With me please to Ephesians chapter 5 and to verse 18 this evening.
Ephesians 5 and at verse 18.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.
Be filled with the Spirit.
Now surely friends, this tonight is our greatest need as Christians.
It's the Church's greatest need, it's our individual need as well.
And for ourselves, for the congregation, for every aspect of the work that we are engaged in,
for the preaching of the Gospel, for our outreach, our evangelism,
for the work with young folks, for the work with older folks,
it doesn't matter what aspect we think about, but this is the greatest need we have,
that we be filled with the Spirit of God.
Every single thing that Paul is actually setting out for the Ephesians,
that they are to be as Christians, that they are to be in relation to each other,
in order to love each other, to be in the right relation to each other,
to look after each other and so on.
Everything they are to be in relation to the world around them,
as the world looks in upon them and sees them as the people of God.
Every single aspect of that, every single avenue of that,
is to be met by being filled with the Spirit of God.
We have to have everything in place for sure.
We need to have all the mechanisms, if you like,
in place in order to function as individuals or as a congregation.
We need to have our strategy, our planning.
We need to have our buildings.
We need to have our various meetings.
We need to have the structures that we have in the congregation.
We need to have all of these things and more in place.
But we can have all of these in place and still lack this.
Because this really takes priority and precedence over anything else.
Without being filled with the Spirit, without being moved inwardly by the Spirit of God,
none of these other things in themselves will produce the results that we long for.
And we long for more conversions.
We long for more enthusiasm in ourselves, myself included, very much.
We long for a lessening of the apathy that's obvious when people don't find it in their hearts to come to church,
to come to prayer meetings.
And I'm talking here about people who are of the church,
people who themselves maybe at times are professing Christians.
Paul is actually writing these terms to Christians,
to people who know the Lord.
And yet it is to them that he's saying,
don't be drunk with wine, which is debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit.
Be filled with the Spirit.
I was watching an episode of,
the other night of Captain Mannering and his soldiers in Dad's army.
And it's not at all to introduce anything that's funny,
but it so happened that he had said he was going to be away for the day.
And in fact, he came back early.
And instead of being on parade,
the platoon had actually gone down to the pub to play darts with the wardens.
With the aeroate wardens.
So when he came back, of course there was no sign of him,
but a couple of them.
So he asked where they were and he was told.
And of course he just became enraged.
What on earth were they doing in the pub instead of being on parade?
And off he went to try and take them back.
And of course they refused initially to come back.
But he sat down and Sergeant Wilson on the other side of the table
in one of the aspects of the scene.
And he said to Sergeant Wilson,
I don't understand it.
I cannot understand why these men don't love to be on parade.
When I'm actually at my tea and my dinner,
when I come home from work and I sit down at the table
and I think of getting dressed with my uniform
and marching down the road to the hall where the parade is to be placed,
I feel a sense of excitement moving up inside me.
Of course, Wilson didn't think too much of that
because I suppose the reason they weren't too keen on the parade
was that it was led by the pompous Captain Mangering.
But the point is this.
What he said about himself is so applicable to ourselves as Christians.
When did I last myself feel a rising sense of excitement
at the thought of preaching the gospel,
at the thought of going to visit people in their need?
Did you feel a sense of rising excitement tonight
in order to come to the prayer meeting?
A sense of really being led into the thought
that would thrill your heart to meet with God in this building?
I know these things are hugely challenging,
but that's why they're in the Bible.
And we're living in times when people find it so easy
not to actually follow out the path that God has given us
in order to become robust and glowing Christians.
I'm not finding fault with anyone here tonight at all.
I'm speaking to myself as much as to anyone else
and to you at home as well as you take part in the service.
Well, this is our greatest need, friends.
It doesn't matter how much we've been on the road already.
It doesn't matter how experienced we may be
either in preaching or in witnessing to Christ.
But here is God saying to us tonight,
do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit.
What does he mean?
Why is he saying this?
And if we're convinced of this,
are we attending to all that's involved in it?
If we're convinced that this is our greatest need,
and really it shouldn't take us long to reach that conclusion,
because the Bible makes it clear to us
that it is the Spirit alone that quickens.
It's the Spirit alone that changes people.
It's the Spirit alone that brings life and vigor
to the people of God themselves.
And we should, of course, notice here
that what Paul is saying is something that needs to go on
as our Christian life develops.
He's not saying,
be filled with the Spirit today,
and that'll just last you.
No, he's saying,
be filled with the Spirit.
This is a continuing thing.
This is something they need to look for every day,
something they need to actually seek
from God every day.
So, if we look at verse 18,
that should feed into our prayers
for ourselves,
for the cause of God,
for the congregation,
for the unconverted,
for the young folks,
for the community around us,
for those in authority.
It doesn't matter where it is,
but if we are filled with the Spirit,
all will be encompassed
within what we're seeking from God.
And so there are two things
that the verse actually contains for us.
There are other things as well,
but we'll confine it to two things.
First of all,
Paul is bringing the Ephesians
a reminder of a great change.
A reminder of a great change.
Why did Paul include this reference
to being drunk with wine?
What's it doing in the text?
Is it not a little bit strange
that he would speak of such a thing
and then side by side with that
put being filled with the Spirit?
Why is Paul actually referring at all
to being drunk with wine
and then placing that
alongside a reference for the need
for us to be filled with the Spirit?
Well, as we say,
it's a reminder of a great change
because it's reminding the Ephesians,
I think, from this,
that the great change
that has taken place in their lives
when the Lord took them out
of their previous habits
and lifestyle involved
bringing them to be freed from
and saved from the debauchery,
including drunken orgies
that they were actually involved with.
It was the cult of the idol Dionysus
was something that people of Ephesus
and the Greek world of the time
gave a lot of time to.
And Dionysus was the god of wine.
And to follow Dionysus
or to worship, as it were, Dionysus
involved being involved in drunken orgies.
That's why the reference to wine
is so relevant
and why you're saying to them,
that's what you've left behind.
That's what you've been rescued from.
That's what God now wants you
to actually put behind you.
It's a great contrast
with the life that they had.
And it's not just a contrast,
but it's a total contrast.
And you can see how he picks that up
in chapter 4
at verse 20 there
where he's talking about
how different they are now
to the way the Gentiles walked
in the futility and darkness
of their mind.
They've become callous.
They've given themselves up to sensuality.
And of course,
that's what the Ephesians were.
But that is not the way
you learned Christ,
assuming that you have heard about him
and were taught in him
as the truth is in Jesus.
And in chapter 2,
verses 1 to 5,
of course, he brings out
how they once were,
the children of wrath,
just as others,
following the prince
of the power of the air,
following the way
of the course of this world.
But God, being rich in mercy
because of the great love
with which he loved us,
even when we were dead
in our trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ.
All the way through here
in the epistle,
you find a reminder given,
and this verse 2 in chapter 5
is a reminder
that this was what once characterized
their lives,
this kind of lifestyle
was what they lived for
and lived in.
Now Paul is reminding them
that is no longer the case.
Be no longer drunk with wine.
You're no longer following
Dionysus
or any other idol
in the ways of the world.
And in fact,
that's something that the apostles,
Peter included,
set before the people
in their preaching,
in their epistles as well.
You remember Peter
in 1 Peter chapter 4.
Again, similar to Paul here,
just to show that this was common
to the preaching of the apostles
for the time in which they lived,
for the church of the time,
just as it must be for ourselves.
He says here,
1 Peter 4 verses 3 to 4,
the time that is past
is sufficient for doing
what the Gentiles want to do,
living in sensuality,
passions,
drunkenness,
orgies,
drinking parties,
lawless idolatry.
With respect to this,
they are surprised
when you do not join them
in the same flood of debauchery
and they malign you.
They speak shamefully of you.
So it's a reminder
of a great change.
And whenever we think of ourselves,
our conversion is a great change.
It's a reminder
of what God has done
to bring us into
a living relationship
with himself.
But the second thing
I want to emphasize more
or deal with more fully,
not only is it a reminder
of a great change,
it's also an illustration
of a spirit-filled life.
The way that he puts things
in this verse
is an illustration
of a spirit-filled life.
It's interesting the words
that Paul actually uses here,
especially the word drunk
and the word debauchery.
Do not be drunk with wine.
The word drunk literally,
in that usage of it,
has the idea of being soaked
in the treatment of skins,
for example,
animal skins.
In those days,
in order to stretch them out
and make them supple,
they used to soak them
for a while.
Then they could actually
handle them more.
So the soaking,
or something that's soaked
into the skin
in the liquid
that it was soaked in.
And so there's that idea
of being soaked.
But this word debauchery,
don't be soaked with wine,
don't be drunk with wine.
The word debauchery
is probably not the best
translation here in the ESV.
The authorized version,
you recall,
maybe has the word excess.
Don't be drunk with wine,
wherein is excess.
And there's an interesting way
in which we can follow that word
in the way it's used in Scripture.
For example,
in Luke's Gospel,
chapter 15,
you find the account
of the prodigal son.
And the prodigal son,
in verse 13,
we're told that he'd left home,
he took the goods
that were falling to him,
and then he wasted his life
in this debauchery.
He wasted his life
just flittered it away
recklessly.
And reckless living,
I think is how the ESV puts it.
He wasted his life.
And nobody,
when he went away,
took his journey
into a far country,
he squandered his property
in reckless living.
That's the idea behind this word
in Ephesians as well.
It's reckless.
It's a squandering.
It's a wastage.
It's the opposite of saving something.
It's just being reckless
in giving it away
and spending it
unwisely and foolishly.
And so you could say,
this is really
what Paul means
in verse 18.
Don't be soaked with wine,
for that is just sheer wastage.
But be filled with the Spirit.
The opposite
to being soaked or drunk
with wine.
What are the implications of that?
What are the implications
of that for ourselves?
Now, nothing of what I'm saying at all
is indicative
of lack of sympathy
for those
who have problems
with alcohol
or with drug addiction.
Our heart goes out
to these people.
Davy here
shares with us
from time to time
the challenges
of working with that.
And we pray for them
as we pray for him.
Our heart goes out
and it's nothing to do
with a lack of sympathy.
But the Bible, nevertheless,
is clear
that this is something
that is very wrong
in human life.
And they need
all the help they can,
but the Bible brings
the spiritual dimension
to it
as well as
the physical or mental.
And the three things
that follow on
from what we said already
from the words
that Paul used
as an illustration
of the Christian life,
as an illustration
of the Spirit-filled life,
there are three things
that we can focus on.
First of all,
self-control,
a word that Paul uses
elsewhere
in his epistles frequently.
Secondly,
stewardship,
looking after things,
looking after oneself.
And thirdly,
stimulation.
And these three things
come into
the contrast,
if you like,
and the comparison
that Paul is making
between being drunk
with wine
and being filled
with the Spirit.
There is a comparison
as well as a contrast,
though most of it
is to do with contrast.
Firstly,
self-control.
Now you remember
the list that we have
in Galatians chapter 5,
which Paul refers to
as the fruit
of the Spirit.
Galatians chapter 5
and verse 23.
The works of the flesh,
he says before that,
are evident.
Sexual immorality,
impurity,
sensuality,
and so on,
he gives us that list.
Drunkenness is one of them,
orgies,
and these things,
like these.
But the fruit of the Spirit
is love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
gentleness,
self-control.
That's one of the lists
of the fruit of the Spirit,
of the elements
that make up
the total fruit
of the Spirit
in that passage.
And that self-control
is exactly the same thing
you find Paul saying
to Timothy as well,
where he's giving him
advice as he's going
to carry on
with the work
of the Gospel
when Paul has gone
from the scene of time.
2 Timothy chapter 1,
verse 7,
this is what he says.
For this reason,
he says,
I remind you
to fan into flame
the gift of God
which is in you
through the laying on
of my hands.
For God gave us
a spirit not of fear,
but of power
and love
and self-control.
Power and love
and self-control.
This is the contrast.
Be not drunk with wine
which is wastage,
which is debauchery,
but be filled
with a spirit.
When a person is drunk,
when a person is under
the influence
of alcohol,
whether it's wine
or spirits
or drugs
have a similar
kind of effect,
I'm sure,
but when a person
is drinking
under the influence
of excessive drink,
I mean,
one of the things
that's obvious
from that
is a lack of control.
Because the more
a person gets drunk,
the less control
that person has.
They lose control
of the mind,
lose control
of the body
or certain functions
of the body.
Control of movement,
control of moods,
control of emotions.
All of that
are affected
so drastically,
all of these
by being drunk
by the effect
of excessive alcohol.
Sadly,
of course,
as you well know,
many people
lose their lives
through excess
use of alcohol,
not just on themselves,
but in road accidents.
We hear of that
every day.
The devastating effects
of excessive drinking.
But,
here is Paul saying,
instead of
that kind of lifestyle,
and it's not just
actually being drunk,
it's the kind of thing
where you lose control,
whatever reason it is,
instead of being
filled with the Spirit.
Don't be drunk,
don't be,
don't lose your self-control,
instead be filled
with the Spirit.
Be under the order
that the Spirit
brings into your life.
Be under the control
that the Spirit brings
as the Spirit
comes into your life.
Be under the direction
of the Spirit.
Be under the power
of the Spirit
to take you away
from the things
that otherwise
you would be led by
and led into.
So,
that's the first thing,
the self-control element
of being filled
with the Spirit.
The second thing
is stewardship.
Again,
go back in your mind
to the prodigal son
in Luke chapter 15,
and where it says
that he squandered
his living,
squandered his property
recklessly.
The same word
as we see here
in Ephesians 5.18.
Now,
that's another thing
that makes
a big difference
between the person
that is addicted
to alcohol,
especially regularly
loses control,
but also comes
to have so much wastage.
One of the really
sad things
about the grip
of alcohol
or drugs
is the sheer wastage
that's involved
in that person's life
and in the life
of their family as well,
a waste of energy
and a waste of time
and a waste of money
and a waste of opportunities
and a waste of relationships
and all of that stuff
comes into it.
But here is Paul
drawing the contrast
as well as making
the comparison.
Don't be
drunk with wine.
Don't be under
the control
or influence
of alcohol.
Instead,
be controlled
by the Spirit
and be under
the stewardship
of the Spirit
because the wastage
and the opposite
of the wastage
that you have
in being drunk,
the opposite of that
is a life
which saves,
which cares for things
and cares for people.
You look after
what you gain
when you come
to know Christ,
what Jesus gives you
to enjoy,
what Jesus gives you
to share out.
You don't waste it.
You don't set about it
carelessly.
You look at it
in such a way
as saying,
this is the most precious
thing that I've got.
I've got to look
after this.
I've got to look
after myself.
I've got to look
after my well-being.
I've got to look
after my mind.
I've got to look
after my fellow
human beings,
my family.
Everything's to do
with saving,
with looking after,
with conserving,
not with wastage.
That's the Christian
for you.
That's the difference
between the Christian
and the person
that is just
the sheer worldly person.
Don't,
on the one hand,
be this,
on the other hand,
but be filled
with the Spirit.
How do we live
a self-controlled life?
Well,
not by our own ability.
It's not something
that we manufacture.
It's something
that comes from
being filled
with the Spirit.
How do we actually
have the stewardship
that looks after
ourselves and other
things properly,
that looks after
the life that God
has placed in us
in his salvation
by the Holy Spirit?
It's by being filled
with the Spirit.
in 2 Peter,
again,
we have something
that's very close
to that,
2 Peter 1,
verses 5-8.
You find
the apostle there
saying,
for this very reason,
make every effort
to supplement
your faith
or to add
to your faith
virtue,
virtue with knowledge,
knowledge with
self-control.
There it is again,
self-control
with steadfastness,
steadfastness
with godliness,
godliness
with brotherly affection,
brotherly affection
with love.
For if these qualities
are huge and increasing,
they keep you
from being ineffective
or unfruitful
in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is Peter saying?
Peter is saying
the Christian life
is about additions,
not subtraction.
It's about keeping,
it's about conserving,
it's about making sure
you look after
what God has given you,
whether it's
the working of your faith,
your prayer life,
your reading of the Bible,
your relationship
with others,
your attendance
at church,
all of the things
that he has given you,
you add to them
and you keep on
seeking that they
be increased for you.
Why?
So that you will not
be unfruitful
in the knowledge
of God.
That's a huge challenge
to myself,
to yourselves
tonight,
isn't it?
But this is the way
that the Bible argues,
the Bible reasons
with us,
the way that Paul
is here setting out
a life of growth
rather than wastage,
a life of conserving
and looking after
rather than just
spreading things out
wastefully.
So there's self-control,
there's secondly,
stewardship,
and thirdly,
there's stimulation.
If you think about
alcohol abuse,
and again,
I'm going to stress
that we're actually
very mindful
of those who have
problems with alcohol.
We don't want to
in any way
speak in such a way
that would
give the impression
that somehow
we're just there
to criticize
and to condemn.
It's not what
we're about.
But
you know very well
that alcohol
is not a stimulant.
Some people make
a mistake about this.
they think,
if I want a good time,
I'm going to have
to grab myself
plenty of alcohol
for Friday night
or for Saturday
or whenever it is.
And of course,
that's what the
glossy adverts
actually set out
for you.
The glossy adverts
don't take you
behind the scenes
to the many people
that have problems
of addiction.
Yes,
there's a little
warning perhaps
somewhere in the advert
or on the bottle
or on the pack,
but mostly
they're very small
compared to the
glossy,
wonderful
atmosphere
or environment
that's projected
in the adversity.
Have a good time.
Go down to the beach.
Take plenty of booze
with you.
Take your pals.
Live it up.
That's your stimulant.
It's not a stimulant at all.
Alcohol
is a depressant.
It gets to the points
of your mind
that are most important
and instead of stimulation
it's depression.
It comes to actually
affect them
in such a way
that they don't function
the way they should.
And so what Paul
is saying is
instead of that
here is something
that stimulates
the filling
of the spirit
the opposite
of the effects
of being drunk
the effects
of alcohol
excessively
it's
the spirit
of God
stimulates.
What is it
that lifts
our hearts?
What is it
that lifts
our mind?
What is it
that brings us
to think positively
of such things
as the children's
education
their well-being
their safety
all of those things?
Where do we really
find our hearts
being lifted up
to consider
these things
in the magnitude
that we should?
It's from the
filling of the spirit.
You see that
for example
when
the reformation
took place
in Scotland
under the
leadership of
Knox
and his
companions
one of the
things they
set about
doing
with conviction
was to have
a school
in every parish
in the kingdom.
They were people
under the direction
of the spirit.
They were filled
with the spirit.
They were seeking
that the spirit
as he guided them
would actually
bring about
what they were
praying for.
And one of the
things they were
praying for
and seeking
practically to bring
about was a
school in every
parish.
Why?
So that the
children of the
land could be
educated.
Not just in the
things of the
Bible though that
was centrally
important but in
other aspects of
education.
Isn't that really
where our
education system
came from?
It didn't come
from atheism.
It didn't come
from debauchery.
It didn't come
from any of the
things that you
find so much
commended
nowadays.
It came from
Christians.
It came from
the people of
God.
It came from
the movement
of the spirit.
It came from
the spirit
coming to
fill people,
to bring the
conviction,
to bring the
concern,
to bring the
energy by which
they set about
these things.
Whether it was
medical care,
hospitals,
or education,
all of these
things,
ultimately,
they came from
this.
And you can
include the
joy of salvation
in that as
well.
Because the
joy that we
experience in
knowing Christ
and following
Christ is
itself related
so closely to
the working of
the spirit of
God, to being
filled with the
spirit.
There are so
many other
aspects of this
that we could
spend time on.
We might indeed
come back to it,
God willing,
if God brings us
to think of that,
to give us that
direction of the
spirit as we're
saying, because
there's so much
to this.
And indeed, I
think I would
like to take
some time to
just look at
different aspects
of the ministry
of the Holy
Spirit, not
just at our
prayer marriage,
but on the
Lord's Day as
well.
That would
certainly be
very profitable
for us.
But for the
moment, let's
think of this
in conclusion.
The stimulation
that comes from
the filling of
the spirit,
the stimulation
that brings
such things
as joy
and rejoicing,
even in times
of sorrow
and times
of trial
and times
of difficulty.
I know it's
easy to say
these things
from pulpits,
but it's
something I've
experienced myself,
so I can say
it's true,
that even in
the midst of
trials and
things that
really wrench
your heart
and wring it
out in pain,
you still,
by God's grace
and God's
goodness,
can experience
the joy
of being
a Christian,
the satisfaction
of knowing
God,
and the
contrast
between you
and those
who don't
have that,
or your
heart goes
out to
them.
You express
your thankfulness
and say,
Lord,
I'm thankful,
I experience
even this
ingredient of
joy,
it is a
testimony to
me that
you're in
my life.
And so,
be filled
with the
Spirit.
And in
conclusion,
do notice,
friends,
that this
tonight is
an imperative.
He's not
saying,
if you think
it's a good
idea,
be filled
with the
Spirit.
He's actually
saying,
in the way
of an
imperative,
which is
really the
same thing
as a
command,
do not
get drunk
with wine,
for that's
debauchery,
but be
filled with
the Spirit.
It's
something
for which
we are
responsible.
Now,
we cannot
manufacture
the filling
of the
Spirit.
We can't
produce the
filling of
the Spirit.
We can't
control the
Spirit so
that we
ourselves can
bring it
about when
we're filled
or when
we're not.
But it's
our responsibility
to see to
this filling.
He is
addressing them
in such a
way as
saying,
be filled
with the
Spirit.
it.
And so
it is
for you
and for
me tonight,
for us as
a congregation,
for us as
a group of
Christian people.
We can't
produce the
filling,
but we
can pray
for it.
And we
must pray
for it.
And we
must seek
it.
Because it
is,
very much,
the only
thing to
help us
in our
day,
in our
circumstances,
in the
need for
further
conversions,
for our
increase in
holiness for
ourselves,
in every
other aspect
that you
might think
of in
your own
life,
and in
the
congregation's
life,
and in
your
relationship
with the
world.
The key
is the
filling of
the Spirit.
And without
that,
we're
impotent,
we're weak.
we're at
the mercy
of the
world,
to a
great
extent,
but filled
with the
Spirit.
Well,
God is
saying,
filled with
the Spirit,
watch this
space.
Because that's
where life
is.
That's where
energy is.
That's where
results come
from.
Don't be
drunk with
wine,
which is
excess,
which is
wastage,
but be
filled with
the Spirit.
Now,
there's a
challenge for
me as
the minister
tonight.
And there's
a challenge
for yourselves
as Christians
in the
congregation.
There's a
challenge for
the whole
congregation,
indeed,
especially for
those who
profess the
Lord,
to seek
to be
filled with
the Spirit
and to
take it to
God until
He fills
us,
realizing
that without
His filling,
we are far
short of what
we need to
be as
witnesses to
Him.
May He
bless these
thoughts on
His word to
us.
Let's
him.
He
Thank you.
耳
Praise
God.
Là it's
another
감
year.
Er
Bud