Be Filled with the Holy Spirit 2

January 18, 2015

Vol. 15, No. 3

WORSHIP
Suggested Worship Songs:

Your Grace is Enough, This is Amazing Grace, Thats Why We Praise Him, Only by Grace, You are Near

WELCOME

What fills you? What fills you today: the Holy Spirit, yourself, material things or others?

WORD

Ephesians 5:18-20
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving
thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
The Christian life is not difficult, it is impossible. It
is not hard, it is supernatural. But God helps us to
live the Christian life by being filled with the Holy
Spirit moment by moment.

The most important spiritual discipline for every

follower of Christ is the discipline of being filled
with the Holy Spirit. Being Spirit-filled is the norm
for a Christian: experiencing the fullness of the
Spirit of Christ taking control of his or her life.

Practice Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

To be filled with the Holy Spirit, you must have the

hunger for God. Know that you need the Lord.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to walk by the

Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17) day by day, one step at a
time. Every day you ask Jesus to control you
moment by moment so that you will not carry out
the desires of the flesh. The more you walk by the
Spirit, the weaker the flesh becomes. Do not feed
the works of the flesh (vv.19-21).

You get filled with the Holy Spirit when you do not
quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and
do not grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

You quench the Holy Spirit when you do not do

what He prompts you to do. You grieve the Holy
Spirit when you deliberately do what He commands
you not to do. Grieve is a language of love: just as a
parent grieves when his child disobeys him on
purpose, you also grieve God when you disobey
Him and commit sin.

The Need to be filled with the Holy Spirit

A Spirit-filled life gives us true freedom in His
presence (2 Corinthians 3:7). Many people are
deceived that true freedom is the ability to do what
they feel like doing. But pretty soon they become
slaves to the pleasures of self, flesh and worldly
things. True freedom is being free from the tyranny
of doing it your way, and from the bondage of ego.
True freedom is the ability to say no to sin and say
yes to God. It enables you to be joyful apart from
circumstances, to be content with what you have
and do not have, and to do what pleases God even
amidst peer pressure.

If you are struggling with sin, you need the fullness

of the Holy Spirit to see the reality and the gravity
of sin as a violation of Gods love. If you keep on
sinning, you may not be a true follower of Jesus, or
everything is just head knowledge for you, or you
do not fully understand in your heart the fullness of
the Holy Spirit.

The Test of the Spirit-filled Life

A Spirit-filled Christian is continually joyful (Acts

13:52). You are joyful being always in the presence
of the King of kings (Acts 5:40-41). You are also
thankful all the time, and you have good
relationships with others, willing to be subject for
mutual respect (Ephesians 5:18-20).

A Spirit-filled life is tested in contexts of

relationships i.e. wife and husband, children and
parents, and worker and master (Ephesians 5:2122; 6:1). You gladly and thankfully obey what God
tells you to do in your relationships.

WORD (contd)
An example of mutual submission and respect in
marriage is when the wife submits to her husband
in everything; the husband on the other hand loves
her and is willing to give up his life for her
(Ephesians 5: 24-25). Willingness to submit and
surrender your rights is a sign of being Spirit-filled.
Do you want to experience the fullness of God in
your life? You must deny yourself, take up your
cross and follow Jesus 100% (Mark 8:35). When
you are Spirit-filled, the Holy Spirit points you to
Jesus as the center of your life. Because Jesus is on
the throne of your life, you cannot help but be a
fanatic follower of Jesus.

Discussion Questions:

When the Holy Spirit takes control of you, your life

will change because you will be guided by the truth
in the Word of God (John 16:13). You cannot be
filled with the Holy Spirit apart from understanding
the truth about God. The Holy Spirit will make the
Word of God come alive.

You are filled with the Holy Spirit when your life
conforms to what the Bible says. The more you
study the Word of God, the more youll fall in love
with Jesus. Equally so, the more you fall in love with
Jesus, the more you will study the Bible. Being filled
with the Holy Spirit is actually being filled with the
Word of God and being transformed from glory to
glory to become like Christ.

(Leaders: Please choose questions that are appropriate to the level of spiritual maturity of your members)
1. Spirit-filled Life. According to Ephesians 5:18-20, what are the evidences of a Spirit-filled life?
2. Moment by Moment. Every single day, how do you experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit?

3. The Fullness of God. Being Spirit-filled is being filled with the word of God. How is your Bible-reading? Have
you read the entire Bible? How can your small group help you in your Bible reading plan for the year?

WORKS

Spirit-filled Christian
Which one are you in the illustration below? How
can you become a Spirit-filled Christian? Write
down your action steps and ask your accountability
partner to help you pray with you on this area.

Weekly Prayer Points

I. Thanksgiving
Worship God for who He is, what He has
done, and what He will do in our lives

II. Country and the World

Upright and moral governance of Public
Servants and a God-centered Philippines
Repentance and Salvation

III. Church
That CCF Members would honor and love God
and make disciples
Elders, Pastors, Leaders, and Families
Ministries and Churches worldwide
IV. CCF Facilities
New Worship and Training Center
Prayer Mountain

V. Personal Concerns
Deeper intimate relationship with God
Righteous living
Salvation of family and friends