"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. ... 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." -Luke 1:15, 41
John the baptist is a very unique character in the bible. Some have called him "the last old testament prophet" because he walked into the pages of the new testament to prepare the way for Jesus. One of the things that made John the baptist "great in the sight of the Lord" was the filling of the Holy Spirit. Even since he was in the womb he was filled. But not only him but those around him. Even his mother Elizabeth became filled with the Holy Spirit when he leaped in her womb. One might even think the filling of the Spirit is contagious. What is interesting though is that neither John nor Elizabeth were filled with the Holy Ghost till Jesus came into the room (via Mary). It wasn't till they were both near to Jesus that they were Spirit filled. I believe the filling of the Spirit is relative to our proximity to Jesus. That is if you draw near to him, through worship, the word and prayer He will draw near to you through His Holy Spirit. Paul tells to “Stop getting drunk with wine,.. but keep on being filled with the Spirit.” (Eph 5:18b ISV) So then we should seek all the more to be in the presence of Jesus so that we can have more of God in our lives.
- HAVE YOU EVER BEEN FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT? WHEN DID IT HAPPEN? WHAT WERE YOU DOING? WHO WAS AROUND YOU? HOW DID YOU RESPOND?
- "I am drenched in the fuel of the Holy Spirit…Jesus is the match.. and God is the flame."-B. Sings