The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Galatia about what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He characterized the life filled with the Holy Spirit as he wrote of the fruit of the Spirit. He then says in Gal. 5:16, "But I say to you, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." He then reemphasizes this great need by saying, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25). He knew that it was more important how we walked than how we talked. There was a great need not only to talk about the power of the Holy Spirit, but to live out a life under the control of the Holy Spirit.

It's been my experience that Christians today are much better at talking about the fullness of the Holy Spirit than we are at walking daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. We must learn to walk by the Spirit. It's interesting that when Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, he contrasted being filled with the Holy Spirit with getting drunk. I'm not proud of the fact that before I became a Christian, I had been drunk on several occasions. One of the first things that happened when I drank too much was that it affected the manner in which I walked. I couldn't walk straight no matter how hard I tried.

There's a contrasting truth when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We walk straight spiritually, and there's no effort. We're no longer living in our own power. We're walking under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The only way He walks is the straight and narrow way. He walks the way of holiness and purity. He walks the road of integrity. When we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, then we, too, will walk in the way of holiness, purity, and integrity.

There are many who begin well in the Christian life, but do not finish well. Often it's because they have not learned to draw from the living waters deep within themselves. We must daily appropriate the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is our enabler. He empowers us to live the way we ought to live. He overcomes every weakness and obstacle in our walk with God. He is our source of victory. He is the one who will see us through to the end. He enables us to complete that which was begun in us.

We are absolutely dependant upon the Holy Spirit for all of our strength in the Christian life. Therefore, we must depend upon Him as we walk daily. We will then supernaturally naturally walk in purity and holiness of life. Today, I ask you this question. No, it's not how high you've jumped spiritually. It's how straight have you been walking? The answer to that question speaks volumes of how much you truly know about the fullness of the Holy Spirit.