian life. Without Him we’re about as useful to God’s kingdom as an unplugged toaster. Well did D. L. Moody say, “You can see without eyes, hear without ears, eat without a tongue, breath without lungs sooner than you can live the Christian life without the infilling of the Holy Spirit.” But with the Holy Spirit, you can be saved, etc.