Where’s Your Refill???
Briefly walk with me through these Scriptures. There’s a point, I promise.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
In Acts chapter 1, Jesus says, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
That word “power” in the Greek is dynamis. It means strength, power, and ability. Strength, power, and ability to do what? To walk upright, to resist the devil, to resist temptation, power against sin, power to perform miracles, signs, and wonders, power to heal and deliver, power to persevere, to endure, power to preach, teach, and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to do it with boldness.
After Jesus’ ascension, they return to Jerusalem, where 120 of them are, essentially, “in community.” Scripture says, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
In Acts chapter 2, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common.”
In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John heal a lame man who had been disabled from birth. Everyone marveled at the man’s healing. Peter uses this as an opportunity to preach the Gospel to the Jews. In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John are arrested for preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The religious authorities wanted to know about the lame man’s healing. They are brought before the religious authorities, and the religious authorities ask them, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.”
Why? Because Scripture says, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in POWER.”
And Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive POWER. Peter and John were operating in POWER. They were moving in miracles, signs, and wonders by way of POWER. They were preaching the Gospel by way of POWER. Their boldness was by way of POWER. Throughout Acts, we can see how tangible it was. The people saw and believed. Even those in opposition, the very ones who detained the apostles, concluded that they had been with Jesus. They didn’t want the message to spread, so they threatened them and then threatened them again.
“So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”
“When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God…”
“…Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
They were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit. These were the SAME people that were filled in Acts chapter 2! They were filled AGAIN. WE CAN BE FILLED AGAIN!
The Spirit of the Lord will continue to fall on all flesh. And it’s not just so we can be filled, but so that we can be poured out in such a way that glorifies God, that souls might be saved by the power of the Gospel as we go forth in boldness! The saints were filled and then refilled again! Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit if you have not received Him as the wonderful gift that He is. And if you’re already Spirit-filled, ask Him for your refill. Ask Him to refill you like He did for the saints in Acts. He’s willing to fill your cup. He can trust you to be poured out.
Scripture References
Joel 2:28–32; Acts 1:7–8, 14; Acts 2:1–4, 42–44; Acts 3:1–10; Acts 4:7–14, 18, 23–24, 29–31; 1 Corinthians 4:20.
