Pressed Within

…Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. – Acts 18:5

The apostle was directed by the Holy Spirit to go to Macedonia. As Paul walked and worked amongst the people at Corinth, as he mingled with the people at Macedonia, the bible tells us that he begin to be pressed in the Spirit. Within the soul of Paul, his eyes affected his heart. He saw affected him. The word pressed means to perplex, afflict, preoccupy. It refers to a burden, and weight, a stress. Notice the pressing of the Spirit in Paul:

He was pressed in the Spirit because had deep concern for the Jews: Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. Ro 10:1. Paul, in his heart a concern for his own people. The people were lost, and he was concerned. There will be no affecting and pressing in the Spirit of a person if there is no concern for the people.

He was pressed in the Spirit because he was deeply affected by the unbelief, nonrepentance and idolatry of the people at Corinth. We are oftentimes affected by many things in life and the different stresses that we meet with. But with Paul, he was pressed because people were lost and they were trusting in idols, they were unrepentant in their sin and they were trusting in their own works, which were going to lead them to hell. A genuine Christian will be pressed in the Spirit because others do not know Christ as their saviour.

He was pressed by the Spirit because God’s Holy Spirit impressed deeply on him to do the right thing: to preach the gospel. Paul was an apostle of GOD. His heart had a concern for the lost. His eyes affected his heart , which caused him to need to do the work that GOD has asked him to do: to testify to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ! Paul’s pressing in the Spirit to preach the gospel is consistent with his calling, his Christian character and duty and his heart.

What presses you today in your life Christian? Do the things of these world press you more, than the lost souls around you? Do you get perplexed when your situations do not turn out right or are you more concerned that the people around you are still in sin? Will you ask God to help you to have a compassion for the lost, a concern for the sinner? Are you pressed in the Spirit?

Evangelist – Pastor Johnny Tan
Ambassador Baptist Church