Always For All Things-3

ALWAYS For ALL THINGS--III—Ephesians 5:15-21

OR--A Distinctive Walk

Attention:

Plants with a distinctive growth habit—Cotton versus Millet versus Wheat versus Soybeans versus Peanuts versus corn, etc...

Plants with a distinctive growth habit—Carnivorous—I like to look for plants on any trip I go on/I look for unusual patterns—Flowers/Colors/Shapes/Stands

The Catesby’s(Pine) Lilies(Lilium catesbaei) just past the prison/The Drosera Filiformis(Threadleaf Sundew) just before the prison/The Utricularia inflata(bladderwort) in Tate’s Hell/Redbud trees(Cercis canadensis) in the early spring along the I-85 in NC north & south of Charlotte.

South Georgia—Fire ants vs. indeginous spp. of ants—Huge Mounds—Stings can kill—Command respect.

Christians all have a life-“walk” that distinguishes them from the walk of the world.

Paul exhorted the Ephesian church toward a telling/distinctive/indicative walk.

God’s people have a(n) telling/distinctive/indicative walk.

What is telling/distinctive/indicative about the walk of God’s people?

*When is the walk of God’s people indicative?

7 indicators of a Christian walk.

We have seen that A thankful/telling walk is...

1. An ACCURATE WALK(:15)

2. A REDEMPTIVE WALK(:16)

3. An INSIGHTFUL WALK(:17)

4—A thankful/telling walk is also...

An UNCOMPROMISING WALK(:18)

Explanation:(:18)Filled/Unsquandered

:18—“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”

A practical admonition associated with circumspect Christian living is a personal refusal to be actively reckless with that faith.

One obvious example of spiritual recklessness(“dissipation”) is the “drunkenness” associated with the misuse of “wine.”

“In” such a misuse of “wine” as “drunkenness,” “dissipation”—Lit.=‘lack of salvation’—is embodied.

“Drunkenness” is therefore, not a disease, as some would have us believe. It is a sin against self, man, & God. A fleshly attempt to placate one’s low sense of self-worth.

Dissipation “is a waste of resources that should be submitted to Jesus.”—David Guzik

In fact, rather than being ‘filled’ with “wine,” Christians are to “be filled with the Spirit” of God.

God’s people are not to be filled with any mind-altering or mood-changing physical substance.

“The carnal contrast to being filled with the Holy Spirit is being drunk.”—David Guzik

Some individuals & religious groups think themselves closer to God if they get high...

—Some American Indians use peyote for religious reasons.

—Many religions prioritize getting high, believing that it puts one in touch with the spiritual realm...That may be so...the Satanic spiritual realm! They may seek a frenzied, hysterical, &/or hallucinogenic state wherein they claim to be closer to god.

—Stoners smoke weed & feel ‘closer to god,’ though they are not.

*Whereas the Christian’s only means of ‘mind-alteration or mood-change’ is by personal conviction & repentant awakening thru the substantive presence of God thru the Spirit Himself!

Acts 2:1-18—“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, & it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, & one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit & began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, & were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed & marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians & Medes & Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea & Cappadocia, Pontus & Asia, “Phrygia & Pamphylia, Egypt & the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews & proselytes, Cretans & Arabs--we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed & perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice & said to them, “Men of Judea & all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, & heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons & your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants & on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.”

God’s presence is encountered apart from the use &/or abuse of the physical(Col. 2:20-23). Just as His presence is encountered apart from the use &/or abuse of asceticism or penance as a means of bringing about one’s own deserving.