Ephesians 5:15-20: Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Be Filled With the Spirit-Part II
This week again I want to focus on the statement, Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Last week I gave a list of nine advantages of the Holy Spirit taken from the passages that I shared. Obviously this list is not exhaustive. Here is the list, and I want to comment on each of these advantages over the next three or four weeks.
1. The Holy Spirit will be with you forever.
2. The Holy Spirit will be in you.
3. The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.
4. The Holy Spirit will remind you of what Jesus said.
5. The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth.
6. The Holy Spirit will tell you what is yet to come.
7. The Holy Spirit will convict the world.
8. The Holy Spirit will give you power and boldness to witness.
9. The Holy Spirit will give you victory over your enemies.
First of all,
the Holy Spirit will be with you forever. Many people today hurt because of broken relationships and abandonment. Husbands abandon wives, wives abandon husbands and parents, especially fathers, abandon their children. Friends become offended and abandon friendships.I am thankful that the significant people in my life have chosen not to abandon me. I am extremely thankful that the God of the universe has chosen to never leave me or forsake me. (John 14:17, Hebrews 13:5) He will be with me forever. No matter how much I fail him, he chooses to stand by me. No matter how much I neglect him, he continues to live in me. No matter how far short I fall of God's destiny for my life, the Holy Spirit continues to work with me to lead me closer to God and to his purpose for my life.
Isaiah 41:10 has encouraged me for many years. Here God says, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
God is with me, so there is no need to fear. He is my God, so there is no need to ever be dismayed. He is always with me to strengthen me and to help. When I can't walk on my own, God himself will uphold me with his righteous right hand.
Shortly after making a fresh commitment to Jesus at the age of 21, the enemy bombarded my mind with thoughts that I had committed the unpardonable sin. Jesus taught that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin. (See Matthew 12:31-32) Jesus said that every sin would be forgiven man, except that one particular sin. My ignorance of the Word allowed that torment to exist in my life for a season. Satan said to me that God had left me, but the Holy Spirit was still with me working to help me.
In short a person commits blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when he hardens his heart so totally and completely, that he utterly rejects the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. A person who commits this sin has no remorse. If you fear you have committed this sin, that fear is evidence that you have not. God is still with you.
But, give fear no place in your life. The Holy Spirit will never leave you. Perfect love drives out fear, and the one who is perfect love lives in you. (I John 4:18)
Secondly,
the Holy Spirit will be in you. Under the Old Covenant the Holy Spirit was in the earth, and he was with the people of God, and he anointed various individuals for service to God. But under the New Covenant God chose to live inside each believer. Paul said in I Corinthians 6:19, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God. God is not just with you, he lives in you!I want to give you a challenge. For the next thirty days speak with your mouth, "God lives inside me." Do it several times a day. When doubts and fears come against your mind say out loud, "God lives inside me." When you feel like a total failure say boldly, "God lives inside me." This is not an exercise of mental gymnastics, rather this is the way to agree with the reality of the Word of God. Over time your mind will become renewed (Romans 12:2) to the powerful reality of God himself living inside you.
How can you doubt when God lives inside you? How can you fear when God lives inside you? How can you fail when God lives inside you?
Purpose today to begin to walk in the truth that God is inside you, and he has chosen to never leave you. This truth will transform your thinking and bring you closer to the destiny that God has prepared for you.
Much more about the Holy Spirit next week..
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org