Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / How to be Filled with The Holy Spirit | Ephesians 5:18 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

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How to be Filled with The Holy Spirit | Ephesians 5:18 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Can we show our appreciation to the praise team with our hands?
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I wish we could have kept going. That was glorious.
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And I just want to let you know. Maranatha Bible Church, you're a
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gift. You're a gift.
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In my life. I praise God for what he's doing
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in this church and what I mean by this church.
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I'm not speaking about this building.
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I'm not speaking about the events that we have necessary.
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I'm speaking about you, your lives, your consecration to the
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Lord, your love for the word of God.
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I like Paul, always thank God the Father for you, for your
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faith, for your love for him. May it only grow and intensify
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for his glory, and may he continue to keep his hand on NBC
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in these trying and difficult times.
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I'm just so grateful today. I want to do something today
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different. I don't want us to go to Mark
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today. This is going to be a different
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message, one that may be a reminder to many of us.
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But even Peter said that we can be stirred up by way of
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reminder. My desire, my prayer, is that
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this would demand in a response from us, that this would cause
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us to pursue the Lord in a new way, in a fresh way, as we've
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entered into 2024. And so I want to look at one
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particular verse, and this verse is a command, but it's a command
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filled with so much promise, so much wonderful, glorious
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consequences. And my desire again is that as
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we hear it and unpack it together, it would.
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Create a cry in our. Hearts for us to experience it
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for ourselves. And so if you have a copy of
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God's Word in your hands, I ask you to please meet me in the
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book of Ephesians in chapter 5 and verse 18.
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Here's what the Lord says to us today.
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And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be
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filled with the Spirit. Do not get drunk with wine, for
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that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.
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This is not a suggestion, this is not an option, this is a
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command. Let's ask the Lord to help us
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understand it and obey it. Though we come to you wanting to
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be filled with the Holy Spirit and Lord, even perhaps in our
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weakness now we ask for the filling of the Holy Spirit, and
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we pray that the presence of the Holy Spirit would be so obvious
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to us. And that Lord, the things that
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we will hear about the Holy Spirit filling us would cause us
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to yearn a greater, more intense, consistent, protective
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relationship with the Holy Spirit.
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We trust in your help at this time.
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In Jesus name we ask these things.
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Amen. Be filled with the Holy Spirit
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that is my exhortation to you today.
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Be filled with the Holy Spirit. And before we understand what
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this means, I want to give you a heads up that we're going to
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look at this with three headings. 3 very simple
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headings. I want us to #1 understand what
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the meaning of being filled with the Spirit is.
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I want us to then consider secondly the effects of being
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filled with the Spirit. And then lastly, I want us to
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understand very clearly the ways that we are filled with the Holy
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Spirit, the meaning of being filled with the Holy Spirit, the
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effects of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the way or ways
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that we can know the filling of the Holy Spirit.
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And before we can understand the meaning of what it means to be
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filled with the Holy Spirit, let's clarify two major
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misconceptions concerning this verse that a new believer might
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have, or perhaps a misunderstood student of the word of God.
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The first thing that we need to understand is that Paul is not
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suggesting that as Christians we are void of the indwelling
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presence of the Holy Spirit and. Though we have confessed faith
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in Christ, it is our responsibility to somehow
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acquire him. That is not the case for one
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simple reason. And the reason is this, that
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when you call upon the Lord Jesus Christ, when you offer
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your repentant faith, you know the indwelling presence of the
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Holy Spirit. You are sealed with the Holy
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Spirit. You receive him as a guarantee.
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And so the very same epistle, what we're told be filled of the
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Holy Spirit, assures us in the first chapter of our inheritance
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of the Holy Spirit upon our confession upon our faith in
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Christ. So look at Ephesians chapter
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one, verse 13. The same letter, the same author
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who says in him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the
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gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed
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with the promised Holy Spirit. And so upon salvation you
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receive the Holy Spirit, you receive his person, you receive
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his seal, you receive the guarantee that he will be with
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you and he will sanctify you until the day of redemption.
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And so this is not Paul suggesting that you and I have
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to search and strive for the Holy Spirit's presence and
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reality to be known in our lives.
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He's there when you believed in the Son of God.
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The Second, probably more common misconception that may be true
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for many believers is that Paul, in saying be filled of the Holy
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Spirit, is inferring that the presence of the Holy Spirit in
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our lives is incremental. In other words, that when we're
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saved, we received like a portion of the Holy Spirit and
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then it's up to us to have more of the Holy Spirit.
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And depending on our hunger and our spiritual disciplines that
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will determine how much of the Holy Spirit you will experience.
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And so you have some who again innocently might believe, well,
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here's somebody who has a quarter of the Holy Spirit, who
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here's somebody who's a little bit more spiritual.
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So they have maybe reach the halfway point of the Holy
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Spirit. And there are very few who have
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the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And the reason why that might be
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confusing is because Paul contrasts the filling of the
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Holy Spirit with the negative command of not being drunk with
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wine. And we understand that to be
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drunk with wine you have to drink it, and it's a substance.
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And so they kind of misapply the parallel, and they equate
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drinking alcohol with the experience of the Holy Spirit
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filling us. And so they kind of view the
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Holy Spirit as a substance that you can have an empty tank, a
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full tank of a three quarter filled tank of the Holy Spirit.
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And here's where this is clarified.
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The Holy Spirit is not a substance.
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He's a person, he's a person. And sometimes you even hear this
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the way people pray or refer to the Holy Spirit as an IT.
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No, he's a he and he's a person. What does that imply?
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Well, if we just learned that upon salvation and believing,
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you receive the sealing of the Holy Spirit, and he's a person,
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well, what does that mean? You receive all of him?
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You don't receive a quarter of a person.
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You don't receive half of a person.
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You receive a person in his totality.
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And so Paul is now suggesting again that the Holy Spirit can
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be known in fragments or in units.
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He's a person, and when he seals you, you have all of him.
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OK, good. So we clarified these two
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misconceptions, but it still begs the question, what does it
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mean for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit again?
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If we have an understand that he's a person and we receive all
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of him, then what does this suggest?
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And here's what I propose to you, a phrase that I've used
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before, a phrase that I believe is worth repeating.
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Perhaps Paul's argument here and commanding us to be filled with
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the Holy Spirit, is less about us seeking to have more of him,
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and it's actually about him having more of us.
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This is less about us having more of the Holy Spirit, and
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this is actually more about the Holy Spirit having more of you.
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You can safely replace the word filled with the word controlled.
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Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be
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controlled with the spirit you're saying.
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Why would you do that? And is it appropriate to do
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that? And I say absolutely.
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It is because that is the very essence of Paul's command here.
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That is the very reason why he connects being filled with the
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Holy Spirit with a negative command of not getting drunk
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with wine. So this insertion is appropriate
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if it helps you clarify the meaning, because the reality is
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that when somebody is inebriated by wine, what happens to
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somebody that arrives that state of mind?
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They are under the control of another substance.
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So what Paul is saying is don't get under the control of another
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substance. If you're going to be under the
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control of anything, let it be the Holy Spirit.
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Let him fill you. Let him intoxicate you.
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Let him be the thing that determines your behavior, your
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words, your actions, your walk in life.
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This is what he is getting at. Be controlled of the Holy Spirit
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to be filled as to have him have absolute domination of who you
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are as a follower of Jesus Christ.
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Why do people pursue intoxication or any other
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substance that removes them from sobriety and brings them to
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another state of mind? They do so intentionally.
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It's not accidental and the main reason is because to do so
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offers something that these people believe that they need.
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So let's talk about that for a moment.
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When you think about those who find joy or are finding
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themselves bound by alcoholism, some rely on it to forget.
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To forget their troubles, forget the troubles of the past, their
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worries for tomorrow. And so they indulge and over
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indulge in this substance as an escaping agent to numb
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themselves from the unfavorable realities that they are facing.
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This is a way to feel carefree, and sometimes that's what you
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see with people who are intoxicated.
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They loosen up, they're able to have a song in their mouths,
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they can laugh, and there are other obvious negative
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consequences that follow. Others actually depend on
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drinking to aid them, and so it's not really an escape
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mechanism, it's more an assistance.
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And some people in the world today rely on this to loosen up
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again in social settings, to become less self-conscious, to
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be more approachable, and to find the confidence to approach
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others. So this is really some kind of
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form of help to them. And so they come to a place
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where they are intoxicated so that they can be someone else.
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Others simply enjoy the sensation of drunkenness.
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It's an experience and an excuse to again be somewhere else, be
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someone else that demands and comes at a price of abandoning a
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sober mind and our God champion sobriety.
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All in all, listen, we can confidently say that for most
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reasons, drunkenness is a form of aid, and it is an entryway
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into a desirable experience. A form of aid and an entryway
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into a desirable experience. And in some sense and to an
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extent, this is what Paul is saying about being filled with
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the Holy Spirit. He offers the same to be filled
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with the Holy Spirit is to tap into a holy assistance, a state
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of mind that makes way for a sanctifying, joy filled God,
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glorifying experience. And not just for a moment, not
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just a buzz, but as a way of life depending on your
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willingness to yield to his control as Paul.
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Suggests here, and that's in fact the reason for this
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exhortation. This is.
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The prayerful reason for this message today that as you hear
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what Paul has to say, you would realize that he, the Spirit,
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through him longs for each of us to reach a state of the
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Christian life that the Spirit is willing to bring us into.
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Look at Ephesians 515. This is the context in the same
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section where he says be filled with the Holy Spirit, he says
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earlier. Look carefully then, how you
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walk, not as unwise but as wise. Paul is concerned about how we
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walk, and walk is a simple term of a way of life, your
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consistent way of life, your day-to-day way of life.
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And so in the same place where he says I want you to be careful
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and calculated and strategic and invested, mindful of how you
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walk. Consider this exhortation be
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filled to the Holy Spirit. If you're going to walk this
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walk that God wants you to have. If you want to reach the heights
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of glorious promise and experience that you must know
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something of a constant filling of the Holy Spirit.
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If drunkenness affects your behavior, so does being filled
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with the Holy Spirit. You know that drunkenness
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enhances the likelihood of our actions in our speech to be more
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embarrassing, shameful, foolish, regretful, and downright
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destructive on every level. And on the other hand, to be
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filled the Holy Spirit increases a different behavioral pattern.
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The fruit of the Holy Spirit. You know them, Lovejoy, peace,
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patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
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self-control. Holy Spirit longs to make that
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more manifest, to stretch those realities, to grow you into that
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place where you are, a walking garden that glorifies the lore
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with a special fragrance that he enables and stimulates.
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Some of us who are the unfortunate witnesses of what
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drunkenness does to a person realize that when they bring
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themselves to that place, they become a different person, and
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it makes you act like a completely different individual.
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And I argue in the same way. The Holy Spirit offers the same
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outcome. And when you are filled with the
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Holy Spirit, you are a different person.
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Not in a shameful way, not an embarrassing way, but in an
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amazing way. What does the Holy Spirit want
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you to be like? Who does he want you to be?
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Like the Son of God? Christ Jesus?
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If drunkenness affects your behavior, so does being filled
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with the Holy Spirit. If drunkenness has an impact on
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those around us, so does being filled with the Holy Spirit.
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You know a person who has developed a habit of getting
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drunk. You also know that they've
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developed a reputation along with it.
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The drunkard doesn't usually improve their relationships.
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They don't really offer much positive force and impact on
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social gatherings, at least civilized ones.
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Disorder, inappropriateness, lack of sensitivity, and loss of
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control. Sometimes.
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Violence is usually what drunkards bring to the table,
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and in the same way person who is filled with the Holy Spirit
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does make an impression on others, but for the good They
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carry a blessed fragrance, As I said, not a repulsive one.
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And there's no doubt that the aroma that they exude from the
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Spirit's influence is recognizable, and it is
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delightful to those who are around them.
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Let me prove that to you. When there was a need in the
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local church, in the early church, in Acts chapter 6,
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there's a practical ministry need.
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And when the resumes were needed, the requirements for the
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candidates were spelled out in Acts chapter 6 verse 3, where
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we're told by the apostles who instructed the church.
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Therefore, brothers, in Acts 6, three pick out from among you
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seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit.
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Find men who are full of the Spirit and of Wisdom whom we
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will appoint to this duty. You know what this tells me?
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This is what it tells me. Being filled with the Spirit is
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not a distinguishing mark between the saved and the
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unsaved, it's a distinguishing mark among the saved.
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Yes, we all receive the Holy Spirit when we're saved, but not
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all of us are walking in the filling of the Holy Spirit.
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And so as believers, the early church indicates the scriptures
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indicate because there's the facts of being filled with the
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Holy Spirit, we can look at believers and say that person's
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filled with the Holy Spirit. That person ain't that person's
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walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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That person is sorely lacking. He says look for men who are
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full of Holy Spirit. Evidently, I can see.
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I can know. I can study.
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This is a person who's filled with the Holy Spirit, and I
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don't know about you. But although I am eternally
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grateful for being sealed by the Holy Spirit, sealed until the
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day of redemption, I am not willing to live my life
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uncontrolled by the Holy Spirit. I want it.
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I want to live it. I want it to mark my life.
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And some may be content to take Paul's command here as a
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suggestion and not to take it as a command not to take it
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seriously. But I want to remind you that
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there is a great cost at approaching this command and
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hearing it with indifference. A great cost.
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You're going to hear the effects and I pray that it gives you a
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divine jealousy and it sets you on a path to live depended upon
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the Holy Spirit. But there are things beyond
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this. Message is 1 message to
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communicate the great treasures that come with being filled with
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the Holy Spirit. But let me make this comment
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here under the point that if drunkenness impacts those around
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us, so does being filled with the Holy Spirit.
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If you examine the Book of Acts carefully, you will notice that
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there is a pattern. And the pattern that you will
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notice is that when the Lord desires to accomplish something
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in His church through His church, he will often do so by
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recruiting a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
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God uses people who are filled with the Holy Spirit, So you
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just. Read it in Acts Chapter 6 verse
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3. There is a need in the church.
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Find several men who are full of the Holy Spirit.
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It doesn't end there. Go with me to Acts again.
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You're already there, I'm sure. So that's Acts 6.
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Three. Look at Acts 917.
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So Ananias departed and entered the house, and laying his hands
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on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to
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you on the road by which you came.
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Has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled
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with the Holy Spirit. So here's Saul of Tarsus, who
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had a temporary blindness. God sent this man Ananias to
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minister to him to lay hands on him.
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The scales would fall from his eyes, but he would also know a
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filling of the Holy Spirit, and it would be necessary for the
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ministry that he was called to. Paul needed to be filled with
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the Holy Spirit. Look at Acts Chapter 11, verse
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22. The report of this came to the
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ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to
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Antioch. When he came and saw the grace
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of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain
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faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a
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good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
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And a great many people were added to the Lord.
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So here are these several men. In Acts chapter 6.
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There was a ministry need. And through the discernment of
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the leaders, the apostle of the early church find men who are
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full of the Holy Spirit. Here's.
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Paul the great apostle and Ananias was sent to him for a
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mission, a purpose, a great purpose.
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He needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
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Here's Barnabas sent to the church at Antioch, and we're
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given a description of this man who is effective for the Lord,
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who was a trustworthy individual who is fruitful and effective in
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his ministry. Why?
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For he was a good man. Not just a good man, he was full
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of the Holy Spirit. If you are a person who desires
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to be used of God, then you will take Paul's command seriously.
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Here you will want to be full of the Holy Spirit walking in the
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fullness of the Holy Spirit, protecting your fullness in the
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Spirit, because God uses people who are filled with the Holy
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Spirit, and it's obvious when the Lord recruits those among
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his own. He finds those who are yielded
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to the Spirit's influence if drunkenness.
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Affects your behavior. So does being filled with the
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Holy Spirit. If drunkenness impacts those
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around you, so does being filled with the Holy Spirit.
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If drunkenness promises a happier in look and outlook,
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being filled with the Spirit guarantees it.
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I can remember my days in high school and college as a
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professing Christian. A whitewashed tomb, Pretty on
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the outside, dead on the inside. And I remember being among those
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who are not even whitewashed tombs, they were just walking
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skeletons. And I can remember whenever we
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would gather together in social gatherings.
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Seems as though we couldn't get together unless we had alcohol.
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Seems that we couldn't do anything unless somebody went
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and made a trip to the near liquor store and and I remember
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even being an unsafe person. Thinking to myself at one point,
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why is it that almost every single time we hang out, whether
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it's in a basement or we're going out to some kind of event,
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that we? Need to put this nasty stuff in
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our mouth to come to a place where we have no control.
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Even then I thought it was strange there was such a
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dependency on this to just even have a good time to apparently
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make memories. In one sense, Paul is telling
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these believers not to turn to drunkenness, to try to tap into
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a bliss or state of ecstasy. You know why?
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Because you have the Holy Spirit.
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You have everything that you need in him.
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You know what the psalmist says, right in Psalm 4, verse seven?
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You have put more joy in my heart than they when their grain
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and wine abound, you have put more joy in my heart in Psalm 4,
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verse seven, than they when their grain and their wine
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abound, I have more than them, more security, more assurance,
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more joy because I have him. If drunkenness tries to allure
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people with an happier outlook in look, the Holy Spirit
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guarantees it. This is what it means to be
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filled with the Holy Spirit. It's not so much about us having
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more of Him, but about Him having more of us.
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And so now I want to speak to you about the effects of being
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filled with the Holy Spirit, because what I just said to you
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were just general observations, but the.
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Apostle Paul here in this very same text gives us four specific
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practical outcomes that we inherit and we enjoy when we do
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know the filling of the Holy Spirit, and so let's read it.
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Back in Ephesians 5 we read verse 18.
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Let's read it again and continue the thought in verse 19 down and
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do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.
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But be filled with the Spirit addressing one another in psalms
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and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the
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Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything
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to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
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Between verse 19 to 21, what you have here is Paul spelling out
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the sequence of the results when one is walking in the filling of
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the Holy Spirit. And I believe that there are
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four. Four.
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Not limited to these four. We could talk about boldness and
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courage and preaching and witnessing and all these
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different things that are found in the New Testament.
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But I want to. Speak to you of the highlighted
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outcomes that Paul spells out, the main ones that can ensue
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from a person who has received the filling of the Holy Spirit.
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So here for if you want to know what you can know if you take
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this command seriously, this is what you will experience.
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Being filled number one with the Holy Spirit causes us causes us
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to be actively engaged within a community of faith.
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Being filled with the Holy Spirit causes us to be actively
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engaged within a community of faith.
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Saying where do you see that from?
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Well again this is from Paul's first mark.
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Notice how this point of singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
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songs is in the context of the first few words of verse 19,
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addressing one another, addressing one another.
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He's not speaking about you. Singing in your kitchen,
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although that's true in the Holy Spirit.
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Can cause a song in your heart while you do your dishes is it's
27:47
true as you're driving in your car, it's true as you're taking
27:49
a walk. The filling of the Holy Spirit
27:50
can cause you to sing passionately unto the Lord, yes,
27:54
but Paul's concern here is that there is a singing that takes
27:58
place in the context of addressing one another, implying
28:01
relationships. When you're filled with the Holy
28:05
Spirit, understand this. You will be.
28:07
Somebody who will be driven, excited, longing, convicted
28:14
about being in a consistent and invested community of believers.
28:22
The Holy Spirit does not 'cause you to justify isolation.
28:33
He does not cause you to be cynical toward the local church.
28:37
He does not cause you to have a light commitment to the body of
28:42
Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit fills you,
28:46
you will have a heart swollen toward the bride of Christ.
28:53
Your life will be very much orbited around a community of
28:57
believers who regularly. Meet to sing, to receive the
29:01
Word, to worship, and to serve. That's what the Holy Spirit will
29:05
do in you and if a professing follower of Christ.
29:10
Does not have that conviction and that belief.
29:14
That could very well be a sign that not only are they lacking
29:17
insight, let me say this boldly, but they are lacking the
29:20
presence and the influence of the Holy Spirit and His fullness
29:24
in their lives. Full stop.
29:30
So a person who doesn't take the local church seriously is a
29:32
person in my estimation, according to this, who does not
29:35
know the feeling of the Holy Spirit.
29:38
Because when you're filled, you will love the church.
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When you're filled, you will serve in the church.
29:45
Notice my language is very specific, actively engaged
29:49
within a community of faith. Actively engaged, you won't be
29:53
able to help it. You'll be so stirred.
29:56
You remember what it was like when you knew the filling of the
29:59
Holy Spirit by the grace of God, when you first got saved.
30:02
Church was exciting. You were longing.
30:07
Nothing can get in your way. Well, you don't have to just
30:12
reminisce on those memories. You can know it for the rest of
30:15
your life. Through the help of the Holy
30:16
Spirit, He increases that desire, He protects that desire,
30:23
and He gives you the energy to be actively engaged with other
30:27
believers. Addressing one another, the Holy
30:30
Spirit's filling, will cause you to know one another in your
30:34
Christian walk. Being filled with the Holy
30:37
Spirit causes that number two. Being filled with the Holy
30:39
Spirit cause us to sing wholeheartedly unto the Lord.
30:47
What is he saying? That same verse, addressing one
30:49
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
30:55
making melody to the Lord. Now notice this with your heart.
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So I'm not speaking here about a singing that is superficial.
31:06
I'm not seek. I'm not speaking here about a
31:07
singing that is distracted. I'm not here sing speaking about
31:13
a singing that is under compulsion.
31:15
What Paul is saying here is that when a person is filled with the
31:18
holy. Spirit to one another.
31:20
The Holy Spirit can be in our singing, but it requires us to
31:24
be filled with Him and ultimately to the Lord.
31:30
May I make a side note as well? Notice what Paul says here in
31:34
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, Singing and making melody
31:37
to the Lord with your heart. Do you notice the variety of
31:40
style mentioned here? You have churches who are
31:44
dividing, splitting over styles of singing, and Paul here is
31:50
very open to a variety of styles.
31:51
You want Paul and the Holy Spirit is more concerned more
31:54
than anything. Substance.
31:58
Substance. And so as long as the style
32:03
doesn't interfere or dilute the substance, we have license to
32:10
offer the Lord a variety of ways of singing to Him.
32:16
Maybe somebody needs to be encouraged by that as well.
32:22
Being filled causes us to sing passionately unto the Lord.
32:26
Let her singing be accurate, let it be honorable.
32:29
There is variety available, but what the Lord is pressing on
32:33
here is that there's something from the heart that He helps us
32:36
bring to each other and to God. Being filled #3 with the Holy
32:41
Spirit causes us to offer radical gratitude.
32:47
Radical gratitude, verse 20. Giving thanks always and for
32:52
everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
32:56
Christ. Notice the quality of
32:59
Thanksgiving He says always. And he says for everything
33:07
that's supernatural that can only come from the Holy Spirit's
33:10
help. And just like singing, there is
33:13
a Thanksgiving. From the heart.
33:17
That God wants to help us know and express.
33:22
This is not a hypocritical Thanksgiving.
33:24
This is not a gritting your teeth.
33:26
This is the Christian kind of thing to do to give thanks.
33:29
Though I really feeling many other emotions that don't make
33:34
sense to give thanks with. And that is not to say let me
33:38
say this. That is not to say that being.
33:40
Thankful, always and for everything, deletes any other
33:43
feelings. Because when he says for
33:46
everything, that means for everything.
33:47
In difficult times and trying times and pressing times, in
33:50
challenging times, you can know sorrow.
33:55
It doesn't make you less spiritual, You can weep.
33:57
It doesn't make you less Christian or sensitive to God or
34:00
faithful trusting in his promises.
34:04
Paul, in a catalogue in Corinthians expresses that right
34:09
sorrowful yet always rejoicing. And he lists different things
34:11
that seem paradoxical, but it's true because of the Holy Spirit.
34:15
What this means is that despite what you're being cascaded with
34:21
that might want to bring you down, that might want to make
34:23
you somber and unpleasant, you can still know gratitude.
34:31
With all of that complexity in your heart, you can know this
34:34
dominant sense of Thanksgiving to who look at this God, Not
34:39
just God, God the Father, God the Father.
34:44
Always and for everything. You can see God as Father and
34:49
address Him as such. I may not understand this I may
34:52
not comprehend, but I can still see Him as Father and address
34:57
him as such. I think of Paul and.
35:02
One of my favorite examples of his thankful spirit when he was
35:06
on his way to Rome. And that was a very bumpy
35:09
journey. Weeks at sea, Storm tossed No
35:14
sunlight. Anxiety that so crippled those
35:18
on the ship they couldn't even eat.
35:20
And Paul, who was a prisoner on that ship, ends up becoming the
35:23
captain of. It.
35:25
I love that. Such control, such revelation,
35:28
such absolute faith. And you've heard me say this
35:30
over and over again. Whenever we speak about trusting
35:33
God is one of my favorite examples.
35:34
Paul could be so confident because he was told early in
35:37
Acts 23 by the Lord Jesus himself, you're going to Rome.
35:41
You're going to go to Rome and testify about me.
35:43
And that's why Paul was so unmoved.
35:46
But here he is now, taking charge of the ship leading the
35:49
people in a pastoral way, almost.
35:53
And there's this one little sliver of light among other rays
35:58
of light in that story. Let me read it to you in Acts
36:00
27, verse 35. Just envision it.
36:03
Here they are in this ship, ready to fall apart, not knowing
36:09
N from West, S from east. And we read here about Paul.
36:14
And when he had said these things, he took bread, and,
36:20
giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and
36:24
began to eat. I love that sight, the deafening
36:32
wind, the crashing waves, all these other men, professional
36:37
sailors and soldiers, weaken the body, weaken the mind, and hears
36:42
Paul standing strong chest out, exhorting them.
36:47
And in the middle of all of this he takes bread, and he gives
36:51
thanks to God, and he breaks it and he eats.
37:00
Do you know how you can do that in the middle of a storm?
37:02
Do you know how you can do that? In the middle of chaos?
37:05
Be filled with the Holy Spirit again?
37:10
You can hear this and say, oh man, you mean you're saying I
37:13
got to do all this to be filled with?
37:15
No, no, I'm saying you got to be filled the Holy Spirit, and you
37:17
can do all of this. Don't put the cart before the
37:20
horse. So this is a command, but this
37:24
is a command. Pregnant with so much promise.
37:27
Get excited about what the Holy Spirit's willing and able to do
37:31
in you. Being filled with the Holy
37:35
Spirit causes us to offer radical gratitude always and for
37:40
everything. #4 Being filled with the Holy Spirit causes us to be
37:46
in loving submission to one another.
37:48
Verse 21 submitting to one another at a reverence for
37:51
Christ. Remember that that's tied into
37:54
verse 18, right? So verse 18 is the cup, and
37:59
what's being poured out of the cup is all of these things, and
38:02
the last thing here mentioned is submitting to one another.
38:06
And so here's what Paul is saying that to be filled with
38:08
the Holy Spirit causes us as individual believers to be
38:11
lowly. And the loneliness that Paul has
38:14
in mind here is measured by how we are willing to come alongside
38:17
other believers in order to support them and to serve them
38:20
with absolute humility and sincerity.
38:25
Submitting to one another. Elevating your needs.
38:28
Elevating who you are above myself and the spirit is ready
38:34
to stimulate a longing. A lot like a genuine longing.
38:37
Not just this is my duty as a Christian.
38:41
No. A real thing.
38:42
It gets in your blood where you look at another Christian.
38:45
You say I really want to honor you.
38:48
I really want to help you. I really want to respect you.
38:50
I really want to listen to you. I really am willing to endure
38:53
your shortcomings. Even I'm willing to do anything
38:57
to maintain harmony in this place.
39:02
The Holy Spirit with that cancels the urge to push for
39:06
your own way to manipulate things and to have your agenda
39:10
creep into situations or ministries.
39:12
He cancels that because when you're filled with them he
39:16
replaces selfish ambition with spirit LED submission.
39:24
And if you and I need help and knowing what that exactly means,
39:27
how does it look like to submit one another?
39:31
Oh, be excited to know the reach of it, the depth of it, the
39:36
spheres and the circles that it is willing to impact.
39:39
Because we read this and then we see this little title.
39:42
If you have the ESV Wives and Husbands, and then we read
39:46
what's commonly referred to in the context of marriage,
39:49
teaching about marriage. But do you realize we're still
39:51
in the same context of being filled with the Holy Spirit?
39:55
So verse 21, submitting to one another out of reference for
39:57
Christ. OK, Paul's done here.
39:58
He's moving on to another point. No, he's not.
40:01
He's now expanding upon the different areas where the
40:04
submission can be known. And what does he say next?
40:08
Wives, submit to your own husbands as of to the Lord.
40:11
Husbands loving your wives, right?
40:13
Look at verse one of chapter six.
40:15
Children, obey your parents in the Lord.
40:19
Children, obey your parents in the Lord.
40:20
Look what you read here in verse 5.
40:22
Bondservants obey your earthly masters.
40:25
Verse 9. Masters do the same to them.
40:31
Do you want your marriage to be blessed?
40:32
You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
40:36
Children, Do you want an enriched relationship with your
40:40
parents? Do you want to do your part and
40:42
fulfill your duty? Be filled.
40:45
With the Holy Spirit Fathers, do you want to know how you can
40:48
raise your children? As an example, as a discipler
40:52
mothers be filled with the Holy Spirit employers.
40:55
Do you want to be a better boss? To your employees.
40:59
Be filled with the Holy Spirit employees.
41:00
Do you want to be a better contributor in your work field?
41:05
Be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is what he's saying.
41:06
Submitting to one another. And let me show you where the
41:09
Holy Spirit can help you In your house, in your marriage, with
41:12
your children, with your parents, with your Co workers
41:15
everywhere. He impacts every sphere of your
41:18
life. This is what he's saying.
41:23
So you can't know blessings in your relationships unless you
41:27
first establish this relationship with the Holy
41:30
Spirit. How do we summarize all these
41:35
realities? How do we summarize these
41:37
promises and these outcomes? Very simple.
41:39
The filling of the Holy Spirit will enrich your fellowship with
41:42
God, and it will sweeten your interactions and your
41:46
commitments to one another. That's what he's ready to do, so
41:50
he's longing to do. That's what the blood of Jesus
41:53
made. Available to you and to me to
41:57
enrich your fellowship with God and to sweeten the interactions
42:04
and the commitments that you have to others.
42:07
These are the effects of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
42:10
So how do I get it? What is the way in which I am
42:14
filled with the Holy Spirit? And we might agree that to know
42:18
the control of the Holy Spirit, we must first surrender to the
42:21
Holy Spirit. Lord, here's every part of my
42:23
life. Here's my marriage, here's my
42:24
work, Here's my ministry. I want you to have full control
42:28
of it. That's pretty evident.
42:31
And from there, some might say, well, there's so many things
42:34
that come to mind in terms of the promise and even the
42:37
availability of the Holy Spirit through prayer that we pray for
42:39
the filling of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we pray.
42:42
We pray and we ask. Holy Spirit, fill me, Holy
42:44
Spirit, fill me. Holy Spirit, fill me.
42:45
As I'm about to go into this meeting, fill me as I'm about to
42:47
preach this message. Fill me as I'm about to have a
42:50
difficult confrontation with a fellow believer, fill me.
42:53
Yes, you can pray for it. You should always pray for it.
42:56
But I want to speak about a component being filled with the
42:58
Holy Spirit that is often overlooked.
42:59
That is not considered that when you do see it, I'm sure will
43:03
change the way you view this very thing.
43:06
And the only way to see it is if you are willing to read a larger
43:11
portion of a New Testament text and something will go off, I
43:15
assure you, unless you've been paying attention.
43:18
If you have been paying attention what I'm about to read
43:20
and ask you to read with me, a light bulb will go.
43:22
Off and you will see a paralleling truth that will
43:24
unlock one of the main ways in which you and I know how to be
43:29
filled with the Holy Spirit. OK, here's our final text in
43:32
Colossians in chapter 3. Let's begin in verse 16.
43:37
In Colossians 3 verse 16. Colossians 316 The Apostle Paul
43:48
writing to a different group of Christians.
43:51
But you're going to see something that'll perhaps
43:56
surprise you. Colossians 316 reads, Let the
44:00
word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing
44:03
one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and
44:07
spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to
44:10
God. And whatever you do in Word or
44:13
deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
44:17
to God the Father through him. Now check this out in verse 18.
44:22
Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting to the Lord.
44:27
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
44:31
Children, obey your parents and everything, for this pleases the
44:34
Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your
44:36
children, lest they become discouraged, Bond, servants,
44:38
obey, and everything those who are your earthly masters, not by
44:42
way of I service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of
44:45
heart, fearing the Lord. Does that sequence look
44:49
familiar? It should, and it is.
44:53
It almost mirrors Ephesians 518 to 21.
44:56
Perfectly. The same kind of thought
45:00
pattern, the same kind of outcomes.
45:02
But notice the cause. What was the cause of singing,
45:06
Of giving thanks, of submitting to one another?
45:08
The cause was being filled with the Holy Spirit.
45:11
What is the cause here in Colossians 316?
45:13
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
45:20
What does that mean to achieve? To know the filling of the Holy
45:25
Spirit is correlated to richly investing God's word in your
45:30
life. So you want to be filled with
45:34
the Spirit? Yeah.
45:36
Here's what you can say with these two texts married to one
45:39
another consume God's. Word.
45:44
Now think about it again. We can go back to the metaphor,
45:47
or rather the connection between getting drunk with wine and
45:53
being filled with the Holy Spirit.
45:54
You can take that analogy too far.
45:55
You can overly explain that. But I think even in that we have
46:01
a clue to what it takes to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
46:03
What does it take for somebody to get drunk, not thinking about
46:06
drunkenness? You got to consume.
46:10
You got to drink it, you got to put it in your mouth, you got to
46:13
pick it up, You got to go buy it.
46:14
You got to be willing to endure the taste of it, let it get into
46:19
your bloodstream for it to have an effect on you.
46:23
Paul saying don't do that, don't drink that, drink this.
46:27
Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
46:30
Again, he's not a substance, but the idea there of consuming
46:34
something in order to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, I
46:37
think is very appropriate. And when you come to Colossians,
46:40
you see the substance that we must consume in order to arrive
46:43
there, consume the word of God, indulge in it.
46:52
You can't nibble at the Bible and expect to be filled.
46:58
That's not going to happen. But.
47:00
When you feast on it. And when you want to master it
47:06
and when you code it and when you saturate yourself with it.
47:12
Because notice his wording here In Colossians 316 he didn't say
47:15
let the word of. Christ dwell in you, he said.
47:18
Let the word of Christ dwell in you.
47:19
What? Richly, Richly.
47:25
A person doesn't get intoxicated by taking a sip of something.
47:29
They have to drink more. You have to drink a lot.
47:35
And in the same case here, if you want to know the influence
47:39
of the Holy Spirit in your life, you need to know the word of
47:42
Christ richly. You know what that word richly
47:45
means abundantly. That doesn't necessarily mean
47:49
that you have to consume large portions of scripture every
47:52
single day. Some people do that, and there's
47:55
no effect of the word of God in their lives.
47:57
Just to say I read this many chapters isn't going to cut it.
48:01
But to have this view of the scriptures, to have this longing
48:04
to be deep in the scriptures, to have this desire to be mastered
48:08
by the scriptures saying, well, how does that work?
48:10
How does letting the word of Christ dwell in me richly
48:13
correlate and contribute to the reality of me being filled with
48:15
the Holy Spirit? Very simple.
48:16
Who authored it? The Holy Spirit?
48:20
Are these words natural? No, they are supernatural.
48:24
They're supernatural nature, and they are supernaturally
48:27
experienced when they are met with faith and eagerness and
48:31
humility. Let the word of Christ dwell in
48:34
you richly, and then here are the sequence of things you can
48:37
expect. You know, you have people who
48:39
say very strange things and christen them.
48:44
I'm not a word guy, I'm a spirit guy.
48:46
What does that mean? What does that mean?
48:51
You can't know the spirit unless you have the word You can't.
48:55
And there's so many people who equate the spirits work and even
49:01
the spirits filling to some mystical strange experience.
49:08
Can we experience the Holy Spirit?
49:09
Yes. Can the Holy Spirit do
49:11
supernatural things? Yes.
49:12
Can he open our eyes and can he do something in US and around us
49:17
that is above the natural? Yes, he can.
49:23
But to think that the Holy Spirit's filling is something to
49:27
be sought after or separated from the word of God, you are
49:31
dead wrong. You are dead wrong.
49:35
Now again, I've seen this with my own eyes, even in the context
49:39
of preaching, that people who believe that they are led by the
49:42
Spirit don't rely on the Word. They don't.
49:44
Study with the word. They almost see that as
49:47
something that, again, is not spirit LED, not spiritual.
49:53
You don't know the Bible, evidently.
49:54
You don't know what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
49:56
You want to be filled. You want to know His influence.
49:58
You want to know His leading? You're going to love the Bible
50:03
and you're going to invest your time and you're going to drink
50:07
and consume. And if you don't, if you don't
50:11
have the word of Christ dwelling in your richly, can I say
50:14
something? You're going to be weak and
50:15
you're singing. If you don't have the word of
50:19
Christ dwelling in you richly, you are going to be weak in your
50:21
Thanksgiving. If you don't have the word of
50:24
Christ dwelling in you richly, you will be weak.
50:26
You'll be weak in your relationship with others.
50:29
If you don't have the word of Christ dwelling you richly, you
50:32
will not know the blessing of being with and part of the local
50:35
church. You will not know a blessed
50:39
marriage if you're not with the word of God and in the word of
50:42
God richly. You will not know a blessing in
50:44
your relationship with your children.
50:46
You will not know a blessing in your relationship with your
50:47
parents and any other sphere of relationship.
50:50
Well, when you have this word, you invest in your heart the
50:53
guidelines, the principles, the promises, the truth, and even
50:55
the energy the Holy Spirit works with and through to make you a
50:59
person. Full of him.
51:01
Full of him. So how is 1 main way I'm filled?
51:07
Colossians tells us, like this word rain in your life.
51:16
Ask the Lord for this word to be sweet to you.
51:21
Ask the Lord as we come to a close to expand your appetite.
51:25
Because you know what's that cost?
51:26
Many things. And one of the things is the
51:28
Holy Spirit's filling in our lives.
51:31
My friends, my brothers, my sisters, I exhort you to be
51:36
filled with the Holy Spirit. And I praise God that he's made
51:40
it so simple and so clear. And I pray that after all that
51:43
you've heard, what can come about when we are filled with
51:46
the Holy Spirit would make you very ambitious to seek it.
51:54
Someone asked the Al Moody once if he was filled with the Holy
51:56
Spirit. The Al Moody?
52:00
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?
52:02
You know what he said? Yes, but I often leak.
52:10
And that is true. Because to be filled with the
52:13
Holy Spirit is not just one time thing.
52:16
It's something that you and I walk in and we seek after.
52:21
And although it's a promise from God, is conditioned upon a
52:23
willing heart to say, you know what, I don't want to be in the
52:26
driver's seat. Let me park Lord you take the
52:28
driver's seat. And the way you do that is when
52:33
you learn of him and you submit to what you read here.
52:37
When the Holy Spirit sees that investment, he comes, and he
52:39
does supernatural things in your life.
52:43
Father, we thank you for the promise, the promise of the Holy
52:46
Spirit, the filling of the Holy Spirit, the effects of being
52:49
filled with the Holy Spirit, the way we can be filled with the
52:52
Holy Spirit. Thank you that we can pray for
52:56
it. Thank you that we can posture
52:57
ourselves for it. But thank you also that you've
53:00
reminded us that this book is supernatural is God.
53:06
Breathe, and when we breathe it in, we breathe in the influence
53:10
of the Holy Spirit. Lord, let faith arise.
53:18
For some who might have heard this message and say that sounds
53:20
too simplistic, help us believe again in the supernatural
53:26
component of our faith, that you're ready to help us and
53:33
Lord. For those who might be lacking
53:34
joy, for those who might find their hope in other things,
53:38
maybe people or substances, remind us again that we have
53:41
everything in the Holy Spirit. We have so much in Him and so
53:46
Lord. Now, even now we ask that you
53:48
would fill us with the Holy Spirit so that what we're about
53:51
to do in this moment, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
53:55
songs to one another and to the Lord, would be from the heart.
54:04
So blow, Lord, a fresh wind into our sails.
54:09
And may you be glorified in how we walk, not just now, but for
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the rest of this week, as we daily say, Lord, fill me As we
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come to this word and we say fill me, we ask these things in
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Jesus name. Amen.
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Amen. So I exhort.
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You now as you stand with me that address one another in
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psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your
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hearts to the Lord. Let's stand and offer to one
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another the edification, and offer primarily to the Lord a
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sacrifice of praise that he is worthy of.