It wasn't about speaking in tongues, jumping around, raising your hands...it was about living day to day with the Spirit guiding us and using us to glorify God.
When we ask Christ into our heart we also invite the Holy Spirit in. The Holy Spirit takes us out of the old man (Adam) and into the new man (Christ). Many people allow the Holy Spirit in to be "resident" in their heart, but not "president". We are called to be examples to the unbelievers, and to do that we must allow the Holy Spirit to take hold of us and transform us.
We first need to have the desire to be filled. We can't just expect it to happen automatically. We need to ask for it.
John 7:35-37
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as[c] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him".
We can have streams of living water flowing from us, not just a trickle here and ther...STREAMS! We have to be thirsty for it...really want it.
Matthew 5:6
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
We also have to denounce the sin in our lives. Many people confess but many never denounce or forsake the sin. They say, "I'm so sorry" but then it happens again and again. To denounce and forsake means to turn around and run in the opposite direction. When we sin we grieve the Holy Spirit. That's serious business! The Holy Spirit is a person and when we sin against the Lord we bring emotional pain to the Spirit of the Lord.
Thirdly, we MUST dedicate ourselves fully to being a Spirit filled Christian. Romans 12:1 says to present yourselves as a living sacrifice. To give your life so you can live free in the Lord. We must fill our hearts with the word of God. Take time to fellowship with the Lord everyday.
Colosians 3:16
16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
You cannot be Spirit filled and not be word filled.
You have to depend daily on the Spirit and not yourself and others. Man will let you down, sin and make mistakes. The Spirit of the Lord will ALWAYS take you to the right place!
What does being filled with the Spirit bring to your life?
A new joyfulness...music in your heart the Lord. This joy is not conditional based on our current circumstances but our future in Christ.
A new thankfulness...we are not to be grumblers or complainers, but we are to be ever thankful for all that God give us, even our trials.
1 Thess 5:18
18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
A new submissiveness...humble submission toward others. The focus is not on ourselves, we want to glorify God. In our marriage, in our parental role and in our job. This is a recipricol submission.
Ephesians 4:1 says we are to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. This gift is not something you say "Hey thanks! This is great..." then we put it away in the closet and only bring it out on special occasions. This gift is a calling to live a life that reflects Christ's love and sacrifice so others may see HIM through us. That's big! But we don't have the power or ability to live a life worthy of this calling without the help of the Holy Spirit DAILY. Do you want to be the Carnel Christian who has the Holy Spirit on the inside but just blends in with the rest of the world on the outside. Or do you want to be a spirit filled Christian who has streams of living water flowing from the inside...
Be prepared...when you ask for this with a pure and sincere heart, you WILL get it!
I love you guys! You rock! And I'm praying for you all!
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