“Be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph. 5:18)

That’s pretty good advice from Paul, especially if you have any sincere intentions of following Jesus and being conformed to His image and likeness; not to mention overcoming the devil, sin, and the flesh as you bear fruit showing yourself to be a child of God. (Rom. 8:14; 29)

We do tend to hear though, more talk and teaching about being ‘filled’ with God’s Spirit than we do being ‘led’ by it. Go figure. What’s the point in receiving’ something that special and important if we don’t know how to make use of it? Going around claiming to ‘have’ something without bearing the proper fruit or evidence of it seems to border on spiritual pride, if not downright deception.

Years ago, I heard a preacher say half-jokingly and half seriously that he had challenges trying to get people to volunteer around his church. It is hard to grow a thriving church without plenty of support which usually comes in the form of members stepping up to volunteer to help with the effort. So this preacher would carry around a pencil with him and when asking members to taken on certain responsibilities If they responded by saying they did not ‘feel led’ to do such and such, he would hold out that pencil and ask them to feel the tip of it, assuring them they had just ‘felt lead’, and that he appreciated them volunteering.

So what about you? Are you more confident saying you ‘have the Spirit’ or are ‘led’ by it? And how can a person know on either point?

I’ve been around church life long enough to have witnessed a lot of ...’happenings’. I’ve seen and experienced both the good, the bad, and the ugly; and one of the greater travesties out there is when new converts are told they ‘have something’ simply because they did such and such or said some words. Yes, I’m talking about receiving the Holy Spirit of God.

It would seem to me that if/when the Spirit of the Almighty God comes and begins to dwell within a person...they ought to know it themselves. It can and should be life changing. And if/when a person truly receives and then begins to respond to and follow the Spirit...it will be quite evident. But receiving it would be a good place to start.

We read in Acts 19:1-6 that when Paul arrived in Ephesus, he came upon some disciples and the very first question he asked them was: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (2). After some short discussion, it was obvious they had not even heard about it, so Paul prayed for them and we learn there the Holy Spirit came upon them immediately (6). A similar experience took place in Acts 8 when Phillip went down to Samaria where he preached the gospel of Christ to them. We are told the multitudes responded to and received the message and many were healed of diseases, set free of demons, and experienced great joy in that city (4-8). But we are also told that while many were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, they had yet to receive the Holy Spirit until after Peter and John laid hands on them and prayed for them (14-17).

May I kindly remind all my Pentecostal/Charismatic brothers and sisters that ‘speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance’ (Acts 2:4)...is NOT the confirming fruit or evidence that you’ve been filled with God’s Spirit. And I will be the first one to admit... there was a day when I would bristle when hearing such a statement made. I only point you to 1 Cor. 13:1-3 that clearly tells us that a person can speak in the ‘tongues of men and angels’...but if the fruit of God’s love is not present nor evident...then you may as well be banging a bunch of noisy pots and pans (or cymbals) together.

We read in John 1:11-12 how Jesus came first to His own people, but they did not receive Him. (Do you think it’s possible that could happen today?) But...to ‘those who did receive Him, to them he gave the power or capacity to become...children of God’. That statement alone says a lot! We have to ‘become...children of God’, and to think that just because you are a human...that you are automatically a ‘child of God’ is a false premise. And I would also add to follow up on an earlier statement here, that just because a person goes forward in a church service and repeats some words in the form of sincere ‘prayer’ ...does not mean you have instantly become a child of God and are now filled with the Holy Spirit. No doubt that statement will cause some to bristle. But just hear me out on this.

Jesus explained to Nicodemus the need for us to undergo a spiritual rebirth, and that unless we were ‘born again’...we could neither see nor enter the kingdom of God/heaven (John 3:1-8). Friends...I hope we all understand in ‘natural terms’...that a man and a woman can come together with the hopes of conceiving a child, ‘go through the motions’ and have intimate relations, but that is no guarantee that conception took place. And even if...conception takes place in that moment...that is a great start, but that is not new ‘birth’. If all goes well, in a matter of months, growth and change will be quite obvious, but that still does not constitute new birth. When birth takes place...everyone will be fully aware of the miracle; trust me. Most of you know this already. Does it seem unreasonable to suggest that spiritual rebirth might be a similar process as well? Why do we get so hung up on definitive timelines...instead of trusting the process? Mary had to trust the process when she conceived...and then nine months later she gave birth to the Son of God.

But please note what we are told in Romans 8:14- it is those who are ‘led’ by God’s Spirit who are the children of God; not those who think or claim to be. Have you read John 8:39-44 lately? 1 John 3:10 and Galatians 5:16-18 are just a couple of verses that can help bring clarity to this subject matter. And before you point out 1 John 5:1 to me that says ‘whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God’...be sure to underline the rest of that verse along with vs. 18. Because we know that those who ‘love Him’ will also ‘keep His commandments. (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-6).

So just how involved does God get in our lives when it comes to ‘leading’ us? Is God a micro-manager? Do we end up under some ‘holy magnifying glass’ and our every thought, word, or actions come under scrutiny? We’ll have to come back to that shortly, and it might be a day or two, but I’ll be back, Lord willing. But for now, let me leave you with this: being led by God’s Spirit means we are going to be walking in peace. That’s how you know. :- )