“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

— John 7:38

To be filled with the Spirit is not describing when you receive the Spirit of God, it’s when you yield to Him and are under His influence. You can say being filled with the Spirit is when He comes upon you in power. While you received the Spirit when you first heard the Gospel and believed, you may not have known you could yield to His influence in your life.

In recent articles, I point out that baptism with the Spirit and baptism into the body of Christ happens when you first hear and believe the Gospel. From then on, you can be filled (under the influence) of the Spirit.

I teach on this topic in much more detail in the sermon above. For this article, I want to give you a practical exercise on how to be filled with the Holy Spirit and yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit so He will come upon you for power.

This passage gives us practical instruction to become filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not a formula, and these are not the only things you can do to experience the Spirit's empowerment. You can also pray with your Spirit. Next week’s article will cover praying with your Spirit. This verse has 2 practical things you can do to be filled with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To be filled with the Spirit

Sing songs and hymns amongst yourselves (sounds like church)
Sing spiritual songs amongst yourselves (sounds like singing with your spirit)
Make melody in your heart to the Lord
Be thankful

Experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit is not just for ministry toward others, it’s for your personal life too. You can do these things when you’re depressed, feeling anxious, are afraid, or facing temptation. You can meditate on the negative or fearful circumstances of your life, or you can sing songs in your heart to the Lord. You can let lack and fear invade your imagination as you foresee destruction, or you can be thankful for the blessings in your life and have faith in His promises. You can complain and watch conspiracy videos that keep you focused on demonic topics, or you can lift your spirit by putting on His Spirit.

There are many ways to experience the filling of the Spirit. I pray you live a daily lifestyle of choosing to yield to Him in everything. Try it. Practice putting on the Spirit. Develop your own way of putting on His power. Be intentional about it.

If you’d like to hear much more detail on this topic, watch the video at the top of the page.

Watch this series on YouTube