The world-renowned evangelist Dr. Billy Graham once beautifully said, ‘you need the Lord Jesus for your eternal life and the Holy Spirit for your internal life.’ Every believer in Jesus Christ needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). It is an imperative for living a victorious Christian life. Let us briefly see here why we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
1. To EXERCISE victory over sin
The Bible says, `live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Gal. 5:16). Days are becoming more and more difficult to live holy. But God has made full provision for a victorious life in giving us His Spirit. Seek God for fresh filling of His Spirit each morning and stay full of Him through the day (Acts 6:3, 5). When we are full, there is no room for the devil to enter. Then we will be able to eschew the works of the flesh and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. The anointing will make us daringly different in the dirty world.
2. To EXCEL in our work
Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God and so he became an extraordinarily skilled craftsman (Exo. 35:30, 35). Daniel and Joseph prospered in the strange lands which were hostile to their holy convictions because the excellent Spirit of God was upon them (Dan. 5:11; 6:3; Gen. 49:23-25; 41:38). Yes, when you are filled with the Spirit, you will be able to do your work exceptionally and extraordinarily well. A spirit-filled doctor will treat better, a Spirit-filled engineer will build better, a Spirit-filled teacher will teach better and a Spirit-filled student will study better! When a person is filled with the Spirit of God, even his seniors and superiors will come to him for counsel and guidance (Gen. 41:37-40).
3. To ENHANCE our understanding of the Bible
Jesus said, `the Holy Spirit will teach you all things’ (John 14: 26). The Holy Spirit is the best teacher of the bible because he is the author (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16). This does not mean we don’t need people and study materials. The Holy Spirit will turn all information into inspiration. When we study the Bible with the help of the Spirit, He will open your eyes to get a grasp of His Word (Neh. 9:20,30). He will illuminate our minds to understand the difficult passages of the Scriptures (Eph. 1:17, 18; John 16:13). He will quicken our understanding and give revelations from the Word of God.
4. To ENRICH our prayer life
The Holy Spirit is called a Helper (John 14:26). One of His primary helps is in the area of prayer, because we are all weak in it. We do not know at times what to and how to pray for. In those times, the Holy Spirit not only helps is in our prayer but also intercedes for us and through us (Rom. 8:26, 27). One of the first signs of those baptized with the Spirit is the desire and depth in prayer. The early disciples following the Pentecost received a renewed interest in prayer and cherished the sweet hour of prayer (Acts 2:42; 3:1).
5. To EVANGELISE the lost
The last recorded words of Jesus before His ascension was the promise of the Spirit’s power for global evangelization (Acts 1:8). About the early Christians we read, `they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly’ (Acts 4:31). The Spirit-filled believers are powerful means in the hands of God to convince and convict the sinners (Acts 2:36, 37). The Holy Spirit gives us the courage, charisma and charismata (spiritual gifts- 1 Cor. 12: 7-11) to witness for Him. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, our words will be hollow and have no power to touch the people’s heart (I Thess. 1:5,6). The Holy Spirit empowers us to emancipate those who are under the bondage of sin, sickness and Satan (Acts 10:38). The Holy Spirit is the divine Energizer, Equipper and Enabler so that we can accomplish God’s purpose in our lives.
6. TO EXPERIENCE unspeakable joy
The Holy Spirit is called oil of Joy (Heb. 1:9). The Holy Spirit lives within us to produce joy! (Romans 14:17). Look up and compare Galatians 5:22 with Acts 5:41; 13:52; 16:25; Ephesians 5:18. The Holy Spirit lives within us to make us joyful, happy, radiant people.
7. To EXHIBIT Christ-like character
The Bible says, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). This process of changing us to be more like Jesus is called sanctification.
You cannot reproduce the character of Jesus on your own strength. Our resolutions, willpower, and best intentions are not enough. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to make the changes God wants to make in our lives. He will help us produce the fruit of the spirit and exhibit the character of Christ (Gal. 5:22, 23)!
