Neil McIver - Filled

(Bible Study - Sound only - no picture)

Neil McIver asks if we expected something dramatic to happen upon our baptism after hands were laid on us. The Holy Spirit we could metaphorically compare to a seed sown into relatively dormant ground. Hopefully, this down-payment has not lain dormant with little or no sign of growth. Having God’s Holy Spirit does not necessarily mean that we are sanctified or filled. God’s Holy Spirit must fully stimulate us, dissolving the stony heart and giving us a regenerated, repentant heart. If our heart is brittle or calcified, it cannot grow or expand spiritually. We must be pliable and moldable in God’s hands, having our hearts and minds singly on God, developing Christ-like attributes and qualities. It is possible to grieve God’s Spirit and eventually quench it if we continually dwell on carnal thoughts and impulses. Conversely, if we set our minds on spiritual prompts, we will grow spiritually, maturing in godliness. The more we yield to God, the more God will fill us with His Spirit.

Acts1:14-15; 4 * Alcohol * Born of the Spirit * Cloven tongues * Ephesians 5:13-18 * Ezekiel 36:26-27 * Filled by the Spirit * I Corinthians 1:3; 2:9-16;3:1-3 * I Thessalonians 5:23 * Genesis 6:3 * Healing * Hebrews 4:12 * James 3:8-11 * Inebriated * Isaiah 26:3 * Luke 5:37-38 * Man’s spirit * Mark 2:8 * Matthew 6:22;19:26 * New wine in old wine skins * New temple of the Holy Spirit * Philippians 3 * Plan of God * Potter’s clay * Psalm 86:16 * II Chronicles 5:5-11 * Soft heat * Spirit of God * Stiff heart * Stimulated by the Spirit * Upper room * Time and chance