There are two definite commands regarding the Holy Spirit in the book of Ephesians. The first one tells us what we should not do, 'Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God' (4:30). The second one tells us what we should do, 'Be filled with the Spirit' (5:18). You cannot really know the fullness of the Spirit if you are grieving him. To grieve him means to do the things he does not want us to do or to fail to do those things he wishes us to do. We grieve him when we live on a low level of spiritual experience when he has planned for us the very highest level of all. What does it mean to be 'filled with the Spirit'? You know what it is to be filled with fear don't you? It is to be so frightened that you cannot move or even speak. Fear has taken control of you. In the same way when you are filled with the Spirit, you are under his control. Verse 18 speaks about not being drunk with wine. A drunkard is controlled by what he has been drinking. A believer should be controlled by that which has come into his life, that is the Holy Spirit. If a man is filled with the Spirit, he is not necessarily noisy, or highly excited or even speaking in another language. Isaiah 32:17 says that 'the work of righteousness shall be peach and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever'. How is a person filled with the Spirit? Be asking the Spirit to fill him, to control him day by day. Each morning breathe this daily prayer as soon as you awake: 'Lord Jesus, I give myself to you for this day that your Holy Spirit may have his way in me today!' Why not start today with that prayer? |
沒有留言:
張貼留言