In Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” we have a narrative of an event. We are told what actually happened as the disciples and others were gathered together waiting as they were told. The whole chapter 2 is a wonderful account of that marvelous event.
In the Epistle to the Ephesians, 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” Paul writes that now it is not just a matter, as before, that we wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, for He has already come. Now, it is more of a command of G-d, that we are to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit. We are not to WAIT, but are to BE filled… it is a command. What the first disciples waited for, and received in great power, we now have, and OUGHT to live in – the Holy Spirit. We are now commanded to BE filled with the Holy Ghost. The prophets of old saw glimpses of this time we live in, the Time of the out pouring of the Holy Spirit, and they longed for it. We are truly blessed in this generation.
We find it easier to keep the first part of this verse, and neglect the latter part. The first part deals with the DO NOT, the latter deals with the DO. How often it is that we as Christians prefer the DO NOT, for it has always been much easier to NOT do something, than to do something. If we are to take the first part of the verse seriously enough to abstain from drunkenness, is it not as much important that we do the latter as well? We can build an entire doctrine on the do not, we can have a strong religious outward presence with the do not…. Do not drink, do not smoke, do not! Do not! Do not! But we can be weak in the DO’s. Be DOERS OF THE WORD. Be FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST! Again, it’s much easier to not do, than to do. Religiousness says to do not, true religion says to be DOERS.
Many “Spirit filled” Christians today, if asked the question, “Do you keep this command in Ephesians, “do not be drunk with wine”?” will answer a very quick and triumphant, YES!! But what about the latter, do you obey the command to BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT? Not all Christians are seeing that as actually a command. One may ask at this point, how can it be a command? How can we be commanded to be filled by what does not come from us? We cannot command G-d, can we? The life styles of many Christians warrant the question of how can we? That is, they live so separated from the Holy, the idea of being commanded to LIVE holy is out of reach, and rendered impossible in their minds- With the result that it is argued away as idealism. The idea of being commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit is as difficult to get through as it is for anything else in a life that is not totally yielded to the Holy Spirit. All commandments are impossible to keep without the Holy Spirit. When filled with the Holy Spirit His commands are not grievous to us. There is actually a delight in doing His Will. It is in this joy that strength comes to do more and be more for Him.
Here in the USA we live in an instantly gratified society. And, if our desires are not instantly gratified by one thing, we quickly move on to the next, until we are full of whatever it was we thought we wanted, although, always a temporary fix. The “Spirit filled” Church in the USA is in the way of the world in this; it is striving for something new. The question seems to be, WHAT IS GOD DOING NOW? What new thing is God saying NOW? Where is He moving now? The wind blows and the people follow the wind as if it will lead to something more. Churches are pressured into having something NEW, and FRESH, and EXCITING, every Sunday!!! Just to keep the flock interested. In this state of being, HOW can G-d COMMAND that we be FILLED with His Spirit. We ask, “Is this not something HE has to do???” Are we not to follow the wind around till we FIND HIM??? Yet, all the while, He commands us that we be filled with His Holy Spirit NOT as a new thing, but as the ORIGINAL. We are to DO what He has provided, has given, has made available, has POURED OUT. It is NOT something we search for, but something we are to DO! Part of that DOING is to HUNGER, and THIRST after G-d. When we do hunger and thirst, we are filled… with HIM. HE is our reward. He is the Father, He is the Son, He is the Holy Spirit. Matt. 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall BE FILLED.”
I think the greatest question to ask is not to be filled, but what is needed to be filled? The answer has already been given to the question of whether or not G-d is willing to fill ANYONE and EVERYONE. He is willing to POUR out His Spirit on all flesh. The question I ask myself is this… if G-d has commanded that I be filled with His Holy Spirit, then what is needed in my life to KEEP His commandments. What is needed to BE A KEEPER OF HIS WORD? Being filled with His Spirit is one of His commandments and it is the only way to keep His commandments as Yeshua was keeper of His Father’s Will/Commandments. It stands to reason then, that being filled with the Holy Spirit is the first and foremost of all commandments. For, it is the only way to be a true keeper. How can we love the L-rd our G-d without His Spirit within us? Can we truly love Him with the spirit of the world in our lives? Can there be cold and hot water pouring forth from our hearts? Can we have no other gods before us when we have not the Spirit of the only true G-d, creator of heaven and earth? Being filled with the Holy Spirit is everything in our lives when it is the purpose of our lives to KNOW G-d, and love Him, and serve Him. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of G-d dwelling in us. It is our FELLOWSHIP with Him, and He with us. It is HIMSELF! Without Him we can do nothing, we cannot even love, for love is of G-d, and everyone that loves is born of G-d, and knows G-d. He that loves not, knows not G-d, for G-d is love. (1 John 4:7-8) This love is not a love that man does. This love is not from man. This love is Spirit born. It is His Spirit in us that loves. Man has a love of earthly things, which comes natural to him. When born again, of the Spirit, there is then a love that comes from the Spirit that is born of G-d, and knows G-d, and loves G-d, and keeps His Will/commandments. What we can do is empty ourselves of self, for His Spirit to fill us up. Our part is to DO what we see Yeshua DO, just as He DID what He saw His Father DO. It is the Spirit in us that SHOWS us Yeshua. The command is to live CHRIST, and in that living, G-d says, I will pour out My Spirit. Born of the Spirit is the New Birth. When we are born again, we receive the command to BE FILLED with the Holy Spirit that we are born into. This is talking about LIVING and DOING. Being filled means LIVING AND DOING His Will, that Christ be formed, TO OVERFLOWING. This is where the power is.
“Search me, O God”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a matter of FINDING Him, or asking Him to come in, or to FILL us. It is, rather, a matter of whether or not WE are in the right condition to be filled. The search is not for the Holy Spirit, but it is for a MAN, or WOMAN who is willing to forsake all to be truly filled. Psa. 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Without the Holy Spirit searching through our hearts, only the religious can be founded. Without the searching fire of the Holy Spirit there is ONLY a superficial religious experience in the imagination of the heart.
What is the condition for being FILLED? The answer lies in the place of keeping and doing the commandments of G-d, and that they are not burdensome. Does this mean we are to keep the law as in Leviticus? Not really. When we understand the purpose of the Levitical Laws we see there is an outstanding undercurrent of law that Yeshua spoke of, which is, Love, or Mercy. It is the Law of Love that is the undercurrent of Leviticus. We see this as the defining character of the Law and the defining character of the Law Keeper. It is He, the true Keeper of the Law, the Living Torah Himself, who says, “better to obey than sacrifice”, obey what? Obey the Law of Love/Mercy. If Love is not recognized in the Law of Moses in Leviticus, then the nature of the Law is not comprehended enough. Yeshua not only comprehended the Law, but fulfilled the Law, which means, He kept it. None other could have, for it had not been fully comprehended until Yeshua. The law was comprehended by Yeshua, kept by Yeshua, and was all about Yeshua in its absolute fullness. The Law and sacrifices of Leviticus was all about Yeshua, and His work on the earth. The Law, while showing fallen man his faults, also showed the perfection in the Son of G-d – the Lamb of G-d.
If we consider the Law, or commandments as Yeshua reveals is the nature, and character, and intent of the Law as G-ds intent, we see something revealed that those who put their faith in their own ability to keep will miss all together. Again, Yeshua reveals the Law of Love. Thou shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, soul, body, mind, and love your neighbor as your self. This is the whole of the Law. If our attitude is to Love G-d with our very ALL, It is HE, and He alone, that, after coming into our lives by the Holy Ghost, will not only TEACH OF YESHUA, as being a work of forming Him in our inward being, but it is Yeshua Himself by the Holy Spirit who KEEPS the Law of Love, which does not defile, or break, or rebel against the Law of G-d. When one sees that the Law of G-d is HIS MIND, His THOUGHTS, His WILL in all the Universe, we can begin to see the DEEP nature, character of the Law of the Torah. To attempt to keep the Torah/Law in any other way is a missing of the mark, the high calling in Yeshua. It is, by the Will of the Almighty, that His Son, Yeshua, be made manifest in our inward parts, that He be in us what His Father was in Him. He only DID what He saw His Father DO, and we only are to DO what we see Yeshua DO, by the Spirit of G-d in us. When this mind is present in us, that we are dying to self, when we are living to please G-d with our minds and bodies, when we are giving up our lives for His, this is the condition necessary for Him to fill us. It is not works that is needed, but dying to our self life. He must increase, and we must decrease. More of Yeshua means more of His Spirit, so much so, that there is an overflowing.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be filled with the LIKENESS of Yeshua. I don’t believe all understand this. There is so much going on in the Churches today that is so adverse to the nature of Holiness, yet so many are claiming to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy part of the Holy Spirit is the very PERSON of Yeshua. He is not only the EXACT representation of His Father, what is MORE, is that the Holy Spirit is the EXACT representation of Yeshua. I think so many fail to realize this. My friends, the filling of the Holy Spirit is all about Yeshua. Without His life in us, all is vanity.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to PUT ON Yeshua HaMeshiach. There is no other purpose, and there is no other POWER given. The power of the Holy Spirit is to magnify Yeshua. Whether it is in healing, casting out demons, being set free from addiction, all is about the presence of Yeshua, Adonai. So much is being sought after without HIM! So much is being IMAGINED in the vanity of human will of attaining, and possessing of the Holy Spirit but if we are not conformed to the Image of Jesus Christ, we are not in the Spirit, and we are not being filled with His Spirit. His Spirit is HIMSELF.
Oh, so much is desired these days of power, and might, and authority, and much is being enacted from a self initiative. Is it any wonder how powerless the Church is in these days. Oh, some will believe they are powerful and the ability to gain wealth is the sign of power in the Church in these days. What about the signs and wonders that are to follow those who believe in Yeshua as stated in the Bible?
I think of the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be the ultimate blessing. What a wonderful command. I must consider all of the commands in this same way as well. All of His commands bring us closer to Him. He is not frivolous in commandments. His commands are with purpose.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is actually a choice that we all must make every day of our lives. It is up to US, to be filled with His Spirit. It is up to US to WALK in His Spirit daily. It is up to US to be OVERCOMERS, by His Spirit living strong in our lives. Seek Him today, and be filled with His Holy Spirit!
We are not a people who live in fear. What we are- a people of G-d who pray. I am praying for a move of the Holy Spirit upon this land. The USA is in great need of a wake up call. How long can we wait before we take LIFE seriously. I’m praying for a move of great power to shake up the nation. I do not pray that a virus is what wakes up the nation, for I don’t believe it would happen. I don’t believe that calamity, devastation, would work. It has never worked in the past. What I believe will work though, is a mighty out pouring of the Holy Spirit. I believe that the HEALING power of the Almighty G-d, in the name of Yeshua, Jesus, is what is needed. I pray for the power for healing, for casting out devils, for raising the dead, THIS is to be the wake up call. As the bridegroom would not think to cause destruction for the bride to get her ready, nor does our bridegroom cause viruses and plagues to wake us up, and make us ready… but GLORY, His Glory, is a wake up call. If we do not respond to that, as He moves by His Spirit, we are too asleep to respond to the bridegroom calling to come. I believe the enemy of Yeshua would have us all focus on viruses, plagues, etc, when all the while the answer is in PREVAILING prayer, not fear- Spiritual Warfare, not worry and fretting. He is able! Pray for a mighty move of G-d for POWER. I believe it starts with WALKING in the Spirit we are praying for the power of. May this be our daily prayer.
