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Every true believer HAS the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9), but not every believer is FILLED with the Holy Spirit. The Bible commands us in Ephesians 5:18 to BE FILLED with the Spirit. That command is not just a onetime event; it is to be ongoing. We are to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit.

There are several requirements to prepare your heart to be filled with the Spirit.

Put CHRIST (instead of yourself) at the center of your life.

Passionately pursue Jesus and HIS agenda rather than your own interests and ambitions.

Know UP FRONT the true cost of following Jesus.

Jesus told a teacher of the law, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). Following Jesus may require living with little or nothing, having substandard shelter or no shelter at all. Are you ready to be THAT devoted to Jesus?

Jesus told a rich man, “Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." Jesus exposed the idol in the rich man's heart. He went away sad, because he had great wealth, and it appears he was not prepared to part with it.

The Bible NEVER says it's wrong to be wealthy. It’s the LOVE of money that is wrong (I Timothy 6:9).

Hold your money and possessions with an open hand.

If pleasing your family or anyone else is more important to you than honoring, pleasing and obeying God, you can't be Jesus’ disciple. (See Luke 14:26.)

If you are too proud to admit before others that you even know Jesus because you are concerned they will reject you, then you are not a genuine follower of Jesus, and He won't acknowledge you before His Father in heaven. (See Matthew 10:32.)

Jesus said whoever lives for comfort and the good life will lose his very soul and miss the very purpose for which he was created. (See Luke 9:23.)

After hearing hard teachings of Jesus like this, “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him" (John 6:66).

The basic problem the rich man had is He wanted Christ as His SERVANT but not His MASTER. He wanted Christ to meet his need (for eternal life) but not to tell him how to live his life.

Commit to a radical a relationship with Jesus.

Salvation, though totally free, is costly. Through your friendship with Jesus, your life will be transformed, you will become more like HIM, and you will be given a purpose that is worth living and dying for. Jesus wants ALL of you; He simply won't settle for anything less.

Give Jesus exclusive rights as Lord and King of your life to the exclusion of everyone and everything else, even legitimate and good things. When you pray and invite Jesus into your life, He promises to never leave you or forsake you; and you are committing to grow closer to Him, to know Him more, love Him more, and to follow Him. Commit to believe what Jesus says. And commit to obey what He says.

NOT everyone WANTS TO or is prepared TO DO what is required to live in the fullness of the Spirit. Sadly, many people are pursuing the temporary things of life rather than pursuing Christ. Their spiritual gifts and talents are often unused, and the fruit of the Spirit is not very apparent in their lives.

If you want to know God and experience all He has ordained for you, then give Him ALL of you.

Study Questions

IN - PURSUE RELATIONSHIP

How important is it to follow instructions to prepare for a significant event such as a medical procedure or a job interview?
How do you respond when people tell you what to do? How do you respond when God tells you what to do?

UP - PURSUE GOD

Read Romans 8:9; 1 Cor 3:16; Eph 5:18 in several translations. Discuss the terms belong, temple, lives in you, and filled in the context of these verses. Which term excites you the most? Which scares you the most? Explain.
Read Matthew 8:18-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 9:23-25. What is going on in these passages? Why can Jesus not accept just anybody as a disciple? What demands is He making? What do you think of those demands?

OUT - PURSUE MISSION

Jesus is clear on counting the cost of being a disciple of His. When in your walk with Christ did you come to terms with ‘counting the cost’ of a deeper relationship with Him? Tell your story.
What is Jesus inviting you to surrender so you can walk more closely with Him and live more fully filled with the Spirit? What is your next step? Pray for one another for courage and obedience.

Personal Reflection

Consider your relationship with Jesus. Is He whispering to you to draw nearer to Him? Is He nudging you to step out into something? What will it cost you? Tell someone about what you are hearing from God.

The Word (NIV)

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

Matthew 8:18–22 ¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Mark 10:17–22 ¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

₁₈ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Luke 9:23–25 ²³Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?