Why being filled with the Holy Spirit is important: Part Two

Chapter Seventeen:

 

What we need to realize is that the filling of the Holy Spirit wasn't just for Jesus' disciples so they could spread the Gospel, but it's for every believer, today.  Acts 2: 1-4  does describe how the Holy Spirit fell upon those that were there in the upper room (referred to as Pentecost), but if you go on and read Acts 10: 44-48, you'll see that it also fell later on those who were Gentiles at Cornelius's home.  Then, in Acts 11: 1-18, Peter went to Jerusalem to report this amazing event that happened at Cornelius' home to the Jewish Christians who thought it was impossible for uncircumcised Gentiles to become Christians.  

Note that in Acts 11: 15 - 17 Peter uses such expressions as "the Holy Spirit fell upon them"..."the same gift"... and "baptized with the Holy Spirit".  Since all of these verses describe what happened in the upper room and then at Cornelius's home, and Peter describes both of these events as being alike, it seems clear that what happened at both events is that Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on them all, regardless of whether they had been one of his close disciples. Therefore, following Pentecost, the power and the filling of the Holy Spirit has now become available to all who accept Christ.  

To be filled with the Holy Spirit all you have to do is believe and pray...pray not only to be filled with the Spirit but also for the Spirit to guide your life and teach you.  Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to come in and fill you with His presence, allowing yourself to become a vehicle for God to work through.  In order for the Holy Spirit to be able to work through us, we must endeavor to walk by our spirit, and not our fleshly, carnal nature.  If we walk in the spirit, our attitude and behavior will produce the fruit of  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  However, if we walk by our flesh nature it will interfere with our relationship with God and hearing from Him. The Scriptures warn us of what it's like to give in to our flesh nature in Galatians 5:19, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like."  So, make every attempt to walk by your spirit or it will prevent the Holy Spirit from working through you. 

You'll notice that I Corinthians 12: 4-10 outlines the gifts of the Spirit:  "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,  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.^"

Note that the next verse, verse 11, says that the Holy Spirit distributes to each one of us individually, as He wills.  It is up to God as to what gifts He gives to each of us.  Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in wanting more than what God has in mind for us, so while we need to pray earnestly for the gifts, we need to also keep in mind that God makes the final determination of what gifts He wants us to have.  The gifts of the Spirit are not for our own gratification, but are given to us so that we may use them to bring glory to God, reach others for Him, and for our own personal, spiritual protection. 

Being filled with the Holy Spirit will change your life in many ways.  It will transform you, daily, into the image of Christ.  It will help you better understand things spiritually and it will also give you the ability to minister to others in order to help bring those that are lost into the Kingdom of God.