HOW TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Purpose Statement: This session will communicate how the Christian can be filled with the Holy spirit by faith, as an act of the will.
Learning Objectives: This session is designed to help you:
- Understand who the Holy Spirit is and why He came.
- Understand what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
- Understand how to "inhale"--how to be filled with the Holy Spirit by faith as an act of your will.
- List two scripture verses related to the filling of the Holy Spirit.
- List the key word to summarize each thought of the two scripture verses related to the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture References: Acts 1:8; John 14:12-14
INTRODUCTION
"You will recall from our last message, that we observed three circles that represent three kinds of lives. The first circle is the natural life--Christ is outside the life and self is on the throne. The middle circle is the spiritual life. Christ is in the life and on the throne; self is yielding to Christ. The third circle represents the worldly (carnal) life, in which Christ is dethroned and self is on the throne. The worldly (carnal) person is trying to live the Christian life through self-effort, but will ultimately be frustrated and defeated. In our last message we discussed the first step of spiritual breathing--exhaling, or the confession of sins. This message will concentrate on the second step--inhaling or appropriating the fullness of the Holy Spirit."
A. Learning how to be filled (controlled and empowered) with the Holy Spirit is the most important discovery of the Christian life.
"You can experience the abundant life Jesus promised."
[Add your personal experience briefly.]
"You can introduce others to Christ."
[Add your personal experience briefly.]
B. Even though they had been with the Lord for the three years of His earthly ministry, the apostles were not equipped to carry out our Lord's Great Commission until they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
"Consider the last words which our Lord spoke as He met with His disciples on the Mount of Olives only moments before He ascended into heaven. Jesus had commissioned His disciples to go into all the world to preach the gospel and to make disciples of all nations."
"But He told them not to leave Jerusalem until they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit."
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
C. Jesus promised that we would do greater works than He did (John 14:12-14).
"Obviously we cannot accomplish these greater works through our own self-effort."
"They will result from the Son of Man, who came to seek and save the lost, working through us in the power of the Holy Spirit."
"Our responsibility is to follow Christ; His responsibility is to make us fishers of men (Matthew 4:19)."
"The Holy Spirit whom the disciples received at Pentecost enabled them to change the course of history. That same Holy Spirit is available to every believer today."
"Do you know His power in your life? Are you a victorious, fruitful witness for Christ? If not, you can be by learning how to be filled with the Holy Spirit."
D. Tragically, multitudes of Christians do not know how to be filled with the Spirit.
"Consequently, they go through life without ever experiencing the abundant and fruitful life which Christ promised to all who trust and obey Him."
"The answers to the following five questions will lead you to a knowledge and experience of the Spirit-filled life."
n Who is the Holy Spirit?
n Why did He come?
n What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?
n Why is the average Christian not filled with the Holy Spirit?
n How can a Christian be filled with the Holy Spirit?"
I. WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
A. He is God (Acts 5:3,4).
"He is God--with all the attributes of Deity."
B. He is a person, not just a force or an impersonal being (1 Corinthians 12:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30).
C. He is the third person of the Trinity, co-equal with God the Father and God the Son (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
"No one can define the Trinity. A famous theological professor once said, 'The man who denies the Trinity will lose his soul. The man who tries to understand the Trinity will lose his mind.' We, who are finite, cannot comprehend God, who is infinite."
"We try to illustrate the concept of the Trinity, but the attempt is wholly inadequate. For example, I could describe water (H2O) as a liquid, a solid or a vapor--depending on whether it was liquid, ice, or steam. Or another illustration: I am to my father and mother a son (daughter), to my spouse a husband (wife), to my children a father (mother); yet I am really only one person with different roles and responsibilities. But no illustration is adequate. At best, it only suggests what the Triune God is like."
II. WHY DID THE HOLY SPIRIT COME?
[Have the class divide into groups of 4-6, read the passages listed below and answer the question, "Why did the Holy Spirit come?". Have each group share some of their answers as time allows]
Read these passages and answer the question: "Why did the Holy Spirit come?"
A. John 16:14--He came to glorify Christ.
"On the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus said to the disciples, 'It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I go, I will send Him (Holy Spirit) to you. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes He will guide you into all the truth... And He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify me; for He shall take of mine and shall disclose it to you.'"
"The Holy Spirit inspired holy men to write the Holy Scriptures. As we read the Bible, He reveals its truth to us. I read passages that I have read many times before, and suddenly, at the moment I need a particular truth, a certain passage comes alive to me. Why? Because the Holy Spirit makes the Word of God relevant and meaningful when I need it. It is a living book inspired by the Holy Spirit, and only the person who is filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit can understand the Bible."
B. John 16:13--He came to lead us into all truth.
"He came to give us power to know and live for Christ".
C. John 7:37-39--He came to enable us to live the abundant life.
D. Acts 1:8--He came to enable us to witness.
E. Romans 8:26,27; Ephesians 6:18--He came to enable us to pray effectively.
"It was Jesus who said, 'Unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.' It is impossible for us to become Christians, to pray, to live holy lives, to witness or to do anything else for the Lord Jesus apart from the enabling of the Holy Spirit of God."
III. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
A. It means to be "directed and empowered."
The word `filled' means to be directed, controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. When I am led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Christ will walk around in my body and live His resurrection life in and through me.
"The amazing fact that Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God, lives in us and expresses His love through us is one of the most important truths in the Word of God. Now, through His indwelling presence, He wants to enable all who place their trust in Him to live the same supernatural life He lived."
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be filled with Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God, and to abide in Him.
B. It means spiritual inhaling.
Inhaling (the second part of spiritual breathing) is being filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember that exhaling (the first part of spiritual breathing) is confession of sins according to 1 John 1:9.
C. It means the Holy Spirit enables us to:
[Have the class divide into groups of 4-6 and read 1 Peter 1:14-16; John 15:8; John 16:13; Romans 8:26 and answer the question: "What does the Holy Spirit want to do in our lives?"]
1. 1 Peter 1:14-16--Live a holy life.
2. John 15:8--Bear spiritual fruit.
"Christ, who `came to seek and to save the lost,' will produce through us the fruit of souls introduced to Him through the power of the Holy Spirit."
"This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples." John 15:8
"There are those who say, `I witness for Christ by living a good life.' But, it is not enough to live a good life. Many non-Christians live fine, moral, ethical lives. According to the Lord Jesus, the only way we can demonstrate that we are truly following Him is to bear fruit; which includes introducing others to our Savior as well as living Holy lives. And the only way we can produce fruit is through the power of the Holy Spirit."
"Some time ago a leading theologian was asked if he felt that one could be Spirit-filled without witnessing as a way of life. His answer was an emphatic, `no.'"
"Failure to witness for Christ with our lips is disobedience just as much as failure to witness by living Holy lives is to disobey his command. In neither case can disobedient Christians expect God to control and empower them, nor can they experience a joyful abundant life (John 14:21)."
"As the Holy Spirit controls us, we will mature in Christ and the fruit of the Spirit will become increasingly evident (Galatians 5:22,23)."
3. John 16:13--Understand and apply the Word of God.
God's Word is the basis of our spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit illumines and applies the Word.
4. Romans 8:26--Pray and live in victory over our daily problems.
"The Christian life is both critical and progressive. There comes a critical point in time when we first learn what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit by faith as an act of the will. As we continue to live under the Holy Spirit's control, we progress and mature in our faith."
IV. WHY IS THE AVERAGE CHRISTIAN NOT FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
A. Lack of knowledge.
The average Christian continues to live in spiritual defeat and is not filled with the Spirit because of a lack of knowledge, which results in a lack of faith.
1. "If people knew how much God loves them and the power that is available to experience an abundant life, most worldly (carnal) Christians would not want to remain worldly (carnal) and most non-Christians would not want to remain non-Christians."
2. "Most Christians do not understand that from the moment of Spiritual birth, God has made His power available to enable them to go on growing toward maturity in Christ."
3. "The average Christian, not understanding how to be filled with the Spirit by faith, lives a miserable, defeated, up-and-down kind of life."
4. "Most Christians are not aware of their spiritual heritage."
"Most Christians do not understand how to draw upon the supernatural resources of God by faith. As a result they live in self-imposed spiritual poverty, not knowing or experiencing the great riches and resources of Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures through the Holy Spirit."
"In west Texas, there is a famous oil field known as the Yates Pool. During the depression of the 1930's this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates was not able to make enough money on his ranching operation to pay his mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch."
"Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and informed Mr. Yates that there might be oil on his land. At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 50 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed that it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels a day. Mr. Yates owned it all."
"The day he purchased the land he received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he was living on relief. A `multimillionaire' living in poverty. The problem? He did not know the oil was there. He owned it, but he did not possess it."
"I do not know of a better illustration of the Christian life than this. The moment we become children of God through faith in Christ, we become heirs of God, and all of His supernatural resources are available to us. But most Christians continue to live in self-imposed spiritual poverty, because they do not know how to appropriate from God the spiritual resources which are already theirs. Like Mr. Yates before the oil discovery, they live in ignorance of their riches."
B. Because of unbelief.
The average Christian is not filled with the Holy Spirit because of unbelief.
1. Many people are afraid of God; they do not trust Him.
"They do not believe in His trustworthiness. Trust is another word for faith and `without faith, it is impossible to please God.' How would you feel if your child were to say to you: `Mommy, Daddy, I do not love you. I do not trust you anymore.' Can you imagine anything that would hurt you more deeply? I cannot. And yet, by our attitude and actions, if not by our words, most of us say to God, `I don't trust you'."
"We live as though God does not exist. Even though we give lip service to Him, we refuse to believe His promises that are recorded in His Word."
2. Many feel that God will require the impossible of them; they doubt the extent of God's unconditional love.
"Many people are afraid that He will change their plans, require them to give up all their wealth, take all the happiness from their lives, and make them endure tragedies."
"Is God loving and concerned for his children? Yes, He has proven over and over again that He is a loving God. He is worthy of our trust. Jesus assures us, `If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him' (Matthew 7:11)."
3. Many feel that God will take away their pleasures; they do not realize how great His wonderful plan is for them (Matthew 6:33).
"Maybe you are afraid that He will take away your wealth, cause you to leave your profession or terminate a friendship. He may indeed ask you to do one or more of these things, and He may not. If He does, God will enable you to rejoice, for God always blesses those who trust and obey Him (John 14:21)."
V. HOW CAN YOU BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
A. You are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith.
1. You became a Christian by faith (Ephesians 2:8,9).
"The Christian life is a life of faith."
["Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)]
2. You also walk in the Spirit by faith (Colossians 2:6).
3. You do not have to beg God for what is already yours.
B. Several factors contribute to preparing your heart for the filling of the Holy Spirit by faith.
"The heart of faith, truly prepared by God to respond to Him, will exhibit the following three characteristics."
1. You must desire to live a life that will please the Lord
(Matthew 5:6).
[Stress this point.]
2. You must confess any sin which the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and claim His forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
"If you have wronged someone or have taken something not yours, the Holy Spirit may lead you to make restitution--to right your wrong. If so, obey Him or you will miss His blessing. The blessings of the fullness of God's Spirit come only to those who willingly trust and obey Him.
3. You must be willing to surrender the control of your life to Christ according to the command of God (Romans 12:1,2).
[Stress this point.]
"Again, we are not filled with the Holy Spirit because we desire to be filled; nor because we confess our sins or present our bodies to our Lord as a living sacrifice--we are filled by faith and by faith alone."
VI. WHAT ARE TWO PASSAGES TO CLAIM FOR THE FILLING OF THE SPIRIT?
A. Ephesians 5:18--His command is that we be filled with the Spirit.
"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:18
n Is it God's will for you to be filled by the Holy Spirit?
n How do you know it is His will? Because of His promise.
B. 1 John 5:14,15--His promise is that He always answers when we pray according to His will.
14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us‑‑whatever we ask‑‑we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:14,15
n If you ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit, will He?
n How do you know He will answer your requests?
VII. WHAT DO WE NEED TO REMEMBER?
A. If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit already indwells you.
The moment you received Christ, the Holy Spirit came to live inside you (Romans 8:9). Though all Christians are indwelt by the Spirit, not all Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit.
B. Being filled with the Spirit is not a once-and-for-all experience.
"We are to be constantly filled, controlled and empowered with the Holy Spirit as a way of life."
C. We are filled by faith and it involves an act of the will.
D. We can never make ourselves good enough to please God; we must live by faith in His finished work on the cross.
E. The result of being filled and walking in the Spirit is that we become dead to sin and alive to God (Galatians 2:20).
"The individual who walks by faith under the control of the Holy Spirit has a new master. The Lord Jesus said, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me' (Luke 9:23). 'Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit' (John 12:24)."
"Obviously, I cannot control myself and be controlled by the Holy Spirit at the same time. Christ cannot be in control if I am on the throne. So I must abdicate. This involves faith. As an expression of my will in prayer, I surrender the throne of my life to Him, and by faith I draw upon His resurrection resources to live a holy and fruitful life."
"The command of Ephesians 5:18 is given to all believers to be filled, directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, continually, every day of our lives. And the promise of 1 John 5:14,15 is given to all believers that, when we pray according to God's will, He hears and answers us. If you pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, He will hear and answer you. He will fill you."
F. We live by faith.
Feelings are valid as a by-product of faith and obedience, but at no time should we depend upon feelings alone (John 14:21).
"Do not think that you have to have an emotional experience or that something dramatic must happen to you. How did you receive Christ? Your emotions may have been involved, but ultimately, you became a Christian through faith. As the Bible says, `For by grace you have been saved through faith' (Ephesians 2:8)."
"The Holy Spirit is not given to us that we might have a great emotional experience, but that we might live holy lives and be fruitful witnesses for Christ. So whether or not you have an emotional experience is not the issue."
VIII. APPLICATION
A. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any unconfessed sin (1 John 1:9).
"If He does, confess your sin and claim 1 John 1:9."
B. Claim the filling of the Holy Spirit by faith on the basis of God's command and God's promise (Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 5:14,15).
"Have you met God's conditions? Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Have you confessed all known sin? Do you sincerely desire to make Jesus Christ your Lord and be controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit? If so, I invite you to bow your head and pray this prayer of faith silently after me right now. Ask God to fill you. Let's pray."
"Dear Father, I need you./ I acknowledge that I have been in control of my own life/ and as a result, I have sinned against You./ I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ's death on the cross for me./ I now invite Christ to take control of the throne of my life./ Fill me with the Holy Spirit as you commanded me to be filled./ You promised in your Word that You will fill me if I asked in faith./ I pray this in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ./ As an expression of my faith, I now thank You for filling me with Your Holy Spirit/ and for taking control of my life. Amen."
"I would like for everyone to remain in an attitude of prayer. In just a moment I am going to ask you to stand if you know that you are filled with the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith, but I would like to give you the opportunity to express your faith by standing. Perhaps you were filled with the Holy Spirit when you came here today or maybe you were filled with the Holy Spirit during the prayer of faith today. If you know right now that you have met God's conditions and that you are filled with the Holy Spirit, whether or not you have been stirred emotionally, I would like for you to stand--remain in prayer--and express to God that you know that you are filled. Please stand right now."
"Now I would like everyone to stand for closing prayer."
[Before your prayer, explain once again that we are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith in the same way we receive Christ and eternal life by faith. They should not be disappointed if for some reason they have not had an emotional experience. Jesus promised in John 14:21 to reveal (manifest) Himself to us when we love and obey Him. So emotions are valid, but true emotions are the result of faith and obedience.]
[Close in prayer.]