Continuing our short sermon series on the Holy Spirit, last Sunday we were looking into the Old Testament to get some background to the coming of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. According to 1 Kings 8:11, as Solomon prepared for the dedication of the temple he had built ‘as a place for the Name of the Lord to dwell’, the priests ‘could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.’

To follow this up you’ll need to catch up with the sermon itself, God Moves In, but during the morning I gave a definition of being filled with the Spirit that I promised I would post because it bears further reflection. I think it’s from Wayne Grudem, but I don’t have an attribution:

‘Be filled with the Spirit’ means to be filled with the immediate presence of God to the extent that you are feeling what God Himself feels, desiring what God desires, doing what God wants, speaking by God’s power, praying and ministering in God’s strength, and knowing with the knowledge that God Himself gives.

And the verse that Debbie shared after the sermon was this from John 16:13:

[Jesus said:] When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

In preparing for last Sunday I re-read Charles Finney’s lecture ‘On Being Filled With The Holy Spirit’ He lists nine reasons Why Many Do Not Have The Spirit at some length. Here are just the headings:

1. It may be that you live a hypocritical life.
2. Others have so much levity that the Spirit will not dwell with them.
3. Others are so proud that they cannot have the Spirit.
4. Some are so worldly-minded, love property so well, and are trying so hard to get rich, that they cannot have the Spirit.
5. Others do not fully confess and forsake their sins, and so cannot enjoy the Spirit’s presence.
6. Others are neglecting some known duty, and that is the reason why they have not the Spirit.
7. Perhaps you have resisted the Spirit of God. Perhaps you are in the habit of resisting the Spirit. You resist conviction.
8. The fact is that you do not on the whole desire the Spirit. This is true in every case in which you do not have the Spirit.
9. Perhaps you do not pray for the Spirit; or you pray and use no other means, or pray and do not act consistently with your prayers.

What do you think?

Listen to: Sermon – God Moves In