I Must, I May, I Will, I Shall
Ephesians 5:18
To maintain a vigorous, active life, one must be healthy. Good health comes from a particular and a planned program of physical care. If I follow this plan I can feel the benefit in many ways. Someone said, "If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." I think all of us can say that with all sincerity.
For a Christian to have a healthy Christian life, he/she must be filled with the Spirit of God. Most of Christianity does not know what being filled with the Spirit of God is all about.
In our text verse Paul is conducting a class on the filling of the Holy Spirit and the purpose for such a filling. He makes a reference to wine that most Christians do not understand or have never heard about:
"...But be filled with the Spirit". The heathen priests pretended to be filled with the influence of the god they worshipped; and it was in these circumstances that they gave out their oracles. They would simulate the filling of the spirit by the fullness of wine. The apostle exhorts the Ephesians not to resemble these, but, instead of being filled with wine, to be filled with the Spirit of God.
Paul continues on in the remainder of the chapter teaching them what the filling of the Spirit consists of. Look in Vs. 19 & 20.
Eph 5:19 "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;"
Eph 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;"
Eph 5:21 "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."
Eph 5:22 "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord."
You must have the fullness of the Holy Spirit to enable you to overcome sin and temptation. The fullness of God’s Spirit is not necessarily accompanied by an overflow of emotional outburst. Neither is a
quiet calm spirit evidence of NOT being filled, or of being spiritual.
The reason Christians are not living in victory is they are not experiencing the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit of God. The reason that nearly every Christian suffers spiritual defeat is the absence of the fullness and power of the Spirit. The reason that churches worldwide are stagnant and dormant is they, or the membership, are working in the energy of the flesh.
The question is, "How can we be filled with the Spirit.”
I want to give you four steps to this endeavor. These thoughts were gleaned from a writing by Andrew Murray.
First, "I Must Have The Filling."
Second, "I May Have The Filling."
Third, "I Will Have The Filling."
Fourth, "I Shall Have The Filling."
I. I MUST HAVE THE FILLING
There are three thoughts I want to give you on this:
A. It Is The Command Of God. "...be filled with the Spirit."
Just as a man dare not get drunk if he is a Christian, just as much must a man be filled with the Spirit. A Christian must come to the reality that if he is going to please God he must be filled with the Spirit.
Too many are content with just operating with the indwelling Spirit and not the fullness of the Spirit. The Spirit enters the Christian for indwelling at the time of conversion, but the fullness brings with it the power of victory for the convert. You can have as much of God’s power as you are willing to pay the price to get it. A person can have as expensive a diamond as he/she is willing to pay. The same is true with the Spirit of God.
Too many erroneously think and practice that the fullness is just for some and not for all. How far from the truth of God’s Word this practice is. God commands that you be filled with His power and Spirit, and when God gives a command He will provide the necessary means for fulfilling that command.
I Must Have The Filling.
It Is The Command Of God.
B. It Is The Great Need Of Man.
To attempt the work of God with only the ability of man is foolish. Your greatest need as a child of God is to have the fullness of the Spirit of God. If your approach in accomplishing God’s plan is to do so under your own power, you of all men will be most disappointed.
It Is The Command Of God.
It Is The Great Need Of Mankind.
C. It Is A Great Need Of The Church.
If our church, or any church attempts any work of God apart from the fullness of God’s Spirit we have committed a spiritual crime.
A Sunday School teacher who is trying to teach a class in only his/her teaching skills will do harm to that class. If one attempts a heavenly work in the power of the flesh, failure will be extended to all. All teachers should immediately pursue the power and the fullness of the Spirit of God. The success of the work you are doing depends upon Him.
"I Must Have The Filling..."
II. I MAY HAVE THE FILLING
The first point had to do with duty - I Must Be Filled. The second has reference to privilege - I May Be Filled. We have so long been accustomed to the low state of the Christian life until we think it is the proper state. Too many believe that they cannot be filled. Our attitude should be: "God wants it. God commands it. I must be filled, and I may be filled!"
We have grown accustomed to mediocrity in Christians until we do not expect those around us to live up to the expectation that God has for each.
We judge them by sincerity or earnestness,
even though they are regular failures in their attempts to live for God. We excuse it as "being human". If they are faithful in church and give regularly, we overlook the fact that they lose their temper or that they cannot be trusted. Attending church is not the criteria for fullness of the Spirit, but living a holy life is. God longs to give you and I the fullness of His Spirit so we can live in victory every day for Him and through Him. How sad it must be to God to witness the level of Christian power today among His children.
These Ephesian people had just gotten saved. They had just come out of paganism, lying, and stealing, yet Paul commanded them "to be filled with the spirit." There is not a certain time element that we must first experience. God is willing and ready to fill us as soon as we empty ourselves of self. I thank God for each member that is faithful to their duty in service, but the greater importance is to be filled with His Holy Spirit. Don’t listen to the devil’s lie that the fullness is only for certain Christians.
Those who may say, "I cannot be filled", are saying that they will not pay the price by giving up their sin.
I Must Have The Filling…
I May Have The Filling…
III. I WILL HAVE THE FILLING
"Will" is the motivation. The drive. The desire. The force. Without that drive, that desire, that force, or motivation, you will never be filled.
Someone said, "You must want the filling more than you want the next breath of air."
A. "I Will" Means I Will Give Up Your Sin.
1. Search your life for hidden sin.
2. All sin must be eliminated.
3. Confess and forsake all known sin.
It matters not what it may be; it must go. Whether it be temper, pride, money, lust, or self fulfillment, or the fear of man, just say to Christ, "I will be filled." [I have decided to follow Jesus!]
B. "I Will" Means To Give Up Your Self.
1. Your will.
2. Your pleasure.
3. Your honor.
This will be impossible as long as Satan blinds us by making us think that it is impossible.
You must give up any and everything that stands between you and God.
Satan often tempts by saying, "Would you give up that certain thing? That is an awful price to pay." He makes us afraid, but once you say to the Lord, "Anything and Everything", the fear turns to joy and filling.
You will never understand nor experience the fullness of God’s Spirit until you have given Him your total family. [as opposed to co-dependence].
Perhaps there is one here who would say, "I cannot give all." Allow me to take you to the Cross of Calvary and show you the Crucified Christ. Look at Him. When you see Him high and holy, lifted up, dying on the cross for you…when you see the dying love that God the Father displayed for us by giving His only begotten Son, how can you say, "I can’t do it?" The only other reply would be, "I won’t do it."
I Must Have The Filling…
I May Have The Filling…
I Will Have The Filling…
IV. I SHALL HAVE THE FILLING
When a Christian gets so hungry for the power of God that he will pay any price for it, then he shall have it.
When men/women give themselves to God to be filled and used of the Holy Ghost, they shall have it. It is to be an act of obedience and surrender. You must cast yourself before God and trust in Him for the filling. You must give yourself as an empty vessel before God to be filled with His blessed Holy Spirit. When you have presented yourself in that manner, then ask for His Spirit to fill you, and He will do it. (Luke 11:13)
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" This verse is assuming that you have paid the price required for filling. God will not fill a dirty vessel.
"I shall be filled" is the faith side of the filling. Believing that God will deliver His promise of the fullness of His Spirit to any believer that will prepare himself for the filling, and then ask for it.
There is not a certain feeling that comes over you when you are filled. The filling is not by feeling, but by faith. And that filling is for doing the work of God, not just for our own benefit or entertainment in a service.
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit of God right now? What evidence do you have to show that filling? Compare yourself with the remainder of Eph. 5.
Some thoughts and portions of this sermon were taken from a chapter in Deeper Christian Life, by Andrew Murray. The chapter is entitled, "The Blessing Secured."
-----
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/TheFilling.html
