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Recipe for Holy-Spirit Filling
Isaiah 61:1
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;"
Who better to look to on how to be anointed with the Holy Spirit than Jesus Christ? The verse above is a prophecy of the ministry of Jesus. You can see in this verse that it was prophesied that Jesus would be anointed with the Holy Spirit of God. However, He was not anointed so that He could have a possession, but He was anointed because He performed some actions. God's Holy Spirit does not come on people so they can proclaim they have a possession, but rather the Holy Spirit anoints people so that they can fulfill the works that God commands them to do. As you look at this verse, you see a recipe for Holy-Spirit filling.
Preaching God's Word is the first ingredient needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not just for preachers, but this is for everyone. Every person can preach the Word of God to the lost world. When a person goes soul winning, they are preaching the Gospel of Christ. Furthermore, this is also why you need to strive to be a Sunday school teacher in your church, because when you teach a lesson you are preaching God's Word.
The second ingredient needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit is restoring the fallen. Notice this verse says, "...he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted..." This statement has a twofold meaning. One of the meanings is to restore those who have been hurt by sin. Sin always leaves people broken. God's Holy Spirit is there to help you to restore those who have been broken by sin. This is why you should help those who have fallen instead of trying to destroy them through gossip. Attempting to restore the fallen grabs the attention of the Holy Spirit and will cause Him to anoint you with His power so that you can help the fallen to come back to God.
The third ingredient is to help the hurting. The second meaning of the statement, "...he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted..." is to help those who have been hurt through life's heartaches. Whether it is sickness, death, relationship hurts, loneliness or any type of hurt, God's Holy Spirit anoints you to help heal the hurt that people carry. You may not know how to help the hurting, but if you will attempt to help them, then God's Holy Spirit will help you to mend those broken hearts.
The fourth ingredient is to help people overcome sin. The verse above says, "...to proclaim liberty to the captives,..." Sin will captivate and control people. The only hope that many have to overcome their sin is for you to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. When you serve people and try to help them overcome their sin, then you will find the Holy Spirit will anoint you to help them overcome sin's bondage.
The fifth ingredient is to win people to Jesus Christ. God says, "...and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;..." Soul winning will always get the attention of the Holy Spirit. The reason it grabs His attention is because God sent His Holy Spirit to bring the lost to Christ. When you bring the Gospel through soul winning to those who are lost, then the Holy Spirit anoints you to say the right things that will help that person to get saved.
Each of these ingredients are important in the recipe to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. You can't pick and choose which one you want to do, but rather you must be involved in all of these if you want the Holy Spirit's anointing upon you. Yes, you must be emptied of yourself, but serving God in all of these areas is what will bring you the anointing of the Holy Spirit.