Eph. 5:18 KJV Session 13 Our previous session focused upon the process involved in the condition of becoming empty, for the express purpose of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I shared with you some of the components an effective emptying must have to achieve a spiritual state where God can fill us with his Spirit and power. How do we accomplish "empty?" Replace our personal perspective with God's perspective Replace human reasoning as our navigation system with faith Live is a perpetual state of repentance over everything the Spirit highlights  Live in a posture of submission and yieldedness to the Holy Spirit Obey immediately, completely the dictates of the Holy Spirit  Replace carnal desires with spiritual desires Hunger and thirst not for more knowledge, but for more fervent experience with God Pursue holiness We learned, "empty" is a stage not the destination. Our desire, our ambition must be to achieve fullness of the Holy Spirit. Inherent is the process to "filling" will be some of the same steps we take to achieve "empty" status; but with a different emphasis. So let's revisit that list and add to it the things necessary to get to "filled" status. Getting empty requires a change of perspective. Getting filled requires living under        the influence and dynamics of the new perspective. This new perspective is God's perspective. Getting filled with the Holy Spirit involves living our life as the Holy Spirit thinks, sees, feels, and reacts. 2. Faith is our new navigation system. It directs us where formerly we relied upon      reasoning to move around in this world. 3. Living in a perpetual state of repentance, leads us to extreme sensitivity to the       comfort zone of the Holy Spirit. We are like a small child with eyes fixed upon the      parent's whereabouts and demeanor.      Being filled, means a continual adjusting to the Spirit. Moving away from things        which make him uncomfortable and towards things which please him. 4. A continual posture of yieldedness, is natural for the Spirit filled person. We have      learned to lean on him, rather than move impulsively. In everything he leads, we      follow. 5. Obedience becomes our desire more than our duty. This subtle change is critical      in the Spirit filled person. A lot of Christians obey the word of God. Yet, the motive is duty rather than desire and fervent love of the Savior. Duty is better than being derelict. But duty pales miserably before desire.  Until we are filled, our focus is upon our duty, the mechanics of the Christian life. We tend to pursue knowledge rather than intimacy. When driven by desire for Christ, we crave intimacy, fellowship with him. This is like riding a bicycle. At first, we're simply trying not to fall or crash. Eventually, the focus and motive is enjoyment from riding. Our focus has changed. So has our experience. 6. On the matter of desire, a replacement process comes full circle. Our old desires      have faded. New desires replaced them.       Children like different foods than adults. They tend to loath vegetables and fruits.        Adults have "outgrown" childish treats. Actually, they have acquired new tastes over       the years between childhood and adulthood.       Spirit filled people "feast" upon the word of God. Scripture has become both         desirable and essential to them. They gravitate to it every opportunity they have.      Here's a short list of the new desirables commonly pursued by Spirit filled people: Worship (daily, spontaneous, passionate) Scripture (We read it. We meditate upon it. We memorize it. We apply it.) Songs, hymns (more on this a bit later) Fellowship (with the Spirit, other believers) Service or ministry (We need to serve, rather than service a need) Love fervent, selfless, unconditional and sacrificial becomes an attribute not merely       an action 7. Spiritual fruitfulness (fruit of the Spirit, seed sowing, witness, exhortation) 8. Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven 9. An intense longing (homesickness) for Heaven our eternal home 10. A growing weariness with this present world 11. Craving to be more and more like Jesus 12. Increased personal investment in intercessory prayer I have never known a Spirit filled person who did not have these twelve desires/attributes. The order here is not significant as such. I think our spiritual giftedness, as well as God's specific will and purpose for us individually probably affects the order of pursuit of these in each of our lives. One might question why I omitted giving of tithes in this list. That was intentional on my part. Sadly, most preaching on giving focuses upon our duty and obligation to support God's work in the world. I believe that's unwise, and probably counterproductive. A Spirit filled Christian will never need to be told to give. In fact, that entire life has become an offering to God. We cannot legislate Spirit filled giving. That's giving on an altogether different plane of life from mere tithing. Should we manage to provoke our people at the local church to pursue staying filled with the Holy Spirit, we would never again have a financial concern go unmet. Mechanical giving is unnatural to a Spirit filled person. We give "first of ourselves" then from our innermost being until the Holy Spirit is pleased, not because we calculated an amount of money based upon some formula. 7. Experiential intimacy now trumps attainment of knowledge. Early in my Christian life, and I'm ashamed to say, for much of my pastoral ministry I lived in pursuit of knowledge. I craved anything I could learn about the Bible, theology, and even practical tips for Christian living. God allowed me to obtain, and retain a lot of factual knowledge and information. But now I know he was grieved that I pursued knowledge rather than pursuing him. As strange as it might seem, knowledge can become a cursed thing. Proverbs states, "Knowledge puffeth up." It makes one arrogant. Knowledge also condemns us. We are commanded to study. We are told to learn. And we must certainly not neglect to do so. Yet, knowledge isn't the prize. Relationship and fellowship is the prize. "That I may know him..."  Our preaching, teaching, discipling must focus upon pursuit of the person of the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things concerning the Son. When was the last time you experienced intimacy with Christ? If you can't remember the last time, you, precious friend are something other than filled with the Holy Spirit. You must understand. We cannot get filled, merely by doing. There must be in the doing a relentless desire to know him, and experience him. Then when the Spirit moves or speaks you will leap for joy at the thrill of his moving within you. No human experience compares with the awe of God addressing you, comforting you, affirming your service and love for him. A single word, or phrase from God to us will cause praise to erupt not merely from our lips but from the innermost recesses of our being. There simply isn't a human experience like it. When once you experience this, you will crave it for the rest of your life on earth. 8. Live in pursuit of holiness. The Spirit filled person relentlessly pursues getting as close to God as humanly possible. Yet, holiness is not merely proximity to God. Holiness is a separateness from the world, the old nature and life. It's a life reserved solely for God's use alone. The Spirit filled person loathes all sin, especially his/her own, and ruthlessly puts it away from him/her. Just as much so; the Spirit filled person craves every spiritual virtue as it fashions him/her into the very likeness of Christ. The attention, the focus, the passion of life now for the Spirit filled person is Christlikeness and fruitfulness. Yet, long gone are the mechanical "to do" lists checked off as some sort of merit record. No, now the life is driven by love for Christ alone. Paul said, "The love of Christ constrains me..." Beyond these commonalities with getting empty, getting filled manifests certain other qualities also. I offer here a caution. These traits cannot be counterfeited. Nor can we produce them alone without the enablement of the Holy Spirit. The Fruit of the Holy Spirit (See Gal. 5:22-24) Contentment (not resignation fulfillment) Victory ( Capacity to overcome sin, circumstances, experiences, realities, adversity) Durability (Endurance) Spiritual fruit ("works that remain") Godly influence (Salt, Light, Compassionate impact upon others) Persecution Suffering which produces spiritual dividends  Are you surprised by anything on this list? Again, I know of no Spirit filled person who hasn't known these things on a very personal level of experience. Are you there yet? Have you present in your life right now, these qualities which indicate a Spirit filled life?  This is what the "abundant" life Jesus mentioned looks like. It is wonderful indeed. But it will not just happen to you. Its not automatic upon salvation. When you study the life of Jesus in the Gospels, you will discover all of these qualities evident in his life. He came to die for our sins, yes indeed! But he also came to live the life we can have under the authority of the Holy Spirit. He modeled the Spirit filled life. Watchman Nee, a Chinaman, who was martyred for Christ wrote a book, "The Normal Christian Life." He contended, Jesus' earthly life was in fact, a model of the normal life of a Spirit filled Christian. It's an extraordinary read. This book profoundly impacted my life at a critical time for me. I highly recommend it to you. If you cannot honestly say these qualities are currently present and operative in your life, don't despair. Instead, get hungry and thirsty for them. Seek God in prayer for them. Pursue them passionately. Our next session we shall consider maintenance of the Spirit filled life. That's the goal we must pursue. Otherwise our life will resemble the yo yo I mentioned earlier with sudden and extreme highs and lows, and no advancement at all.