By Rev. Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church KAG
Acts
19:1-6
Since you believed have you been filled
with the Holy Spirit?
Paul met this group of believers who had believed but they had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They had not even heard about the Holy Spirit though they were believers. Paul understood the importance of every believer being filled with the Holy Spirit upon believing thus when he met these believers; this was the first question he asked them. I pose the same question to you this day. Since you believed have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?
Every believer has the spirit of God because we are born of the spirit when
we get born again which is the most important thing.
John
3:6
[6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
We become spiritually alive and we are expected to live and walk in the spirit.
Life in the spirit is seen in two main ways
1.
He grants us victory over the flesh, the world, and Satan and his kingdom.
2.
We, therefore, manifest the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. This
is what brings out Christ-like character or recognized as true Christian.
Without being spirit-filled, we remain carnal Christian's and our worship
amounts to religion void of relationship and intimacy.
Instead of enjoying salvation, it becomes endurance with endless struggles with
sin. There is great leaning towards the flesh and its cravings always winning.
Galatians
5:16-17
[16] so I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the
flesh.
[17]For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is
contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are
not to do whatever you want.
We have many believers who are Pentecostal by name but not by experience. They
are like the Samarian brethren who had not been filled
Acts
8:15-17
[15]When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might
receive the Holy Spirit,
[16]because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply
been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
[17]Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit.
Have you been baptized in the Holy
Spirit.
Being born again is not equivalent to being filled. This is a subsequent
event that follows after receiving Christ.
Acts
2:38
[38] Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.
NOTE
1.This is not a gift for some few privileged
The Holy Spirit is for every believer not chosen few
Acts
2:39
[39]The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for
all whom the Lord our God will call.”
2. Being filled with the Holy Spirit usually comes with manifestation.
Acts
2:1-4 spoke in tongues
2:11-13 declaring God's wonders
In other instances, peoples prophesied or did extraordinary especially in the
Old Testament.
In the New Testament, it mostly accompanied by speaking in tongues
Speaking in tongues is not the end but a means to the end. The purpose of being
filled with the spirit is to be empowered for ministry but not for speaking in
tongues, Tongues are their evidence. Most believers just venture in tongues
speaking instead of using the power to witness. Are you ashamed to stand out
for Jesus or afraid to share Christ with people?
Acts
1:8
[8]But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth.”
3. When we are spirit-filled we become bold and powerfully witness of Christ
Acts 4:31
[31]After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
4. We are to be filled continuously
Ephesians
5:18
[18]Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled
with the Spirit,
Being
filled is not a one-time event but it should be a continuous thing. We are highly leaking vessels and so we require constant replenishment.
Acts
13:52
[52]And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit
5.To be filled with the Holy Spirit, you need to desire, ask and wait upon him.
Luke
11:13
[13]If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask him!”
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