Perhaps remaining alert feels too much? We have an important ally in our struggle: the Holy Spirit. Today we’ll look at how to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Our passages today: Genesis 32:24-30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:6.
Preacher: Ian Bayne, 31st January 2021
Recap
We’ve been looking at antidotes to spiritual snooziness.
Last week we looked at keeping one eye on the devil. Our enemy is looking to exploit us. Don’t give him more attention than he deserves, or enter conversation with him, but keep an eye on him.
The Holy Spirit
We have an important ally to help us in this spiritual battle: the Holy Spirit. We ought to strive to be daily filled with the Holy Spirit.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
The Holy Spirit is promised to all believers.
I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:8 ESV
We’re talking about receiving a special anointing of the Holy Spirit to achieve miraculous results.
Let’s look at some scriptural examples:
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Luke 1:15 ESV
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4
People were filled with the Holy Spirit to be able to complete a task.
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit within them, but from time to time we get extra help and power from the Holy Spirit. This is referred to as being “filled with the Holy Spirit”.
If we desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit on a regular basis, how do we do this?
1. Ask Him
In Luke 11 the disciples ask Jesus how to pray. He gives them the Lord’s prayer, followed by a story about a woman who petitions a judge until she gets justice. He finishes up with the following:
10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:10-13
He teaches us prayer, persistence and what we should ask for.
Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Persist on praying for the Holy Spirit, so that we can do what the Lord wants us to do.
2. Struggle
It’s not just asking, we need to struggle:
“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Luke 13:24 ESV
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12 ESV
In our passage in Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with the angel until he was blessed.
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Genesis 32:24
All these require us to be alert. It’s impossible to spiritually snooze if we’re engaged in such combat. There’s no snoozing here!
Application
We should ask ourselves three questions:
1. What do you really want as a Christian in your life?
Do you want to be a servant of God? To be enabled to do great things for God’s glory?
2. How much do you want to seek the Holy Spirit for this?
Once a week or once a month?
We say we want to be effective, but are we prepared to work at it?
If you are, then you will seek and strive for this.
3. What are you prepared to sacrifice for the Holy Spirit?
If we’re seeking the Holy Spirit on a daily basis then we’ll avoid snooziness.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Ephesians 5:18 ESV
If I want to drink a glass of wine a day, then surely I want more of the Holy Spirit than wine!
Resources
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