Thoughts for Life: #108 Simple Steps to be Filled with the Spirit

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: Steps to be filled with the Spirit have been described in many ways, but essentially they emphasize the same things.

For example, The Salvation Arm in its brochure, It Can Happen, Lists seven points: Aspire, Acknowledge, Abandon, Abdicate, Ask, Appropriate, Act. (Google image, Woman praising God).

Total surrender means that we confirm Christ as Lord over every part of our being.

Dr. Harold Lindsell teaches,

"Before anyone can be filled with the Holy Spirit, he or she must voluntarily come under the lordship of Jesus Christ in the sense of being a slave. This choice will not be forced on anyone, but it is the . . . condition set down for those who wish to be filled with the Holy Spirit."

He adds that we cannot claim God's promise for the enablement to live our life on the highest plane unless we make Jesus Christ Lord in this way.

"The norm for Christian life is to have Christ sitting on the throne of our hearts. Paradoxically, when Christ is truly Lord, this is when the believer reaches the highest point of self-fulfillment."
[Lindsell,Holy Spirit, p. 116].

Billy Graham writes, "It is amazing how many Christians never really face this issue of Christ's lordship." [Graham, Holy Spirit, p. 166].

He states, "I am convinced that to be filled with the Spirit is not an option, but a necessity. It is indispensable for the abundant life and for fruitful service . . . It is intended for all, needed by all, and available to all. That is why the Scripture commands of us, 'Be filled with the Spirit.' " He suggests that the steps to being filled with the Spirit are understanding, submission, and walking by faith.

Dr. R. A. Torrey, after speaking of the new birth, lists these steps to the Spirit's fullness: obedience (which he defines as "the unconditional surrender of the will to God"); thirsting; asking; faith.

Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, places primary emphasis upon faith, but in his more nearly complete explanation he mentions these points; Desire, Surrender, Confess, Present, and Pray (or Ask) as the heart preparation for faith.

Charles Cowman, founder of OMS International, outlined these steps to the fullness of the Spirit: Reckon yourself dead to sin, yield yourself, believe the promise, and obey.

Note the basic similarity in what these spiritual leaders say. Let us summarize and restate it in the following simple steps. Let the Holy Spirit guide and enable you to take these steps if you have not done so hitherto.

1. Be sure everything is clear between you and God. Have you become a child of God through the new birth? God does not fill unsaved people with His Spirit. Neither does He fill those who are living in known, willful disobedience to Him. Graham emphasizes, "We must deal completely with sin in our lives if we are to know the infilling of the holy Spirit."

Anything about which the Spirit has convicted you, anything which has separated you from God's best or veiled His face from you must be abandoned. You must walk in the light if you would be filled with the Spirit (1 John 1:7).

2. Acknowledge your need and God's provision. Be honest with God. Confess your defeats and the areas in your life where you recognize spiritual need. Don't be in such a hurry that you make a simple blanket confession, a mere general admission of need, "Lord, whatever my need may be, meet," or "Lord, You know how weak I am."

Take time to search your heart before the Lord and name your needs before Him. It may be helpful to make a list of things the Spirit brings to your attention and then to commit them one by one to the Lord. Ask Him to remind you of failures you have forgotten.

There is great blessing in emptying your heart of failures, defeats, prejudices, attitudes, and actions. Name them one by one and put them beneath Christ's covering, cleansing blood. The Holy Spirit will probably bring to your attention things you did not know were there.

Then rejoice in the full provision Christ made for you on the cross. Rejoice in the provision of the Holy Spirit who is already resident in your heart and who longs to fill every aspect of your being with His cleansing presence and His empowering for life and service. Rejoice that God's promise is available to you. "The promise is for you," said Peter (Acts 2:39).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.

Ablaze for God
#108 Simple Steps to be Filled with the Spirit
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 308-310) ZondervanPublishingHouse

Let's pray-

Father, for Your promise for enablement to live our lives on the highest plane, we see that we must make Jesus Christ Lord, and confirm that He is Lord over every part of our being.
The heart preparation includes: Desire, Surrender, being in the Present, and Praying (or Asking) for Your promise of the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Help us make sure everything is clear between You and our hearts, and to acknowledge our need and Your provision for it.
May we take the time to search our hearts and to name our needs before You, asking You to bring to our attention anything that needs addressing. Help us commit each one to You, even the failures we've forgotten.
We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

John 1:6-9, 12, 34 (NKJV) "There was a man sent

from God, whose name was John. (v. 7) This man

came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,

that all through Him might believe. (v. 8) He was

not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that

Light. (See Is. 92:2; Is. 49:6). (v. 9) That was the

true Light which gives light to every man who comes

into the world. (v. 12) But as many as received Him,

to them He gave the right to become children of God,

even to those who believe in His name." (v. 34) I have

seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

John 15:26, 27 (NKJV) "But when the Helper comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit
of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify
of Me. (v. 27) And you also will bear witness, because
you have been with Me from the beginning."

Acts 2:39 (NIV) "The promise [The Holy Spirit] is for
you and your children and for all who are for off—for
all whom the Lord our God will call." [Is. 57:19;
Joel 2:32.]

2 Cor. 4:4 (NKJV) ". . . whose minds the god of this
age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine on them."

Today's quote-

~ Randy Kilgore- "The barrier between us and God, the barrier of sin, has been removed without any work on our part. Salvation — and the changes made by the Holy Spirit in the process of our growth — is what God desires for all. He knocks on the door of our souls. Answer His knock today. It's no secret that He's the answer!"

(Taken from Our Daily Bread®, ©12/12/2018 by Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. www.odb.org).

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