Acts 4:29-31
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
The early church was not only a church that testified courageously and prayed earnestly, it was also a church that was filled by the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Book of Acts, the church was continuously filled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowered Peter so that three thousand people accepted the Lord after he preached; the Holy Spirit led the gospel with the eunuch of Antioch, and the gospel was spread to North Africa; the Holy Spirit commissioned Paul and Barnabas from the Antioch church to become the first couple overseas missionaries, and He also guided Paul to preach the gospel in Macedonia. The early church is closely tied to the work of the Holy Spirit, and in Ephesians 5:18 Paul clearly told all the believers: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." "Be filled with the Spirit" is actually a commandment, just like the other commandments from God in the Bible; they are not optional and must be followed wholeheartedly, thus we must active seek such blessings.
In addition, every believer needs to be filled by the Holy Spirit. It's not just for pastors or church coworkers, but every believer needs it. Sometimes we practice a spiritual dichotomy. We think pastors are full-time Christians, but the lay Christians are only part-timers who just need to follow part of the commandments in the Bible and don't need to take them too seriously. The fact is that every Christian should be full-time believers who are serving God in different capacities in the marketplace. In the same manner, it is God's commandment to have the Holy Spirit fill every believer, and it is a blessing that we must actively seek so that our life may be filled with power!
So, how can we be filled by the Holy Spirit? First, we must have an eager heart for the Holy Spirit and can't just treat the matter casually. Esau in the Old Testament treated God's blessing casually, and thus was abhorred by God. We also need God to help us to take the blessings from the Holy Spirit seriously. Next, we must obey the Holy Spirit; when the Holy Spirit starts to work in our heart, all we need to do it to obey. If the Holy Spirit reveals any sin inside us that we've never confessed, we must confess them; if the Holy Spirit reveals any shortcoming in our life, we must follow the Holy Spirit by confessing our sin and repenting. Third, we must receive by faith. It is God's grace that we can be filled by the Holy Spirit, therefore when we come before Him by faith, the grace will come upon us. If you have never been filled by the Holy Spirit, come before God today and let the Holy Spirit fill you!
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