A Lesson for Christians from the Life of an Alcoholic
Scripture: Ephesians 5:10-21
STORY
Mel Trotter was an alcoholic. Again and again he promised his wife that he would give up drink for good. Once, he managed to stay dry for eleven and a half weeks. At the end, thirst overcame him. He squandered his horse to pay for a round of drinks. He reached the point that he committed burglary to feed his awful habit. His wife and child suffered terribly for his sin.
They had only the one child. The boy was about two years old when Mel came home after a drinking spree. “I went home after a ten-day drunk and found him dead in his mother’s arms. I’ll never forget that day. I was a slave, and I knew it. It pretty nearly broke my heart. I said, ‘I’m a murderer. I’m anything but a man. I can’t stand it, and I won’t stand it! I’ll end my life.” But he didn’t have the courage to do it because he feared God’s judgment.
He put his arms around his wife and swore on the baby’s coffin that he’d never touch another drop. Two hours after the funeral, he staggered home blind drunk.
On this day, January 19, 1897, Mel Trotter made the decision to kill himself. He staggered drunk through Chicago, determined to throw himself into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan. Unable to break his habit, unable to keep his promises, he wanted to die.
His progress brought him past the door of the Pacific Garden Mission. Harry Monroe, who himself had been an alcoholic, was leading singing. As the doorman helped Mel in, Monroe stopped to pray for Mel. “O God, save that poor, poor boy,” he pleaded.
Monroe told the audience of his own past and how Christ had delivered him from alcohol. Mel listened and believed. That night, he answered Monroe’s invitation to make room for God in his life. Monroe explained that Jesus loved him and would change him. And that is what Jesus did. Asked later how he knew he was saved, he replied, “I was there when it happened, January 19, 1897, 10 minutes past 9, Central Time, Pacific Garden Mission, Chicago, Illinois, USA.” (By the staff or associates of Christian History Institute, Copyright 1999-2005).
MESSAGE
What does it mean to be so affected at one moment in your life, that your life is totally changed forever?
“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit...”
What does it mean to be so filled with the Spirit of God that nothing is ever the same?
What is it like to go from being so controlled by one substance, or thing, to being *that* controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit?
Being controlled, or filled, by the Holy Spirit should be a profound reality in a Christian’s life.
Understanding the infilling of the Holy Spirit can, and does, change our lives. I want us to focus on that for a few minutes this morning. Because as we meet in a few minutes around the Lord’s table, it is important that we who partake are *filled* with the Holy Spirit.
Let’s first look at some reasons why we are to understand this. Why is this something that we must not, and cannot ignore if we’re going to live the life Jesus has called us to live on this earth:
First, the reason we must give attention to the filling of the Holy Spirit is:
1. Our Obedience
God has commanded us to “be filled with the Spirit.”
It’s not a suggestion. It’s not an option. It’s a biblical mandate. He doesn’t say, “I prefer that you not get drunk with wine but maybe, think about being filled with the Holy Spirit instead.” NO, he says, “Don’t be drunk with wine, instead BE filled with the Holy Spirit.”
The verb “to be” here is in the imperative. It’s also in the present tense and it’s in the plural context. In other words, the command is addressed to every believer, and it’s an ongoing, continual requirement.
If you read the whole passage here in Ephesians, Paul was addressing husbands and wives, children and parents, employers and employees - it’s to everybody who believes.
That’s the first reason we are to give attention to this command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Our obedience.
The second reason is:
2. Our Obligation
Christians have tremendous responsibilities that we must fulfill. We have obligations for our life of worship. It’s to be alive with joy and the reality of Christ; it’s to express the overflow of the Spirit-filled life. The Bible says in verse 19, that the overflow of the Spirit is singing songs together, having a song in our heart, and giving thanks for everything. That’s the overflow of the Spirit - when someone has the Holy Spirit, there will be evidence of it, and the Bible says, singing and having a song deep within (in our heart) and always giving thanks for EVERYTHING - every thing...is evidence of the Holy Spirit within a person’s worship. And we have obligations in our marriages and in being single. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:21 that we are to submit to one another, because of our reverence for Christ. And the Bible says in Corinthians 6:12-20 that as single (and married too) that we are to run from sexual sin, and to keep ourselves pure. Love and submission can’t happen apart from the power of the Spirit. And as single people, we can’t keep ourselves sexually pure without being Spirit-filled. We have an obligation in our work life (Eph 6:5,6). We’re to work for our wages and have a good attitude about the task we’re called to do. We have an obligation in our life of spiritual warfare (Eph 6:12). The Christian is at war. We’re in a fight to the finish with a foe who roams the earth looking for someone to eat up and spit out, and there are no holds barred. How can we meet all these obligations and fight such a formidable foe? Only by being filled with the Holy Spirit. So we see we have many obligations that we can only fulfill by being Spirit-filled.
Thirdly, we’re to give attention and concern to being filled with the Holy Spirit because of the opportunities we’ve been given as Christians.
3. Our Opportunities
Verse 16 that we read from Ephesians 5, says, “Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. This verse is God’s reminder that we are to use our time and opportunities wisely. What golden opportunities we let slip through our fingers because the Spirit is not in control! Acts 1:8 tells us we are given the power of God to share the good news of the gospel; our opportunities are a reason to be Spirit filled.
You say, okay Pastor, you’ve got me convinced, but how do I do it? How do I get Spirit-filled? How do I stay Spirit-filled? Do I have to speak in tongues? Do I have to preach or teach? Do I have to be jumping up and down for joy all the time? What?
Here’s how ... first and foremost...
A. Surrender Your Life to Christ.
Surrender means everything. Every thing. There’s an old song that says, “I lost it all to find everything.” We have to give up having our own way, relying on our own intellect or understanding. We have to abandon our own treasures and lusts. It’s a tall drink to swallow. And we’re pretty good at surrendering some stuff. But the truth of the matter, my friend, is that unless there’s total surrender, there’s no surrender.
An alcoholic has surrendered everything in their life to their next drink.
Are you as surrendered a Christian as an alcoholic is to their alcohol?
The second way we discover the infilling of the Holy Spirit is through:
B. Studying the Word. Reading the Bible.
A parallel passage to Ephesians 5, is Colossians 3, which says, “let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.” If you want to be Spirit-filled, feed yourself a steady diet of the Word of God.
True alcoholics never dry out. They never take a break from the bar or the booze, just because they’ve had too much of it and they feel like they need a break. But how many times have I heard people say, “I just need a break from church.” Now sometimes they say, “I need a break from religion,” and I can work with them on that one. But we don’t take a break from the thing that controls us. We don’t even want to.
Third, to be Spirit-filled, we are to stand in the presence of Christ.
C. Stand in the Presence of Christ.
A person who is always full of wine, or other alcohol, keeps close to the source and supply of it. They never stray from their source. I’ve had an alcoholic friend arrive at my house in the middle of the night wondering if I had a bottle they could buy!! That’s desperation! Imagine being that desperate to be in God’s presence. Imagine having a snow storm and not being able to get to church and just longing for the next week to come so you could enter into praise and worship with other believers and hear the Word of the Lord preached. We need to stay close to the Source. Jesus, himself told us that in John 12, verse 26, Jesus said, “All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am.”
Well, what are the results of being Spirit-filled?
There are several. (Let me give them to you quickly.)
When we’re Spirit-filled, we are:
1. Sanctified
- living with wisdom, not recklessly. Verse 15 - live not as fools but as those who are wise.
2. Servants
Verse 16 - using every opportunity to do good.
3. Sympathetic
- careful in our actions - using understanding with others - making sure our actions are God-driven and not self-motivated. Verse 17 says don’t act thoughtlessly.
4. Sober
- the Holy Spirit is the *only* control in our lives. Verse 18 (our text, or key verse) - don’t be drunk with wine, be Spirit-filled.
5. Singers
- When we’re Spirit-filled, singing will be part of our lives - doesn’t matter if you have a good voice or not, there will be a song, and singing will express God-given joy. Verse 19 - then you WILL sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making music to the Lord in your hearts.
6. Satisfied
- Verse 20 - Being thankful for what you have - not grumbling about what you don’t have
7. Submissive
- Verse 21 - showing love for one another in all circumstances - you WILL submit to one another out of reverence (or respect) for Christ. See, when we respect one another, it’s for Christ’s sake, not because the other person is so wonderful - that’s why the Spirit-filled life shows respect, and submission to one another.
Conclusion: A Spirit-filled life is one that is completely surrendered to the Lord’s control, and as a result produces undeniable spiritual fruit.
READ: (rest of the story)
Mel Trotter was a helpless drunk on his way to the murky waters of Lake Michigan. He had given up on any hope of change and was going to take his life. But a friendly invitation from a doorman to come into the Pacific Garden Mission to hear a gospel message was the beginning of a new life for Trotter. Superintendent Harry Monroe’s own testimony touched Trotter’s heart and he cried out to the Lord for forgiveness. Trotter’s life was dramatically changed. He lost the thirst for alcohol and received complete victory.
When Monroe died in 1912, Trotter served as general superintendent, overseeing Pacific Garden Mission until 1918. Pacific Garden Mission became the brightest spot in Chicago to Mel Trotter, who in 1905 was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry. Over the years Trotter helped found at least 67 other rescue missions across the country. As the years passed and Trotter preached the Gospel from coast to coast, people started calling him, “The happiest man in the world” and “The man who raves about Jesus.” Not only is he one of the best known converts of the Old Lighthouse, but when the going was rugged in the years of WWI, Mel Trotter himself kept the light burning brightly at Pacific Garden Mission. (By the staff or associates of Christian History Institute, Copyright 1999-2005).
What light is burning from your life? Is it the light of a Spirit-filled Christian, or is something else in control?
As we gather ‘round the Lord’s table this morning, I challenge you to examine your life and your heart to determine who, or what, is in control.
SERMON NOTES
A Lesson for Christians from
The Life of an Alcoholic
Eph. 5:15-20
Text: Eph 5:18
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage (Acts 4:31)
Reasons we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit:
1. Our ________________________ (vs 18).
2. Our ________________________ (vs 19).
3. Our ________________________ (vs 15).
How to be filled with the Holy Spirit:
A. __________________ your life to Christ.
B. __________________ God’s Word.
C. __________________ in His presence.
Results of being Spirit-filled:
1. Sanctified (v15)
2. Servants (v16)
3. Sympathetic (v17)
4. Sober (v18)
5. Singers (v19)
6. Satisfied (v20)
7. Submissive (v21)
