Let's look at several New Testament examples of be being filled with the Holy Spirit or being continually anointed with fresh oil. We can see this pattern in the New Testament of an initial infilling of the Holy Spirit and numerous refillings, for example, in Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 4:23-31.

ACTS 2:1-4.

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

In this pa.s.sage we see that the 120 persons who were gathered together in Jerusalem were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit from on High in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they spoke with other tongues.

Then in Acts 2:46,47, we read that the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. When this occurred, a number of days had pa.s.sed since the day of Pentecost.

ACTS 2:46,47.

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the

temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising G.o.d, and having favour with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Then we come to Acts chapter 3 where Peter and John were going into the Temple. There was a lame man at the Gate Beautiful who was healed. You remember the story. Peter spoke to the lame man and said, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). The lame man was healed, and went into the Temple with them, "... walking, and leaping, and praising G.o.d. " (v. 8).

After the lame man was healed, Peter and John were taken into custody and questioned by the priests and the rulers of the Temple. The Jewish leaders threatened the disciples not to speak or teach in the Name of Jesus. Then they let them go (See Acts chapters 3 and 4).

ACTS 4:23-31.

23 And being let go, they [the disciples] went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to G.o.d with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art G.o.d, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

31 And WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, the place WAS SHAKEN where they were a.s.sembled together; and they were all FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, and they spake the word of G.o.d with boldness.

In verse 31, we see that those who were gathered to pray were filled with the Holy Ghost. But we read that these Christians were already filled with the Holy Ghost in Acts 2:4. Yes, these Christians were initially filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2, but in Acts 4:31 they received a refilling of the Holy Spirit - a fresh anointing. Remember, the psalmist said, "I will be anointed with fresh oil."

These early Christians were anointed with fresh oil, all right! Look at verse 31: ". .. the place WAS SHAKEN where they were a.s.sembled together...." The anointing was so strong, the place where they were gathered was shaken. That means the whole house shook!

There was such a manifestation of G.o.d's power that the very building where they were gathered together to pray was shaken, and they were all filled up to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. They got a fresh anointing!

There is one initial filling with the Holy Ghost, but many refillings. And that's where some folks have missed it. Just because you got filled with the Spirit perhaps years ago, it's not a past experience that's going to put you over in life.

D. L. Moody once said, "People living on past experiences are living on stale manna."

Years ago I heard a man say, "I was saved in 1919, baptized with the Holy Ghost in 1919, and spoke with other tongues!" But that was as far as he ever went with G.o.d; he'd been as "dead as a mackerel" ever since! We need to ask ourselves, What about now? What's my testimony now? Am I filled with the Holy Spirit now?

Let's look at another New Testament example of Christians receiving a fresh anointing.

In Acts 19 we see that the Christians in Ephesus were initially filled with the Holy Spirit under Paul's ministry.

ACTS 19:1-6.

1 ... Paul having pa.s.sed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the HOLY GHOST came on them; and THEY SPAKE WITH TONGUES, and prophesied.

When Paul initially came to Ephesus, these folks hadn't heard that Jesus had come; they had not been born again and, therefore, had not received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. All they knew about was John's baptism in water.

Paul told them about Jesus - about His death on the Cross, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension on High.

Paul explained to these Ephesians that what they had as a promissory note through John the Baptist, they could now receive as a reality in their lives through Jesus Christ. John the Baptist had preached, "I indeed have baptized you with water: but he [Jesus] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" (Mark 1:8). They received Jesus and were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:5,6).

Then in Ephesians chapter 5, Paul writes this same group of people and tells them to be filled with the Spirit.

EPHESIANS 1:1.

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of G.o.d, TO THE SAINTS which are AT EPHESUS, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

EPHESIANS 5:18.

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.

Paul said to the Ephesian Christians, "... be not drunk with wine .. . be filled with the Spirit" (v. 18). In saying this, Paul is not telling these Christians to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit again; they had already received the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 19:1-6.

No, Paul is writing to these same born-again, Spirit-filled saints in Ephesus and he's instructing and encouraging them to be being filled with the Spirit. In other words, he's telling them to maintain a constant experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. He's giving them further instruction on the Spirit-filled life and how to walk in the fullness of G.o.d's will by staying filled up to overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

You see, Paul is talking about a continual experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. He's saying, "Stay filled with the Spirit. Get anointed anew with fresh oil! Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled to overflowing with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18).

There is one initial filling in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but there are to be many refillings of the Holy Spirit. It comes back to this: Are Christians following G.o.d's New Testament pattern by staying filled with the Holy Spirit? Are G.o.d's people maintaining the spiritual glow of the Spirit in their lives by staying full of the Holy Spirit? Are they fervent in Spirit? Are they empty cisterns or are they full reservoirs?

For example, we know that if a person gets full of wine, he gets drunk. Water is a type of the Holy Spirit, just as wine is used in the Bible as a type of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, "... be not drunk with wine... but be FILLED with [or drunk on] the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). The Bible is using the example of someone who is so full of wine that he's drunk. For someone to stay drunk on wine, he would have to keep on drinking, wouldn't he? And just because he initially got drunk, doesn't mean he's going to be drunk next week - unless he drinks again.

Christians are not to be drunk with wine, but they are to be filled with the Spirit. If you get full of the Holy Ghost, you get drunk too - on the Spirit. But just because you were initially filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues, doesn't mean you're filled up to overflowing today on the Spirit. Vessels can leak. That's why we need to stay continually filled with the Holy Spirit every day. We're to get full of or drunk on the Holy Spirit today. We need a fresh anointing today. Then we're to get drunk on the Holy Spirit this week, and next week, and the week after that. We're to stay full of the Holy Spirit!

Get drunk on the Spirit! Stay in G.o.d's Presence long enough to get a fresh anointing - until you get filled to overflowing in the Spirit. G.o.d's people need a fresh anointing!

The Church Today

I think that is where we are missing it in the Church today. Christians aren't staying filled up to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. They don't understand that they are to stay in G.o.d's Presence and stay in the Word of G.o.d until they get a fresh anointing. There is one initial infilling of the Holy Spirit in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but Christians cannot be full reservoirs without numerous refillings. If these Christians here in Ephesians needed to be filled again, we need to be too.

You hear so-called "faith" people say, "I've been filled with the Holy Spirit. I'm making all the right confessions, and I'm believing G.o.d, but nothing is happening!" Yes, they may have received the initial infilling of the Holy Spirit, all right. But over the process of time, water leaks out of a vessel, and when that happens, in the process of time - amidst the tests and trials of life - if you don't stay filled up with the Spirit, it's possible to become an empty cistern instead of a full reservoir. You have to keep refilling a vessel to keep it full of water, so it can be a full reservoir because water evaporates and can leak out.

Stay drunk on the Spirit of G.o.d! You can get so drunk on the Holy Ghost that you stagger around like a drunk man. Get filled up and stay filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit! There's one initial filling, but there are to be many refillings - many fresh anointings.

I don't know too much about people being drunk. I haven't been around many people who were drunk. On one occasion, I remember I was visiting some folks, and the man's boss came to dinner. This fellow was a new convert and perhaps not yet as developed as he should have been in his understanding in certain areas. When he arrived for dinner, he had been drinking and was a little intoxicated. He laughed all through the meal. He would ask for corn instead of potatoes, or rice instead of beans, and then he'd just laugh.

I thought about this scripture in Ephesians 5:18, "Be not drunk with wine, but be drunk on the Spirit." When you get drunk on the Spirit, you laugh and don't have a care in the world. You talk about getting high in the Spirit! When you're full of G.o.d's Spirit, natural things just look different. You're full of thanksgiving and your heart continuously has a song unto the Lord.

Have you ever noticed that when you're drunk on the Holy Spirit, natural things look different? You'll find that many people you may have thought were unattractive, look attractive when you get filled with the Holy Ghost. Things just look better when you're filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit! You see people through the eyes of the love of G.o.d, so to speak. Some of the most marvelous things happen when you're filled up with the Spirit.

The Anointing Changes Things

We were holding a meeting in a certain city and as some of the singers got to singing, the anointing of G.o.d came into that building in a glorious way. The joy of the Lord so filled that place that I began to laugh. Then the singers began to laugh too, and we all just began to laugh in the Spirit.

There was a woman in the service who later told us that one of her sons wasn't just exactly where he should be with G.o.d; he happened to be sitting outside that meeting in a parked truck.

After the meeting, he told his mother that something had happened to him while the service was in progress. He'd had an experience with G.o.d. He said to his mother, "Momma, I could hear those singers laughing, and when they got to laughing, it was like a thick cloud came into the truck and filled and enveloped it."

The Presence of G.o.d came into that truck like a cloud, and this young man got right with G.o.d! He had been born again some time before, and although he'd had some fellowship with G.o.d, he wasn't walking with the Lord as he should have been.

His mother told us later, "He has never been the same since that experience! His relationship is totally restored with the Lord, and he's been walking with the Lord ever since. He dedicated and consecrated his life to G.o.d!" All we were doing was just laughing in the Spirit - because we were so filled with the Spirit - filled to overflowing with the joy of the Lord.

I've seen some of the greatest things happen when people were filled up - like a full reservoir - with the Spirit of G.o.d. Not an empty cistern, but a full reservoir! Full of the Holy Spirit! Pastors should get so full of the Holy Spirit that their churches are full reservoirs to spiritually feed and water a whole city!

Now let's look again at our New Testament pattern.

ACTS 4:31.

31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were a.s.sembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of G.o.d with boldness.

When the Early Church received a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit here in Acts 4:31, the whole building where they were praying was shaken. They got so full, the building shook! That happened because the Holy Spirit not only filled them, but He also filled the room where they were praying.

I was raised Southern Baptist and in the course of time I got filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke with other tongues. I knew nothing about the move of the Spirit. Eventually, I came over among the Pentecostals, and in meetings I'd see folks raise their hands and sometimes their hands would just shake under the power of the Holy Spirit.

Since then I've been in services where the power of G.o.d was in manifestation so powerfully that the very atmosphere seemed charged with the power of G.o.d. When I'd lift my hands to praise G.o.d, it just seemed as if there was "electricity" in the air - the very atmosphere was charged with the anointing of G.o.d. When the Holy Spirit starts moving, the anointing will affect you physically as well as spiritually.

Some folks get excited sometimes about people falling under the power, or shaking under the power. But wait until the building starts shaking! Then they will really get excited!

If Christians in the Early Church needed a refilling, then we need a refilling too. That is one of our problems in the Church today. We need a fresh anointing!

How long has it been since you've been filled up to overflowing with the Holy Spirit? How long has it been since you received a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit?

One Accord

How do Christians get a fresh anointing? How did these Christians get a fresh anointing in the Early Church? For example, how did that fresh anointing come upon those disciples in Acts chapter 4?

ACTS 4:23,24,31.

23 And being let go, they went to their own company [That's where some Christians are missing it; they don't have a company - a local body - to go to when they get in trouble.], and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.