There is an overflow that comes when we learn to dwell in the presence of the Lord and receive from Him. This overflowing of the Spirit produces dramatic changes in us.
Ephesians 3:17-19 NKJV that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
This fullness is not measured by what you can contain, but by the overflow of what happens as the Spirit and fullness of God flows through us.
This was the testimony of Jesus after the Holy Spirit descended upon Him immediately after He was baptized in water. Suddenly, Jesus began to be led by the Spirit. After He defeated Satan in the wilderness temptations, Jesus began ministering in the power of the Spirit.
Luke 4:14 NKJV Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
It is note worthy that even the greatest attack of Satan was not able to quench the power of the Spirit that was upon Christ. This is a testimony of the work of the Spirit in you. Even Satan’s greatest work to destroy cannot quench the ministry and work of a person who is filled with the Spirit.
While ministering, Jesus took the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and read these words.
Luke 4:18 NKJV “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed…
According to this text, Jesus’ ministry was accomplished from the overflow of the Holy Spirit that anointed Him. Take note of the fact that the magnitude of the need was not greater than the power of the Spirit that was upon Him.
While Jesus was ministering, He spoke of John the Baptist.
Matthew 11:11 NKJV “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
What was it about John that made him so great?
The answer is found in what the angel Gabriel told Zacharias about the conception and birth of John.
Luke 1:15 NKJV For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
How this happened was a miracle. After Mary had been told that she would give birth to the Messiah, she went to the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
Luke 1:41 NKJV And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
John was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. The overflow of the Holy Spirit produced tremendous results in John’s life and ministry.
Smith Wigglesworth was a Methodist evangelist in England.
In 1907, he experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. In 1924, he was credentialed with the Assemblies of God. He said, “There never was a weaker man on the platform than me. All natural things in my life point exactly opposite to my being able to stand and preach the gospel.” He was a man of short stature but he said, “I am a giant inside.” He said, “The Secret is that the Holy Ghost came.”
Before Jesus ascended back to the Father in heaven, He met with His disciples in Jerusalem.
Acts 1:4-5 NKJV And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Jesus was talking about something that they were going to experience and receive when they were filled and overflowing with the Holy Spirit. What would happen would be just as dramatic and real as being baptized in water.
As they were assembled in Jerusalem waiting for the Promise from heaven, on the Day of Pentecost something dramatic happened.
Acts 2:1-4 NKJV When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The overflow that happened as a result of their being filled with the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church. Thousands of people immediately were added to the household of believers. They were Holy Spirit empowered to become living witnesses of the resurrected Christ. In power they turned the world upside down, (Acts 17:6). That is a testimony of an overflowing life.
Jesus told His disciples this would happen.
Acts 1:8 NKJV “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This overflow that comes from being filled with the Spirit of God continued to dramatically influence their lives. Even when they faced persecution, the overflow of the Spirit produced evidences of God’s presence.
Acts 13:52 NKJV And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
There is something about our innermost being that is able to contain more than our physical being.
1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Do you understand the infinite nature of God the Holy Spirit?
You are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Too often we attempt to minimize the Holy Spirit to the size of our physical stature. God has designed our inner most being in such a way that we can be the temple of the Holy Spirit. You should know that the Holy Spirit is more vast than you. This is why there will be an overflow when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. God wants to fill you in such a way that you become a conduit for all that the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish in this world.
Ephesians 5:18 says, “Be filled with the Spirit…”
When the Holy Spirit comes in and fills you there will be an overflow that shows how you are connected to Christ.
Ephesians 3:17-19 NKJV that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Listen to this!
When the Holy Spirit comes in and fills you, there will be such an overflow of power and presence of God that you will be filled with joy. When He fills you, the manifestation of Christ’s work and life will be evident in you. It is through the entrance and administration of the Spirit that the fruit of the Spirit is produced. By the power of the Spirit in you, the gifts and ministries of the Spirit are given. When you are filled with the Spirit, God sets some new boundaries of possibilities. He is able to do through and in you things that would otherwise be impossible. You become mighty through God and are enabled through Him to pull down strongholds of the enemy. Miracles and gifts of the Spirit will begin to be seen in your life as you are filled and are overflowing with His presence.
When Jesus Christ came up out of the grave on resurrection ground, everything was changed.
The mark of the new life in Christ Jesus is the power of the Holy Spirit filling and overflowing us. This precludes (shuts out) the former life. It opens up a new world of possibilities and new realities.
Invite the Holy Spirit to come in and begin working in power in you.
There is going to be an overflow of God’s presence when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
Doctrine and training are very important for us to begin to know and understand all that God has given us in His word.
His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway. Along with the doctrine and training, we must come into the reality of being filled with the fullness of God. This is knowing Christ and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit working within us. Christ in you is different than Christ in a book. When the Spirit of Christ begins working in you, your life will be transformed. This is more than a testimony of what Christ did when He walked the streets of Galilee. This is the vibrant powerful Spirit of God working and living in you. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your body (His temple), He will constantly and consistently take you into a deeper dimension of fellowship with Christ. He is working resurrection life into us. You may be small in stature, but you are a giant inside. The Holy Spirit will work out everything that pertains to Christ in us.
