Why The Spirit Upon You Is An Incredible Life Changer

How The Holy Spirit Deals With A Lost World

Today, we will be examining a unique aspect of God’s work through the Holy Spirit. Specifically, we will be exploring the concept of the Holy Spirit coming ‘upon’ or ‘on’ individuals, as opposed to residing within them. It is important to note that every person who has been born again has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. However, it is equally important to understand the significance of having the Holy Spirit ‘on you’. Does this experience extend to every follower of Jesus, or is it limited to a select few? Let me address this question right away – the Holy Spirit coming upon a believer is not exclusive to a chosen few, but rather it is available to every child of God who has been born again. Unfortunately, many individuals have yet to fully embrace this possibility presented in the Bible. If God has made this experience accessible to all, it must indicate a remarkable dynamic that we are missing out on if we fail to reach out in faith and receive what God has promised. Therefore, in today’s podcast, we will focus on understanding the profound impact of having the Spirit upon you, as it has the power to bring about incredible transformation in your life. Join us this week on Light On Life as we delve into this topic.

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Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

There is another dimension of the Spirit’s work and that work is empowerment. Have you received this mighty power from God in your life? If not, reach out and receive Him, the Holy Spirit in this greater dimension.

Join the Conversation

Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: Share a testimony on how the Holy Spirit came upon you and the result. Share your story in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

For more teaching on the book of John, please click on the links below to listen to some of those podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 47 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on iTunes and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

Prayer

Well again, welcome.
Let’s pray.

Father God in the precious Name of Jesus, thank you for the mighty work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We honor you for the move of the Spirit in the earth and we thank you for using us — using the Church — to bring Jesus back a second time. We give you all the glory and honor for everything you are doing and going to do — we thank you for it Amen and Amen.

Spirit Upon: Previous Podcasts

So in John’s gospel, we’ve now completed several podcasts on the work of the Holy Spirit both within a believer and His work out in the world.
Let’s reiterate what we’ve said: These words are just as good today as when we started.
We said one thing is evident: Jesus made the Holy Spirit available for us and we need Him.
That fact is certainly true because if you could know everything you should know on your own, and if you could be everything you need to be without the Holy Spirit, why would Jesus say you need Him?
The truth is, you can’t know everything you need to know on your own and you can’t be everything you need to be by yourself.
You need a Helper — you need THE Helper, the Holy Spirit of God working in your life.
What we need to know is how He works so that we can cooperate with Him.
Today, we’re going to focus on yet one more way that He works with a believer.
Remember this verse of scripture: we’ve covered it — we’ve talked about it.

John 14:16–17 (ESV) — 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Jesus said the Holy Spirit will be IN you.
Call to mind Ezekiel’s prophecy — in chapter 36 where the Lord tells us way in advance — like 600 hundred years in advance that there would be a new Birth and that the Holy Spirit would indwell the believer.

Ezekiel 36:25–27 (ESV) — 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Ezekiel said the Holy Spirit will be IN you.

Spirit Upon: Another Dimension

But, there is another dimension of the Spirit’s work and that work is empowerment.
And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.
Here’s just one example of the effect of the Holy Spirit coming upon people.
This is a story told by David’s du Pleiss, the General Secretary of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, who stated the following in an address that he gave at the Central Bible Institute, Springfield, Missouri.

“In 1908 two brethren from the United States brought the first Pentecostal message to South Africa. These two men started off in a native church in Johannesburg and out of curiosity white folk went, but they stayed and received the Baptism [Baptism is another name for the Holy Spirit coming upon a person.] A tabernacle was offered [I guess this was a meeting place] in the center of Johannesburg. That place became a revival center. A thousand people crowded in and around it every night of the week. It stirred the city. Jews and Gentiles were saved, one the son of a Rabbi, who is still one of our best evangelists. “We were not permitted to send missionaries into Rhodesia. But one brother had a real vision [he’s not talking about a spiritual vision — he’s talking about a plan]. [So, here’s the plan — this guy] He bought a 10,000 acre farm in Rhodesia, and we could do what we like there. We kept all the cattle and equipment on the farm that the regulations called for. The natives came to the farm and we preached to them, and when the government opened their eyes we had 6,000 members. It was more than the work of one missionary. It was the work of those who got saved, went back to their homes, and spread the gospel.” W. J. Kerr, a missionary, wrote of those early days in Johannesburg: “One night Maggie Truter came on the platform, feeling that the Lord would have her deliver a message. She lost courage [stage fright] when she saw the crowded hall and many of the scoffers. She retired to the vestry, taking a sister with her to pray. In about ten minutes she returned, spoke in the native tongue for a few minutes, [a language she did not even know!] then [switched over to another language she did not know] in High Dutch for about the same time, and then in English. While speaking in Dutch, the faces of the Dutch people clearly indicated that they were getting something unusual. When she spoke English—well, I have had the pleasure of listening to some of the world’s greatest orators of the last century, but I can conscientiously say that I never listened to anything so fine for beauty, diction, and pathos. [so every her English was impacted by the Holy Spirit coming upon her]. The subject was ‘Jesus in Gethsemane’ and the pleading with sinners to accept Him was irresistible. You could have heard a pin fall during the delivery of the English part, and for once the faces of the scoffers wore a sober aspect. A whole family, who had heard of the fine sport [what was going on] in the tabernacle, came to enjoy the fun, but were convicted and every one of them was brought to Christ. Several of the Dutch people told me that the Dutch spoken was a perfect rendering of the English, and some of the natives at the back told me that the native tongue was their language, and was the same as the Dutch. They, being Cape Colony natives, knew Dutch. Maggie knew nothing of the native language and very little High Dutch. It would be difficult to say how far-reaching the influence of that message has been to other souls besides the family brought to Christ that night.¹

So, let’s talk about the Holy Spirit coming upon a believer.
You see this promised right at the start of the Book of Acts.

Acts 1:8 (ESV) — 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

You will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you — not in you.
This ‘upon you’ is something different than the Spirit being in you.
And no, this is not just a casual slip or change of words.
No, it’s precise — ‘upon you’ means just that — ‘in you’ means just that.
So, ‘in you’ and ‘on you’ are two different functions of the Spirit.
We’re going to say two different dimensions of the Holy Spirit’s work.
We’re going to show it to you in black and white.

Spirit Upon In Samaria: Preaching Christ

We will stay right here in the book of Acts.
We’re in chapter eight.
We are in Samaria.

Acts 8:4–8 (ESV) — 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

Drop down to verse twelve and then we will dissect.

Acts 8:12–17 (ESV) — 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Okay, let’s look at this closely so that we don’t miss what’s going on here.
In other words, there is some scriptural line upon line groundwork that we need to lay so that we can understand the truths expressed in this passage.
First, the Word of God was preached in Samaria.
Phillip proclaimed Christ to them — that’s what verses four and five tell us.
Listen to it again.

Acts 8:4 (ESV) — 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

These disciples are in Samaria and they are preaching the Word to the people.
They are preaching Christ — they are talking about Jesus.
How do we know that?
Well, it’s not just because they preached Christ.
You see the word ‘Christ’ is the Greek word for anointed.
Did you catch that?
Christ is a Greek word that was brought over into the English text.
It was not translated.
The word Christ means the ‘anointed’ or we could say the ‘anointed one’ and His anointing.
So then, how do we know these disciples were witnessing about Jesus?
Because the scripture said they ‘preached the Word’ to them and Jesus is the Word.
Right? — John 1:1

John 1:1,14 (ESV) — 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the Word — and since the disciples preached the Word to those of Samaria, they had to have preached Jesus to the people.
Jesus is the beginning and the end.
He is the sum of all things.
Listen to these characteristics of Jesus listed in Colossians.
It’s marvelous.

Colossians 1:13 (ESV) — 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and…

Who is He? — He is the Father God.
He the Father God…

transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

In Jesus we have redemption.
The redemption price has been paid.
Jesus paid it — that means we have been bought back out the devils kingdom.

Colossians 1:15 (ESV) — 15 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

What does the scripture mean when it says firstborn?
It means Jesus was the first man born again.
He is the first new creation man.

Colossians 1:16 (ESV) — 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus is the total ticket.

Spirit Upon In Samaria: Preaching Christ and Miracles

Now, let’s look a little further.
They were signs that accompanied this preaching of Jesus.

Acts 8:6 (ESV) — 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.

So, here’s Phillip preaching Jesus — preaching the Word — and miracle signs were accompanying the message.
Now, that’s thoroughly scriptural.
Miracles accompany the message.
Well, why don’t we see miracles in some of our churches?
You can figure this out — some churches are not preaching the message.
They are preaching a form of the message.
Now, hear this — God is going to bless His message not an offbeat version of His message.

Mark 16:15 (ESV) — 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Proclaim the gospel — not your gospel — His gospel.
That’s what Phillip was doing — proclaiming THE gospel.

Mark 16:16 (ESV) — 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Was there anyone baptized in Samaria because of the preaching of Phillip?
It says so plain as day.

Acts 8:12 (ESV) — But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

So, we can check that box off.
I’m building a case here.
The Word was preached — people were baptized.
Just like Mark 16 says.
Let’s keep reading this in Mark.

Mark 16:17–18 (ESV) —17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Were there any signs by the hands of Phillip?
Let’s see if that box works.
Well, we already read that in Acts 8:6 — the crowds paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.
Were there any demons cast out?
Was anybody healed in Samaria?
Well, I’m glad you asked that.

Acts 8:7 (ESV) — 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.

Paralyzed and lame people were healed in Samaria.
That’s what the scripture said.
Notice what it didn’t say though — because it’s important.
No blind people received their healing in Samaria during this encounter.
No deaf people received their hearing during this encounter.
Both the lame and paralyzed were the only ones healed.
You see, Phillip had a specific healing gift: paralyzed and lame people.
That’s how gifts of healing work.

1 Corinthians 12:7–9 (ESV) — 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

Notice that ‘gifts of healing’ is plural not singular.
Under the umbrella of healing come multiple gifts for various conditions.
Some, that God uses in gifts of healings, can have a special gift just for ministering to people with cancer.
They can get more cancer patients healed by accident than you can on purpose.
It’s because the Spirit has gifted them in that area.
Some have gifts of healing for deaf people.
Others have gifts of healings for leg injuries.
We’re not talking general faith and prayer here.
We’re talking manifestations of the Spirit — gifts of the Spirit.
Phillip’s gift was with paralyzed and lame people.
So, we can see the Great Commission in action.
We can see the gospel was preached.
Men and women were baptized.
Devils were cast out of people in Jesus Name.
Many individuals were healed — many recovered from the laying on of hands as the scripture declares in Samaria
What’s the conclusion?
These people were saved — they were born again — they were new creations in Christ.
Whatever term you like to use.
These of Samria were lost and now they are not lost but found.
You must conclude from all of this line upon line the data that we just went over that all the qualifications for being born again were met right here in Acts eight.
All the boxes are checked off.

Spirit Upon In Samaria: The Results

So it is an established fact — we have saved people in Samaria.
We understand from Romans 8:9 that the Spirit comes into a believer at the exact moment of the new birth.

Romans 8:9 (ESV) — 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

When you couple this with John 14 and Ezekiel 36, that we’ve already quoted and looked at, it’s plain to see these saved people from Samaria had the Spirit IN them.
Now, we come to verse fourteen of Acts 8.

Acts 8:14–17 (ESV) — 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Read it carefully.
The scripture is exceptionally clear here.
They received the Word of God — they received Jesus — that’s verse fourteen.
But look! — Peter and John come to pray for these same people that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
Woa! Hold up! — What’s going on here?
“I thought you said that these from Samaria had received the Holy Spirit when they received Jesus.
I sure did say that.
Reread verse 16.

Acts 8:16 (ESV) — 16 for he had not yet fallen ON any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

He, the Holy Spirit, had not fallen ON them — on them!
The Holy Spirit was IN them not ON them.
Now get this because it’s vital.
There must be something critical about the Spirit coming upon you for the apostles to send Peter and John into Samaria to pray along this line.
So, here’s what this is saying.
It’s one thing to have the Holy Spirit in you — It’s another thing to have Him on you.
They are two separate dimensions, two different workings of the Spirit.
And you need both of them.
Now, I am not talking about being saved.
We already read it — Acts 1:8.

Acts 1:8 (ESV) — 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

You will receive power when the Spirit has come upon you.
You do not receive this power when the Spirit has come you.
The Spirit in you is to help you live your life in God.
He is there to guide you, to lead into all truth, to bring things to your remembrance — you know all those scripture references that we have read every podcast we did on John 14 through 16.
The Spirit in you is for you.
The Spirit on you is for others.
You will receive power when the Spirit has come upon you.
You need this power to be able to effectively help others.
That’s a Bible fact and we are out of time.

Father God, thank you today for Jesus. Thank you for this enduement of power.

Right now, you in the listening audience, you can receive this power.
Here’s the Bible promise you can stand on.

Luke 11:13 (ESV) — 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

There it is — plain black and white.
Reach up to Him and believe you receive in Jesus Name.
Why The Spirit Upon You Is An Incredible Life Changer.
We will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

___________
References:

Stanley Howard Frodsham, With Signs Following: The Story of the Pentecostal Revival in the Twentieth Century, Revised Edition. (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1946), 155–156. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

Why The Spirit Upon You Is An Incredible Life Changer

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Four

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

For more teaching on the book of John, please click on the links below to listen to some of those podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Spirit Upon: Previous Podcasts

Spirit Upon: Another Dimension

Spirit Upon In Samaria: Preaching Christ

Spirit Upon In Samaria: Preaching Christ and Miracles

Spirit Upon In Samaria: The Results

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Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

For more teaching on the book of John, please click on the links below to listen to some of those podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Spirit Upon: Previous Podcasts

Spirit Upon: Another Dimension

Spirit Upon In Samaria: Preaching Christ

Spirit Upon In Samaria: Preaching Christ and Miracles

Spirit Upon In Samaria: The Results

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