12-08-2019 – Be Careful, Be Wise, Be Filled, Be Humble

Bible Text: Ephesians 5:15-21 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: Ephesians | See Ephesians 5:15-16. Christians must not be foolish, but instead are to know and to obey God’s Word, devoted to the Lord’s work.
Acts 20:24, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”
Our life on earth is brief (see James 4:13-14).
See Ephesians 5:17. God’s priorities are our priority! Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 2:21, “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Acts 16:31, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” 1Thessalonians 5:9, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
1Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”
See Ephesians 5:18. We must avoid influences that lead us away from honoring God, and instead we must seek the things of the Spirit (the Word of God).
See Acts 4:29-31. God’s people are “filled” with the Spirit of God, but not by asking or “praying” to be filled:
Concerning John the Baptizer (Jesus’s older cousin)…
Luke 1:15. He was filled with the Holy Spirit at birth. Luke 1:41, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:67, Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Concerning Peter (fisherman turned Apostle)…
Acts 4:8, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people!’”
Concerning Saul (renamed Paul, the Apostle)…
Acts 9:17, “So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’”
We are commanded (Ephesians 5:18), to “be filled [Gk. pleroo = be being kept filled] with the Spirit.”
See Ephesians 5:19-20. The Spirit’s indwelling is expressed in the life of the believer (cf. Galatians 2:20).
See Ephesians 5:21. This is a transitional verse for the next section (Ephesians 5:22-6:9), but clearly, we are commanded to submit to one another, out reverence for the Lord, and to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5-8) “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
As members of one body, we serve the Lord together.
Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” 23-25, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.