OVERFLOW WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Memorise:
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. .. Acts 2:4
Read:
Acts 2:1-18
Message
When people are filled with alcohol, they become drunk. God, however, does not want this for His children; rather, He wants them to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were so full of the Holy Spirit that those who saw them thought they were drunk. In truth, they were overflowing with heavenly wine called the Holy Spirit.
Drunk people don't see things the way others do. A drunk can look at a refuse heap and see a majestic bed. Likewise, when someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, he or she can look at a crippled man and see him running about. When I moved to the campground that has now become Redemption City, my colleagues at the university thought Il had gone crazy. They saw a jungle, but I was seeing a city. Now, everyone can see the city that I saw some decades ago.
Drunk people are not in control of their actions; they do whatever the alcohol influences them to do. If it influences them to sleep on a highway, they will gladly do so without thinking of the dangers involved. Likewise, when you're drunk with the Holy Spirit, you're no longer in control of your life. You will go wherever He asks you to go and do whatever He asks you to do. You won't argue with Him when He tells you to do something. I believe you haven't been taken over by the wine of the Holy Spirit if you still struggle with obeying God's instructions. Before Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he could do whatever he wanted; at one time, he even denied Jesus. However, when the Holy Spirit came upon him on the day of Pentecost, he started preaching the gospel and never stopped until God called him home. One time, when some people threatened him not to speak about Jesus, he boldly responded, "We cannot but speak of the things we have seen and heard"(Acts 4:20). Despite the persecutions he faced, he refused to stop speaking about Jesus.
Drunkards are never satisfied with a previous day's drunkenness, so they return to the bottle daily. When you are filled until you overflow with the Holy Spirit, you will keep returning for more. The more He fills you, the more you will want Him, and the more of Him you have, the more your life will overflow with His miraculous power. Beloved, ask God to fill you with His Spirit every day.
Bible In One Year:
Jeremiah 12-14
Hymn:
I Need Thee Every Hour
Action Point:
Ask God for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit every day.
I need Thee ev'ry hour
I need Thee, Oh, I need Thee;
Ev'ry hour I need Thee!
Oh, bless me now, my Saviour,
I come to Thee!