Full or empty?
The pressures of time weigh on us. The stress and demands on us press in.
Men do need some stimulation and inspiration in times of depression, disappointment, and grief, and failure. When the drabness of routine living oppresses, we turn somewhere. The question is where do we turn?
People try so many things to fill the empty spot. Good things: Family, friends. Bad things: drugs, alcohol, gambling. Innocent things: jobs, money.
There is only one thing that can fill the needs in our lives. The Holy Spirit. Jesus promised the Spirit would overflow.
When we are saved the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our heart. We are adopted as God’s children. Nothing we do can take away our place in His Kingdom. BUT we do determine how full we are of Him.
Answer an honest question, “how full of the Holy Spirit are you right now?” Is your life full of a living passion for the Spirit?
Some are afraid of the excesses seen in some who speak of the Spirit’s filling. There are certainly excesses. But equally dangerous is becoming a frozen church.
I offer a short illustration of the Spirit’s power and a clear command from the Word.
Illustration of the Power of the Spirit’s Filling
The early church desperately needed the power of God. The Sanhedrin pulled Peter James and John before them. They threatened the disciples with the same kind of violence they inflicted on Jesus. This was not some idle threat. Their intention was to put out the fire in the fledgling church.
They solution was to pray and seek God’s power. (Acts 4:29-30)
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” [1]
They turned to God for strength. They understood that the Spirit was their only hope for standing.
The Provision: Bold Proclamation
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.[2]
The request is simple. They asked God to give them boldness. Did it work? They preached with boldness. How did this happen? They were filled with the Holy Spirit. How full are you?
The Clear Command of Scripture.
Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (NIV)
Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, (NLT)
Paul’s command is first stated negatively. Do not be drunk with wine. Some people raise their spirit with drink. Paul classes this within the list of the unwise lifestyles.
The problem with depending on alcohol to lift our spirits is that its effect is temporary. It may mask troubles but when it wears off the problem is still present or worse. It defies all possessions.
Paul challenges people positively. The language in this passage is particularly important. Like few Biblical phrases to be filled with the Spirit has four important characteristics.
The phrase is imperative. It is a command. We can choose to either obey or disobey the command. To resist the filling is to walk in disobedience. God has not given you a suggestion. He gives you a command. This is no casual, polite calm suggestion, but a firm straightforward command.
Second, the command is made in the present tense and a continuous action It signifies that the filling of the Spirit is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment spiritual process. You are to be continually yielded to the Spirit with the result being that we are continually full. Yesterday’s filling is not enough for today. Ask yourself a simple question, “Am I, at this moment, clean, yielded and full.”
Third, this command is passive, meaning that it is something the Spirit does to me. You do not have to fill yourself. He fills you. You are the one acted upon. You do not earn or work up His filling. He fills those who will yield to Him.
Finally, the command is plural. It applies to all believers of all time. You as an individual are commanded to be filled. This is universal in application. Being filled is the expected condition of EVERY BELIEVER.
The book of Acts reveals that the Spirit’s filling is not the exception. It was to be repeated from time to time. The supreme condition was full surrender to Christ.
What does it mean in practice? Ten words to describe the spirit’s filling:
- Controlled (in thought, decision, and action)
- Directed
- Surrounded
- Repentant
- Strong
- Possessed
- Absorbed
- Obedient
- Dependent
- Powerful
If these words do not describe you, stop right now and ask him to fill you. Your response will be limited to two choices.
You can choose right now to disobey this command. To not be filled with the Spirit is to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
OR
You can choose to allow Him to fill you. The result is clear. You will be filled to the top with His fullness. This is a stunning promise Ephesians 3:19 “and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Like those early disciples you will find yourself empowered by God to serve Him.
Will you be full or will you be disobedient. No Christian can possibly live a right Christian life who is not filled with the Holy Spirit.
A dead, boring Christian is a travesty of the Christian life and in insult to God. There should not be any movie you ever saw, any show you ever attended, any game you ever went to that rivals the intensity of the worship of God. We ought to sparkle for God. We ought to be alive for God.
[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 4:29–30.
[2] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 4:31.
