Evidences of Being Filled with the Spirit

Ephesians 5:18

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

We often talk about the results of God doing the miraculous and souls being saved when a person is filled with the Spirit, and this is certainly one of the results. We cannot forget what God did through the early church in saving thousands of souls when they were filled with the Spirit. We also cannot fail to mention how the apostles performed the miraculous through the filling of the Spirit. We must also mention that the church grew tremendously when they were filled with the Spirit.

However, Ephesians 5 also shows us evidences of the filling of the Spirit. You will notice there is a semicolon after the word Spirit. That semicolon is about to continue the thought of being filled with the Spirit. Let me show some evidences of being filled with the Spirit.

Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs is one evidence that you are filled with the Spirit. On the other hand, singing worldly songs is an evidence that you are not filled with the Spirit. Music reveals the Holy Spirit’s influence on your life; to sing worldly songs shows no influence, but to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs shows His influence in your life. You cannot separate the influence of the Holy Spirit and music. Anytime the Spirit works in the church or in one’s life, they will always have a spiritual song in their heart.

Being thankful is another evidence of being filled with the Spirit. You cannot tell me you are filled with the Spirit and have a negative, complaining spirit at the same time. Those who are filled with the Spirit find it natural to be thankful for everything. It is easy to be thankful when the Holy Spirit controls your spirit.

Submitting yourself one to another is another evidence of being filled with the Spirit. You will find when you are filled with the Spirit that it does not always have to be your way. If you must always insist that everything is done your way, you will find yourself never being filled with the Spirit. Submitting yourself one to another is being willing to submit to those who are in charge, even if you hold the highest position. If a church staff would be filled with the Spirit, there would be no competition between each other, and there would be no problem submitting to the one in charge of a task. This could be said about the home life and workplace as well.

Now, if I did not feel that I was filled with the Spirit, I would sing, be thankful, and submit one to another for the sake of giving the Holy Spirit a chance to fill me. If I don't do these things, I will surely not be filled with the Holy Spirit. However, I may not be filled with the Spirit, but I will do the evidence of being filled with the Spirit so that I open the door for Him to fill me.

My friend, these three evidences of being filled with the Spirit are critical to your spirit and to the spirit of your church. I am afraid that, in too many situations, the Holy Spirit is grieved instead of welcomed. If we welcomed the Holy Spirit to fill us, we would not fight the preacher and the messages God gives to Him, we would be involved with our heart in the congregational singing, and we would be thankful for all that happens in our lives. Do you have the evidence of the Holy Spirit filling you? If you do, you will find it much easier to help others to get saved and to getting them to serve God.