THE HOLY SPIRIT - BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

My next few blog posts will be thoughts and messages on the Holy Spirit that  I have shared with the local assembly God has placed us in.  I pray they will be a blessing to you.

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21

What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes into a believer when we are born again. When one is filled with the Spirit, he gives the Holy Spirit complete control of his life.

What happens when one is filled with the Spirit? Our church life as well as our family life are affected (Ephesians 5). The Fruit of the Spirit is evident in our lives (Galatians 5:21-22). We become bold in witnessing to others as demonstrated by the following Scripture:

Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness”

Acts 4:33 “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all”

We will show great generosity toward those in need (Acts 4:32, 34-35).

Let's talk about how to be filled with the Holy Spirit

First of all, if we want to be filled with the Holy Spirit we must not grieve Him. Paul wrote that the Holy Spirit can, indeed, be grieved in Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”. We MUST stop grieving the Holy Spirit.

It's important for us to realize that God can be grieved. Moses wrote that God was grieved with man's sin before the flood (Genesis 6:6). David wrote that God was grieved with grumbling Israelites (Psalm 95:10). Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). Jesus wept over wayward Jerusalem and at the grave of Lazarus (Luke 19:41; John 11:35).

It's been said, “Don't go anywhere you can't take the Lord along with you”. This advise is just plain wrong. You see, as Christians we cannot leave our Lord behind!. But we can, in fact, grieve Him...break His heart.

What is it that grieves the heart of God? That's a good starting point. Let's look a what Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice”. Now let's break this down a bit. You cannot be filled with bitterness and be filled with the Spirit. You cannot be filled with anger and be filled with the Spirit. You cannot be filled with malice and be filled with the Spirit. You cannot be filled with hatred and be filled with the Spirit. If you are having problems with these things, confess these sins and forsake them! Grieve not the Holy Spirit!

The second thing we must be mindful of is that we quench not the Holy Spirit. Paul in writing to the church in Thessalonica wrote, “Quench not the Spirit” (I Thessalonians 5:19). We must stop quenching the Spirit. To quench the Spirit is to stifle or suppress His work in us and among us. To quench the Spirit is to halt His work in our heart. To quench the Spirit is to resist Him. To quench the Spirit is to exalt our will above the will of God. To quench the Spirit is to tune Him out. Maybe we are tuning in to the worry channel. Perhaps we've tuned in to the fear channel. Then there's the entertainment channel some people prefer. Let's not forget the greed channel and the selfish channel.

When we stop quenching the Spirit, wonderful things will happen. Doors will open. We will find peace of mind. We will then experience the work of the Comforter

The third thing we must do is walk in the Spirit. Paul addresses this when writing to the the Church of Galatia in Galatians 5:16-17, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would”.

We must start walking in the Spirit – this is a lifestyle...a way of life. “Walking” speaks of faith. The lame man arose and walked. Peter walked on the water. To walk in the Spirit is to take by faith that God has granted His filling and proceed accordingly.

If we find we are grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit in our lives, we must confess this and repent of it. One thing we need to take by faith is HIS filling of us with His Holy Spirit. This is something very personal...something that only we can settle in our lives. No one can do it for you. YOU must do it yourself. What matters most is not how much of the Holy Spirit we have, but how much of us the Holy Spirit has.

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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