FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
1 Chronicles 12:18
“Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said:
“We are yours, O David;
We are on your side, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
And peace to your helpers!
For your God helps you.”
So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.”
“Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said:
“We are yours, O David;
We are on your side, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
And peace to your helpers!
For your God helps you.”
So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.”
What does it look like when the Holy Spirit fills someone? Is there a total lack of control? A flailing of one’s body? A spiritual “drunkenness”? No. When a puppet master picks up his marionette, he completely controls it. It moves to his movements; it follows his commands. Likewise, when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us, we don’t lose control, we gain His control.
In the passage above, when the Spirit comes upon Amasai, I noticed a few things that happened. First, he was led towards unity. Amasai didn’t look to take control from David, rather he gave control to David. He was unified with him in the Spirit. The Spirit will always drive us to unity, and note, while He is doing that, He is simultaneously driving us away from strife. Second, Amasai was led by the Spirit into humility. He was a general, he was a man’s man and, yet, by the Spirit, he humbled himself before David. In his humility, he offered his submission.
Wonderfully, the Spirit does that for us. He causes us to be people who are humble and willing to submit. In fact, humility is one of the chief traits of a mature believer. Thirdly, the Spirit showed Amasai why to submit. He recognized that God was helping David. If ever the Spirit gives you the understanding that He is specifically helping someone, jump on board! May we want to be where the Spirit is but also not be concerned with who He is using or how much He is using them in comparison to ourselves. Living life filled with the Spirit frees us to be humble and to celebrate when God uses someone else, even if He is using the other person the way we may have wanted to be used.
In the passage above, when the Spirit comes upon Amasai, I noticed a few things that happened. First, he was led towards unity. Amasai didn’t look to take control from David, rather he gave control to David. He was unified with him in the Spirit. The Spirit will always drive us to unity, and note, while He is doing that, He is simultaneously driving us away from strife. Second, Amasai was led by the Spirit into humility. He was a general, he was a man’s man and, yet, by the Spirit, he humbled himself before David. In his humility, he offered his submission.
Wonderfully, the Spirit does that for us. He causes us to be people who are humble and willing to submit. In fact, humility is one of the chief traits of a mature believer. Thirdly, the Spirit showed Amasai why to submit. He recognized that God was helping David. If ever the Spirit gives you the understanding that He is specifically helping someone, jump on board! May we want to be where the Spirit is but also not be concerned with who He is using or how much He is using them in comparison to ourselves. Living life filled with the Spirit frees us to be humble and to celebrate when God uses someone else, even if He is using the other person the way we may have wanted to be used.
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SPIRITUAL GIFTS: PART 1SPIRITUAL GIFTS: PROPHECYSPIRITUAL GIFTS: MINISTRYSPIRITUAL GIFTS: TEACHINGSPIRITUAL GIFTS: EXHORTATIONSPIRITUAL GIFTS: GIVINGFILLED WITH THE SPIRITSPIRITUAL GIFTS: LEADERSHIPSPIRITUAL GIFTS: MERCYFAITHHOPELOVENEVERTHELESSBE-ATTITUDES: POOR IN SPIRITBE-ATTITUDES: THOSE WHO MOURNBE-ATTITUDES: MEEKNESSBE-ATTITUDES: HUNGER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESSBE-ATTITUDES: BEING MERCIFULBE-ATTITUDES: PURE IN HEARTBEATITUDES: PEACEMAKERSBEATITUDES: BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTEDGOD MEANT IT FOR GOODCEASELESS SUPPORTPASSING THE BATON
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