Be Filled With the Spirit
Andrew Murray emphasizes the importance of obeying the command to be filled with the Spirit and removing barriers to spiritual filling.
Andrew Murray emphasizes the necessity of being filled with the Holy Spirit, contrasting the narrative of Acts 2:4 with the command in Ephesians 5:18. He challenges believers to reflect on their obedience to this command and to examine their lives for any barriers that may prevent them from experiencing the fullness of the Spirit. Murray encourages a complete yielding of one's personality to the Holy Spirit, asserting that this surrender allows God to fill the believer. He invites listeners to commit to seeking this spiritual fullness and to remove any doubts or misconceptions that hinder their relationship with the Spirit.
Text
Other words concerning the Holy Spirit are found in Acts 2:4: ''They were all filled with the Holy Spirit'' (NKJV) and Ephesians 5:18: ''Be filled with the Spirit.'' The one text is a narrative, telling us what actually happened. The other is a command, telling us what we should be. If there is any doubt about its being a command, we find it linked to another in the first part of the passage in Ephesians: ''Do not get drunk on wine. ... Instead ...'' If I were to ask you if you obeyed the command not to be drunk with wine, you would no doubt answer, ''Of course, as a believer, I obey that command.'' But what of the other: ''Be filled with the Spirit''? Have you obeyed it as well? Does your life manifest the presence of the Holy Spirit?
If not, are you willing to take the command to heart and say, ''By God's help I will obey. I will not rest until I am filled with the Spirit''? Now the question comes, What is needed in order to be filled with the Spirit? To find the answer we must allow God to search our lives. We might ask ourselves, ''Am I in the condition in which God can fill me with His Spirit?'' Some of you may be able to honestly answer, ''Thank God, I am ready.'' If you can say this, you may realize that you have been kept back from this full blessing by lack of knowledge, prejudice, unbelief, or a wrong idea about what being filled with the Spirit is. Being filled with the Spirit is simply this: The whole personality is yielded to His power.
When the soul is yielded to the Holy Spirit, God himself will fill it.
(Excerpted from The Andrew Murray Daily Reader in Today's Language, p. 10)
Sermon Outline
- The Command to be Filled with the Spirit
- What is Needed to be Filled with the Spirit
- The Nature of Being Filled with the Spirit
- Yielding to God's Power
- The Result of Yielding to the Holy Spirit
Key Quotes
“Being filled with the Spirit is simply this: The whole personality is yielded to His power.” — Andrew Murray
“When the soul is yielded to the Holy Spirit, God himself will fill it.” — Andrew Murray
Application Points
- We must be willing to obey the command to be filled with the Spirit and make changes in our lives to manifest His presence.
- Removing barriers such as lack of knowledge or prejudice can help us to be filled with the Spirit.
- Yielding our whole personality to God's power is essential for being filled with the Spirit.