LIVING BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Part 39).
Ephesians 5. Verses18-20 read:
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
We have been cautioned not to grieve or quench the operations of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Thus, we should do everything to sustain the presence of the Spirit in our lives. To this end, we want to delve into the subject of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Where a man is filled with the Holy Spirit, there is no room for any strange spirits to operate. All believers must, therefore, aspire to be filled with the Holy Spirit at all times to position them to stand and function according to the will of God.
To appreciate the kind of influence the Holy Spirit desires to have on men, Apostle Paul highlights the effect of wine or alcohol on men. Alcohol has the power of influence and control upon the lives it fills. The vision, thought pattern, imaginations, speech, movements, and actions of such a person is determined by the alcohol that has filled him. So it is with the man who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Everything about his life is Spirit driven or spirit controlled. Such a man acts according to the will of God.
Beloved, the infilling of the Holy Spirit leads to the outflow of the Spirit from the life that is filled. According to today’s text, the outflows manifest as follows:
- Believers speaking to themselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Yes, through the melody of music, believers minister life and grace one to another. This is the mystery behind relationships and fellowship in the body of Christ.
- Believers singing and making melody in their hearts unto God. Thus, out of their hearts flow joyous melodies unto God. This is the mystery behind ministering to the Lord in worship.
- Giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the name of Jesus. Here, we see the filling of the Holy Spirit translating to a spirit of gratitude from men to God for his benevolence towards them.
These outflows express a victorious life, which one can obtain only when he operates in the fullness of the Spirit. As we operate by the Spirit, we dissipate its power to other lives. Other times, believers get depleted of the Spirit because they leak. To ensure constant outflow of the Spirit, believers must have in place a refill mechanism through an effective prayer life, word study, and fellowship with other saints.
SHALOM 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏