Spirit-Filled Living In Christ
Text: Eph. 5:15-20
Introduction
1. Illustration: In his article ’Celebrating God in Authentic Worship’, pastor Glenn Wagner (Calvary Church, Charlotte, NC) points out: "I believe that one of the most evangelistic tools the church possesses, one desperately needed in today’s society, is authentic worship. People want to know, first of all, if God exists; then second, can they relate to Him? If God exists, is it really possible to connect with Him in a vibrant, dynamic way? In genuine, authentic worship, observers see real people connecting powerfully with the real God. The outflow of a focus on God, a submission to the real Jesus, and an emphasis on ever-deepening relationships is an energetic, joyful, Spirit-filled, congregational worship of the triune God. Genuine celebration erupts when God’s people discover who they are in Christ. And powerful prayer arises from the hearts of those who have truly entered the presence of God" (PreachingNow Newsletter, June 25, 2002).
2. The question then, is how do we become authentic worshipers who have entered into the presence of an all-powerful God?
3. Paul gives us five ideals to strive towards in becoming genuine followers of Christ.
a. Be Wise
b. Be Opportunistic
c. Be Thoughtful
d. Be Spirit-Filled
e. Be Thankful
4. Read Eph. 5:15-20
Proposition: Genuine followers of Christ are those whose lives show evidence of being guided and directed by the Holy Spirit.
Transition: The first thing that Paul tells us to do is...
I. Be Wise (15)
A. Be Careful How You Live
1. Paul begins v. 15 with "So be careful how you live."
a. He is referring back to what he has already said in vv. 8-14 about living in the light. He instructs us to be careful how we live our lives.
b. The word translated "careful" carries the connotation of something done accurately, precisely, or given close attention (Snodgrass, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Ephesians, 288).
c. We need to be careful how we live because we are a living testimony, and are a reflection of the transforming work of Jesus in our lives.
d. In other words, the things we do and the things we say are judged by those around us of what Jesus does for a person.
e. Php 1:27 — Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing side by side, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
f. It is a said statement on the church when people outside of it say things like, "I don’t have a problem with Jesus, but I don’t want to be like some of these Christians I’ve met."
2. However, living carefully in front of others is only a secondary reason. The main reason is that we want to be pleasing to our Lord.
a. You see, we can fool others into thinking the we are upright people, when in reality, we are not what we profess to be, but we cannot fool God.
b. He sees what we do and He knows what we think.
c. This is why the Psalmist says, Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT) "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."
d. We need to be honest before God and ask Him to search our hearts, spirit, and mind to see if there is anything about us that needs to change.
3. Paul continues this thought by saying, "Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise."
a. The unwise is the person who gives little thought about where he should go and where he should not go.
b. He just arises in the morning and goes to work or about his daily routine with little thought about God and about what happens beyond this life.
c. Psalm 14:1 (NLT)
Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!
d. What Paul is saying is that we need to live our lives as though our present breath could be our last. We must not think that we will have more time later on to get things right with God because we never know what tomorrow may bring.
e. Jesus said that He is coming like a thief in the night. We cannot and will not expect His coming and so we must live as if it could be today.
4. On the other hand, there is the wise person.
a. This is the person on mission. He knows God personally and he knows that he is on earth to live a righteous and godly life and to bear testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ.
b. Therefore, when he arises in the morning and goes to work or about his daily affairs, he walks in the presence and praise of God. His thoughts are upon God all day long.
c. The wise man is not only concerned about every step of life, but he struggles to watch every step—to make sure that he walks throughout life exact, strict, disciplined, and controlled.
d. He knows that the only answer to the evil and problems of life is Jesus Christ and His righteousness.
e. Paul says that this is the kind of person that we should strive to become.
B. Wise Living
1. Illustration: Little Johnny’s grandfather was something of a philosopher and never missed an opportunity to give out bits of sage advice to his grandson. “Yessirree, Johnny,” he said one day, “remember, fools are certain, but wise men hesitate.” “Are you sure, Grandpa?” asked Johnny. “Yes, my boy,” said the old man, laying his gnarled hand on the youth’s head, “I’m absolutely certain.”
2. We are to be wise in what we hear, see, and go.
a. We are to be wise in what we hear because it can influence how we think. Young people need to be careful what kind of music they are listening to because it can lead them away from Christ.
b. We are to be wise in what we see because by looking at certain things we can be enticed to sin. Ask yourselves this question, "Would I feel comfortable looking at this if Jesus were here right now?
c. We are to be wise in where we go because we can put ourselves in situations that are not healthy for us spiritually. Ask yourself this question, "Will going here bring me closer or farther away from Christ?"
3. We are to be wise in our relationships.
a. 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NLT)
Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”
b. Are the people that you spend most of your time with people who believe as you do?
c. Are the people you spend most of your time with going to encourage you in your faith?
d. Are the people that you spend most of your time with living lives that honor Christ?
4. We are to be wise in our decisions.
a. Is this what God would have me do?
b. Is this where God would have me go?
c. Have I prayed and asked God for guidance?
d. Is this something that God would want me to have?
e. Proverbs 1:7 (NLT)
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Transition: Next, Paul tells us to...
II. Be Opportunistic (16)
A. Make the Most of Every Opportunity
1. In v. 16, Paul tells us to "Make the most of every opportunity..."
a. Ephesians 5:16 (NKJV) "redeeming the time..."
b. The first thing that we must notice is the idea of redeeming time.
c. The word being used here by Paul "has the basic meaning of buying, especially of buying back or buying out. It was used of buying a slave in order to set him free; thus the idea of redemption is implied in this verse" (MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Ephesians).
d. The second thing we must notice is that Paul is not talking about minutes, seconds, and hours, but he talking about "a measured, allocated, fixed season" (MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Ephesians).
e. This can also be seen by the fact that he uses the definite article "the time."
f. What is meant is simply to make the best possible use of all circumstances like prudent merchants (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
2. The reason that Paul gives to make the most of every opportunity is that we live "in these evil days."
a. All you have to do is watch the news on TV, read the newspaper, or search the latest news articles on the internet, and then you cannot help but recognize that we live in evil times.
b. We live in a world where men are marrying other men, and women are marrying other women.
c. We live in a world where mothers are sticking their babies in the microwave.
d. We live in world where people are blowing up other people in the name of religion.
e. We live in a world where churches are being burned and believers are being murdered because of their faith.
f. We truly live in evil times!
3. Therefore, because we live in evil times, we need to make the most of every opportunity we are afforded to make a difference in this world by ministering the gospel to the world.
a. We need to minister the gospel because time is short.
b. We need to minister the gospel because the days are evil.
c. We need to minister the gospel because people are dying and going to hell.
d. We need to make the most of every opportunity.
B. Redeeming Time
1. Illustration: President Abraham Lincoln, in a National Proclamation of Prayer and Repentance in 1863 wrote, “We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”
2. We live in difficult times.
a. We live in a time where wrong is right and right is wrong.
b. We live in time where people have turned their backs against God.
c. We live in a time where more and more doubt the existence of God.
d. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NLT)
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
3. We live in crucial times.
a. The time of His coming is near so we must make the most of every opportunity.
b. We need to make personal evangelism a priority.
c. We need to make missions a priority.
d. We need to make a difference in our community and in our world.
4. We live in exciting times.
a. In the last days there will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit such as never has been seen before.
b. Already in places like Africa, South America, and China God is pouring out His Spirit and revival is taking place.
c. We need to pray that revival comes to America.
d. We need to pray that revival comes to Morrow County.
e. We need to make the most of every opportunity.
Transition: We must also...
III. Be Thoughtful (17)
A. Don’t Act Thoughtlessly
1. In v. 17, Paul says, "Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do."
a. The word, which the NLT translates as "thoughtlessly," is closely related to the word used in v. 15, however, it is a much stronger form of the word.
b. The word means "not employing one’s understanding, particularly in practical matters - ’foolish, senseless, unwise (Louw and Nidda, ’Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
c. Did you catch that? "Not employing one’s understanding," means not just ignorance but willful ignorance.
d. It means that you already know do or not to do something, and choosing to ignore it.
e. James 4:17 (NLT)
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
2. Furthermore, Paul says that the way to avoid this willful ignorance is "understand what the Lord wants you to do."
a. To "understand" (syniemi) is to give the mind to something so as to get hold of it. It implies that an effort has to be made: so it has the sense of "try to grasp" (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
b. It means to think before you act. Remember Rom. 12:2 says, "the renewing of your minds," and not "the removing of your minds."
3. How do we understand what the Lord wants us to do? By reading, studying, and meditating on His word.
a. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
b. Before making a decision, we need to stop and ask ourselves, "What does God’s Word instruct me to do in a situation like this?"
c. The only way that we can know what to do is to know what the Book says!
d. There is no substitute for studying and reflecting upon God’s word.
e. It is not only God’s instruction book, but it is also God’s love letter to you.
f. Everything that you could possibly need to know about understanding what God wants you to do is in this book.
B. People of the Word
1. Illustration: Believers Lack Biblical Understanding: A George Barna poll reveals that many born again Americans hold beliefs contrary to Scripture. Among the most disturbing is that 68% think the Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves. Other alarming beliefs are; that the Holy Spirit does not exist (53%); that Satan does not exist (47%); that a good person can earn his/her way to heaven (31%); that Jesus Christ died but never had a physical resurrection (30%); and that Jesus Christ committed sins (24%). George Barna notes these results “underscore the magnitude of the challenge facing churches today.” (Barna Research Online 7/12/00)
2. Today Biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high.
a. Today there are more English versions of the Bible than ever before.
b. Today there are more study Bibles than ever before.
c. Today there are more Bible resources available than ever before.
d. However, there are fewer people reading, knowing, and understanding the Bible than ever before.
3. Today there are fewer churches that accept the authority of Scripture than ever before.
a. Even some of those who do read the Bible don’t believe that it is the inerrant Word of God.
b. Is it any wonder that the church has lost its influence in our society?
c. Is it any wonder that Christians are straying from the faith?
d. Is it any wonder that some denominations are ordaining homosexuals to the ministry?
4. Today we need to get back to the Word.
a. We need to accept it as the ultimate authority.
b. We need to know what it teaches.
c. We need to act upon it precepts.
d. We need to live it out in front of others.
Transition: Number four, we need to...
IV. Be Filled (18-19)
A. Instead, Be Filled
1. Paul tells us "Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit."
a. There are two imperatives in this verse, and the force of those imperatives indicates that we are to never do the one and always do the other (Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 720).
b. The first one is the one we should never do: "don’t be drunk with wine."
c. One of the characteristics of God’s people is that we live self-controlled and upright lives, and we cannot do that and be drunk at the same time.
d. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NLT)
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
e. Proverbs 20:1 (NLT)
Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.
2. Paul’s reasoning for this is simple: "because that will ruin your life."
a. Drunkenness leads to a downward spiral that will destroy you.
b. It leads to family, financial, social, and especially spiritual problems.
c. 1 Peter 4:3 (NLT)
You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.
d. We need to leave this at the foot of the cross and never pick it up again!
3. However, Paul gives us a much better alternative: "Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit."
a. For Paul, this is not just another is a long list of imperatives, but it is the key to all others (Fee, 721).
b. While the first imperative in this verse is one that we should never do, we should always do this one.
c. The force of this imperative indicates that we should be continually filled with/by the Holy Spirit.
d. Being filled with/by the Spirit is not something that happened to us on a dark and rainy night thirty years ago, but should be something that we continually seek after.
e. Can you ever have enough of the Holy Spirit? The answer to that is a resounding "No!"
4. What does a Spirit-filled person look like? This is a person who is "singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts."
a. A Spirit-filled person is a person whose life is characterized by joyful, whole-hearted praise to God.
b. Notice something: it’s not just one type of music. They sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
c. The Psalms were literally Scripture put to music, much like the choruses we sing today.
d. The hymns, talked about the greatness of God and what He has done for us.
e. Spiritual songs were literally "unpremeditated words sung ’in the Spirit’" (Bruce, NICNT: Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians, 159). In other words totally spontaneous singing in tongues.
f. A truly Spirit-filled person is not so much concerned with the style of the worship as the one he/she is worshipping.
g. Illustration: We sing a song around here that says, "I’m coming back to the heart of worship, because it’s all about you."
h. It’s not important that it makes us happy, as much as it is to make the Lord happy.
B. Continual Flow of Power
1. Illustration: Two ministers were talking about the kind of Sunday morning we all have sooner or later. The alarm did not go off. Various domestic crises occurred. The traffic was unusually heavy. Finally, when he arrived at the church, he was late and someone had his parking space. With his frustration level at an all-time high, he walked into the hallway where a zealous young Christian confronted him with the question, "Are you a Spirit-filled preacher?" He said that he gave the most honest answer he could give at the time. He replied, "I ought to be."
2. Being continually filled with the Spirit means a perpetual flow of power.
a. Acts 1:8 (NLT)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
b. Numerous times in the Book of Acts it states that these early believers were "filled again" with the Holy Spirit.
c. It wasn’t just once on the Day of Pentecost, but they were filled numerous times.
d. As a result, they never had a shortage of the Holy Spirit’s power working in their lives.
e. If they needed a continual flow of the Spirit’s power, then certainly we need a continual flow of that same power.
f. Does that mean that the Spirit’s power wears off? No, it just means that sometimes we leak!
3. Being continually filled with the Holy Spirit means a guarantee of divine guidance.
a. John 16:13-15 (NLT)
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’
b. He will instruct us on what to do.
c. He will direct us on where to go.
d. He will encourage us along the way.
Transition: The fifth thing that Paul tells us to do is...
V. Be Thankful (20)
A. Give Thanks For Everything
1. The last thing that Paul tells us to do in our quest live Spirit-filled lives is "give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
a. Thanksgiving is the believing acknowledgment of God and his purposes for good in Christ. Obviously, such giving of thanks points to a lifestyle and not just to spoken words (Snodgrass, 291).
b. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he even indicates that a lack of thankfulness can even be detrimental to our faith.
c. Romans 1:21 (NLT)
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
2. Notice that we are to be thankful for "everything."
a. Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NLT)
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
b. Even when things aren’t going well we need to be thankful for all that God has given us, and especially the gift of salvation.
B. Thankful Hearts
1. Illustration: Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, "Why is that there?" Alex Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words & think that they are wonderful, & begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post & remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help." That is the basis of thankfulness - to remember that we got here with the help of God, & that He is the provider of every blessing we have.
2. We need to be thankful for the past.
a. Thankful for what He has brought us through.
b. Thankful for where He has brought us from.
c. Thankful for whom He has allowed us to become.
4. We need to be thankful for the present.
a. Thankful for every breath.
b. Thankful for every heart beat.
c. Thankful for every step.
d. Thankful for what we everything we own.
5. We need to be thankful for the future.
a. Thankful that He has given us eternal life.
b. Thankful for sending Jesus to die on the cross for us.
c. Thankful that He has gone to prepare a place for us.
d. Thankful that soon, and very soon, He will be calling us home.
Transition: "There’s a blessed time that’s coming, coming soon. It may be morning, evening, or at noon. He is coming in power to hail the blessed hour. We shall see the King when He comes!"
Conclusion
1. As Spirit-filled people we are to:
a. Be Wise
b. Be Opportunistic
c. Be Thoughtful
d. Be Continually Spirit-filled
e. Be Thankful
2. Which of these areas do you lack the most? Take a moment, listen to the Lord, and ask Him which area you need the most work?
