Filled With the Spirit

Ephesians 5:15–20 (NLT)

15So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Present Imperative - Imperative is an order or command (always sounds like someone is bossing you around).

Acts 2:1–13 (NLT)

1On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 5At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

7They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. 13But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan & teacher of Augustine, wrote, “One drunk with wine sways and stumbles. But one who is filled with the Spirit has solid footing in Christ.”

John Chrysostom, 4th century Bishop of Constantinople, suggests that we must be ready for the Spirit’s filling. The Spirit cannot fill something that has already been filled with other things.

Billy Graham wrote in his book on the Holy Spirit, “It’s not how much of the Spirit we have, but how much the Spirit has of us.”

How can we be filled with the Spirit?

We cannot control the work of the Spirit. All we can control is what we can control. All we can control is our openness and emptiness, thus allowing the Holy Spirit to do the filling.

You can’t fill a jar that’s not open. You can’t fill a jar that’s full.