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Good Wednesday morning my “walking with Jesus” friends,
If all goes according to schedule, I arrived ‘home’ in Florida about midnight this morning, having been traveling almost 36 hours. I hope I’m sleeping when you read this!! I’m confident my Jordan trip will have been impactful for me. As I write this, I’m in Jordan, and already God has met with us several times, significantly!
You understand what I mean when I say that, right? You’ve had those experiences also, right? Many of you have had them with me…and I’m grateful to God for those ‘delicious’ memories!! I treasure them!
This morning we are in Ephesians 5 together, let’s pick it up in vs. 8 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light…find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of the darkness, but rather expose them.” Paul lived in a world VERY similar to ours! Immorality was deeply embedded in the fabric of society. In truth, pornography has taken it to new level in our day! What I call ‘dysfunctional sexuality’ permeates our societies in Western Europe and North America, would you agree? Romans 1 is not dark alley stuff, it is main stream, high profile life-styles of many of the most influential people in our societies! In fact if you aren’t living an alternative lifestyle you need to see a psychiatrist because you are mentally imbalanced…or so society says?!
So, I’m grateful for Paul’s courage and boldness when he reminds us that we used to live in the darkness and were ourselves dark in our minds, hearts, attitudes, words and behaviors. But then Jesus. . . when we encountered Jesus, He rescued us from our desperate condition, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has been working to transform us into ‘new creations in Christ’, who think, speak, and live fully committed to honoring God in every aspect of our lives. What a huge contrast should be seen in us. . . is it?
In vs. 12 Paul challenges us to not even bother getting caught up in the discussion about the lifestyles of the ‘dysfunctional sexuality’ of our societies…even discussing it may draw us in. You’ll notice in vs. 11 our holy living should expose the dysfunctionality, not by condemning those in it but by living holy contrast with it!
I really appreciate Paul’s urging in vs. 15 “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.” My friends, do you see the expectation, that as we age as Christians, our spiritual maturity, our wisdom, our understanding of God, and His leading in our lives, should be MEASURABLY developing. We’ve seen this many times in our reading.
It’s an important challenge… are we growing, maturing, developing spiritually? Do we see noticeable, measurable, change in how we think, how we speak, how we engage with God and with our society? If we do NOT see consistent growth, then my friends that’s a serious problem. You see, in spirituality there is no such thing as ‘stagnation’. We are either growing or decaying, one or the other.
The profound negative affect of the dark kingdom’s permeation of every fiber of our society (1 John 5:19) means, just living normal, daily life in our sin-filled world, is such a battle, we will naturally REGRESS, we will DECAY, spiritually… EVERYDAY, unless we intentionally exercise our spiritual muscles EVERY day! Did you get that friends? …Don’t minimize this. This may be the greatest challenge facing Christians around the world today.
As I write this it’s 3:30 Saturday afternoon here in Jordan…and suddenly the Muslim call to prayer, blasting out across the city, has interrupted my writing and time with you in God’s Word!! But I’m grateful… do you know why? These 5 times daily ‘interruptions’ of those calls to prayer all across the Muslim world are WONDERFUL! Like an electrical shock, they jolt me. They prick my conscience. They ask me… am I ‘walking with Jesus’ or have I wandered off into my own world of self-indulgences?
Many of you know my wife Dawn. She’s prioritized fitness for herself since she was young. Many of you women have been part of that with her in the places we’ve lived. I don’t think she’s quite the fanatic she used to be, but DAILY she invests about 2 hours in specific exercise. Thanks to a community pool in our neighborhood that means both water aerobics early in the morning, and later in the day we walk about 3 miles together each day. That’s why she still looks and acts like she’s 35! And I commend her and deeply respect her for her commitment to caring for the one body God gave her. I tell you this my friends, because it’s a living example of how to stay fit and keep growing, spiritually… DAILY! That’s living wise, as Paul says in vs. 15. It’s what’s required if we are going to make the most of every spiritual opportunity God brings to us! I can hear it already… Pastor Doug, I don’t have the time!? Oh yeah… think about that and we’ll come back to that in a few seconds.
Do you see in vs. 17 Paul writes “Do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Through your lifetime what have you learned about that? How do you do it? May I link it with a powerful verse that really impacted me the other day. . .“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the purpose of the LORD which prevails.” (Prov. 19:21) I have no doubt there are many ideas, hopes, dreams, plans in your lives… but do you see the LORD’s purposes prevailing in your life?
It will only happen if you are refining your ability to ‘walk with Jesus’, with your heart aligned, in tune with the heart of God. And that ONLY happens, as you spend time with Him and His Word… listening to God speak into your life, every day!
Here’s a question that is worth considering… think of all the technology devices in your life: computer, tablet, iPhone, iPad, iPod etc. Now, consider your time, and how much time, really now… do you think you spend, each day, with your eyes and ears focused on something electronic, which is streaming information or entertainment into you? And now this question… how much of all that your mind & heart are taking in is God sent, God honoring, helping you know God?? How much is a distraction, drawing you away from intimacy with God?
That’s part of what Paul means when he writes “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (5:18) Now when Paul says “…be filled with the Spirit…”, does he mean we sometimes lose the Holy Spirit in our lives, and need to come back, over and over, to be refilled, like your gas tank in your car? No my friends. The Holy Spirit comes to live within us at the time of our Salvation, when He baptizes us into Christ (John 3:3-7; Romans 6:3; Eph. 4:5). This phrase “filled with the Spirit” is used several times in the New Testament. (Acts 2:4; 4:8; 4:31; 6:3; 7:55; Eph. 5:18 etc.)
I believe Paul is challenging us to consider the matter of our full submission to the authority & full Presence of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our life.
Psalm 66:18 speaks of ‘cherished sin’! Sadly, my friends, when you or I, as Christians, demand control in our lives, pursuing our own agenda, refusing Jesus authority, through His Holy Spirit, we are living in rebellion in that portion of our lives. Or when we grieve the Holy Spirit, as we saw in Ephesians 4:27&30, by disregarding the warning of the Holy Spirit and yielding to temptation. Or when we intentionally refuse to do that which we know the Holy Spirit is leading us to do (James 4:17). These are three instances in which we are not yielding to the authority or “Lordship” of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In these cases, a Christian is refusing to submit their entire life to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit resides in this Christian, but is not fully in authority, because rebellion of the heart is taking place in that Christian. Do you see that?
So when Paul urges us not to come under the strong influence of too much wine, but rather ‘be filled with the Spirit’…he is challenging us to live FULLY, TOTALLY in submission to the Holy Spirit who resides in us. When we FULLY yield ourselves to the authority of the Holy Spirit; when we COMPLETELY follow the leading of the Spirit; when we FULLY trust the Holy Spirit and reject temptation… these are examples of living “Filled with the Spirit”.
Here’s a simple way to understand it. . . how much of ourselves have we voluntarily placed in submission to the authority and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives? When we are ‘filled with the Spirit’ EVERY part of our lives…mind, heart, will, desires, hopes & dreams, relationships… EVERYTHING is fully yielded to the authority of the Holy Spirit. That’s living “filled with the Spirit”…no rebellion, nothing withheld, no ‘cherished sin’. Filled with the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit of God!
Remember when David wrote in Psalm 86:11,12: “Teach me Your way, O LORD and I will walk in Your truth, give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name. I will praise You O God, with all my heart…” Do you hear the focus, the passion, the fullness of spiritual engagement here? That’s what Paul is talking about in vs. 18. Rather than being dulled by too much wine or too much TV or too many movies, or even, dare I say it, too much College football or even the Hallmark Channel!!!
For us to keep our spiritual vitality, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit working in our hearts, minds and souls, we need to guard our time to be sure nothing is encroaching on our time we spend with God in Worship, His Word and reflection, listening to Him. Most of you know I’m fascinated by Moses and his 8 trips up Mt. Sinai to meet with God. 3 of those trips lasting 40 days. And then the little ‘tent of meeting’ that he built outside the camp so anyone, but especially he and Joshua, could go and meet with God often.
Now in closing today friends, the result of living our lives with the priority of time with God, really growing to know God, and living in the fullness of His Holy Spirit, as we walk with Jesus… is what we see in vs. 19 and 20 “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.” Now that my friends, is really living a joy filled life, ‘walking with Jesus’ daily. Do you agree! So why not? What gets in the way of that being our reality, our daily experience?
Oh Lord Jesus, thank you for this remarkable, Spirit filled life you invite us to! Help us see anything that distracts us from it!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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