God commands His children to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Yet, few know what it means to live in the fullness of His Spirit. There's much talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit but very little walk in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit filled life is one of total abandonment to God.
Dr. Bill Bright, president and founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, describes being filled with the Holy Spirit as spiritual breathing. "As we confess our sins," he says, "we are exhaling." God cleanses us from sin and we take our position as dead to self. But then Dr. Bright says that the believer must "inhale." We must appropriate the fullness of the Spirit by faith.
Control is the key to the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It means that Christ is in control of our lives when we are filled with the Spirit. He directs our paths and empowers us to be all that God intended. That's why the victorious Christian life is one under the control of the Spirit. A life under the control of the Holy Spirit will always produce fruit that's pleasing to God.
I came across this principle of being filled with the Holy Spirit as a new believer. I studied at Campus Crusade for Christ for two weeks not long after I came to know Christ. I heard Dr. Bright teach this great truth of spiritual breathing. He challenged us to get alone and take a piece of paper and write our known sins. He then said, "After you've written them all on the paper, then pray this prayer, 'Lord, search my heart and show me if there's anything displeasing to you.' If He shows you anything else, then write it down. Agree with God that it's wrong and turn from it. He will forgive and cleanse you. Then ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit."
I took Dr. Bright up on his challenge. When I found a quiet spot where I could be alone with God, I wrote out all of my known sins. I then prayed and asked God to show me anything in my life that displeased Him. Do you know what happened? I had to get more paper. God showed me so much that I had called "weaknesses" or "problems." God showed me that it was sin. As I confessed those things and turned from them, He cleansed me.
I then asked God to fill me with His Spirit. I didn't have an earth shattering experience. I didn't see any visions or speak in any unknown tongues. I just allowed Him by faith to have complete control of every area of my life. There was no great sensation to prove that I had been filled with the Spirit. But as I have learned to do that daily, the evidence has shown up in my life. As I allow the Holy Spirit to have control of my life, He produces the fruit of His righteousness within me. It works its way out of my heart and is manifested as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In other words the Spirit filled life is one of choosing daily to allow the Holy Spirit to be in control rather than self.
The choice is yours. It's victory or defeat; His power or your weakness; the fruit of the Spirit or the deeds of the flesh; Christ in control or self at the center. It's your choice to make. The apostle years ago under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit penned these words, "be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). If you have been emptied of sin and self, you're in a position to be filled with the Spirit. Why don't you ask God to do that in your life right now?
