BEING FILLED BY THE SPIRIT
Ephesians 5:18
INTRO: What do you think of when you hear someone talk of being filled with the spirit? Some people may think of someone as being drunk, while others may think of someone as being demon possessed. This could be true in both cases.
But most of us think that being “filled with1he Spirit” is like screwing the lid off of one’s head and pouring in the Holy Spirit until one is full. That is not what it means. You don’t get more of Him. He gets more of you! The tense of the verb means to continually fill or possess.
I. BEING POSSESSED.
1. Paul used a good illustration.
(1) A drunk is possessed or controlled by a spirit not his own.
(2) He will do things he normally wouldn’t do.
2. The Christian is to be possessed or controlled by the Holy Spirit in much the same manner.
3. He should be controlled by someone other than himself.
4. God can enable us to say and do what we could not normally do.
II. HOW TO RECOGNIZE SPIRIT POSSESSION.
1. Don’t be misled.
(1) Simeon the sorcerer was demon possessed (Acts 8:9-18).
(2) Ananias was a Christian who became demon controlled (Acts 5:1-10).
a. He was demon-controlled — not demon-possessed.
b. Christians cannot be demon-possessed.
2. Don’t expect an emotional display.
(1) The popular belief among some people is that you must speak in tongues, or jump and shout, or roll on the floor to show that you are filled with the Spirit.
(2) While God doesn’t deny us the privilege of doing these things if we are so led, this is not the way the Holy Spirit works.
(3) Would you be impressed by Jesus if you saw Him doing those things?
3. Walk in the Word (Colossians 3:16).
(1) The Greek word for dwell is the same tense verb as is filled in Ephesians 5:18.
(2) The Greek means: continually dwelling in or dwell completely in.
(3) There is a ru1e of mathematics: Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other.
a. God is equal to the Holy Spirit.
b. We are Children of God.
c. Living in the Word is being Spirit-filled.
CONC: Do you desire the Spirit-filled life. You can be by committing yourself completely to God, and making yourself available to Him to use as He chooses.
