What is "Filled with the Spirit"

Walking Carefully

Ephesians 5:15-20

Three elements of our walk

We should be Care-Full, not Care-Less.

1. Walk with Wisdom (vv 15-16)

Wisdom is the practical application of acquired knowledge.

How you spend your time? Not so much hours-minutes-days, but How you respond to the opportunities that the Lord brings to you?

You need to look for, see, acknowledge and take them.

2. Walk with Understanding (v. 17)

This further expands wisdom. Go to Proverbs and look for all the wise/foolish references. 

Only in the Lord’s will can we accomplish anything good, and lasting. His will is found in the Bible.

1. Know Jesus - be saved

2. Be Filled with the Spirit 

3. Pursue Sanctification

4. Suffer for His sake

5. Be Thankful

6. Be Submissive to Others (next week)

3. Walk in the Spirit (vv. 18-20)

Do not be drunk with wine - is a reference to pagan worship, which involved drinking anddepraved, immoral behavior. 

For us today, the prohibition is about not seeking fulfillment or joy in things other than God.

It’s vital to know what it means to be filled

Be filled - completely full

With - pointing to the cause

Spirit - the third person of the trinity

What being filled is NOT

• An Ecstatic, emotional experience. 

If it looks like something a drunk person might do, it’s NOT being filled with the spirit. The charismatic movement is a good example of what filled is not.

• A Second blessing - later in Christian life

  Speaking in tongues as evidence is false teaching.

• Bland checklist obedience void of emotion.• Something only a select few “spiritual elites” receive.

All believers are commanded to be filled.

What being filled IS

• A command

• A conscious, intentional pursuit

It won’t happen on its own. 

• Moved along - wind in sails. Active and moving.

• Permeated - like marinated meat

• Total control

2. How to Be Filled

First, have a right attitude:

John 3:30 – He must increase, but I must decrease.” 

To be filled with the Spirit

you must be filled with the Word

Notice parallel elements in Ephesians 5:18-20 and  Colossians 3:16-18.

Galatians 5 parallels led, walk, and living in the Spirit. 

You must:

• be open to filling.

• seek filling.

• empty your life of wrong pursuits.

• fill yourself with the Word.

• obey the Word. 

Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

When you’re doing all of this, and seeking to delight in the Lord, His will and your will merge into one will as He not only places right desires toward His will in your heart, but also fulfills those desires.

3. What It Looks Like to be filled with the Sprit. 

(vv. 18-20)

Do you see these things in your life?

Pursue these things:

• Horizontal Edification

It’s not a solo pursuit. Then Christian life is mean to be pursued with others. (Ephesians 4:29)

• Sing and making Melody

“From the heart” - Your heart should overflow with joy. 

• To the Lord

Don’t focus on yourself, your needs, desires, wants, or preferences. Our focus is the Lord. 

Finally: 

Thankfulness

Not thankful = not filled with the Spirit.

When should we be thankful? ALWAYS

For what? For Everything!
That’s impossible if you’re not filled with the Spirit.

Thankful to God the Father.

He is our Audience of One

We are to thank Him!!

In the name of our Lord Jesus

Reminding us of the cross. Pointing us to the gospel.

497 Words for Fathers

Faithful husbands & Fathers

To be a faithful father you need to put your love for Jesus on display. The most practical way to show your love for God is how love your wife. 

Ephesians 5:25-33 lays out how husbands should love their wives.

(These principles are also good for everyone in all of their relationships, so even if you’re not a husband or father - this is the kind of love you should show to others.)

Husbands, love your wife with a:

1. Sacrificial Love

Love her sacrificially - as a reflection of Christ’s love for us.

You’ll never see a better picture of sacrificial love than when you look to the cross..

2. Sanctifying Love

The main goal of the Christian life is: 

The pursuit of sanctification. 

Jesus desires us to be holy (Ephesians 1:4, John 17:17, 1 Peter 1 :15)

One of your goals in marriage must be that your wife is growing in holiness

A Word-Focused Family is Dad’s responsibility.

3. Caring Love

Do you care for her as much as you do for yourself? 

Put as much energy into her wants and needs as you do into your own

4. Permanent Love

Hold fast - means permanent

Again: a reflection of the gospel. 

There is literally nothing a believer can to to cause Jesus to stop loving them. 

Your commitment to your wife should be the same as the commitment Jesus has to all Christians.

5. Gospel Love

Your love for your wife should be a living picture of the gospel. 

Jesus is the Groom - we are His bride.

(click here for an explanation of the gospel) 

When you talk with your children about the gospel - about sacrificial love.  About how our Father in Heaven loves us. How Christ loves His bride. They should be able to understand all of that because they’ve watched how their Father loves their Mom - His bride.

Memorize this Acronym:

You’ll be blessed when you love your wife B.E.S.T.

B - Blessing Her

• speaking good words

both to her & about her (never speak poorly of her ever)

• behavior

show kindness in both big, grand gestures and in the little things

• be thankful and appreciative (words again)

• prayer to God on her behalf

Constantly think of ways to bless you wife

E - Edifying her

Building her up - Cheering her on

Always encouraging her

When you build up your wife in every way you can - you are literally building up your family

S - Sharing with Her

Sharing time, activities, interests, concerns, resources , money, ideas, deep thoughts, goals, and your spiritual walk

You’re One Flesh - that means sharing everything. 

T - Touching Her

(More than the bedroom)

Start by holding her hand whenever possible.

Touching will foster an affectionate closeness in your marriage. 

When you keep these “BEST” practices in mind, it will help you love your Bride as Christ loves the church! And God will be honored in your marriage.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Pastor Rob

Being Imitators of God

A Faithful Church

Part 9 - Imitating God

Ephesians 5:1-2

To listen to the sermon on this passage, click here.

Ephesians 5:1 stands as the centerpiece of the second half of Ephesians. 

First half - a beautiful explanation of the gospel.

Second half - how we live in response.

There are two words that summarize Ephesians 4, 5, & 6, and the central activity of the Christian Life:

• Pursue Sanctification

It’s both a command and a description of living as a follower of Jesus.

The passage begins:

Be Imitators of God

a startling command.

there is no higher standard

no more lofty goal that could be pursued

We CAN do it because we are His dearly loved children. And that’s what children do - they imitate their parents

The primary way we imitate God is laid out in the next verse

Walk in Love

…as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us

The entire Christian life is contained within this:

• imitating God

• as He is revealed in Jesus Christ

To know Jesus is to know His forgiveness

To imitate God and Jesus means first and foremost - to be forgiving. 

Nothing highlights a heart of stone more than a lack of forgiveness.

Set in your now that you will forgive, it won’t be instant in every situation, but it must be a foregone conclusion. 

Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin on the cross, so how can we hold any sin against any person?

This is one way the gospel changes us and catalyzes godly living. 

One final detail:

Jesus’ offering was called:

a fragrant offering and sacrifice

This is a beautiful insight into the gospel

To be an imitator of God you must also be an imitator of Jesus Christ. Your life should also be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

This happens in two ways:

1. You bring something - an offering

there must be tangible personal investment

2. There is Sacrifice - dying

It’s tempting to talk about the Christian life in terms of the benefits:

life will be better

have true meaning & fulfillment

there’s certainly truth to that

beware though - the prosperity gospel….

If you would be like Jesus,

you must offer yourself like Jesus did

there must be sacrifice - like Jesus did

Martin Luther said: if we are to truly imitate Christ, then we must also suffer for others in some way

A full-on pursuit of Jesus will hurt. 

There will be pain. 

You will be tempted. You’ll struggle, You’ll suffer. It will be hard. No pain probably means no sacrifice. 

BUT - remembering our identity in Christ, that we are God’s children gives me the strength to endure.

Suffering, difficulty, and pain should be a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice for us. 

Ultimately the Christian life is not about pleasing myself or being satisfied and fulfilled

It’s about pleasing God

And in that - we also point others to His majesty and beauty and grace and mercy and forgiveness and kindness…..

that leads to repentance

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 – But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

May your life be a living sacrifice to God!

Pastor Rob