Walking with God

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FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
Bill Gorman

In Acts 6, we read about seven men who were chosen by the church to be a help in God’s “business.” We usually take this passage as the beginning of the office of Deacons, and rightfully so. These men were to help with the practical outworkings of the ministry there in Jerusalem. The church was young and growing: “…the number of disciples was multiplied” (Verse 1). Good things were happening; souls were being saved, baptized and added to the church (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14). The leadership needed help; they needed people who would serve the Lord by ministering to others. Good things were happening, but the Devil doesn’t like seeing a healthy church. There was persecution from without (Acts 4:17-18; 5:17-39), and some problems within (Acts 5:1-11); as here in chapter six and verse one: “…there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” When a church is really doing something for the Lord, there are going to be needs and things that come up that have to be addressed. God hates murmuring, but complainers usually see a true problem and exaggerate it or take it out of perspective. It appears that these widows were being neglected, but it didn’t need to cause a division between the Grecians and the Hebrews. The apostles, as good leaders do, took steps to fix the problem. They said, “look ye out among you;” we need some men who are servants, which are willing to give of themselves to help in God’s work. Among other qualifications, they needed to be “full of the Holy Ghost.”

How do you know when someone is “full of the Holy Ghost?” How do you know when you are “full of the Holy ghost?” In Ephesians 5:18, the Bible says we are not to be “drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” God the Holy Spirit should be controlling your life, NOTHING ELSE. The Holy Spirit already indwells you (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22), if you are saved, and now He ought to direct all that you are and do. In the context of Ephesians 5, that includes our attitude (Verses 19-20), our marriage (Verses 21-33), our home and work (Ephesians 6:1-9) and all that we do. So they needed men who were under the control of the Holy Spirit.

In the book of Acts, we find the statement that believers were “full of the Holy Ghost” several times. When you find this statement, you will also find that these believers were serving the Lord in some fashion. Preaching, praying, standing for Christ, in some way they were serving the Lord (Acts 4:8,31; 6:3,5; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9,52). When in Acts 6 they had to choose men “full of The Holy Ghost”, they would be choosing men who were always serving the Lord. They were constant for God. It was not a Sunday morning thing; it was a 24/7 thing. These guys were controlled by the Holy Spirit.

In the book of Galatians, God’s Word tells us to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), as opposed to “the lusts (desires) of the flesh.” When you “walk in the Spirit” you “set your affections on things above not on things of the earth” (Colossians 3:2). These 7 men were always interested in spiritual things, and not “the lusts of the flesh.”

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I want to thank God for soul-winning people. A soul-winning pastor and a deacon came by our country farmhouse on a Thursday night and led my wife to Christ. They then returned on the following Saturday morning to lead me to Christ. Those will be the greatest days of our life. We should always remember those days to keep us excited through the years of living for Him! We were blessed to have a pastor lead us in our Christian growth. After going to church and following the Lord in baptism, we were able to...{READ MORE}

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May I pen these words to all of the imperfect people? May I write these words to those of you to whom everything has not turned out as you had wished or hoped? May I intrude into the world of those of you who have not lived up to your own expectations? May I dedicate this article to those of you for whom things have not turned out as you dreamed and planned?...{READ MORE}

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