How can you tell if you are truly filled with the Spirit? How can you tell if you are being led by the Spirit? The Bible tells us that there are three great hallmarks of the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led believer.

• First, the person who is filled with the Holy Spirit is going to be a person of generous, joyful, and overflowing praise and thanksgiving to God. The Spirit-filled, Spirit-led person is going to radiate exuberance for the things of God. The apostle Paul told the church in Ephesus that those who were filled with the Spirit would find themselves "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 5:19–20). The Spirit-filled person cannot help but be overflowing with praise and joy.

• Second, the person who is filled with the Holy Spirit is going to be willing to submit to one another in the fear of God (see Ephesians 5:21). The Spirit-filled person is going to be so filled with love for God and others, and so willing to trust God to work in his own life and in the lives of others, that he will be willing to submit to others rather than demand his own way. He will not only lay down his pride before God, but also before others. Does this mean that the Spirit-filled believer becomes a doormat or a weakling in the face of evil and persecution? The opposite is true. In submitting to other believers, the Spirit-filled person receives the full benefit of all the gifts that the Lord desires to pour out on His church. The Spirit-filled person is nourished and cherished by the Lord. He is in the exact position required to receive the full protection and provision of the Lord.

The more a person submits his life to the Lord and to the working of the Lord through other Spirit-filled believers, the more that person is going to grow in faith and the stronger he is going to become. Submitting is not a sign of weakness. Rather, it is a key to becoming strong.

• Third, the person who is filled with the Holy Spirit is going to have a great desire to win souls and to build up other believers. The person who is filled with the Spirit is going to be an active, vocal, eager witness for Christ wherever the Spirit leads him to go! He is going to desire to see souls saved and lives changed. He is going to do whatever he can do to help the body of Christ become strong and flourish and prosper and be blessed spiritually, emotionally, and materially. He is going to have a deep desire to see the gospel preached to every person in every nation.

Ask yourself today … Do I have great joy in my life? Am I eager to get up every morning to see what God has in store for me? Am I quick to voice my praise to God and to thank Him for all that He has done, is doing, and promises to do for me? Do I live in eager expectation of all that God is going to do?

If your answer is no to any of these questions, do not question whether you have been filled with the Spirit. Rather, ask the Spirit to do more of His work in you so that your answer might become yes to these challenges!

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you those sins in your life that need to be confessed. Ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse you of your sins and give you His strength to turn from them. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and guide you into the ways you should go. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to train your own mind and thought patterns so they line up with God’s Word.

Invite the Holy Spirit to do His work in you and to give you His joy, His heart, His mind, His goals, and His motivation.

Stanley, C. F. (2005). Living in the power of the Holy Spirit (92–98). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.