Are You Spirit Filled Or Still Filling?

[Helen]

I think @bbyrd009 made a good point when he reminded us of 2 Tim 1:6
" Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."

Much like in OT when it says " David encouraged himself in the Lord."
"the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."

We so often expect someone else to lift us up when we are down, and "make us happy in the Lord"..when we all have right within us the Lord Himself.

I remember years ago hearing someone speaking and using the scripture from Eph 5 18 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Again, a reminder that God has put into our own hands the means of inner strengthening in the Lord= "Giving thanks" at all times for all things.
The speaker said that when it says here above "be not drunk with natural wine but we filled with the Spirit ( wine from above) he said the "be filled with the Spirit " in the original language shows a constant action...and reads "be being filled"....ie a continual ...not a one-off.
I guess much like we are to drink daily of the Living Water of Life.
And we don't end up like the foolish virgins where they allowed the oil to run out. ( again, oil in scripture being a type of the Holy Spirit )

I always liked that old song we used to sing... " Spring up O well within my soul.." Taken from O.T. when in the wilderness the Children of Israel sung as the dug into the sand with their staves for water. " Spring up O well"

In dry times of our life...we have the water and oil within...we just need to thank, praise, and sing with joy to the lord to 'prime our spiritual pumps' as it were. As the days get darker, we may not have each other to encourage us..we need to know where our strength lays.....in the Lord , within us at all times.
Spring up O well.

 

[Helen]

I believe the Holy Spirit dwells in us and you can't get more filled than that.

Hi there :)

Yes we have His Spirit. But I can't quote agree with your statement above in blue. ? Don't you ever find in your walk with God a dryness tries to settle over us..and we 'feel' disconnected and dry as a bone spiritually?

You may not, but my walk seem to go through spiritual patches ...mountain tops and valleys ...God does not always lead us on the flat...

At my dry times I have to pull away...and praise, worship and thanks the Lord for all things until my weary souls begins to raise again .

This old world can cause the oil so settle at the bottom...and even in testing time to even leak our ( burn out, like the foolish virgins...) The wise kept their lamps full of oil. And the place to go is the Holy Spirit...when we 'get quiet' with Him, he 'restores our soul' and gives us times of refreshing.

I don't find that the Christian life in my experience is a constant flat path to walk. Those who practise for marathons don't train on the flat...they train to get strong by running the hills and valley's. God would not be a very good Trainer if He did change the grade against us once in a while.

Just my own thoughts....H

 

[Nancy]

<-----UNLESS you are reading from a Catholic bible?

Great OP JIF !

My aunt used to tell her priest that she felt empty at times. He'd tell her that she needs to be empty so God
Could fill her up. She liked that.

I believe the Holy Spirit dwells in us and you can't get more filled than that.

I do believe that we can get mixed up between the Holy Spirit and knowledge.
We never stop learning. We're filled with the spirit, but never filled with knowledge.
Some are very happy with little knowledge, and some need more. I think both are OK
And one should not put down the other.

But both have the "same amount" of the Holy Spirit, even though we show it in different ways.

WORD!

 

[Nancy]

I think @bbyrd009 made a good point when he reminded us of 2 Tim 1:6
" Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."

Much like in OT when it says " David encouraged himself in the Lord."
"the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."

We so often expect someone else to lift us up when we are down, and "make us happy in the Lord"..when we all have right within us the Lord Himself.

I remember years ago hearing someone speaking and using the scripture from Eph 5 18 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Again, a reminder that God has put into our own hands the means of inner strengthening in the Lord= "Giving thanks" at all times for all things.
The speaker said that when it says here above "be not drunk with natural wine but we filled with the Spirit ( wine from above) he said the "be filled with the Spirit " in the original language shows a constant action...and reads "be being filled"....ie a continual ...not a one-off.
I guess much like we are to drink daily of the Living Water of Life.
And we don't end up like the foolish virgins where they allowed the oil to run out. ( again, oil in scripture being a type of the Holy Spirit )

I always liked that old song we used to sing... " Spring up O well within my soul.." Taken from O.T. when in the wilderness the Children of Israel sung as the dug into the sand with their staves for water. " Spring up O well"

In dry times of our life...we have the water and oil within...we just need to thank, praise, and sing with joy to the lord to 'prime our spiritual pumps' as it were. As the days get darker, we may not have each other to encourage us..we need to know where our strength lays.....in the Lord , within us at all times.
Spring up O well.

Be being filled <--- One of my favorite teachers says this very phrase!
Good post Helen.

 

[amadeus]

Why would I pray God place evil in my open hands to share Him? Or to just pray to have the 9 fruits be placed in my upturned hands?

You perhaps would not, but some people do pray for that which they want rather than what God would want even though the words coming out of their mouths may say the right thing. The right thing of course is you already said according to "Your will", the Your referring to God. This is how Jesus prayed in Gethsemene [Matt 26:39] with regard to the cup which his to drink. Whatever cup God puts before us is the one we need to drink even if our flesh rebels against it. Jesus prayed from his heart effectively for God's will and we must always do the same. Doing this all of the time when things are seemingly going well will help us prepare to pray the same prayer when the pathway before is terrible to contemplate.

Unfortunately some people don't really pray seriously or at all until evil is upon them. This is not the way to serve God. God should not be our last resort, but always the first One to whom we turn in every situation.

 

[amadeus]

Hi there :)

Yes we have His Spirit. But I can't quote agree with your statement above in blue. ? Don't you ever find in your walk with God a dryness tries to settle over us..and we 'feel' disconnected and dry as a bone spiritually?

You may not, but my walk seem to go through spiritual patches ...mountain tops and valleys ...God does not always lead us on the flat...

At my dry times I have to pull away...and praise, worship and thanks the Lord for all things until my weary souls begins to raise again .

This old world can cause the oil so settle at the bottom...and even in testing time to even leak our ( burn out, like the foolish virgins...) The wise kept their lamps full of oil. And the place to go is the Holy Spirit...when we 'get quiet' with Him, he 'restores our soul' and gives us times of refreshing.

I don't find that the Christian life in my experience is a constant flat path to walk. Those who practise for marathons don't train on the flat...they train to get strong by running the hills and valley's. God would not be a very good Trainer if He did change the grade against us once in a while.

Just my own thoughts....H

What I see on this is that while we may be full at the moment it is like Job in Job 1:1. He was a perfect man, being as full as he could be with the things of God considering his situation. By the end of the book, he has room for more. The old man has given up some space effectively making room for more of the things of God. Consider again the words of John the Baptist:

"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30

Think also of the little child who has had good examples to follow in his parents and syblings and friends and teachers. As his body grows and his experiences are added to all that he has and a lot of is good. He was a good little boy. He grows to become a better adult. That is just a carnal view, but consider it from a spiritual view point.

A physical child can receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but what happens after that first filling [yes, full at the moment]is very dependent on what he does with what he has and what is given thereafter. Consider this situation:

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." Matt 12:43-45

What did he do wrong? Perhaps he made the same error as the man who instead of investing or using his talent, buried it until his master came back to check on his progress.

We must do something with what we have or we are likely to end up in worse condition at our end than at our start.

 

[Nancy]

You perhaps would not, but some people do pray for that which they want rather than what God would want even though the words coming out of their mouths may say the right thing. The right thing of course is you already said according to "Your will", the Your referring to God. This is how Jesus prayed in Gethsemene [Matt 26:39] with regard to the cup which his to drink. Whatever cup God puts before us is the one we need to drink even if our flesh rebels against it. Jesus prayed from his heart effectively for God's will and we must always do the same. Doing this all of the time when things are seemingly going well will help us prepare to pray the same prayer when the pathway before is terrible to contemplate.

Unfortunately some people don't really pray seriously or at all until evil is upon them. This is not the way to serve God. God should not be our last resort, but always the first One to whom we turn in every situation.

"Jesus prayed from his heart effectively for God's will and we must always do the same." <---Amen!
"God should not be our last resort, but always the first One to whom we turn in every situation. <---And again, Amen.
Proverbs 3:6-10 ,
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. <---one of my favorite go to verses


Wonderful post.

 

[GodsGrace]

Hi there :)

Yes we have His Spirit. But I can't quote agree with your statement above in blue. ? Don't you ever find in your walk with God a dryness tries to settle over us..and we 'feel' disconnected and dry as a bone spiritually?

You may not, but my walk seem to go through spiritual patches ...mountain tops and valleys ...God does not always lead us on the flat...

At my dry times I have to pull away...and praise, worship and thanks the Lord for all things until my weary souls begins to raise again .

This old world can cause the oil so settle at the bottom...and even in testing time to even leak our ( burn out, like the foolish virgins...) The wise kept their lamps full of oil. And the place to go is the Holy Spirit...when we 'get quiet' with Him, he 'restores our soul' and gives us times of refreshing.

I don't find that the Christian life in my experience is a constant flat path to walk. Those who practise for marathons don't train on the flat...they train to get strong by running the hills and valley's. God would not be a very good Trainer if He did change the grade against us once in a while.

Just my own thoughts....H

Yes BG,
I know exactly what you're talking about. Dry spells, we all have them.

But our relationship with God and our Christianity and our having the Holy Spirit really have nothing to do with how we feel.

God is still with us even when we feel Him far away...it's not Him that's changing, but us. So we have to know this or the enemy can use it against us. No matter how we "feel", God is always with us. The Helper is always near us and our relationship with God has not changed, unless we did something to change it, but then we should be aware of this. For instance, a constant state of sin could cause our relationship to change.

So even when we feel God far away, we should still KNOW that He does love us and that we are in relationship with Him and are still close to Him.

The Holy Spirit is there, even when we don't feel that He is.

 

[Nancy]

Yes BG,
I know exactly what you're talking about. Dry spells, we all have them.

But our relationship with God and our Christianity and our having the Holy Spirit really have nothing to do with how we feel.

God is still with us even when we feel Him far away...it's not Him that's changing, but us. So we have to know this or the enemy can use it against us. No matter how we "feel", God is always with us. The Helper is always near us and our relationship with God has not changed, unless we did something to change it, but then we should be aware of this. For instance, a constant state of sin could cause our relationship to change.

So even when we feel God far away, we should still KNOW that He does love us and that we are in relationship with Him and are still close to Him.

The Holy Spirit is there, even when we don't feel that He is.

Amen! If we based our faith and our joy and belief on our feelings and emotions....we would be all over the spiritual page, so to speak. So, Isn't is awesome that we have One who is our Rock and NEVER changes...He is so faithful ♥

 

[Nancy]

Amen! If we based our faith and our joy and belief on our feelings and emotions....we would be all over the spiritual page, so to speak. So, Isn't is awesome that we have One who is our Rock and NEVER changes...He is so faithful ♥

@"ByGrace"
And yes indeedy, our walk will be peaks and valleys until He brings us home. Those trials were PROMISED to come at us, I now see them as opportunities to put my faith in action...esp. after the last week or so---IYKWIM ;) ♥♥

 

[bbyrd009]

<-----UNLESS you are reading from a Catholic bible?

nope, HCSB here,
Revelation 22:2 down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month.

 

[Nancy]

nope, HCSB here,
Revelation 22:2 down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month.

Nancy said: ↑
<-----UNLESS you are reading from a Catholic bible?
The above line of mine are referring to the 9 fruits of the Spirit as listed in Gal 5:22-23...you said there were 12, the tree of Life has nothing to do with the issue of the fruits. I said you must be looking at a Catholic bible as I have been told they made the 9 into 12. Not that it really matters...I am sure there are ore "specific" fruits listed but, I bet the 3 extra fruits listed will pretty much just be synonyms of the original 9.
Peace

Galatians 5:22-23 King James Version (KJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

[aspen]

Best way to make it through a spiritual dry spell is to go out and love your neighbor through service - think of it as a practice period for perfecting love in between lessons

 

[Nancy]

Best way to make it theough a spiritual dry spell is to go out and love your neighbor through service - think of it as a practice period for perfecting love in between lessons

That works every time ♥

 

[bbyrd009]

ha at least you'll def learn what doesn't work along the way i guess lol


"don't go in the way of the Gentiles"
"don't do this like a "Greek"/lost person would"
(planning, calculating, figuring your chances, being logical, etc)
"don't go to the Samaritans"
"don't go to some dope dealer or whore just bc they can shelter you with their money"

 

[bbyrd009]

and i guess you shouldn't be thinking of yourself as a Gentile either
if you consider yourself a Gentile you are in trouble even imo

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

i guess fruitful would be a side effect, ya. i always assumed the analogy was used to indicate an internal change.
the need for "continual filling" of the Holy Spirit, i assume? I dislike the way that is made into a...specific ritual, myself, although i participated for years--while avoiding or even outright running from...uncomfortable situations? Situations where others are sinning in some manner? I feared evil iow i guess.

"Filling of the Holy Spirit" is a specific operation in your mind, right, usually done in a "church?" With speaking in tongues prolly? i perceive it a bit diff now, more like an emptying or something, i find myself in a situation where i...have to leave. Without going anywhere i mean. Man, it's hard to explain. It went from your understanding to standing in the midst of a bunch of bikers or something, adversarial types, um, i guess literally fearing for my life, oh bc i was testing God i guess, to...somewhere diff now, "me leaving while i'm still standing here" is the best way i can put it. Um, my fam (who are still basically Pentecostal/Charismatic) remarks that it looks like i'm trying to commit suicide lol; but i've never told them "that is being filled with the Spirit" or anything, being IRL. plus i guess i never really associated the two before

anyway, more rungs on that ladder imo, and i sure don't want to scare anyone off from seeking here, but when i get filled with the Spirit now i become aware that i may be about to die, but that is not what is in the front of my mind in the moment like you'd think it would be. i generally end up making a friend. that i would rather not have even, but nevermind that part lol

Well, the emptying of oneself as a mental practice in worship is a new age concept in allowing other spirits to move in. I would say that the Holy Spirit in you led you to get out of there and away from that assembly that was inviting such a phenomenon to happen.

There is no continual supernatural refilling of the Holy Ghost in a believer's life. There is only putting away the provision of the flesh and reading His words and depending on Jesus Christ to finish His work in you where the fruits of righteousness ( as in the fruits of the Spirit ) are from Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:....11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.....5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

A lot of believers are religious, trying to do God's work within themselves by keeping a promise or a commitment just as some believers try to "refill" themselves with the Holy Spirit supernaturally as if the Father needed help the first time when we had been saved in receiving that Spirit of promise.

Once saved, we are to live by faith in Jesus Christ in living that reconciled relationship with God that He will be our Good Shepherd in helping us to follow Him. That is how any one can get to know Him and the power of His resurrection when they depend on Him all the time for following Him.

I find myself following Him more by faith in Him than by vainly keeping my commitment to Him in making Him Lord of my life. Go figure. Trust is the basis of all relationships and I believe that was what He was conveying when He said ...

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

As I read that to mean... trust Me to help you to follow Me. Look to Me and not to yourself in following Me. For that to happen, we have to be Spirit-filled all the time for Him to be our Good Shepherd in helping us to follow Him as well as helping us putting away the works of the flesh in following Him.

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

Great OP JIF !

My aunt used to tell her priest that she felt empty at times. He'd tell her that she needs to be empty so God
Could fill her up. She liked that.

I believe the Holy Spirit dwells in us and you can't get more filled than that.

I do believe that we can get mixed up between the Holy Spirit and knowledge.
We never stop learning. We're filled with the spirit, but never filled with knowledge.
Some are very happy with little knowledge, and some need more. I think both are OK
And one should not put down the other.

But both have the "same amount" of the Holy Spirit, even though we show it in different ways.

Well, we are to put down seeking to be filled with the Spirit when we are not a leaky vessel, thus a new creature and thus a new wineskin able to hold the new wine, the Holy Spirit.

You are right in that we are to grow in the knowledge of Him, but that is not the same thing as seeking to receive the Holy Spirit supernaturally to be refilled again, which is after the rudiment of the world in receiving spirits again and again and again, but that is not to be so with the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

 

[bbyrd009]

Well, the emptying of oneself as a mental practice in worship is a new age concept in allowing other spirits to move in. I would say that the Holy Spirit in you led you to get out of there and away from that assembly that was inviting such a phenomenon to happen.

There is no continual supernatural refilling of the Holy Ghost in a believer's life. There is only putting away the provision of the flesh and reading His words and depending on Jesus Christ to finish His work in you where the fruits of righteousness ( as in the fruits of the Spirit ) are from Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:....11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.....5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

A lot of believers are religious, trying to do God's work within themselves by keeping a promise or a commitment just as some believers try to "refill" themselves with the Holy Spirit supernaturally as if the Father needed help the first time when we had been saved in receiving that Spirit of promise.

Once saved, we are to live by faith in Jesus Christ in living that reconciled relationship with God that He will be our Good Shepherd in helping us to follow Him. That is how any one can get to know Him and the power of His resurrection when they depend on Him all the time for following Him.

I find myself following Him more by faith in Him than by vainly keeping my commitment to Him in making Him Lord of my life. Go figure. Trust is the basis of all relationships and I believe that was what He was conveying when He said ...

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

As I read that to mean... trust Me to help you to follow Me. Look to Me and not to yourself in following Me. For that to happen, we have to be Spirit-filled all the time for Him to be our Good Shepherd in helping us to follow Him as well as helping us putting away the works of the flesh in following Him.

nice imo--i would lose the "saved" distinction that we think we have all properly defined, but otherwise i agree

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

nice imo--i would lose the "saved" distinction that we think we have all properly defined, but otherwise i agree

Well, I hope the Lord will increase the knowledge of Him in you that you are saved.

Having received the promise of the Spirit at our salvation at the calling of the gospel is a testimony of having been saved by Jesus Christ.

There is no way we can be true witnesses of Him as being our Saviour if we have not been saved yet. There would be no Good News to man to share if we really don't know if we are saved yet. Course, if we wait until we die and find ourselves in Heaven, it would be too late to share the Good News then. So how can anyone know or be even preaching the Good News of Christ Jesus to man unless He is our Saviour because we are saved?

Maybe it would be best to share why you believe that "saved" distinction is not something you believe should define us, or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?

Here are the verses to being Spirit-filled is a purchase redemption of us.

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. 15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Of course, not every saved believer will be received by the Bridegroom as a vessel unto honor in His House when He comes, but those castaways that are forever to be damned as vessels unto dishonor for not departing from iniquity before the Bridegroom had come, are still saved BECAUSE they are still in His House, by having that seal of adoption that can never be removed... even though they will wish they had repented before He had come.