Are You Filled?

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

When you walk into a church service, have you ever wondered about the people you are sitting with? Who are the people in the room? If a church is healthy, there will always be three different groups of people in the room during any given service.

First, there are those who come to church and have no personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They may or may not be religious. They may or may not own a Bible. They may or may not know a lot about church or have been attending regularly. This group has varying degrees of familiarity with church, but all of them have one thing in common…they have never been what the Bible calls, born again. They may know about God, but they do not know Him personally through a relationship with His Son, Jesus.

Second, there are people who come to church and know the Lord, but their lives are not much different from people who don’t know the Lord. They are not satisfied with their Christian life. They know they are living far below what the Christian life is all about. They have eternal life, but not abundant life. They don’t read their Bible much, if at all. They never share Christ with anyone. They have no desire to serve others on a mission trip. Their giving is (at best) sporadic. They do not have the kind of joy, peace, and spiritual power that they should as children of God.

Third is a group of people who come to church and know the Lord, but they consciously and consistently ask for and receive the filling of the Holy Spirit. Though they are not perfect, they are growing, full of joy, sharing their faith, giving with gladness, and serving willingly. This group understands more and more the secret of the Spirit-filled life.

The truth is, you cannot be saved and come to know Jesus apart from the Holy Spirit. You cannot witness effectively apart from the Holy Spirit. You cannot truly worship apart from the Holy Spirit. And you definitely cannot experience the abundant life Christ died to give you apart from the Holy Spirit.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, but would be honest enough to say you know you are falling short of what the Christian life ought to be, you can get there through the filling of the Holy Spirit. He is already living inside you. Now you must learn to let Him control you. This is what it means to live the Spirit-filled life.

Dear Lord, thank you that even though I fall short every day, you see me as blameless because of Jesus' work on the cross. I pray that you would help me to live my life in a way that shows I'm filled with the Spirit so that I might experience the abundant life you came to give us. Amen.