How to be filled with the Holy Spirit

Hello dear reader. I’m so excited you have come up here to read from me today. Thank you. I pray that you’ll be transformed.

This week, we are talking about something that excites the average Pentecostal youth; How to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

I hope you’re not tired of all the “hows” though… Ahahah

There are so many things that have been said about being filled with the Holy Spirit and there are yet many things to be said. However, I want to achieve something today so that you are not swayed by every wind of doctrine because you’ll now be established in truth.

As you know, by the help of God, I am poised towards affecting your heart because I know out of it flows the decisions of life. Concerning the matter of being filled therefore, we need to set our course right and believe me brethren you will experience a change in your daily walk with God.

Because of the number of things that can be said on this matter and I wouldn’t want us to just keep talking around it, informing ourselves, let me say early that this post is focused on “‘How’ to be filled with the Holy Spirit”.

Ephesians 5:18 (KJV) \n
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

Looking through the scriptures, when the word “filled” is used especially relating with the Holy Spirit, it is used generally to mean either of three happenings.

◾First, it could mean the person was given a dimension of the Holy Spirit to function in a certain capacity and produce a certain result. This happened a lot in the old testament and an example out of so many is in Exodus 28:3.

◾Second, it could mean the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. This one is experienced by everyone who has believed in Jesus and confessed unto salvation. How do I know? Galatians 3:2… Also by laying on of hands.

◾Third, and this is where we will focus on today. Paul advises in our text above not to be drunk with wine but to be filled with the Spirit. This refers to being controlled, influenced by the Spirit which ye received when ye believed.

Paul, writing to the Ephesians, encouraged them that beyond receiving the Holy Spirit it is important to be controlled by Him… As a matter of fact He came for that reason. Someone will say “I thought He came to lead us into all truth”, you’ll see where I’m going in a moment.

This kind of infilling is not talking about the moments you begin to prophesy or give a word of knowledge or speak in other tongues and interpret. Those are His manifestations for the benefit of the body. This infilling is talking about your everyday living. Listen to this, it is this kind of infilling that counts eventually.
So Paul says don’t be influenced, controlled, compelled, carried by alcohol but by the Spirit… “The love of Christ compels us” He said.

This is the kind of infilling that affects your speech, your decisions, it is what affects your relationship with others… This is the one that will be judged.

Are you really filled or are you a clanging cymbal????

Let me be more practical, being filled is not when you speak in tongues for twenty three hours daily yet spend the remaining one hour speaking or doing things not born of God, of faith. It’s more likely that you are drunk with the wine of religion/flesh and not the Spirit.

Another practicality, this kind of infilling is a journey. You don’t get it by laying on of hands. It speaks about your entire living.

One more practicality, this is the drunkenness that springs up to eternal life John 4:14.

Am I touching something yet?

Am I saying prayer is not good? of course not. The Bible says pray always. Read our previous posts to understand the place of prayer.

So then quickly, how to be filled with the Spirit

You are filled by drinking the Spirit.

Oh yes, it is by drinking the Spirit.

How do you drink the Spirit?? By giving yourself to the word of God.

“The word that I speak are spirit and life“

Let me show you from a scripture quickly

Colossians 3:16 (KJV)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

I’m sure you’re wondering how this scripture shows how to be filled with the Spirit. Let me Quote Ephesians 5:18 which is our text but extend a little to verse 19.

Ephesians 5:18-19 (KJV)
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

CAN YOU SEE THAT???

Brethren you cannot be filled with the Spirit of God without the word… No sir!!!

Do you want to live the life of Christ in its fullness, you have to be filled with the Spirit.

Andrew Murray once said “if you want to be filled with the Spirit, be filled with the word”

I agree!!

You see, the word of God is not a suggestion, it is not an opinion, it is the will of God, the mind of God, the very sure invitation for the obvious and manifest presence of the abiding Spirit of God.

Get yourself to study, pray and obey… Drink of the spirit of the word…Yes!!!! Give yourself wholly to the word, believing that it is indeed the carrier of life… You will know undeniably that the divine is in you and becoming your life.

There’s something I’m trying to explain but I think John 4:14 can do it for me;
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Let me conclude with this. For those thinking it’s a one time thing, you’re joking. You must soak yourself in a lifetime commitment to seek the ways of God in His word and in prayer.

There are messages hidden in that single statement “be not drunk with wine… but be filled with the Holy Spirit”, let me bring one to you. I found out that the alcohol content of the wine they drank then was really low so for you to be drunk, you’d have to drink a lot of it…. Hey, you have to drink a lot of the word If you will be drunk with the Holy Spirit!!!

Commit yourself today… Let nothing drive you more than the desire to be controlled by the Holy Spirit… Not just when you’re in church or at fellowship or with the microphone or teaching or using your spiritual gift… But your life… The one you’d naturally call “secular”…soak yourself… Pursue the knowledge of Jesus.

Let me pray with you… Let righteous passion for the knowledge of His ways erupt within you in Jesus name. I, in addition, pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know Christ more In Jesus name. Amen

Thank you for joining me today.

Like, comment and share.

God bless you. I’ll write to you next week.

Advertisement