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About The Episode:

Have you ever wondered about the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life? Our latest episode takes you on a deep dive into the essence of being Spirit-filled, drawing from personal experiences, biblical scriptures, and the inspiring faith journey of Russell Brand. We discuss the pivotal moment of salvation, the profound internal change it sparks, and how this spiritual awakening shapes our identity and purpose in Christ. It’s a journey through the sanctification process that not only redefines us but aligns our hearts with God’s will, fostering an existence that radiates His divine influence.

Moving beyond the surface, we explore the complex and multifaceted role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. From the depths of God’s infinite nature to the promise of power in Acts 1, the episode is a call to actively seek a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit. This quest leads to an examination of how our desires can be harmonized with the divine blueprint outlined in Ephesians 5:17-19. It’s a conversation that challenges listeners to consider the extent to which their lives are truly Spirit-led and the radical transformation that such living entails.

The episode culminates with a compelling narrative of Saul’s radical conversion to Apostle Paul—a testament to the Spirit’s ability to completely turn lives around. We reflect on the fruits of the Spirit manifesting in our daily conduct and the stark contrast between living in the flesh and walking in the Spirit. Join us as we navigate the necessity of divine empowerment, the power of a Spirit-filled upbringing exemplified by John the Baptist, and the importance of fostering this spiritual fervor in the next generation. Your stories and spiritual journeys are an integral part of this conversation, and we invite you to share and seek support as we embrace this divine empowerment together.

Where to dive in:

(0:00:00) – The Importance of Being Spirit-Filled

Being filled with the Spirit is a transformative encounter for believers, evidenced by speaking in tongues, and emphasized through scriptures and personal experiences.

(0:08:28) – The Depths of the Spirit

Understanding the multifaceted nature of the Holy Spirit, living a Spirit-filled life, and aligning with God’s will.

(0:25:45) – Filled With the Spirit

Living a Spirit-filled life requires virtues like patience, kindness, and self-control, and our actions and language reveal the condition of our hearts.

(0:41:51) – Being Filled With the Holy Spirit

Saul’s transformation to Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, living in the Spirit, faithfulness and goodness as outcomes.

(0:52:21) – The Power of the Holy Spirit

Parental spiritual guidance, Holy Spirit’s power, and divine empowerment are crucial for fulfilling one’s purpose in life.

(1:07:08) – Engagement and Connection With Viewers

Thanking listeners for support, encouraging likes and subscriptions, sharing personal stories and prayer requests, and directing to website for further content.

About your host:

Jaime Luce’ testimony has daunting personal mountains and treacherous financial valleys. She was trapped in day-to-day stress and couldn’t see a way forward. But how she started is not how she finished! And she wants you to know God has a plan for your life too, no matter how tough it seems. Today, Jaime has been married to the love of her life for almost three decades, owns two companies, and has become an author and podcaster. God’s way is always the blessed way! 

Free chapter of Jaime’s new book: You Don’t Need Money, You Just Need God: https://jaimeluce.com/book/

Connect with Jaime: 

Website: https://jaimeluce.com

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LinkedIn:  / jaime-luce-00395691  

Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
What does the scripture tell us? That whatever’s in the heart, the abundance of the heart does what Causes the mouth to speak. So whatever’s coming out of my mouth means I’m full. My heart is full of something. If you want to know what you’re full of, listen to your words. What’s coming out? What is actually being said? What are you placing value on? What do you argue against? You can see what’s going on in your heart based off of the words that are coming out of your mouth. We need to know what’s going on. What did David say when he prayed Lord, search my heart, show me if there is any wicked way in me. We should want to know what’s inside of us.

Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Happy Thursday to you, or whenever you’re watching this. I wanted to talk to you today and really discuss with you a question that has sprung up. You know I’ve been watching the news lately and actor, comedian, podcaster Russell Brand has recently been baptized and there’s been a lot of comments and things about his journey and he is a baby Christian and there are many things that he will still need to learn. So we pray, hoping that he will find the right people to speak into him, to teach him what is truth, what he needs to stay away from and what he needs to cling and hold close to. But that got me thinking, and there’s a question that I want to ask you today, and you’ve probably wondered this at some point or another, if you are somebody who cares about being a real witness for Christ. And the question is why emphasize, why do churches, why do ministries emphasize being filled with the Spirit? Now, before we talk about this, I’m going to go ahead and tell you my own personal opinion, and then I’m going to tell you why I have that opinion. And I know many have their own opinions, and we are free to read the scripture and to dissect and learn and decide what we believe that that scripture is saying to us. The word is truth, and so the truth is found in this scripture. So it’s not necessarily one person’s opinion or another. It’s just that we have opinions about what we’re reading and what we feel like the scripture is telling us, and that way we can pattern our lives after that. And so why emphasize being filled with the Spirit?

I personally believe that, based off of the scriptures many that I’m going to give to you today that there are multiple reasons why we don’t just take being filled with the Spirit lightly. There are those who will say that at baptism you are filled with the Spirit. There are those that say, at the moment that you believe in Christ, you are filled with the Spirit. And then there are those who say there is a secondary encounter, that you are filled with the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I’m of the belief that all of those are correct. I’m of the belief that all of those are correct and let me explain that.

When you receive Jesus Christ, you are receiving not only are you believing, but you are receiving Christ, who is life, his spirit into your dead spirit to bring you back to life. That’s only done by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, yes, at the minute that you truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, whom you are choosing to follow. Now, I’m not talking about those who say I believe that Jesus is real or that he lived. I’m not talking about those who take this lightly, who don’t actually allow their lives to go through a sanctification process and be changed so that they can walk as best that they can, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, to walk a life that looks like Jesus Christ, to impact the world for his purpose, not their own, and not to be on this endless search of to find who we are, but to say who am I in Christ and what has he called me to do? That is where my identity and value and purpose come from, and so I believe that you do receive the spirit of God, and there are scriptures that say that when Jesus came into the room, he breathed on them, and they were, at that point, I believe, truly born again.

He is now risen from the dead. You can now believe on him for the remission of sins. Up until that point, you could believe who he was, but the price had not yet been paid. So at that point, yes, jesus had been crucified, paid the penalty for our sin in our place, became the sacrifice and then, because of his resurrection, defeated death and the grave, defeated hell, defeated the plan of Satan for each of us, and by our belief in him now we are attributed to, we get to lay hold of, and it is done in our place. The sacrifice has been made, the price has been paid that we can now be saved, and so, because of that, jesus then appears to them, breathes on them. Interestingly, though, even though they received the Spirit of God, he then tells them and we’re going to look here in just a moment at this passage of scripture, and we’re going to be in Acts.

We’re going to be in several places today. The main portion of scriptures that we are going to be looking at are found in the book of Acts, but I will be in Romans, in Hebrews, john and Luke, galatians, ephesians I’ve got a lot of scripture for you, so this is a really great day to take notes. If this is something that you care about, that you want to learn more about, maybe even if you don’t agree with me, I am happy to have this time with you and to just at least let you see where I’m coming from and why I’m saying what I’m saying, because I do believe that we should have an emphasis, an understanding of what that is to be filled with the Spirit. Now, for those who believe that you receive, at baptism, the infilling of the Holy Spirit again, that’s sort of tied to your salvation and that a sanctification process begins at that point, because you have surrendered, you have died to the old man, you are risen to new life in the new man filled with the Spirit of God, man filled with the Spirit of God. However, I want us to look at Acts, chapter 1, and we’re going to read verses 1 through 8. I’m going to emphasize for you two particular verses verses 4 and verses 8, while we read that.

But I want you to see that there is something that is meant by being filled with the Spirit. That is not just meaning salvation. It’s not just meaning salvation, okay, and it doesn’t mean you’re lacking. Please don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying, without this other element that we’re going to talk about, that you have not got fully God with you. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying there’s an understanding. It’s like having an onion and knowing that there are layers. It is all the onion. There are layers and potency in that onion, and it’s not just to peel the outside and not recognize that there are layers and layers of things in there. And so I feel like there is layers and depth.

I should say depth to the Spirit of God, more so than just saying I believe that I have His Spirit and he’s doing a work in me. That’s true, but there are depths to that. I can be someone who goes to church and have an understanding of scripture based off of what’s being taught to me in that church service by that minister. I could also then take it another layer deeper and I can be someone who, in my own personal time, is reading the word for myself and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to me truth and understanding by my time spent in the Word. I could then even take that a step further, go another layer deeper. I can be someone who attends a Christian college for the purposes of becoming a minister and wanting to understand theology and have ordination a minister and wanting to understand theology and have ordination. And so then I go even further and I understand and begin to learn the depths of the different languages that were used, and I can understand the history and I can understand the well that I am able to write and teach others about.

The depths of and we can’t even goodness, even in the best of our ability. It’s unsearchable. We cannot possibly reach the depths of the Holy Spirit, reach the depths of God. It is impossible for my finite mind to understand and know all of the qualities and the implications of an eternal, unending God who always was and always will be. That’s just impossible for a finite mind to do. So you can understand the layers and the depths of what I’m saying, and I am attributing to God his largeness here. I am not simplifying him, I am magnifying him, as King David would say Magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together.

And so I want to explore, being filled with the Spirit, the depths of the Spirit of God and what that holds for our life, not so that we can use it per se for us, but that we are using what is available to us, accessing who God is in His fullness, for very particular purposes that he has called us to. So it’s all of that that I want to talk about today. So let’s go to Acts 1. It says In the first book, o Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. This is Luke. Luke wrote the book of Luke and he also wrote the book of Acts. And he’s writing this to Theophilus, saying basically, you’ve read what I’ve written up to now and I want to give you even more. So.

Until the day when he was taken up he meaning Jesus after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said you heard from me for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So Jesus had already appeared to them before he was taken up. He had breathed on them when he appeared to them in one of the upper rooms when the doors were locked. So we already know there was a giving of his spirit to them. In fact, before his death, jesus had already said what I have I’m giving to you. So he was giving to them part of who he was, his ability to go and heal the sick and deliver from demons. He had sent them out with that power and he told them now don’t rejoice that you’re able to do these things, but that your names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. So we are to rejoice that we know him. Okay, that is what we rejoice in the fact that we have the privilege of knowing him and following him. That’s where we rejoice.

But then he says there is a gift that the Father, a promise that the Father has for them, that he commanded them not to do any more ministry now, that he will not be with them in his physical sense, now that he will have been ascended and in heaven, they will no longer be able to say, oh, jesus is right there and I’m following after him because his physical body is right in front of me. Say, oh, jesus is right there and I’m following after him because his physical body is right in front of me. Instead, he’s saying you need this much more of what I have of you, have for you from the father of me, so that you are able to do this without actually seeing me with your natural eyes. Okay, so this is how we are to walk in this life, following him without actually having his physical body in front of us. Okay, so for John, baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him Lord, will you, at this time, restore the kingdom of Israel? He said to them it is not for you to know times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. So Jesus is telling them this Holy Spirit coming on you, this event, this promise that my Father is giving you, is going to give you power, not salvation power. It’s the next depth, so to speak. It is more of him.

Why do we need more of Christ? Because we are living in flesh bodies, flesh suits, and we have natural carnal desires and wants and things that push us, things that, oh, in fact, let me give you this verse real quick, because I want you to see this. Let’s look at ephesians 5, ephesians 5, and then we’re going to look at verses 17 to 19. Okay, verses 17 to 19, and there’s a reason. You’ll see why I’m giving you this. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is Okay, this is important what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. But get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God, the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence in Christ. Okay.

So why is he saying be filled with the Spirit. There’s a reason that this is being commanded. Commanded, be filled with the spirit. Why? Because when we are not filled with the spirit, we are filled with other things. Okay, so our carnality has its own desires and its own um appetites and it, it pushes and I heard this said. I wrote it down. I think it’s an excellent way for us to understand this. But whatever fills you is what controls you. Whatever fills you is what compels you. Okay, what fills you controls you. What fills you compels you. So if you are someone, let’s say you’re a baby Christian I had mentioned Russell Brand at the beginning and we want to be more and more filled with the Holy Spirit, because we want to be filled and controlled and compelled by what our Father wants, accomplished through us, what he wants for us. We want to be moved by him, we want to be led by him.

So, the more of something I have if I have a glass and I put some water in that glass, I have water in that glass. I can drink from that water in that glass, but it is to the degree that I can have full saturation or full satisfaction, or be full and and take away a hunger appetite. Do you know that they actually tell you that when you think you’re hungry first, you should drink water, because if the water satisfies you, you weren’t hungry, you were thirsty. It’s just tidbit, but that’s to let us know. Sometimes we can get our satisfaction from that water. It is another thing if I take a drink versus if I drink the whole glass.

If I have filled my stomach, it’s one thing to put a bite of something in my stomach, it’s another thing to be full. If I have just a bite and I’m hungry, I’m looking for ways. I am compelled. I am, in essence, controlled by the thoughts about feeding and taking away that hunger. If I have been filled with food, I no longer. In fact I don’t know if you’re like me, but once I’m full, the smell of food no longer smells good Things, no longer. I no longer have an appetite. In fact I don’t want anything else. I have been filled. The thought of something else is like no, I’ve that’s, I don’t want that. Someone could offer me dessert. No, I’m already full.

And you can see that when we are filled with the spirit, he’s saying don’t be drunk with wine, don’t be looking to fill yourself with other things that lead to debauchery, don’t fill your flesh man with things that will not satisfy. That will always leave you empty. But they not only leave you empty, but they constantly then control and they compel you to go do things and be tempted by things that you should not go do and should not be able to be tempted by. Being filled with the spirit means that I now have power. This was if it controls you, if what fills you controls you, it has a form of power, it has power over you. But when we are filled with the Spirit and I’m not talking about the gifts of the Spirit right now, I’m talking about being filled with the Spirit, about being filled with the Spirit.

You spend so much time with Jesus in his word, in meditation on who he is, what he wants, what he is desiring for your life, how he desires you to do it, what that looks like, it’s outward workings. If we are filled with the spirit, then we will walk after the spirit and not gratify the lust of the flesh. In fact, let’s go look at that. Galatians 5, 16. Galatians 5.16. Let’s go there, galatians 5.16. For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for they are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are evident. Okay, so these are things that are evident. They are evidence that I am full of the flesh and not full of the spirit. Here they are the works of the flesh are evident.

Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality. What does that mean? That means you’re totally moved by your senses and your emotions. Everything affects you. The spirit of offense that is run rampant comes from sensuality. I don’t like that. I don’t like the way you said that. I don’t like the way that makes me feel. You’re too moved by your senses. Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

So, and then it goes on to say the fruit of the spirit is. So to see if you are full of the spirit. Those have evidence as well. Those are the fruit that you bear, the fruit of the spirit, which is verse 22,. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also keep in step with the spirit. Okay, I know that’s a lot of scripture, but boy is that a power packed scripture. Those verses I read you more than what I said I was going to give you, but anyway, we read all the way through verse 24. But you have to understand that being all of us can look at, even if you just look at the fruit of the spirit. Let’s forget the works of the flesh for a moment. Let’s just look at the gifts of the spirit for a moment.

If you need, if you can tell in your daily life, whether with spouses, children on the job, in schools, in ministry, whatever your hand finds to do, whatever you’re doing, whatever the circle of your life looks like, if you feel that you don’t have enough love in between one another, coming from you towards people. Is joy lacking in your life? Do you actually have peace? Do you have enough peace, or are you living in fear and anxiety and trouble and anxiousness? Do you have patience when hardships come? What does James tell us? Count it all, joy when you come into various trials, because it is working patience in you. It’s working something greater in you.

Are you more upset and frustrated and angry, or are you patient in your long suffering and whatever it is that you’re going through? Do you have kindness? Is kindness coming from you or a short temperedness coming from you? What about goodness Just doing what is good and right, regardless if those around you deserve it or not? Is it coming out of you Faithful? Are you faithful? Are you faithful in the word? Are you faithful in prayer? Are you faithful to the house of God? Are you faithful to the brethren? Are you faithful to what God, what God says that’s good, or are you faithful to the things of the world, to the things of the flesh? Are you faithful to yourself? Are you faithful to what you want? Where is your faithfulness at Gentleness? Are you gentle with those who you encounter? Or are you harsh? Are you sharp? Do you have a sharp tongue? Do you use self-control? Or do you always go back and say I wish I wouldn’t have said that? Why did I do that? I always do that.

I mean, if you go away with that, that means that we need some more fullness of the spirit. Right, each of these things is an indicator for us. These are the evidences. So we need to be full of the Spirit of God, full If I want His fruit coming forth from my life. It will naturally come out when I’m full of the spirit. What does the scripture tell us? That whatever’s in the heart, the abundance of the heart, does what Causes the mouth to speak. So whatever’s coming out of my mouth means I’m full. My heart is full of something. If you want to know what you’re full of, listen to your words. What’s coming out, what is actually being said, what are you placing value on? What do you argue against? You can see what’s going on in your heart based off of the words that are coming out of your mouth.

Some of us. It would do us a good service if we would take our phone and hit record everywhere we go and listen later to what we said. What conversations did we have? Were we those who spoke in gossip about people, or were we those who prayed for people, who were caring about somebody, who were busy about speaking about the Lord, who talked and spoke in terms of joy and expectancy of what God’s doing, just to see what’s coming out? Is anger and malice coming out, is frustration constantly coming out?

We need to know what’s going on. What did David say when he prayed Lord, search my heart, show me if there is any wicked way in me. We should want to know what’s inside of us, because it’s important that we are full of the spirit. Why do we need to be full of the spirit? Because we read the scripture. Those who practice the lusts of the flesh are not going to be those who make it into the kingdom of God. What did the scripture say? I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things the sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, before that those who do such things the sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. So we can say I’m saved all day long, but the proof of if you’ve truly been saved, the proof is in the evidence written.

Many songs One of them had to do with this and it was a popular saying at the time If you were convicted in a court of law for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to actually convict you? What is the evidence that your life is producing Now? This is not a beat you up message. This is an opportunity. Folks, we have what I read you.

Let’s go back to acts 1. This is at the from, in verse 4. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the father. So god has already made a way, he’s already made the preparations so that we do not have to worry about this. If you are struggling in any one of these areas in your life, you can actually be encouraged to know God has already made provision for me and already set the stage for me. If I will simply avail myself to the promise of God and his fullness, then I don’t have to fear any of these old ways, these old flesh nature things, these old habits, these things that control me or compel me habits, these things that control me or compel me. I can die to my flesh and I can live to the Spirit of God. So I want to give you a bunch of scriptures right now.

Let’s look at Acts, chapter two, verses one through four. Many of you will be familiar with this passage already, but it says when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each of them, so as they were filled with the Holy Spirit, well then, what happened? What happened? When they were filled with the Holy Spirit, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth spoke and outcome tongues. The filling of the Holy spirit began to pour out of their mouth, in tongues, because they were full of the Holy spirit. The abundance of their heart was speaking forth as the Spirit gave them utterance Wow, okay, let’s look at Acts, chapter four, and we’re going to look at verse 31. 4.31. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Again. They are so filled with the Holy Spirit that their mouth is speaking, pouring out of them the word of God and the power of God. I love that. Why did he give them this? What did we read so that they would be his witnesses?

In chapter one, acts, chapter one, it says you’re going to be my witnesses. You need to go and be filled with the spirit because you’re going to be my witnesses. There’s going to be evidence that you have been with me. What does that one passage say? I should have looked it up for you. They recognized that they had been with Jesus. Why. There was evidence, what they were saying and how they were acting. The evidence of their life proved they have been with Jesus.

Our lives need to show forth proof. We can say we love Jesus all day long. We can say we believe in him. We can say we said a prayer. We can go to church every week solidly. We can go twice a week, three times a week. You go to prayer meetings. You can go to conferences. You can do all kinds of things. You can read your Bible every day, but what is your life’s evidence? What’s coming out of your mouth. Those are the evidences and the proofs that people will say you’ve been with Jesus. We need evidence in our life, the power that makes us able to not live according to the flesh but according to the spirit, to be led by the spirit.

Listen, if you’ve got decisions to make and you need to know what to do, because you don’t know what to do, you need the power of the Holy Spirit, because he leads. He is our paraclete, he comes alongside of us, he helps us and shows us. He searches the deep things of God. When you need to understand something, he searches the deep things of God. When you need to understand something, he searches the deep things of God. When you need to know what decisions to make, because you’ve got A and B before you and you don’t know which path to take, the Holy Spirit knows, he knows your tomorrows, he knows the plan that God has for you and he will lead you so that you can follow his leading to show you by discernment.

This way will lead to this. This way leads to that you might actually have two good things in front of you. You might have the blessing of God being poured out on you and there are all of these blessings around you, but you’re saying, lord, I want to be full of the Holy Spirit. Show me where you want me to go. That was Paul. He wanted to share the gospel with all these places, but the Holy Spirit would forbid him from going to certain places. He would open doors for him to go to others and forbid him to go to others.

So sometimes we might think, well, that looks good, that’s great. But God might be saying, but that’s not what I want you to do right now. That might look good, but that’s not gonna lead you ultimately, or that’s going to involve things you don’t realize right now. I want you to go where I want you to go. It’s important for us to live our lives daily, walking after the spirit, that we are led by the spirit. I read you that verse already, but you can read that again yourselves.

All right, let’s go to Acts, chapter 9. Acts 9. You know what? Before we do that, let’s go back. Let’s go to Acts, chapter 4, verse 8. So just back up some verses. This is again. You’re going to see this.

Peter is preaching and he’s being confronted by Caiaphas the high priest and others, or, I’m sorry, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas the high priest and others, or, I’m sorry, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas, and then John and Alexander. In fact, we’ll just start at verse 5. On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family, and when they had set them in the midst, they inquired by what power or by what name did you do this? Okay, so they’re questioning Peter and the disciples. It says. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them Again, it affects our mouth and what we say being filled with the Holy Spirit, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed.

Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God to heal the sick. But we see that the power and the infilling, being fully filled with the Holy Spirit, compelled words, compelled action from Peter’s mouth. The action was no fear to stand in the power and boldness of Jesus Christ, to declare the truth of who Jesus was and that they, in order, if they want to be saved, must know this Jesus, and it is by him and his authority that they do this. That is power, that is authority. Those things come from being full of the Holy Spirit. Okay, now let’s look at Acts, chapter six, verse three.

Acts, chapter six, verse three, says therefore, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty, but we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Okay, this was discernment in action. Peter the um Hellenist widows were being neglected, the complaints came against them and they brought the complaints to the apostles. And Peter says listen, this is important, the ministry is important and you need to pick men who are full of the spirit to lead this ministry. If you are someone who has ministry and people underneath you and there are ministries you are responsible for it is your responsibility to not only yourself be full of the Holy Spirit, but that you are to appoint people who are full of the Holy Spirit, because it is by that Holy Spirit, by that fullness of the Holy Spirit, that they also have wisdom and will know how to properly handle the work of the ministry, whatever it is that’s being given to them to task.

This was food distribution. They didn’t even want them distributing food unless they were full of the Spirit of God. Why? Because in your distribution of food we can go back to the passage. We just read All the things that are the evidences that you need. When dealing with people and their needs, you need the fruit of the spirit evident in your life. They need to know who you are being, who’s actually feeding them, who you really represent. They need to see the evidence. So there is no light task that you do for God that we should not all be desiring to be full of the spirit. Okay, now let’s look at um. Let’s go to Acts, chapter nine. Acts, chapter nine. We’re almost through this, guys. Acts, chapter nine.

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Let’s read two verses 17 and 18.

9, 17 and 18. So ananias. Ananias departed and entered the house and, laying his hands on him, he said brother saul, the lord jesus who appeared to you on the road by Now, why would he need to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Why does Saul, who now we know is going to be referenced all the time as Paul why does he need to be full of the Holy Spirit? Well, what did we see? He was full of the flesh, his evidences and his proofs of what he was living. Even though he thought he was doing it for God, he actually thought he was defending God and doing a work for God by coming against the Christians by hauling him off and putting him in prison and by standing by and giving his okay and head nod to having Stephen, who was full of the Holy Spirit, who was feeding the widows and those in need. And he was the one who said, yes, murder him. And stood by and gave the go ahead to take his life, to have him stoned. Why? Now, here he is. Jesus has confronted him on the road to Damascus and he’s blind and can’t see.

And the Holy Spirit, ananias, who’s full of the Holy Spirit, hears instructions. Go to this man. And he was afraid. He said, lord, this man is doing all kinds of harm to those who are believers. And Jesus says, no, I have chosen him to be a mouthpiece. In fact, let me find that for you, because this is what’s so important about this. What’s so important about this? Let’s go to verse 10.

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ananias, and he said here I am Lord. And the Lord said to him rise and go to the street called straight at the house of Judas. Look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying. And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias. Come in and lay hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem and here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Okay, this is so important. We know. We read.

Most of the New Testament is from Paul. His life went from that who evidenced the opposite of God, that which would not inherit the kingdom of God, to then becoming his witness, not only to the people of his generation but for all people until Jesus comes back. He is recorded in the canon. He was to be a bold witness who ended up giving his life, who gave his life as a witness for Jesus Christ. You cannot do that without being full of the Holy Spirit. You just can’t. He can’t speak with the boldness he needs to speak until the abundance of his heart is full of the Holy Spirit to be able to do what he’s called to do. If we’re going to speak at all for Jesus Christ, we have got to make it our desire and aim to be full of the Holy Spirit and not full of the flesh, to walk after the Holy Spirit and not walk after the flesh. All right, let’s go to Acts 11. I know you’re getting this, we’re almost there. Acts 11, verse 24. Actually, let’s back up. Let’s go to verse 22.

The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord and with steadfast purpose. Faithful to the Lord and with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great many people were added to the Lord. This is to the church in Antioch. So this is again the man who comes and boldly proclaims and gets so many others to come and be followers of Jesus as well. Is what? A good man who is full of the Holy Spirit. Goodness, full of goodness. That’s evidence of the Holy Spirit. That’s why Jesus said no one’s good, only God is good. You can’t show forth goodness without God, period.

Whatever goodness we think we have is filthy rags. Our goodness, our righteousness, the Bible says, is as filthy rags. You can only actually produce goodness by the fruit of the Spirit. There is no good in man, jesus, why do you call me good? For no one is good but God. If only God is good, then only goodness can be produced by the fruit of the Spirit and only goodness can be produced by the fruit of the spirit. Anything I think I do that’s good. Not having God is filthy rags before God. It’s filthy rags. It is not good at all. It could be self-righteousness, it could be for, it could be self-pity. It could all be about the flesh and have nothing to do with what is actually good.

Okay, let’s go to last two verses in Acts, acts 13, 9. 13, 9. Says but Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said you, son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked and straight, making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time. Okay, this whole passage right here is when Barnabas and Saul go to Cyprus and they encounter a man who is doing magic. A man who is doing magic. So it’s sorcery, it is the power of the devil and he’s coming against and trying to stop Paul and Barnabas from spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. So what does the power of the Holy Spirit?

We read it that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was able to confront evil. But the Holy Spirit, he was able to confront evil and speak the truth about it and pronounce proper judgment. He was able to know proper judgment. Folks, we need, don’t you need, don’t you need, to know what is right, what to stand up for, what to stand against and to have the boldness to speak. We live in a time, right now in our world, where we need to be bold people who are not afraid to say what the truth is, regardless of what comes against us.

I read just yesterday in an article there are, because of all of these riots and pro-Palestinian, anti-israel, anti-semitism camps everywhere on these college campuses and one sorority group got sick and tired of it. Bless their hearts, and these boys went to stand up in boldness for the country and for Israel and took down a Palestinian flag and raised back up the American flag. While they were being, things were being thrown at them, they were being taunted, they were being harassed. They stood up in boldness. Folks, we need to be able to do that for Jesus Christ. Do you know that in America we are so weak. It is so pathetic that if you go to China, you want to find a real church. You go to the underground church in China, the real church.

These people are imprisoned and die for their faith. Every day, muslim countries, people who stand up for their faith. They are murdered, they are beheaded. Their families are tortured. They go through all kinds of horrible oh gosh, there’s not even the right words for the evil that they endure. For the sake of Christ. That is real conversion. Those people are full of the Holy Spirit standing for Jesus Christ. We have got to stir ourselves and stand for Jesus word and his truth.

Okay, last verse, acts 13, 52, 13, 52. And the well, I better go back up. Let’s go to, uh, verse 49. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region, but the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Again, joy comes from the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It is the gift of the, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, full of joy. Even though they were completely persecuted, they were still full of joy. Why? Because they were full of the Holy Spirit.

All right, I’m going to close with these last few thoughts. John the Baptist, in order to do what God had called him to do, to be a prophet, to be the one who made straight the way of the Lord before Jesus came and was made manifest on the scene. Okay, what was important about this in Luke? We’re going to see. I want you to go there just real quick.

Luke, chapter one, and we’re going to look at three different verses, because this was imperative. So if you, whatever ministry you have, even if that’s to your family, to your children, okay, you need to hear these three verses. Luke 1, verse 15, says For he will be great before the Lord and he must not drink wine or strong drink and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. So the command was coming how they were to, how Elizabeth was to carry John to prepare him for his life, so how she was to behave while pregnant and how that was to translate and manifest in his life, and how he was to live, still according to those laws, in order that he would be able to do what God had called him to do. Okay, in fact, let’s go, let’s back up, um, let’s look at verse 14, and you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord and he must not drink wine or strong drink and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. So, following these commands, john is already filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb. This one scripture should by itself be powerful enough for you to understand why we do not abort babies, because even in the womb they are called, they have purpose and they can be full of the Holy Spirit. You’re not, it’s not just tissue, that is God involved, the spirit of God involved, and that child is already following the mandates of God in the womb. We do not abort children. We stand for the life that God is creating and making and preparing.

Just as if you had to go. Let’s say you’re a speaker and you’re going to go speak at an event and you’re going to take time to prepare for that event. Okay, you’re going to. You’re going to prepare yourself. Think of a wedding, how a woman prepares for the wedding. She has to get the dress, she has to think of all the preparations, she. She prepares herself physically, she prepares herself mentally, she prepares for a home that’s coming. She, there’s so many preparations, even just for the day itself.

But you prepare for your becoming, for your becoming. It’s no different. In the womb, you are being prepared for your becoming. You are alive, you are a person. You are able to be full of the Holy Spirit and following God’s commands in the womb. Now, this of course, takes the cooperation of mom, who should be full of the Holy Spirit. But all of these things are the way that God designed it. Okay, verse 41, luke 1, verse 41.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. When John is born, she must be full of the Holy Spirit, able to raise that child the way that God wants her to raise that child so he can become who he’s supposed to become. If you are a mama at home and you are raising children, you need to be full of the Holy Spirit so that you enable those children and raise them in such a way that they are full of the Holy Spirit and able to do what God’s called them to do. Last verse Luke 1, verse 67. And his father, zachariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesying. I’m not going to read the whole thing that he prophesied, but he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the father needed to be full of the Holy Spirit too. In order to raise this young boy to become the forerunner of Jesus Christ, both of his parents needed to be full of the Holy Spirit. Not just John the Baptist, his parents, folks, all of us, no matter what role we play, need the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We need the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 9.14 says it was by the Spirit that Jesus was able to offer himself without blemish to God. It was by the Holy Spirit he was able to go to the cross for us without blemish. It was. We are called to walk perfect before God. God did that. He spoke that to Abraham walk perfect before me. We read that I believe it’s in Hebrews. We have to walk before the Lord and we are to do that perfectly. How do you do that perfectly when we are imperfect people? By the Holy Spirit, we walk by the Holy Spirit. Walking by the Holy Spirit, there is no law against these things. We read that in Galatians. There is no law against the fruit of the Spirit, and all of those things prove that you are walking by and full of the Holy Spirit. There is no law against those things. So that means that there is no blemish in those things. How am I to walk without blemish before God? I walk by the leading of the Holy Spirit. I say no to sin. I am not full of my flesh. I am not full of the old man, I am full of the Holy Spirit. I am full of the Holy Spirit.

The power we need is from the Spirit and not carnal. We don’t need carnal power. What you can do on your own is worthless. Luke 24, 49 was sending the promise to be. Let’s read it Luke 24. I’m going there with you. Luke 24, verse 49. This is we already know this, but this is reiterated from Luke.

Then we had jumped to Acts to continue his reading, his book that he was writing. It says you are witnesses of these things and, behold, I am sending the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. In order to do it, you need the power of God, order to do it, you need the power of God. Jesus said without me, you can do nothing, nothing. Now you could have a portion of him. Like I said, we could be new baby Christians and we can have a part of him and we can do some things. We can do some things for the Lord and those things are beautiful and right and good. It’s the power of God, folks, is the depths. If you want more power in your life, if you need more freedom from old things, you need the power of the Holy Spirit. You need more of the Holy Spirit. John 6. Well, let’s Spirit. John 6. Well, let’s go to John 14. These are the last two scriptures. I’m sorry we have three scriptures. I don’t want to lie to you. Let’s go to John 14. Thank you for sticking with me. I hope this is encouraging you. It’s encouraging me.

4.16. I will not leave you as orphans. This is part of the promise. This is what the promise the Father is giving to us. This is what is enveloped in the giving of the fullness of the Spirit of God, being filled with the Holy Spirit. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me Because I live. You also will live In that day. You will know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you.

I wanted to. Oh, which one was it? Oh, which one was it? Let’s back up. I accidentally skipped it. I read too far ahead, verse 15 and 16. If you love me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells in you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. This is speaking of the Holy Spirit.

Okay, let’s look at John 6, verse 63. And it says it is the spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all. Folks, no willpower, no fleshly carnal power, no position of power will help you be free. No job title, no amount of who you know and what groups you’re in with will give you what you need. No substance, no fleshly thing that and carnal thing that you could do or pleasure that you could partake in can give you what you need. What you need is the spirit of God. You need to be filled with the spirit of God. Why do you need the power of God? Why do you need it?

Look at Romans 15. This is where we’ll close in Romans, romans 15. And my pages are sticking together Romans 15, verse 13. May the God of hope fill you. I’m going to read that again. Fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. Do you need hope today? Do you need hope? Are you battling in your flesh? Do you need freedom?

Folks, what we need is to be full of the Holy Spirit. Make him your, make spending time with the Lord in his word, in prayer, with the saints in his house, doing his work, being his disciple, showing forth his evidence, spreading the gospel by your behavior and by your words. May all of these things be your endeavor. They come by being with him. They come with waiting on him. When the disciples were in the upper room waiting on him. When the disciples were in the upper room, they were waiting. They were told not to leave until they had received it. And sometimes, folks, you just have to do that. You have to wait in his presence until you get it. Wait in his presence till you are filled with the spirit of God, wait in his presence until you know, all of a sudden, the boldness comes, the power comes, the ability comes, the answers come, the knowledge of what to do and how to do. It come. It comes by being in his presence, it comes by the filling of the Holy Spirit.

I pray you make that your endeavor today. May we be good witnesses for Jesus Christ and may we walk after the spirit and not after the flesh. Let me pray for you, father. We just thank you for the promise of the Father, the gift of the Father that you gave to us, that we are not left orphans, that you did not want us to live this life without hope and without power, without joy and the ability to stand, that we don’t have to walk our lives out in fear and in weakness and in vulnerability, but we can walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and do what seems impossible. Thank you, father, for your Spirit.

I pray right now for every single person who is watching or listening to this today that, by their invitation to you, that they are filled with the Holy Spirit right now, in Jesus’ name, and that whatever answers they need, whatever boldness they need, whatever words and arguments or discernment or words of encouragement, whatever they need, comes right now by the power of the Holy Spirit, and they will know what to do and how to do it, and their lives will be the evidence and the fruit that they have been with you and that we will be world changers for you. Jesus, we love you. We are grateful for the sacrifice that you made for us. You, jesus, we love you. We are grateful for the sacrifice that you made for us. We want to live our lives for you. Thank you, father, for the price that you paid in our stead. We want to live a life that gives glory to you, that walks worthy of the callings and the giftings that you have given us, and we give you all the praise and all the thanks for what you’re doing today and going to do, and it is in Jesus’ name. We pray, amen.

Thank you so much for joining me today. If this was a blessing to you, I would encourage you to hit that like button, give me that thumbs up and subscribe, if you have not already. I’d love to hear from you If you have any testimonies, prayer requests that you would like to send to me. You can do that by sending me an email at mail at jamielucecom. You can also visit me or see any other old material. The latest things that have come out is also my blogs are on there. You can also contact me that way, send emails that way, but all of that is at jamielucecom. It was my pleasure to be with you today. We will see you next.