THE GREATER ST MATTHEW MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
By Pastor C. A. Hill
Have you ever been drunk—yes drunk, or have you ever been around someone who was drunk; it’s usually an unpleasant sight & experience to behold. When one is drunk, not just a little tipsy or a little high, but drunk, they display inhibitions in what they do and say, oftentimes their natural senses are anything but sensible, instead they’re acting senseless and very uncharacteristic; very often one who is drunk has slurred speech and speaking incoherently; a drunk person can behave himself or herself in a violent manner, and when asked if they remember what happened during the drunken episode, they can’t remember. The previous description of one being drunk especially from alcohol or some other mind altering drug or agent is not one’s favorite event that they like to remember, but what if you were drunk with the Spirit of God where you lose control of self in favor of the Lord’s Spirit having His way in your life; I’m sure it would be the complete opposite of being drunk on humanity’s agents of destruction, but when God’s Spirit is allowed to control one’s mind, body and soul He will elevate, enlighten, and empower the recipient into a “drunken blessing!” Last week before God’s people the Lord impressed on my heart a message entitled: ‘Being Under the Influence taken from Ephesians 5:18 that read: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.’ To influence means to have the power to act or affect people or things. The Spirit of God, AKA the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost is part of (“Third Person”) the Godhead, “He” is not an “it” or some kind of inanimate object, but a Spirit Who ministers on behalf of the Believer/Follower of Christ, all the while residing within the Believer’s mind, body, and soul. So to be filled with the Spirit or “Being Under the Influence,” of the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit of God and is therefore crucial to successfully living the Christian life. To “be filled” is a repeated experience (See Acts 2:4; 4:8 & 4:31). You may notice in the text the phrase “Be filled with the Spirit” which is in the present tense, that’s because it is a command to be obeyed-Not an option! How can one be filled with the Holy Ghost/Spirit?
There’re two (2) Prerequisites:
1) Confession of Sins… When we confess, we agree with God about our sins.
2) Yielding to God…In other words Submit; Romans 12:1 read: ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
When one yield to God she/he is primarily dedicating herself or himself to God. Being filled with the Spirit is confirmed by the Believer’s faith and life; in other words Who you believe in—Jesus Christ, and how you live your life through Him. Notice what Romans 12:2 says: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ 2 Corinthians 5:7 states, (For we walk by faith, not by sight). When one is under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit that person will have what I call a “JFK mindset,” instead of the focus being primarily on one’s country it will be on the Lord: “Ask not what the Lord can do for you but ask what can you do or render unto the Lord.” Please read Ephesians 2:4-10, notice that the 10th says: ‘For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.’ Being under the influence means to be Possessed [Totally taken over], Permeated [filled], Saturated [soak/drenched] and Controlled [managed/directed] by the Spirit of God. Romans 8:1 read: ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’ Being filled or being under the influence doesn’t mean that the Christian gets more of the Holy Spirit, rather, the Holy Spirit gets more of us!
Ponder This… ‘It’s Better to be Drunk on God’s Spirit than to be Drunk on the spirits of this World.’ By Pastor Carl A. Hill