And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18
It is very interesting that Paul was talking to the same Ephesians that had already been filled with the Spirit under his own ministry! He is telling Spirit filled people to be filled with the Spirit, right? What he is actually telling them is that God desires that they be continually filled with the Spirit. God wants each of us saved and continually filled to the overflow with the Holy Spirit!
In our church service on yesterday we had at filling and refilling service. We had at least one filled for the first time and many refilled! I am almost positive that every single person we laid hands on began to speak in other tongues. This is God's will for every believer! (If you are reading this and you have never heard or do not understand this subject you need to go to our website, rlcmarion.org, and listen to the service on Sunday, September 15, 2013).
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4
How do we know when we are filled with the Holy Ghost? When we are filled with or full of the Holy Ghost we will begin to speak with other tongues. This is the scriptural evidence that we are full of the Holy Ghost.
Also, it is important to understand that it is not the Holy Spirit taking control of you or the Holy Spirit speaking through you. You do the speaking. The Holy Spirit gives the utterance, or what to say. This has confused many, but understand that God doesn't give you a gift on Sunday morning and then take it back from you. When you receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38,39) you now possess this gift and can pray in the Spirit and stay full of the Spirit each and every day of your life.
Now to our focus point:
But you shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
This word "power" in the Greek is dunamis which means "inherent power capable of reproducing itself like a dynamo." This is where we get our English word dynamo. The example the Holy Spirit gave me was a generator. We have hurricanes sometimes here in South Carolina. Very often this storm will knock out the power to your home or business. But, if you have purchased a generator you can have power when everyone else's lights are out! Is it enough to have a generator in the storm? Definitely not! You need the generator, but you need fuel is well if you are going to produce power!
I said all of that to say this: When you were given the gift of the Holy Ghost you were given the capability to produce all of the power you need to accomplish everything God has called you to accomplish in this life. But the fuel to keep this power flowing is spending time praying in the Spirit!
What do I need to do now?
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22
You walk in the fullness of God's blessings when you know what to do, and when you do it!
If you are filled with the Holy Ghost you need to make sure you take the time to exercise your gift daily. If you have never done this, begin by taking about 5 minutes each day to pray in the Spirit (tongues). Even though you may be filled with the Holy Ghost it is extremely important that you exercise your gift daily to develop your heavenly prayer language! Do not worry about how it sounds to you for your natural mind will try and make you think you are crazy. Simply know you are obeying God's word and you will see almost instantaneous results in your walk with God.
I will cover in more detail the purpose and benefits of praying in the Holy Ghost next week at the latest. In the meantime it would benefit you greatly to read Kenneth E. Hagin's book "Why Tongues." It is a mini book that you can read in less than 30 minutes.
In Christ,
Pastor J
