How to Have a Spirit-Filled Life | Part 2

What is our only hope in these words?

If we find a way, is there an answer? And there is an answer, and the answer is in Christ. But, oh, we need a generation of Spirit-filled people.

Welcome to Love Worth Finding. Now, in part one of today's message, acclaimed pastor and Bible teacher Adrian Rogers began to teach us how to have a Spirit-filled life. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a command from God to obey, as well as a blessing to enjoy. It is also our obligation to as followers of Jesus, because on our own, we don't have the strength to do all the Bible commands. If you want to truly worship God, and if you want victory in spiritual warfare, pay close attention today. Now, what are the requirements of being filled with the Holy Spirit?

If you have your Bible, turn to Ephesians chapter 5 and look at verse 18, as Adrian Rogers delivers the conclusion of this powerful message, how to have a Spirit-filled life. Now, before we get into the passage, I want you to use your imagination. I'm going to give what may seem to you a ridiculous and silly episode, but I want you to imagine a man who buys an automobile. But there's one thing he doesn't understand about it. He doesn't understand that it has an engine in it. And so everywhere he goes, he has to push it. And rather than it carrying him, he is pushing it. He's very proud of it.

Very grateful to have it most of the time, but sometimes he wishes he didn't have it at all. And then somebody says to him, you know, there's something you don't understand about this automobile. And they show him a thing called an ignition key and said, put that right in there and turn it. And he turns it, and he hears this surge of power. And he says, what is that? Well, that's the engine. That's the motor.

Now, put it in the drive and push that pedal down there. And when it does, it roars away in a surge of power. And he says, why, this is wonderful.

This is glorious. Why didn't somebody tell me this sooner? Now, friend, when God saved you, God gave you a faith with an engine in it. And there are many people who are pushing their faith rather than letting their faith carry them. They say to be a blessing has almost become a burden to them. And they're grateful they're saved, but secretly they're saying this is such a difficult thing being a Christian. Well, today I want us to discover the ignition key to this thing called Christianity.

Look, if you will, in verse 18. Now, here, may I ask you a personal question? Now, it's not polite to ask personal questions most of the time. For example, how much money do you make?

How much did that dress cost? You're not supposed to ask those kinds of questions. But I want to ask you a personal question, are you being filled with the Spirit right now? Are you being filled with the Spirit right now? Now, I did not ask, does the Holy Spirit indwell you?

He indwells all Christians. I did not ask, do you believe in the fullness of the Spirit? I didn't ask that. I didn't even ask, have you been filled with the Spirit?

I didn't ask that. The question that I ask you is a very personal question. Are you being filled with the Holy Spirit right now?

That's a personal question, isn't it? You see, our friend Stephen Olford said, we ought to be consciously filled. We ought to be continuously filled. We ought to be conspicuously filled with the Holy Spirit.

Actually, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18, literally says, be ye being filled. I want to talk to you about the fullness of the Spirit, and I hope that you can understand that being saved is not a matter of what you do for God, but it is a matter of what God does through you by the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. Now, our outline today is going to be very, very simple, and the first thing I want to give you and I want us to think about are the reasons for being Spirit-filled.

And under the heading of the reasons for being Spirit-filled, I want to give you three reasons why you ought to be Spirit-filled. The first reason is your obedience. God has commanded it. This verse, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18, is not a suggestion. It is not a request. It is a command of Almighty God.

Now, look, if you will, at the verse very carefully. Be filled, that's what we call the imperative move. When something is imperative, that means it is necessary. I might say to you, it is imperative that you do this thing. This is not optional equipment.

This is not a suggestion. It is a command from God, and the Christian who is not Spirit-filled is living in rebellion against God. And here's a second reason. Not only our obedience, but our obligations. Have you ever thought about the obligations that are yours as a Christian? Have you ever thought about what the Bible commands you to do? How are you going to do what the Bible commands you to do? You don't have the strength to do what the Bible commands you to do. For example, we're in chapter 5, verse 18.

Let's just continue to read. Look in verse 19, and that speaks of our worship life. Verse 18 says, Be filled with the Spirit, and then verse 19 says, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our worship life, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why? Because God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. How important it is that I be filled with the Spirit. Because all is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. I've told you many, many times, I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth.

And I am so dependent upon Him, and we all are, whether we're witnessing on the street, whether we're witnessing in the business, whether we're witnessing in the classroom, whether we're witnessing in the home or from the pulpit or from the choir. Oh, that we might be filled with the Spirit of God. I've given you two reasons to be Spirit-filled. One is our obedience. Number two is our obligations. Let me give you the third reason, our opportunities. Now, is there anybody who would deny that these are evil days?

Is there anybody? Now, if that was true in Paul's day, how much more true it is in our day? We're up against the organized, mobilized, demonized forces of hell, and it comes in every way. Sometimes it's a frontal attack.

Sometimes it is very subtle. But there is a war, and if you don't know there's a war raging today, friend, you are deaf, dumb, and blind to spiritual things. Now, there is a war, but there has never been a greater day, a greater age, a greater opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus than right now. There is more hunger for the gospel now than ever before. There is more openness to the gospel than ever before. You say, Pastor Rogers, I thought you said things were getting bad. They are. Well, you say, is the world getting better or worse?

Yes. As the night grows darker, the saints grow brighter, and the hungers are more intense, and there are people who are looking, waiting, wondering. Can we find a way? Is there an answer? And there is an answer, and the answer is in Christ. But, oh, we need a generation of spirit-filled people because of the opportunities today.

We had better not let this opportunity slip through our hands like sand falling to the ground. I heard old Dr. Charlie Howard say years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, something that stabbed me in my heart. He was a great Bible teacher. Dr. Charlie Howard said, I'd rather be Peter, James, and John, asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane than to be a Christian asleep in these pregnant times in which we live.

Oh, friend, we need to wake up. You say, is there a chance to win this world to Jesus Christ? If there were only 5,000, if we were all of the Christians, there were just 5,000 right here.

And each one of us got spirit-filled and became a witness. And suppose we won, each of us, three people this coming year. Next year, there'd be 20,000. Isn't that right?

Does my arithmetic write 20,000? Just three a year. But now let's suppose that we also taught them to win souls to be spirit-filled. And not only were we makers of disciples, but we're makers of disciple makers.

And so the next year, each one of them wins three and teaches them to do the same thing. Did you know by that simple progression, with spirit-filled Christians just winning three a year, did you know that in 20 years, every soul on planet earth would be saved? All of us would know the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's an incredible thing. I mean, in such a short time, if we were the only Christians that ever lived. I mean, right here, just right here. Only winning three a year and teaching our converts to win three a year. You see, Christianity has not failed. It just hadn't been tried.

We have not, when all fails, go back and read the directions. And the key to all of this is to be spirit-filled so that we might reproduce ourselves. Why then, what are the reasons for being spirit-filled? Number one, obedience. Number two, obligation. Number three, opportunity. All right, now, let's talk a little bit about the requirements for being spirit-filled.

Here's the second point, the requirements. How are we to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Now, this is a command in everything that God requires of us.

He teaches us what to do. Now, he says, be filled with the Spirit. Do not think of the Holy Spirit as a substance. The Holy Spirit is a person. Don't refer to the Holy Spirit as it. Refer to the Holy Spirit as him. Jesus said, when he is come, he will teach you all things. You wouldn't say about me today, it wore a maroon tie, I hope.

You'd say, he did, or he did this, or he did that. Don't depersonalize the Holy Spirit. Don't think of being filled with the Spirit as if you are some kind of a vessel and the Holy Spirit is some kind of a liquid, or don't think of your being a battery and the Holy Spirit an electrical charge. No, the Spirit is a person and you are a temple. Let me give you a key verse here.

1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19, what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

Now, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, number one means a complete commitment to him. That is, you have opened up the door of the temple, you have welcomed him in, and you have given him the key to every closet and to every room. Every so often we'll have guests in our home and we'll say, my house is your house, make yourself at home, here's a key to the front door, here's a key to the second car if you have one, there's the refrigerator, here are the linens, here's your room, you've got the run of the house, make yourself at home.

Have you ever done something like that, you know? And then you, suppose you were to come home some evening and your house guest is not in the bedroom that you assigned to him, but he's in your bedroom, he's sitting there at your roll down desk, he's taken the key and unlocked the desk and rolled it back and he's going through your income tax returns and he's reading your old love letters that you wrote to your wife and reading your diary. You would say, excuse me, may I help you, are you looking for something? No, man, but boy, these love letters are a hoot and you know, I really thought you made more money than that. And boy, you feel the back of your neck getting hot and you say, excuse me, I don't know how to say this, but that's really none of your business. What are you doing there?

Those are my personal papers. And he'd say, well, I don't understand you. I thought you said this house was my house. I thought you told me to make myself at home.

That's just what I'm doing. You would say, I didn't mean that, I didn't mean that. I wonder if we've done the same thing in the Holy Spirit. I wonder if there are not some people today who said, Holy Spirit, my body is your temple.

Come in and bless me and fill me and take control. But the question is, have you given him the key to every closet? I mean, is there any area in your life that is off-bounds to the Holy Spirit? Have you given him the key to your business life? Have you given him the key to your date life? Have you given him the key to your social life? Have you given him the key to your financial life?

Have you given to Jesus Christ every key? Now, there must be a complete commitment to the Holy Spirit. He is a person and to be filled with the Holy Spirit just simply means, Lord, I am committed to you. Now, many times we want to be filled with the Holy Spirit for the wrong motive. I mean, a proud self can want to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be a superior Christian. An ambitious self says, if I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I'll be a great Bible teacher, a great singer, a great preacher, a great evangelist.

But God is not interested in that. The Holy Spirit has one ministry, and that is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. When the burning ambition of your heart and in your life is to exalt the Lord Jesus and you have given him the key to every room, then you are filled with the Holy Spirit. But now listen, not only must there be a complete commitment, but there must be a continual control, a continual control. This verse of Scripture literally says, be being filled.

Have you ever thought about it? Why did he say, be not drunk with wine when in success, but be filled with the Spirit? Why didn't he say, don't steal but be filled with the Spirit? Or why didn't he say, don't commit adultery but be filled with the Spirit? Why did he take the particular sin of drunkenness and use that in contrast?

Well, I've already answered part of the question. He does it by contrast. As I've said, being filled with the Spirit and being drunk with wine are antithetical. On the day of Pentecost, the apostles were accused of being drunk with wine, and Peter said, we're not drunk with wine as ye suppose. That is, they were drunk on the Holy Spirit. So, God is using the Holy Spirit's fullness in comparison to drunkenness, not only in contrast, but in comparison.

Not only in contrast, but in comparison. Because being filled with the Holy Spirit is a lot like being drunk. Have you ever seen a man drunk under control of another substance? Everything about him has changed. The way he talks, the way he walks, the way he thinks. Sometimes he may be given to incredible generosity.

I'll buy everybody in the house a drink. Sometimes he may be very bellicose. I can whip any man in the house. Sometimes his tongue is very loose. He will say things. He'll tell his boss off.

He'll just do all kinds of things. He's under control. He's dominated by the influence of intoxication. Now, when a man is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is controlled by the Holy Spirit. His walk, his talk, his generosity, his courage, it's all changed by the Holy Spirit of God.

But now here's the question. How does a man get drunk? Well, he drinks. But the question is, how does he stay drunk? He has to keep drinking.

Isn't that right? He has to keep drinking. That's the reason he says, don't be drunk with wine, but be being filled.

Now, do you get it? Don't be drunk with wine, but be being filled. And that's the problem with many folks who have been spirit filled, but they've sobered up. We need to continually be dependent upon the Holy Spirit. There is a complete commitment, a continual control, where you're saying moment by moment, Lord, I'm yours. And then thirdly, there is a conscious claiming.

Actually, you must just claim this fullness. Just like you received the Lord Jesus by faith, as you received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in him. How did you receive him by faith?

How do you walk by faith? You just simply say, Lord, I thank you. I open myself up and I thank you, Lord, that right now you are filling me. And I claim by faith, I don't look for a feeling. I am claiming the filling. Now do that and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

Now here's the last thing and very quickly. I've talked to you about the reasons. I've talked to you about the requirements.

Let me talk to you about the results. This passage of Scripture gives three basic results of being filled with the Holy Spirit. And they show in all of our relationships of life, it's very easy for you to tell whether or not you are being filled with the Holy Spirit of God because you'll see it in your relationship, number one, to God, number two, to circumstances, and number three, to other people.

Now I want you to look. First of all, in your relationship to God, there will be a spirit of adoration. Look, if you will, in verse 19. Verse 18, he says, be filled. And then in verse 19, he says, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Do you know, I can tell when I'm spirit-filled. I just constantly want to be praising God, constantly singing, just singing to the Lord and saying, my Jesus, I love thee. I know thou art mine for thee, all the follies of sin, I resign. There is a burning, passionate, blazing, emotional love in your heart for the Lord Jesus Christ and you cannot help but praise Him. I wonder how people can sit in a worship service, never sing, never praise, never say amen, never smile, never laugh, never weep. I say, what's wrong with these people?

I'll tell you what's wrong with them, friend. They are not filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And so in your life, in your relationship to God, there's a spirit of adoration. And then look, if you will, in the next verse. In your relationship to circumstances, there's a spirit of appreciation, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. A spirit-filled person is humbly grateful.

A flesh-filled person is grumbly hateful. That's just the difference. Friend, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you are just simply thanking God for what He is doing. That's one of the reasons that you're praising Him is because you are thanking Him for what He is doing in your heart and in your life. And He doesn't say for some things, He says for all things.

He doesn't say sometimes, He says all times. Giving thanks unto God always for all things. Now here's the third mark.

Here's the third mark. First of all, in your relationship to God, there's a spirit of adoration. In your relationship to circumstances, there's a spirit of appreciation. And then in your relationship to other people, listen carefully, there is a spirit of accommodation.

Look in verse 21. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wouldn't life be wonderful if we could just learn how to do that? If I could just submit to you and you could just submit to me. You know, submission. Submission, that's not for women. That's for Christians. Every day, every place, we're to learn to submit. Submitting one to another in the fear of the Lord. Have you learned something of the spirit of submission? Let me tell you something very quickly.

You have about all of God that He can trust you with. If you teach a child to drive, what's the first thing you show that child? The brakes, not the accelerator. And if the child is not interested in the brakes, you just say, hand me the keys back.

Isn't that right? If he doesn't know how to make it stop, doesn't want to learn how to make it stop, you don't want to teach him how to make it go, right? The key is the fullness of the spirit. But the fullness of the spirit is only to those who are under the control of the spirit and submitted to the purpose of the spirit, submission. If you're not interested in the brakes, God's not going to show you the accelerator. But, oh, my precious friend, if you will learn how to walk with God in faith, if you'll do it, if you'll do it, He will be filling you, and in your relationship to God, there'll just be the spirit of adoration. In your relationship to circumstances, no matter what happens, how bad it is, how dark it is, you'll just be saying, thank you, Lord, thank you. And when you meet your brothers and sisters in Christ, you are going to be saying, how can I serve you? How can I love you? How can I accommodate myself to you? Wouldn't this be just kind of like heaven on earth if we did that?

Isn't that a great thought? With a spirit of accommodation toward others every day, every place we learn to submit and serve. Well, at Love Worth Finding, it is one of our greatest honors to come alongside you and pray with you and for you.

Is there something on your heart today? Go to our website homepage at lwf.org slash radio, and scroll down to our prayer wall. You'll find the option to either submit a prayer request or pray for others. This resource is one of the favorite things that we have in the ministry that keep the community praying continually for one another's needs.

We can't wait to hear from you. Again, find the prayer wall at lwf.org slash radio. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, how to have a spirit filled life, call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD. Now this message is also part of the insightful back to the basic series for the complete collection, all 18 powerful messages. You can call that number to order 1-877-LOVEGOD, or go online to lwf.org slash radio, or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Many of the messages in this series are also featured in our new resource, What Every Christian Ought to Know.

Utilize this study tool at lwf.org slash radio. Well, as Adrian Rogers said, we need a generation of spirit filled people. As the night grows darker, the saints grow brighter and the hunger intensifies. And there are people who are looking, waiting, wondering, is there an answer?

The answer is in Christ. We hope you'll tune in next time for more real truth that never changes right here on Love Worth Finding. We love hearing from listeners around the country and around the world listen to this beautiful testimony from a listener. My father was a Baptist preacher for over 60 years, and he loved hearing Dr. Adrian Rogers preach.

When he passed, we were given his collection of Dr. Adrian Rogers books. As we read them, we are so aware that these messages are timeless and as needed today as when they were first preached. Well, it's our honor to hear how these timeless messages and the resources created have been passed from one generation to the next. At Love Worth Finding, we believe that true personal discipleship is more important now than ever. That's why this month is a thank you for your gift. We wanna send you our factors of faithfulness discipleship tool. Call with a gift right now, 1-877-LOVEGOD is the number or give online at lwf.org slash radio.