Spirit Filled Living

People are fans of all sorts of things… music, bands, art, SIFI, rollercoasters, book series, movie series, not to mention sports teams… fans have their favorites and fans can be very passionate about their favorites.

Star Trek fans are… Trekys… Trekys speak clingon becasue they are passionate about star trek.

Taylor Swift fans are… Swifties.

Fans are very passionate… even obsessive about their favorite things.

As Christians, we should be a fan of Jesus! Are we obsessed as a Jesus fan?

In Chapter 5 of Ephesians Paul starts off by saying that our goal as Christ followers, as fans of Jesus is simple…

Ephesians 5:1–2 ESV

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Being fans of Jesus, we are imitators of God. We are also children of God who are called and created to walk in love the way Jesus loves the Father and humanity.

For us to become an imitators of God… loving God in such a way that we are willing to die to our own sinful and selfish desires.

In light of being imitators of God, Paul goes on to mention the things that will trip us up.

Things that will cause us to stumble and things we must avoid.

If we are going to be filled with the Holy Spirit, holiness must be our desire. If we walk in love, we must be careful where we walk.

Here is the warning…/

Ephesians 5:3–4 ESV

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Walking in love requires us to evaluate how we view other people.

Our relationships with one another are enriched and healthy when we imitate Jesus and walk in love.

However, when we walk in sin, relationships become a distraction. We view people as objects to be desired, as a barrier to overcome, as an ends to a means.

“Get rid of all sexual immorality and impurity…”

Get rid of those things that will feed on our sexual temptations. Don’t allow those things in your life, flee from sexual sin. Don’t entertain impure thoughts that objectify people who are loved and created in the image of God.

We live in a world where sex is perfectly fine in a relationship.

As long 2 people love each other… love is love no matter what gender their attracted to, what age they consent to, or regardless of what the situation or circumstances may be.

We can choose to heed God’s warning or we can allow the world to influence our decisions when it comes to sexuality.

Heed this warning… Flee from sin, live pure and holy lives in an evil and sinful world.

If anyone is in a sexual relationship that is impure; make it right or break it off.

Paul mentions coveting… wanting what someone else has.

Things become a distraction and cause us to look at others differently

When we covet, we see others with jealousy, we see ourselves as victims we become unthankful and discontent.

If we want what other people have those things that we desire can quickly become the object of our worship.

We must only seeking the Lord and HIS Kingdom, if we are seeking any other thing that is idolatry.

Paul mentions our speech “foolish talk” and “crude joking”

Loving this world and trying to fit in by talking and joking like the world.

We don’t have to be corny but we don’t have to be crude or vulgar either.

Paul continues…

Ephesians 5:6–8 ESV

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Don’t be deceived by the pleasures of sin.

The world does not love you, the world is all about using and abusing… just look at the empty and ever changing standards of Hollywood.

I’m not here to judge anyone but God loves you enough to set you apart for HIS purpose.

God has created us live holy and pure lives in this sinful world.

HE will speak the truth to us because HE loves us.

Don’t let this world deceive you, be wise and submit yourself fully to God’s Word.

Don’t go back into the darkness that once made you lost and unfulfilled and unfruitful.

Let the light of Jesus shine bright within you and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:11–13 (ESV)

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.

Paul mentions things that create disfunction and disconnection in our relationships with others.

Church, God wants us to pursue healthy relationships.

God wants us to have marriages that are healthy, families that love and respect one another, workplaces where employees work hard and leaders who serve and value people.

Let Jesus reveal truth and shine bright on those pitfalls so we can walk in love.

Let the Holy Spirit search our hearts and convict us. Expose those unfruitful deeds of the flesh, those secret sins so we can live in real freedom and live in victory without shame.

Spirit filled living will cause us to grow in our relationships with one another and our relationship with the Lord.

As we highlight Spirit Filled Living here is where we are going to land this morning.

Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

PRAY

Don’t waste your time.

Be careful how you walk

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise”

Seek Godly wisdom, not foolishness

Wisdom has been made available to us but we need to ask for it.

Ephesians 1:17 ESV

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 3:17 ESV

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

We can never get more time… when it’s gone it’s gone forever.

Vs 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Think about it. If someone takes away your money, you may not like it, but you can earn more money. If someone or something takes away your job or even your house, it might be very difficult, but you can get another job or house.

But if something takes your time and wastes it, you can never get it back. Those hours or days are gone forever never to be retrieved.

Time a very valuable thing but so often we don’t treat it as if it’s valuable.

vs 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

As believers we must not waste our time being foolish. We have a job to do, and our lives must reflect our motivation and our goal—to serve our Lord, to share Jesus and HIS gospel, and to be ready for HIS kingdom.

Be continually learning and growing in our understanding God’s will through sanctification…

Sanctification: the process of growing to become more like Jesus every day.

Look to Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ to understand what the will of the Lord is.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Vs 18 “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit”

This verse is often quoted in support of anti-drinking efforts but the underlying issue goes much deeper than whether as Christians we should drink alcohol or not .

The more important concern is what is going to be in control of your life?

Either the Holy Spirit is, or something else is. And whatever else it may be, it’s a poor substitute.

Getting drunk leads to debauchery—the word refers to a drunk person’s being out of control… also dealing with their wastefulness (of resources and of life itself). These have no place in the lives of believers. Besides, we don’t need alcohol… Paul says that we are filled with the Spirit.

Paul contrasts getting drunk with wine, which produces a temporary “high,” to being filled with the Spirit, which produces lasting joy.

Being filled with alcohol can make you lose control and do stupid things.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit gives you self-control (Galatians 5:23) and helps you worship God and serve others.

This verse should be considered in light of the whole section as Paul contrasted the “before and after” of the believers’ lives.

Getting drunk with wine was associated with the old way of life and its selfish desires.

Most likely, the believers already knew that drunkenness should not be a part of their Christian lives. Paul wrote these words in order to deliberately contrast drunkenness with the infilling of the Spirit in the same way that he contrasted those in darkness and those living in the light.

Paul also associated drunkenness with darkness, and sobriety with light.

The words that come out of your mouth are the evidence of being under the influence.

The Holy Spirit will influence the things that come out of our mouth.

vs 19-20 “Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

The effects of alcohol are obvious but this is what happens when we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

The singing should be a genuine representation of our beliefs and feelings—the “heart” referring to our whole being.

The primary focus of our singing is to give thanks to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That’s why we sing songs of worship today. As believers we can encourage one another as we give praise to God through music. As we praise God we are speaking and encouraging one another.

Paul mentioned psalms, such as the psalms of the Old Testament, as well as new ones written in the old style. The psalms were usually accompanied by a harp.

Hymns and spiritual songs were written by the believers and could be used in praise to God.

Paul’s letters consist of some possible fragments of these hymns…

Colossians 1:15–18 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Philippians 2:5–11 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If that doesn’t get you praising God, I’m not sure you what will. We must be under the influence of the Holy Spirit if we are going to be in awe of God in worship.

The early Christians had access to the Old Testament and freely used it but they did not have the New Testament or any other Christian books to study.

So when learning stories and teachings about Christ they were sometimes set to music to make them easier to memorize and pass on from person to person.

Music can be an important part of Christian worship and education.

Often times we don’t know verses but we know songs.

As believers we are to be full of the Holy Spirit, grounded in God’s Word, and know what we believe and why we believe it… we don’t check our brains at the door.

We are under the influence of the Holy Spirit so we can bless others with a heart that is giving thanks to God for everything, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Speak to one another as we give praise to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.

Take Away:

Make the most of your time

Be under the influence of the Holy Spirit

Build one another up as we worship the Lord Jesus Christ and be thankful.