Filled with God's Spirit - Part 2

 

Once we surrender possession of our life to God's Holy Spirit, our total motivation in life changes. We are directed each moment of the day to walk in the center of God's Will. The still, small voice within us whispers our marching orders (Isaiah 30:20-21). The Spirit permeates our life and dictates our thoughts, words and deeds (Romans 8:14).

If what we hear contradicts the Word of God, we never act on it (John 16:8-11). Satan is an angel of light and His whole purpose in life is to deceive. He will give us promptings that will lead us to a ruined life. God's Word is our measuring rod to gauge what we hear (John 16:12-15). God's Spirit will never oppose His Word.

The power of God's Spirit within us allows us to make wise choices for our life, to live by Godly principles and stewardship, to have a word for the weary in due season (Isaiah 50:4) and to witness to people in every situation, which God provides for us (Acts 1:8). Through God's Spirit we have a new song in our heart (Psalm 96:1).

We speak to one another in spiritual songs, giving continual thanks to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19-21). God's Spirit teaches us God's ways, conforms us to the image of Christ's divine nature and keeps us on a solid footing on the rocky road of life (Romans 8:29; Psalm 27:11; 2 Peter 1:4). God's Spirit is our guarantee and assurance that God abides in us (1 John 4:13; Romans 8:16).

Prayer:

Father God, if we follow the vain idols, which this world offers to us, our heart will faint away and we will end up in desolation. Only You give us Your eternal life and salvation (Jonah 2:7-9). Teach us to continually walk by Your Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25). Help us to hear Your Spirit and to walk in Your statutes (1 Kings 8:61), and to memorize Your Word and to hide it in our heart, so that we will never sin against You (Psalm 119:11; Acts 20:22-23).

Thought for the Day:

God's Spirit will teach us God's ways, so that we can have faith in His faithfulness, and walk through life with our focus on the glory of His name. - Psalm 86:11

Filled with God Spirit - Part 1

 

Filled With the Spirit - Part 1

God promises to give us His Spirit (1 John 5:14-15). We receive the Holy Spirit from God at the moment of Salvation (John 14:16, 7:37-39; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 3:2). Jesus sits on the throne of our life and fills us with the fullness of His Spirit (Galatians 5: 15-25). The Holy Spirit is a Believer's down payment of our inheritance of the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30).

By being filled with the Spirit, I am not referring to speaking in tongues or any public manifestation of spiritual gifts. I also do not mean having God's power in order to show off how great we are. I am referring to spiritually entering the Holy of Holies of God's Heavenly Tabernacle (2 Corinthians 5:1). This is the Holiest Place, the Sanctuary where we dwell in holiness for the rest of our life.

The Bible instructs us to keep on, continually being filled with God's Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis (Ephesians 5:18), and to yield possession and control of our life to Him. Our obedience allows God's Spirit to freely work in and through our life. With the Spirit's filling, we also have the mind of Christ in every situation and decision we face (1 Corinthians 2:15).

We cannot cause the Spirit's filling by exerting our will power or by doing good deeds. God fills us with His Spirit as we completely surrender to Him. God grafts us into the Vine of Christ (John 15:5). This makes us Christ-centered Believers. We love God's Word, we trust Him in every area of our life and we are filled with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Prayer:

Father God, You promised to give us the Spirit and You commanded that we be filled with Your Spirit (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:22, 23.). Thank You for helping us to get off the throne of our life and to follow the direction of Your Spirit in everything that we think, say and do (Psalm 19:14). You ordained for the Spirit-filled Christian to experience Christ's abundant, powerful and fruitful life flowing in and through our life for Your glory and honor. We ask that You continually fill us with Your Holy Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

To live in the fullness of God's Spirit requires complete consecration of our life to Him.

The Holy Spirit in the Believer

We have love from the Father, grace from Jesus and communion with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). The Spirit seals, justifies and sanctifies us in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 1:22). He also sheds the joy and love of God in our hearts (Romans 5:3-5). He changes us into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Our body is the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). The Holy Spirit fills us with righteousness, peace and joy, so that we abound in hope through His power (Romans 14:17, 15:13).

Our talents from God are not performed by human effort, but in demonstration of the Spirit and the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:4, 12:4-11). We speak, not according to human reasoning, but according to God’s wisdom, which the Holy Spirit teaches us (1 Corinthians 2:10-14). By God’s Spirit we proclaim that Jesus is Lord. We operate in His gifts and minister in His name (1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 6:4-6). If we do not have the Spirit, we do not belong to God (Romans 8:9).

Our unconverted spirit is dead in sin and ungodliness. If we live in the flesh, we will die in the flesh. However, if we take up our cross and die to the flesh each day, we are free from the spirit of bondage to sin and we receive the Spirit of adoption as children of God (Romans 8:10-16, 23). The Holy Spirit within us searches our heart, helps our human frailties and makes intercession for us according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).

By sin and obstinacy, we can resist the Holy Spirit and stop His work in our lives and in the world around us (Acts 7:51). As we submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, He leads us to serve in the areas of our spiritual gifts. In this way, we obey the will of God and further His Kingdom in the earth (Acts 20:28). As we walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh, we are free from the law of sin and death. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us (Romans 8:1-4).

Abraham became the father of believing Gentiles through Christ, so that we can receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14, 4:6). The carnal flesh within us wars against the Spirit, but the Spirit within us is stronger (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6). We do not perfect our self through works of the flesh and sheer will power, because the Spirit, who began a good work of perfection in us, will completely sanctify us (Galatians 3:1-3). We, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of this righteousness by faith (Galatians 5:5).

If we cater to the flesh, we reap the corruption of the flesh, but if we focus on the things of the Spirit, then we reap everlasting life (Galatians 6:8). Therefore, if we walk in the Spirit, we do not fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:16-18). As we crucify the flesh with its desires and live by the Spirit, He strengthens our inner man (Ephesians 3:16). The Spirit fills us with His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-25).

We are not to grieve or quench the Spirit, who seals us until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). We use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and pray in the Spirit with perseverance. We also pray in the spirit to intercede for all the Saints, especially for the persecuted church (Ephesians 6:17-18; Philippians 1:19). We are to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, so that we do not live in carnal excess, such as being drunk with wine (Ephesians 5:18).

The Holy Spirit warns us that in the last days, people will depart from the faith, giving more credence to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons instead of to God’s truth (1 Timothy 4:1). However, God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). The Bible is our guide for our faith and practice. We live, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but only by His mercy. God washes, regenerates and renews our spirit by the Holy Spirit, which He abundantly sheds on all of us through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:5-6).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Your blood gives us eternal salvation through the Spirit of God, because You offered Yourself up to death on the cross to purge our conscience of dead works so that we can serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:2). Those who trample the concept of Your blood and consider it worthy of scorn, even though the Holy Spirit clearly proclaims that salvation comes only through You, gain for themselves a harsh punishment (Hebrews 10:29). Help us to share the good news of Your Gospel with everyone who will give us the opportunity, so we can help to spare them from eternal damnation.

Thought for the Day:

We can build up our faith by praying in the Spirit. - Jude 1:19-20
(More about praying in the Spirit tomorrow.)

 

Spirit, Soul and Body

Read: Luke 16:19-31

Genesis 1:26 states, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."

God is a triune being...Father, Son and Spirit. He created us triune beings in His image. That triune image manifests itself in mankind in the spirit, soul and body. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

For the Christian, the life of Christ flows through us. It affects us physically because He brings us healing; it affects us spiritually, because if we ask Him to, He dwells within us and guarantees us eternal life (Romans 8:11); and it also affects our soul. People live a lifetime trying to find fulfillment in their soul ~ the mind, will and emotions. They cater to the flesh, buying every gadget known to man to make them happy, trying to amass wealth in the process. Yet, they are never happy and always want something more or different.

I know some people who are never happy in one place for very long, so they move often. Others want every new fad in clothes and accessories, phones, stereo equipment, cars, etc. Some people constantly change jobs, trying to find one they enjoy more than the previous one. Some even change mates whenever the current one is no longer exciting, solicitous or physically perfect. They seek pleasure rather than Godliness.

We often pray for the body to get well, and for God to fill our spirit; but do we ever pray for the soul? With the Spirit of God residing within us, He will fill our soul with all the fruit of His Spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22). He will heal us from every negative emotion from the past, which we have hidden in our soul (Philippians 4:8). Our mind is renewed with the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2); our will is submitted to the will of God (Philippians 2:13); and our emotions are controlled by the spirit of God dwelling within us (James 1:19).

Therefore, when we are angry, we can sit quietly and ask God to fill our soul with gentleness, love and peace from our spirit. When we are anxious, we can ask God to fill us with patience, peace, and faith. When we feel self-sufficient, we can request that God fill our soul with meekness, goodness, and self-control. When we feel sad or depressed or hopeless, we can request an infilling of joy that will strengthen us (Nehemiah 8:10) and give us peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

More important than the soul, however, is the spirit. The spirit is dead within us at birth, until we ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior. We cannot truly live integrated, connective lives until we are born again. Then the Holy Spirit breathes the breath of life into our spirit. Genesis 2: 7 states, "And the LORD God formed man (body) of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit); and man became a living soul." At death, the body ends up in the grave. However, the soul and spirit go on to our eternal destination (Luke 16:19-31). Where will you spend eternity?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us to remember that the main point in life is that in order for You to fill our soul, we first need to be filled by Your Spirit. Our spirit must be born again by asking You to be our Savior and our Lord (2 Peter 3:18).

Thought for the Day:

The Spirit will lead you into all truth (John 16:13). He comforts us with His everlasting love (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).