Be Continuously Filled with the Holy Spirit

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

ACTS 2:1–4

Three factors that enable us to be effective witnesses: we must have a real Encounter with Jesus, we must Embrace the Mission, and we must have the Empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

This was demonstrated in the lives of the early Christians: they had none of the things which we think are so essential for success today — buildings, money, influence, and status — yet they won multitudes to Christ and were effective witnesses, all because they were empowered by the Spirit; and that’s why we have the faith that we embrace today.

Today’s focus is on the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit and His Power. We look into three realities that will define the importance of the Holy Spirit’s role and how we are to be filled by Him.

PROMISE OF GOD

In Luke 24:48–49 Jesus addresses the Holy Spirit as “the promise of My Father”. It is therefore freely given and is not “from us” by the things we are able to say or do.

The Holy Spirit is not a force, nor a ghost, nor some element that we take apart from God. He is the 3rd person of the Trinity. We do not have three gods, but one GOD in three distinct persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When Jesus gave the promise, He used the words ANOTHER HELPER (John 14:6). This presents to us the idea of having a HELPER of the EXACT SAME KIND!

As a promise, Acts 1:5 presents to us this idea:

“You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…”

The Greek word, BAPTIZO, means to be identified, immersed, and has the notion of becoming ONE. The usual confusion we see is the comparison to the filling/indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word baptizo has two meanings, literally, to submerge; and figuratively, to be identified with.

In Acts 2:4 it says they were “all filled with the Holy Spirit”, it means that the filling of the Holy Spirit has given them the power to witness and serve (Acts 1:8). As promised by Jesus (John 14:15-17), the Holy Spirit is able to make believers put to heart and to live out all that was taught and said by Jesus, making them experience the very presence of God.

Notice, we are not exhorted to be baptized in the Spirit, for this is something God does once and for all when we trust His Son. The command to us is clear, we must be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). One bitter pill we all must admit is that for the most part, we take for granted this promise of God. When we are filled, we are empowered!

POWER

We are often told that the Christian life is not HARD, but it is IMPOSSIBLE, apart from the supernatural power of God to live it. As an effect of being filled, we are given the power necessary to live victoriously, and fulfill the mission God had set out for each one of us.

Even before the Pentecost in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit has already been active during Creation (Genesis 1:1-2) in selected people like the Judges Othniel, Gideon (Judges 6:34) prophets and kings, like Samuel and David (1 Samuel 16:13), and in the ministry of Jesus (Luke 1:30–37; 4:1,14). Now, there would be two changes: The Spirit would dwell in all people who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and His presence will be permanent, not temporary(John 14:16–17).

When 120 believers were all filled with the Spirit, they began praising God, not preaching the gospel, and in the different languages of those present at the Pentecost (Acts 2:6,8).

We can note that Acts 2 talks about the “debut” of the Holy Spirit — how it was introduced to the world and how signs and wonders have happened to get our attention. In the time of Acts, it was essential because the works of the apostles and their teachings needed signs and wonders to authenticate them. The Holy Spirit today is still manifested through signs and wonders, but more often it is through the changed lives of people (Galatians 5 — fruit of the Spirit).

Just hearing about the wonders of the POWER of the Holy Spirit is not enough. We need to do something about it!

PURPOSE

We must be filled by the Holy Spirit. To be filled, we have to surrender to Him. We must repent of any sin and that is why we are told to do this act of surrender moment by moment. As we follow the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit, our capacity grows. We are able to pray for others, care for those who are in need, and share the gospel to those who we know need to see the light.

As we walk in the Spirit, we have the power to be more Christlike, the power over temptations (Galatians 5:16), are enabled to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and bring people to Jesus.

We must therefore be CONTINUOUSLY controlled by the Holy Spirit and live the kind of life that reflect God’s Promise, Power, and Purpose in order for us to be Christlike and a faithful witness for Jesus!

- from 4W's