Lesson 3-5 - How You Can Know When You are Filled with the Holy Spirit

Objective: To experience assurance of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Read: Galatians 5:16-26

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Memorize: Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

1. Results of the Spirit-Filled Life
2. Fact, Faith, and Feelings
3. Life Application

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  22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Which specific fruit of the Spirit do you need the most of right now?

2. Read Acts 1:8.  8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

How do you see this power at work in your life?

How does John 15:16 apply to you today?

16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

3. How do you identify with the following verses?

I Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
and Ephesians 4:11

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

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  18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Fact, Faith, and Feelings

1.) Fact: Why should we be filled with the Spirit?

Ephesians 5:18  18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit

2.) Faith: What is our assurance that we have been filled with the Spirit?

I John 5:14-15  14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

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  21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

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?

If you answered yes to those questions truthfully, then you are undoubtly filled with the Holy Spirit.

3.) What does that assurance mean to you now?

If your answer was no to any of those five questions, what do you suppose that indicates?

What will you do to change your attitude or actions?

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