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.

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

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

IV. We Will Have Power In Witnessing

V. We Will Have The Spirit Of Love

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.