We don't know much about the Holy Spirit. We get saved, understand that we have the Holy Spirit and then get busy with life. We never take advantage of the relationship that we have with the Holy Spirit. But we cannot afford to be passive any longer. We were not meant to function without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Paul says we should be filled with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? Pastor Mark shows us that it's not a one time event. We need to continually stay in communication and fellowship with the Holy Spirit and ask Him to refill us with this free gift.

Imagine you own a car dealership. You need salespeople, so you put out an ad, than hire the first ten people to respond. It doesn’t take long to figure out that the people you’ve hired have very little knowledge about cars, or even selling things. As we’ll hear today, when the Christians were increasing during the early days of the faith, Jesus’ twelve needed to send out people to minister to unbelievers. They didn’t choose the people standing at the front, they looked for Christ-followers that were full of the Spirit and wisdom. In the church, even today, there are many who are not filled with the Spirit….with the potential to fulfill everything God wants for them.

Imagine you’re in an unfamiliar place, with no way to tell where you are. In order to be safe and not become lost, you need a guide. For believers, that guide is the Holy Spirit. This world is not our home, and we can easily become lost in it if we don’t have that Light to show us the way. When Jesus physically left this earth, He told His disciples that God would send another like Him. He gave us the Holy Spirit. If we let the Spirit influence our lives, they’ll be no room for all the destructive, negative influences we encounter daily. What a gift! He’ll convict us when we’re wrong, convince us of what’s right, and empower us to follow through.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the ultimate preparation for ministering to others. The way we see the world around us, the people around us…changes when we have the Spirit working for us. When love and truth is overflowing out of believers….it has an impact on people. It will also repel those who are hostile to the Lord. In today’s teaching, we’ll be introduced to the three different kinds of baptism…one of them with the Holy Spirit. That indwelling allows us to go out ad be witnesses for Christ, to do God’s work. Pastor Mark will clear up any misconceptions about what it means to be empowered by the Spirit, and embolden us to go out for Him.

Think back to a time when there was an open door, an opportunity to witness to someone....but you missed it. Maybe you were too focused on what was going on in your own life. Perhaps you recognized the chance to witness but chose the more comfortable, selfish route. When the Holy Spirit is working in you daily, prompting you to speak up, moving you to a place where God can use you...then you are truly experiencing what the Holy Spirit was sent to do...make you more like Jesus. That's what we'll hear today, as we listen to an encouraging account of a family who acted on the leading of the Holy Spirit and watched the Lord change a person's heart.

Christian, if you've been a believer for a long time, then you know that since the time that you were born again, the Holy Spirit has dwelt in you. You've heard countless sermons referring to the power of the Holy Spirit, you understand the trinity...but you're not sure what it's actually like to EXPERIENCE the Holy Spirit in your life. You have the knowledge, but wonder how to activate it. In today's teaching, Pastor Mark addressed this very issue. In order to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we have to listen and obey, seeking out the truth of the Word and letting Him write it on our hearts. Then, the Holy Spirit will be at work in us, without us getting in the way.

If you want to experience the Holy Spirit, you go to church...right? But, what happens during the other six days? Many people today go to church when they want to rub elbows with Jesus, then go back to life as usual. If you are a follower of Christ and have received salvation, you have the Holy Spirit living in you. As we'll see today, that indwelling of the Spirit cause a change, not only in your spiritual life, but He affects everything you do. When Jesus physically left this earth, He knew that believers would need His presence in order to learn how to become like Him. His plan is perfect, and as we seek to obey, we'll recognize the Holy Spirit in us.

When you ask someone for something….do you have an expectation that they’ll give it to you? With God, you can always expect an answer. Whether it’s the one you WANT, that’s another matter, but if you know His plans for you are to prosper you…than you’ll find contentment. As we’ll see today, when you ask God for wisdom, He’ll give it to you. Before you ask anything of God, though…you have to be ready to do whatever it is that He wills for you. It’s like RSVPing to an event that you’re not really sure you’ll make it to. People are expecting you, then you don’t show up. When you ask God to direct your life, be prepared to show up.

Throughout the Bible, there are stories of individuals who have heard from God through dreams and visions. For a lot of us, it may seem out of the realm of possibility that the Lord would communicate that way with us…but He can. God will use whatever means He has to in order to lead us the right way, but we have to be open to listening, even when it comes from an unfamiliar place. If you have an understanding of who God is, you can more clearly know if He’s speaking to you. But, the enemy knows who God is, and he can use that knowledge to draw us away. Seek God, and you’ll gain wisdom. With that wisdom, you’ll recognize truth.

Sometimes God’s voice in a matter is very clear to us. Other times, it’s a quiet nudge. In those quiet times, if we’re not used to hearing from Him, or have been disconnected…we won’t hear Him. As the Lord said, “my sheep hear my voice.” We must recognize the voice of our Shepherd. As we’ll hear today, there are a variety of ways God will communicate to His sheep. If we’ve hardened our hearts, He may use others to get His point across. If He does, what that person says can’t be contradictory to the Word, or it’s not from Him. We’ll hear about King David’s experience with God using a prophet to call attention to David’s sin, when David wouldn’t listen.