Dear beloved, have you ever heard someone say, “I met God”? Even if you have attended other churches before, you probably have not often heard anyone say, “I met God!” People may say, “I believe in God,” but it is not common for them to say, “I met God.”

I began my first job in the 1990s. After graduating from university, I was hired at a social welfare center run by a Christian foundation. It was a fairly large and well-established organization. They held a welcome dinner for the new recruits, and it was a drinking gathering. Everyone there went to church, yet none of them objected to drinking. I felt a little uncomfortable, but since they were believers, they didn’t force me to drink. So I stood up with a glass of cola for the toast and introduced myself. When they said, “New employee, please introduce yourself,” I stood and said, “My name is Ki-Taek Lee. I graduated from such-and-such university, and in August 1992, I met God.” With that, I finished my simple introduction.

The next morning, my manager—she was in her early fifties—called me into her office. I went, feeling nervous because I didn’t know what it was about. She said there was something she wanted to ask. “Yesterday, during your introduction, you said that you met God. I’ve never heard anyone say that before. I’ve been going to church since I was in my mother’s womb, but I’ve never heard anyone say they ‘met God.’” She told me she had thought about my words all night. As she wondered, “What does it mean to say you met God?” she also asked herself, “Have I met God?”—and she realized she wasn’t sure. So she felt she needed to ask me directly. “What do you mean when you say you met God? People usually just say, ‘I have faith,’ not that they met God. And how is it that you can even specify the exact day you met Him?” That was why she had called this brand-new employee into her office.

I was very nervous, of course. But once I heard what she was asking, the issue was clear. From what I could see, she had not yet received the Holy Spirit. She believed in Jesus, but she had not received the Holy Spirit, and so she had no experience of meeting God. Anyone who is unsure—“Have I met God or not?”—has not met Him. A person who has met God knows it. Even if it is hard to explain how it happened, they themselves are certain. Because she had not met Him, she naturally felt doubtful. So I explained it to her: “You need to receive the Holy Spirit.” But she replied, “I already received the Holy Spirit.” So I asked, “When did you receive Him?” And she answered as though it were obvious: “Don’t you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe in Jesus?”

The Bible does say, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). So according to her understanding, simply saying “Jesus!” already meant that she had received the Holy Spirit. But when you look closely at Scripture, you can see that this is a misunderstanding. Sadly, this misunderstanding is extremely widespread—not only in Korea, but all around the world. Nearly ninety percent of churches think this way. I once noticed this in a Bible study workbook from another denomination. The question was, “When does a believer receive the Holy Spirit?” and the “correct” answer printed there was, “When he welcomes Jesus.” Before coming to Sungrak Church, I also assumed this was true. Even before I properly attended church, this was what I thought was common sense. But through Scripture, I learned that this is not the case. One clear example is the passage we read today in Acts 8. Receiving the Holy Spirit can be entirely separate from accepting Jesus. Of course, anyone who believes in Jesus must receive the Holy Spirit—but we must not mistakenly assume that simply accepting Jesus means the Holy Spirit has already come. If one assumes that, he will no longer seek the Holy Spirit at all. The Holy Spirit does not come into us merely because we believe. With Jesus, you simply believe, and you are saved.

But receiving salvation is not the end. When God saved us, He did so with a very clear purpose. Our salvation is like cutting a branch from one tree and grafting it onto another. For example, you might take a mandarin or orange branch and graft it onto a trifoliate orange tree. The trifoliate orange tree bears many fruits, while the mandarin branch bears fewer. But once it is grafted onto the trifoliate orange tree, it produces far more fruit—though the fruit may become a bit more sour. Why does a farmer graft a branch like that? There is always a purpose. And if the grafted branch produces no fruit at all, that grafting is considered a failure. The branch may stay attached to the tree, but that is not what the farmer desires. In the same way, we were once unbelievers, but then we came into Jesus and were firmly grafted onto Him. And just as the farmer desires fruit, God also has something He desires from us.

But bearing fruit is not a difficult thing. It becomes possible because the branch has already been grafted in. Then what must the branch do? Why was it grafted onto the tree in the first place? It must draw the sap from the tree. That is how a branch that once belonged outside the tree becomes part of the tree itself. When we say, “I am in Jesus,” the life—the sap—that is in Jesus must then flow into us. That is what leads to, “Jesus is in me.” “I in Jesus, and Jesus in me.” But the problem for many people is that they stop at “I am in Jesus.” The next step—the sap flowing into them—does not happen. For that life of Jesus to flow into us, we must receive the Holy Spirit. If all we have is “I am in Jesus,” then we are merely attached, and nothing is actually taking place. Perhaps we may barely receive salvation, but the work that pleases the Lord does not unfold in our lives. Believers have received salvation, but we must not stop there—we must receive the Holy Spirit.

Believing in Jesus and receiving salvation is very easy—because all you need to do is believe. The difficulty arises only because people refuse to believe. When someone is stubborn or proud, they cannot admit, “Yes, I am a sinner.” But if a person humbly repents and believes in His name, he can be saved. It is simple, because salvation comes by believing that Jesus died, rose again, and fully paid for our sins. However, receiving the Holy Spirit is not something that happens merely by believing.

To receive the Holy Spirit, one must pray. One must long for Him—earnestly long for Him. It is not something that happens after praying once or twice; you pray until He is given. Concerning faith in Jesus, the Scripture says, “Whoever wants to, believe! It is easy! Buy without money and without price!” If something must be purchased but the price is too high, how can anyone buy it? And if one is told to buy but is given no money, what use is that? Yet God says to buy without price. If someone does not want it, he simply will not take it. But if he wants it, anyone can receive it because it is free. Receiving the Holy Spirit, however, is not something anyone receives “without cost.” He is given to those who desire Him—those who earnestly seek Him. He is a gift because God gives Him freely, but if a person does not make any effort, does not ask, and does not long for Him, the Holy Spirit does not come. This is why my manager had lived a life of faith for fifty years and yet had never received the Holy Spirit. She had no experience of meeting God.

If a person has never experienced meeting God, he cannot stand before others and testify. That manager of mine had attended church for fifty years, yet she had never once told anyone, “Believe in Jesus.” At most, she would say, “You should come to church. It’s nice.” But if you come to Sungrak Church, you will notice something very different. Some people almost look like madmen in their zeal—earnestly pleading, “You must believe in Jesus!” Some call again and again, even to the point of being seen as bothersome, saying, “Let’s worship together!” Why are they able to do that? It is because they met God. They are certain. When I met God, the first people who came to mind were my parents—the people I loved most. After encountering God at the retreat, I went home, and the moment I saw my mother and father, I burst out in excitement, saying, “God is alive!” Because I had always been a quiet child, my sudden enthusiasm shocked them. My mother, startled by the sudden change, even cried at first, thinking she had somehow lost her son. But now, they all attend church. As some time passed back then, they would say, “It’s good that you have a faith life. You’ve changed a lot.” Since I studied harder, became diligent, and treated them well, they were pleased. But they still warned me, “That’s good for you—but don’t push it on us.” Yet in the end, they too met God.

So I explained to her, “This is what it means that I have met God.” At first, she could not easily accept it. So I opened the Scriptures and showed her, one passage at a time. Then I told her that in order to receive the Holy Spirit, she needed to pray, and I asked whether she truly thought she had received Him. Only then did she finally admit, “I don’t think I have received the Holy Spirit.” After that, she asked, “What should I do to receive the Holy Spirit, sir?” Even though I was her junior at work, she called me “sir.” I told her, “You simply need to ask now.” She asked, “How do I ask?” and I replied, “You must ask out loud. If you only pray silently like a meditation, even if the Holy Spirit does come, you will not be able to recognize that He has come.”

In the Bible as well, when people prayed, they opened their mouths and prayed out loud. And when God pours out His Holy Spirit in that way, there are signs that appear.

One of the most common signs that appear is this: a person becomes deeply moved beyond his own will, and tears of repentance suddenly burst out. Tears of repentance and thanksgiving overflow. And the “repentance” mentioned here is not the kind where you list all your sins and cry in fear, saying, “What should I do?” Rather, they are tears that explode from the joy of realizing that your sins have been forgiven.

And in many cases, the mouth begins to move in a strange way—as if driven by a force apart from one’s own intention. Some feel this very strongly, while others sense it more lightly. It may even feel as though you are speaking on your own, yet your tongue begins to move. And then you begin to speak what we call tongues. The word “tongues” literally means “a new tongue”—words you have never spoken before. They are utterances that people cannot understand. The Bible records all of this. Tongues are not spoken to people but to God. Sometimes they sound like the croaking of a frog or like “lalalala,” as if they carry no meaning at all. Yet this is one of the most common signs that appears when a person receives the Holy Spirit.

And in some cases, people begin to prophesy. This “prophecy” is not predicting something like, “It will rain the day after tomorrow.” Rather, it is speaking about the great works God will do—His plans—and fervently praising Him. I once went to a region in China to preach, and afterward there was a time for people to share testimonies. I had not even told anyone to receive the Holy Spirit yet. An elderly woman with white hair came forward and began to testify. She said, “Through today’s message, I realized that my sins have been forgiven,” and she was overflowing with joy. She was not praying, “God, forgive my sins!” Instead she said, “I realized that all my sins have been forgiven, and I am so thankful—lalalalala…” Then suddenly she began proclaiming, “God is great, and God sent His Son…” and after speaking for a while, she again began, “lalalalala…” She would prophesy, then speak in tongues, then prophesy again, and then speak in tongues again. People who are highly educated often try to restrain themselves. Logical people think, “Why am I doing this?” and suppress their tears or try to control what is happening. But this grandmother was simple and childlike. She spoke everything that was in her heart. As she talked about what God had done, tongues flowed out. That was the first time she had ever spoken in tongues.

These kinds of events are recorded exactly in the Bible. Throughout the Book of Acts, when Peter and Paul preached the word and laid their hands on people, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and it is written, “They prophesied and spoke in tongues.” So I told my manager, “It may be difficult to pray out loud here at the office, so after work, you can go somewhere and pray. I will help you. If I pray beside you and lay my hands on you, or pray together with you, and if your heart truly longs for Him, you will surely receive the Holy Spirit. It is not difficult at all.” She asked, “Then what should I do? Where can I go to pray out loud?” So I asked her, “Would you like to come to my home?” At that time, I had been married only a few months, and my wife was also working. Still, I asked, “Would you like to come to our place?” She said she would, if it was all right. So I quickly called my wife and said, “My manager is coming to our home tonight—please prepare a simple dinner for us.” And that evening, she came to our home and we had dinner together.

As we sat facing each other eating dinner, she grew increasingly impatient. In the middle of the meal, she kept asking question after question—what she needed to do to receive the Holy Spirit, whether she had to pray for a long time, and so on. I answered her for a while, and then finally I put my spoon down and asked, “Then would you like to pray right now?” She said she would—she wanted to pray so eagerly. So right there, in the middle of dinner, we knelt down and prayed. She cried out, “God, pour the Holy Spirit upon me! Pour out the Holy Spirit just as it is written in the Scriptures! I have lived a life of faith for fifty years, and I thought my faith was good. But this man, who has believed for such a short time, says that he has met You. Yet I cannot say that I have ever met You—how can I call that true faith? God, please help me!”

But as she prayed, she kept talking about her faults. So I gently stopped her for a moment and explained again, “Jesus saved you not because you did anything well. Just as a branch is grafted onto a tree, you have already been united with Jesus. Whether you have prayed a lot or only a little, whether you are kind or not—that is not what matters. Because you have already been firmly grafted into Jesus, the Holy Spirit is able to come into you without any hindrance. You are already someone whose sins have been forgiven. Isn’t that something to be thankful for? You should rejoice. So pray like this: ‘Thank You, God. Thank You for forgiving my sins!’”

The truth is, even when I tell people to pray this way, many still go back to praying, “God, please forgive my sins! Forgive my sins!” When I was evangelizing in the rural areas of China, this happened often. After explaining everything in detail and saying, “Now, let’s pray,” they would begin, “Please forgive my sins! Forgive my sins!” So I would stop them and say, “No, not that. Since the Lord has already paid the full price for your sins, pray like this: ‘Thank You for paying the price of my sins!’ Don’t ask to be forgiven—accept it fully and acknowledge it!” And after guiding them to pray that way a few times, they would begin to pray on their own, “Thank You! Thank You for forgiving my sins! Thank You for forgiving my sins!” The underlying sentiment becomes gratitude and joy, right? When they pray like that—acknowledging what God has already done—the Holy Spirit comes, and tongues begin to flow. So I explained this to my manager as well, and when we prayed together again, within just a few minutes something suddenly broke open inside her. She began to cry—and not quietly, but weeping aloud.

I myself wept like that when I believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. She was not crying by her own decision—when the Holy Spirit came upon her, He deeply moved her, and the tears simply burst out. In that moment, you don’t need to think about what you did wrong. It is like being reunited with a mother you were separated from for thirty years. That overwhelming joy and emotion just pours out, and she began to weep loudly. Her nose began to run as well—but the tears and mucus that flow when one receives the Holy Spirit are not ordinary. The amount is astonishing. When I received the Holy Spirit long ago, I prayed for an hour, and when I finally opened my eyes, the mucus from my nose had stretched all the way down to the floor in one long strand. The same thing happened to her—and where did it drip to? Her rice bowl. She was praying in front of her bowl, and the mucus reached all the way down to it because she was so deeply moved. She had received the Holy Spirit. After the prayer was over, I asked her, “How do you feel? Do you think you met God?” And she replied, “I met God! I am certain I met Him!” From that moment on, she was able to testify anywhere that God is alive.

That is how fruit is produced. And when there is fruit, the farmer rejoices. In the same way, God is pleased. This is exactly what God expects. You came to church, heard about Jesus, endured through difficulties, and eventually were baptized. To be baptized means you have entered into Jesus. But there is something you must do next. You must not stop here. Jesus must come into you. The Spirit of God must come into you. Only then does God carry out His work in you, and fruit begins to appear naturally. Those who are zealous bear fruit a hundredfold. Even if you are not that diligent, you will bear sixtyfold. And even if you are lazy, you will still bear thirtyfold. Why? Because once a branch is attached to the tree, that much fruit will certainly appear. But if there is no fruit at all, it is because the sap has never flowed into that branch. In other words, the person has not received the Holy Spirit. You must receive the Holy Spirit.

My first and foremost purpose in telling you all this: that you long for the Holy Spirit. You must earnestly desire Him. Even if you have not longed for Him until now, from this moment on you must clearly understand, “I must receive the Holy Spirit. This is God’s will for me,” and begin to desire Him. And then you must ask. When you pray, you must pray for God to pour out the Holy Spirit upon you.

As you can tell even from the name “the Holy Spirit,” what kind of Spirit is He? He is the Holy Spirit—the pure and clean Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit abides only in what is clean. Originally, the Holy Spirit dwelled only in God Himself, and in Jesus, the Son of God. But now, where is this Holy Spirit seeking to come? Into us—into me.

But then we must ask: Am I clean right now? My flesh and my deeds are unclean. No matter how clean a person may appear, he is still unclean. This is the same for pastors as well. In outward deeds one may seem righteous or holy, but in reality, we are unclean—unfit for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. So how is it that the Holy Spirit can come into us? It is because He does not dwell in our flesh but in our spirit. Then is my spirit clean or unclean? In the past, it was unclean. But what about now? Now it has been made clean. Why? There is no other reason—not because we did anything good. It is because we repented and were united with Jesus Christ. To be baptized means that your old, filthy self has been buried, and you have now entered into Jesus. You have become a part of Him. And that is why you are clean.

Those of you who have been baptized—are you clean or unclean? Is your spirit clean or unclean? You are clean. You have been baptized, haven’t you? Even if you were to go outside and smoke a cigarette, that is something your flesh does. Your spirit, however, is united with Jesus and is clean. You have been made clean. You must acknowledge this—this is faith. And when you have that faith, the Holy Spirit comes into that clean spirit and begins to transform you.

So confess this, everyone: “I have already been made clean in Jesus!” Then ask—ask that the Holy Spirit will come into you. Long for Him. And pray.

The Scripture teaches us this. A man has a friend come to him late at night, and the friend knocks on his door saying, “I’m sorry, but I have a guest who has just arrived. Please give me some food—just a bit of bread!” But it’s one in the morning. If your neighbor knocked on your door at 1 a.m. asking for something, would you get up? Most people would be annoyed and refuse. But the friend keeps knocking. So the man says, “No, not now. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.” Yet the knocking doesn’t stop. It goes on and on. And eventually the man gets up and gives him the bread. Why? Because he is bothered—because the persistence wears him down. Now, if even a person will give in simply because someone keeps asking, how much more will God give the Holy Spirit when we ask Him? Therefore ask—and keep asking—with full assurance until He gives. This is exactly what the Bible teaches. When you seek the Holy Spirit, do not give up. Keep asking until He pours Him out. The Lord Himself emphasized this.

I received the Holy Spirit three months after I began praying as a believer. Some people receive Him on the very day they hear the gospel. The reason a person does not receive the Holy Spirit is that he has not yet been broken—he has not acknowledged the truth. He has not yet accepted that his sins have already been forgiven, and he still considers himself righteous. That is why he cannot receive Him. But if you acknowledge this and pray now, you can receive the Holy Spirit now. It is different for each person. What matters is that you acknowledge you have been grafted into Jesus, recognize that you have been made clean through Him, and earnestly long for the Spirit.

Pray with longing: “Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit upon me!” Ask with all your heart. Do you understand? If you earnestly long and earnestly ask, then at the moment most fitting for each one of you, God will pour out His Holy Spirit. And when He does, you will speak in tongues; at times you may prophesy; and some will even see visions. Such wonderful works will unfold.

Father God, for everyone gathered here—those who have been united with Jesus Christ and have become His members, yet have not received the Holy Spirit—I ask that You firmly establish in them the faith that acknowledges the grace of Jesus Christ. And may the Holy Spirit, whom You gave only to Jesus Christ, now be poured out upon them as well, so that they may truly know that they have been united with Him. Let all the joy and happiness that dwell in You move and work within them. Stir their hearts so they may long earnestly for the Holy Spirit. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.