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[0:00] I got it.

[0:30] All right. Let's turn our Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. Let me just ask, the microphone, is it too muffled?

[0:44] Or is it better without the microphone? Or is it better with the microphone? It's got a lot of reverb. Got a lot of reverb?

[0:55] Okay. All right. I think I can be louder. No. No comments. I think I can be loud enough without the mic.

[1:10] And we'll go with that. I think the audio will pick it up. What? Aaron Archibald. Hey. All right.

[1:21] All right. Ephesians chapter 5. We're continuing to look at this passage that really describes for us how to be a radiant believer in a very dark world.

[1:36] I really think that this is encouragement to us for a lot of reasons. I think we live in really dark times. I think all of us agree with that.

[1:47] I don't have to look very far to recognize the effects of Satan in the world around us. We can see it as death. But this passage, I think, is encouragement to us, especially as a believer, but also as a body of believers, so that we can be not only a radiant kind of believer in dark times, but also so that we can be together collectively.

[2:18] We can be together in a radiant church in dark times. And I think this is great encouragement for us on that front. I will say we had a busy week this week, at least for our family and for the Smiths, as we have in common Hallie and Chandler, who had a baby next day.

[2:40] Okay. So that severely altered our plans for the week in a great way. But as a preacher, as a pastor, I should know by now that those things always happen either on Sunday morning, right before church, or Wednesday night, right before church.

[2:59] So I should know this by now. But, of course, it happened Wednesday noon-ish, I guess. And we had a great addition to our family with Liam being born into this world.

[3:13] When we count on Sunday mornings, we count souls. So we've already been counting him as present. But now we get to see him.

[3:27] Well, we saw him before. He was out there. But 10 pounds, 7 ounces. He was out there, and he's still out there. And so we're very excited.

[3:39] Rejoicing for them. They're recovering from all of that. But doing well, and we are so, so excited. When we plan a Wednesday night activity, and I'm teaching, and it's being hosted at the Smiths' house, then it really kind of threw us for a loop without a contingency plan.

[4:01] And David and Paige Douglas did a great job hosting their house on short notice. And a great prayer meeting took place there where many of you prayed for us and for Holly Chandler and family and many other things.

[4:16] So we need to be a people that are characterized by prayer. And I'm so appreciative that those moments are taken seriously by us as a group of people.

[4:27] So praise the Lord for that. We're going to continue on Wednesday night. Now, this Wednesday night, we have no more babies scheduled. I know of, at least in our family. But we're going to go ahead and have a Wednesday night at the Smiths.

[4:41] And I'll continue teaching. If you're new here, we are a work in progress. We are, we'll be forming as a church officially as we covenant together in January.

[4:53] We're meeting for worship. We have only been meeting for worship on Sunday mornings for these past couple months now. And so it's been great as we've been getting together for these worship times.

[5:05] We're working toward a moment where we're going to covenant together. And when we do, it's going to be, am I that going? Or does that mean? Wow. Okay. Okay. I'm wild.

[5:21] I didn't know I was that loud. But we're working toward covenanting together. And in the meantime, we're stepping through systematically and carefully, cautiously.

[5:33] Did I throw you for a moment? We're trying to help it. And I took it away. Yeah. I'm done. It's hard to find good health.

[5:49] He's fired. And I mean me. Anyway, so we're working systematically through topics.

[6:01] Taking our time trying to establish our church well. There are many very oversimplified approaches to doing church. And we're trying to avoid that.

[6:11] Because we feel like the Lord has brought us together to establish something that is going to not just last for our lifetime. But we're praying that God will use what we're doing here to last for lifetimes.

[6:26] And so a church that will last generations. We want 100 years from now for a church to gather and remember the things that we did here.

[6:38] And the way we established this. And we want them to be grateful that we took care and caution in setting things up right.

[6:48] And not just rushing to do things. So we're taking our time. Wednesday nights we're stepping through this. And so we're going to start accelerating that as we're stepping through.

[6:59] So that we can look at church government. And we look at offices of the church. And ordinances of the church. Like baptism and Lord's Supper. All those kinds of good things. What makes us distinctive as a church?

[7:13] Why are we doing this? And what are we going to do? And we're going to step through that. We're even going to put together a little handbook that helps explain who we are, what we do. So that you can see it in writing.

[7:25] This is what we believe. This is who we are. We have our confession of faith that we have given out. And now that I just said that, I realized that I forgot to bring the rest of them.

[7:37] So next week there will be some on that table. But there's not to it. So, but we're taking our time. We're working through this. And we're doing good. There are some. Yeah, there are.

[7:48] Praise the Lord. See, Lord works miracles. And they're outside in the area out there. Okay. See, it's a team happening. Right? Okay. Ephesians chapter 5.

[8:03] If you find a place there, we are reading verse 15. When you find your place in that location, you can go ahead and stand as we read God's word together.

[8:19] God has to say this. Beginning in verse 15.

[8:30] Look carefully then how you walk.回去. Verse 15. Give the law. For you gain the death. Master Aquarius.

[8:41] Accepting the entirety and doing the Bible. For you gain the view as you go. Father far.入may. Probably not as for the quality of God. But as wise. Robin through from tomorrow. strategitis. Sopoint from you getting the name of God. Camera sword. what the will of the Lord is.

[8:54] Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

[9:31] Lord, may you bless your word. As we open up your word this morning, we just pray that your Holy Spirit will take your word like a scalpel to our hearts and that you will surgically remove the things that displease you and that you will bring healing to the areas of our life where your presence is needed.

[10:04] And so Lord, this morning, I just pray that you would just speak to us, encourage us, draw us into your presence. Lord, we're coming from all kinds of different situations in our lives all through this week.

[10:19] And today, as we come before you, Lord, we are humbling ourselves before you because we need to hear from you. We need you to speak through your word so that we can face the things in our life with authority and with power.

[10:36] We need you, Lord, to be so present in our lives that we radiate with your presence so that people will see our good works and glorify our Father who's in heaven.

[10:52] We're praying, Lord, that we would walk as children of life and that you'd be seen. And so God, be with us this morning. Open your word and speak.

[11:04] And may we respond, not as people who are hearers only, just being entertained, but Lord, that we would be hearers looking for application so that we can apply your word by the power of your Holy Spirit to our life and be changed.

[11:21] And so Lord, just be with us today in that way. We love you. We praise you. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Well, D.L. Moody, if you don't know the name, D.L. Moody was probably one of the most famous evangelists in American history.

[11:42] I mean, just the impact D.L. Moody had was enormous revivals all across America. He was a chaplain, I think, in the Civil War time. He really saw effectiveness as God used him to proclaim the gospel.

[11:55] All over it. Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people, say, all across the United States. And even in this, some refer to it as the second great awakening in America, where just the impact of the gospel is being seen in a huge way.

[12:09] He said something that I think applies and really speaks into this topic as we look at this in the scripture. He said, he said, we are told to let our light shine.

[12:23] If it does, we won't need to tell anybody that it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining.

[12:34] They just shine. And the reality of that, I really think, is what the Apostle Paul is getting to hear in this passage in Ephesians.

[12:45] It's really, essentially, a call to the church at Ephesus for them to radiate with Christ. For them to walk in such a way that they demonstrate the presence of Christ in their life.

[13:01] That's what he was saying even just before this in verse 8 when he said, walk as children of light. He said, for at one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

[13:17] That's what he said. You are light. You have light in one sense because you have Christ. And you are light in a sense because you have Christ.

[13:28] You are illuminating something in the darkness around you because of Christ in your life. And in this passage he's not only saying that Christ is the light of your life, because Christ is the light of your life, now you radiate in a way that is unique in the darkness that you're living in.

[13:50] And this is encouragement to us. Notice how he says it. For one time you were darkness, but now you are light. You've been transitioned as a believer in Christ because of the work of Christ.

[14:03] It's changed you. You've been transformed. You have been, you have become a new creation in Jesus Christ. That's great news.

[14:14] You're not everything you hope to be. You're not everything you wish to be. But thank God you're not what you used to do. Right? You have been changed because of Jesus. You heard the gospel and the truth of the gospel was illuminated to your heart.

[14:30] God illuminated the truth of the gospel so that you could see and understand it. And when you did, the light of Christ was yours.

[14:42] Now, because the light of Christ is yours and is in you, now you are, in a sense, a light. One time you were darkness. Now you are light in the Lord.

[14:56] Therefore, he says, walk as children of light. For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

[15:09] Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.

[15:22] For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. What an awesome passage, right?

[15:35] Encourage me. Christ has shined in me, on me, and now the light of Christ is shining through me. Praise the Lord. And this is what he is saying then.

[15:48] Look carefully then. Because of this, this reality, look carefully then how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise.

[16:02] Making the best use of time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And then, this is what we covered last week. Moving into this week.

[16:13] In essence, how will you live in contrast to demonstrate the distinction that Christ gives to your life? This is the secret.

[16:25] I mean, you want to know the secret, right? The secret to life. The secret to radiating. The secret to the successful Christian life. How are you going to shine in a time of darkness?

[16:36] And boy, do we live in a time of darkness. How is your church going to be different in a time of darkness? Because he's speaking collectively to this body of believers. And not only talking to them individually, which the application surely does apply, but to them together.

[16:51] How are you together going to shine the light of Christ in this? Look carefully how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise.

[17:03] So last week, I asked that question. How are we going to shine brightly? How are we going to live with contrast? How are we going to make the best of times and the worst of times?

[17:14] All that kind of stuff. And the answer is in the text. That's what we do when we're looking at the scripture, right? We're looking for the answers in the text. And what Paul is telling us through the Holy Spirit is here's some things that you need to consider if you're going to radiate with this kind of brightness that effectively communicates and undergirds the message of Christ that you've received.

[17:42] How are you going to shine brightly? How are you going to radiate the message of Christ as you preach Jesus to your family and to your friends, the people that live next to you? How are you going to radiate that?

[17:54] How is our church going to radiate Christ to people around us? And he answers that by saying, look carefully how you live, not as unwise, but wise, making the best use of time.

[18:05] You are to live, as we said last week, with a sense of urgency, number one. Urgency. Making the most of time. You are to take time captive. You are to cautiously deal with the time that God has given you in this life, and you are to take it, make use of it.

[18:25] You are to live in such a way, walk in such a way that you're walking carefully, cautiously, making the best use of time. And then, not only living with that, but he implies this in the living as, not as unwise, but as wise, making use of time.

[18:45] Verse 17, And therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. How will you understand what the will of the Lord is?

[18:58] His word. And so, this is the challenge for you. If you're going to radiate the light of Christ, you've been illuminated through the truth of the gospel.

[19:10] Now, you have got to know God's word so that you'll understand his will and as you do this, you're going to radiate if you live with that kind of discernment, we said.

[19:22] You're walking in such a way that you're walking in urgency and you're walking with, number two, discernment. You are training yourself as a follower of Jesus to think biblically.

[19:35] The word of God is the guide for your life. It instructs everything about your life. You are to live in such a way that you are taking cautious care of the moments that you've been given and with discernment now, you are finding the will of God, knowing the will of God, applying the will of God in such a way that God's word is seen in your life.

[19:58] You're radiating so that people can see Jesus in your life. Living with discernment in every sphere of your life. So what does that mean? That means thinking biblically about how to raise your kids.

[20:15] And this is going to be a contrast to the way the world raises their kids. Because you're going to follow God's principles and you're going to live discerning, a sense of urgency, caution, and care.

[20:27] And you're going to apply God's word to your life. That is discernment. You are now going to radiate something. You're going to radiate the change that Christ brings, the light that he exposes, because now it's visible in your life.

[20:40] You're going to apply it to your marriage. Amen? Amen. You're going to apply it to your marriage. If you're married, you're going to live in such a way that husbands, you're going to live sacrificially as you lead your family.

[20:56] And you are a leader of your family. You have been called by God, empowered by God to lead. And this is going to be a contrast to the world around us. As you as a husband take seriously the calling that God's placed in your life, and now as you apply God's word to your life, you're going to radiate something.

[21:15] And wives, as you submit to that loving leadership of your husband, and you live out the calling of your life, you are going to radiate something to the world around you. And it's contrasted, because our world doesn't want to talk about the submission.

[21:29] And it doesn't want to talk about sacrifice. And when you as a married couple do that, you're going to live to the glory of God, and He's going to radiate you in your life. And your marriage is going to function, it's going to work, and people are going to look at it and go, man, you guys do so good together, it's like a dance together for you guys, living out the glory of God in your life.

[21:48] I wish I had in your singleness, you're going to be single to the glory of God. You don't have to be married to the glory of God.

[22:00] In your singleness, you can bring glory to God, and as you apply God's principles in your singleness to live sacrificially, lovingly, so the Lord, He's going to demonstrate His life, your life.

[22:12] People are going to see it. You're going to apply it to your work. Why am I saying this? Because that's what He said all after this. Right? Read on in chapter 5, verse 22.

[22:24] Wives, therefore, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body is himself a Savior. Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands and everything.

[22:37] Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the Word, washing water with the Word, that He might present the church to Himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish.

[22:56] In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church because we are members of His body.

[23:10] Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound and I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each of you love his wife as himself.

[23:23] Let the wife see that she respects her husband. Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Slaves, obey earthly masters without fear and trembling. Etc.

[23:33] etc. etc. It's every sphere of your life. And when you apply God's principles to your family, to your relationships, to your work, etc.

[23:45] etc. You will radiate the glory. That's the context. That's beautiful. Right?

[23:57] Amen. You mean light? Reveals the dog, I'll just say it this way, a dog in my neighborhood barks all the time, right?

[24:13] Like, morning, evening, night, non-stop. I didn't know the dog could consistently bark so long.

[24:24] So, somebody found a good high frequency pitch on the internet to play for dogs, and their boombox out for the neighbor's dog, and it did help for a while.

[24:39] But, as you go out in the back door, the light shines, so I had to be careful. That person has to be careful. It's like the Beatles.

[24:50] Right? So, you have to be careful. The Beatles things, the secrets. So, I was very cautious. The light also attracts me. And so, every time I peeked my head out to see how the dog responds, or that person, they're doing this, seeing how the dog is responding, and see how he responds, and we peeked out.

[25:12] But every time he peeked out, it's right next to the light, and a bug would invariably fly into my eye. And so, I look out, and bam, I get hit with a bug.

[25:24] And then I look out again, and it gets in my mouth. And it took about five or six bugs before I started. Because life not only reveals but it attracts.

[25:36] And this is what Paul's saying, you're to walk as children of life. Because life reveals. Life attracts. Who wants to cry to see? This is where you're to be, living a radiant life.

[25:52] Now, Ephesus is the kind of church that is a radiant church. They really are. They're a strong church. This is maybe, I would argue, one of the most influential churches in the time.

[26:07] I say that because as you go through and think about all of the people that walked through the doors of this church in leadership or serving or whatever, you start to get a picture of like, wow, Ephesus, this church, is significant.

[26:22] Not only like the Jerusalem church or the Antioch church, but Ephesus is a significant church. You see that because you read that Timothy was serving in Ephesus.

[26:36] So when Paul is writing to Timothy in these pastoral epistles and explaining what the church is to do and be, he's writing to Timothy, and so the pastoral epistles, the majority, the Timothy epistles, are talking about ministry in Ephesus.

[26:53] So you get a big, oh wow, the Ephesian church is, you're seeing the effects of it not only in Ephesus, but man, Paul's ministry is intertwined with Ephesus and Timothy.

[27:07] Paul spent three years there. It becomes the center point of mission activity as he travels to other places and comes back to Ephesus.

[27:18] Ephesus. You've got to realize that Apollos was instructed in Ephesus. So now you're connecting the work of Apollos that you see in 1 Corinthians as Apollos is mentioned as one of the primary teachers of the Corinthian church in the establishment phase of that church.

[27:39] You've got to realize that he came to Christ in Ephesus in this church. Influential. And not only that, but keep in mind that he was led to the Lord by Priscilla and Achilla who are members, faithful members of the church here in Ephesus.

[27:59] It's in Ephesus that that happens. You read that in the book of Acts around chapter 19. And not only Apollos, Priscilla and Achilla, but you also find in church history the reference to the fact that John ministered for three years in the city of Ephesus.

[28:18] So the significance of that is that not only was Paul ministering here and Apollos and all of these guys and Priscilla and Achilla and Timothy and you've got this all-star team of people, but John ministered there.

[28:31] And keep in mind that it was John that was charged to keep Mary, the mother of Jesus, which means that when John was in Ephesus, the church fathers would say Mary was in Ephesus.

[28:43] significance. It was significant. It was significant. This is a church of influence. A church that has an impact.

[28:54] The mission work coming out of this church is going to lead to the spread of the gospel all through Asia. Significant. I mean massive significance.

[29:07] So when you're thinking about this, you've got to keep in mind when Paul is talking about them shining brightly. He's writing to a church that is already radiating with the work of the gospel.

[29:18] The Holy Spirit has so changed these people that they are preaching the gospel everywhere they go and the influence of this church is being felt all over. They're reaching people, prominent people like Apollos are coming to faith in a church like the Ephesian church.

[29:35] Not just from the leaders, but coming to faith and being discipled by church members in that church. I want to be that kind of church. Yeah.

[29:46] I want to be that kind of church. That's the kind of church I want to be. I want to be living with urgency because of the gospel and I want that urgency to be seen in the application of God's word to my life in every sphere of my life so that I will be radiant with the change that Jesus has made.

[30:05] Radiant. And when we do that collectively, together and take the purposes of God seriously for our church, we will radiate the gospel to others together. That's the kind of influence that Ephesus had.

[30:22] And so this letter is so important. It's funny, as I've talked to pastors, I mean, I read commentaries, and I'll read commentary after commentary, trying to understand the context, trying to understand the historical context, what's happening in time, because that's our goal.

[30:38] We're studying scriptures, to understand it first in its context, and then try to find applications so that I can make application in my life today. If I don't know it in its context, it's difficult for me to make a proper application today.

[30:52] Right? So I'm looking at the scripture, I'm studying the context, I'm looking at the history of it, and as I do that, then I'm making application. And as I do this, I'm looking at the significance of this church, and realizing man, they don't live in much different times than we do.

[31:13] When they're crying out for Artemis, at the temple of Artemis, and showing the debauchery of their generation, they're reflecting exactly what we see in our generation.

[31:24] We live in a dark time. Even in our denominations, we see our churches suffering in our denominations primarily. Southern Baptist Convention, just this face-to-face all kinds of issues, all because of lack of transparency, financial issues, all because of lack of dealing with issues in a proper way, dealing with sexual abuse and scandals.

[31:53] Now, they're hiring gay-affirming law firms to defend themselves in cases where mission money that's given through cooperative program will be spent on these law firms and on payouts to sex abuse.

[32:08] And we're thinking man, what dark times may be. Living in time when Christians are caving to every wind of doctrine that comes along calling into woe to faith ideals of racial reconciliation instead of true biblical respect and impartiality of people.

[32:28] Satanic views of human sexuality that endanger kids and adults alike. follow the name tolerance. Even now, if you're part of a political party that celebrates the murder of babies in the womb and free drug use and mutilation of children and euthanizing older people and even, at times, the murder of Jews, you might think about changing parties.

[32:57] Dietrich Bonhoeffer would have said that this is a time to show the distinction of the church in contrast to the world around because, in fact, we've been called to do this according to 2 Corinthians 6-17.

[33:13] Go out from among their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing, and I will welcome you. It is in these contexts that we are able, by God's word, through his Holy Spirit, to shine.

[33:29] And when we shine, we radiate the contrast that Jesus brings because Jesus brings life, goodness. You're part of a political party like that?

[33:41] Change. Repent. And if not, your church should discipline you and throw you out. That's the reality because this radiates something, but it's not radiating the love of Christ.

[33:55] It's radiating the pagan ideals of the world around us. If we're going to live with urgency and discernment according to God's word, we've got to make application of it to our life, and when we do, it will bring change.

[34:08] It will attract. It will reveal. So then, number three. Will I get through number three today?

[34:18] I don't know. Number three. Not only are we going to live in discernment, but we also need to walk under the influence.

[34:37] What? Is that like driving under the influence? Notice what he said. There's some distinct similarities here, isn't there? In chapter 5, verse 18.

[34:50] And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. Here is an interesting passage.

[35:05] Right now, not only are we to live with discernment, but we are to live soberly, and in fact, that soberness is identified as being filled with the Spirit of God.

[35:19] Filled with the Spirit. This is the contrast. Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. So there's going to be some things contrasted in these two things that are going to show how you radiate the love of Christ and walk in light as a child of life.

[35:36] How are you going to do that? He says, do not get drunk with wine. Here's the negative side of this. And clearly, obviously, here he addresses drunkenness. We all understand what wine is.

[35:48] In our context today, alcohol takes all kinds of forms. We know what that is. We don't even have to explain that. But what does he say about this? He says, do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.

[36:01] The first thing we notice is immediately he does identify the issue of drunkenness specifically. Okay, so this isn't everything the Bible says about wine. This is one area that the Bible does very clearly speak to wine.

[36:17] And it speaks very clearly. Drunkenness is a sin. Sin. So when people say, well, I love to drink.

[36:28] I just like a glass of wine because it relaxes. That's good. I understand that. That relaxing that you're talking about is the beginning of what we call intoxication. That's what it does, right?

[36:41] It begins to intoxicate. That's the work of wine. Now that's why we're cautioned about this. Is it always sinful? No, it's not always sinful, but it is always an issue of wisdom. There is never a moment that you deal with wine or alcohol or substances.

[36:56] We could make that extrapolation in our cannabis drunk generation. So we could say, there is something for you to deal with in wisdom in this issue every time you deal with this substance.

[37:10] Every time. There is a sin when you are drunk. And in that sin, it is identified as debauchery, meaning that you are doing things without thought of the consequences.

[37:23] Debauchery. You're acting in a way, and all of us have been there, right? That if you've ever drank to excess, you have no thought of consequences.

[37:36] Don't act all holy at this point. Many of you, some of you have never had a drink in your life, praise the Lord. Some of us lived a very dark life, like myself, and I didn't like the taste of alcohol.

[37:52] I loved being drunk. Loved it. I loved the recklessness. I loved the abandonment. I just, I wanted to be crazy, you know, so I would, I would drink fast and hard and get drunk.

[38:05] I would do that because I loved it. I loved being drunk. With no thought of the consequences. And there were always consequences. Always.

[38:16] As my friend once said, nobody ever got a tattoo that wasn't drinking. I mean, there's always, I don't have any to show today, but yeah, you do things that you wouldn't normally do because inhibitions are dropped.

[38:30] You see this in our generation in the mommy wine culture. Some of you moms might even be in this. We see these memes come across social media all the time and they say things like this, as I just pulled up a few examples.

[38:48] It shows a glass of wine and it says, because mommy ain't easy. Right? Thank you. drink. Drink. Because mommy ain't easy.

[39:00] And this is very common. There's articles about this kind of mommy wine movement. The one shows a glass of wine and a 1950s kind of mom and it says, what type of wine goes best with laundry?

[39:18] Right? Hilarious. It's just so funny. Raising a teenager the reason God made wine. This is our culture.

[39:32] This is our approach to some of these things. Our culture is drunk. Our culture is intoxicated with these things and you see it. Mommy needs a little time with friends and the picture just shows nothing but a bunch of wine and alcohol bottles.

[39:50] Mommy needs time with friends. What's the message? Motherhood drives me to the train. Right? And it's not just this.

[40:00] It's every sphere of our life and we think of the danger of this and I know we've all got Presbyterian friends and we don't have nothing. I love it.

[40:13] We debate on these things a lot and sometimes we work together through some of these issues but we've got to think of these things seriously because there are spiritual implications to this.

[40:28] I'm not saying that drinking wine is always silly. I'm not saying that. I'll teach on that at some point to show you my complete position but not today. I don't have time.

[40:39] But keep in mind this is a real issue. The craving that you sense for alcohol is just well I just like to drink it's the beginning of addiction it's what's setting into your body and start moving it toward that.

[40:54] 9 out of 10 drink will abuse alcohol at some time. It's the reality. So we can't get away from the facts they're just pesky little things. So if you're drinking you've got to keep a few ounces of beer five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of a shot of liquor more than that and you will be facing a misdemeanor with the possibility of a $500 fine or six months in jail or something like that right?

[41:25] Because the law looks at that as being intoxicated or under the misdemeanor they recognize it. I mean some of you and some of your friends don't recognize that as being anything a problem but the law actually does.

[41:45] And so caution with wine even if you think you can drink I'm not condemning we may not see eye to eye on this but hear me you better be cautious why?

[41:59] Because God said be cautious about this. This issue is paralleled with foolishness that's why I always say it's an issue of wisdom it's not always simple but there is an issue of wisdom every time you do this.

[42:18] Drunkenness the word is methetes that's where we get our word meth it's the effect on your body of toxins in your body it's sinful when I'm drunk it's sinful when I cause my brother to stumble it's sinful when I violate my conscience it's sinful when I'm in leadership because the reality here is is that when I'm in leadership there is some indication for me that I need to be extremely cautious Solomon said the Lord said through Solomon wine is not for kings oh one of God it's not for kings priests that are ministering be cautious you're not to be drinking wine as a ministering priest as a prophet speaking for God you're not to be speaking your life being influenced by God so it's no surprise then when a qualification for a pastor is dealing with a love for wine it's an issue there are spiritual implications with this how you deal with this so be careful do not be drunk with wine but your life is to be a contrast to this kind of affection your life is to be a contrast so that you instead are to be in a similar kind of way influenced by the Holy Spirit which is kind of funny you would say wine relaxes me when the scripture tells me that the Holy Spirit is my comfort wine gives me courage and yet it's the Holy Spirit who gives us boldness and so when Paul is saying this he's saying yeah there are some similarities in the effect of it in this you are to be somebody that's characterized by transformation that radiates Christ by how you deal with all the things in your life yeah I eat an alcohol and so it's important be filled with the Spirit so we might make a note here that there is a distinction to be made between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit what does it mean by filling the scripture talks about the work of the Holy Spirit in our life in different ways does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit

[44:37] Pentecostals often talk about a second lesson of sorts that you can be saved and eliminated to the truth of the gospel you're saved and then later someday in the future you're baptizing the Holy Spirit in a different way this is not how the scripture talks about the baptism of the Holy Spirit when we see the scripture talking about it we see it in a couple places only with Luke and Paul Luke in the book of Acts Acts 11 15 he describes this initial experience of the Holy Spirit and it's described in Acts 1 by Luke when he reports just before Jesus ascended to the Father he told his apostles to stay in Jerusalem wait for the promise of the Father which you heard from me for John baptized with water but many days but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit and this baptism is clear reference to Pentecost clear unambiguous and when Pentecost comes you see it because Luke goes on to describe this in Acts chapter 2 when the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place suddenly a sound came from heaven like the brush of a mighty wind and it filled the house where they were sitting and there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributed and resting on each one and they were filled with the Holy Spirit wait he just synonymously used baptism of the Holy Spirit and a filling of the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave in others so he's speaking

[46:20] Luke is using this in two senses using the same phrase baptism of the Holy Spirit one is initiatory work of the Holy Spirit and one is this ongoing work of the Holy Spirit he's referring to as a filling Acts 11 Luke sees Pentecost as a baptism of the Holy Spirit as I began to speak the Holy Spirit fell on them just this is talking about Cornelius at Cornelius house the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning and I remembered the word of the Lord can you remember the word of the Lord how he said John baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit and here he's talking about this initiatory work this initial work among the Jews and now initial work among the Gentiles this baptism of the Holy Spirit is a pouring out of the Holy Spirit an overwhelming of the Holy Spirit that's very unique and one time and it's not referred to that way any other time moving forward very interesting so the initial experience of baptism at Pentecost in the upper room is for the Jews in Jerusalem and now it's the initial experience for the Gentiles in Cornelius house baptism of the Holy Spirit but then Paul uses it in a different way

[47:44] Paul's not using it in the way of that initial work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost he's using it as an initial work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer in 1 Corinthians so in 1 Corinthians 12 he says for just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body though many are one body so it is with Christ for by one spirit we were all baptized into one body and now he uses this baptism of the Holy Spirit to identify the initial work of the Holy Spirit in your life when you come to faith in Christ and are brought into the family of God that's when you're baptized there was a baptism for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and at Cornelius house for the Jews and the Gentiles to show the initial work of the Holy Spirit but now Paul is using it to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in your life at salvation when you come to faith in Christ and have been illuminated by the truth of the gospel now your life is overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit and you now have the light of Christ in your life to shine to others what a beautiful picture and the ongoing work now is not referred to as a baptism or an initiatory work which is what baptism is in the Old Testament the initiatory work of the Holy Spirit as people are converted to Judaism the Gentiles would be baptized by a merchant now we see it identified in the church as a believer being baptized as a result of faith in Christ to symbolize outwardly his faith and that baptism that takes place in my life spiritually is physically seen through the act of water baptism probably and I'm not going to be baptized again but I am going to be filled and in fact the way he words this here is that it is to be filled as a command as a response to the command you are not to be drunk with wine that's a command and now you are to be filled with the Holy Spirit and that's a command now you as a believer in Christ are commanded to walk as children of light and this is going to be summarized in this phrase of being filled with the Holy Spirit this is not going to be the initiatory work of the Holy Spirit that depends on God's timing to awaken you to the truth of the gospel this is now part of your sanctification where you are following

[50:16] Jesus and learning to obey and as you obey him you are going to be filled with him that's what it means to walk with him you are going to walk in his steps and be filled by his spirit as we learn to take his word live with discernment apply it to our lives and be filled isn't that great you are going to radiate with Christ as you learn to walk and be filled in response to his command to be filled with the Holy Spirit now you've got some responsibility to grow walk as children and be filled with the Holy Spirit that means to keep moving not be foolish to understand what the will of the Lord is do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery that's recklessness with no thought of the consequences now you are to be filled with the Holy Spirit the mind for the consequences as well because one day we're going to stand and judge and see the prize give account for the things that are in the body good or bad how we deal with our relationships how we deal with wine how we deal with church how we deal with government all of it but filling implies something that has capacity but is in it we are more full at times than we are at others it implies that something has been poured out it needs to be replenished it implies influence and that's why where you see the contrast between drunkenness because when you're driving under the influence it means that the alcohol you've taken in has influenced you in a way that's affected your behavior right and now you're to walk under the influence the alcohol you're to walk under the influence of the Holy Spirit under the influence meaning that as you obey the Lord it's affecting you in such a way that you are now exhibiting a characteristic

[52:18] I'm a drunken man impossible I am full of the Holy Spirit and it's affected my behavior it's given me boldness to share my faith so that I can stand in the face of a culture that's hostile and I can preach the gospel with clarity and be unashamed I can stand in the light and preach Jesus no matter the consequences the Holy Spirit gives that when I step out in obedience and I obey Him He's filling me and He's empowering me with His Holy Spirit to do that and now I'm living out the effects of His influence in my life so how do I do it how do I be filled how do I fulfill this command number one walk in repentance as Acts 2 38 says repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit what we see there is the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit but this indicates how we walk with Him you want the Holy Spirit in your life live a life of repentance you cannot experience the power of the Holy Spirit if you are an unrepentant sin walk in repentance number two walk in faith

[53:42] Galatians 3 Paul said let me ask you did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing of faith are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit that you're now being perfected by the flesh did you suffer so many things in vain does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by the work of the law or by hearing with faith it is an act of faith I have to live by faith I have to walk in faith when I do this is in part the feeling of the Holy Spirit that's enabled I'm to walk in prayer number three regular earnest prayer inviting the Spirit's presence and power into my life Luke 11 13 number four walk in obedience God's word is breathed by the Spirit when we engage with Scripture we are engaging with the Holy Spirit that inspired it and what did

[54:46] Jesus say John 14 15 if you love me keep my commandments and I will pray to the Father and He shall give you another comforter the Holy Spirit walk in obedience walk in fellowship with other believers as a community of believers this is where the Spirit manifests Himself often in the Scriptures and we are encouraged and to be encouraging one another to live in this kind of unity for this is where we actually exercise the gifts of the Spirit we're to walk worshipfully He even moves into this as a result of this feeling of the Holy Spirit living a life of obedience we're to walk worshipfully as He moves into engaging in worship privately and corporately as we see in verse 19 that we are to be people who do not get thrown with wine but we are to be people who are addressing one another songs and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in our heart and the Lord that's why we're worshiping on Sunday morning together as we sing and praise

[55:50] Lord I'm also going to be doing it in my heart I need to live a life that's changed I need to live under the influence and every time I engage in obedience and walking with other believers and worshiping in the heart and in company with others and walking in prayer and faith and repentance every time I'm taking another drink of the Holy Spirit and together my heart is in the right condition taking this word in it's changing me and it's effect is going to be seen the world around us is drunk you as a believer are to live in contrast you hear this over and over 1 Peter 5 8 be sober minded be watchful your adversary the devil crowds about about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour the Thessalonian church let us not sleep as others do but let us stay awake and be sober for those who sleep sleep at night those who get drunk get drunk at night but since we belong to the day let us be sober having put on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of our salvation

[57:08] Titus Titus 2 2 older men are to be sober minded in dignified self-controlled sound in faith and love and in steadfastness in verse 12 we are told that we are to be trained to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age the Romans 13 13 let us walk properly as in the daytime not in orgies or drunkenness not in sexual immorality or sensuality not in quarrel or jealousy no like the Galatian church even drunkenness and orgies and things like this I warned you before that those who do such things do not inherit the kingdom of God therefore like to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 15 34 this call is the same to us wake up from the drunken stupor as is right and do not go on sin for some have no knowledge of God to say this to your shame reality you're going to break it as a believer you've got to break it under the good times of all this

[58:24] I saw this so clearly in our reading that you're reading in our reading from Revelation now starting with Revelation 2 who did he mention?

[58:36] the church in Ephesus wow the Lord is walking around the temple and the lampstand seven lampstands are there and the Lord is walking among them what are these these are the churches why?

[58:54] because the Lord is walking among these churches lampstands what is the lampstand? it's a light a light shining the light of Christ and the Lord is walking among the lampstands and he's in the scripture what does he do?

[59:12] well he gives a warning to the churches all these seven churches that he's walking among he says to Ephesus I know your words Revelation 2 verse 2 your toil your patient endurance how you cannot bear with those who are evil but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not found them to be false I know that you're enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake and you have not run weary of this man what a picture of a church of influence a church shining brightly in fact he identifies that as being in a high place because in the warning he says be careful you don't realize how far you've fallen you were a light in a high place but you're not in a high place now and this comes in the warning remember therefore from where you have fallen repent and do the works you did at first if not I will come to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent now what is he saying here are you going to lose your salvation as a believer no that's not what he's saying what are you going to lose your influence

[60:26] Ephesus you are the most influential church in the New Testament you have a testimony that is strong and sure you are spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth with great authority and power but if you're not careful and you lose your passion and love for Jesus in the process of even all your obedience and even your right doctrine be careful because you will fall from the high place that you are at and your influence will be lost Southern Baptist Convention Jesus doesn't need you Amen Porterstone Church seem to be Jesus doesn't need you that's right he doesn't need you right now we're in high place working working church glorifies

[61:34]  Christ we're going to shine the light brightly and be a great new church what does that mean a virgin a virgin live with discern and live under the influence of the Holy Spirit that's right we come here today crazy heaven you Oh