Why Wouldn't Everyone Want to be Filled with the Spirit? [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity who has increasingly more of us. So the question, the real question is not, do you have the Holy Spirit?

The real question is, does the Holy Spirit have you? That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Filled as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource today. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org. That's pastoralan.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But now let's get started with today's teaching.

Here is Alan Wright. In the early days of coming back to work, thankful for work, it's good, but you know I miss them. You know I miss them. Isn't that an odd thing? It's like the more that I was with them, you'd think it would satisfy that itch and like okay now I'm ready to not be with them and get back. But that's not the way it's worked for me. It's like the more I'm with them, the more I'm filled with them. And there was a dawning many years ago to me that in a sense that's what it means to be filled with God. I come back from such a vacation and I'm filled with the laughter of my children. I'm filled with the love of my wife, you see.

And so this is what we're talking about as a relationship with God. And so I don't have a technique for you today. But it is my desire that we make it our hearts longing to ask God continually for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. So why would anybody say no I prefer not. I really don't want too much joy in my life.

I really don't need any extra power you know right now in life. Why would anybody ever say no I don't want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why would anybody ever say no I don't want someone to lay hands on me and pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Well I will mention a couple of things that I've observed over the years. The first of which I'm not going to take time today to discuss or do much ex-Jesus or scripture interpretation for you although I may in a future meeting. And that is that some don't believe that God does supernatural things today. And out of their own integrity they as they read the scripture and as they've been taught that God doesn't do supernatural things today in the way He did in the first century by a step of personal integrity don't want to be involved in the something that seems to be unbiblical. There are with this two perspectives sometimes shared by the same reader of the scripture and one is to come with an opinion of the scriptures that says that supernatural gifts and work of the Holy Spirit ceased in the first century. And this is a view called cessationism based from the word ceased that the gifts ceased. And others would and some of those same would say that the explanation of why certain manifestations or gifts or prophecies or healings or tongues or other things that happen today they would explain that it is either of the flesh meaning that it is not real or that it it may have a supernatural element to it but it is of the devil. And so there are some that have not satisfied in their mind that God is still doing today what He did in the first century.

And today's not the day for a thorough examination of that. I am going to teach about spiritual gifts in one of the coming weeks and I'll touch on this subject a bit more. But if that is your place of struggle I guess I would just encourage you to do the most important thing in your study of scripture and that is read it with fresh eyes. There is a reference in 1 Corinthians from Paul in chapter 13 that says that prophecies will cease tongues will cease and some have referred to that text to determine in their minds that the gifts of the spirit ceased in the first century. But in the context of that passage I think it is plain that what Paul is saying is that in heaven that we will no longer need the spiritual gifts but the chapter is about love and he is saying that love will continue. See we won't need the gifts of the Holy Spirit in heaven. Why do you need a gift of healing?

Nobody is sick. But we will need love. Love is forever. This is the opinion of my life rooted in all the experiences of my life and all the years of studying the scripture. I know that there are people that make cases for why they would say biblically the gifts have ceased but usually the biblical defense of that comes up shallow.

That may be an obstacle for some. Secondly why would someone say I don't want the unfilling Holy Spirit? It might be because in one way or another I am satisfied with my Christian life and that might mean to say that I really think things are going well for me and I don't have any perceived big need in my life. This is not exactly to say it's complacency but some find themselves already satisfied with what they know of God and of grace and they kind of say well why would I want to seek some other experience of God or something else.

I remember one time years ago we were making plans to launch our service verge. We launched five years back and we were interviewing some people on the street because we so wanted to reach people that don't go to church and I remember asking one young man he was a student and asking him if he'd ever thought about going to church. He said no not really and I said well do you ever think about about God? He said no no it's really just a moot point and I've fought back my chuckles about I was just kind of thinking what did God think of that comment he just kept called a moot point. I thought about going into well who created the world and what's going to happen to you when you're going to die you know I mean but instead I said well what what do you what do you think your purpose is in life and he said to be happy and I said well are you happy and he said yeah man. He was satisfied with his life.

What are you going to say to a guy like that? I thought about saying well you know my Bible says you're going to go to hell if you don't do something but anyway I didn't but you know we could kind of be like that in our spiritual lives. I'm happy. Life's going well and I don't have any big problem. Why do I need to throw myself on God right now? Well if that's you I just got two words.

Just wait. If you don't have some trouble now you will have trouble and you will find that you need God and you need him badly but the second thing that I would say to you is if that's you and you say well I you know I don't really hunger that much more for God because I just want to say you selfish thing just because your life is going so well you think you don't need the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. What about the person sitting next to you? What if there's a person who's sick and God wants to give you a gift of healing and you're going to one day pray for that person and they're going to be made miraculously well. What if there's a person who needs a word of wisdom or encouragement or something else that's going to come to you supernaturally because the work of the Holy Spirit. Listen if your life is just wonderful then praise God you ought to be the most hungry person for the things of the Spirit because he's the one who's made your life wonderful and you have so much to give to the world. If you can't be in touch with your own needs be in touch with the needs of a hurting world. That's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series.

Thankfully God has never expected you to live the Christian life by your own strength. He has sent a helper and every single Christian is invited to live a supernaturally empowered life through the continual infilling of the Holy Spirit. In a special bundle alongside the audio teaching Pastor Alan has also written a booklet. Both the audio and the booklet not only explain the infilling of the Holy Spirit but will nourish inspire and draw you nearer to the God who longs to immerse you in his love and power. Discover how to be filled with the Spirit and get ready for your life to be filled with fresh love joy and power. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860 or come to our website PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues.

Here once again is Alan Wright. It's so interesting to me that while there is no how-to list in the New Testament of what to do to be filled with the Holy Spirit. There is one verse that says blessed are those that hunger and thirst.

They'll be filled. It's almost to say like eating food. The only thing that really keeps you from eating food is that you're not hungry for food. You don't really have to teach a person how to eat food. We have to teach some manners but you never really have to teach a baby how to drink milk. And you definitely don't have to teach a 15-year-old boy how to eat pizza.

Except to say take smaller bites. Some might have an issue of saying not I'm satisfied emotionally in my Christian life and so I don't need an infilling of the Holy Spirit but it is theological. And this is perhaps maybe the most important thing to get clear in our minds. That because people have been given the impression by some teaching that if you don't have certain manifestations or gifts then you don't really have the Holy Spirit. There's something that recoils within that person of theological integrity that knows no I received the Holy Spirit when I receive Jesus.

And so to say would you like to be filled with the Holy Spirit sounds contradictory because a part of you wants to say I've already been filled with the Holy Spirit. It's interesting if you look in Acts chapter 2 at the story of Pentecost you see in Acts chapter 2 that when the day of Pentecost came verse 1 they're all together in one place and suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind from heaven came and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them and verse 4 all of them all these disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. So they're all filled with the Holy Spirit and Peter was in their midst filled with the Holy Spirit stood up and preached the Pentecost message that is recorded in Acts chapter 2. At verse 38 Peter said repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That clearly Peter has received the empowering of the Holy Spirit that turned this man who had denied Jesus three times into the boldest proclaimer of the gospel who stood up without fear of persecution proclaimed the gospel and there was such an anointing upon him that about three thousand people accepted Christ and the church of Jesus Christ was born and Peter not only was under an unction of an infilling of the Holy Spirit but he clearly said you repent and you receive Christ and you will receive the Holy Spirit and what's interestingly interesting about this is then as you move forward into chapter 4 and you see one of the first instances where now Peter having been used of God to heal a lame man now is being persecuted and at verse 5 chapter 4 the rulers elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem and high priest was there Caiaphas is there John Alexander the other men of the high priest family and they brought Peter and John before them and began to question him by what power what name did you do this now this could be a terrifying moment when the authorities have brought you in and instead of being terrified what happens is another instance of this incredible boldness and what verse 8 says is then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them rulers and elders of the people if we're being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed then know this you and all the people of Israel it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from that and started preaching the gospel he wasn't anything wishy-washy about it it was the bold it now he's not just standing up preaching a sermon to to to pastors by and bystanders he's in front of the authorities the Jewish authorities and he starts preaching the gospel why because verse 8 said Peter filled with the Holy Spirit well I thought he was filled with the Holy Spirit in chapter 2 yeah he was well what's happening in chapter 4 he's filled with the Holy Spirit again well what happened when the cripple man got healed he was filled with the Holy Spirit then to to say be filled with the Holy Spirit as I said as a began does not mean that you do not receive the Holy Spirit when you receive Christ you did to be filled with the Holy Spirit means that the Holy Spirit continually comes upon you to empower you for the ministry of Jesus Christ now the first time that someone experienced this it is so transforming that it might rightly be called a baptism of sorts an initiation an immersion but it is not to say that you have suddenly received the Holy Spirit whom you did not have before it is instead the further releasing of the power and the place and the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life now here's the most important theological thing to understand about the infilling of the Holy Spirit and that is in the New Testament there are two Greek words that are used for filling and it's it's unfortunate that we don't have any different word to use in the English language because every time that you read the word fulfilled in the New Testament you don't know which word it is referring to but there are two words play though and play row both verbs that mean to be filled or they can come in the form of to say full of the Holy Spirit the play though is about the Holy Spirit like in Acts chapter 4 coming upon individuals or groups of saints for empower supernatural empowering for ministry the Holy Spirit coming upon the other word play a row is a word that means the Holy Spirit coming within us the Holy Spirit which we have received when we receive Christ and it is reference to the character of Christ that is being developed within us examples of play though are acts 2 and acts 4 which I've already read or acts 4 and verse 31 after they prayed the place they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God bolder they are all play though the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke the Word of God boldly or acts chapter 13 is another example Saul at verse 9 who was also called Paul filled with the Holy Spirit these looked at the man intently and began to speak well this is these are instances the Holy Spirit comes upon us but the Holy Spirit within us is is is a different work of the Holy Spirit in a real sense like in Acts chapter 6 verse 3 where they said pick out from among you seven men of good repute full of the Spirit and of wisdom or they chose Stephen a man full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit these are things about the character that is developed within us by the abiding presence of the Spirit of Jesus Christ in our lives Barnabas acts 11 24 was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and a faith acts 13 the disciples were filled with joy all the fruit of the Holy Spirit all of this is the inward work of the Holy Spirit in other words what I'm saying is that there's an inward work of the Holy Spirit and there is an outward work of the Holy Spirit coming upon the saints of God to empower us to gift us to embolden us to enable us to do what God has called us to do the inward work is abiding and is permanently the outward work is something that comes over and over but it is it is temporary you you don't you know someone may have the Spirit come upon them when they're teaching and they have a gift an anointing of teaching sometimes that happens to me when I'm preaching I just feel the Lord just drops a gift right in there and it's the Holy Spirit just comes upon me but I don't I don't walk around I don't know I won't be watching the Super Bowl with the Holy Spirit upon me in that same way you know you just it's it's not expected that when we say the filling of the Holy Spirit that we're talking about this is now the the outward or the Spirit upon is something you just live with all the time gifts of the Spirit operate as the Spirit wills so it's important therefore to clear this up that not only is there nothing wrong with asking God for continued in filling of the Holy Spirit it is the expectation of the supernatural Christian life that we will be continually filled with the Holy Spirit that's why I ask him every day several times a day fill me with the Holy Spirit all right I have to move quicker than I'm moving and say that a third reason that people and this is where it gets a little bit funny is that some people would say I don't want to receive prayer I don't want to ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit because in a sense in one way or another I'm afraid nothing will happen and I'll be ashamed this is because we have generally in the body of Christ in all the different moves of the Spirit we've generally overemphasized particular gifts and particular manifestations and particular signs and wonders and I don't have time to discuss all this maybe we'll some when we speak of the gifts of the Holy Spirit which every gift of the Holy Spirit is a good gift and we'll have opportunity to learn more about the gifts of the Spirit but for today wonder if I were to say to you you could ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit and not be concerned about if there's a particular gift manifestation or other experience that you need to happen to indicate to yourself or to others that you really have the Holy Spirit Alan Wright as we continue in our series on filled and in our teaching why wouldn't everyone want to be filled with the Spirit Alan is back here in a moment with additional insight on this for your life and a final word unlock the power of blessing your life discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Alan Wright's free daily blessing if you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement get Alan Wright's daily blessing it's free and just a click away at pastor Alan org someone once said doing your will by your power is humanism doing God's will by your power is religion but doing God's will by God's power that's Christianity can anyone love his enemy just by deciding to be nice can anyone produce peace that passes understanding by mental discipline can anyone heal depression by just trying harder to be happy of course not in fact almost everything about New Testament Christianity is impossible by human power alone thankfully God has never expected you to live the Christian life by your own strength he has sent a helper and every single Christian is invited to live a supernaturally empowered life through the continual infilling of the Holy Spirit in a special bundle alongside the audio teaching pastor Alan has also written a booklet both the audio and the booklet not only explained the infilling of the Holy Spirit but will nourish inspire and draw you nearer to the God who longs to immerse you in his love and power discover how to be filled with a spirit and get ready for your life to be filled with fresh love joy and power the gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries this broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support when you give today we will send you today's special offer we are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries call us at 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 or come to our website pastor Alan.org Alan so if we're over complicating this thing is the next step literally praying a prayer surrendering your life to Christ and requesting this well you know when Paul says in Ephesians be filled with the spirit the language there is kind of a ongoing kind of continuous you know so every Christian has the Holy Spirit by nature of being a Christian the Spirit of God the Spirit of Jesus takes up residence in your life but I think that there's a process of Christian growth in which we are ever increasingly yielding to the Spirit's presence in our life so it's not really you getting more of the Holy Spirit is really the Holy Spirit getting more of you and I think in that sense we say I say ran up pray regularly Lord fill me with your spirit let me continue to learn to be sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit continue to give me gifts and let the fruit of the Spirit pray like that and foster the daily trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit this is what is I think involved in the Spirit filled life today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries