110 GOOD MORNING, HOLY SPIRIT
Have you ever spent a day on a sailboat? It's a great
thrill. What happens to the boat when the sails are filled?
The ship begins to move. That's what Paul is telling you.
He wants you to be filled, not like a container that has no
action but like a sail that continues to be filled with wind.
Over and over again. He wants you to move forward with
the never-ending breeze of the Spirit filling your spiritual
sails.
"Who Do You Think You Are?"
Being filled with the Holy Spirit causes action. It
happens in your speech, in your heart, in your attitude, and
in your activity. What a change! Now your words are
uplifting, there's a harmony in your heart, you give thanks
to the Lord, and you truly and humbly serve people.
How can a man or a woman who is filled with the Spirit
speak with profanity? How can he or she have a heart filled
with jealousy, bitterness, and criticism? A Spirit-filled
person doesn't say, "Who do you think you are, telling me
what to do?" Or "How can God treat me that way?" These
are signs of a self-centered person who is "Spirit empty,"
not "Spirit filled."
When Christ returned to the Father, He did not intend
for you to make it on your own. Help was on the way! After
all, it is not your power or your strength that's important:
"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, / Says the
LORD of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).
It's by the Spirit that you are able to glorify Jesus. It's by
the Spirit that your heart is filled with song. It's by the
Spirit that you are able to say, "Jesus, I thank you for
everything." And it's by the Spirit that you are empowered
to say, "I forgive you."
How is the love of God "shed abroad in our hearts"? By