Second Friend Day - Elmer Towns

are going so poorly that God has forgotten about you." You may have gone to the altar and
surrendered to God. Then you backslid. When you went to the altar and wept, you were sincere.
You may have been embarrassed, thinking, "Every eye in the auditorium is staring at me." After
you left the church, you slipped into sin. It is not God's fault that you slipped into sin. Don't
blame Him. Surrendering is only the beginning of the surrendered life. You must make up your
mind always to do God's will.
How to Be Filled
The first section of this chapter showed that you can be filled with the Spirit. Now, let us
examine some practical steps that will lead you in a Spirit filled life.
The first step to Spirit power is desire. You begin by wanting to be filled with the Spirit.
God will not force His Spirit on you, or anyone else. Just as the old adage maintains, "You can
lead a horse to water, but you -can't make him drink," you cannot force the filling of the Spirit
upon anyone.
When you desire the filling of the Spirit, it's the same as thirsting. On a hot summer day
after working in the sun, you are really thirsty. Jesus described the process, "If any man thirst, let
him come unto me, and drink . . . this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him
should receive" (Jn. 7:37,39). You get the Holy Spirit by wanting Him. But not everyone who is
thirsty gets a cold drink; not everyone who desires the power of God gets it. You must seek it
correctly.
The second step is yielding. This is saying one big yes. The big yes is when you submit
your will to God. When a young girl receives a proposal for marriage, she says yes if she wants
the man. But that initial yes doesn't guarantee marital happiness. The couple must work at it.
She must daily submit to the demands of marriage, just as the husband must yield to his new
relationship.
This daily yes to Christ keeps you in the center of God's will. The child of God prays,
"Today I give myself to Thee to be what You want, to go where You lead and to speak what You
command."
You need to surrender your attitude, which is nothing less than letting the Lord lead your
life. The young teen wants to drive the family car, but he is too young for a license. Some teens
sit behind the wheel of the parked car and pretend they are driving. But the moment of truth
comes when the parent surrenders the steering wheel to his son. This is the same as “yielding
yourself to God.” You let Him control.
Remember, the filling of the Spirit is simply letting the Lord control your life. You get it
through a yielded life.
The third step is asking. If you want God's power, you must ask for it. Jesus spoke the
parable of the pleading neighbor who came at night when his friend was in bed. Jesus commands
us to "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto