Filled With the Spirit – March 10, 2021

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Romans 8:9

Filled With the Spirit

Is it in you? Do you remember those Gatorade commercials? If it, namely Gatorade, is in you, then you will be a far better athlete. If Gatorade is not in you, better luck next time. The commercials focus on athletes in their most crucial moments. They show Michael Jordan hitting the game-winning shot against the Cavaliers. They show Derek Jeter making a clutch out in the divisional playoffs. They show Kevin Garnett finally cutting down the net as an NBA champion.

The commercials help you relive those clutch moments in sports. And you are left with the distinct impression that if those all-world athletes had not been filled with Gatorade, they would not have come through in the clutch. Gatorade, that magic elixir, enabled those athletes to do amazing things. No Gatorade equals no victory. The screen goes black, and the question appears: Is it in you?

This verse from the book of Romans asks the same question: is it in you? Except the author is not talking about a sports drink loaded down with essential vitamins and nutrients; rather he is talking about the Holy Spirit of God. “Is the Spirit in you?” That is an important question. And the verse says, if we do not have the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ.

So how do we get the Spirit? Not through our feelings, as some would say. Rather, the Holy Spirit comes to us as we hear and read the Bible. The Spirit works through the wonderful message about Jesus—the one who gave his life in our place to pay for sin and give us the free gift of eternal life. When we hear God’s Word and read about Jesus’ love, the Spirit is at work. As we get to know more about our Savior Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and lives and leads us to live for our Lord. Then, filled with the Spirit, we will receive the ultimate victory of eternal life in heaven.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of your Word. Bless my time in the Bible that I may be filled with the Holy Spirit. Amen.