Filling With the Spirit — Billy Strachan

The Meaning of Being Filled With the Holy Spirit

The number is five, isn't it, in our notes? Five. The filling with the Spirit. Filling with the Spirit. This is under the Holy Spirit and the Christian. Now we deal with filling with the Spirit. These three verses, three verses to put in your notes to begin with.

Acts 2 -4, Acts 2 -4, 4 -31 and Ephesians 5 -18. Acts 2 -4, 4 -31, 5 -18. Now let's look at these. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 4 and verse 31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spake the word of God with boldness. Ephesians 5 -18.

And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Now a statement. The filling of the Spirit has to do with the life and work of the Christian by which he is empowered to do it.

Regeneration, Indwelling, and the Filling of the Spirit

Now number one under that, number one under that, what is the filling of the Holy Spirit? What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? Some maintain that this takes place at conversion or rebirth. The believer does not experience filling at rebirth.

On that occasion he receives the Holy Spirit who regenerates him. Now let's get that clear. Some maintain that the filling of the Holy Spirit takes place at conversion or rebirth, but that's not necessarily so.

The believer does not experience filling at rebirth. On that occasion he receives the Holy Spirit who regenerates him. Put down there Titus 3, 5. Titus 3, 5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

This is where fallen man has restored to him the presence of God that was removed when man rebelled and turned his back upon God. So that's what happens at the moment of conversion. The person comes in, you are reborn again, you are regenerated and made a child of God.

Others maintain that the filling of the Spirit is that experience whereby they receive the Holy Spirit as a subsequent experience at a subsequent date to being born again. Now this is not true for the scripture is plain that a man or woman cannot be a child of God or a Christian at all unless they possess the Holy Spirit.

We looked at the verse Romans 8, 9. If you don't have the Spirit of Christ, you don't have Christ at all. Now the problem arises because in our earthiness we confuse the word filling with the idea of filling in a material sense.

That is to say filling a bucket with water. The Spirit however, as we've already seen, is not a material substance but a person. Not a liquid but God. Now it is true that a half empty bucket can be filled with an addition of more water.

However it's impossible for a person who has received the person of the Holy Spirit to receive more of that person. Now that's quite logical and sensible. If you've once received a person, it's impossible to receive more of that person.

One cannot get more of God. But it is necessary to realize what lots of evangelicals have never realized and that is that God can get more of you. Now that might be a new thought to some. It's not that you need more of the Holy Ghost.

For if you have the person, you have the person and you cannot receive more of a person when you have the person. And it's not a matter of you getting more of the Holy Spirit. The thing to realize is that God needs to get a hold of more of you.

Someone once said, when it was suggested that the next evangelist at their campaign could be Dr. Billy Graham, and he said, Graham, Graham, Graham, all you hear is Graham. You'd think the man was a man that had a special hold on God.

And someone in the meeting replied, no, no, it's the other way around, brother. God just happens to have a special hold on him. And that's the truth. It was the same of D .L. Moody. They used to brag about him having a special hold on God.

It wasn't. God had a special hold on him. A special hold on him. Now the believer who has already the Holy Spirit is exhorted in that scripture we looked at in Ephesians to be filled with the Spirit, to be filled by him.

Now that's not a request, it's a command. We are all commanded to be filled with the Holy Ghost. And this is one time I will side 150 if necessary with anyone who has any dealings with the Holy Spirit.

It's there in the Word and you cannot neglect it. It's a command to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Now if you just review what the Holy Spirit has already done for a person before that exhortation to be filled.

One, he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Two, we've seen that he is sealed by the Holy Spirit. Three, we've seen that he's baptized with the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.

Four, he is regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Yet in spite of all these things, the indwelling presence, being in the mystical body of Christ, being sealed with the Spirit, having the earnest of the Spirit, having all these things, having him dwell within, yet there comes this exhortation to the Christians to be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Being Controlled by the Holy Spirit

Now a better word of thought for filling is to be controlled by, to be controlled by. Thus the child of God is exhorted to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, to be dominated by the Holy Spirit, to be utterly possessed by the Holy Spirit.

It's not how much is one of the Holy Spirit, but how much of one does the Holy Spirit have? How much of you does he have? You see that's the beauty of the little picture that Paul is giving there in verse 18 of Ephesians 5.

Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. He's drawing a picture of the way to be a person filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit. He says it's just the same as with wine, but not with wine, but with the Holy Ghost.

And it is interesting to note that each time a person has come under the domination of the control of the Holy Spirit, he's accused of being drunk. If you look at 1 Samuel chapter 1, you'll find that Hannah there, when she prayed for the first time in her life, a real prayer under the inspiration and guidance of the Spirit of God in her life, Eli turned around and said to her, woman how long will you be drunk?

Put your wine from you before you come into this place to pray. And she was accused of being drunk. She wasn't drunk. What made him think she was drunk was because the first time he'd seen a woman come into the temple and not say prayers, she actually prayed.

There's a big difference between saying prayers and praying. And in the day of Pentecost, the first accusation of the common people against the disciples was they're all drunk. They're all drunk. Why?

What was it that made them think these people were drunk? Well, it was obvious that the lives they were living and that which was being manifest through them was beyond human control. In other words, if the life you live, a converted person looks at it and says, I could do that without God in my life, then there's something very wrong with the kind of life you're living.

Because the kind of person that a Christian ought to be under the domination of the Holy Spirit is such that people can only come up with one conclusion to the kind of character you are in your street, home, and neighborhood, and that is this.

That could only be another force that's producing that in that person. It could only be another force. There must be another source of power. There must be another person there because I know the person and it just isn't them.

When I was in the Air Force and got converted, I used to get my Bible and walk into some of the huts to sit down and try and talk to other men about the Lord Jesus. Now, I didn't know the Bible. I didn't know at all.

And I would march in and here were these conscripted men. Some of them had been doctors. Others had been sort of studying economics and all sorts of sciences and things in university and had been called up for their two years military service.

And we found them in the camp beside us, although I was a five-year man and I was in there and so I took the liberty to walk amongst them. But they were far more clever than I am. And I would sit down there and start to try to talk to them about God.

And inside, 20 to 30 minutes, they had convinced me quite categorically I couldn't trust this book. They took it away from me. They just showed me how ridiculous it was. And of course, they won on the basis of the fact that I didn't know the Bible.

I'd like to meet them now. Because they just lie. They just took everything out of context and as a person that was totally green to the scripture, I had to give in and admit that they were winning. And they would have won the evening.

But one of the things I used to say to them on finishing is this, could you please explain me then? Could you please explain me? And they used to say straight to my face, Strachan, if you hadn't said that, we would have won.

But even we know this isn't turning over a new leaf. Because we know you. And we know that something's happened. New skin. Just looks like there's a different being. And we can only come up with one conclusion.

Obviously, there is another power source in your life. I said, thank you. That's my law. And I would win on that basis. The fact that there was in my life a new driving force that cut across all argument and intellectualism and made the people that knew the worst about me sit back and say, that could only be a new driving force.

Now, maybe this will help you to understand why one of the things that the Lord seems to enjoy more than anything is sticking you back in the place where everybody knows the worst about you to earn your spurs as a Christian.

Because only they are the ones that will really convince you when you're really full of the Holy Spirit. Because that's the one place you really will have to be. Where it's so easy to go to another town and another place and put on your spirituality.

Where they don't know you. Oh God, I'll go to Africa. Go home. Oh no. We do it here. Kids at teenage a time. They're going back to convert the town. And I usually say to them, don't do that. Just go home.

And when you get in through the door, don't go running in shouting, ma 'am, ma 'am, I'm converted, saved, born again. Have the Holy Ghost in my life. Because she's just going to turn around and say, that's nice dear.

Now, would you go and wash the dishes? And you know how your bedroom looks like a bomb hit it? See if the Holy Ghost can get to work in that, dear. And I'll believe it. But I've told them, if you go home and allow the Lord to be your master, you'll suddenly find Father looking out the window and fainting.

And Mother will be reviving him and saying, what's the matter, dear? Heart attack? No. Johnny, he's cutting the grass. Just you wait and see, mum. By the end of the day, he'll be asking for more pocket money.

And when a month goes by and the grass gets cut every week and there's no request for extra pocket money, they begin to wonder if they ought to call a psychiatrist. Oh yes. They won't be able to understand it at all.

They can't understand it. They'll know that there's something tremendously different. Give them a chance to see the control manifest in your life. That's the best place to put your faith in practice amongst those that know the worst about you.

They're the ones that will have to be convinced by nothing less than a miracle. Everybody else will accept it sometimes. I mean, I've stopped giving my testimony in meetings because they don't believe it anyway.

Because now they're looking at the by-product of the in-workings of the Holy Spirit in my life for 18 years. And so if I dump the dirty linen basket in front of them and show them what I used to be like, they think that's just being evangelical and they expect it of me.

But I'm actually being honest. But they don't believe it. They say, I couldn't be that bad. He's just doing it to win us. He looks like a bishop's son. Mummy probably took him to Sunday school and he never did.

And I've found that people think it's just a story if I give it now. They just can't believe it. But I'll tell you, I can take you to one or two places in this country where there are a handful of people that still remember me from both sides of the fence.

They're the ones that still believe in the miracle of my rebirth. They still believe it. And it encourages them that I can still be a Christian and still go on because I was the last thing they ever thought would have become a Christian.

And so this is really important. And we're exhorted to be dominated, controlled, possessed. You see, that's why he comes to this thing about drink. It looks like something else has taken over. It's the same with the apostles.

The Analogy of Alcohol and Spirit-Controlled Living

They're drunk. You see, I'm an expert on wine, by the way. There is a difference between wine and spirits. You can sit in a bar and just soak yourself in spirits. And once you pass the limit of saturation with spirits, you know, gin, whiskey, rum, anything of a spiritual nature, you know, you know what you find?

It knocks you out. You just pass a point of no return and it knocks you out. I remember in the Air Force on one occasion, one of the leading officers leaning across the bar to me who was being annoyed by a sergeant on a Christmas day when they were treating the sergeants in the mess to a drink.

And he said, strike, get rid of him. And so I mixed him up a special drink. And I handed it to the officer and he said, yes, yes, Sergeant, my good man, have that on me. And the sergeant drank it. He went on talking for a few minutes, you know, and all of a sudden, and he was out.

And we just sort of rang a little bell and asked two of the stewards to remove it. It knocks out. But I'll tell you something about wine. My father ran a bar until he retired a few years ago. And he's not a Christian, but there was one thing that he did many years ago and that was he stopped selling wine in his bar.

Because he was finding that amongst these working class wine drinking people that came into his bar, if they stayed on wine all night, they passed the point of no return where the wine took over. And one of the things they'll say in Scotland is, oh, he did it under wine.

He did it when he was under the wine. And you find that a man that's under saturation of a cheap wine can still stand on his feet. In fact, he can go out and murder his pal, stab him, beat him up, walk home, go to bed, wake up in the morning and wonder what the cube is that he's got, you know, and find that it's his head and then find the police knocking on his door.

And they arrest him for stabbing a man, perhaps mortally wounding a man. And he's unaware of the fact that he did it. He didn't know. He had no recollection that he'd killed anybody last night and walked home and went to bed.

Because he's so under the control of wine, his mind is so stupefied and under the control of wine and the effects of wine that he's still able to walk about and do things, but not conscious of doing them.

And Paul grasped the principle. He says, look, if you want a good picture of what it means to be controlled by the Spirit of God, I'll tell you, it's like this. You just come so much under his domination that you don't even know what you're doing.

You are unconscious of being filled. You are unconscious of the results of filling. But everybody else will be aware of what you're doing. And always remember this about God's power in your life. It's God conscious.

If you're conscious of your power, that's self-conscious and it's your power. But to be under the dominion of the Holy Spirit is not to have a specific feeling. It's not having a special feeling. It's not feeling your two feet off the ground.

It's walking home and going to bed unawares of what God has done in your life to discover that he has been working in your life. Now, this will take the frustration out of some of you who keep looking for what God's doing.

Listen, kids, he has enough trouble keeping us humble as it is. He does it as a service by not showing us how much he uses us. And some of you that are sitting there thinking you've never been used by the Holy Ghost, you don't know that you are used by the Holy Ghost.

At every opportunity he gets a chance to use you as a witness. He does, but he's not showing you. Because he has a tough enough job keeping you humble as it is. If he showed you half of what he did do through your life, the job would be more difficult.

And he's merciful. If he can ever get to the place where he can trust you to see what he's doing through your life, he'll let you see it. He'll let you see it. But you'll find that everything in life will get in your way from having the feeling you want of saying you're full.

And it always staggers me that in my most rotten days, when I feel nothing's being accomplished, nothing's happening, that things do happen. And this is the Holy Spirit's business. And I can assure you, when I see people come to Christ, I don't believe it.

I really find it very difficult to understand that by the words I've spoken this evening, a miracle's taking place. And they're more sure of their rebirth at that moment than I am. Because I am not conscious of having put out power.

I've only got up and given the message. And God has used it. You're never conscious once the Spirit has taken control. That's why he says, be filled, be controlled. Let it happen. Come under the control of the Holy Spirit.

Just be available and give him the right to do as he pleases in your life. Get up and go and live. And you'll find he does. And the only people that get frustrated about witnessing, testifying, being on the ball, are those that are trying to produce a sense of are not filled.

So remember that it means coming under the domination, the control, of the person of the Holy Spirit in your life. Now, the second thing under this is, how is one filled by the Holy Spirit? How is one filled by the Holy Spirit?

Yielding as the Way to Spirit-Filled Service

Is this experience secured through seeking it? Is it secured through waiting for it? Is it secured through pleading for it? Is it secured through demanding it? Is it secured through shouting for it? Is it secured through agonizing for it?

We find no evidence of this anywhere in the Bible. No evidence. What we do find is that as soon as people yielded to the will of God, the outcome was that they were experiencing being used. They were under the control and filling of the Holy Ghost.

Now, that begs the question, what is yieldedness? It is a process of offering oneself continually to God as a willing sacrifice of praise. It is a process of offering oneself continually to God as a willing sacrifice of praise.

Here I am. There's not much to me. Do what you like. Go ahead. You take the consequences and hallelujah anyway. God, I can't. You can. Get on with the thing. See what you can do with this mess. And he does.

He never misses an opportunity from anyone that constantly gives themselves a sacrifice of praise. Now, this in the Old Testament was pictured for us by the Lamb of the burnt offering. This was to be before the Lord continually, an evening and a morning sacrifice.

When the one was removed, another was immediately in its place. It wasn't a sin offering. The burnt offering was an offering of praise. And we are exhorted in Romans to be constantly offering ourselves a living sacrifice unto God.

He needs your body. He needs my body. And a person who's his through the person of the Holy Spirit that says, here's one. Go ahead. God says, thanks. That's just what I've been waiting for. And I'll go ahead.

And he does go ahead. And he does use Ephesians 5 too. And walk in love as Christ also have loved us and have given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. He was constantly handing himself over to the father in order that the father could bring about the salvation that we now enjoy.

1 Peter 2 verse 9. 1 Peter 2 9. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Did you know that about yourself? That you are a royal nation. You are the nobility of the world. Now, how noble have you been? Have you strutted the path of your home, your town, your village, your school, your factory, your workshop, your office as the aristocracy of eternity?

A royal people, kings and queens unto God with the dignity and air and majesty of a special person, royal priesthood, a holy nation. And it's amazing the Christians that gobble around shouting all night to try to become holy when the words declared you are holy.

Now start enjoying your holiness. Assume it. Take upon yourself the fact that what the word says of you is true. I am holy because he has declared me to be holy and he's in me. He's made me a royal personage.

I am a specially chosen person and all for a purpose, not that I might brag that I'm holy, special, royal, but that as I move through life people will see there is a majesty, a dignity about the Christians that makes them different and it's the showing forth of this new life within.

This is why we should be constantly giving ourselves in sacrifice to him and too many people live like beggars and getting just enough out of Jesus for today and that's why they have to have tarrying meetings and struggle all night in prayer.

I'm sorry but there may be genuine folks that have stayed up the entire night and prayed but I've never met them. I've met many that claim to but I don't believe them because I was really stuck in the early days of my Christian life by the people that used to tell me they agonized in prayer the entire night.

Now if they'd been honest enough to say well that involved sitting silently in the presence of the Lord for six hours, reading the Bible for two and saying a few words at the end, I might have been prepared but they give you the impression they're speaking to God all night in prayer.

Well I tried it. I remembered saying right I'm going to really get myself shut away with the majesty and I'm going to pray myself to the place of total complete commitment and I got down on my knees and I prayed.

Oh how I prayed and I yelled and I shouted and I made it the most evangelical phraseology I could ever muster and I prayed and prayed and prayed myself exhausted and I'd used one and a half minutes and I remember on one occasion when I was having my wee shout that I suddenly found myself reading Elijah dealing with the prophets of Baal and they were the ones that were shouting and Elijah said to them as they ran around screaming and shouting on Baal to call down fire they were cutting themselves and gashing themselves that their own blood flowed over the sacrifice and Elijah as the believer stood there saying shout louder maybe that he's gone on holiday perhaps he's sleepy and needs to be awakened why not shout louder maybe he's off on a hunt fellas and he just used all the sarcasm in his life that he could up to these people and they shouted and shouted and shouted and they got no answer and he prayed one prayer and he got his answer.

And I'll be quite honest with you I have a very popular prayer. Very seldom do people hear it. It's one word long. He's never failed to answer it and it's help because sometimes that's about all I've got time to get out and he does and I found I've never yet had to twist the arm of the almighty to answer prayer.

I've never yet had to shout and scream my god he's not deaf he's not on a holiday. He's right there and all I have to do is talk to him. And he does. He listens his ears are always open unto the prayers of the righteous if it said that in the scriptures I could take him at his word and I never have to keep saying the same thing all over again.

Prayer, Trust, and the Futility of Performance

One of the most exciting prayer meetings I was in about two years ago was an a board meeting for a certain organization in this country of which I have the privilege to be one of the gentlemen on the trust and we met for our annual business day and the morning was set aside for a report and prayer in the afternoon for the business meeting.

Then the chairman in the morning once the trustees had met outlined the various things that we really needed to bring to the lord in prayer with regard to the whole enterprise. And I think there were about six things in particular that we should lay before the throne of god.

Now there was about eight or so people in the room and so he said gentlemen let's turn to prayer. And we turned to prayer. And as usual I'm sort of saying to myself as I listen to someone else who started father what would you like me to mention.

What shall I say when it comes my turn. And I found that two people prayed and those two people covered the six or seven things. And when the second one said amen the chairman said well gentlemen that's it.

And I sort of thought but there was eight of us. Why didn't we all get a wee chip in. And so I contained myself until after the meeting had gone and they'd all left for London and I was staying overnight and I mentioned it to him.

I said you know that really took me back this morning. I've never seen a more marvelous prayer meeting in my life where you had outlined about six seven eight things that had to be brought before the throne.

Two men mentioned the eight things and we suddenly stopped the prayer meeting. They turned to me said well why shouldn't we if we've already mentioned the eight things to god do we need to say it in another way if we've laid it at the throne it's half the throne.

We don't have to ask somebody else to rephrase it in case he didn't hear it that way. And that's why it's so disastrous if you have a prayer meeting and people sort of come in and somebody mentions 20 things and the first fella mentions the 20 things.

The rest of the prayer meetings are fast. He does well saying amen let's go home either that or learn to share out the and let one person pray for one thing one for another. But once you've said it to the father you don't have to keep on saying it.

It's being recorded it's being dealt with. So we take it in we drop it and we leave it and it's so marvelous. We don't have to shout scream tarry agonize roll on the floor hit your head off the prayer rail.

Oh I've been one of those I was in a meeting where I preached and at the end I was just about to sit down and the pastor said brother I'll make the appeal. And he stepped forward and he said oh. And everybody went oh and you know they were all standing up they were tearing clothes off they were running down to the aisle.

And there was mothers there. There was one mother with a son and she was hitting his head off the prayer rail and she was shouting come out sin come out sin come out sin come out sin. And the pastor said amen just like that to switch it all off just silence.

And they all went back inside. Great. You know you can get rid of that kind of pent-up frustration at the end of the week by going and shouting at a wrestling match or a football match. You don't need to call it prayer meeting or a service.

And I can assure you this if my mother had hit my head off a prayer rail just once and shouted come out sin I would have said mom it's out. She wouldn't have done it twice. And I think it's tragic. It's really tragic that in the name of Jesus Christ we find people doing this and calling it super spirituality.

And even to be led by a pastor is atrocious. That's not my God. My God said listens to me constantly. He is the one that's more desirous of controlling my life than I am in being controlled. And he's just waiting for the one opportunity for me to say all right.

And he'll take over. And you just let him. And this is what it's after now. Number three. When does one get filled with the Holy Spirit. When does one get filled with the Holy Spirit. And the answer as soon as the believer completely yields.

When the Believer Completely Yields

As soon as the believer completely yields is there steps to yieldedness. No specific step that one can label the criterion for being yielded in order to be filled. However for each individual there will be specific personal requirements that will be unique to that believer in order to be yielded.

For example someone may be denying themselves the right to be being filled because they have never died to themselves and they still think they've something in them that God needs. That may be the very thing that has stopped someone here from being under the control of the Holy Spirit.

Because you keep saying I don't need total domination because there is something good in me that I can offer God. God you're wrong in your declaration in the word that man is totally depraved. God you're telling me that I am totally depraved and I don't believe it.

There's good in me. And that will stop you from being controlled. And he'll take a few years to convince you if you haven't yet been convinced that you're rotten. Don't worry about it. It'll come it'll come.

I know some of you have never been in sin. Some of you are some of you are just crawling out of your hole again. And it's great that you're here. But some of you have never been in touch with how bad you could really be and you don't believe it tonight that you could be that bad.

And it's going to come and you will be shocked that you could do such a thing. Oh yeah the time I really got worried as a preacher was when I discovered I could sin. Sin that I never even committed before I was converted.

That really got me worried. And if you've never been down the tube it'll come if that's necessary to convince you that you're wrong in your estimation of yourself that there's something good in you because there isn't.

And it may just be that thing. I'm not saying it's that thing for everybody because there are those that take God's word for it that you're rotten and they say I know it. I agree with you. But there are some Christians that takes a God a long time to convince them that they are totally depraved that there is no good thing in them.

But for another person they may not have that problem. They know perfectly well that there is known sin in their life and they love it and they continue to practice it. And that's got to go in order to be yielded in order to be filled and controlled.

Some people say well I keep searching inside to find out if there is sin that stops me from being controlled that's unnecessary. Always remember this heaven is more interested in you being controlled than you are in letting it happen.

And if you ever said to God father is there sin separating me from your control or not. If there is sin he'll tell you right there. And then he's not the kind of God that people think he is. Where you say father is there some sin in me that stops me from being controlled.

And God says yes but I'm not telling. Now you can wait a few years and struggle and being guilty and agonize and dig and deep and get worried and flustered because I'm not telling you see and there is but I'm not telling you that's not my God.

And if there is sin he'll tell you what it is get it dealt with. And if there isn't there won't be. So don't sit around imagining what's there that isn't there. Some people have an awful habit of going down to the cemetery every morning and digging the coffin up and opening the lid just to check up that it's dead.

You know digging in. Why don't you just take the words word for it. You are dead agree with God. And if there is if there's known sin in your experience that's stopping control. If there's something that you're being disobedient about he'll reveal it to you at once you'll know it get it dealt with and you're under control.

And another person God may have issued them a directive to become a missionary and they didn't go. And that will have to be put right before they can ever experience control. And for another person their whole problem is they went to the mission field they became a minister they taught a Sunday school class and they should never have been there.

And a thing like that has to be dealt with before there's control. It may be an unholy friendship that has to cease in order that you may be yielded. It can be different. In each case the Holy Spirit will let you know exactly what's hindering yieldance and subsequent to filling in power for blessing and service.