More Thoughts on Being Filled With the Holy Spirit

How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? I like to use the acronym PAY.

P – "Present your body a living sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1).

A – "Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, to control you" (1 Jn. 5:12–13).

Y– "Yield your members as instruments of righteousness" (Rom. 6:13).

First, present your body to the Lord. Why? Because your body is "the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit came to fill you, to possess you, to control you and to glorify the Lord Jesus through you. Now that is absolutely staggerig—awesome!

Second, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and control you. Scripture says, "If we ask anything according to his will, we have it" (1 Jn. 5:12). 

Third, yield the members of your body as instruments of righteousness. Romans 6:13 says, "Yield your members unto God."

Now understand this, dear Christian. "The flesh lusteth (desires) against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh" (Gal. 5:17). There's a tug of war going on inside of every believer. Paul describes this war in Romans 7:15-25. It takes very little to stir up the flesh; television and movies are filled with lustful sights to tempt the flesh to sin. But "it is God who works in you both to will (to desire) and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). This is one of the top ten verses for Christians to know and live by.

Every holy hunger or divine desire you and I ever had, God put it there. Now, we must respond and yield our members to God and the desires He puts within us.

Prayer: Father, help us to live by faith that comes by the Word of God and see the Holy Spirit do great and mighty things in and through us to Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quotes for the Day: "When you're through changing, you're through." —Bruce Barton

"Those who don't want the fruits of sin must stay out of Satan's orchard." —Author Unknown 

How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit

The Bible says, "Be ye not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:17).

We must be wise and understand what the will of the Lord is: for us to be "filled with the Spirit." If that is so, then for us NOT to be filled with the Holy Spirit is sin. Notice the unusual comparison: "Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit." God is saying, "Don't be under the influence of alcohol; be under the influence of the Holy Spirit."

The late Dr. Kenneth Wuest, one of the most revered Greek scholars, said, "Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not like putting gas in the tank, but a driver behind the wheel." When a person is under the influence of alcohol, he or she is changed. When we are controlled by the Spirit, we will be changed.

Being filled is not a one-time experience. The Greek tense here is continuous: "Be ye being filled" continuously.

How are we filled with the Spirit? We ask. Scripture says, "This is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will [Did you get that?] he heareth us… whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition we desired of him" (1 Jn. 5:14–15). "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him" (Col. 2:6).

How did you receive him? By faith! So ASK to be filled with the Spirit. It works. Jesus said, "Ask, and ye shall receive." If we ask anything according to the will of the Lord, we know that we have it! How? Because He said it.

Oh, dear people, walk by faith and not by feeling. Believe God as you ask to be filled, controlled, by the Holy Spirit. Call on the Holy Spirit to control you continuously.

Prayer: Father, You want us to be Spirit-filled Christians and to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives to the fullest. Help us to walk by faith and see the Spirit do all He came to do in our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quote for the Day: "God loves everyone, but He prefers 'fruits of the spirit' over 'religious nuts!'" —Author Unknown

Pray and Fast

"If I shut up heaven." "If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will heal their land" 2 Chronicles 7:13,14. There it is, an open and shut case.

THE LAND IS DEVOURED

The locust have devoured the land. There is a pestilence among God's people, We are in a heap of trouble. EVERY NATION IS! What shall we do?

WHY NOT PRAY AND FAST?

"Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me" Psalm 50:15.

"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting" Mark 9:29. Why not try it? God expects us to fast for He said, "When ye fast" not if but when Matt 7.

I received an email urging that we all join in and have this unique date set aside for a world wide day of prayer and fasting. I am jumping on the bandwagon and urging you to do the same.

Someone, get the Pope to proclaim the same. Someone get the president of our country and yours to do the same. Get the President of every denomination, the pastor of every church, the "papa" of every home to do the same.

ISRAEL DID AND GOD DID TURN

"And they cried, and their cry came up unto God" "And God looked upon the children of Israel and God had respect unto them" "And I am come down to deliver them" Exodus 3:

HUMBLE YOURSELF

"America (N & S) Africa, Asia, Arab, Australia, Azores, Ant- arctica and All others, WE NEED GOD. Get rid of your pride. God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in do time" 1 Peter 5:6. Let's see what He will do.

PRAY

Don't say a little prayer, let's have a day of prayer. Like Hannah. who "was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore" and "poured out my soul before the Lord" 1 Sam. 1:10 ff let us get serious and have some "effectual fervent prayer of righteous men availeth much" James 5:16. "A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" Psalm 51:17.

TURN FROM OUR WICKED WAYS

"Put away the strange gods" Genesis 35:2,:Joshua 24:14, 23: Judges 10:16; 1 Samuel 7:3. Before God moves for us, we must move out those things that offend our Holy God. "Turn from YOUR wicked ways." Don't worry about someone else. It's YOUR move! Don't you be one who misses out!

FAST

"Deny yourself" Luke 9:"23. Say NO to the flesh. Feed on the "bread of life" and pray. "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me" John 4:34. Be like Jesus and "have meat to eat that ye know not of" win souls!

HE WILL HEAR AND HEAL YOUR LAND

"I will hear from heaven, and will forgive your sins and will heal your land." O dear people, how we need our lives cleansed as well as our land healed. Don't you be left out! I am not!

After being out of print for sometime, in answer to praying "Enlarge my coast' as Jabez did, my book "Fishing for Men" is being reprinted! PRAISE THE LORD. ABC sumner

"Learn to enjoy your own company. You are the one person you can count on living with for the rest of your life"