How You Can Know When You Are Filled with the Holy Spirit

Bill Bright

Step 3: The Holy Spirit

  1. Who Is the Holy Spirit and Why Did He Come?
  2. The Holy Spirit's Relationship with You
  3. Why So Few Christians Are Filled with the Holy Spirit
  4. How You Can Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
  5. How You Can Know When You Are Filled with the Holy Spirit
  6. How You Can Continue to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
  7. Recap

Did you sincerely follow the steps outlined in Lesson 4?

Did you ask the Holy Spirit to fill you?

If you did not, Lesson 5 and 6 will not mean much to you. Go back to Lesson 4 and ask God to work in your heart. If He has filled you, you will be anxious to proceed with these next two lessons.


Results of the Spirit-Filled Life

  1. What will the Holy Spirit demonstrate in and through your life as a result of His filling you? (Galatians 5:22-23) Which specific fruit of the Spirit do you need the most of right now?
  2. Read Acts 1:8. How do you see this power at work in your life? How does John 15:16 apply to you today?
  3. How do you identify with I Corinthians 12:1-11 and Ephesians 4:11?
  4. What mannerisms, language, activities, and inconsistencies in your life do you think are hindering the Holy Spirit from developing His fruit, power, and gifts in you?
  5. What happens as we are occupied with Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us? (II Corinthians 3:18)

     

Fact, Faith, and Feelings

  1. Fact: Why should we be filled with the Spirit? (Ephesians 5:18)
  2. Faith: What is our assurance that we have been filled with the Spirit? (I John 5:14-15)
  3. Feelings: When you were filled with the Spirit, did you feel any different?

 

Do not depend upon feelings. The promise of God's word, not our feelings, is our authority. The Christian lives by faith in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.

This train diagram illustrates the relationship among fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feelings (the result of our faith and obedience). (John 14:21)

The train will run with or without the caboose. However, it would be futile to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, we do not depend upon feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promise of His Word.

Life Application

Though you may not be aware of a change immediately, with the passing of time you will see some evidence of your being filled with the Spirit. If there is no change, the Holy Spirit is not in charge.

  1. Do you think a person can be filled with the Holy Spirit and not be aware of it? Explain your answer.
  2. Ask yourself these questions:
  • Do you have a greater love for Christ?
  • Do you have a greater love for God's word?
  • Is prayer more important to you?
  • Are you more concerned for those who do not know Christ as Savior?
  • Are you experiencing a greater boldness, liberty, and power in witnessing?

 

Adapted from The 10 Basic Steps Toward Christian Maturity, by Bill Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. © Cru. All rights reserved.

 

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