The Good Life Wine and the Spirit Eph. 5:15-21 To Know: The Good Life is a wise life empowered by the Holy Spirit To Do: Allow the Spirit to overflow in their lives To Feel: Challenged and Motivated The Good Life 4. Wine and the Spirit July 7-8, 2018 ******** We are in the fourth week of our series The Good Life. We ve been working through the second half of the book of Ephesians to find out what it means to live the kind of life that God intends for us. Today, we will be in Ephesians 5:15-21 so if you have a Bible or an app, pull that out. If not, our ushers would be glad to bring you one. It s so good to see you all this weekend. Some of you are just coming back from seeing family for the holiday or from vacation. Some of you might be leaving for vacation soon. It is that time of year. Just so I know who I m talking to today, let s do some congregation participation. Raise your hand if you prefer going on trips to the beach? You love the beach so much you will even stomach going to Erie if you have to. Great. Now, raise your hand if you are a destination type of traveler. You save up for trips to Disney or something like that. Awesome. How about people who prefer to go on cruises? Great. Finally, who here likes to vacation in the mountains or the forest? Good for you. When I think about the Good Life, I think about vacations. Hands down, we are beach lovers. As you can tell by my golden complexion, we love the sun and the ocean. Especially in February when everything is cold and grey here, there s just something about that Florida weather. We will be snow birds one day, that s for sure. We aren t planners on vacation either. Our plan is to find a body of water, lay back, and relax. And eat a lot of good food. And sleep.
2 Here s what I love about vacation. Even though they are becoming a lot more work now that we have kids, they are still a break from the daily grind. For a week or two, I get to forget about the bills, the responsibilities, and the toys scattered all over our living room. I can get away from all of that and not need to answer to a schedule or respond to any messages. The problem is, those things still exist back home. As nice as vacations are, and as necessary as rest is to our emotional and spiritual health, it can be discouraging to come back to the reality of life. It s not like all the responsibilities and demands disappeared while I was gone. No matter how much I want it to, that Good Life just doesn t follow me up from Florida. And I can t stay there forever. When we talk about the real Good Life, a life lived for God, I wonder if we want to treat it like a vacation. We pray a little bit, come to worship a few times and think we are all good. We know that the anxiety, responsibilities, and temptations are waiting for us outside. But an hour here or there with God should be enough to get us through. In this series, we are learning that the Good Life wasn t meant to be like that though. It s not meant to be a mini vacation we take to survive. Instead, The Good Life overflows. Let s open to Ephesians to find out how. Move 1: The Wise Life Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Last week, Pastor Andrew preached on flipping the switch; a Good Life is one where the light of Christ is constantly shining on the dark places in our lives as we seek to imitate God. Paul tells us to wake up and let Christ s light shine on us! He then picks up with verse 15: Be very careful, then, how you live. What Paul literally says here is to carefully watch how you walk. We ve all seen the guy so distracted by his cell phone
3 that he walks into a light post. Or we ve been that guy. Don t be that guy. Instead, make sure you re walking not as unwise but as wise. In other words, The Good Life is a Wise Life. I heard wisdom once defined as, The ability to steer through life. We walk wisely when we gather experience and insight from other people. In college, I drove a 1995 GMC Jimmy. I loved that truck. During my sophomore year I was the worship leader at a student led campus ministry. We were holding a big event and so my buddy and I drove out to Pianos N Stuff in Blawnox to rent a sound system. We loaded up the equipment and headed back home on the turnpike. As we approached the toll plaza outside of Wexford, the throttle stuck, and the Jimmy wouldn t stop no matter what I did. By God s grace, it slowed to 35mph, but I had to choose between hitting the Jeep paying its toll ahead of me or the cement barrier in front of the booth. I picked the barrier. The Jimmy was totaled. Because we only had liability coverage on it, my parents and I decided to have it rebuilt since it had been such a great vehicle. People kept asking me Why didn t you put it in neutral and then shut it off? Well, at 50mph on the highway, my first thought wasn t, I think I should shut this vehicle off. But I held onto that advice. About a year and a half later, I was driving up a hill to a red light when the throttle stuck again. But this time, I knew what to do (especially because the Jimmy was moving a lot slower.) I put it in natural, let it come to a stop, shut if off and called for a tow. I learned from my experience and from others advice. Paul says if we want to live a good life, we will learn from our experiences and not make the same mistakes over and over again. In our relationships, our jobs, our finances; let s not keep having to learn the same lessons. Let s live wisely. Move 2: Escaping these Evil Days In verse 16, Paul tells us to be wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Those last words are so true, aren t they? The days are evil. Whether you believe in God and follow Jesus or not, I think you could agree that things are rough right now. We feel like Jesus was talking to us when we read Matthew 24,
4 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise up against nation Fear, hate, and division flood the news and social media. It s overwhelming at times. But remember, Paul wrote these words 2,000 years ago. He was chained to a Roman guard in prison during a time when Christians were severely persecuted. Those days were evil. The Crusades? Evil. The era of slave trade? Evil days. And ask anyone who was alive in the 1930s. Those days were evil. I m trying to say that the days will always be evil in some measure. If sin is in our system, there will be evil. And it s not just that things are evil out there. It s that I have my evil days as well. I struggle with anger, jealousy, lust and regret. There are days when I m a good father and husband, and there are days that I m not. How can I begin to deal with all the evil in this world when I can t even deal with the sin in my own life? That s where Paul chimes in. If you want to live the good life, if you want to make it during these evil days, you need to walk wisely. And walking wisely means making the most of every opportunity. I love what the original language says here. It really reads, redeem the moment. Reclaim this moment, right now, even though you are surrounded by suffering, temptation and evil. As our Elevate Student ministry s motto this year says, Make it count. But depending on who you ask, making the most of it might look different. Even if we can agree that the days are evil, that something isn t right, we can t all agree on how to respond. In verses 17-18, Paul says, Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. For Paul, there were two ways to respond to evil. First, you could Try to escape it. In the Greco-Roman culture, people understood the days were evil. Most believed that we are simply at the mercy of the gods who need to be appeased and entertained to gain their favor. There was little to do except enjoy life and make the best out of it before we die. If the gods like you along the way, great.
5 For hundreds of years, Greeks and Romans alike would hold parties just for drinking. They d eat some and then sit around, drink for hours, and try to impress each other with their accomplishments, philosophical banter, and party games. The later the nights went, the crazier some of these parties got with music, dancing, and other activities. Some of the Roman festivals got really crazy as people ran through the streets singing songs to the god of wine. Hey, the days were evil, and they needed to make the most of the time they had. After all, there wasn t much they could do to change fate. But they could escape their problems for the evening. This is what Paul is responding to in our text. Even if the church members didn t attend these parties, this mentality was all over the place. There s not much we can do to change things. So, let s have some drinks, forget the problems, and whatever happens at 2 am, we won t remember it anyway. Isn t this the same philosophy that dominates our culture 2,000 years later. Everybody s working for the weekend. TGIF, right? So, we start pouring things into our lives, just trying to fill the void, trying to escape from the problems. It doesn t seem like a big deal at first. We just need a break from real life. Just a sip here or there to feel better. And maybe it s not wine or drinking for you. Maybe it s spending more time at work than you really need to, or letting your hobby consume you. Guys, why are sports so huge for us? Maybe it s because we can spend a few hours each week, or even each day just thinking about quarterback ratings, batting averages, and how much money Lebron James is getting paid to play for the Lakers next year. For those hours, we can go to our own private resort away from the mess. Ladies, I don t mean to speak for you, but you can go away to social media or browsing the aisles looking for the next item that will look just right. It might not look like a Pinot or a Cabernet, but that doesn t mean it s not just as intoxicating. After all, look at the addictions we have to technology now. I recently read that we check our phones 110 times a day. That means we spend over 2.5 hours on our phones every single day! And that s just on average.
6 And I m not just preaching to you. I know I m preaching to myself. I m a child of the 90s and early 2000s. My generation was the Guinea-Pig generation for cell phones and social media. I still remember signing on to AOL Instant messenger. Even though I remember not having a phone, I m constantly on mine now. Plus, my brother is 11 years older than me, which means he and his friends from high school trained me on a Sega Genesis and eventually a Nintendo 64. Now, when I m feeling stressed or tired, I ll game for a few hours to escape into a world that doesn t exist, so I can forget about the one that does. It s my own mini vacation. But here s the problem: none of this satisfies. I put down my phone or shut off the computer and feel just as tired as before. No matter how many likes I get on Instagram, nothing in my life changes. And no matter how much I think my escaping doesn t affect anyone else, it does. I alienate myself from my family and become more irritable anyway. The problems I thought I was avoiding are still there when I log off. As Paul says, all it does is lead to debauchery. Wasted time. Unwise choices. And we have to keep coming back for just a little more. Our choices always overflow into other areas of our lives, no matter how much we wish they didn t. Not only do these things leave us empty and feeling stained on the inside, but our families, friendships, and work life are impacted. Church, we ve had whole generations go through their teens and early 20s thinking that growing up means filling their lives with bad decisions, unhealthy relationships, and just getting through another week so they can black out on the weekend. Is this really all there is? Is this really what it means to make the most of every opportunity? Move 3: Being Filled with the Spirit No! Paul begs the Ephesian Church, Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit! Now, I realize you probably think we talk a lot about the Holy Spirit here. But I figure if Jesus himself said in John 14:7, It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you, then we should probably try understand what Jesus
7 sent us. When we talk about the Holy Spirit, we are talking about God. Just as the Father is God, and Jesus the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. This means that the things we attribute to God; grace, love, perfection, holiness, all apply to the Holy Spirit as well. He is not some spooky, extra force from God. He is God. We don t need to fear Him or think He s going to ask us to stand on our heads. He loves us, and His job is to help us become more like Jesus. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit. In fact, Paul says, No one can say Jesus is Lord without the Holy Spirit. Then for the rest of our lives, the Spirit works to change us to be more like Jesus and to empower us to serve others. It s a process. We need to get rid of the old junk in our lives, stop trying to control things, and let Him take charge. That s why we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit continually. As Pastor Steve likes to say, it s not that we get more of the Spirit. It s that He gets more of us. Paul says that no matter how much wine, relationships, or money we try to pour into our lives, none of it will fulfill us. We can t escape these evil days. We need to be empowered to change them. That s how we live the good life. That s how we live wisely; by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Write it down: The Good Life is a Spirit-filled life. Every day, we need to ask the Spirit of God to have more of our desires, our wills, and our emotions. Spend time reading the Scriptures, resting in God s presence, and allowing the Spirit to fill you. Watch what happens. There s no more room for the hollow things you tried to fill your life with in the past. Why? Because when the Spirit occupies your heart, everything else gets evicted! Move 4: The Spirit Overflows Let s take it one step further. Look at the rest of this passage with me again. Verses 19-21 say, Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. So, Paul says, in the same ways that people would gather together, get drunk, and start shouting and singing about their victories in war and praises to the god of wine, the
8 people of God should come together, filled with the Holy Spirit, and encourage one another with how awesome God is. We should be singing and shouting about the one whp gave us His Spirit, the same Spirit that defeated death when He raised Christ from the dead. When we come together, the Spirit should overflow our hearts with joy and thanksgiving. The Good Life is a joyful life. Church, I m here today because 17 years ago at a youth retreat, I saw students praising and worshiping God with joy and gratitude. I wanted what they had. There weren t fancy lights or a big band. It was the Holy Spirit filling their hearts with joy. That s why I m so passionate about worship. God can change someone else s life through your worship today! I don t care if you can t carry a tune in a bucket or if you clap on 1, 2, or 9. God is worthy of our highest praise, and He can change lives when His people worship joyously. In worship, we declare that no matter how evil the days might seem, Jesus is still Lord and God is still good. No matter what trials I m facing, I can come together with some other people like me and be encouraged that God is with me. I love how Paul says, Make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. We don t just give thanks when things are great and we are sitting on the beach. We give thanks even in the midst of these evil days. We aren t denying that they exist. We are reclaiming them, making the most of them in the name of Jesus. As we close, I wonder if Paul was thinking about the woman at the well when he wrote this passage. In John 4, Jesus and his disciples are headed home but need to pass through Samaria. Jews avoided Samaria at all costs because they viewed Samaritans as half-breeds. But for some reason, Jesus needed to go through Samaria. Jesus, tired, stops at a well outside of town, and his followers go on ahead to grab some Chick-Fil-a. It s noon, the hottest part of the day, and a Samaritan woman approaches to get water. But normally, women only got their water in the morning when it was cooler. Strange. Jesus decides to break cultural barriers and asks this woman for some water from the well. She s shocked, of course that a Jewish man would talk to her.
9 Jesus responds by saying, Woman, if you knew the gift of God and who was speaking to you, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. She s probably thinking, This guy is a bit crazy but okay But she asks him what makes this water better than the water from the well and he responds, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:13-14 Later in John, we are told that this living water is the Holy Spirit. Interested, the woman asks for the water. Jesus tells her to go get her husband, and then things get even more awkward. We find out that she s had five husbands and is now so tapped out that she s living with a man who isn t her husband. No wonder she came to the well when she did. She s the one the other women of the town gossip about! She s tired. She s thirsty. She s gone back to that same well six times trying to find fulfillment. And now the fountain of life is standing right in front of her. Eventually, her heart is opened to the gift that Jesus offers. Listen to John 4:28 Then, leaving the water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ? The Holy Spirit has entered this woman s life and what happens? Her joy overflows, she shares the Good News, and many people in her town come to faith in Christ. That s the Good Life. That s a life filled with the Holy Spirit, and overflowing with joy and praise. She encountered the grace and love of God and couldn t help but make it count even with the same people who judged her. Friends, the Good Life is one of wisdom, empowered by the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit won t be boxed in. He wants to break out and overflow into every aspect of our lives. He wants to fill us with praise and gratitude. And he wants to work through us to bring others into a relationship with the God of amazing, unfailing grace. So, let s put down our jars that we use to try to fill our lives with things that can never satisfy, and let s be filled with the Holy Spirit, the gracious gift from God.