“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” (John 14:16)
“There can be no goodness or happiness in any human being, unless it is the breath, the life, the work of God within him. Goodness can only be in God and it cannot exist separate from Him. He can bless and sanctify by Himself becoming the blessing and sanctification of man. There is thus no goodness in the life of man from anything but the immediate indwelling and working of the Holy Trinity. Perpetual inspiration from the Holy Spirit is necessary to a life of goodness, holiness, and happiness as the perpetual respiration of air is necessary to animal life.
It is a mistake to confine inspiration to particular times and occasions, or to prophets and apostles. Inspiration is for every Christian who trusts to be continually led and inspired by the Spirit of God. For though not all are called to be prophets or apostles, all are called to be holy and perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect; to be like Christ; to will only as God wills; to do all to His glory and honour; to renounce the spirit of the world; to love God with all their heart, soul, and spirit and their neighbour as themselves.
Devotion to God is not limited to certain times or occasions. It is always alive and stirring in our thoughts, wills, desires, and affections. If we are all called to this inward holiness and goodness, then a perpetual working of the Spirit of God within us is absolutely necessary.”
-Andrew Murray- (Italics are mine.)
“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
Perpetually filled with the Spirit. Is this my experience? In all honesty, I don’t feel it to be so. In fact, a lot of the time, I feel very ‘unfilled’. Why is this? Jesus says in John chapter four, verse 14, that whosoever drinks of the water that He gives will never be thirsty again. Why do I still feel so dry?
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” (John 7:37)
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1)
“The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)
This water is free and it’s always available. Why do I so often feel like I can’t find it? Why does the price seem too high?
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians 5:18)
This verse contains a command. “Be not drunk with wine.” This, as Daddy pointed out on Sunday, is our main focus. And it’s a good one. We, as Christians, are not to be drunk with wine as drunkenness is not Christlike, and therefore, not a good testimony to the world.
But what about the rest of the verse? Isn’t there a command as well? “Be filled with the Spirit.” It doesn’t say, “And try to be filled with the Spirit but when life is hard and you don’t feel close to God, it’s okay if you aren’t.” But isn’t that what we translate it to? We’re so sure that Christians should never drink, not even on ‘bad days’. So why are we okay with not being filled with the Spirit on ‘bad days’? We must take the second command as seriously as the first. There are no exceptions! We must not be drunk with wine to be a testimony to the world, but if we aren’t filled with the Spirit, we won’t be a testimony either.
God has called us to a life of perfection. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) This is not attainable in our power. We are imperfect human beings. God is the epitome of perfection. There’s a missing link here!
We must be filled with the Spirit! Not when we feel like it or when it ‘works’. All the time! “Perpetual inspiration from the Holy Spirit is as necessary to a life of goodness, holiness, and happiness as the perpetual respiration of air is necessary to animal life.”
“If we are all called to this inward holiness and goodness, then a perpetual working of the Spirit of God within us is absolutely necessary.”
God has given us the Spirit. His part is done. Now our part is to obey the command in Psalm 81:10, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
Is my disobedience to this command at fault for my parched soil? Am I truly to blame? I cannot blame God; He’s done His part. I cannot blame anyone around me. The only person left is me!
“Lord, I thank you for Your mercy in revealing to me that I have not claimed Your Spirit’s power as I should have. When I realize that you are standing there with Your immeasurable power, ready to give me all I need, and I see myself, coming to you with a small cup, expecting only enough to scrape by, I am ashamed! You long to show Yourself strong! You long to fill me to overflowing! You want to see me victorious! But I come with my little cup and You can’t give me any more than I ask for. In all Your greatness and omnipotence, You have limited Yourself to my asking! So I struggle along in life, not filled with Your Spirit and Power, and wondering what is wrong. When in all reality, it’s my small cup! I am not believing that You will give me the Power I need, and Satan is grinning from ear to ear! Lord, I come to You with a penitent heart. Forgive me for my lack of faith. And may I remember this picture and come to You with my mouth wide open, ready to be filled with Your Spirit. Not just when I feel like it. But may It dwell in me perpetually so that Your Holy Name may be honoured and glorified for all You have done! May my life be a sweet smelling savour to You and a light to the world around me. In Jesus’ Name, with thanksgiving, Amen.”
Great Is Thy Faithfulness 