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The Fullness Of The Holy Spirit
By Pastor Ronnie Wolfe - April 6, 2007
Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but
be filled with the Spirit;
Introduction
This fermented wine in Eph 5:18 is a liquid, and it is
ingested. Likewise, the Spirit of God is like water, also.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is
thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed,
and my blessing upon thine offspring:
We want to consider today the filling or fullness of the Holy
Spirit in contrast to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A great difference is
apparent in the scriptures concerning these two things.
II. THE CONTRAST
The great contrast between the baptism of the Spirit of
God and the filling of the Spirit of God is evident in Acts 2:2-4.
The Baptism of the Spirit
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where
they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as
of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the
Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of
the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with
Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost.
The Filling of the Spirit
Ac 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.
Acts 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues,
and magnify God. Since we noticed in Acts 2:4 that believers spoke in
other tongues because of the filling of the Holy Ghost, and since Peter
says that the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles "as on us in the
beginning" (Acts 11:15), we assume these were also filled with the
Spirit.
There is also a contract shown in Eph. 5:18 between being
drunk with wine and filled with the Spirit of God.
Drunk with wine – Person becomes incoherent, loose and
fancy-free.
A drunk man cannot drive a care effectively
A drunk man cannot control his urges and desires for
certain things and may show himself a fool in the presence of others.
A drunk man cannot think straight and makes foolish
decisions.
He is rebellious - De 21:20 And they shall say
unto the elders of his city, This our son [is] stubborn and
rebellious, he will not obey our voice; [he is] a glutton, and a
drunkard.
He goes into poverty - Pr 23:21 For the drunkard
and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a
man] with rags.
He has the mouth of a fool - Pr 26:9 As a thorn
goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so [is] a parable in the mouth
of fools.
Filled with the Spirit – Person becomes sound in his
mind, obedient, self-controlled and has clear thinking.
Mark 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that
was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed,
and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
This contrast is like two opposing forces: one goes
one way; the other goes the opposite way.
To be drunk with wine means to travel away from and
against the Lord
To be filled with the Spirit of God is to travel
toward God and in agreement with the Lord.
II. THE CONFUSION
First Confusion: Signs and wonders must follow filling of
the Holy Spirit
As it did on the Day of Pentecost
As it did in the house of Cornelius
This is not so. Of all the groups who received the
Spirit in the book of Acts, only three are said to have spoken in tongues
(Acts 2:1-4; 10:44-46; 19:1-6).
Second Confusion: Baptism and Filling are the same thing
To say that the baptism in the Spirit of God and the
filling of the Spirit of God are the same is incorrect.
Baptism was literal; filling is spiritual
Those who were "baptized into Moses" were literally
covered over as they crossed the Red Sea. The water was walled on both
sides above their heads, and the cloud which followed them was above.
Third Confusion: Baptism of Filling of the Spirit makes a
person Perfect
Phil 3:12 Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend
that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Because of this confusion many today believe that the
Holy Spirit has come in waves.
The first wave was on the Day of Pentecost when the
Spirit came upon the believers there.
The second wave was at the beginning of the
Pentecostal Movement. This movement began in the very early 1900's with
the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California.
The third wave began with the Charismatic Movement,
which began somewhere around 1960 with an Episcopal Bishop named Dennis
Bennett.
III. THE COMPLEMENT
The filling of the Holy Spirit complements our salvation
experience.
The command to be filled with the Holy Spirit is to
Christians, not the lost world.
There is no command in Scripture for anyone to be
baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The tense in the Greek for being filled is present
imperative, which means that we must continue to be filled as we do when
we drink water.
We are to be "dipsomaniacs," being thirsty all the time
for God’s word.
The filling of the Holy Spirit complements in these ways:
A. Our Gait
To gait means to walk along in a certain way.
The Lord began our walk with him when we trust him as
our Savior.
It will be our nature and character to follow him as
he walks along with us.
The Spirit of God comes when we are saved, and he
guides our walking as we go on our way.
We are given the Holy Spirit at salvation, and he
will be our companion all along the way. He will never leave us.
When we are saved, we are filled with the Holy Spirit
as much as we can be, being new creatures in Christ.
B. Our Growth
2 Peter3:18 But grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now
and for ever. Amen.
After we are saved, we must desire the sincere milk
of the word that we may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).
Rev. 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
We must be constantly thirsty in order that we may
submit ourselves to the Spirit of God and be filled by him.
Many believers stop growing shortly after they have
begun to walk the Christian walk. That is because they do not remain
thirsty for the things of God; and the Holy Spirit will not fill a heart
that is not thirsty for him.
C. Our Gusto
As we go along, we want to do the best we can for
Christ.
As we grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we
become more perfect all the time.
Matt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Phil. 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I
press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
We will never be so full of the Spirit of God that we
will not need to be filled again; because when we are filled with the
Holy Spirit, we use that unction that he gives us to work for him, and
we continue to be thirsty for something more from Jesus Christ.
We should be constantly endeavoring to be perfect
even as our Father in heaven is perfect.
IV. THE CHASM
Separate From Heresy - 2 Thess. 3:14 And if any
man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company
with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but
admonish him as a brother.
Separate From the World - James 1:27 Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted
from the world.
Separate From Rebellious Christians - 1 Cor 5:11
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer,
or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
V. THE COMMAND
This command is for every believer "be he filled with the
Spirit.
No command in scripture to be baptized in the Holy
Spirit.
This is not something that comes automatically.
We must be submissive to God’s word, because the word of
God is what the Spirit uses to bless us.
You cannot be filled with the Spirit if you are not
saved.
Be a "dipsomaniac"–always be thirsty for God’s word.
Do you feel discouraged and almost bored with your faith
in God and Christ?
Be not drunk with wine, but be ye filled with the
Spirit.
John 7:37 In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
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