“…be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18
If we want to fulfill our ministry, then we and our ministry are going to need to stay refreshed. Acts 3:19 mentions times of refreshing that follow our surrender to the Lord. Those times of refreshing from the Spirit of God come continually as we consistently position ourselves in His presence.
Ephesians 5:18 says that we are to be filled with the Spirit. This verse is not describing a single experience, but a repeated and continual filling of the Holy Spirit, a filling that keeps us refreshed and full of the energy and anointing that we need to fulfill our ministry.
If we don’t stay refreshed, we’ll get spiritually tired and physically worn. Similar to the way we frequently require food for our body for energy, we need the continual substance of the Holy Spirit to maintain spiritual vitality. God knows that we need His life to sustain us and His power to strengthen us.
God knows that we need to be refueled. God doesn’t want us to get worn down as we continually pour out to others. God wants us to complete the work He has called us to do, not to quit midstream. God wants us to fulfill our ministry! Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
Not only ourselves, but our ministries need to stay full of the life of God with an anointing that flows into every area of service. In John 15 Jesus tells us that if a branch stops producing, it is pruned off. If our ministry isn’t producing like it should, something needs to be changed. God wants our ministries to adapt to the move of His Spirit and to stay fresh and current. We don’t want to become stagnant; trying to live on something that has became stale and ineffective.
To fulfill our ministry, we must determine that we will continually refresh ourselves. To finish strong, we need to live in the power of His Spirit, consistently yielding ourselves to the Lord for the anointing we need for each day. When we do, we will have all that we need to achieve what God has called us to do. It isn’t by our own might or power, but it is by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
Application: Make sure that you are intentionally giving yourself to individual and corporate anointing for the refreshing of the Holy Spirit.