What’s a powerful weapon a Christian can use to fight fear? Saturation. Becoming filled with the Holy Spirit to the point of overflow. If someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, it’s impossible for a demon to oppress that person. Filled means filled. Imagine a sponge so saturated with water, it can’t absorb another drop. When it’s placed on the kitchen counter, water oozes out of it. Being filled with the Holy Spirit means there’s no room for anything but the fullness of Jesus. Jesus oozes out of the believer. That’s why Christians must be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). We must be fully yielded to him who dwells in us. We are not to be filled with anything earthly, but instead, we are to be fully led, influenced, and controlled by the One who lives in us. The Greek verb translated “filled” in Ephesians 5:18 is in the imperfect tense. It refers to a continual, daily, regular infilling. It suggests that as we serve Jesus, there is an emptying of him in us to a dying world. That’s why we need regular, daily infillings. As a car runs out of gas, so can we be emptied of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. Christians need daily times with Jesus, times that are filled with prayer and God’s Word. We need regular encounters with the Spirit’s love, grace, and fruit. It’s imperative we make this a habit. And if we don’t? We can open our hearts to demonic influence. The evil one and his minions will look for any portal that gives them an opportunity to attack. As a coach spends countless hours studying game films to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses, so does the enemy of our souls try to find every available vulnerability in us. We will - eventually - become more like what we focus on. We must ask ourselves: Will we focus on good or evil? Faith or fear? The Creator or a creature? Christ or chaos? The more saturated we become with the Holy Spirit, the more access we have to his power. The more access we have to his power, the more potent our fight and victory against the evil one and all his wiles. The power of the Holy Spirit in us is a weapon that causes fear to flee.
David and Marilynn Chadwick
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