HOLY SPIRIT - FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT (TALK 1 OF 2)
12 May 2018 Saturday
Sharing my notes taken @ Catholic Spirituality Centre
Talk by Leonard Koh on 11 May 2018 Friday
THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
- To magnify Jesus
- To shine the floodlight on Jesus
- To point ot Jesus
- To reveal Jesus in all His glory
THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the constant presence and the operating power of God in the life of a believer.
Constant Presence
Jesus promises to send His Spirit to be with us
And as the psalmist says, there is no where we can hide from the Spirit
Psalm 137:7-10 "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."
The Holy Spirit is constantly present.
Operating Power of God
Jesus commissioned his disciples but commanded them not to take action until the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon them. And he said, when that happens, they will be His witnesses to the ends of the world.
Acts 1: 8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit is the power and is here to help us in our Christian life. Everything changes once power of the Holy Spirit operates in us.
The Holy Spirit gives us the power to live the Christian life. Living the Christian life is not some standard we will ourselves to live up to. Living the Christian life means surendering to the Holy spirit and allowing the Spirit to live His life through us.
- Allowing the Holy Spirit to live His life through us: Leonard gave the example of a young artist copying a painting of a grand master. He can copy every brush stroke and learn every technique of the master, but how wonderful the painting will turn out to be if the spirit of the grandmaster can work through the young artist. For us, how wonderful our Christian life will be if we allow the Holy Spirit to live through us.
LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Without the power of the Holy Spirit, living the Christian life will be impossible. The Spirit helps us overcome sins and temptations in life.
We sin because we lack something, and want something to be fulfilled in our lives.
The way to overcome sin is to "lose our taste" for them, to be filled with God’s love, peace and joy so that we "lose our taste” for it, to lose our taste for all that is not of God.
- To illustrate this point, Leonard held up an empty mineral water bottle and asked how we could “lose” all the air from the bottle. Sucking all the air out will not do because it will create a vacuum and will cause the bottle to crush. He went on to illustrate how air can be driven out from the bottle by pouring water into the bottle. As more water goes into the bottle, more air is forced out. So is the work of the Spirit within us. The more we are filled with God’s peace, love and joy, the more sins are forced out of our lives.
Gal 5:16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT?
Eph 5:18 - Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
The Bible, at several instances, uses getting drunk to describe one being filled with the Spirit. Getting drunk means to be under the influence of alcohol. A person who is drunk no longer acts as oneself - what he says and do is under the influence of something other than himself.
The Greek word for filled is plerousthe. It means to be made full, be complete.
Being filled with the Spirit means to be overcome by a power greater than oneself, living conscious, yielding every area of our lives to the Spirit’s control.
- To bring home the message of being made full, complete, Leonard held up a glass of rose syrup cordial and illustrated how pouring in milk and stirring it up changes the rose syrup into bundung, completed transforming the drink.
Being filled with the Spirit is not an isolated, or single event. It is a way of life, a condition of life - to be filled, to continue to be filled again and again, to be permanently living in the Spirit.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Eph 5:18 is a command verse.
And if it is a command from God, it means it is something we can do because He will not ask us to do something we cannot do.
So the Lord commands us to be filled with the Spirit. But how?
Leonard pointed out the parallel between two verses
Col 3:16 | Eph 5:18-20 |
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. | Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
Both verses start with commands:
- Be filled with the Spirit
- Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly
Both these two commands lead to the same series of outcome - singing hymns, psalms, spiritual songs and giving thanks to God.
So to be filled the Holy Spirit means
- To let the Word of God dwell in us.
- To let the Word of God saturate and permeate every area of our life.
- To be Word-saturated, allowing the Word of God to speak into our life, our relationships, our work, our finances, our family….yielding them to the spirit’s control.
- To daily read, meditate and memorise Scripture.
As we dwell on God’s Word through daily reading, meditating and memorising Scripture, the Spirit will help us live a life of righteousness, peace and joy.
As we surrender, the capacity of the Holy Spirit will grow in us influencing our being, our actions, thoughts, relationships, our schedule, our hopes, our aspirations….
The world needs Spirit-filled Christians to bring about the changes needed, to be so directed by God that we can make this world on earth truly the Kingdom of God.
Link to notes of the following week’s talk on “Empowered by the Holy Spirit”
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