“I will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit who will help you and . . . will keep on living in you.” John 14:16-17 (CEV)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
“Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [being] filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV)
CONTINUAL AVAILABILITY TO A CONSTANT FLOW OF THE SPIRIT’S POWER
WHY MUST I BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
1. GOD’S WORD COMMANDS IT
“Be [being] filled with the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV)
2. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS MY POWER SOURCE
“Apart from me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5b (NIV)
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” Ephesians 3:16 (NIV)
What kind of strength does the Spirit give me?
- STRENGTH TO ACCOMPLISH MY GOALS
“‘You will not succeed by your own strength or power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD All-Powerful.” Zechariah 4:6 (NCV)
- STRENGTH TO INFLUENCE THE WORLD AROUND ME
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NIV)
- STRENGTH TO RESIST TEMPTATION
“When you are tempted, he will also give you the ability to endure the temptation as your way of escape.” 1 Corinthians 10:13c (GW)
- STRENGTH TO ENDURE TRIALS
“Their attacks were so fierce that I nearly fell, but the LORD helped me. My power and my strength come from the LORD, and he has saved me.” Psalm 118:13-14 (CEV)
3. IT IS THE ONLY WAY I CAN PLEASE GOD
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires . . . Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Romans 8:5,8 (NIV)
4. IT IS MY PURPOSE FOR LIVING
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? . . . Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19a (NIV)
5. WITHOUT THE SPIRIT I CANNOT UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD
“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned . . . But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:14,16 (NIV)
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth . . . He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”
John 16:13-14 (NIV)
Action Plan: This week, make it a point to ask God for inspiration each time before you read the Bible. Remember, the Bible was divinely inspired when it was written, and it is inspired when it is read.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT?
- TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT MEANS TO LIVE GOD’S WAY.
“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)
HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT?
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge . . . to another faith . . . to another gifts of healing . . . to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NIV)
(See also Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11)
- THE PRIMARY SIGN IS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23a (NIV)
Action Plan: Choose one of the fruits of the Spirit listed above and look that word up on biblegateway.com. Read through the other verses that come up pertaining to that word.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (NKJV)
HOW CAN I BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
- ASK…AND KEEP ON ASKING.
“‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:13-14a (NIV)
“‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive.” John 7:37-39 (NKJV)
“We can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (TLB)
Action Plan: Spend time everyday worshiping the Lord. Ask him for strength to endure temptations and peace in your heart for others. Take one day at a time, start fresh each morning.
