Be Filled With The Spirit

How many times have you heard people say, "Our church is spirit-filled," or "that person is spirit-filled?" What is usually meant is that the person speaks in tongues or the church has expressive worship. Yet the Bible does not define spirit-filled in this way. So, what is evidence of a spirit-filled church or a spirit-filled person? Jesus said "Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit , nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16-20).

I would like to suggest you look for the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." For example, in Ephesians 1:15 Paul is convinced of the Ephesians having the Spirit becuase he has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints. Therefore, let us be filled with the Holy Spirit and love one another. We love because He has loved us. Let us obey Christ and love our enemies, love the outsider, and love the foreigners in our midst. Let us love one another. "This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience-it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary , it shares the joy of those who live by truth. Love knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) Without love we are sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. Oh Great God of Mercy look upon us and forgive us of our lack of love and wash us and fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may love with your love that passes understanding.