Be ye filled
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Eph 5:19-20
What is this, to be "filled with the Spirit"? In one sense, EVERY believer, from their spiritual birth, is filled with the Holy Spirit. Through the ministry of the Spirit, we hear the voice of our LORD. When our faith is challenged, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, we can defeat our enemy. When we walk in the Spirit, the fruit of our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, Galatians 5:22. The very character of our Lord Jesus is found in us by this indwelling Spirit. But is this what Paul means when he invites us to be "filled with the Spirit"?
Now on the day of Pentecost, they were all together in one place, and the power of the Holy Spirit was upon them. They began to speak in human languages that they had not learned. So great was this power, that observers thought them to be drunk. Peter, who some 50 days earlier had denied he even knew Jesus, now stands up and gives the church's very first sermon, and 3000 souls were saved. By the power of the Spirit, all sorts of miracles followed the apostles around. Of this power, Paul writes that He gives to each as He chooses. So perhaps this is not it either, as Paul could hardly command the saints do something that is beyond their control. Writes Isaiah:
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified
Here it is, saints: I believe that being filled with the Spirit is choosing to praise when nothing is going right, and by doing so, actively asking the LORD to fight this battle for you. We "enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His Courts with praise" Psalm 100:4. The enemy cannot comprehend this. He is always thrown into confusion when God's saints praise Him, even though it appears they have no hope. Being filled with the Spirit is simply entering into the praise of the one who has saved us even though the storm is raging outside. May we so be found before Him!