Be Filled with the Spirit

2 April 2017 AM – Ephesians 5:18 – HS17 – Scott Childs

Introduction: Are you filled with the Holy Spirit this morning? That is a question that many Christians do not know how to answer. By the end of our sermon today, I hope you will both know how to be filled with the Spirit and determine to make it a daily practice.

Transition: In today’s sermon we are going to examine facts, conditions, and results of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

1.        Facts about the Filling of the Holy Spirit

a.         It is unlike His work in salvation.
1)         In salvation the Holy Spirit regenerates the repentant sinner or gives him new life.
2)         At salvation, the Lord baptises the believer in the Holy Spirit but this is not Spirit filling.
3)          At salvation the Holy Spirit indwells the new believer yet neither is this the filling of the Spirit.
4)         At salvation, the Holy Spirit seals the believer assuring him and keeping him secure until Christ takes him to heaven.
b.         The filling of the Spirit is subsequent to salvation.
1)         Spirit filling is not getting more of the Spirit but allowing Him to have all of you.
2)         The Spirit’s work in salvation happens once, while Spirit filling is repeated and should be daily.
3)         The Spirit-filled life is to be the normal Christian life.
4)         The Spirit-filled life is not the same as a mature Christian life, but a Christian filled with the Spirit will mature more rapidly than one who is not.
c.          The filling of the Spirit is illustrated
1)         Paul compares the Spirit’s filling to the control of alcohol on a drunk. Think about the illustration carefully.
a)         Buying alcohol did not make him drunk.
b)         Taking alcohol home did not make him drunk.
c)         Submitting to the alcohol, by choosing to drink it, made him drunk.
d)         NOTE: Paul was not condoning the drinking of alcohol. The Bible makes it clear that Christians ought not to drink alcohol (Pr 20:1; 23:31-33). Even in this verse he says that it leads to excess (i.e., riot, a desolate life).
2)         The comparison is that just as submitting to alcohol takes control of one’s body, so submitting to the Holy Spirit will allow Him to take control of one’s life.
a)         Being filled with the Spirit is allowing Him to control you.
b)         We allow the Spirit to take control by fully yielding or submitting to Him.
d.         The filling of the Spirit is a command.
1)         The verb “be filled” is a present passive imperative. That tells us three very important facts about it.
a)         The imperative mood tells us that it is a direct command from God.
b)         The passive tense tells us that the Holy Spirit does filling not us. Our duty is to allow Him to fill us.
c)         The present tense tells us that this duty is a continuing duty to be done constantly all day long.
2)         No Christian can live on yesterday’s spiritual power. We must daily depend upon God for continuous filling of the Spirit. To not allow the Spirit to fill us is disobedience.
3)         When we obey God’s command, the Spirit of God is able to operate in and through us without hindrance. This is not accomplished by human effort; rather, it is by permitting God to accomplish this work in us.

2.        Conditions for the Filling of the Holy Spirit

a.         There are things we must NOT do.
1)         We must not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19) “Quench not the Spirit.”
a)         To quench is “to stifle, suppress or not allow.”
b)         We quench the Spirit when we say “No” to His conviction and when we are unwilling to let the Spirit have His way.
c)         When the Spirit of God prompts us to do something or speaks to our hearts about surrendering to do a ministry or convicts us of sin and we refuse to obey Him, we quench His power in our life.
2)         We must not grieve the Spirit. (Ephesians 4:30) “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
a)         The context around this verse deals with lying, anger, stealing and saying corrupt things. Each of these things is sin. So we know that sin grieves the Spirit.
b)         We grieve Him when we continue to live with unconfessed sin. The remedy is simple; confess and forsake sin. (Proverbs 28:13) “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (1 John 1:9) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
b.         There are things we MUST do
1)         We must yield to the Spirit’s wishes.
a)         We learn His wishes as we study the Bible and spend time with Him in earnest prayer. As we submissively take in His thoughts, He is able to fill us. (Romans 8:14) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The Spirit of God wants to lead and guide your life. Are you letting Him lead you?
b)         We must yield our lives to the Lord before He can fill us. (Romans 6:13) “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 12:1) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” The words “yield” and “present” come from the same Greek word which means to place a person or thing at one’s disposal. We must daily say to the Holy Spirit, “I am willing to do anything you want me to do today. I am at your disposal. I will follow your lead.” (Psalms 86:11) “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”
2)         We must walk in the Spirit
a)         (Galatians 5:25) “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
b)         This can also be rendered “walk by the Spirit.” Depend upon Him for the ability to live as God wants you to.

3.        Results of the Filling of the Holy Spirit

a.         Results mentioned in the context
1)         Obedience is the first result. When you meet God’s conditions and allow yourself to be filled by the Spirit, your obedience honours Him.
2)         Those filled by the Spirit will be speaking scripture, singing, making melody, giving thanks and submitting (Eph 5:19-21). A Christian who never shares what he is learning from the Bible, has no song in his heart, does not thank God daily and is unsubmissive to those over him is certainly NOT filled with the Spirit.
3)         Here we see that the Spirit-filled believer does not focus on himself. He focuses on the Lord and others.
b.         Results found in other Bible passages
1)         During the transition between the OT and the NT some of those filled with the Spirit were enabled to prophesy (Lu 1:67) and speak unlearned languages (Act 2:4.
2)         A Spirit-filled life will result in the Holy Spirit controlling and empowering the believer (Ac 4:8).
3)         The Spirit will be able to produce His fruit which increases godly character (Ga 5:22-23).
4)         Yielding to the Holy Spirit so that He controls or fills us enables us to know God’s will (Ro 12:1-2).

Conclusion: If you are a Christian, it ought to be your heart’s cry to daily be filled with the Spirit. Your part is to allow Him to fill you by removing the sinful hindrances and yielding to His control.

Song: Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord – 337