«　WEEK 8　DAY 6　»

　　Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

　　Rom. 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.

　　

　　How can we be filled with the Triune God? We can be filled with the Triune God through thorough prayer and confession. When you began the Full-Time Training, you renewed your consecration. This is good, but you also have to find some time in your busy schedule to kneel down before the Lord by yourself and to thoroughly pray and confess. This is most precious. At the beginning of this time, you may tell the Lord, “O Lord, forgive me. Although You have forgiven me of all my sins, I have never had a thorough confession and a thorough dealing. Today I would like to confess all of my sins thoroughly before You. Please shine on me!”

　　When you pray in this way, do not seek for feeling. You have to believe that the Lord's Spirit is with you. You also do not need to confess according to a sequence. Simply confess according to what you sense within and according to what you remember. Confess your sins to the Lord one by one until, according to your inner sense and your memory, you have nothing more to confess. Once you have done this, you should simply believe that you have been filled in your spirit with the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. Every Christian should have one time in which he thoroughly confesses in this way. In medical science this is equivalent to changing the blood cells in your entire body in order to cleanse away all the germs and filthiness from your system for the sake of your health. Every one of you needs to be filled with the Spirit in this way.

　　How much the Spirit can fill you within depends on how much room you give Him. The more room you give Him, the more He fills you. Similarly, the amount of air that fills a bottle depends on how much space there is in the bottle. If half of the bottle is filled with soil, air can fill only half of the bottle. The more the soil is removed from the bottle, however, the more the air will fill it. In the same way, the more you remove the defilement of sin and the filthiness that is within you, the more the Holy Spirit will be able to fill you. As you empty out, the Spirit will fill you. When you have completely emptied yourself of all filthiness, then you will also be completely filled with the Spirit (Vessels Useful unto the Lord, chap. 7).

　　When we get up in the morning, it is a good practice not to think about other things except about Jesus! However, it is easier to say than to do it because our heart is occupied by many matters. Nevertheless, we should endeavour to exercise. I hope from today onward you would practice to call upon the name of the Lord immediately after you wake up and continue to call and speak Him throughout the day. Whenever you call upon the Lord's name, the Spirit will be with you. Whenever you speak the Lord's words, the Spirit will be with you. Eventually, you will be filled by the Triune God as the Spirit because you breathe Him and speak Him (Translated).

　　

　　After we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we still have to do a few things to maintain the filling. First, we should not quench the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). The Spirit causes us to be burning in spirit (Rom. 12:11) and also causes us to fan into flame the gift which is in us (2 Tim. 1:6). Hence, we should not quench the Spirit.

　　second, we should not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). To grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him and to not walk according to Him in our daily living (Rom. 8:4). How do we know when the Holy Spirit is grieved? We can know by our living. If we are not joyful in our Christian life, this is a sign that the Holy Spirit is grieving in us. It is because the Holy Spirit is grieving in us that we are not joyful. If we are joyful, this indicates that the Holy Spirit in us is also joyful. A sister testified that she once had prayed to the extent that her whole being was refreshed, light-hearted, and so full of joy. This is proof that the Holy Spirit in her was joyful. Hence, to not grieve the Holy Spirit is to not grieve yourself.

　　Third, on the positive side, we must obey the Holy Spirit. In Acts 5 Peter said, “The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him” (v. 32). This shows that the Holy Spirit is for us to obey. Obedience is the way and the requirement for us to enjoy the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:4 says, “Do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” This is the way to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the requirement for maintaining a life of being filled with the Holy Spirit. We should not only study these verses but also put them into practice in our daily life (Vessels Useful to the Lord, chap. 10).