How to Be Filled and Controlled by the Holy Spirit | Powerful Teaching in Kathryn Kuhlman

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Oh, how my heart trembles at the thought of the Holy Spirit.
His presence is more real to me than the air I breathe, more precious than life itself.
There is nothing, nothing so glorious as a life fully surrendered, filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit of the living God.
My precious friend, I ask you today, do you know Him?
Not in your mind, not in theology, not in the pages of a book, but in your spirit.
Have you felt the fire of His presence, the sweetness of His voice, the gentle but irresistible power of His touch?
So many hunger for more of God, yet they do not realize the Holy Spirit is not a feeling.
He is not an experience.
He is a person.
He longs to fill you, to possess you, to move through you, if only you will let Him.
The question is not, do you have the Holy Spirit?
The real question is, does the Holy Spirit have you?
I have seen Him take the weakest vessel and turn it into a flame of power.
I have watched as sickness bowed before Him, as broken hearts melted in His love, as the hardest of sinners wept under His conviction.
And today, my heart cries out for you to experience Him not just for a moment, but as the very breath and substance of your life.
Oh, let me tell you, beloved, there is no greater secret to victorious living than this, to be filled, to be led, to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
This is the key.
This is the power.
This is the life Jesus promised.
And today, by His grace, I will show you how.
Oh, precious one, listen to me.
The Holy Spirit is not a distant force, not a fleeting emotion, not something that simply comes and goes like the wind.
No, no, a thousand times no.
The Holy Spirit is a person, a giving, precious person, who longs to loathe you, to talk with you, to dwell within you in all His fullness.
He is as real as Jesus Himself, as real as the Father who sits upon the throne.
And yet, how many, how many live their entire lives without truly knowing Him?
There are those who seek an experience, who chase after moments of spiritual excitement, who long for a sensation, a feeling, something tangible to prove that He is near.
But oh, how my heart aches for them, for they miss the greatest truth of all, the Holy Spirit is not found in a mere feeling.
He is not a passing wave of emotion.
He is not a momentary thrill that comes upon you only in times of high worship or deep prayer.
No, beloved, the Holy Spirit is a person who abides with you, who longs to be your closest companion, your greatest friend, your source of life itself.
When Jesus spoke of Him, He did not say, I will send you a mere power.
He did not say, I will send you an experience.
He said, I will send another comforter.
Just as the disciples had known Jesus, walked with Him, talked with Him, leaned upon His breast, and felt the warmth of His presence, so Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come and be with them in the very same way.
Oh, can you grasp it?
Can you even begin to understand what this means?
It means that the Holy Spirit is not in it.
He is He.
See the Spirit of the living God longing to walk with you as Jesus walked with His disciples.
How many have reduced the Holy Spirit to something mechanical?
They speak of Him as if He is merely a doctrine to be studied, a topic to be discussed.
They debate His gifts.
They argue over His workings, but they do not know Him.
They have never wept in His presence, never trembled at His holiness, never felt their hearts burn as He whispers the words of Jesus into their very soul.
And I tell you today, this is the tragedy of our time.
Oh, how many times have I stood on a platform, looking out into the faces of those desperate for more of God, and I have watched as the Holy Spirit moved not as a mere power, not as a mere feeling, but as a person.
I have seen Him sweep through an auditorium, not as an invisible force, but as one who knows the hearts of men, as one who calls the sinner by name, as one who heals with a touch so gentle, so filled with love, that those in the room can do nothing but weep in wonder.
You may ask, Kathrine, how can I know Him like this?
How can I experience His presence in such a real way?
Oh, dear heart, the answer is so simple, yet so many miss it.
You must fellowship with Him.
You must talk to Him as you would talk to your dearest friend.
You must listen for His voice, wait for His whisper, and above all else, honor Him.
The Holy Spirit is sensitive.
He is tender.
He will not force Himself upon you.
He comes where He is welcomed, where He is desired, where hearts are yielded completely to Him.
If you want to know Him, if you long for His presence to be real in your life, then you must invite Him not just once, not just on Sundays, but every moment of every day.
Oh, I cannot tell you how often I have fallen to my knees, tears streaming down my face, whispering, Holy Spirit, You are all I want.
You are all I need.
Without You, I am nothing.
And every time, every single time, He comes.
He comes with His peace, His presence, His overwhelming love, until I feel as though my very being could explode with the wonder of Him.
Beloved, do you know Him like this?
Not just in your mind, not just in theology, but in your spirit.
Have you invited Him to be more than a doctrine, more than a passing experience, more than just a name in the Bible?
Have you truly given Him your life, your moments, your everything?
For I tell you this, when you truly know the Holy Spirit, when you walk with Him as a person, when you yield yourself to Him in complete surrender then, and only then will you know the fullness of what it means to be filled.
And controlled by Him, then and only then will your life be transformed into something supernatural, something beyond human ability, something that carries the fragrance of Jesus Himself.
This is the secret.
This is the mystery.
This is the power of a life fully yielded to the Spirit of the living God.
And my prayer, my deepest cry, is that you, yes, you will not just hear these words, but that they will burn within you until you, too, fall on your knees and say, Holy Spirit, take all of me.
I am yours forever.
Oh, how beautiful, how precious He is.
And He waits for you.
Oh, precious one, hear me.
The Holy Spirit cannot fully fill what is not fully surrendered.
There are so many who cry out for more of God, so many who long to be filled with His power, who hunger for His presence, but they hold back.
They give Him a portion of their lives, a part of their hearts, a moment of their time, but not everything.
And yet they wonder why they do not experience the fullness of His presence.
You see, the Holy Spirit is not like man.
He does not come where He is merely tolerated.
He does not force His way into a life that is still clinging to self.
No, He comes only where He is welcomed, where He is wanted, where there is a heart that cries, Take all of me, Lord.
Take everything.
I hold nothing back.
Oh, how many times have I seen it.
The one who longs for the Holy Spirit, but refuses to surrender their plans, their ambitions, their own will.
And I tell you today, that is the great hindrance.
That is the very thing that keeps so many from experiencing the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
Because, my friend, you cannot have Him on your terms.
He comes only when there is an empty vessel, when there is a heart completely yielded, when self has been crucified, and Jesus alone is enthroned.
I think of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, the Son of God, in agony, with sweat-like drops of blood falling to the ground.
And yet, what did He pray?
Not my will, but thine be done.
Oh, listen to me.
That is the cry that heaven answers.
That is the prayer that moves the heart of God.
It is not the one who merely asks for the Holy Spirit, but the one who surrenders to Him completely, who lays their life upon the altar and says, Lord, I am yours, with no conditions, no reservations.
Take me, break me, use me.
I have seen the difference.
I have seen those who come to an altar, weeping, crying out for more of God.
But when the Holy Spirit begins to touch their hearts, when He begins to place His finger upon the things they must surrender, they resist.
They say, Lord, I want your power, but I still want to do things my way.
And oh, how my heart breaks for them.
Because they will never know the depths of His presence, they will never walk in the fullness of His power, until they let go, completely let go.
And then, I have seen others.
Oh, how beautiful it is.
The one who falls before Him in utter abandon.
The one who lays their dreams, their ambitions, their very lives at His feet and says, Lord, I am nothing without you.
I give you everything.
And oh, how heaven responds to such a heart.
How the Holy Spirit rushes in like a mighty wind.
How He fills that surrendered vessel with a glory beyond words.
Do you understand what I am telling you?
It is not enough to want the Holy Spirit.
You must be willing to yield to Him.
You must give Him the right to control you, to lead you, to shape you as He wills.
And that, my precious friend, is where so many struggle.
They want to be filled, but they do not want to be controlled.
They want the power, but they do not want to let go of self.
But oh, listen to me.
You cannot have both.
You cannot be filled with the Spirit and full of self at the same time.
One must go.
Oh, I know what it is to surrender.
I know what it is to lay everything at His feet, to say goodbye to my own dreams, my own plans, my own way.
I know what it is to die, to die to Katherine Kuhlman so that the Holy Spirit might live through me.
And I tell you today, with all the love in my heart, I would not trade it for anything in this world.
Because when I laid everything down, when I surrendered everything, that is when the Holy Spirit took full control.
That is when His power began to flow through my life.
Not because of me, but because there was nothing left of me.
Oh, how I wish I could make you see it.
How I wish I could take your hands and look into your eyes and tell you with all the urgency of my soul, He is waiting for you.
He is waiting for you to lay it all down, to come to the end of yourself, to give Him the keys to every part of your life.
And when you do, oh, when you do, He will come in all His glory.
He will fill you with Himself.
He will take your life and use it for His divine purpose.
But it begins with surrender.
It begins when you stop resisting, stop holding back, stop clinging to your own ways.
It begins when you fall on your face before Him and whisper, Holy Spirit, I am yours.
Take me, take all of me.
And I promise you this, when you do, He will answer.
And you will never, never, never be the same again.
Oh, precious one, listen to me.
The power of the Holy Spirit is not just for a chosen few.
It is not reserved for preachers, evangelists, or great men and women of faith.
No, a thousand times no.
The power of the Holy Spirit is for every believer for you.
How many times have I stood before crowds of people and seen the same hunger in their eyes?
They ask, Catherine, is this power really for me?
And I answer with all the certainty of my soul, yes, yes, yes.
It is for the weak.
It is for the weary.
It is for the one who feels unworthy, the one whose abd God could ever use them.
Oh, listen to me.
If you are washed in the blood of Jesus, if you are His child, then the power of the Holy Spirit is your inheritance.
Jesus did not say some of you will receive power.
He did not say only the apostles, only the great ones, only those with special gifts.
No.
He said, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
That promise was not just for those standing with Him that day.
It was not just for the early church.
It was not just for a select few.
It was for all who believe.
Oh, how I wish you could understand.
This power is not for those who feel qualified.
It is not for those who think they are strong.
It is not for those who have it all together.
No, no, no.
It is for the one who comes empty, the one who comes weak, the one who cries out, Lord, I have nothing.
I am nothing, but I give you everything.
I have seen it with my own eyes.
I have watched as the Holy Spirit has taken the most unlikely, the most broken, the most forgotten, and filled them with His power.
I have seen Him move through the simple, through the unknown, through those the world would overlook.
And I have learned this one truth that I must shout to the ends of the earth.
God is not looking for ability.
He is looking for availability.
Oh, how often I have felt so small, so unworthy of this calling.
I have stood before great crowds, trembling, knowing that in myself I have nothing to give.
And yet in that moment the Holy Spirit comes.
His power flows.
Not because of me, but because He is faithful, because He has promised to fill those who yield to Him.
And He will do the same for you.
Yes, you.
Do not let the enemy tell you that you are not worthy.
Do not let doubt whisper that God could never use you.
Do not believe the lie that His power is only for others.
The Holy Spirit is for you, all through Scripture.
God has chosen the weak things to shame the strong.
He has taken shepherds and made them kings.
He has taken fishermen and made them apostles.
He has taken the least, the forgotten, the overlooked, and He has filled them with His Spirit and turned them into flames of His glory.
And I tell you this, beloved, the Holy Spirit has not changed.
The same power that fell on the early church, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that swept through cities and shook nations, that same power is alive today, and it is waiting for you.
But, oh, how my heart weeps, for I see so many who live far below what God has for them.
They live in defeat when they could live in victory.
They live in fear when they could walk in boldness.
They live struggling in their own strength when all the while the Spirit of the living God longs to fill them, to empower them, to make them into vessels of His glory.
Oh, if only you would believe it, if only you would take hold of this truth, if only you would lift your hands to heaven and cry out, Holy Spirit, fill me, take me, use me, because the moment you do, oh, the moment you do, He will answer, and His power will flow through you in ways you never dreamed possible.
You do not have to wait for a special moment.
You do not have to earn it.
You do not have to strive for it.
All you have to do is surrender.
All you have to do is yield.
All you have to do is say, Lord, I believe.
I receive.
Fill me now, and when you do, you will find yourself stepping into a life that is no longer ordinary, no longer natural, no longer limited by human strength.
You will walk in divine power.
You will speak, and the Spirit will move.
You will pray, and heaven will answer.
You will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
You will walk in victory, in boldness, in the full measure of the Spirit's power.
Oh, how I long for you to know this power, how I long for you to step into the fullness of what God has for you.
Do not hold back.
Do not listen to the voice of doubt.
Do not settle for a powerless life when the Spirit of the living God longs to fill you.
The power of the Holy Spirit is not for a select few.
It is for every believer.
It is for the one who is willing.
It is for the one who is surrendered.
It is for the one who will say, Lord, take me.
I am yours, and when you do, he will come, and you will never, never be the same again.
Oh, precious one.
Listen to me.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event, not a moment that happens once and then fades into memory.
No, no, a thousand times no.
Being filled with the Spirit means being led by Him every single day, every single moment, with every breath you take.
So many cry out for the power of the Holy Spirit.
So many long to be filled, but they do not understand that the Holy Spirit does not come just to give us a single experience.
He comes to take control.
He comes to lead.
He comes to guide.
He comes to be the very breath within us, the voice we follow, the presence that shapes our every step.
I have seen it over and over again.
People come to an altar, hands lifted, hearts wide open, weeping as the power of God touches them, and oh, how beautiful it is, how glorious.
But my friend, what happens after that moment?
What happens after they walk away from that altar?
Do they continue to yield to Him?
Do they listen for His voice?
Do they allow Him to lead them every day?
Oh, it is not enough to have one encounter.
It is not enough to have one moment in His presence.
You must live in the Spirit.
You must walk in the Spirit.
You must surrender every single day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you lay your head down at night.
You see, being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just about power, it is about relationship.
It is about knowing Him, loving Him, walking with Him, just as the disciples walked with Jesus.
It is about yielding to His voice in the small things, in the hidden places, in the quiet whispers of your heart.
Oh, how many want the power, but they do not want the leading.
They want the miracles, but they do not want the surrender.
They want to feel His presence in the great moments, but they do not want to follow Him in the ordinary, in the daily choices, in the moments when no one is watching.
But, beloved, that is where the Holy Spirit truly takes control.
That is where His power becomes real, not just in the big moments, but in the daily quiet yielding of your heart.
I know what it is to be led by the Spirit.
I know what it is to be so surrendered that His voice becomes my very life.
Oh, I have wept in His presence.
I have walked onto platforms with no strength of my own, with nothing but my desperate dependence on Him, and He has never failed me.
Never!
Because when you yield to Him, when you let Him take full control, He will lead you in ways you never imagined.
He will lead you in the small decisions, in the choices no one else sees.
He will whisper when to speak and when to be silent.
He will guide your feet to places you never thought you would go.
He will take you to the broken, to the hurting, to the ones who are crying out for more of God.
And in those moments, oh, in those moments, you will know what it truly means to be filled and controlled by the Spirit of the Living God.
But hear me, dear heart.
You cannot be led by the Spirit if you are still clinging to your own way.
You cannot walk in His power if you are still trying to make your own plans.
You must come to the place where you say, Holy Spirit, take over.
Not my will, not my way, yours.
And when you do, oh, when you do, you will find that He speaks, that He leads, that He moves in ways you never expected.
You will wake up in the morning and hear His voice whisper direction into your heart.
You will step into situations and feel His presence guiding you.
You will walk into places of darkness and the light of His glory will shine through you.
But it begins with surrender.
It begins when you stop trying to control your own life.
It begins when you stop resisting, when you stop holding on to your own plans, your own desires, your own way.
It begins when you say, Holy Spirit, I belong to you.
Lead me where you want me to go.
Take me where you want me to be.
And when you do, He will.
Oh, how He will.
He will take your hand and lead you in the very center of God's will.
He will fill you with His presence, not just in moments of worship, not just in moments of prayer, but every single day of your life.
Oh, precious one, do not settle for a single moment of His presence.
Do not settle for a one-time experience.
Do not be satisfied with just a touch.
No.
Live in His presence.
Walk in His power.
Be led by His voice.
And when you do, you will never, never, never be the same again.
Oh, listen to me.
The Holy Spirit is not just an influence, not just a power, not just a feeling.
He is a person.
He is real.
He is alive.
And He longs to be your closest friend, your constant companion, your everything.
Oh, how many people seek after the gifts of the Spirit, how many long for the power, for the miracles, for the supernatural, but they forget that the greatest gift is Him.
The greatest treasure is not what He gives, but who He is.
I have seen it over and over again.
People cry out, Lord, use me.
Lord, anoint me.
Lord, fill me with Your power.
But, oh, precious one, do you know what the Holy Spirit desires most?
He desires fellowship.
He longs for communion.
He longs to be known, to be loved, to be welcomed into every moment of your life.
Oh, the heart of the Holy Spirit is tender.
He is not an impersonal force.
He is not a distant presence.
He is gentle.
He is sensitive.
He is grieved when He is ignored, when He is resisted, when He is treated as something to be used rather than someone to be loved.
And I tell you today, with everything in me, you will never know the fullness of His power until you know the depth of His presence.
You will never walk in true anointing until you learn to walk in intimacy with Him.
Because the Holy Spirit does not come upon those who only seek Him for power.
He comes upon those who love Him, who yield to Him, who long for Him more than anything else.
Oh, how my heart breaks for those who run after the things of God, but neglect the very presence of God.
They want the miracles, but do not want the relationship.
They want the signs and wonders, but do not want the secret place, the quiet place where His voice speaks, where His heart is revealed.
But, beloved, hear me.
This is the secret.
This is the key.
If you would know His power, you must first know Him.
If you would walk in His anointing, you must first walk in fellowship with Him.
You must learn to love His presence more than anything in this world.
Oh, how I love the Holy Spirit.
How I cherish His presence.
There is no greater joy, no greater privilege, no greater treasure than knowing Him, than walking with Him, than being completely yielded to His voice.
I know what it is to grieve Him.
I know what it is to feel His presence lift when I have relied too much on my own strength.
Oh, and how my heart has wept in those moments because there is nothing, nothing more precious than the presence of the Holy Spirit.
And I know what it is to yield to Him, to surrender fully, to walk so closely with Him that His voice becomes as real as my own breath.
And oh, what glory, what joy, what power.
But it is not just for me.
It is for you.
Oh, hear me, it is for you.
The Holy Spirit longs to be your dearest friend.
He longs to walk with you, to speak to you, to lead you into the very heart of the Father.
But you must welcome Him.
You must make room for Him.
You must surrender to Him, not just in the great moments, not just in times of worship, but in the quiet, in the ordinary, in the moments when no one is watching.
You must talk to Him.
You must listen for His voice.
You must invite Him into every part of your life, into your thoughts, your decisions, your dreams.
You must cultivate intimacy with Him, not seeking Him for what He can do, but for who He is.
And when you do, oh, when you do, He will come.
He will fill you in ways you never imagined.
He will become so real to you, so near, so present, that His voice will guide you with every step you take.
Oh, precious one, do not settle for anything less than this.
Do not be satisfied with a distant knowledge of God when He longs to walk with you, to dwell in you, to be the very breath in your lungs.
The Holy Spirit is not a doctrine.
He is not an experience.
He is not just a force or a feeling.
He is a person, and He longs to be known.
Oh, if you would only reach for Him, if you would only open your heart and say, Holy Spirit, I want to know You.
I want to walk with You.
I want to love You more than anything in this world.
Oh, if you would only do this, He would come in all His glory, and you will never, never be the same again.
Oh, precious one, listen to me.
The Holy Spirit is not given to us so we can live for ourselves, so we can seek our own way, so we can hold on to our own plans.
No, a thousand times no.
The Holy Spirit comes to take full possession, to fill every part of our being until we no longer live, but Christ lives in us.
This is the secret.
This is the mystery that so few understand.
To be filled with the Spirit is to be yielded wholly, completely, utterly surrendered to Him.
It is not just about receiving His power, not just about experiencing His presence, about belonging to Him, about saying, Holy Spirit, I am yours.
Take everything.
Take my plans, my desires.
Mine will take all of me.
Oh, how many long for the anointing.
How many desire the gifts.
How many want the miracles, but they are not willing to die to themselves.
They want the Spirit's power, but they still cling to their own way.
They want His leading, but they still hold on to their own plans.
They want the fire of God, but they are not willing to lay themselves upon the altar.
But listen to me.
You cannot have both.
You cannot have His fullness while still holding on to yourself.
You cannot walk in the Spirit while still living in the flesh.
You cannot be controlled by Him while still trying to control your own life.
Oh, this is where so many miss it.
They come so close.
They touch the hem of His garment.
They taste of His presence.
They feel the stirring of His Spirit.
But they never fully surrender.
They never fully yield.
And so they live in frustration.
They wonder why they do not walk in victory.
They wonder why they do not experience the fullness of His power.
They wonder why their prayers feel weak, why their walk with God feels dry.
And the answer is this, they have not fully died to self.
Oh, do you hear me?
This is the cost.
This is the price.
This is what it means to truly be filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit.
You must lay everything down, everything, your dreams, your ambitions, your pride, your reputation, your comforts.
Oh, everything must go.
There must be a moment when you come before God, when you lift your hands to heaven and say, Lord, I surrender.
I give you my life, my future, my very breath.
I no longer belong to myself.
I belong to you.
And in that moment, oh, in that moment, the fire of the Holy Spirit will fall and you will never be the same again.
I have seen it.
I have seen it in my own life.
I have wept before God in the secret place.
I have laid myself on the altar saying, Lord, I am nothing.
I have nothing to offer.
I do not want fame.
I do not want recognition.
I do not want anything but you.
And in that place of surrender, the Holy Spirit came.
He took my nothing and filled it with his everything.
He took my weakness and poured in his strength.
He took my emptiness and flooded it with his glory.
And oh, dear one, he will do the same for you if you will only let go, if you will only lay yourself down, if you will only surrender.
So many ask, Catherine, how do I walk in the Spirit?
How do I live a life that is filled with his power?
And my answer is always the same.
You must die.
You must die to self, die to pride, die to the need for control, die to your own way.
You must come to that place where you say, Lord, I no longer live.
You live in me.
My hands are yours.
My voice is yours.
My very breath is yours.
And when you do, when you do, the Holy Spirit will come in all his fullness.
He will fill you.
He will consume you.
He will take over every part of your being.
And you will find yourself walking in a power that is not your own, speaking with words that are not your own, moving in ways that are beyond you because it will not be you.
It will be him.
Oh, do not hold back.
Do not settle for anything less than total surrender.
Do not be satisfied with a partial filling when God longs to give you his fullness.
Lay it all down.
Let him take full possession.
Let him have his way in you.
And when you do, the spirit of the living God will flow through you like a mighty river.
You will walk in divine strength.
You will move in supernatural power.
You will know what it is to be led, controlled, and utterly consumed by the Holy Spirit.
And, oh, precious one, you will never, never be the same again.