The Gift of the Spirit | Pastor Paul McGee

Welcome to the First Apostolic Church podcast.

Our church mission is to love as God loves showing compassion

every soul, thus winning those souls and equipping them to be

sent out to plant and to harvest.

Thank you for joining us today, and we hope that you are blessed

by today's podcast. Give him the praise.

Good to be here today. Good to see each of you.

Amen. This morning, the House of the

Lord. We're going to be turned into

Acts chapter #2 this morning. Acts chapter #2 Amen.

We've had spring conference this weekend up in Newcastle, and the

Lord's spirit was rich and God showed speaking about God

showing up and in all of his spirit.

We were just having what was called the informed talks on

Saturday, almost like a little 20 minute blurbs of informed

talks. And even during those, the

Spirit of Lord just rushed into that place at a particular time.

So it doesn't matter the setting and it doesn't necessarily

matter the content, Amen. And God can show up anytime God

wants to show up, Amen. And so we got home last night

later in the afternoon and I came over here to the church to

pray and went home. I was kind of exhausted.

I laid down, went to sleep, got up at 1:00, did some studying

for about a couple hours, went back to bed.

It just just all kinds of messed up stuff.

And I told my wife as I woke up this morning, I must have just

been dreaming about then coming to the church this morning and,

and ministering and stuff. And it was like I, I was

floundering around about what was going to be done and, and,

and my dad was saying now, son, don't worry about it.

Don't worry about it. I didn't realize you had all

this going on this weekend. And I, I take care of said no I.

Got it, I got it. It's OK.

And I went to the pulpit and I said, let's turn to the book of

Genesis. So I don't know what's going on

today. I told you I was in Genesis

mode, but we're in the book of Acts.

Amen. You know as well as anything,

and I've said this many times, that I think that there are just

some things that must be mentioned, preached, taught

every year, every year in the church that we need to talk

about certain things. Like so far this year I've

already taught or preached along the lines of faith, all right,

or belief and grace and baptism. This morning I want to talk

about the gift of the Spirit today.

Amen. If we can, I think it's

important that we constantly talk about these type of things.

So go to a very, very familiar passage to many of Acts chapter

#2 and verses 37 and 38 as a, as purely a launching point.

Amen. Here today, the Bible states

these words in verse #37. Now when they heard this, they

were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest

of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?

Then Peter said unto them, repent, be baptized everyone of

you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and

ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Again today I want to talk about the gift of the Spirit and it's

called several different things and historically anytime I talk

about the Holy Ghost I'm long winded.

So I'm going to try to pick up my feet and put them down today

just because historically that's the way it goes.

Amen. So, Lord, we come to you today.

We're thankful, Lord, for this opportunity to be here.

We're thankful, O Lord Jesus, today, God, that you're able to

renew, restore, refresh. Lord, in our lives, God, bring

Lord, and introduce something, Lord, to us.

Perhaps God, our ears have not heard.

I pray Jesus or Lord remind us God of this gift, Lord, that we

have Lord been made partakers of and everyone or another.

The sound of my voice can be I pray, O Lord Jesus, by the power

of your spirit today you're capable of doing it in Jesus

name. Everyone say Amen.

You may be. Seeing it this morning.

The gift of the Spirit or the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Not two separate entities or two separate things, but exactly the

same thing. As a matter of fact, in the

Greek language which the New Testament was written in, there

is one word that both is translated ghost and spirit.

So you don't hurt my feelings if you want to call it the Holy

Spirit, Holy Ghost matters not. To me and the Greek it have been

the same word anyway. And so we're talking about one

and the same thing throughout Scripture.

It's called several different things, or at least relayed to

as several different things. We're talking about the birth of

the Spirit in Scripture. It's called the gift of the

Spirit. It's called receiving the

Spirit. Other places in the epistles,

it's called the baptism of the Spirit.

All these things are one and the same thing.

They are not individual different things, but they are

the same thing. Receiving the Holy Spirit

according to the word of the Lord is not a second or a third

blessing that come to you after conversion, as some would attest

to. This isn't separate from a

person's conversions. It's not from a person being

saved, but it is a crucial part of being born again, of the

water and of the of the Spirit is a crucial part of the new

birth experience. As a matter of fact, the Bible

tells us in the Epistles that the way into the body, or the

way into this thing called the body of Christ, is by baptism,

as many are baptized into Christ.

Have put on Christ, but that's not just a water baptism but

also a Spirit baptism our way into the body is by baptism both

water and spirit into this this this thing called the body of

Christ. The Bible says have a lot of

Bible today Amen. First Corinthians chapter 12 and

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

verse 13. For by 1 Spirit are we all

baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether

we be bond or free. In other words, it is the same

responsibility and plan for each and every individual regardless.

Jew, Gentile, bond free. Doesn't matter who you are, what

your age demographic is, what your socioeconomic status is,

what your race is. It is the same plan for all for

all. Have been made to drink, the

Bible says, into one Spirit. And so baptism is is spirit.

Baptism is a theme here in First Corinthians chapter #12 it's

constantly dealing with the works of the Spirit, Amen.

And even delves over into other aspects of the Spirit.

So in order to be in the body, the one body, not a multiplicity

of bodies of Christ. But the one body of Christ,

Amen. To be In order to be in the body

of Christ, we must be baptized into it by this Spirit.

Amen. And that is what we're calling

the gift of the Spirit or the infilling.

Of the Holy. Ghost.

Amen. And to deny our our our need or

the essentiality of that would in essence to be denying our

placement then in that one and only body.

Amen that the scripture speaks of.

Christ has one body. He has one church as it's

described in the scripture. Other times it's spoken of as a

bride. He has one wife, one bride.

So to speak, one people, Amen. And labeled as they may be, they

are by 1 Spirit, placed in that, placed in the bride of Christ,

placed in the church, if you will.

And so repentance and baptism alone, according to Scripture

alone, does not achieve our placement in the body in and of

themselves by themselves. It takes this trifecta of

repentance and and and and baptism and the infilling of the

Holy Ghost, and for that matter, faith and belief.

Have we even looked at in other verses of Scripture in previous

Sundays? John chapter #3 and verse 3 A

man called Nicodemus, who was a part of the Sanhedrin court,

Amen. Of the Jews came to Jesus by

night. He had some questions.

He was inquisitive about this born again experience as it

would come to be or seeing and enter into the Kingdom of

heaven. The Bible says in John 33, Jesus

answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee,

except a man be born again. We, we touched on this just a

little bit a few weeks ago, Speaking of Zion and the church

and how those were born of several different notable

places. But to be born of Zion, they're

going to count. Those that have been born in

Zion, he says must be born again.

He cannot see the Kingdom of God, Nicodemus saith unto him.

How can a man be born when he is old, right?

He's thinking through the mindset of something very

natural. Can he enter the second time

into his mother's womb and be born?

Valid question. Good question, Nicodemus.

And Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except

a man be born of water and of the Spirit.

And so Jesus is further defining what being born again entails.

He's elaborating on his phrase being born again and elaborating

that this is born of water and of spirit.

He says he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.

Well, every single one of us, I believe it would be the desire

to enter into this Kingdom of God, to see heaven someday as,

as Jesus even referred to, you cannot even see the Kingdom of

heaven unless this happens. And so I, I want that.

I want to be a part of that and some some may ask, you know,

have you accepted Christ in your heart that I know that's a very

popular question in our society today, but I believe the more

correct question is this have you been born again?

Have you been born again because they born again Christian is

born according to the scriptures of water.

That's baptism that we have looked at at other times,

baptism by immersion in his name, Amen.

And his name is Jesus Christ or the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it is also being born of the Spirit, which is the the

receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost, which according to

Scripture, we understand has a instantaneous sign or a

revelation that that has taken place, which is speaking in

other tongues as the Spirit that you just receive gives the

utterance that's according to the word of God.

And we'll talk more about that later.

And so there is a a sense of repentance that is implied in

Scripture anytime that it talks that we have been buried with

him and baptism. There is a there is an inference

or an implication that repentance has taken place

because again, print repentance Mears his death.

Baptism mirrors his burial. The infilling of the Holy Ghost

mirrors his resurrection. If you've been buried, then

you've died. So when we talk about that, it

is implied that repentance has taken place.

If you're going to be baptized in his name, we don't baptize

anybody around here who has not repented, right?

Because we're going to baptize that which was dead.

They didn't put Jesus in the ground while there was breast

still in his lungs. There was death.

There was the cruel, the the cruel and the the agony of his

flesh on the cross, Amen, that died.

And when we repent, our flesh dies, right?

We it's the mortification of the deeds of the flesh that happen,

Amen, through the aspect of repentance.

And so the Bible, whenever it talks about baptism and it's

this is laid out in the book of Acts and then reaffirmed in the

epistles, which were written to churches who were already saved

already Christian people. The Bible talks about baptism

that we are Speaking of baptized with the Holy Ghost or but the

Spirit that were baptized with the Holy Ghost or baptized by

the Holy Ghost or baptized in the Holy Ghost or baptized of

the Holy Ghost. All those different words, you

know change there, but it all basically means the exact same

thing. We are baptized by the Spirit.

All these terms are used. We're talked about being

baptized with the Spirit, places are talked about being filled

with the Spirit, received the Spirit, the Spirit fell on them,

it came upon on them, it was poured out upon them.

This is all one and the same experience that we're talking

about today in the Scripture. Peter called the same

experience, but the gift of the Holy Ghost and the baptism of

the Holy Ghost Peter did in Acts Chapter 11 and verse 15.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

The Bible states these words and as I began to speak, the Holy

Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning.

He's referring back to Pentecost us at the beginning, verse 16.

Then remember to I the word of the Lord, how that he said John

indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the

Holy Ghost. Verse 17 for as much then as God

gave them the like gift as he did unto us again he's

referencing Pentecost who believed on the Lord Jesus

Christ. What was I that I could

withstand God. He's kind of going to bat here

because the Holy Ghost had come upon the Gentiles just in the

exact same way that it fell on the Jews the way that the Jews

received the Holy Ghost and then with repentance and baptism in

his name and speaking in tongues when they received it.

The Gentiles just like it happened the first time on the

day of Pentecost. It was happening to the Gentiles

now, those people who the Jews kind of snubbed a little bit,

all those are Gentile people, he said.

The exact same thing happened to them that happened to us.

They're just as much a part of the body and a part of the

church now as we are part of the body in the church.

Because there's only one way to become a part of it.

And they've experienced, they've experienced the exact same thing

as we did. Amen.

Just like we did. Amen.

And so you know, then he he, he put the two together about the

Holy Ghost falling on them and speaking that John said, I,

there's going to come one after me and whose shoes I'm not

unable to unlatch. Who will baptize you with the

Holy Ghost, right. It's a baptism of the Holy

Ghost. It's a gift of the Holy Ghost.

So we know in Scripture, we know throughout Scripture.

We know in in the book of Peter, we know from the book of

Leviticus. God said in the book of

Leviticus, be therefore holy, for I am holy.

Peter picks up on that, quotes it in the New Testament in his

book and Peter and says, for the Lord said He is holy, therefore

be holy, and so our God is holy. We know according to John 424,

Amen. That whenever Jesus met the

woman that was at the well of Samaria, Amen, He spoke to her

and he said that God is a spirit.

They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in

truth. We know from both Old and New

Testaments that God is holy. We know according to the New

Testament and other places that God is a spirit.

We know according to Ephesians 4, four, that there is one Lord,

1 faith, one baptism, that there is also one spirit.

When God and Father is above all in, on through you all, we know

there's one Spirit. So if we know God is holy and we

know God is spirit, and there's only one spirit, then we know

unequivocally this morning that the Holy Spirit is God.

We call it the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost.

It is God. And so when you receive the Holy

Ghost, when you receive that, you receive the spirit.

Spirit of God is in you. God is operating in your life.

He's came and made you his residence.

The reason why the book Corinthians says, know ye not

that ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost.

You have become a dwelling place of God here in the earth.

Amen. The Bible says in first

Corinthians 3 and verse #17 If any man defile the temple of

God, speaking about these bodies, him shall God destroy.

For the temple of God, which are these bodies is holy.

Which temple He states explicitly ye are.

Again, I've referred to this First Corinthians 6 and verse

19. What know ye not that your body

is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have a

God and ye are not your own. We are again the temples of the

Holy Ghost. We've looked at this before, but

folks understand where the Tabernacle and the wilderness

that was created by Moses. The design was God's, the

information was God's, but whenever he finished the

Tabernacle, the Bible says that the cloud came in and filled the

house whenever Solomon made the temple.

Amen. For the presence and spirit of

God with all of its embellishments of gold and

silver, nothing like it. The Bible says on dedication day

when they put that of the covenant in its place, Amen.

And everything was said and done that again, a cloud of the

Spirit of the Lord filled the house.

That cloud was denoted as the presence in the Spirit of God

that was in His Tabernacle, that was in his temple.

In the New Testament. You become what the Old

Testament Tabernacle was. You become what the Old

Testament temple of Solomon was, and God's Spirit wants to dwell

in you, Amen. We're doing all right.

Like the micro machine man up here right that dates me.

Peter lets us know that the promise the Holy Ghost is for

everyone. Someone say me.

He said in verse #37 that it's verse #30.

Nine rather that it's for you, it's for your children, all that

are far off, as many as God calls.

That tells me then, that the Holy Ghost wasn't just for the

1st century church. Holy Ghost is just not for the

1st century church. And that also tells me that it

just wasn't for the. Jew, but even those that were

afar off. If you read your Bibles in the

book of Ephesians, what it begins to describe as those that

were afar off were the Gentiles. They were far off.

The Jews are those that are spoken of being near, the Bible

says because of the blood of Christ Jesus, those who were

once afar off. He's made nigh.

Why? Because his blood and his work

of Calvary made his spirit accessible to each and every

individual, not just quote UN quote covenant people of Old

Testament scripture, Jewish people made it accessible to

all. And so he bare me my night by

the blood of Jesus Christ. And so the call today has been

extended. Amen To your children, your

children's children, those that are far off.

Can I tell you today the call has been extended to whosoever

will. Whosoever will the Bible says in

John chapter #7 and verse 37, It's at the last day of the

feast. Jesus is standing there, and he

speaks and shares some words in the last day.

That great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,

If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink, And he that

believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his

belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The parentheses gives us explanation in verse 39.

But this fake key of the Spirit, what that living water that

would come out of your life? He was talking about the Spirit.

He was talking about the Holy Ghost, which they that believe

on him, on Jesus should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet

given because Jesus was not yet glorified, in other words.

There was no disbursement of the Holy Ghost up on mankind of it

living inside of them, because Christ had not yet here in the

book of John, He has not been yet crucified.

He's not went to the grave and he's not resurrected, but he's

speaking to the unprophetically of what shall happen.

Hey, man, he's saying if you're thirsty, you can come to me.

And after glorification, which was His death, burial,

resurrection, and ultimately ascension, after all that takes

place, you shall have a river of living water coming for from

you, Amen. And it will be the power of the

Holy Ghost, Amen. But notice he says if you thirst

coming to me, that's the call Revelation 22 and verse 17.

The Bible says in the Spirit and the Bride say come and let him

that here say come and let him that is a thirst come again this

thirsty symbolism and whosoever will let him take of the water

of life freely. We're we're at the closing

chapter of the book of the Bible of the entirety of all this

explanation of revelation of the apocalypse and things that are

to come and yet to take place. And he saying the spirit, the

bride's making the invitation, the spirit and the bride is

making it. The spirit is the church is

they're echoing it. There's invitation.

And the invitation is this. If you're thirsty for something

beyond what you've experienced thus far, if you are thirst, if

you've tried everything else and there's still a longing of a

thirst in your life, He says come, if you're thirsty, come.

Whosoever will let him come. What is that?

That's a call and an invitation that doesn't just hit the Jew,

the Gentile, the Samaritan, that hits every woman, boy, girl,

national for be raised whosoever will let him come.

In other words, you have been invited.

You've been invited. The Holy Ghost was not given

until Jesus was glorified again, His death, burial, resurrection,

His ascension. The Bible says in Hebrews 9 and

verse #15 for this 'cause He is the mediator.

Of the New Testament Speaking of Christ Jesus that by.

Means of death. For the redemption of the

transgressions that were under the First Testament or First

covenant, they which are called might receive the promise of.

An eternal, eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there

must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

Verse 17 For a testament is a force after men are dead,

otherwise it is in no strength at all while the testator liveth

the testament or the covenant, the contract, if I could even

say it like this. The will, many of you sitting

here today may already have wheels and estates and things

that set in writing, but that holds no power until you die

upon death. Upon death, the will or the

words in the construct of the covenant comes into play.

Jesus made a promise, a covenant, a will with people,

but as long as the testator is alive, it has no impact.

He though died and upon his death the wheel comes into

force. Hallelujah when the the testator

dies. Here is the peculiar situation

concerning Jesus. He didn't stay dead, but he had

to die in order for the enforcement.

He had to die in order for the enforcement of the contract, for

the enforcement of the covenant, for the enforcement of the

Testament. He had to go through all of that

for the Holy Ghost Spirit. And filling would be possible

for hey, man, it's no, no effect unless the testator dies.

And he says if this happens, then the promise will be a

eternal inheritance that is sitting there in waiting just

for the testator to die. There's an eternal inheritance,

Amen, that will come to those that meet the qualifications of

the will someone say Amen. So the Holy Ghost, that promise

we see in Scripture was not given until Jesus was glorified.

And his glorification, all it followed, His humiliation.

Everything that he went through concerning the cross, Isaiah

talked about it that we read in Scripture in Acts chapter #8 I

believe it is whenever Philip goes, sees the eunuch and he's

reading in Scripture concerning Isaiah and he talks about in his

humiliation, Amen. Well, well, that's where it

reads in Scripture. But his humiliation was really a

glorification, Amen. For all those that would be

involved. The Bible says in John 14 and

verse 16, this is Jesus speaking.

Jesus speaking, He says I will pray the Father that he shall

give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever.

Jesus as a man to it that God was in Christ, said Corinthians

5. But Jesus is both a human nature

and a divine nature, right? Human nature, divine nature,

human nature. He comes to the Samaritan woman,

the well. He's worried with his journey

and he's a thirst. Human nature, He's on the boat,

he's sleeping on a pillow. Human nature, he's hungered when

he's fasted 40 days, divine nature.

He steps to foot on the same boat and causes the wind and the

sea to cease. Divine nature.

He stands out of grave and says, Lazarus, come forth.

There's a human nature side to him, but there's also a divine

nature side to him. Jesus as a man in his humanity

had a prescribed number of years upon this thing we call earth.

He had his 33 1/2 or so years that He had upon this thing we

call earth. Hey man, but the Spirit, the

Spirit, God, Spirit of that man Christ Jesus, was eternal.

Hey man, there is no such thing. Read your Bible, look at it

through and through. There is no such thing as the

Eternal Son, but there is such a thing as the Eternal Spirit

because the flesh human side of Jesus had a beginning in

Bethlehems Manger as a human being, and it fell off of the

earth a man whenever it died and resurrected.

But the spirit of that man does not have a beginning, nor does

it have an ending. When you are filled with the

baptism of the Holy Ghost, you are filled with a eternal

spirit. It cannot be extinguished

because it does not have a beginning and there is no ending

to it. It is power.

It is someone say Amen, Hallelujah, and so the aspect of

Jesus. Yeah, He was always in the mind

and the will of God from the very beginning that that would

be his purpose. That would be his plan upon this

earth in the sense of eternity. It was always in the thought

processes, Amen. And the plan of God that this

would happen from Bethlehem and this would happen at Calvary and

all of these things. But that's the only eternity of

Jesus we have, not in bodily form, but in concept the bodily

form about 33 1/2 years upon the earth as you and I are.

Bible says John 14 verse 26. But the comforter says I should

John 14:26

give you another comforter that may Bible for you forever.

But the Comforter, which in it describes what this Comforter

is, which is the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit, or the gift of

the Spirit, or the gift of God, you can throw all the other

things around there, whom the Father will send in my name,

which it did all right. He shall teach you all things,

and bring all things to your remembrance, and whatsoever have

and whatsoever I have said unto you, look at it again.

Look into the Comforter John chapter 15 and verse 26.

John 15 · chapter mention

But when the. Comforter, which we know is the

Holy Ghost according to the Scripture, is come whom I will

send unto you from the Father. Here's another another

description of it. Even the Spirit of truth.

So the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth.

The Holy Ghost is the Comforter which proceeded from the Father.

He shall testify important, someone say important.

He says the comforter, which we know to be the Holy Ghost

according to John chapter #14 the Spirit of truth.

He's telling us that when he sends that, that he, that spirit

of truth, that Holy Ghost shall testify.

He's going to be like something that's giving evidence and

utterance on the trial. The Spirit will testify.

The Spirit will produce evidence.

He says it shall testify of me. Someone say Amen.

It well, I'm just feeling like a circus inside right now.

I'm telling you right now, it's all five rings going.

It shall testify of me, folks, just what we're talking about.

We'll talk about a little bit more later, but whenever you.

Receive the gift of the Holy Ghost whenever you receive the

Spirit of God, this comforter, this Holy Ghost that's being

spoken of here in John, it's going to testify and its first

testimony will be speaking in of their tongues as the Spirit

gives entrance it is producing evidence of.

Him he said, It shall testify of me.

John 16 and verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the

truth, it is expedient for you that I go away.

This is Jesus speaking for if I go not away.

The Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will

send him unto you. Now we understand Jesus Christ

is here in flesh and blood, right to it, to it, that God was

in Christ, that Spirit was in Christ.

But Christ is going to die. He's going to resurrect and he's

going to ascend into the heavens.

But the Spirit of Christ or the Spirit of God, one and the same

would be sent back to His people on the day of Pentecost.

And that continues from Pentecost till now till He comes

back for His people. Now I know everybody wants to

bring up Luke 1. Everybody wants to bring up, you

know, the three different scenarios where the Bible speaks

that John the Baptist says, says that the John the Baptist from

his womb had the Holy Ghost, Sir, that Elizabeth upon the

salutation of Mary, that that Zacharias upon even the naming

of his Son, that these different things are all spoken as being

filled with the Holy Ghost in Scripture, in Luke chapter #1

John the Baptist again, Elizabeth at the salutation of

Mary Zacharias upon name of the Son have received the gift of

received or have been filled as the words, as the language

filled with the Holy Ghost again, what did John 7 tell us?

He says this. He spoke of the Holy Ghost but

had not been given because the Lord had not been crucified, so

that it couldn't take place until this had happened.

So being filled with the Holy Ghost in this instance of John

or Luke chapter #1 cannot be the same sense as we talk about

being filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost and the

subsequent verses and chapters that happened thereafter because

death, burial, resurrection has not taken place yet in Luke 1.

If that was the case, there'd be a contradiction with John

chapter #7 of what Jesus said himself in John chapter #16 but

they were filled in the sense that even people in the Old

Testament were moved upon by the Holy Ghost.

The Bible says that the Spirit moved upon Samson, and he did

some tremendous exploits. He wasn't, he wasn't embodied

with the Spirit, but the Spirit moved upon him and empowered him

to do some things. When you read in the book of

Ephesians that the Bible talks about being not drunk with wine,

wherein wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit.

When you look up at that word and the same word that's used in

Luke, it means to be controlled. So you can be controlled by the

Spirit of God without being filled with the spirit of.

God, people of old were moved upon by the Spirit.

And so when we speak of John the Baptist and Elizabeth and

Zacharias, all these haven't been filled.

The Holy Ghost before death, buried, resurrection, they were

being moved upon and controlled to a certain degree, Amen, by

the power of the Spirit. But after the death, burial and

resurrection of Jesus Christ in the, in the ascension, people

then that were filled by the Spirit were actually embodied by

the Spirit of the Lord and yes, still controlled by the Spirit

of the Lord. But it's in that that he wasn't

just with them, but he was in them.

He makes, he makes the distinction in John chapter 14

John 14 · chapter mention

and verse #17 He says even the spirit of truth.

What do we know already? The spirit of truth is the

Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.

We're all talking about the same thing.

Even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because

it seeth him not neither know of him, but ye know him, for he

dwelleth with you. How?

How is that Spirit dwelling with them by virtue of Jesus Christ

in flesh and blood, that the Spirit in dwelt, Huh.

He's with them by that. But when Christ is away, how,

how in the world is this going to happen?

He says, for he dwelleth with you, but shall be in you.

All right, you're going to experience a mode of the spirit

during Jesus earthly ministry and before that is in a certain

category, but after the dead, burial, resurrection and

ascension and then you're going to experience it in a whole new

fashion and way. It's not just going to be with

you, outside of you, alongside of you.

No, no, no, no, it's going to be in someone say Amen in you and

it will if you will allow yourself to live in such a way,

it will abide for never for that Mary for that matter.

When are we talking about Mary and all this stuff?

Mary was in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

Mary was in that seven day that or 10 day prayer meeting.

Amen. That was leading up to the

promise of the Father. Really.

You remember he told his disciples go tarry him to

Jerusalem, huh? You're going to be in due a

power from on high. I'm sending the promise of my

Father there, and Mary's found among that group that's sitting

up there on the day of Pentecost.

It would not have been necessary for Mary to been there had she

already experienced salvation. It would not have been important

for her to be there if she already experienced this.

But she couldn't experience it till her son died and was buried

and resurrected and ascended. Mary needed the Holy Ghost, some

of his own brothers. Yeah, all of them.

Who cares? I don't care if Jesus was your

relative or not. If you have not the spirit of

Christ, you're none of his. That's Romans 8.

That's blunt, but it's quite understandable.

The chapter 24 and verse 49 the Bible says Jesus speaking and

behold I send the promise. Look at this, this is again

prior to ascension. And behold, I send the promise

of my Father upon you, but carry in Jerusalem until you be endued

with. Power from on high look Acts one

and four, and being assembled together with them, commanded

them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the

promise of the Father. Again, other terminology.

Call it spirit of. True.

Call it the Holy Ghost, Call it Comforter, call it the promise

of the Father, All the same thing which he which which saith

he, ye have heard of me. Acts 2, verse 33.

Acts 2:33

I told you I had a thought. I said I had a lot.

I'm not lying, not a lying preacher today.

Amen. Verse 33 of Acts 2.

Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having

received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He

has shed forth this the Holy Ghost, which ye now see and

hear. Get away here, because this is

Acts 233 all right, because we have Acts two and one.

Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a relishing might

even win, and it fell, blown all the house where they were

sitting. And then you begin to speak in

other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And that's when some are amazed and some are mocking.

And there's like this, this conflicting of emotion of

different people about what's being noised abroad from the

upper room. And it got, you know, the

attention of some. And some are saying, oh, they're

a bunch of drunks out there. And that's when Peter stands up,

said, no, they're not drunk as you suppose, being just but the

third hour of the day. But this is that which was

spoken by the prophet Joel in the last days.

I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons

and your daughters shall prophecy.

What is the prophecy? It's the testimony.

That the Spirit. Empowers.

So they're they're they're. Going to speak and so all of

this has taken place. So when we get to verse #33 he's

saying, hey, this is what's happened.

This is the Holy Ghost. This is the promise of the

Father. This is the Holy Ghost that's

taken place. He have he have shed forth the

Holy Ghost. Note now, though, which ye the

Holy Ghost, You, you, you, you. See that this Holy Ghost you now

see in it and hearing. This promise of the Father you

are now seen and hearing the new living translation says it like

this as he had. Promised gave him the Holy Ghost

to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

God's word translation states it like this and has poured out the

Holy Spirit as the Father of promise.

And this is what you're seeing and hearing someone say Amen in

the book of John, as Jesus was talking about the comforter, the

Spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost, all these things that we know to

be the same. In that context of speaking

about the Holy Ghost, he said in John 1418, he said, I will not

leave you comfortless, I will come to you.

He was there for years in bodily form, but he said, I'm returning

to you in spirit form and I will be not just with you, but will

be in you. So God promises His Spirit to

all them who ask, believe and obey.

Luke 1113 says, How much more shall your heavenly Father give

the Holy Spirit to them to ask of him?

This is said in the context of saying if, if, if your son would

ask for for bread, would you give him this?

Or would if he asked for this, would you give him that?

He said if, if a good father would give such gifts to his

children and not give him something totally contrary to

what he asked, how much more shall your heavenly Father give

you some things? And so in that context, he says,

then how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy

Spirit to them that. Ask.

Him but then we also understand that there must believe John 739

that spoke to us, but this big key of the spirit which they

that believe on him should receive, but there is also a.

Facet of obedience in Acts 5 and verse 32.

The Bible says so is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to

them that obey him, ask, believe, obedience.

His word and asking and believing and obeying

particularly the gospel of appropriating in our lives the

death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In obedience to my opening text today of then Peter said unto

them, What must we do here? He says, this is what must be

done. And I say this all the time and

I'll say it till I die, but what you do with your repentance and

allowing someone to put you in water, the name of Jesus, all of

those things has no power or credit if Christ didn't do what

he did. So that just proves your work by

itself is incapable. It's His work that empowers your

obedience. It's his work that empowers your

obedience. Just as he admonished Nicodemus

the same about doing OK, we're on this pony.

Someone put it in a too many quarters and I'm just riding it.

This is important. Acts 8 and verse #9 not Acts but

Romans 8-9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.

If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of

his. So then, brother McGee, how do I

know if I have the Spirit of God?

First John 3 verse 23 and 24 says these words.

1 John 3:23

First John. That's not just Saint John, but

first John three. And this is His commandment,

that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ,

and love one another as He gave us commandment.

Verse 24 And he that keepeth His commandments dwell in him, and

He in Him. And hereby we know that He

abideth in US. He's about ready to tell us.

Hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He

hath given us. Because I know He abides in me

because of the Spirit that He has given me.

Ask you a question. How do you know the moment that

you've been given His Spirit? How do you know the moment that

he has given you the gift of his spirit or the Holy Ghost?

That is undeniable, unquestionable.

Why you say that, Brother McGee? Because I read a lot of books,

all right? I read about 50 books a year

easy OK of all type shades and things.

I read so many different books of different people sitting in

different atmospheres across the world that tell me.

They say that they were filled with the spirit and then in the

same sentence or paragraph they talk about all the doubts and

they're not really knowing if they were filled with the

spirit. I have read it hundreds of

times. But the Bible doesn't want you

to leave. An experience of having been

filled with the Spirit of God, with a question mark in your

mind. God's so very explicit in many

things he says. We know that he abideth in us by

the Spirit which he hath given us.

And there's got to be something. There's got to be something more

than just good moral deeds that manifest as time go on.

All right? I mean, in Acts chapter 19, the

Acts 19 · chapter mention

Bible records that Cornelius was a devout man.

He feared God. Scripture says he even offered

prayers. Yes, alms, my wife's going to

get up here and take over here. But he still needed filled the

gift of the Spirit. He still needed it just like the

Jews had got it. That same like precious gift in

the same like precious way of Acts chapter #2 I'm not going

to, I'm not going to argue with you that whenever we start

seeing the gifts. Or rather, the fruits of the

spirit that Galatians 5 speaks up because those fruits.

Belong to the Spirit. I'm not going to qualm with you

that there won't be this, this noticeable Lovejoy, peace,

gentleness, goodness, so and so forth.

But the way I've learned in my life, those are things that you

mature into. There's a lot of there's a many

a person that just in the moment, it's not like there's a

gentle act that happens as soon as they receive the spirit that

just gives indicate. And I'm not trying to be

condescending here, but there is a testimony as we've already

looked at. There is one.

There's a testifying that we have received him according to

scripture. There is a evidence.

It's that evidence that was born in the Scripture and was

repeated through the book of Acts.

When you see people receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Someone say glory. I'm checking time.

See, I told you folks, and I've been talking fast.

Acts two and four, I try not to skip much, but I'll skip a

little. And they were filled.

They were all filled with the Holy Ghost.

Everybody say the Holy Ghost, and they were all filled with

the Holy Ghost. This is Pentecost and began to

speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.

What is happening there? They note that He abides in them

because the Spirit Spirit by which the Spirit he gave them

the Spirit testified. The Spirit testified in Acts 10.

The Jews knew that the Gentiles had received the Holy Ghost

Cornelius his household. The Bible says in verse 46 of

that chapter for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify

God again. Why do you think in?

Acts 230. Three, it says, Speaking of the

Holy Ghost that we do see in here.

What was it that they heard concerning the Holy Ghost?

What is it? The disciples of John and the

Ephesus of of Acts chapter #19 were re baptized.

The scripture says they'd only been baptized according to the

baptism of John, which was unto repentance only and they were

baptized The scripture says in Jesus name and it follows up in

verse six and says and they spake with tongues said have you

received the Holy Ghost since you you believed said we not we

didn't know there was such a Holy Ghost.

Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?

So they believed, and even at the point of belief they hadn't

had the Holy Ghost. Because the question was, had

you received since ye built Saul's conversion?

Acts Chapter 9, he was also filled with the Holy Ghost, but

Acts 9 · chapter mention

the scripture, it seems to be silent about him speaking in

tongues. Also in Acts chapter #8 the

Samaritans received the Holy Ghost, but again, it seems to be

silent there about them speaking in tongues.

But it's later in the book of Corinthians, which Paul is the

author of, that he talks and speaks.

He says I speak in tongues more than y'all.

He says I do Amen. And something was signified,

evidently the Simon the Sorcerer in Acts chapter #8 concerning

the Samaritans that received the Holy Ghost.

Because when the Samaritans received the Holy Ghost, you

know what Simon Says? He says, what can I give you to

purchase this, to buy this power?

If it was just something that was just totally oblivious to

every anybody else and just that person knew, what was it that

Simon picked up on in the moment to want to buy it in order to be

able to transfer? That power, he thought.

I conveyed to you this morning by simple deduction that there

was a testimony and Simon's like, I want to be a part of

this. It's evident that the Samaritans

there in Acts didn't have the Holy Ghost prior to this moment

because the Bible says a couple of the disciples of Peter and

John were sent down. To pray for them that they might

receive the Holy Ghost listen and at this stage prior to

receiving the Holy Ghost they had joy they.

Experienced the sense of joy they had belief they've been

baptized, but they still needed the Spirit.

They still needed the Spirit. And so though tongues are not

mentioned in those two episodes of of Saul's conversion and the

Samaritans again, again, it's implicitly understood.

Paul said later, I speak in tongues more than ye all.

Amen. Because what is what, what what

what had been, what had been conveyed already with Pentecost

and all the other stories from Acts 2 till Acts 9 is the

process that people repent. They're baptized and they

receive the Holy Ghost. They've repent, they baptized

and receive the Holy Ghost. They repent, they baptized the

Holy Ghost. The promise even is ye shall

receive the gift, the Holy Ghost.

So you know what happens when you set up that type of

platform. You can read of repentance or

read of baptism and you know without doubt then you don't get

the Holy Ghost. They're going to be filled with

the Spirit of God. Amen.

Someone say Amen. So in Acts 19, it proves to us

that the giving of the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues.

This whole little bit there was again not just a happening for

the Jews, the Gentile and the Samaritan people as well in Acts

chapter #8 that took place there, but even in Acts 19, here

are the people of Ephesus that are also receiving the gift of

the Holy Ghost. So this is not this again is not

a one time thing. This is repeatable.

This is repeatable. Amen.

Pastor David Bernard in his book The New Birth says tongues in

and of themselves do not save. Tongues in and of themselves do

not save. Nevertheless, the relationship

between Spirit baptism and tongues is similar to that of

faith and works. We're saved by faith, not works.

It works always accompany genuine faith and likewise

tongues cannot save us. But the Spirit baptism produces

is an accompanied always by the sign of tongues.

Johnny James used to say this. You go get a pair of shoes.

He said you're going to go get the shoe.

You don't have to say can I have a pair of shoes and the tongue,

He says the tongue comes with the shoe.

He said unless you get a shoe without a tongue and that's

called a loafer. And that just means you're not

going. Tongues are not the Holy Ghost,

but tongues are the byproduct, the evidence of having the Holy

Ghost. The Spirit gives the utterance.

They could not utter that had they not the Spirit, Amen.

It happens and the Bible says this.

You can speak with tongues of angels or of men.

You may speak a language that's known in another place of this

world, or you may be speaking a language that is the tongues of

angels that is not even known upon this world.

But there have been too many accounts with friends and people

I rub shoulders with in other places, Amen.

That whenever someone receives the Holy Ghost, they went over,

somebody says, does that person know Hebrew?

Said they don't know Hebrew. He says, well, I'm a Hebrew

scholar said what are they saying glory to God bless.

It is the one Jesus Christ and this is being spoken in Hebrew

and this person don't know Hebrew.

What's the deal? Is that some phenomenon the

waters kind of yell off there No, that's Christ in you, the

hope of glory. That's the Spirit hereby do I

know that He abides in me because of the spirit that I

receive. It's going to testify.

Amen. Spirit gives the evidence.

Jesus said in John that the spirit of truth being the

Comforter or the Holy Ghost would testify, give evidence.

Jesus told Nicodemus, he says, here's what I know, Nicodemus,

the wind, blow it where it listeth.

And thou hearest the sound there.

Thou hearest the sound. Thou hearest the sound.

Thereof, so is everybody, say everyone.

He did not say just the Jews or the Gentiles or just that person

or this person or that. He said everyone.

So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.

If they've been born in the Spirit, they received the Holy

Ghost. If they have the Spirit of God,

this is what happens. It's a wind, winds blowing.

I don't see the wind. I see the effects of the wind.

I can hear the sound of the wind.

He says so is everyone that is born in the Spirit.

When you receive the gift the Holy Ghost, there will be a

sound. It'll be that testimony.

Furthermore, Paul in writing to the church at Rome said Romans

816 I know your stand brother makes it out on what I'm doing,

but we're doing it. Amen.

The Spirit, the Holy Ghost itself beareth witness the

spirit it says itself beareth witness with our spirit.

This is important verse that we are the children of God.

How do I know? Because the spirit capital S

bears witness with our spirit, little S human spirit that we

are the children of God. Working in tandem is his spirit

with our spirit. Working in tandem is his spirit

with our spirit. His spirit bears witness

testimony. He uses my mouth, my tongue, but

his spirit will give the utterance.

He'll use he, he's going to use the appendages of Paul McGee,

these, these members of my mouth.

James said. That tongue which no man can

tame, it's set on fire of hell. No one can tame it.

You can put bridles on horses and put a rudder on a ship, but

no one can tame this tongue. But whenever God fills you with

His Spirit, it indicates full control of Him and your full

surrender that He could take that member no man contain and

have you speak something. You've never learned.

Everybody doing OK? I mean, should I just go real

long right now and we'll just cancel tonight?

What what are we looking at here?

I'm just wondering where we Amen.

So that Holy Ghost itself bears bears witness.

It testifies jointly. It corroborates by concurrent

evidence that with our human spirit that we are the children

of God. So I know that he abides in me,

and that I am a child of God, having been adopted by that one

spirit according to Scripture, the spirit of adoption, because

his spirit dwells in me. And I know it dwells in me

because that spirit I received testifies and gives evidence and

utterance by working in conjunction with this human

spirit that I have using my brain, my mouth, my tongue, my

voice box, my lips, but speaking in tongues, a product then of

His spirit. Stand for me today and I'll

close. Historically, I have went long

talking about the Holy Ghost and it shall ever be.

We know the Bible says that we have been sealed with that Holy

Spirit of promise according to Ephesians, and that that is the

earnest of our inheritance. What the Bible says, we know

we've been sealed with the Holy Ghost and that holy when you

receive the Holy Ghost, so that's the earnest of your

inheritance. How many ever put down earnest

money on a house, right? It's like that good faith

payment that there's more to come.

The Holy Ghost is just the indication that this is just the

tip of the iceberg. There is a inheritance, Amen,

that is to come that even surpasses what you experience

right now in this earthly dwelling.

It's just, if I could say it like this, just a little piece

of heaven. Huh.

If the Bible speaks of it being the unspeakable gift or the

indescribable gift, it says it is joy, unspeakable and full of

glory. And that spirit that we receive,

the scripture says, gives us power to witness about what?

How what Christ did for me, he can do for you what he brought

me out of He can bring you out of the same or even something

even better. It empowers us.

Amen. To mortify the deeds of our

flesh. It was given to us for that

purpose and that plan it supplies.

That spirit that you receive supplies resurrection power in

your life. That same spirit that raised

Christ from the dead, If it dwell in you, it will quicken

your mortal body, and it can change this mortal to

immortality, this corruptible to incorruptible.

Amen. We want the Spirit on Rapture

day, the gift of the Holy Ghost. It will cause that change.

And for that matter, say what you will, I have been.

God has blessed me to serve in the capacity to preach across

this nation, and every episode when someone's received the gift

of the Holy Ghost, I've heard them speak in tongues.

A reoccurrence of Pentecost. I mean, from children to middle

age to elders, from from Virginia to California to

Hawaii, it's still happening. It's still taking place.

I've seen it take place for the Polynesian people.

Over and there in Hawaii, I've seen it take place for the

Spanish people. For the Caucasian.

Born of 1 spirit into one body. The gift of the Spirit.

And if you don't have the gift of the Holy Ghost today, it's

for you. It's for you, absolutely.

I know sometimes within ourselves we might struggle with

insufficiencies in our own mind why we are not deserving of

that. That's not for you to decide.

That was for him to decide and he's already made his choice.

It's for you. He's already made his choice.

You don't have this application you fill out and all the

qualifiers. No, he's already made the

choice. It's for you.

You don't have to start. You don't have to start.

Well, This is why. No, it can't, not for me.

You don't need that. It's already been the decision

has been made. It's for you.

If you've never repented of your sins, I implore you to repent.

I implore you to do that about face that turning around from

what you've known to you know, we walk most of our lives.

We're born in this Adamic nature of sin and we walk these lives

really with our back to God. But when we repeat, we turn

toward him and turn our back then on everything else, the

world. It is that change of mind, that

change of behavior. If you've never been baptized

this morning we got God. We'll baptize you.

We will immerse you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the

remission of your sins, repentance, and.

And baptism do that, and ye. Shall receive the gift of the

Holy Ghost some people We've had people receive the Holy Ghost

before they were ever. Baptized.

Sister Kathy Coates, we took her up her, I took her up there one

Sunday to get baptized and she's stumbling around in the water

and hands are raised and she started speaking in tongues

before we baptized her. I've seen other people get it,

the Holy Ghost coming up out of the water and then we have like

some of the Ravens and stuff. But the Adams family got the

Holy Ghost at home. It's for you.

It's never too late. We was preaching in Knoxville,

TN a few years ago on a it was a New Year's Eve service and the

lady there that moment they were doing broadcast.

I did the broadcast that morning.

It was usually about 15 minutes. This sermon wouldn't fit in

there. We'd have to shave it down big

time. So I preached about 15 minutes.

We had an altar called and there was a lady that had been without

the Holy Ghost for some 40 some odd years.

She received the Holy Ghost that morning.

It can happen. And I know there might be stuff

here and here and maybe sometimes the clouds and blocks

waves and but if you just surrendered that all with

abandoned. He wants it's it's not he's not

trying to be. He's not being choosy.

He wants you to have it. Whosoever will, it'll be that

river of living water. And we live on this side of

Calvary. So we're not waiting.

It's available. It's not a promise that he's

Speaking of that shall come. It's Cain.

Can we lift our hands in this place?

These altars are open if anybody desires to pray.

I feel, I feel his spirit here today.

Oh Jesus, oh God, oh Jesus, not by power nor by might, but by

your spirit, saith the Lord, by your spirit saith the Lord.

Hallelujah. Say, Brother McGee, I just don't

know about everything you said this morning.

That's OK. And I know I was going quick.

Listen to it again and again, pause if you will, the podcast

and go to the Scriptures that I mentioned.

There are several there mentioned and those are just

really samplings. There's so much more even than

those. But go back, open your Bible,

look, look, cross, cross back and forth and let Scripture

interpret Scripture and see for yourself today.

Listen, I'm not up here condemning anybody this morning.

I hope you didn't take me as that.

I'm not here at condemning, but I'm just here showing you what

the Scripture says, what the Scripture says about being born

in the water and specifically today, the gift of the Spirit.

Hallelujah, Jesus, Whosoever will.

Are you thirsty? Do you want something beyond

what you presently have? Whosoever will today, Brother

Mason I. Thank you for listening.

If you would like more information about our services

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