ON THE HOLY SPIRIT (PART 2)
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit " - Ephesians 5:18.
It's imperative that we be endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). If the Lord Jesus could not do without the Holy Spirit, we must consider His presence in our lives sacrosanct and 'a must have experience' for every believer in Christ. Being filled with the Holy Spirit makes your Christian experience a wonderful one!
It's amazing to realize that you are as full of God's Spirit as you believe to be. It's been said that you are full of God to the extent of His Word in you. The Lord isn't the One that determines how full of the Spirit you are. You do! God is always willing for every single person to be full of the Holy Spirit as much as He wills us healed, delivered, and prospered. It's never the Lord who doesn't move in your life—it's you who aren't receiving from Him or responding to Him. In the part 1 of this devotional on the Holy Spirit, I pointed out that it's much easier to be baptized in the Holy Spirit than it is to be and remain full of Him at every given time. I remember that I said that while baptism in the Holy Spirit requires simple faith in the finished work of God's Christ, keeping aglow the flame of the fire of the Holy Spirit in us requires a conscious and determined effort on our part to the end that He is not only retained in us, but that His influence in and over us becomes overwhelming!
Our Scripture reference today says to "... be filled with the Spirit". The original Greek rendering says to "be being filled with the Spirit". This means that it's the Lord's will that we be at all times and continually full of His Spirit. As we look closely at the verse under consideration, we will come to see that to "be filled with the Spirit" is actually a command to the Church. How sad it is that we find many in Church who aren't filled with the Holy Spirit. Indeed, not to be filled with the Spirit of God is as abominable before the Lord as being guilty of some other sinful misconduct. Yet, the Church doesn't seem to realize the gravity of not being filled with the Spirit. Today, the Church seems ready to despise or discipline a fornicator, and yet will choose to do nothing to the brother who goes on in fellowship neglecting to be filled with the Spirit. This is sad! Besides, this accounts for the state of powerlessness that the Church is currently experiencing.
But to experience the fullness of the Spirit as commanded, it will require a yielded spirit and a deliberate effort on our part, coupled with a practical consciousness of His presence, among others, to maintain that full and overwhelming measure of the Spirit in us. It's actually your choice to be full of God's Spirit or not! To be full of the Holy Spirit, we need to be yielded to Him. In other words, yielding to the Holy Spirit is a very important step that determines how full or otherwise we can be of the Holy Spirit.
To yield to the Spirit of God is to allow Him to take control and to help us to flow in the direction that He wills of us. Sometimes, as we pray or worship God there is a desire to do certain things, like lifting up our hands, kneeling down, prostrating before Him, dancing, etc. In actual fact, that's the Spirit moving us to do such things. As we respond and continue to respond to the Lord's Spirit in this manner, we are said to yield to Him, with the result that we become acquainted with the Spirit's promptings on issues that matter to Him. The essence of it all is that we allow God's Spirit to exert His Power and influence through us in whatever situation that is before us and in the end, we find Him manifesting in such a manner that is far beyond our ability. Hallelujah!
If you're not yet baptized in the Lord's Spirit, meet your Pastor or some matured Spirit-filled believer to pray for you to receive Him right away. May the Lord fill you with His Spirit as you avail and yield yourself to Him. Thereafter, maintain a conscious desire for more of Him daily. Wishing you therefore, a blessed and a glorious experience with God's Spirit, in Jesus name.
Have a great day!
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is your promise unto me. On the day of Pentecost, you fulfilled it by pouring your Spirit on the Church. I receive that same experience now. Thank you for helping me to maintain His fullness in me daily, in Jesus name, amen.