BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

When did the remaining 11 disciples receive the Holy Spirit? Most would say on the day of Pentecost, right? Wrong. John 20:22 shows us that the disciples received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them, but Acts 1:4 tells us that they had not received all they were going to get. Jesus commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they had received what the Father had promised them. We know they received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them after His resurrection, but Acts 1:8 says they would receive power when they received the baptism, or immersion of the Holy Spirit.

Before meeting Jesus, the disciples were all spiritually dead. After receiving the Holy Spirit in John 20:22, they were born of the Spirit. You can be born of the Spirit, have your name written in the Lamb's book of Life, die and go to Heaven without ever being filled with the Spirit. Being born of the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit are not the same. You can be born of the Spirit without being filled with the Spirit, but you cannot be filled with the Spirit without being born of the Spirit. You were born of the Spirit when you received faith to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord. You get filled with the Spirit by asking for it! You seek it continually.

How do you know if you are filled? One way is because you asked. Mark 11:23-24 tells us to believe we receive when we pray, not when we feel like God answered our prayer. You shouldn't be praying for anything except the will of God, and Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled with the Spirit, so it is the will of God that you be filled with His Spirit. For another example, even a blind man can tell when a glass he's holding is full of water when the water runs over the top and down the sides. It's the same with you. If you are filled with the Spirit of God, it runs out of you onto others. You are overflowing with it.

In Jeremiah 2:13, God calls Himself the Spring of Living Water. The day of Pentecost was prophesied about in Zechariah 14:8, saying on that day, Living Waters will flow out from Jerusalem. Jesus said in John 7:38,

"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" When you empty that Living Water out on someone, whether by teaching, preaching, counseling or whatever, you need to refill. You can drain yourself, and if you don't refill daily, you can stop flowing. That doesn't mean you aren't saved when you stop flowing. You don't become un-born of the Spirit, you just poured out without filling up. Think of it just like water. If you had a tank full of water that you are giving out, you have to replace that which you are giving. The best way would be to just keep pumping and give out of the overflow rather than draining the tank dry and having to fill the whole thing up again. Same with you. Keep pumping, stay in the word and ask God everyday for a fresh fill of the Spirit. That way you always have lots of Living Water to pour out on those who need it.