Ephesians 5:18

And my text for tonight is, and we need this 5 verse 18.

! And do not get drunk with wine, for that is the votary, but be filled with the Spirit.

This is not a temperance sermon, alright?

I think the Bible, when it talks about alcohol, talks about moderation rather than total abstinence.

I'm not going to talk about wine or beer tonight.

But there is a contrast here.

See what it says?

Do not get drunk on wine, but be filled instead.

Filled with the Spirit.

That is the text.

Steve Jobs was the founder of Apple.

And he died 10 years ago this year.

He was a creative genius, really.

And he said this, he said, when I was 17, I read a quote that went something like this.

If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you will almost certainly be right.

Well, that was true for him, wasn't it, 10 years ago?

But it made an impression on me, he said.

And since then, since those 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and I have asked myself,

if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I'm about to do today?

And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Well, what do you need to change tonight?

How do you want to live the rest of your life?

My question is that Steve Jobs asked.

What do you need to change?

And how do you want to live your life?

Look what it says in these verses.

Look carefully then how you walk.

Not as unwise, but as wise.

Making the best use of the time because the days are evil.

Don't be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.

Two things from the little paragraph.

First point is really short.

And the second point is very, very long.

First thing is a contrast.

Second thing is a command.

So firstly, let's look at the contrast.

Verse 18.

Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.

Now there are some people that take him to be saying,

and you sometimes hear this in Christian circles.

They take him to be saying that being filled with the Spirit

is like being drunk with wine or beer.

Or whatever your poison is.

But that is not what he's saying.

Paul isn't making a comparison here.

Paul isn't making so much of a comparison, but drawing a contrast.

And it's a very sharp contrast.

Now being drunk and being filled are not the same thing.

There are similarities.

There is a comparison.

So you remember, don't you, on the day of Pentecost?

We're told that the ascended Christ, Jesus Christ, gave the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And we're told about that at the beginning of Acts 2,

that they were filled with the Spirit, and people thought that they were drunk.

Do you remember?

And Peter had to say to them, listen, it's only 9 o'clock in the morning,

the pubs aren't even open.

And we're not drunk.

This isn't drunkenness.

But the very fact that people could think that they were drunk

means that there is some kind of comparison.

But it's only very fleeting.

I suppose you could say that both the drunk and the Spirit-filled person

are under the influence, aren't they?

And that is where the comparison ends.

And the contrast begins.

Dr. Martin, I'll tell you in his series on Ephesians,

talks about the stimulus of the Spirit.

I don't agree with everything he says about the Holy Spirit in those volumes.

But listen to what he says.

He's writing both as a doctor and as a pastor.

And he compares and he contrasts the two states of drunkenness

and being filled with the Spirit.

He says wine, alcohol, pharmacologically speaking,

is not a stimulant, it's a depressant.

Take up any book on pharmacology and look up alcohol

and you'll find it's always classified as amongst the depressants,

not the stimulants.

First of all, it depresses the highest centres in the brain.

They control everything that gives a man self-control, wisdom,

understanding, discrimination, judgment, balance,

the power to assess everything.

In other words, everything that makes a man behave at his best and highest

takes away that.

What the Holy Spirit does is the exact opposite.

The doctor says,

if it were possible to put the Holy Spirit into a textbook on pharmacology,

I would put him under the stimulants,

for that is where he belongs.

He really does stimulate.

He stimulates every faculty.

The mind, the intellect, the heart and the will.

Now I think you can see that very clearly in this paragraph.

There's so much in this little paragraph.

We could put a whole series of sermons on it.

But there is, you can see it almost at a glance,

this startling contrast between being drunk

and being filled with the Spirit.

Just look at these verses in a moment.

You see the drunk, he staggers around all over the place.

He doesn't know where he is.

He can't walk in a straight line.

That's what they used to do, didn't they,

before random breath testing.

You were asked to get out of your car.

You kind of blew into a bag.

And then the policeman said to you,

can you walk in a straight line?

That drunk person cannot walk in a straight line.

But the Spirit-filled person, verse 15,

knows exactly where he's going.

He's careful how he walks.

It says there in verse 15, literally.

And then verse 18,

drunkenness leads to debauchery.

It says in our text, it talks about riotous living.

We say, don't we, he's wasted.

Totally wasted when he's drunk.

But the Spirit-filled person, if you look at verse 16,

is someone who is not wasted,

but at verse 16 he makes the best use of time.

And he makes the most of every opportunity.

If one of the researchers,

there are about three and a half million

working days lost to alcohol and drugs.

Can you see the contrast?

There's no staggering all over the place.

There's no wasted days for the Spirit-filled person.

There's no muddle-handedness.

There's a disciplined lifestyle.

Look at verse 17.

There's no hangovers.

Alcohol confuses the brain.

But the Spirit-filled person understands what the will of the Lord is.

He's not muddling in his thinking.

Or look at verse 19.

This is what a Spirit-filled church looks like.

I don't know if you've ever been in town where the pubs were empty.

It doesn't happen.

It happens so much in Ealing.

But growing up in South Wales,

you'd be in town when the pubs were closing.

It used to be at 11 o'clock.

And it's the exact opposite of verse 19.

And so in church, we sing to one another,

not drunken songs,

not sluried speech,

but we speak to one another

and we sing to one another

in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

And that's what a Spirit-filled church looks like.

You notice it in funerals particularly.

I've seen loads of funerals.

It's the sharpest contrast in the world.

You take the funeral of a Christian and a non-Christian.

And if you have to go to the crematorium

where there are no Christians present

and you have to press the button

and the singing comes on over the CD

and I am the only one singing,

it's a pretty miserable affair.

It drags you down.

But you go into a Christian funeral.

You go to the funeral of Tom Chapman,

the minister of Surrey Chapel,

where the church will be full

and it might be a very tragic death

in very tragic circumstances.

But the singing of a Christian funeral lifts the Spirit.

You've experienced that.

There's such a contrast.

Between the drunken songs

and the Spirit-filled singing of God's people.

And so look at this.

You see, amongst the people of God,

there's no staggering around.

There's no staggering gate.

There's no wasted days.

There's no muddled heads.

And raucous laughter and discordant songs.

And verse 20, there's no regrets.

For the drunk, there's always the morning after,

the night before.

There's the hangover,

the hazy memory of what's been said and done.

You're not quite sure,

but the Christian,

the man or the woman who's under the influence

of the Holy Spirit,

has no regrets.

Verse 20,

they give thanks always.

And for everything to God the Father

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That's the Christian life.

That is the life controlled by the Holy Spirit.

It is always giving thanks.

For everything.

Let me give you an example of this.

I read this week of a Korean businessman.

The man was in his 50s.

He was obviously very unwell.

He stood up to give his testimony.

And this was his testimony

before a crowd of 27,000 people.

He said,

I'd like to thank my friend.

His speech was unclear.

He could only just stand.

He was a wreck, this man.

He obviously had health problems.

And he said,

I'd like to thank my friend Parkinson

for introducing me to Jesus.

And he wasn't talking about Michael Parkinson.

That isn't a superficial

praise God whatever happens.

No, that is a deep thankfulness.

Isn't that?

That is the Spirit's work.

When things are not going right for you,

always giving thanks for everything.

No regrets because God is in control.

The Spirit is at work.

And no drunken brawls either.

No bloody noses.

No broken jaws.

Instead, verse 21,

submitting to one another

out of reverence,

of Christ.

Isn't that what church life should be?

It's always a sign

of the Spirit being at work

in church life.

To put others first

are not a me first attitude.

It's not like kids,

me, me, me first.

So many churches are like that,

isn't it?

What can I get out of things?

Staying away from church

so people will chase you.

But no one said,

how can I serve the body

submitting to one another?

I could go on.

No broken homes either

because of the way the chapter continues.

Verse 22 and 23.

And we get examples,

don't we,

in the rest of Ephesians 5

of what spiritfulness looks like

in the home

between husbands and wives,

what it looks like

between parents and kids,

and what it looks like

in the workplace.

When the Spirit is in control,

there's no broken homes,

there's no domestic violence.

There's no abused children.

That's what the,

what the chapter is telling us.

It's such a difference,

isn't it?

It's such a contrast

between being drunk with wine

and being filled with the Spirit.

It's a contrast,

not a comparison,

and it's sharp.

And it's really worth

meditating on that this week.

To get a picture of what it means

to come under the influence

of the Holy Spirit.

But the main point

I want to make to you tonight

is the command

to do not get drunk on wine

which leads into debauchery.

and say,

here's the positive command.

Instead,

be filled with the Spirit.

And I want you to see

it's not so much

of an experience

as a command.

Listen to this testimony.

We were in a constant

state of worship.

They were the happiest days

of my life.

We were floating,

swimming in the feeling

that we were about

to enter eternity.

We had no doubts.

Does that sound like

somebody

who is filled

with the Spirit?

They are the words

of a Muslim suicide bomber

who failed in his mission

when the bomb didn't explode.

He'd been taught

that the first drop of blood

to be shed during jihad

would wash away

his sins instantaneously.

And he would face

no reckoning

on the day of judgment.

And he was high.

High as a character

on such an experience.

But it sounds very similar,

doesn't it,

the way some Christians talk?

Is that what Paul means

when he says

be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Now it's interesting

that there are different words

used in Acts and Ephesians.

And we don't always

appreciate that.

The Eskimo

has 47 different words

in their language

for snow.

When it snows,

it doesn't mean

it's snow

in Eskimo land.

It snows

in lots of different ways.

And for us,

it's just white and cold

is that snow.

But for the Eskimo,

there are all these

different ways

of understanding

what snow is.

So for example,

they might have a word,

let's call the word

fluff fluff.

Which means,

you know,

that kind of really

light,

powdery kind of snow

that floats

softly to earth.

You know?

Christmas card snow.

Generally covers everything

with a pristine

12-inch blanket

of dazzling white.

It's perfect

for photographs.

Or they might have

another word

for snow

called

screaming freezer.

which means,

you know,

the bitter kind of snow.

The driven,

horizontal,

freeze your eyebrows

off kind of stuff.

That howls for days

and buries everything

on the suffocating

avalanche of white death.

Do you see the difference?

You might say,

it's snowing today.

But you need to know

the difference

between the two.

The words you're going

to use

if you're going to

go out on it.

Isn't it?

And so when the Bible

speaks about being

filled with the Spirit,

it does use

two different words

to describe it.

There are two words.

And just because

Gethin works for us

everything,

so I'm starting to use

Greek lots.

It's not.

I've just read

Don the Cloud.

Alright?

One word is

pluroo.

Pluroo.

And the other word

is pimpleni.

They're different words.

of being filled

with the Spirit.

In the Acts of the Apostles,

when it describes

the church being

filled with the Holy Spirit,

the word is

the pimpleni word.

But when Paul speaks

here in Ephesians

of being filled

with the Spirit,

he uses

the pluroo word,

which is a different word.

And it carries

a different sort

of nuance to it.

In the Acts of the Apostles,

it was a dramatic

coming down

of the Spirit.

Narrative

is not

normative.

What I mean by that

is the book of Acts

is a distinct time

in redemptive history.

We mustn't look

at the book of Acts

and think,

oh, I tell you what,

Peter had a handkerchief

he sent around the place

to heal people.

Poor Levy,

let's get his handkerchief

and set that around.

That's not what it's like.

And the words did

all kind of

dramatic things.

And the word

that is used there

is complaining.

And people were empowered

for particular acts

of ministry

and so on.

But the word

that Paul uses here

is a different word

altogether.

Be filled with the Spirit,

he says.

Now let's think about

what this means.

What does Paul mean here?

Four really

simple points,

four Ps.

Number one,

it's a passive command.

It's a passive command.

So,

does he say

fill

with the Spirit?

Or does he say

be filled?

There's a difference.

A really important difference.

Let's go back

40 years,

you know,

you wanted to fill up

your car,

you go to the garage

and there's a little

man or woman

who walks out

from the little booth

in the garage

and you don't even

have to get out

of your car

and you wind

your window down

and you say

fill her up,

please.

You sit in your car

and somebody

would fill

your petrol tank

for you.

It would be wonderful,

wouldn't it?

Those days are gone.

It would do itself now.

But in those days

it was filled

for you.

Well,

it is the Holy Spirit

who fills you.

He is the one

who does the filling.

Paul is not saying

to you tonight

fill yourself.

He is saying

be filled.

Can you see the difference?

Let me try and illustrate it

again in another way.

There is a command

in the Bible

to love.

If you are a Christian

you are to love

your fellow Christians.

You are to love

your enemies.

And so on.

That is a command

for something

for you to do.

But if I say to you

be loved

that is a different

command, isn't it?

That is a passive

command.

That means there has

to be someone

out there

who is going

to love you.

And you have to be

open to that love

and to receive

that love.

To be prepared

to be on the

receiving end of it.

And that is what

Paul is saying here

about the Holy Spirit.

He is not saying

do this

and do that.

Do this

and do that.

Press this button.

Go to this meeting.

Attend that conference.

And hey,

presto,

you will have an

experience of the

Holy Spirit.

That's not what he's

saying.

He's saying be filled

with the Spirit.

Be open

to the Holy Spirit

taking control

of your life.

That's what he's

saying.

To be on the

receiving end.

It is passive.

And so I want to

ask you and myself

and us as a church,

how open are we

to the Holy Spirit?

How willing are we

for the Holy Spirit

to take over

our day-to-day

lives?

How much do we want

that to happen?

Jesus said in the

Beatitudes,

he said,

Blessed are those

who hunger and

thirst for they

shall be filled.

Those who hunger.

One of the things

I began to pray for

us as a congregation

more than anything

else is we would

be hungry.

And we would be

thirsty.

Blessed are those

who hunger and

thirst.

So isn't it

true,

as A.W.

Tozer said

somewhere,

that everyone is

as full as they

want to be.

Everyone is as

full as they want

to be.

He uses this

illustration,

he says,

you see a

Mercedes-Benz

or a BMW

and you want

that.

You see the

pro-shirt or you

watch the advert

and you dream

about having a

Mercedes or a

BMW.

And then you

see the cost

or the price.

And you forget

about it,

don't you?

I'd love a

MacBook,

you know,

an Apple MacBook.

And occasionally

I dream about it.

And I see the

cost.

And you forget

about it,

don't you?

Any sane person

would forget

about it.

I don't want it

that much.

Do I?

If I wanted it

that much,

I'd make the

sacrifice,

I'd make it

happen,

but I don't.

I'm not willing

to make the

sacrifices to pay

the price to

have it.

It's probably

a good thing.

But the

question is,

how badly do

you want to

be filled

with the

Holy Spirit?

And so many

of us

are Christians,

we know the

jargon,

we know what

we're supposed

to say,

but do we

really want

the Holy

Spirit to

take control

of our

lives?

Do we

want it as

badly as we

think we

do?

Are we

prepared to

pay the

cost of

that?

Because there

is a cost

to it.

We want

it,

but do we

want it

that much?

And if we

don't want it

that much,

are we

going to

settle for

getting away

with the

bare minimum

of what we

can get away

with and

still be

thought of

as Christians?

That is not

being filled

with the

Spirit.

You see what I'm

trying to say?

I'm saying it

imperfectly, but

we're as full

as we want

to be.

Not as full

as we think

we want to

be, but as

full as we

really want

to be.

And Paul

says, be

filled.

It's a

passive

command.

Allow the

Spirit to

fill you,

he's saying.

It's passive

and it's

plural.

Do you

notice it's

a corporate

command, it's

a command

for the

whole church.

Americans

would say,

yawl, be

filled with

the Spirit

yawl.

That is

something that

happens when

Christians get

together.

The

command is a

plural command

that's addressed

to all the

Christians.

You have to

see it in

that context,

it's when

Christians get

together,

it's when

Christians gather

in the name

of Christ.

That is what

this little

paragraph is

describing.

It's something

that takes

place in the

context of

worship and

fellowship.

You are

making melody

in your

heart to

the Lord

and you're

singing

chalms and

hymns and

spiritual songs

to one

another.

And you

see it in

the context

of the

meeting for

worship and

fellowship,

that people

are filled

with the

Spirit.

Now I

think that's

an important

point.

When they

are submitting

to one

another out of

reverence for

Christ, it

is in the

context of

Christians living

together and

worshiping

together and

fellowshiping

together and

speaking the

Word of God

to one

another.

It's in that

context that

the Spirit of

God comes.

It's what the

old writers

called the

means of

grace.

Let the

Spirit fill

your hearts

and lives

protecting your

imaginations.

And if you

want that to

happen, you

need to use

the means of

grace which

God has

given.

Use, as

someone has

said, all

the resources

of the rich

Christian

tradition.

It's poems,

it's songs,

it's liturgy

to help you.

This old

preacher called

Dr.

Joeet,

Joeet was a

preacher in

London and

he tells him

how he once

went down to

the coast of

Tainmouth.

He sat by

an old

sailor, a

man who

spent many

years on a

sailing vessel

and he

said, do you

know anything

about the

wind?

He said, yes,

I know a lot

about the

wind.

Well, will

you explain

to me the

phenomenon of

the wind?

I don't know

what you mean.

How do you

explain the

wind?

What do you

know about

it?

Well, actually,

I don't know

anything about

the wind.

But I know

wind.

I can hoist

the sail.

And I think

that's the

point, is it?

Do you remember

what Jesus said

to Nicodemus?

He spoke about

the Holy Spirit

and he says,

the wind blows

where it wills,

you hear the

sound of it,

but you can't

tell where it

comes from or

where it's

going to.

It's a mystery,

you can't

control the

wind.

We can't

control the

Holy Spirit.

we can't

say the

Holy Spirit

is coming

down now

in our

meetings.

That is

horrible when

you hear

people talk

like that.

You can't

trick your

fingers and

say,

wind,

come here.

You can't

say,

Holy Spirit,

come down

at this point

in the

service when

the musicians

begin to

play the

softly music

in the

background,

the lights

go down and

everybody moves

to the front.

That is

blasphemous

nonsense.

You cannot

control the

Holy Spirit.

it.

The wind

blows where

it wills,

but you

can hoist

a sail.

You can

put yourself

in the

way of

the Spirit.

Under the

means of

grace.

You can

gather with

God's

people.

You can

put yourself

under the

preaching of

the words.

You can

come to

the Lord's

table.

You can

be at the

gathering of

God's people

to pray.

you can

sing songs

and hymns

and spiritual

songs and

catch up

with one

another and

speak God's

word to

one another

and submit

to one

another out of

reverence of

Christ and

the wind

will blow.

And you

will find

that there's

wind in

your sails

in the

Christian

life and

so make

use.

You want

the wind

in your

sails?

Make use

of the

means of

grace.

Gather

with God's

people.

It's a

passive

command.

It's a

plural

command.

It's a

present

continuous

command.

It's a

present

continuous

command.

Can you

see it?

Literally

go on

being filled

with the

Holy Spirit.

That's what

it is.

It's not a

once and

for all

experience.

Now how

do you go

on being

filled?

How do

you go

on in

the

Christian

life being

filled?

How do

you go

on with

the wind

in your

sails?

Let me

say two

things.

And the

New

Testament

really says

two things

about this

and it

couches

them both

in the

negative.

Just go

back in

the previous

chapter to

chapters 4

and 5

in verse

30 of

chapter 4.

Verse 30

chapter 4.

First half

of Ephesians

Paul is

broadly

describing the

gospel.

The second

half of

Ephesians

he's

describing

Christian

lifestyle.

And he's

explained the

gospel but

now he's

going to

show you

how to

live out

the

gospel.

And so

in chapter

4 verse

30 he

says do

not grieve

the Holy

Spirit of

God

with whom

he was

sealed for

the day

of redemption.

Do not

grieve the

Spirit.

Let me

illustrate this.

Jeff Thomas

my friend

let me

quote you.

He puts

it so well

he says our

relationship with

the Holy

Spirit is

not like your

relationship with

a speed

camera.

Don't you

hate speed

cameras?

That's my

words not

Jeff Thomas's.

That camera is

not grieved if

you do 35

mile per

hour in a

30 mile per

hour zone.

It might be

situated in the

most beautiful

valley in

Wales but it

never takes

photographs of

sunsets or

lakes or

swans flying

across the

fields.

It simply

snaps your

car breaking

the speed

limit.

It is a

pre-programmed

machine and

he says your

relationship with

the Holy

Spirit is not

like that.

Then he goes

on to use

another

illustration.

He says your

relationship with

the Holy

Spirit is not

like your

relationship with

a cash

dispenser.

You feed in

your card,

you punch in

your number and

out comes the

money.

That's all it

does.

You can be

in the

foulest of

moods imaginable.

You can be

muttering and

complaining under

your breath and

shouting at your

children to

stay still.

But the cash

point is utterly

indifferent.

It will simply

give you what you

want if you

sufficient credit.

My relationship

with the cash

point is inert.

It's not like

that with the

Spirit.

He is a

living person.

We saw that in

the first thought,

didn't we?

That he is a

loving person who

grounds and

loves and

prays who can

be grieved

and blesses.

And if I

am not

maturing and

not loving and

not praying and

not witnessing and

not worshipping that I

should, then the

fault does not lie in

the breakdown of the

divine machinery.

It lies in our own

failure to maintain a

growing living

relationship with the

Lord who is the

Spirit.

Spirit.

Grieve not the

Spirit.

You know when

you've offended

your wife, don't

you?

You know when

you've offended

your mum or your

dad.

You know when

you've offended

your friends,

don't you?

There's a

cooling off in

the relationship.

There's a

distance.

There's an

atmosphere.

Well, it's

time to put it

right.

And Paul is

saying, go on

being filled with

the Spirit.

Let your

relationship with

Jesus, be the

same by the

Holy Spirit.

Be sensitive to

what offends

him.

Don't have a

mechanistic view

of the Christian

life where we

plug into this

or we plug into

that.

And then we'll

have the power.

Or we think, I

am justified.

And so it's

just all right.

And you kind

of have a

reformed

mechanistic view

of the Christian

life.

No, it's a

relationship.

With Jesus

through the

Holy Spirit.

Don't grieve

this gracious

willing guest

who's come to

live in your

life.

Don't offend

him.

And then the

other thing

the New

Testament says

is do not

quench the

Spirit.

1 Thessalonians

5.19

Do not put

on the

Spirit's

fire.

Do not

treat

prophecies

with contempt.

He puts

those things

together.

They're related.

You ever

been in a

situation, maybe

you've been

in a house

group, or

maybe it's

been outside

the church

altogether,

at work,

and you've

said something

in the Bible

study, and

somebody else

has taken a

massive jug of

cold water and

poured it on

it.

It's very

difficult, isn't

it?

You don't want to

say anything ever

again when that

happens.

You get terrified

the next time

there's a question

asked.

It's so

discouraging.

We need to be

careful, don't we,

when we speak to

each other.

in our Bible

studies or at

church on a

Sunday, that we

don't pour

cold water on

someone else's

contribution.

But do you

see what Paul

is saying?

Paul is saying

we can do

that with the

Holy Spirit.

Don't despise

prophecies.

What is

prophecy?

There's all

sorts of

madness about

what is

prophecy.

Prophecy is

speaking the

word of God.

That's what I'm

doing now.

When you share

the Bible with

someone, you are

speaking the

word of God to

them.

Don't despise

when somebody

is sharing the

word of God

with you.

Don't despise

prophecies because

you might be

pouring cold

water on the

Holy Spirit.

And if we do

that, well it's

no wonder, is it,

that our spiritual

ardour and

fervency dampens

down.

Don't quench

the Spirit's

fire.

So there's a

contrast or a

comparison.

It's a

command, it's a

passive command, a

plural command, a

present continuous

command.

Go on being

filled with the

Spirit.

If you want to

come under the

influence of the

Holy Spirit, then

you go to the

Bible, not

to the bottle.

It's very

interesting, isn't

it?

I'm running out

of time, but it's

really interesting.

Colossians chapter

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

3, it's really

exactly the same

passage.

But instead, Paul

says there, instead

of saying being

filled with the

Spirit, do you

remember what he

says?

He says, let the

word of God dwell

in you richly with

psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs.

It's really

fascinating.

Instead of being

filled with the

Spirit, Ephesians,

he tells the

Colossians, let the

word of Christ dwell

in you richly.

See what he's

doing as you

compare those two

passages?

He's saying if you

want to come under

the influence of the

Holy Spirit, if you

want the Holy Spirit to

come to you, then go to

the Bible.

That's what you've got.

And not to the

bottle.

Let the word of

Christ enrich.

That's why we love the

Bible.

Let it furnish your

meetings.

Let it enrich your

conversations.

You cannot separate the

Bible from the Holy

Spirit.

He is the author of

Scripture.

And if you want to be

controlled by a person,

we might say, he's full

of so-and-so.

He's always quoting

him.

He's reading his books.

He's reading his

articles.

He's influencing his

thinking.

And if you want to be

full of the Spirit, he is

not a power to plug into

or anything like that.

He's not a cash machine to

dispense power.

If you want to be filled

with this person, the

third person of the

blessed Trinity, then you

need to be reading what

he's written.

And we ought to be

thinking his thoughts

after him.

So it's passive, it's

plural, it's present

continuous, and it's

powerful.

Let me end on this

point.

What does the Holy

Spirit fill us with?

What does it mean?

Do you remember that

episode in Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

6, in the year that

King Uzziah died?

I went into the temple

and I saw the Lord.

John tells us in 1241

that it was Jesus he

saw.

It's a great one for

children witnesses.

They've missed it.

It's very clear in

John 1241.

But the Lord whom

Isaiah saw in Isaiah

6 was Jesus.

And that makes sense

to me because you

cannot see God

except through Jesus.

And God makes

himself known in

Jesus.

And in the year that

King Uzziah died, I

saw the Lord high and

lifted up.

On the train of his

robe filled the

temple.

And above him were

the seraph, each with

six wings, with two

wings.

And they covered their

faces, and with two

they covered with

their feet.

And with two they

were flying and

they called out to

one another, holy,

holy, holy is the

Lord God almighty.

The whole earth is

full of his glory.

And that's what we're

talking about.

God is in his

temple.

His glory fills the

place of his

fullness.

That we have all

received.

And so go on being

filled with the

spirit says Paul.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.