Be Filled with the Spirit

This past Sunday, the message was “The Prayer for Boldness” found in Acts 4:23-31.  From the passage, we saw that God gives us boldness as..

• We understand and embrace His sovereignty.
• We are filled with the Holy Spirit.
• And as we truly believe in the power of prayer.

I wanted get a little deeper into the idea of being filled with the Spirit.  The principal command to be filled by the Holy Spirit is found in Ephesians 5:18. Paul says…
Ephesians 5:18 – And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery (ruin your life), but be filled with the Spirit. 
The phrase, “To be filled with the Spirit” is found in the present tense. In other words, it is not a one time experience. Rather it is a repeated experience that should happen every day. The verse literally says, “Be being filled with the Spirit.”
Just to clarify, though, to be filled with the Spirit is not a matter of you getting more of the Holy Spirit, but rather of Him getting more of you.  It is a question of surrender, of being yielded to His control.  To be filled with the Spirit is to give up and to give in to His control. It is allowing your life to be guided and directed by God’s Word. In other words, If God says to do something, you do it.  No arguing, no rationalizing, no questions asked. 
The New Testament mentions three specific commands or qualifications for being filled with the Spirit. 
1. Don’t quench the Spirit – I Thessalonians 5:18
To “quench the Spirit” has the idea of smothering, stifling or suppressing.  It is like saying “No” to the Holy Spirit. It is when the believer prefers to have his/her own way.  To not submit but rather to do what they feel is right.  This happens when you read something in God’s Word and fail to do it. 
It’s like reading a traffic sign and failing to obey it.  You see the STOP sign, but you fail to stop.  You see the YIELD sign, but you fail to yield.  You know what the sign says, but you choose to disobey instead of obeying, 
To read a command in God’s Word and fail to obey it quenches the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.  It throws cold water on the fiery embers of God’s Spirit at work in your life. The second command is…
2. Don’t grieve the Spirit – Ephesians 4:30
You grieve the Holy Spirit when you deliberately do something you know offends God. 
Imagine me leaving my dirty clothes scattered around the house when I know Vickie wants me to put them in the dirty clothes hamper. I know that my untidiness offends her, but I choose to deliberately act against her wishes.  
Whenever we consciously and intentionally disobey one of God commands, we grieve the Holy Spirit of God.  Such an action quashes the working of God’s Spirit in your life, 
3. Walk by the Spirit – Galatians 5:16  
To walk by the Spirit means to live in communion with Him. To recognize His continual presence in your life.  To not ignore Him.  
Remember, the Holy Spirit is a person.  Your body is His home.  He is with you all the time.  It’s like having the wisest, most powerful, most patient and most loving assistant with you all the time. Igt is to you benefit to yield to Him, to surrender to Him, and to allow Him to help you live, love and serve in a way that brings honor to Jesus. 
The Holy Spirit desires to guide your life.  Surrender to His control.  It will be the very best decision you make today.