The Book of Acts: Message Ten
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
He blew hot
and cold. He would grow in grace during a meeting,
only to go into disgrace when it was over. During a
revival he got stirred. It was noticed by an old
woman who knew him well, and who had witnessed to him
of his waywardness. So when he prayed with emotion,
"Fill me, Lord, with Thy Holy Spirit!" she
exclaimed, "Don't do it, Lord, he leaks."
That wasn't true of the first Christians. Concerning
them it's written in Acts 2:4, "They were all
filled with the Holy Ghost."
It may be that
you're saying, "I long to be filled with the
Holy Ghost, but I'm not. Why? What's involved?"
The first thing is the All of Sin. All sin and sham,
all wickedness and worldliness, all fraud and
falsehood, all doubt and disbelief must be forsaken.
"Oh," but you say, "I can't put away
my sins." No, you can't in your own strength.
But if you're willing, God will put them away for
you. He'll purge and purify you. He'll cleanse and
keep you. He declares, "From all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse
you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give
you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in My
statutes."
The 2nd
thing that's involved with the filling of the Holy
Ghost is the All of Surrender. The Bible says,
"We are His witnesses of these things; and so is
also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that
obey Him." The word "obey" is little
in spelling, but large in scope. It means to give God
your heart, your whole heart, and everything with
your heart. It means to give God all that you are
from top to toe. He can't cleanse and keep that which
isn't consecrated. He can't guide that which He
doesn't govern. He can't purge that which He doesn't
posses. If you want the fullness of the Spirit, you
must follow Him fully. If you want to be holy, you
must be wholly His. You must say to Him,
"Heavenly Father, all that I am and own, I give
to Thee. I surrender all absolutely and unreservedly
and forever. Use me as Thou wilt, do with me as Thou
wilt, and send me where Thou wilt. Thy will be done
absolutely with me, for me and in me."
The 3rd
thing that's involved with the filling of the Holy
Ghost is the All of the Savior. Christ isn't valued
at all, unless He is valued above all. Christ isn't
Lord at all, unless He is Lord of all. Now there's no
risk in making the Savior all in your heart and home,
all in your behavior and business. He is infinite
wisdom, and He'll choose for you only that which is
for your good and His glory. He is infinite love, and
He won't allow anything to come to you that will
defeat or destroy you. His love for you is greater
than the love of a human father, and more tender than
the love of a human mother. He knows what's best for
you, and He'll bring it to pass. He knows what's good
for you, and He'll govern you. So let Him be all and
do all. Let Him reign alone and rule over all. Let
there be nothing in your heart or home in which He
doesn't operate and over which He doesn't rule. Let
Him be everything, and let Him have everything in
order that He might fill everything with His
fullness.
The 4th
thing that's involved with the filling of the Holy
Spirit is the All of the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus
came to earth, He had His own body. But when the Holy
Spirit came, He came without a body. God could have
made one for Him, but He didn't. He gives you the
honor of yielding your body to the Holy Spirit, to be
His dwelling place on earth. If you've been washed in
the blood of the Lamb, then yours is a holy body,
washed whiter than snow, and you'll be accepted by
the Spirit when you yield all to Him. Now you have
all of Him, but does He have all of you? Won't you
yield your all to Him? She was being entertained in a
home where the guest room was over the kitchen, and
approached by an outside entrance. It was lovely, but
when it was desirable for her to enter another
section of the house, she found every door locked
fast. Seized with a strange sense of loneliness, she
returned to the one room that was hers to occupy. O,
the Spirit of God desires to enter every room of your
heart. May He? If you'll take Him into every room,
He'll undertake to fill you. Say with me,
"I take
the blessed Holy Ghost, I take the power of
Pentecost,
To fill me to
the uttermost, I take, He undertakes."
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version..
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the book of Acts.
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
