“That guy’s full of ____ !”
Fill in the blank.
We can be filled with a number of things. Have you ever met a guy who was full of “himself”? Undoubtedly you have. How about someone who was full of “bitterness”? Ever come across a man full of “apathy”?
We can be full of myriad negative things: anger, resentment, malice, hatred, jealousy, fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, lust, passivity, aggression, regret, self-pity… and the list goes on and on…
I started thinking about this recently when reading Acts chapter 6. The early church was experiencing some issues that needed to be addressed. The disciples decided it would be best to find some good men to take care of things for them.
So, they outlined 2 qualities they wanted these good men to have. There were 2 things they wanted the men to be full of: the Holy Spirit and wisdom. The prerequisite for doing the work that needed to be done – which was the distribution of food to widows – was that these men would be full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom.
Two verses later we are introduced to Stephen – “…a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” Then Stephen was referred to again as being, “…a man full of God’s grace and power…”.
I noticed that a key prerequisite for partnering with the Lord in His work was being “full of the Holy Spirit”. This was the first quality the disciples were looking for. This would imply that there were other good men, followers of Jesus, who were not necessarily “full” of the Holy Spirit. So, I surmise that it is possible to be a follower of Jesus and not be “full” of the Holy Spirit.
There is only one way we can be born again and that’s through the redemptive work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us that if we believe in Him we will have streams of living water flow up within us. By this He meant the Holy Spirit. (John 7:38, 39) John told us that one of the ministries of Jesus was to baptize us in the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11)
Do I believe all followers of Jesus have the Holy Spirit and are redeemed and sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit within us? Yes. Do I believe we are all “full” of the Holy Spirit? No.
My personal experience has involved numerous occasions in my walk with Jesus where I certainly felt more full of the Holy Spirit than other times. Why is that? Well, quite simply I think I “leak”. I do not understand why or how, but it certainly seems in my experience that I need to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. I need to continue to ask the Holy Spirit to fill me up.
I wish I could find another more spiritual word than “leak”, but I believe it communicates my experience. I want to be a man full of the Holy Spirit, and full of the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation as Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17. So, I ask the Lord to continually fill me up.
Jesus encouraged us to persevere in prayer – to keep asking and don’t give up. He then wraps up His teaching with this exhortation,
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13
There should be evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” Galatians 5:22, 23
Yes, we have the Holy Spirit within us, and I believe there is more of the Holy Spirit in our lives we can ask for. We are encouraged to be filled with the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, to keep step with the Spirit, to live in the Spirit, and be led by the Spirit.
Do you want more of the Holy Spirit? Let’s keep asking for more of Him…
May we be men who are “full” of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 6:3
“Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Ephesians 5:18b
“…be filled with the Spirit.”