Deeper Roots: Ephesians 5:18-21 (rom. 14:13ff) Untapped Power

Transcription

1 Deeper Roots: Ephesians 5:18-21 (rom. 14:13ff) Untapped Power Context: At the end of last week s message, we see that Paul encourages Believers to be growing Disciples - We looked at What we are to think as followers of Christ (our heart, our motivations) - How we are to talk That our words are words are words of life - What we do That our actions are to be in Love and service to others as unto the Lord - What are the spiritual fruits that reflect (Love, Service, Thankful, Discerning Spirit, Holy Desire) I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called Eph. 4:1 Paul then summarizes chapters four & five through a series of commands HOW to WALK Worthy READ: Ephesians 5:15-21 Vs.15 - Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Vs. 17: - So then do not be foolish, - but understand [know] what the will of the Lord is. Paul then continues with these practical instructions: (imperatives) for the watching Church & watching world:.... as we walk in a manner worthy of our calling as Disciples... And do not get drunk with wine, [c] for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to [d] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to [e] God, even the Father; 21 [f] and be subject to one another in the [g] fear of Christ. Paul encourages the believer in leading their private life to reflect the worthiness of God s calling: 1) We must be aware of what we allow to control our lives: What controls you? i.e. Hypnotist: A sailor in space in front of the entire fleet was hypnotized & had a baby - (What controls you? Fear? Relationships? Ambition for success? Pain? Drugs that are prescribed to control the pain? Food? Sex? Alcohol? Vs. 18: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation/squandering transl.=reckless indiscretion Grk: = senseless, reckless, = squandering what is proper. Why senseless? Reckless? = Because when Drunk YOU lose control of your faculties. Alcohol has control of them. The Alcohol lessens your inhibitions (= bad) & under alcohol s influence (control) you say things, you do things that your conscience otherwise inhibits you from doing (rightly). i.e. drunk story *Paul contrasts in ch. 5 lightness vs. darkness, wisdom vs. foolishness here Paul shows the believer that to become drunk is both acting in darkness & foolishness. **Matthew- where do you personally stand on the issue of Alcohol? (well, I m glad you asked J) I know I am about to offend most of all of you. Either way that I answer lose/lose proposition. I do not personally drink alcohol. I don t plan on starting anytime soon. Here s why: READ Romans 14:13ff. 3 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, [i.e if you drink alcohol you are not saved; or not a very good or spiritual Christian; OR if you don t drink you re all about legalism] - but rather determine this not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother s way. 14 I know and am convinced [f] in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it

2 is unclean. [=Personal conviction; personal decision but your conviction does NOT just affect YOU] 15 For if because of food/drink your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food/drink him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be [g] spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then [h] we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats [i] and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have [j] as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. 2 Each of us is to please his neighbor [a] for his good, to his edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; **My choices as a Believer, are not always mine to make: I must consider those around me. My witness. My heart to serve those who are weak, who are lost, who are seeking truth. In the Bible, there are 75 warnings or prohibitions to alcohol/strong drink & drunkenness. That s Plenty!! Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by (alcohol) it is not wise. Pr. 20:1 The wise man, the sensitive Christian should take notice at all the warnings should inform his actions - Look at all the chaos, the destruction, & death the abuse of alcohol has caused in our world: stats don t lie: - (violence, cruelty, divorce, driving accidents, drownings, homicides, rape, personal accidents, illness, disease poverty, homelessness & untold premature deaths) alcohol can kill. The abuse of alcohol always leaves a wake of destruction/death -Vietnam war 9yrs 57k men killed. Huge monument in DC. Same period over 2 million killed by alcohol related deaths; today it is the third leading cause of preventable death -88K people die every year behind tobacco A. Is drinking alcohol itself sinful? No. Rom. 14:14 Nothing in itself is unclean = forbidden - After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man. Matthew 15:10 - All things are lawful; are permissible, but not all things are profitable/helpful 1 Cor. 10:23 - Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God 1 Cor. 10:31 B. The Bible is clear that being drunk is always a sin. Why? Being drunk is allowing excess (overindulgence) in one s life of a product which God gave to be used wisely and to be enjoyed in moderation: But addiction or excessiveness in any of God s gifts is sinful since we are allowing that blessing to control us. Jesus said, You cannot serve two masters Mt. 6:24 C. Jesus Himself condemned being drunk: "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with overindulgence, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. Luke 21:34 D. Not just with alcohol, Anything done in excess is sinful = abusing the gifts & graciousness of God. - Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and (no self-control= excessiveness, intemperance, over-indulgence) I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal. 5:19-21

3 - Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own. 1 Cor. 16:9 - E. We are to be sensitive to those who are recovering alcoholics, struggling with alcohol addiction. Why? Because WE LOVE them. Our rights take a back seat to our desire to minister, serve the weak! - Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor 1 Cor. 10:24 & But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 1 Cor. 8:9 - We will NEVER have alcohol at church functions small groups, meetings, lunches, outreaches. The church will never buy or pay for alcohol for the staff. The point here is greater than just drinking alcohol. The point is what do you allow to control your life? When faced with a difficult choice whether or not to do X consider the following 7 questions: - Are there any clear biblical texts or truths which forbid or discourage me from doing this? - How will this choice affect me spiritually? Will it Draw me closer to God or push me further away? - How will this choice affect others in my life, my family? My Church? - After prayer, Has the Holy Spirit given me a lasting peace to pursue this or to NOT do it? - Is there any chance that I could be derailed spiritually, addicted, entrapped, or embarrass God by it? - Will this help my testimony with the lost & watching community? - Most importantly, Will God get glory from this in my life? We were not created by God to allow outside forces to control our lives! (Spiritual, physical, or chemical)... rather... 2) We are called to allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives: Vs. 18:... but be filled with the Spirit. Filled = Present Passive Imperative Verb = Be continually, daily, moment-by-moment filled =NOT a once in a lifetime action. Not a suggestion. But a Frequent, repeated, constant, persistent, incessant, recurrant, action of being filled again and again, being filled daily. i.e. why the analogy of Drunkness? Alcohol controls you when under the influence Spirit too! - (the buzz from) Alcohol is a counterfeit high /feeling in contrast to the Holy Spirit s joy. - Just as being drunk wears off, so being in the power of the Holy Spirit fades over time because of Sin, disobedience, passiveness, laziness, selfishness And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Eph. 4:30 do not quench (extinguish) the Holy Spirit (do not put out the Spirit s fire) 1 Thess. 5:19 The Bible teaches that ALL Christians who are truly Born-again in Christ are: - Indwelled with the Holy Spirit as God s gift of salvation, as His help for us (advocate/helpmate)on earth - All Christians are Sealed (stamped) by the Holy Spirit as God s sign/deposit of Heaven to come - Baptized by the Spirit as Union into our relationship with Jesus Christ s death & resurrection Tournament of Roses Parade new years a float stopped held up parade. Out of gas. Float was The Standard Oil Company s float. (vast wealth of oil reserves yet the truck was empty)

4 The command here is that we each allow the Holy Spirit to fill us up daily, WHY? - to empower us to live holy lives, to become more like Jesus everyday - to enable us to endure this life, suffering, intolerance, persecution for God s glory, - to inspire us to live, to love, & to serve the world with the Love of Christ - to anoint us carry out the ministry of the Church The strength of any marriage is not found in past devotion, or hope for continued future devotion (better days ahead).. no the strength of any marriage is found in the present love & devotion to each other! Without the daily filling & power of the Holy Spirit we are nothing! We have nothing to offer in our flesh E.M. Bounds Little with God is to be little for God When we are full of the Holy Spirit we are controlled by God s Spirit & we bear spiritual fruit: What are the results of being Spirit-filled? A. Worship & Testimony Vs. 19: speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, - When we are full of the Spirit we cannot help but worship the Lord. - We worship with our lives, the position of hearts humbled & grateful before God - We worship through testimony speaking & testifying of God s truth to each other - We worship in song privately (home) & corporately (church) B. Overflowing Joy (Peace) singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; The Bible states we are to sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones. Ps. 33:1 We have each been given a voice to make a joyful noise: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Ps. 100:1-5 C. Continual Thanksgiving to the Lord Vs. 20: always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; The Bible teaches us that we are to ask for the daily filling of the Holy Spirit to pray to the Holy Spirit to fill us (mind/heart), our words, our actions & to show us where God is at work that we may join Him in that work. The overflow of God s Spirit in us is worship & testimony! Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without the wind, branches without sap, and like coals without fire, without the Spirit of God, we are utterly useless. Charles Spurgeon The first command is that we not be drunk with alcohol. The second command is that we be filled with the Spirit. The third command is that... 3) We humbly serve each other, putting their needs before yours Vs. 21: and be subject [submit] to one another in the fear of [out of reverence for] Christ. Paul commands that because of God s mercy toward us, and because of His perfect example, we are to serve each other serve by humbly considering each others needs & loving them through serving!

5 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mk 10:45 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any [a] affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete [b] by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing [c] from [d] selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude [e] in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus Phil. 2:1-5 Marriage motto: You cannot out-serve me today