Trinity Baptist Church

The Spirit of God

Filled with the Spirit

Ephesians 5:18

 

They tell me it is rude and impolite to ask people personal questions, especially people you don't know real well.  You don't ask a man how much money he makes.  You don’t ask a woman how old she is or how much she weighs.  Don’t pry and ask personal questions about why people are in the hospital or having surgery. 

 

If they want to tell you some of that stuff they can. But it doesn’t take very long to learn, there are some questions better left unasked!

 

However, I’m going to go against my better judgment this morning and be rude and impolite for just a moment and ask each one of you a very personal question and I want you to answer it honestly, not out loud or with an uplifted hand, but answer it in your own heart.  "Would you say that right now, at this very moment you are being filled with the Holy Spirit of God?

 

Now there are three possible answers you can give to that question.  One, you can say, "Yes, praise God, I know the Holy Spirit is filling me right now." 

 

You might have to answer, "No, He isn't." 

 

And there is a third possible answer.  You may say," I am not certain what you mean by the filling of the Holy Spirit.  I don't know if I am filled with the Holy Spirit or not." 

 

I would daresay the majority of Christians today fall into the second or third categories.  And I would further suggest that in our answer to that question we find one of the most glaring needs of the church today.  It very likely explains why we are powerless and unChristlike.  It is the reason we are so quick to get mad and lose our temper.  There we find why we are so worldly minded rather than having the mind of Christ. 

 

In fact, every failure in my life and yours to exemplify Christ and respond and act as He instructs always roots back to us being filled with self rather than being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. 

 

And I pray by God's illumination that before we are through this morning, you will understand what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and apply it to your life so the next time you are asked you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt where you are in relationship to the filling of the Spirit. 

 

Now I would say that next to the question, "Do you know Jesus?" the most important question anybody will ever ask you is "Is the Spirit of God, without any shadow of doubt, filling you right now?"

 

One of the greatest truths in all the Word of God is that when I became a Christian the Spirit of God came to permanently indwell me to make His home in me.  We looked at that last week.  It is what scripture refers to as the baptism with the Holy Spirit. 

 

And as we discovered, it is a once and for all experience that occurs at the moment of salvation by which I am placed into the eternal body of Christ.

That means being filled with the Spirit of God is NOT having more or receiving more of the Holy Spirit than you have now.  I've seen preachers illustrate the filling of the Holy Spirit by taking a glass with a little bit of water in it and adding more water until the glass is full to illustrate how the Spirit fills us.  That is not a scriptural illustration. 

 

When you were saved God gave you the whole Holy Spirit and I think one of the grandest truths of all is that I have ALL of God dwelling in me right now.  There is not just a little bit of God in me and a little bit of God in you and a little bit of God in you.  It’s not as if God had to spread Himself around and hope there would be enough for everyone to have a little bit. 

 

The very fullness of God, the totality of everything He is lives and dwells within every one of His children. When the spirit of God came to indwell you, the whole spirit of God came to indwell you and it takes that to save you.  A half of God in you could not save you.  That little daisy growing out there needs the whole sun to keep it alive.

 

You say, “Brother Terry, one little flower doesn't need all that sun and all the light it produces.”  I beg your pardon!  Just take half of the sun away and sees what happens. 

 

It takes the whole power of the whole sun to keep one little blade of grass alive.  It takes the whole of God, all of God there is in you to save you and to sustain you.  Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not having more of the Holy Spirit than you had before. 

 

 

Now, the go-to text regarding the filling of the Holy Spirit is

 

Ephesians 5:18

 

So what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  Let me suggest a simple little outline directly from the text to help us understand this verse. 

 

First, being filled with the Holy Spirit is 

 

 

It is a command, not a suggestion. It is not a wish, but an undeniable and unalterable command of God.  "Be filled with the  Spirit".  He is not talking to super-saints. The filling of the Holy Spirit isn't for the hierarchy of Heaven.  It is not for the elite of the elect.  It is not just for preachers and evangelists.  It is for everyone, and God commands every person who is saved to the filled with the Holy Spirit. 

 

So the very first thing we need to understand is that this filling is not an optional item.  It is not luxury equipment in the Christian life.  It is standard equipment in every Christian's life if he is to be effective and to bring honor and glory to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Now think about that:  If it is a command for me to be filled with the spirit and I’m not filled with the spirit, then I am living in sin.  Did you know that it is a sin for you not to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  Without the filling you are living in open, flagrant, willful violation of the command of Almighty God. 

 

 

We need to be convinced of this and we need to be convicted of it.  I think a great many people in our churches think that it would be nice if they could be filled with the Spirit and they would love to be filled with the Spirit, but it is not absolutely necessary and I doubt if very many people are convinced and convicted that not to be filled with the Spirit is a sin against God.  But it is. 

 

It is just as much a sin against God not to be filled with the Spirit as it is to be drunk with wine. Now I don't know any other way to read that 18th verse than that way.

 

There are two commands in that verse.  One is a negative command and the other is a positive command.  The same God made both commands.  The same spirit inspired both commands.  It is a sin not to obey the command of God.  With one breath Paul said, "Don't be drunk with wine," with another breath he says, on the contrary and in contrast to that, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit of God."

 

Another passage of Scripture makes the application of that command very specific.  It’s found in

 

Acts 6:1-7

 

Here we are told that one of the specific requirements for a man to serve as a deacon is to be full of the Holy Spirit.  Now that is not to the exclusion of everyone else, but simply to highlight those men whom the church selects. 

 

And the Apostles were very clear.  They instructed the church to make certain that these men fulfill the scriptural obligations. 

Now unfortunately down through the years, churches have limited the deacon selection process down to seeing if a man is the husband of one wife.  And if you can meet that qualification, everything else is bypassed. 

 

But did you know that according to Acts 6 it is just as much a qualification for a man to be set apart for service to be filled with the Spirit of God as it is for him to have only been married once?  In fact, it is more of a qualification because the Bible leaves some room for interpretation on the marriage issue. 

 

But there is no wiggle room on the Spirit-filled qualification.  It is a command to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God and if you are not being filled right now you are living in sin and disobedience to God.  So why is that so important?

 

I suppose there are many reasons but let’s just narrow it down to the application of service.  That is the direct application regarding the deacon requirement.  The context of the statement is service.  There was a need in the congregation.  The apostles had all they could do with teaching and preaching so this instruction was given to find men full of the Holy Spirit to take the lead role in serving the church.  

 

They weren’t filled to be smart or make strategic business decisions.  It wasn’t so they could run the financial affairs of the church.  It wasn’t to do long-range planning and build a business plan.  They were filled to serve.  They were filled to do the lowliest responsibilities in the church.     

 

So how does that work? The greatest illustration I know of regarding the power of service was given by Jesus Himself in John 15. 

 

Listen to verses 1-2, 4-8

 

The picture is of a man who has a vineyard and the ultimate goal is to get that vineyard producing at maximum capacity or to put it in biblical terms “much fruit”. 

 

So here we have a picture of the relationship that the Christian has with Jesus.  Jesus is the vine.  I am just the branch.  Did you know that the branch doesn't produce fruit?  The branch simply bears the fruit. The fruit is produced by the vine. The life is flowing through the vine.  The branch is just a rack to hang grapes on.  That is all the branch is for.  It must be there so that it can bear fruit.  It never produces it.  It cannot produce fruit.  You and I cannot produce fruit.  Jesus said all I want you to be is a branch.  Just make yourself available by abiding in me.  

 

So the responsibility of fruit-bearing is on the vine.  I used to work myself to death and worry that I hadn't done enough until I discovered that the responsibility for fruitfulness is not on me.  It is on Jesus.  He is the vine.  All he asks of me is to be a branch.   What does a branch do all day long? It abides in the vine.  It lets the life of Jesus flow through him and the life of Jesus as it reaches through me touches the lives of others and transforms them.

 

How are we going to have more fruit?  How are we going to have more baptisms? 

 

Most of the time we think in terms of starting a new class, revitalizing the organization or encouraging more people to get involved.  But look at the method of Jesus.  "I am the vine, you are the branches.  He that abides in me and I in him brings forth MUCH fruit. 

 

Just abide in Jesus! Get closer to Jesus!  And as you and I abide in Him and let His word abide in us, more and more of the Spirit of God flows through us and the result is the production of more fruit

 

And it doesn’t matter what your area or giftedness for service, the key to serving effectively is abiding in Christ.  As we abide in Him, we are filled with His Spirit and empowered for service.

 

That is the key.  That’s why God said of these first deacons, “Make sure they are men full of the Holy Spirit.”  Without that, they cannot do what they are supposed to do and if they try, they’ll just create a mess.   

 

You must be filled with the Holy Spirit for power in service.  It is a clear and unmistakable command of God.  But that’s not all there is to it.  To be filled with the Spirit is not only a command,  

 

 

Notice the phrase “be filled with”.  That is a passive verb and the New English Bible translates it properly.  "Let the Holy Spirit fill you."  You see that puts the reluctance on our part, not on His part. 

 

 

Some Christians have never been filled with the Holy Spirit because they think God is reluctant to fill them.  Listen:  You don’t have to beg and plead with God hoping that someday you will get to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

You DO NOT grow up into the filling of the Spirit, you grow FROM the filling of the Holy Spirit.  There is no spiritual growth until you are filled with the Spirit.  You may grow in knowledge.  You may grow in church reputation and membership and church activity, but spiritual growth comes only after the filling of the Holy Spirit. 

 

What does it mean to be filled?  It means to be controlled. One man translates this "to be possessed completely of the Spirit."  And Paul uses an illustration everyone could understand.   He says, “Don’t be controlled by the influence of wine.  Instead be controlled by the Spirit of God.”

 

When a man is drunk with wine he is controlled by that wine.  When a man is filled with the Spirit he is controlled by the Holy Spirit.  It’s just that simple. 

 

Someone says, "I would love to be filled with the spirit."  Oh would you?  Would you really like to have a person controlling you that would not tolerate any self-centeredness in your life?  Do you really want to be controlled by a person who will not tolerate any thinking of self?  Do you really want to be controlled by a person who will not tolerate any jealousy or bitterness? 

 

 

 

 

Do you really want to be controlled by a person who is going to demand that you recognize you have no rights of your own, you are nothing but a slave?  Do you really want to be controlled today by a person who is going to demand absolute holiness of life and not tolerate anything less? 

 

To be controlled by the Holy Spirit involves two things. 

 

First, it is saying "no" to self.  There can only be one operator of the Christian life, either self or the Spirit and the first thing I have to do is to recognize that I am not my own, I am bought with a price and I dethrone "self."  That is just a negative.

 

Second, I must enthrone Jesus as Lord of my life.  For many of us, Jesus has never been Lord.  Not really.  We might say He is.  We may try to convince ourselves and others.  But deep down in our heart of hearts we know He isn’t.  Never has been.  We said He was when we got saved.   

 

But since that time, we’ve reassumed control of our life.  And now what we’ve got to do, if we will be obedient to the command of God is surrender again. 

Once the Holy Spirit awakens us to that need, then once again we must consciously and volitionally make Jesus Lord of our life.  And when you make Jesus Lord, the Holy Spirit will fill you.   It’s just that simple. 

 

Then there is one final thing to keep in mind.  Being filled with the Spirit is a command of God, it is a command to be controlled by the Spirit and

 

 

 

That verse literally reads "and be being filled with the Spirit." 

 

It is not a roller-coaster type of existence.  I am not talking about a little inspiration now and then.  I am not talking a little holy kick once in a while.  I am talking about a daily walk, a daily abiding in Jesus, continually filled with the spirit.  Next week we’re going to discover what it means to “walk in the Spirit”. 

 

That is the essence of being filled with the Spirit.  It is an ongoing, continual control over every part of our life that is exercised by the Spirit of God. 

 

That is why I phrased the question, not "has the Holy Spirit filled you," but "at this moment is the Holy Spirit filling you?"  Is he at this moment controlling you?  Is he?  I have discovered in my own life that there are two ways to continue to be filled with the Spirit.

 

(a) One is instant confession of sin.  The moment I become aware of sin to instantly confess it.

 

(b) Secondly, by immediate obedience.  The moment the spirit of God impresses me to witness, speak, pray or whatever, I must offer Him immediate obedience if I will be continual filled with the Spirit of God.

 

 

 

 

Let me see if I can illustrate it for you.  It’s possible that the Spirit of God can’t fill you because you’re already full.  It might be self or sin or almost anything that has control of your life.  Even God Himself can’t fill what is already full!

 

Or it might be that you’ve closed off your life.  The lid is screwed on, clamped down and sealed.  You can't fill that jar either.  Some Christians are so full of themselves, they have no room for the Holy Spirit.

Some Christians have simply closed their heart to the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

In a sense being filled with the Spirit is impossible, at least as far as it depends on us. Only God’s Spirit can fill us. And to be filled, we need two things:  emptiness and openness. You can’t fill a jar that’s already full, and you can’t fill a jar that is not open.

 

There must be a sense of need—“Lord, I’m empty and I need to be filled by your Spirit.”

 

And there must be a willingness—“Lord, I’m open to you. Let your Spirit fill me now.”

 

The filling of the Spirit is really as simple as that. As long as we are conscious of our need and as long as we are willing to yield to the Lord, we can be filled with the Spirit because his power is available to us all day long.

 

Several years ago  The Fort Worth Star Telegram carried the story of a student pilot who was training with his instructor and somewhere in the course of flight he became afraid. He panicked and he froze. He froze to the point that the pilot that was with him couldn't get him to release the controls.

He put the plane in a downward spiral. The pilot began to say to the student pilot, ''Turn over the controls. Turn over the controls. Turn over the controls.'' The last thing Traffic Control heard was the shout of the pilot, ''Turn over the controls!'' And they crashed.

 

That's what God says to every Christian. He says, ''Turn over the controls.'' In Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, He says, ''I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies (turn over the controls) a living sacrifice.'' That's what it is to be full of the Holy Spirit. Every day of your life you turn over the controls and say, ''Lord, I don't know how to fly this plane of my life, but, Holy Spirit, You do and You help me today to yield the controls to You.''

 

So let me ask the question again.  "Is the Holy Spirit of God filling you right now?"  Is He?  Is He in absolutely sovereign control of you right now?  if there is any unconfessed sin, any disobedience, if you know of a command in this Bible that you are deliberately disobeying, He is not in control. 

If there is unforgiveness, if there is any sin at all, the spirit of God in not in control.

 

If he is not in control and He has made you aware of that, would you in this moment, acknowledge that for the sin that it is, made a deliberate decision to make Jesus Lord, confess any known sin and obey Him immediately so the Spirit of God can fill your life? 

 

Will you?  I pray you will.

 

Let’s pray.