It is impossible for any person to ‘live’ the Christian life by human strength alone!

Supernatural ability is needed if you are to progress in the Christian faith, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ through seemingly endless, God-size challenges. Believers struggle unnecessarily and fail in their Christian walk because they rely on human strength alone, instead of drawing upon supernatural power that God supplies. When you practice certain biblical truths in your life, frustration and defeat will be eliminated, leaving you to celebrate victory in all of life’s challenges.

What is the nature of this supernatural power? God has called us to live our lives as full-time witnesses of Jesus Christ, made possible only by the Holy Spirit, our resident power source. When Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you …” (Acts 1:8). He is saying that when the Holy Spirit came into your life, you received His ability to live powerfully for Him in your private and public life.

This being the case, no Christian has an excuse for not living as an authentic witness of Jesus Christ for the entire world to see. In the context of living wisely, the apostle Paul urges us to “… be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 5:18b). What does the term ‘be filled’ with the Holy Spirit mean?

Be filled is a present-continuous tense verb. This means we are to be filled continuously with God’s Spirit… a constant, everyday filling experience! To be filled with the Person of the Holy Spirit means to be filled with the very nature and power of Christ… His power working in and through us at all times!

In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul compares the effect of being filled with the Holy Spirit with drunkenness. The intention of his comparison is to show that being filled is a matter of control (5:18). The person who is drunk is controlledby alcohol in their bloodstream and can no longer behave normally or with self-control. The person filled with the Holy Spirit is controlledby the Spirit and is also not behaving normally. Either way the person is no longer living their life controlled by self. NOTE: Self-controlled lives are accidents looking for places to happen!

Even though we have been saved from our past sins, and now belong to God, we do not live on ‘autopilot’ with God making life decisions for us. The decisions affecting our lives are ours to make. We have been created with the freedom to choose to live worldly lives through natural self-control, or godly lives through the control of the Holy Spirit. Choosing to be filled with the Holy Spirit is a choice to ‘be controlled by God.’ This decision enables you to live victoriously over challenges that are hand-picked by God. Yes, God carefully chooses the challenges you and I face each day!

Power PROMISES: As you choose to live under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit you will go-on celebrating the promises of God, according to His perfect plan for your life (See Jn. 10:10b; 14:26; 15:7, 16b; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 3:18b).

Power CONDITIONS: There are certain conditions which must be met before you can be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Remember: Be filled with the Holy Spirit is a continuous act. It is not so much the product of ‘asking’ but rather of ‘meeting certain conditions.’ These conditions are; Desire, Surrender, Obedience, and Confession.

Desire – Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a voluntary act, without any pressure from anyone. Unless you express a personal desire, God will not fill you with His Spirit. Your desire must be driven by a ‘hunger and thirst’ for righteousness (Mat. 5:6).

Surrender – Without surrendering your life to God, you cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul says that ‘present-ing’ your life to God is ‘your reasonable act of worship’ (Rom. 12:1). Surrendering your life is not a onetime act, but present-continuous! NOTE: Living sacrifices have a habit of crawling off the altar when things get too hot.

Obedience –Supernatural power is given solely for living in obedience to God’s will, not for living for self or the world. NOTE: Obedience benefits you, not God! What does obedience prove? When you obey God, it proves that you know Him (1 Jn. 2:3).

Confession – Without confession you cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit. Whenever you sin, you take-back controlof your life. When this happens, you are no longer filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore you forfeit divine guidanceand power for living as you should. When this happens, corrective action is needed if power is to be restored! Your Heavenly Father knows that you will battle constantly against sin in your endeavour to follow in the footsteps of His Son. And so, the Father has provided those who belong to Him with an endless supply of ‘spiritual soap’ to get clean from sin’s stain. First John records, “… if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1:9). Unlimited soap!

Every time the step of confession needs to be taken, the steps of desire, surrender, and obedience must also be retaken to restore divine power for your life. Remember: Every honest confession must be backed up by a sincere show of repentance (Stop, stop… stop doing what is wrong, and start doing what is right!)

Friends, living in a being filled state is wise. You can avoid power failure in your life by remaining properly connected to God. Be smart, be filled and continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You need power to live, supernatural power! The Holy Spirit is in your life to empower you to live righteously in your singleness, marriage, parenting, and elsewhere. Empowered to live is your decision.

Bill