Fruit Inspectors!

Disclaimer:

Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Pastor James May

FRUIT INSPECTORS!

There have been several in the past few months that have been saved and some who have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Some of you have been around Pentecostal churches for a long time so that it was a natural thing to you that the Holy Spirit would come to you. For others though, you are new to Pentecost and because of this you don’t quite know what to think of all this.

Let me first say that salvation is real and that the Baptism in the Holy Ghost is real. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you in this fashion, you can never doubt that He is real and that there has been a change in your life. That feeling of being “weightless” and of being on an “emotional and spiritual high” is not just emotions.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

When you give your heart and soul to Jesus in true heartfelt repentance, He lifts the burden of your sin from your shoulders and puts it upon his own. He bought the ability to take your burden of guilt, your anger, your frustrations, your fears and your worry, with His own blood on the cross. He takes all of those burdens away and creates within you a brand new heart. He breathes eternal life into your spirit and adopts you as His own child.

When I say that He creates within you a new heart and makes you a new man. That means that the very soul and essence of who you are is now taken from the power of sin and lifted to a realm of forgiveness. That part of you that always sought after pleasure and enjoyed the sin of this world will no longer seek and enjoy those things. There will be a difference.

Every new born-again Christian experiences that feeling of being cleaned out on the inside and that feeling of being whole again. A new hope arises in your heart and you know that something wonderful has happened.

A lot of times we see “baby Christians” (earthly age does not matter) as they begin strong for the Lord and then watch as they slowly fall back into their old way of life and some even lose out with God. This is a scary place to be because of what happens to that heart that is now clean and pure but has decided to leave God out too.

Matthew 12:43-45, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation."

What Jesus is clearly saying is that we cannot afford to lose out with God once we have been cleansed from sin and filled with His Spirit. For if we do, we will be much worse than before and it will become harder to turn around the second time, the third time, etc.

Those who have experienced this process can attest to the truth of this statement!

There is also a great warning to those who would find themselves in a backslidden condition and who do not repent before it is too late.