## Are You Filled?

## Ephesians 5:18

God's will for all people is that they might be saved. He tells us clearly that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to repentance. He has made every preparation for us so that we might come to Him in faith and be born again. He gave Jesus Christ to die on Calvary as our substitute for sin. He has left us His Word to declare His great love to each of us. The Holy Spirit prepares us to be saved. He does whatever is necessary to bring us to the place where we will make a decision for the Lord. He convicts us of sin, of unbelief, and of pride. After we become believers, God's ultimate goal for our lives is to conform us to the image of Christ. He does this also through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an influence, nor a motivation, He is a person, a Divine person, and very often a misunderstood person. When we receive Christ, He regenerates us, literally, he births us into the family of God. He baptizes, or places, us into the body of Christ. He indwells us permanently and seals us unto the day of redemption.

After we are saved, He enables us to worship the father (Jn.4:2), He helps us when we pray (Ro.8:26), and He teaches us all things and guides us into truth (Jn.16:13). When a person receives Christ as Savior, they also receive the indwelling Spirit of God. When the Spirit of God comes in, we receive all of Him there is. That's because He is a person.

Rom 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

1 Cor 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

When we receive the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ or the Holy Ghost, He takes up permanent and eternal residence. It is one thing to have the Holy Ghost within you, but it is another thing to be filled with His power! When this happens, everything about you begins to change. The question today is this, Are you filled with the Spirit? If we are filled:

I. The Lord Jesus Christ Will Be A Living Reality To Us.

John 16:13-14 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you."

A. Many Christians look at Jesus Christ only as a historical character.

1. These have no perception of Christ as a living presence with them day by day.

2. When a person is filled with the Spirit of God he does not talk much about the Spirit, but about Christ.

3. Because the whole aim of the Holy Spirit is to shed light upon Jesus Christ.

4. The Spirit does not glorify Himself nor reveal Himself, but reveals Christ; thus the person who is filled with the Sprit talks about Jesus Christ as a living personality.

B. When we are filled with the Spirit, Jesus Christ is a living reality. Ex. Lincoln, etc.

John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

C. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are aware of His constant presence.

John 14:26-27 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

1. And He walks with me, And He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.

2. The song writer is saying that they know the Lord Jesus personally, and that He is a living reality to them.

II. We Will Have Assurance That We Are A Child Of God

Rom 8:16 "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"

A. The Spirit of God teaches the believer the things of God as spoken in the Bible.

Rom 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

B. Our faith of assurance will be strengthened as we allow the Spirit of God to teach us, "Thus saith the Lord."

1. As we hear the Word of God taught, both in the S/S classroom and from the pulpit, our assurance will grow.

2. Those who miss Sunday School and church often are missing opportunities in making their Christian life more secure.

3. The fullness of the Spirit overcomes the doubt that will be present often times with a Christian concerning salvation.

C. Salvation comes to you and to any believer by Jesus Christ.

1. It doesn't come by the cross, but by Him who hung on the cross.

2. It doesn't come from an empty grave, but by Him who arose from the grave.

3. It doesn't come by the Bible, but of Him whom the Bible testifies.

4. It doesn't come by the Holy Spirit, but by the One whom the Holy Spirit glorifies.

5. The moment you place your faith and hope in Him, you are saved!

a. There's no doubt anymore.

b. There's no possibility of a failure on Christ's part.

c. When we allow the Spirit of God to take over control of our life He will bring that assurance that so many are missing.

d. Doubt is a result of the absence of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

III. We Will Have Victory Over Sin. Gal 5:16-23

A. If we are being constantly overcome by sin we are not filled with the Spirit.

B. The Christian life is not that we must avoid certain sins or evil deeds, but rather being saturated with something better so that you have no desire for sinful things.

C. A person who is filled with the Spirit is delivered from the power of sin.

D. Jesus Christ is not a theory, but a living power in the life of the believer.

1 John 3:24 "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us."

E. The more we yield to the leadership of the Spirit, the more He will control us.

1 Th 5:19 "Quench not the Spirit."

F. We will quench the Spirit when we do not follow His leadership in our lives.

IV. We Will Have Power In Witnessing

Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

A. If we are not witnessing for Jesus Christ we are not Spirit filled.

B. Witnessing is the natural result of the fullness of the Spirit.

C. When a person is under the fullness and power of the Spirit, the natural thing is to witness for Christ.

D. That is the purpose of the Spirit of God, to magnify Christ, to speak of Christ.

V. We Will Have The Spirit Of Love

1 John 4:12 "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."

A. God's love is perfected in a Spirit filled Christian.

1. Perfected means - "To complete or come to maturity"

2. God's love is made complete through the Spirit filled believer.

3. If we are not Spirit filled, then there will be a gap in His love toward someone else.

4. His love can't flow through us on to someone else like it should.

B. Do we have that Spirit of love?

1. If not, I wonder who will be the sufferer for that?

2. Someone is not receiving the display of God's love.

3. We will not be fulfilling God's intention for us in loving someone else if that Spirit of love is absent.

Two thoughts this morning. First, if we are to be filled with the Spirit, we must first come to Jesus by faith and accept Him as our Savior. Will you come to Him by faith today?

Second, Christians, the Lord has commanded that we be filled with the Spirit of God. If we are not filled there are some steps you should take:

Confess: We must come to God in confession of the sin of not being filled with the Spirit. If we are not filled that means that we have been controlling our life, and that is sin. Surrender: After confessing then we must surrender. That means to yield our entire life to God for His purpose. Ask by faith: It is believing that God will do what He said He would do, and then acting upon that promise.