THE BIBLE SAYS “BE YE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT”

There is a book called the God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. In it, Tommy chases after the Holy Spirit with all of his might. What I like about the book is that “Anyone” who reads it can experience the glory of God exactly the way Tommy does in the book.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit we must always keep our goals in mind.

Goal #1. I want and need the awesome glory of God in my life. I need it because I am compelled to my addiction. But my addiction is nothing compared to the glory of God. As I discover God's glory through the Holy Spirit the chains that shackled me weaken. With the Holy Spirit starting to work in me I have some self-control.

WikiHow recommends obeying the command to be baptized. If we follow this step with a new dedication to Christ we will often experience an increase in the filling of the Holy Spirit.

WikiHow says: “Sin causes a separation from God.

• The Bible explains this separation in Isaiah 59:2: "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear." You can't be close to God if you intentionally continue to sin.
  
  
• The presence of the Holy Spirit may help you have a better understanding of what the sins are in your life!”

Goal #2 I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that I can have fellowship with Him. When we go to war with sin we can have fellowship with Him (almost like the way it was in the Garden of Eden).

Goal #3 We want God to hear our prayers. The above verse said our sin makes it so that God “does not hear.” Our quest to be filled with the Spirit starts to become very exciting when we realize that God is with us and that He hears us.

Goal #4 We want the Holy Spirit to give us a better understanding of what sins are in our lives. Because sin always leads to destruction. When we get the sin out, our lives are “always” better.

Goal #5 Practice rapid repentance of sin. Our goal is to win the war with all sin, but... it is a challenge. So if satan wins a tiny battle over you, don't give up. Practice rapid repentance and go on the offense against him. Instantly renew your quest to be filled with the Spirit.

Goal #6 Spend time in prayer, asking to be filled, and asking for an increase in the glory of God in our lives.

Please note: Day one of this series is my thread, "A Million Years."

More on Praying to be filled tomorrow.

 

We can be filled with the Holy Spirit the easy way, or the hard way.

THE EASY WAY

The Bible says in First John 3

“3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

The easy way to get filled is to study this and pray over it until you believe it. Until you are ready to give your all to do it. Until you are consecrated fully to Jesus Christ.

Then you pray and seek the Lord in your room for a few days or weeks until you are mightily filled with the Spirit.

But... if 100 Christians read this passage, 45 will explain what it means, 45 will explain that no one on earth could ever do it, and only 5-10 people would say: Great, I have found the answer. This is what I “will” do. Then they “always” try to do it. Not perfect, but always “trying” to obey the command to “be perfect. (Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

They go to war with sin and then pray until they are filled with the Holy Spirit.




THE HARD WAY

If you spend a lot of time praying to be filled and it doesn't happen – there is a problem. And the Bible will point out the problem to you. So study the Bible and pray over key passages. If P overwhelms you, you should have every verse that pertains to quitting in a Google doc. Then you should memorize and pray over these passages. You can print out this list as a starting point.

1. 1 John 2:16 -
"For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life - is not from the Father but is from the world."

2. Psalm 119:37 -
"Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word."

3. 1 Corinthians 10:13 -
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

4. Ephesians 3:16 -
"...that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being."

5. Ephesians 3:20 -
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us."

6. Philippians 4:8 -

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

7. Proverbs 6:25 -
"Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids."

8. 1 Corinthians 6:18 -
"Flee sexual immorality."

9. Galatians 5:16 -
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

10. Romans 12:1–2 -
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will."

11. Romans 13:12–14 -
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh."


1. Job 31:1 “I have made an agreement with my eyes. Then how can I look with lust?”

2. Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it.

3. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor–not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.

4. Colossians 3:5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

5. James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

6. 1 John 2:16-17 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

7. Matthew 5:28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

8. Ephesians 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

9. 2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Galatians 5:1

1. 
   For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
   
   
2. Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
   
   
3. 2 Corinthians 3:17,18
   
   Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:11-12
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

You can print out this list, then study, memorize, pray, pray and pray some more over these verses. Be determined to be a God chaser. Be determined to see His glory. Be determined to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Be determined to be filled with His joy.

More in a day or two.

 

The reason for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit is so that we can do something for God. Ephesians 2 says: 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Sometimes we are not quickly filled because we really don't want to do good works, or are not ready to do good works, or we think... wow, now I am going to get filled with the Holy Spirit and I will be the next Rick Warren or somebody like that. So if you have an issue like one of these, the process may go something like this.

For example: We spend a lot of time in prayer asking to be filled with Him. We are at war with sin. We are studying the Bible seriously. But we only see a tiny improvement in the power in our lives. The reason for this is because we still haven't passed the test.

God will give us some small thing to do for Him. Help out at church, the shelter, the food bank etc. We start doing that activity and we are passing the test.

Then we spend a lot of time in prayer, are at war with sin and we are studying the Bible seriously. But we still only see a tiny improvement in the power in our lives. The reason for this is because we now have another test. Now God has something bigger for us to do.

Then we spend a lot of time in prayer, are at war with sin and we are studying the Bible seriously. Do you see the pattern? Often God is ready to fill us with power and joy and ready for us to do something big. But we are not ready. So we keep trying and praying and fighting.

Then one day we wake up and see the problem clearly. We see that sin always leads to destruction and that God's ways are always best. We see that we are created for good works and we don't want anything stopping us from fulfilling our life-given purpose. We then are mightily filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can begin to do the great purpose that God has created for us to do.

During this testing process, we never give up. We keep marching upward.

More in a day or two.

 

To be filled with the Spirit I pray by asking the Holy Spirit to fill me with His power. To fill me with His fire. The next direction we can choose is to pray the prayer of Jabez. “Father expand my borders and bless me indeed.” We pray this prayer because we need to more fully understand: God wants to fill us for His reasons not ours.

We need the Holy Spirit if we are going to expand our borders. God is filling us for a very specific reason. And the challenge is that often we think that our lives will be worse, with less pleasure and less joy if we do exactly what God wants us to do.

Wrong!!!

Doing exactly what God wants is the key to purpose and joy.

Great Christians memorize this verse: “Thy will be done.” Then they spend time in prayer to be empowered to do “His will.”

Often we need to pray and ask Jesus to increase our will to surrender and give up control. To ask Jesus to empty us of anything that’s preventing the Holy Spirit from being in control. Ask Him to increase our faith in His promise to give us the Holy Spirit.

Once we are ready to submit to “His will,” then we can spend time in prayer.

When will I be filled? We all hear stories of some guy who was on drugs who was mightily filled with the Spirit in a few days. Why so quick? Because he surrendered everything.

Then there is the successful businessman who prays a couple of hours a day for 5 years. His infilling is happening but it is painfully slow. But he has a lot to surrender. And he overvalues the things he is supposed to be surrendering. He undervalues the power, the joy, the purpose, and the glory of being filled.

Read in Acts about waiting and tarrying to be filled. Then start to pray, and then pray some more.

The great news is that even if you are slow to be filled. Working on being filled is great for squeezing lust out of your life. Lust out – power and joy in. A great deal.

 

Prayers based on Bible verses to promote being filled with the Holy Spirit

“Father, help me to turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” Turning our eyes preserves our lives.

Father, help me to fight against sin, and fill me with your Spirit.

“Father, Your Word says that I will not be tempted beyond my ability. I will put in the work but please give me the wisdom to escape this temptation.”

“Father, help me to flee sexual immorality.” A great goal is to increase this skill daily.

“Father, help me to not think about how to gratify the desires of my flesh. Show me what to think about and fill me with Your fire.”

“Father, help me to remember that lust leads to death.” This prayer is based on James 1:14-15. Something always is dying or dies when we give in to lust.

“Father, take away my sinful desires and give me a Spirit of power, love and self-discipline.” Based on 2 Timothy 1:7

Father, show me the destruction of sin, and fill me with your fire.

 

John 15 says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

99% of us hang on to things that God wants us to let go of. I sure do. And then we tell Him that we are willing to be more fruitful. Then He prunes us (He starts to take the hindrance away).

We are ready to be mightily filled with the Spirit, but am I ready to be pruned?

Pray, “Father, increase my faith. Show me what You want.”

 

Galatians 5:24
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we have made a final decision to be filled with the Holy Spirit we have already crucified the flesh. We have made a permanent decision to allow the Holy Spirit to rule. A permanent decision to stop sinning. A permanent decision to do Jesus will.

Yesterday I did something that I thought was borderline but I thought it was not really sin. Then the Holy Spirit made it clear to me that He has a huge problem with it. So, I will not do that activity anymore.

I am able to do this because my # 1 desire is to do Jesus' will. We can start to crucify sinful passions and desires. And we can crucify them for good once we have made a final decision to stop them.

But the Holy Spirit wants complete dedication.

Pray: “Father, show me if there is something that you want me to give up.”

I throw a lot of prayers at you. But I don't think everyone realizes that I pray some of them thousands of times. And each time I pray them, it is with full sincerity and a desire to change.

BELIEF

Find a person that you think is really filled with the Spirit. Watch them, talk to them, think about how they live. See how they have peace and joy flowing from them. Learn about how you can have a great life. It is vital to have complete belief in your new great life because it is hard to crucify sinful passions and desires if you don't believe that your new life with Christ will be better.

Every time I say, “We can have fullness of joy if we fully live Jesus way,” at least one person thinks, “No we can't.” But I have never had anyone say, “I did exactly what the Bible says to do for the last two weeks, and it sucked.”

HONESTY

If we crucify 80% of our sinful flesh, life will improve. But it is impossible to understand why Jesus wants us to crucify 100% of sinful passions and desires until we do it. The point is, I promise great things to you. And it is real. But... Jesus insists that we are hot or cold. No lukewarm Christians are desired in Revelation 3.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

So if you are like I was when I was younger, it is a battle. But the rewards are fantastic.

 

When we fight sin effectively, we become more filled with the Spirit. To fight effectively, do a Google search on all the sins that you struggle with. Put in, “Bible verses about drinking, verses about lying, greed, pride, etc. Look for openbible.info They have lists of Bible verses for most topics. Next, study, memorize and pray over these verses.

The more we have the Word in us, the easier it becomes to obey. The more we obey, the more the Holy Spirit will be in us.

 

• 
  THE SPIRIT EMPOWERS OBEDIENCE
  
  Steve Fuller at Livingbyfaith noted the following:
  
  “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Rom 8:14)
  
• Paul says we are transformed into Christ’s image by beholding the glory of the Lord. And it’s the Holy Spirit who enables us to behold the glory of the Lord.
  
  
• So the Spirit helps us obey by enabling us to see Jesus’ glory.
  
  
• But how does that cause us to obey?
  
  Jesus’ glory IS the all-surpassing worth of the Universe. When Paul felt Christ’s all-surpassing worth, he was so satisfied that he turned from everything else to gain more of Christ.
  
  
• And when we turn from everything else to gain more of Christ, we will obey, because our hearts will want to obey so as to gain even more of Christ (Phil 3:8; John 14:21).
  
  All this happens as the Spirit helps us feel Jesus’ all-surpassing worth. But how does he do that?
  
  
• Through His Sword
  
  
• Paul explains in Ephesians 6:17 —
  
  
• Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
  
  
• This sword has lots of uses. But one is to cut away the scales of unbelief that grow over our spiritual eyes. When our vision is clouded by these scales, we see less of Jesus’ worth.
  
  
• But the Spirit uses his sword — the word of God — to cut away those scales. As we pray over God’s Word the Spirit will cut away our unbelief so we once again see and feel Jesus’ all-surpassing worth.
  
  
• And as we saw above, when we see and feel Jesus’ all-surpassing worth, we will obey.”
  
  
  Example: You are watching TV, the show has a normal amount of tempting stuff, but you start getting really tempted. Why? Because at that moment you are not seeing and feeling all that you have in Christ.
  

Back to the article: “So what can I do?

First I would ask for more of the Spirit’s work in my heart. Then I’d pray over specific verses in God’s word, trusting that the Spirit would use his sword to cut away the scales of unbelief.

As I do that, God will answer my prayer (Luke 11:13). The Spirit will cut away the scales of unbelief (Psa 119:18). I will once again see and feel Jesus’ glory (2Cor 3:18). That will grow until I have such joy in Him that my heart is completely satisfied (Psa 73:25-26).”

My insert - Focusing on the Word empowered the Holy Spirits' help.

Back to the article: “The Spirit empowered me to obey.

Putting It All Together

The Spirit empowers obedience by using his word to help us see and feel the glory of Jesus, so we are fully satisfied in him, and long for more of him.

When this happens, we will obey —

• we will love Christ supremely, because we will feel his all-satisfying worth (Phil 3:8)
  
  
• we will love others, because our hearts will be overflowing with joy in Christ (Heb 10:34)
  
  
• we will forgive those who hurt us, because the gain we have in Christ more than makes up for what they did (Matt 18:32-33)
  
  
• we will battle lust, because nothing is worth losing an all-satisfying Treasure (Matt 5:8)
  
  
• we will be devoted to prayer, because prayer brings more of Christ’s presence (Jam 4:8)
  
  
• we will study God’s Word, because that’s where we most powerfully meet him (Psa 43S:3-4)
  
  
• we will share the gospel, because that’s how we receive even more of him (1Cor 9:23)
  
  
• we will obey all his commands, so we will have more closeness to him (John 14:21)”
  
  
  
  There is a lot of stuff we can study and memorize from this great article. For the full article click.
  

 

I was asked last week, why should we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Don't we get the Holy Spirit when we get saved? The answer is yes. But, for most of us, we get our glass 25% or 30% filled. The command to the Christians to "Be filled with the Spirit" refers to God's desire that our glass becomes 90% or 100% filled. An additional infilling.

The purpose of being increasingly filled is so that the Spirit can empower us to do His will. The Spirit flows into us so that He can then flow out of us so that His will is done.

I try to be more filled with the Holy Spirit every day. I need the Holy Spirit so that I can attempt to help others. When we start to see the Spirit filling us, we realize that He wants to do many things through us. We realize that the Bible is true and that following Him leads us down a great road.

To be filled with the Spirit is a process of 1. Full repentance 2. Time in prayer 3. Specific prayers like, “Father, show me what You want me to do.” 4. Starting to do something to help somebody.

I had to repeat and restart this process many times, but it was worth it.

 

It's the abundant life.

 

All dedicated Christians have a level of availability to do what God needs to be done. 10%, 35%, 65%, 95%, or 100%. When we have a high level of availability, the power of the Holy Spirit starts to be with us.

Satan will explain to us how other things are important, and how we can't do everything that God wants us to do. Another lie.

The more we do what God needs to be done, the better our lives become. Consider praying:

“Father, show me how to be available for You.”

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Consider praying: “Father, take away my love for the world.”

Pray and study about being filled with the Holy Spirit. It can be a life-changing experience.

 

Some people want to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that they are empowered with the gifts of the Spirit. But if that is your method, that is a long cut. Instead use a short cut. Focus on the two commands that Jesus said are most important. To love the Lord your God with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.
This consistent focus leads us to activities that produce joy. Helping Others. We pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit can empower us to help others.
Take time every day in pray to allow the Holy Spirit to fill you. Second, let the Spirit know that you are available to do something today, or to say something today, if He will help you do it. Remember... God knows your strengths and your weaknesses. If He is going to have a tiny brained person like me talk to someone about Christ, He is going to do a lot of leading. More likely, all the talking.
My only jobs are going to war with sin, spending time in prayer, and being available.
When I focus on these things with all my might, life is even better than being on vacation in Florida.

 

CRU.org noted:

“Open Hands: The first image that you should have when attempting to walk by the Spirit is that of open hands. It is a posture of giving God whatever you are attempting to cling to for life apart from Him. It is also an image of receiving from Him whatever He has for you, including His presence, power, and purpose.

• "Yes": The second image is that of continually being ready to say “yes” to Him as he leads, directs, and redirects. Start every day with a heart that says to God, “Whatever you want, wherever you want to lead, whoever you want me to talk to, whatever you want me to give up, and whatever you want me to do, I say ‘yes.’”
  
  
• White Flag: And finally, the image of a white flag. God wants you to raise the white flag of surrender. He does not want you to give up on Him. He does not want you to give up on Christianity because you feel exhausted trying to live the Christian life on your own. But He wants you to give up control. He wants you to give up the pursuit of your sin. He wants you to give up trying to live the Christian life on your own.
  
  Wave the white flag today and tomorrow and every day thereafter. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit anew today and tomorrow and every day thereafter. As you walk and stumble and get back up, confess, repent and raise the white flag on your sin and on your attempts to live the Christian life on your own. Surrender to His Spirit so you can experience more of His presence, more of His power, and more of His purposes in your life.”
  
  Second, we should desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit because He insists that we do good works, and we can't do much without Him. Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
  
  The church John was writing to was going through the motions regarding good works. In this passage John is warning them to get busy and help someone. Getting busy and helping someone (doing God's will) is part of quitting. We make a point of being filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can help others and do God's will. We go to war with sin so that we can do God's will.
  
  Third, consider setting a daily time to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. To be filled so that we can do God's will and help others.
  
  Finally, people who insist on being filled with the Spirit quit 10 times as often as others. Why? #1 because the Holy Spirit helps us to be in God's will. #2 Because now they have something great “to do.” #3 Because now the Holy Spirit is becoming a constant help in the war against sin. #4 Because now they again experience their “First love,” and start to increase in joy. And it is great.
  
  
  

 

A goal of being filled with the Spirit is the exact opposite of our old goal of filling our lives with pleasures. I clicked on a YouTube regarding “The top 5 purchases retirees make.” He said, “While a motor home will give (most people) joy, it is a lot less joy than they think... and a whole lot more money. Not a lot of bang for the buck”

The truth is, a motor home gives no one “joy.” Maybe fun, pleasure etc., but not joy. Joy is not fleeting, it lasts. Children (can) give us joy. Helping others will start to, or will give us joy. Spending time with Jesus gives us joy. Seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit starts to give us joy.

There is a wide range of joy available when we take time to pray daily to be filled with the Spirit. We can pray specifically for a Spiritual trait. Things like: Strength, wisdom, love, joy, peace, and many other things. This will lead to some increase in joy.

Second, we can pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, asking to be a living river of Jesus overflowing through us. Over time this leads to love, praise, worship, and thanksgiving becoming more consistent and natural. This often does lead to an increase in joy. However, if we ignore the next paragraph, the experience may be fleeting.

Third, we can pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, asking what He wants us to do. For some people this is simple. Jesus is their treasure, so they are ready now to go to war with sin and to tell everyone what He has done for them. Note: We tell people who “Want to hear about it.” And people who the “Holy Spirit leads us to talk to.” When we commit our lives to doing God's will we will be starting on a path toward fullness of joy.

Fourth, sometimes the Holy Spirit fills you so that you can love a certain group of “unloved” people.

Fifth, the Holy Spirit always fills you in a way that makes you the best you that you can be.

Sixth, we should probably be praying to be filled in many of these ways. Or... praying and allowing the Holy Spirit to do something unique in us that no one else can do.

Finally, the key is to go to war with sin and to spend time in scripture and prayer. Set a goal, then just see what happens.