FILLED

           In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13). When we accept Jesus, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness we start to have the Holy Spirit in our lives. Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit.

In Luke 1:41 Elizabeth the mother of John heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Just by hearing Mary’s voice and the spirit revealing to Elizabeth that Mary is the mother of the Lord, filled the baby with the Holy Spirit in her womb. Luke 1:15 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. Luke 1:67 Zacharias the father of John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy. Verse 76, and you child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. He is speaking about John his son who will prepare the way for Jesus and his ministry. John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Jesus is of the Spirit, Matthew 1:18 “She was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” In Verse 20, the Angel tells Joseph, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:16-17 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Baptized by John, Jesus at this moment was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1) and was led into the wilderness. For forty days he was tempted by Satan and filled with the Spirit he was able to conquer the devil’s temptations. Jesus then begins his ministry in Galilee and performed 40 miracles, from conquering death, raising the dead, turning water into wine, cast out unclean spirits, healed lepers, calmed the storm, healed the paralyzed, open the eyes of the blind etc. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit in John 7: 37-39 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, with one accord in one place, 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. Peter and the Apostles became bold and filled with the Holy Spirit and started to do miracles. Once they received the power of the Holy Spirit, they became witnesses to Jesus in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth as just said in Acts 1:8 by Jesus. When filled with the Spirit it gave the Apostles power over the devil.

There was a man named Ananias and his wife who sold a possession and kept back part of the proceeds. The Holy Spirit revealed the lie to Peter. Acts 5:3-5 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. Peter than three hours later questions Ananias’s wife, who does not know her husband died. She lies to Peter and the Holy Spirit immediately causes her to die. Do not be filled by Satan’s lies, as it will only lead to spiritual/physical death.

Stephen was chosen as one of the seven to serve in Acts 6. He was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He did great wonders and signs among the people. A group from a Synagogue convinced people to lie and say that he spoke blasphemous words against Moses and God. They arrested him and had false witnesses testify against him. Stephen was described in the Bible as having a face of an angel. Stephen addresses the court and the people in Acts 7 and his speech of truth and God’s word causes guilt, “cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth.” Israel continues to resist the Holy Spirit and persecute prophets. In Verse 55, But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” This angered the people further, they cast him out and stoned him to death. Even in this time of persecution, Stephen was calling on God, “to receive my spirit,” and “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”

A man named Saul (Acts 9) continued to persecute the Lord’s disciples and was on his way to Damascus to continue his treacherous plan. He got permission from the high priests, who authorized him to capture and persecute Christians. During his journey a light from heaven circled him, he fell to the ground. The Lord speaks to Saul and asks why are you harassing me? Saul asks, “Who are you, Lord?” I am Jesus, whom you are harassing. The people traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice also but saw no one. Saul becomes blind, the other people guide him and he does not eat or drink for three days. God speaks to a prophet names Ananias to go search for the man from Tarsus names Saul. He was a little hesitant hearing all the horrible stories about persecution by this man. Verse 17-20, Ananias went to the house. He placed his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord sent me-Jesus, who appeared to you on the way as you were coming here. He sent me so that you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly, flakes fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. After eating, he regained his strength. He stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. Right away, he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues. “He is God’s Son,” he declared. In Verse 15-16, God says he has chosen Saul to carry his name before Gentiles, kings and Israelites. He wants to show him how much he must suffer for the sake of God’s name. The Church continued to grow in numbers.

Acts 10:38 You know about Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and endowed with power. Jesus traveled around doing good and healing everyone oppressed by the devil because God was with him. There is a significant difference when it comes to having the Holy Spirit as a believer versus FILLED with the Holy Spirit. God wants us to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit is to have the power/knowledge/boldness/vision/prophecy to defeat Satan. There is a war coming between the forces of Good and Evil. As Elijah reigned down fire from Heaven so will the Two Witnesses at the end of days, “Anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire (Revelations 11:4-6).” Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. In Revelations 13:7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome.

A war means there are two sides that will battle and only victor is possible. We are not to sit idle by during this time if we are alive, as we will be at war with Beast. But we know the outcome: The Beast will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen and faithful (Revelations 17:14).” People forget that Jesus states that his Kingdom is not of this earth. He has Legions of Angels at his command and that he is THE KING. A Kingdom is not a religious institution, it is a country/region/territory that ruled by a King. Jesus is returning to make WAR (will discuss in a few weeks) and defeat the forces of Satan and the unbelievers. We are his saints and must be FILLED with the Holy Spirit and be prepared for the Tribulation and the return of Jesus.

Distraction

         The definition of Distraction is a thing (person/object/goal) that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. During Jesus’ ministry we can see many times when he interacts with the Pharisees. There was two religious Jewish sects during his ministry. The Sadducees who were conservative, interpreted the word of God literally. The Pharisees who were liberal, believed tradition to be equal to the word of God. The Sadducees rejected a belief in the resurrection of the dead but the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees denied the afterlife and that the soul perished at death. The Pharisees believed in an afterlife and in an appropriate reward and punishment for individuals. The Sadducees rejected the idea of unseen, spiritual world and the Pharisees taught the existence of angels and demons and the spiritual realm. Both had political influence but we see less interaction with the Sadducees and Jesus because they were more interested in the Roman government and politics.  The tended to be more wealthy and hold more powerful positions. The Pharisees were more representative of the common working people, interacted with them and they controlled the Synagogue's. IN AD 70 Sadducees disappeared during the destruction of Jerusalem. The Pharisees are responsible for the compilation of the Mishnah, and important document with reference to the continuation Judaism beyond the destruction of the temple.  In this way they laid the ground work for modern–day Rabbinic Judaism. The one thing that both sects could agree on was that the needed to kill Jesus for speaking the truth and threatening their power and way of life. 

         In Matthew 23 Jesus makes it clear as possible that the Pharisees do not practice what they preach. Jesus speaks about the Seven Woes. They place heavy burdens on everyone else and yet are not willing to lift a finger. They do deeds to be noticed by men and not God. They want to sit in the front of synagogues to be honored and dine at the best banquets.. They want the multitude to call them Rabbi showing respect to them. In verse 8-12, “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone-on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

         The 1^st Woe Verse 13-14, Jesus proclaims the Pharisees shut off the kingdom of heaven from people, they are so close to the house of worship yet they are so far away from God. The Pharisees teachings are roadblocks to God’s kingdom. You refuse to enter and won’t let anyone else in either. In verse 14 scribes who work with Pharisees take advantage of the generosity of the widows, steal from them while managing their assets. Scribes are like lawyers, teach Mosaic law but do not get paid. They encourage the belief that people will be blessed by God if they support the scribes financially. The Pharisees make long prayers, which Jesus is criticizing because they are not doing it in sincerity to God, but really looking for attention. 

The 2^nd Woe Verse 15, Jesus condemned who the Pharisees converted because that means they rejected Jesus’ message for their salvation. When they convert a Gentile, they made him double the child of hell that they were. To convert you had to be against Jesus and his message. By opposing Jesus, the leaders tried to convince people that He was an impostor. Many were ready to embrace Him as the Messiah and were about to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the hypocrites prevented it. In Luke 11:42 Jesus says they have taken away the key of knowledge, meaning they had taken away the right interpretation of the ancient prophecies respecting the Messiah. In that way they prevented the people from receiving Jesus as their promised Redeemer. 

         The 3^rd Woe Verse 16-22, the Pharisees would casually put importance on some oaths over others. A promise is a promise and it does not make a difference wether it is inside or outside the house of worship. God is present and watching and holding you accountable regardless. The Pharisees used clever and unsound reasonings to enforce oaths and vows. It included avoiding oaths made by holy things because it was as binding as making an oath directly to God. They rather have people follow the law, then to follow the One True Messiah. They continued to distract people wanting to follow Jesus, with rules, oaths and vows that only keep them further away from God. Matthew 5:37 But let your statement be, “Yes, yes or No, No, anything beyond these is of evil.”

         The 4^th Woe Verse 23-24, Jesus says Pharisees are more interested in tithes than important matters such as treating people with justice, mercy and faithfulness. They tithe in order to look good. They observed smaller duties but omitted greater ones. Jesus is not condemning tithes, as we should all give tithes for the glory of God. He condemns them because to be just in tithes and yet to cheat and defraud everyone else, is to mock God and deceive ourselves. Michah 6:8 And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. In Verse 24 he references to straining out a gnat, a practice done to drinks to make them pure. The Pharisees focus and worry on small things yet neglect the important things (swallow a camel). 

         The 5^th Woe Verse 25-26, Jesus exposes that their outside body sparkles and shines in the sun, yet their insides are wicked/crooked. They rob the poor and self-indulge in pleasures while pushing people away from God. We must first work on the inside of our soul and the inward change will cause the outward to become clean. We see this regularly in our daily lives. Many so called Christians appearing to be faithful to the public, but sinning in private. Nothing can be hidden from God. 

         The 6^th Woe Verse 27-28, Jesus states the Pharisees on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanliness. They are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. It is like seeing a beautiful grave plot, the grass is trimmed nicely, amazing beautiful tombstone, flowers bright surround the plot, but six feet under it is all rotting bones and worm-eating flesh. They were crooked to the bone. The people look at you as saints, yet underneath all those fine garments you are frauds. 

         The 7^th Woe Verse 29-32 they build tomb and monuments of their saints, who they believe were righteous. The Pharisees proclaim that if they lived during the days of their fathers, we would not have shed blood like our ancestors. Jesus says they are cut from the same cloth as those murders and only add daily to their death count. They are literally witnessing against themselves. Jesus continues in the chapter and states that they are the reason he continues to send prophets, wise men and scribes generation after generation. You kill them, crucify, scourge in your synagogues and persecute them. Every drop of righteous blood every spilled on this earth, beginning with the blood of righteous Abel to Zechariah. Jesus calls the religious leaders vipers, sentence to hell and compares them to Cain, who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy for his relationship to God. Your time will come to pay for those atrocities and judgement will come upon the wicked. The house of Jerusalem will be desolate and Jesus will not return till they say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

         Jesus criticizes the Pharisees and they were distracted by their own selfish goals. Imagine being a chosen people who are waiting for their Messiah, yet distracted when he shows up. Jesus was preaching among them yet they did not believe. The Jews imagined their Messiah to be an all powerful King, coming with the force of the archangels to destroy the wicked and destroy the enemies of the Jews. The Muslims continue to wait for their Messiah and see Jesus only as a prophet. They were distracted because the most powerful being, the Son of God, the MESSIAH did not come riding a White horse, had no army, was not a physical dominating man, son of a carpenter, was not dressed in fine linen and gold but a man from Nazareth. A King who became a man, Jesus was humble, taught love, salvation, fairness, kindness, patience, never self indulged, healed the sick, cared not for money, wore rags and rode on a donkey. He was beaten, ridiculed, carried the cross through the streets and nailed on the cross like a criminal. He was not the ideal look of what those religions pictured as a Messiah and they distracted themselves from Jesus’ purpose and his truth. He paid the ultimate cost for us, shed his blood and came down from heaven to free us from the bondage of sin. Literally everything the Jews and Muslims think their Messiah should be, Jesus was not. When Jesus does come on a his White Horse, dressed in White and Gold, and with the power of Heaven behind him it will be too late for those distracted by what they believe a Messiah should be. Do not be distracted with our own thoughts, goals and views but look unto Jesus. Jesus is the One and True Messiah and his return is imminent. 

Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

New Gods

Many of us think that idols are only carved images, but an idol is anything or anyone who takes the place of God in our lives. It causes us to lose focus and sway our hearts away from the Lord. It distracts us from worshipping and praying to God. God must be supreme and first in our lives, before anything or anyone. “You shall have no other gods before me.You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:3-6).” 

Elijah was a prophet and there was a severe famine in Samaria. The famine was caused by the unfaithfulness of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Jezebel was killing God’s followers and turning the people away from the one true God. God told Elijah to go and speak to King Ahab. Obadiah was the King’s administrator and and a believer in Christ who helped save hundred prophets from Jezebel. King Ahab tells Obadiah that they will split the land and go search for some grass to keep the horses and mules alive, hoping not to have to kill their animals. Obadiah runs into Elijah who tells him to go tell King Ahab, Elijah is here. Obadiah with some hesitation finally agrees and tells Ahab that Elijah is waiting for him. 

Ahab and Elijah meet up and Elijah tells King Ahab that his family and himself have abandoned the Lord’s command and followed the Baals. Baal, a false god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities. He was considered a fertility deity and Baal means owner or lord. The Hebrew scriptures speak frequently of the Baal of a given place or refers to Baalim in the plural, suggesting the evidence of local deities of various locations. They also worship Asherah who was a Goddess and was often paired with Baal. Elijah tells King Ahab to summon all the people of Israel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah to meet him on Mount Carmel. 

Elijah issues a challenge to the prophets of Baal, in Verse 22-24 Elijah states  “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

The prophets of Baal prepare the bull and call on their god Baal. They call on him from morning till noon and they danced around the alter they made. Elijah begins to taunt them, to shout louder, and suggests maybe their god is in deep thought, sleeping or busy. The prophets begin to slash themselves the swords and spears, as was their custom. Blood began to flow from them and they shouted even louder. Still no response or fire to sacrifice the bull. The evening came and still no response. 

In Verse 30-39 we see the true power of the One and Only God. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

Now a days we see much more worship to idols instead of the One true God. The new gods of america distract us from true worship. They are the same old idols/false gods manifested for this new generation. God of Media, Technology, Money, Power, Lust, which cause our relationship with God to weaken. They distract us from true worship. We see it all around us, in churches and society. Teenagers on their phones during church, people focused on fame and followers, so called Christians being racist and full of hate, false teachings to lure numbers and not the faithful, the holy union of marriage being desecrated etc. We are settling to appease the masses but God wants our full love and attention. We must be like Elijah and the faithful prophets that Obadiah saved from Jezebel. Even in the moments of persecution, God is the only true hope. 

In a world where everything is at out fingertips, has that driven us closer to God or further away? No creation of man or fake deity can equal the power of God. Nothing in this world can fill our spirit like the one true God. He is the only truth and everlasting life. Men continue to praise false gods, and rather live a worldly life than a spiritual one. The Bible tells us how the story ends and God is victorious. God has a purpose and a plan way beyond our understanding. Elijah made it even more difficult by adding a trench and filling it with water around the alter. It does not matter what obstacle is placed in front of God, he is all powerful and mighty. No other gods can compare to his all mighty power. Do not let the gods of the world distract you from the truth. Our God is all powerful, all knowing and there are none that can compare to his power. God’s true power will be shown when he is ready.