OverflowSample

Be Filled Again and Again 

Scripture teaches us not to be drunk with wine but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The principle in Scripture is that there is one baptism of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:5), but many fillings. 

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples gathered together, and the Holy Spirit came, rested on each of them, and filled them. However, just two chapters later in Acts 4, the church falls under duress. The apostles, Peter and John, are threatened by the Sanhedrin and by the governmental authorities of the Jews in Jerusalem. They are told not to preach. They are told not to name the sweet name of Jesus. They are told to stop healing the sick. In response to the threat, they gather together with the other believers and tell them everything that has happened, and then they pray. Acts 4:31 says, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” 

Sometimes in our lives we need to be refilled. Filled, refilled, and refilled again. The truth is, in this 21st century world we live in, the work we do can be very draining. It can take the life right out of us. We must come back to the Fountain over and over again, to be filled over and over and over again, until we overflow with God’s presence. 

God promises us that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we will be filled. Don't get away from the Fountain. Run to it, so you can overflow with God's presence. In my life, I received one baptism of the Holy Spirit when I was a teenager, but I’ve also received hundreds, maybe thousands, of refillings since that time. At moments in my life when I'm drained, I go back to the Fountain to be refilled with God’s presence and God’s glory.