Being filled with the Spirit may be a concept that is new to
you. The first role of the Holy Spirit
was to convict you of your sins and your need to repent and accept Christ when
you were an unbeliever. When you became
a believer your body literally became the temple of God. You are now separated from this world and
have been restored to your rightful place as His child. But after becoming a believer and disciple of
Christ, the Holy Spirit now wants to take on a different role in your
life. Being filled with the Holy Spirit
means that as a believer you are also to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do
things on the Lord's behalf. So, the
Holy Spirit not only transforms us into a new creation, but gives us power to
do God's work on this earth.
In the Old Testament, and before Pentecost (as described in
the Book of Acts), the Holy Spirit was selective in whom He indwelt and it was
not meant to be permanent. He would work temporarily through people (i.e.,
Joshua, David and Daniel) so that the Lord's work could be done. However, after Jesus came to earth to atone
for mankind's sins in order to close the chasm between man and God , that all
changed...the Holy Spirit's role was also about to change. For
you see, only with the eternal sacrifice of Christ could the Holy Spirit now
dwell eternally with humanity, rather than temporarily.
The very last words Jesus spoke as He met with his disciples
on the Mount of Olives only moments before He ascended into Heaven were very
important after having commissioned them to go into all the world and preach
the gospel and to make disciples of all nations. He had told them not to leave Jerusalem
until they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He told them, "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). What He was telling them was that even though
they had spent the past 3 years or so with Him, it was not enough for them to
have heard Him preach, or witness His many miracles or even see Him raise the
dead. He was telling them that they
needed to be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to be effective and fruitful
in their endeavors for the Kingdom and in their own personal walk with God.
In the book of Acts we see where the disciples waited in the
upper room, as instructed by Jesus, and were then filled with the Holy
Spirit. This indwelling gave them
divine, supernatural power that changed the course of how they would go about
fulfilling the Great Commission Jesus had entrusted to them. They were now able to do things in His
strength, not in their own natural, human strength. They were used to do mighty works that they
could not have done without the help of the Holy Spirit. And it also helped each one of them grow
closer to their Lord.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be filled with
Christ. You are to be directed by Christ so that you do His will and fulfill
His purpose for you in this life and become like Him. The fact that Christ lives in you and can
operate through you is one of the awesome truths of the Scriptures. He was not just a man who spoke wisely or just
a prophet of God, but He actually indwells every believer. He wants you to live the same kind of
supernatural life that He lived and accomplish great things for the Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit has several purposes in our lives. It is to be our teacher and our guide. John 14:26 says, "But the Helper, the
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all
things, and bring to you remembrance all things I said to you."
The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. Romans 8:26-27 says, "Likewise the
Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For
we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself
makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the
mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according
to the will of God."
The Holy Spirit gives us joy and peace. Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law."
The Holy Spirit gives us boldness to witness. Acts 4: 31 tells of how "And when they
had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken and they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with
boldness."
The Holy Spirit gives us power. Ephesians 3:16 says, "...that He would grant
you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might
through His Spirit in the (your) inner man."
The Holy Spirit gives us power to live godly lives. Ezekiel 36:27 says, "I will put My
Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do them."
The Holy Spirit helps us to pray. Ephesians 6:18 says, "...praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with
all perseverance and supplication for the saints."
The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and revelation. Ephesians 1: 17-18 says, "...that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."
God our Father, speaks through us by the Spirit. Matthew 10:20 says, "...for it is not
you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."
The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, not only changes us
on the inside, but gives us power to do things and believe things, if we will
only allow Him.
And finally, The Holy Spirit gives us gifts for ministry. I Corinthians 12: 4-7 says, "There are
diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but
it is the same God who works all in all.
But the manifestations of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit
of all."
Next time we will look at how one becomes filled with the
Holy Spirit and how it will change your life forever.
Mathew 7:21 is a hard-hitting poweful heavy conviction for me.. what does it mean to be "authorized"... these "believers", in matt 21, apparently were not believers..but they did things in God's Name !!!!!!! We can be "noisy gongs", as explained in Eph 13, and not know it..WOW.. this is real stuff..
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for your comment. Yes, it is real stuff! I believe the people He is referring to in Matthew 7:21 are those who are doing things for personal gain, and are the miracles we will see happen in the world when the Antichrist is here. We are warned that the Antichrist will be able to perform all sorts of miracles, just as Christ did, so it follows that this power will be passed on to those who worship/follow Him. His goal is to confuse mankind as much as possible. We are warned throughout the New Testament that not all who do things in Christ's name are true followers of Christ, but are wolves in sheep's clothing. This is why it's so critical to walk close with the Holy Spirit and develop your discernment so that you will be able to tell who is a true believer and who is a false, Satan-following false believer, who has Satan's power to perform wonders. They will also be preaching a false Gospel, the beginnings of which we are seeing even today. Many evangelical churches are no longer truly following Christ, they are preaching a feel-good Gospel, not the real Gospel. If we are not born again, no matter what we preach, or the miracles we can perform, it does not get us entrance into heaven. The Word says that God will bring things to an end because "even the very elect will be deceived." Again, a strong warning that times will be so deceptive that even those who are born again can be deceived. We need to have our house in order, be ready for Christ's return, and in the meantime focus on becoming more like Christ (which many pastors today are NOT preaching), and watching for the signs that Jesus warned about, the signs that will precede Christ's second coming. There is no need for us to prepare the earth for His return (another false teaching, the "Kingdom now" people) ,in addition to other false teachings like the name it/claim it, God wants you happy motivational things we are hearing coming from many pulpits these days. I no longer listen to any preacher/pastor as many are teaching false doctrines (Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, etc.). If you want to follow a pastor who is sticking with the Bible even though it's costing him to loose many pastor friends, follow Pastor Youseff out of Atlanta, Georgia (USA). He is preaching things that are true and warning aginst false teachers that are preparing us to receive the Antichrist. People like Osteen, Meyers and Copeland will be those who are told what you read in Matthew 7:21!
Deleteneed to know more about the holy spirit
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me more about the holy spirit
ReplyDeleteTo know about the holy spirit
ReplyDelete