Tuesday and I am celebrating a night that was filled with friends, helping friends. A couple of us helped a church member last night and put our seldom used construction skills to work and the family now has hot water again. It felt good to stretch some muscles that had not used a pipe wrench in a long time.
So I will treat myself to a hearty cup of Door County Cherry Crème Coffee and toast hot water and good friends.
Many people look for something when they enter a church building or service. They are seeking a charge to their soul's battery. It seems to me that they are confused and are looking for emotions or feelings. What they are missing is the "Spirit Filled Life". They possess the Holy Spirit but are afraid to see what a Spirit filled life is like. So they quench the Spirit within and rely on others to fill their needs. As soon as the need is not met they blame others and start the Christian Dance called the Church Hop". They never really become effective members or impact the Kingdom for eternity. They sit and look at the speaker or pastor and remind me of a bunch of mosquitoes that just figured that they broke in to the mannequin factory.
So let's take a look at one verse in a series that we will study this week.
Ephesians 5:18 (NIV)
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,
Here is what we can be taught by this verse.
A. Control - As liquor controls the life of the drunkard, Pro. 23:29-35, the Spirit of God should control the life of the believer. (In their walk, their talk, their thoughts, their attitudes, their actions, etc.)
B. Completeness - The word "filled" means "to be full to the top; lacking nothing; nothing short of complete." If there is room for any other thing in our hearts, then we are not filled with the Spirit. His will should be our will. His thoughts should be our thoughts. His desires should be our desires. The Holy Spirit is to be in absolute domination of our lives.
C. Consistency - This little verb is in the "active tense." This means that it is to be a constant state of being. Very literally, we are to "go on being filled with the Spirit." Sadly, this kind of consistent living in missing from many Christians walk with God.
D. Compliance - This verb is also in the "passive voice". This means that this filling is something that is done to us. It is not something we can work up on our own, but we are to be vessels that God can fill and use for His glory. That means that we are to be clean, ready and open to the filling of the Spirit of God.
E. Command - It is also worthy of noting that this verb is in the "imperative mood". This makes it a command. Paul is not offering us an option for living, but is laying down the command of God for our lives. When all these things are taken together, it seems clear to me that it is the Lord's will for every believer to be filled with the Spirit at all times. When we aren't, then it seems obvious that we are walking in rebellion and sin before the Lord, James 4:17. Why is this so serious of a matter? Because when we are not walking in the Spirit as we should be, we will not be able to hear His voice when He speaks and God will not be able to use us as He desires to.
A Christian who cannot hear and discern God's voice is basically a bored and unhappy Christian living their faith through others. This is the sad state of many people and whole churches.
Tomorrow we will continue this discussion. Hang with me this week,
God bless,
Marty
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