"); document.writeln("Print this page");document.writeln("
On one occasion the late evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, holding up an empty drinking glass, asked one of his audiences: “Tell me, how can I get the air out of this glass?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump.” Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After many impossible suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to show that victory in the Christian life is not by sucking out a sin here and there, but rather by being filled with the Spirit of God.1"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("
As genuine Christians if we are to live a successful Christian life—one that empowers us to overcome sinful ways, gives us a sense of inner peace, and empowers us to live a fruitful life that glorifies God—it is essential that we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
"); document.writeln("In fact it is God’s will that every Christian “be filled with the Spirit,”2 the evidence of which is P-O-W-E-R. As Jesus said to his disciples, “But 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.\"3 So the question is: How can we be filled with God’s Holy Spirit? Following are five key steps:
"); document.writeln(""); document.writeln(""); document.writeln(""); document.writeln("
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("P "); document.writeln("Present your life to Jesus Christ "); document.writeln(""); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("O "); document.writeln("Obey God on every issue "); document.writeln(""); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("W "); document.writeln("Want sincerely to be filled "); document.writeln(""); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("E "); document.writeln("Entreat or ask God to be filled "); document.writeln(""); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("R "); document.writeln("Receive the filling by faith "); document.writeln("
1. Present your life to Jesus Christ. To be filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit for fruitful and dynamic living, it is essential that we daily present, commit and trust our life to Jesus Christ in unconditional surrender—in deed and not just in word. The Bible says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”4
"); document.writeln("![](\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-left.gif\")
Like the laws of the land, all
");
document.writeln(" of God’s laws are for our benefit,
");
document.writeln(" protection and well-being.![](\"http://www.actsweb.org/Images/quote-right.gif\")
2. Obey God on every issue. The second step to being filled with God’s Spirit is obedience; that is, obedience to every command and direction of God as found in his Word, the Bible. His Word says, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given to those who obey him.”5
"); document.writeln(" We need to realize that, like the laws of the land, all of God’s laws are for our benefit, protection and well-being. They are not to keep us bound in rigid, false-religion legalism. Thus it is imperative to search the Scriptures daily to learn what is essential for living in harmony with all that God’s Word teaches.
");
document.writeln(" Realize, too, that disobedience to God’s laws is sin and this grieves the Holy Spirit which, in turn, breaks communion and fellowship with God.6 Thus all sin needs to be confessed and forgiveness received from God, which God always gives to those who confess their sins to him.7 Should you fall down, get up immediately, confess, ask God for forgiveness, and go on.8
3. Want sincerely to be filled. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst [strongly desire] for righteousness, for they will be filled.”9 This principle also applies to being filled with God’s Holy Spirit. As Jesus also stated, “‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”10
"); document.writeln("And as Jesus said to the lame man lying by the pool of Bethesda who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, “Do you want to get well?”11 He didn’t say, “Do you wish to get well?” He said, Do you want to get well?” So we, too, to be filled with God’s Spirit need to want this with all of our heart and be willing to meet the requirements that God says are needed to be filled.
Page 2
"); document.writeln("4. Entreat God for His filling. Entreat simply means to ask. Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!\"12 And again, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”13
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("We can ask God with confidence because we know that it is his will for every Christian to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact, God has commanded it saying, “... be filled with the Spirit.”14 Therefore “ask and you will receive.”
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("5. Receive the filling by faith. The Bible says, “By this he [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”15 And again, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”16
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("If you adhere to God’s principles for the filling of the Holy Spirit—Present, Obey, Want, Entreat, Receive—God will fill you with his Spirit regardless of how you feel. God’s Word doesn’t say that you will receive “good feelings” when you are filled with the Holy Spirit (although you may or may not) but that you will receive POWER. We need to take God at his Word, believe him, and act accordingly.
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("What is the evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit? The sure-fire evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit, according to God’s Word, is power—power to be an effective witness for Christ, power to serve Christ, power to live a life that is in harmony with God’s will, and power to bear the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”17
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("The literal translation of the command
");
document.writeln(" to be filled with the Spirit is to
");
document.writeln(" \'keep on being filled with the Spirit.\'
Having a gift or gifts of the Spirit are not necessarily evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit because a person may have many gifts of the Spirit but be anything but filled with God’s Spirit.
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("How to maintain the filling of the Holy Spirit: The filling of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience. It is a continual action and a daily need. The literal translation of the command to be filled with the Spirit18 is to “keep on being filled with the Spirit.” The disciples of Jesus were repeatedly filled with the Holy Spirit.19 Learn to continually abide in Christ who said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”20 We abide in Christ by spending time regularly with him in his Word and in prayer and by daily maintaining the five key steps.
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("A suggested prayer for the filling of the Holy Spirit: “Lord Jesus, I surrender my heart and life unconditionally to you. Please take complete control of my life, forgive me for every sin, and fill me with your Holy Spirit and power so that my life will always be lived for you and thereby glorify your name. Thank you for taking control of my life, forgiving me for all my sins, and filling me with your Holy Spirit as you have commanded and promised to all who obey you, ask for, and believe. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”
"); document.writeln(" "); document.writeln("1. Lee Tan, Paul, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Assurance Publishers, Rockville, Maryland 20851, p. 555. © 1979 by Paul Lee Tan. 2. Ephesians 5:18 (NIV). 3. Acts 1:8 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 4. Romans 12:1-2 (NASB). "); document.writeln(" 5. Acts 5:32 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 6. See Ephesians 4:30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19. "); document.writeln(" 7. 1 John 1:9. "); document.writeln(" 8. See Proverbs 24:16. "); document.writeln(" 9. Matthew 5:6. "); document.writeln(" 10. John 7:37-39 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 11. John 5:6 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 12. Luke 11:13 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 13. 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 14. Ephesians 5:18(NIV). "); document.writeln(" 15. John 7:39 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 16. Mark 11:24 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 17. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV). 18. Ephesians 5:18 (NIV). "); document.writeln(" 19. See Acts 2:4, 4:31, 9:17 and 13:9. "); document.writeln(" 20. John 15:5 (NIV).
"); document.writeln(""); document.writeln("
This and other articles by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.
Copyright © 1990 - 2024
ACTS International