Jesus - “You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” (Acts 1:8)
A young man once said to his Pastor, “I accepted Jesus as my Savior several years ago, but I could never get very excited about my relationship with Him. I couldn’t stay interested in the Bible and my mind would wander whenever I tried to read it. I never really knew what it was to worship the Lord fully, and my prayer life was erratic. I rarely shared my faith because I was afraid they would reject me. Also, because I was living life by my own strength, I almost never had victory over my fears, worries, insecurities, and temptations. But since I was filled with the Spirit a few months ago, my life has changed completely. I now have a great love for the things of God. I can’t get enough of the Bible, prayer, and worship, and I now love to fellowship with other Christians and witness to those who aren’t Believers. Now, I also have victory over the struggles and strongholds of my life. What a great change has happened in my life since I was filled with the Holy Spirit!” If we want this type of transformation in our lives, we must be willing to do what this young man did.
Jesus once said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” (Acts 1:8) When we are filled with the Spirit, we will have the power to discern God’s Word and ways (John 14:26), discover God’s will (Acts 16:6-9), do God’s work (Acts 6:3) dynamically witness for the Lord (Acts 1:8, 4:31), defeat temptations (1 Corinthians 10:12-13), develop into great spouses, parents, employees, or employers (Ephesians 5:18-6:4), and deploy our Spiritual gifts in ministry (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). When we read, “Be filled with the Spirit” in the Greek language it is a command from the Lord. It’s not a suggestion or a request from the Lord to Christians. It is a command. This helps us realize that a Christian who is not “spirit-filled” is living in rebellion. If we’re not living daily in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is not because of weakness in our lives. It’s because of wickedness in our lives.
In the New Testament it was expected that every Christian would be a Spirit-filled Christian, living daily in the power of God’s Spirit. (Acts 2:4, 4:31, 13:52) The Lord wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit as well. We can experience the filling of the Holy Spirit if we will pray and ask for it (Luke 5:5-13), obey the Lord in every area of our lives (Acts 5:32), want everything the Lord has for us (Matthew 5:6), expel every known sin from our lives (1 John 1:9), and receive all God has for us (Acts 8:17).
Followup Activity - Today, in your prayer time, ask the Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit. Commit to obey Him completely. Confess to Him that you desire everything He has for you and be willing to repent of all of your sins. Finally, willingly receive all God has for you. If you’re leading your family through this devotion, discuss what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then lead each person through the prayer steps above.
Prayer for Today - Lord, won’t You please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to obey You in every area of my life. I sincerely want everything You have for me, so help me expel every sin from my life. I gratefully receive all You want to do in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.