Be Filled with the Spirit
By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam
In John 16:7, Jesus
told His disciples: “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go
away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
Jesus also said in Luke 24:49: “I am going to send you what my Father has
promised; but stay in the city until you have seen clothed with power from on
high.”
Jesus fulfilled the will of God by going to the cross. The
Father’s acceptance of His Son’s work of redemption was evidence by the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. To be baptized in the
Holy Spirit is not an option. It is vital that we be filled with the Spirit
because Jesus said, “it is for your good.” It is also a case of the Father
keeping His promise.
GARMENT OF GOD’S
ANOINTING
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is God’s anointing. This
anointing is like a garment that we put on – it clothes us. This clothing –
anointing – empowers us. It is also likened to a civilian who joins the army
and puts on the soldier’s uniform which not only gives him an identity but also
offers him protection from his enemies (Eph 6: 13-18). The Holy Spirit clothes
us with strength and protection so that we can overcome the desires of the
sinful nature that seek to control us.
On one occasion, while Jesus was with His disciples, He gave
them this command: “Do not leave
THE HOLY SPIRIT
EMPOWERS US TO DO THE WILL OF GOD
The power of God’s anointing is clearly illustrated in 1
Kings 19:15-21 which is the account of the call of Elisha:
“The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to
the
Yet I reserved seven thousand in
“So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.
He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth
pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left
his oxen and ran after Elijah. ‘Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,’ he
said ‘and then I will come with you.’
“‘Go back,’ Elijah replied. ‘What have I done to you?’ So
Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them.
He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and
they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.”
The throwing of Elijah’s cloak around Elisha symbolises
God’s anointing came upon him. This anointing was so powerful that Elisha
slaughtered his oxen and burned the plowing equipment. This meant there was no
going back to his old way of life. To do this takes a lot of strength and will
power. Such is the anointing that comes from God. It enables us to rise above
human ability to do the will of God so that sin, which prevents us from doing
His will, will lose its dominion over us.
This portion of Scripture shows us three essential facts
about God that will greatly encourage us:
God Knows Who and
Where We Are
This is evident in the way He directed Elijah to locate
Hazael, Jehu and Elisha (verses 15, 16).
God Knows Our Future
God told Elijah that two of the men he would anoint would be
kings while Elisha would succeed him as prophet (verses 15, 16). Everything he
told Elijah came to pass (II Kings
God Knows Our Present
Elijah was on the run from Jezebel who wanted to kill him
after he had slaughtered all the prophets of Baal. Elijah was afraid. In 1
Kings 19:14, he told the Lord: “I am the only one left, and now they are trying
to kill me too.” However in verse 18 of the same chapter, God told him that He
had reserved for Himself seven thousand men who had not bowed down to Baal. God
knew how many people there were who trusted in Him. Likewise, God knows where
we are at this moment. He is aware of our situation.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
ENABLES US TO DO GOD’S WORK
The cloak that Elisha received from Elijah was symbolic of
God’s anointing to enable Elisha to do the work God had planned for him. In II
Kings 2:13-14, we are told that Elisha was able to perform the same miracle
that Elijah did in II Kings 2:7-8. II Kings 2:13-14 states: “He picked up the
cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the
From that point onwards, Elisha demonstrated the power that
came from God’s anointing. He was an ordinary farmer but now a man of God. This
was also true with his predecessor Elijah.
The Bible says he was a man just like us (James
When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, this same anointing
indwells us and enables us to do great things for God. In John 16:13-15, Jesus
says: “But 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. He will bring glory to me by taking from
what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is
mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it
known to you.”
If it was needful and expedient for the saints of old to
have and depend on the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need Him today? We must
desire, ask and seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why? Because Acts 1:8
says: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be my witnesses in
THE HOLY SPIRIT
TRANSFORMS US TO BE LIKE HIM
One day God told Jeremiah the prophet to go to the potter’s
house and there He revealed His plan concerning His people: “‘O house of
The Holy Spirit can take our ugliness, past failures and bad
habits and change them into something beautiful. We can then glorify Him in
speech and in deed. We do not need to remain victims of our past, failure’s or
circumstances. To think that we cannot but remain in such situations is to give
room to the enemy to have a stronghold in our lives.
God wants us to mould and shape us to be what we ought to be in Him. That is the reason why He has given us the Holy Spirit. He wants to help us break the yoke of bondage. This is affirmed in Isa 10:27 when He said: “In that day their burden will be lifted from their shoulders, their yoke from the neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat.” The word “fat” is what we understand it to be today. It refers to God’s anointing. We can rise above our human failures in the power that comes with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. God is able to do it because we are His children. We should, therefore, not be deceived by the lies of Satan who wants us to believe that we are powerless to break the yoke placed on us.
The dynamic works of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in the
lives of the apostles during the time of the early church continue to be
manifested today. So, take heed then to Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 5:18:
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with
the Spirit.”
(All quotes in the
above text are in the New International Version of the Bible)
Issue 31, January – February 1995