This episode of "Be Filled With the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)" focuses on the importance of having a pure heart to see God and be filled with His Holy Spirit. As we align our heart with God's Word and live a life of holiness, we maintain a heart open to God's presence, and enter into greater spiritual fullness. The BEATITUDES (Matthew 5:3-10) describe the key HEART ATTITUDES that are necessary for us to be FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT in our soul. The WORD of God imparts FAITH to our HEART (Ro 10:17), so we can SEE God’s love, grace & blessings through our spiritual eyes of faith. When we SEE that God’s Spirit lives in us, and is willing to fill us, then we can connect with Him by faith and receive Him to fill us. Our spiritual eyes & ears are in our heart. Our capacity to hear and see God and know God is determined by the condition of our heart (Prov 4:23, Acts 28:27). It is through FAITH that we SEE God, and connect with God, who is Spirit. PURITY of heart is not just CLEANNESS (freedom from moral evil), but HOLINESS (a heart devoted to the Lord). Heb 12:14: “Pursue peace with all people, and HOLINESS, without which no one will SEE the LORD.” Matt 5:8: “Blessed are the PURE in HEART, for they shall SEE GOD.” PURITY of HEART is a single-eyed devotion to God, living for His glory, looking to Him alone for the supply of His Spirit. It means keeping our eyes, focused on Him (James 4:4,8). HOLINESS is measures the quality of our UNION with God. It happens through our DEDICATION to God and our CONSECRATION by God, by His HOLY SPIRIT filling, anointing and possessing us. The more we are FILLED with the SPIRIT, the HOLIER we are. It means to be set apart from sin and set apart to God, where He takes possession of us by His Holy Spirit, setting us apart from anything else that might claim our heart. Only the Presence of Holy Spirit within us makes us holy, so the more we surrender to Him, the more His Spirit can take possession of our heart, and so the holier we become. We must make a quality decision to put God first, that is, whenever there is a conflict between God’s will and some demand from something or someone else, you have it settled in your heart that God comes first. To have a PURE HEART is to have a single-minded devotion to God - this is HOLINESS. A key spiritual law is that God will possess whatever is offered to Him for His possession. The more of your soul that you offer to God, the more of your soul God, through His Spirit, will possess. Only GOD is HOLY in and of Himself, so whatever HOLINESS you have comes from the HOLY SPIRIT (the Presence of God) within you. Your HOLINESS is produced by God’s PRESENCE in your soul. So, surrender your soul to God and He will set you apart to Himself by filling you with His Spirit. Your SPIRITUAL GROWTH is determined by how much of your soul is filled with His Spirit. In the OIL MIRACLE (2Kings 4:1-7), God FILLED with OIL (symbolic of the HOLY SPIRIT) all the empty vessels that were presented to Him to be filled. The flow of oil only stopped when there were no empty vessels left to fill. Thus, how much we are filled with the Spirit depends on how much of our hearts we offer and surrender to God, asking Him to fill us. He will fill whatever we offer (surrender) to Him. Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s HEART is in the HAND of the LORD (the HOLY SPIRIT), who is in him as RIVERS of WATER; He turns it (his heart) wherever He wishes.”
