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Ephesians 5:15-18
Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

I have yet to meet a 4 year old that has any problem singing or making up their own songs.  In fact, most adults know that this is one of the primary ways in which a young child learns.  But hanging around any 4 or 5 year old for very long and you will know that not only do they have no problem singing a song they know or even making one up they in fact will ask you to sing with them!

Inconceivable!

They will even be willing to teach you the song if you do not know it.  I honestly wish I remember myself at that age and the easy ‘joy’ that goes with being that young.  What happened to me?  What happened to all my friends and my peers?  When did we all stop singing?

I’m writing this post actually because I see so many individuals that I care about that are “living for the weekend” and choosing not to fully live for God.

I wish they were talking about Sunday morning church but obviously they are not.  Obviously they are talking about going out Friday and Saturday and in various ways completely get wasted in various ways.  The irony that for as long as alcohol as existed – alcohol and singing almost always go together.  Whether it is Pub songs from 400 years ago or karaoke bars or dance clubs of today, music and alcohol have always been consistent wonderful friends for one another.

In the middle of Ephesians 5 Paul reflects for a moment regarding something that saddens his heart about his day just as I’m writing about something I see that saddens my heart with people that are important in my life.  If I could sum up what saddened Paul’s heart as well as mine in just a quick phrase it would be simply this:  “stop wasting life and live for a God who loves you dearly”.  But a sobering thought as I reflect on my own culture as well as the Apostle Paul, Paul reminds me in verse 15:  “but the days are evil”.

It is the 2nd part of that thought that I want to spend the majority of my time on right now, the idea of “living for God”.  I want to explore the idea of what it means to be “Filled With The Holy Spirit”.

What Does It Mean To Be Filled With The Holy Spirit?

The phrase “baptize in (or with) the Holy Spirit” was first used by the Prophet John the Baptist. All four of our gospels record that he said, “I have baptized you with water, but he (i.e., Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). The only two writers in the New Testament who refer elsewhere to the phrase “baptize with the Spirit” are Luke in the book of Acts, and Paul in 1 Corinthians. Luke refers to it twice, quoting John each time (Acts 1:5; 11:16), and Paul refers to it once (1 Corinthians 12:13). But I don’t think Paul and Luke use this phrase to refer to the same thing. For Paul, it is virtually identical to regeneration or new birth (conversion). For Luke, it is essentially the same as being filled with the Spirit and refers to that first experience of  being filled.

I do want to share my thoughts on this issue.  First, it is important to note that a phrase can change in meaning by various degrees when used by different authors.  It will not always mean exactly the same thing every place it occurs in Scripture. Good interpretation lets a word or phrase mean whatever the immediate context demands. What really matters in Scripture is not that a phrase everywhere have the same meaning, but that the reality which a phrase describes does not contradict other descriptions of reality in the Bible. The gospel writers of both Paul and Luke do not use the  phrase “baptized with the Spirit” in the exact same sense.

How Paul Uses The Phrase  “Baptized/Filled With The Spirit”.

Paul uses the phrase only once. He says in 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13:
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—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Paul’s understanding conceived of Spirit-baptism as the act by which the Spirit made us members into Christ’s body.  Once we were alienated from God, cut off from Christ (Ephesians 2:12), but then the Holy Spirit came came us and brought us to life by uniting us to the living Christ and thus to his people in one body. This is a once-for-all event. It is never repeated, neither Paul nor Luke ever commands a Christian to be baptized by the Spirit.

How Luke Uses The Phrase “Baptized/Filled With The Spirit”.

A quick look through the Book of Acts written by Luke it is clear that Luke means something different by the phrase of filled with Spirit.  Luke suggests that this is not a once only event but something that is both ongoing and repeated.  This is clear in the book of Acts.  In Acts 1:4-5, Luke records that Jesus told the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father of ‘before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  This is a simple reference to Pentecost in the next chapter.

Here’s how Luke describes it:
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.   It is essential to point out on the day of Pentecost that it was only the Apostles gathered who were the ones speaking in tongues and not the entire crowd which numbered in the thousands.

Luke uses the phrase in Chapter 1 that Jesus says they will be baptized by the Spirit and in chapter 2 Luke uses the phrase to describe that promise being fullfilled as “filling of the Holy Spirit”.

Luke does the exact same thing in Acts 11 describing the experience at the house of Cornelius.  He quotes the John the Baptist again describing the baptism of the Holy Spirit using both phrases baptism and filling.

Both in Acs 2 and Acts 11 Luke sees what happened at both the day of Pentecost and the House of Cornelius as both a baptism of the Spirit and a filling of the Holy Spirit.  Luke uses the phrase filling of the Spirit three more times in the book of Acts referring to disciples being filled.

Both Paul and Luke mean two different things by this phrase:  Paul is describing regeneration and Luke is referring to the initial filling of the Spirit after an individual trusts Jesus Christ.

But now that Christ has come and through his death and resurrection purchased all the blessings of God, it is God’s purpose to call all his people to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit. When a person first experiences this fullness of the Spirit, that is what Luke means by being baptized with the Spirit.

While Luke’s definition of filled with the Spirit leans towards a powerful experience Luke does not ever make the case and it is impossible to argue rightly from the book of Acts that God intends for the baptism of the Spirit to always be accompanied by speaking in tongues.  In Acts only the Apostles preaching spoke in tongues not the 3,000 that were saved.  Paul plainly teaches in 1 Corinthians 12 that God does not give the gift of tongues to everyone.

This truth is the same as it was in Acts 2 or for us today that being baptized with the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit of God may or may not result in tongues speaking and as a result speaking in tongues is not a necessary part of either Luke’s or Paul’s understanding of being baptized with the Spirit.  I would also add that if on the day of Pentecost only around a dozen spoke in tongues while 3,000 did not, I believe it is very easily to say that the act of speaking in tongues will not be the normal experience for the vast majority of believers.

I do want to be clear on two issues:  I do not reject by any means the validity of the gift of tongues for today.  It is a powerful gift for many. It is only God who determines who receives various gifts. I also want to make clear that it is doctrinally wrong to insist that speaking in tongues are a necessary part of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As I look through the book of Acts I do see three common experiences that do accompany those that have been filled with the Holy Spirit.  While more are possible I do see three that are common to most believers in Scripture..

Three manifestations that seek consistent in Acts with those described to be filled with the Holy Spirit seem to be filled with joy, victorious over sin (repentance), and have a bold witness for their faith in Jesus Christ.  While Luke does draw the conclusion that being filled with the Spirit of God is an experience and something powerful does take place Luke is also very clear to point out that something must be done with that experience if that experience was really from God.

How Do You Know If You Are Filled With The Holy Spirit?

Ephesians 5:15-18
Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

How do you know if you are filled with the Holy Spirit?  Let me be very practical from our verses in Ephesians 5:  Are you getting drunk?  It is interesting the word for debauchery literally means an abandoned life.  Are you doing things by drinking heavily or frequently or by using drugs to abandon/get-a-way even if it is just a happy hour.  Here’s a simple practical way to tell from the text if you are filled with the Spirit:  Do you enjoy singing to God and to others about what Christ has done!  Look at Ephesians 5 again, it is all about singing!

But here’s the real answer if you are filled with the Holy Spirit?  Instead of Paul giving us a complete checklist of things to look for to know if we are filled with the Holy Spirit he actually does something else in the context.  Look at the context of Ephesians 5.  What follows immediately following verse 18, the command to be filled with the Spirit?

Instructions on Husbands and Wives, Children and Parents, Masters and Slaves.

Perhaps the question, “Am I Filled With The Spirit” should not be a question we ask ourselves but something we ask those that know us best including our present and our past.   Husbands you need to ask your wife and your children for an accurate answer.  Wives you need to ask your husbands and children for the best answer.  Children, ask your brothers and sisters whether or not you are filled with the Spirit, they’ll be honest, I promise!  Dare I also suggest simply ask your boss or your co-workers about your work ethic and integrity on the job as well.

How Do We “Get Filled” When God Does The Filling?

Now let’s ask the final and most humbling of all the questions in regard to being “filled with the Spirit”.  Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be full of the Spirit but the problem is we are not the filler; the Spirit is.  The truth is the answer is that God has ordained and promised to move powerfully into our lives with fullness through faith.

Luke tells us in Acts 6:5 that Stephen was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,”.  They both belong together.  The truth is when a person is filled with faith, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of joy and peace.

Paul shares it this way in Romans 5:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”    Paul makes the connection that it is in our believing that we are filled with joy and peace.  Let’s make the connection that Paul makes.  Through our faith the Spirit fills us with His hope as well as His Joy and His peace.  In the end, God is ultimately the God of hope, Amen!

While it is the Spirit that fills us it is our responsibility to purposely place ourselves in continual opportunities for our faith to be fed.  We must place ourselves at the Spiritual dinner tables that God does provide so that our faith will be fed.  Only God can increase our faith but our role is to sit at the table when the Word is preached, when Worship is underway, when Fellowship is gathering, and when Service in His Kingdom arises.

The truth is nobody is filled with the Spirit all the time.  I have yet to meet a Christian who is always full of joy.  When I do I make fun of them just to bring them down a little (I’m teasing!).  I have yet to meet a Christian who is always full of hope.  I’ve never met someone who is always submissive to the Will of God, have yet to meet someone that still does not have something that they need to repent of and give to God.  To be practical to the text:  I have yet to meet a Christian who can’t stop singing about Jesus all the time.

While the world longs for a Happy Hour to escape from the world; the justified, regenerated Child of God hungers to be filled with the Spirit of the Living God while He or She waits for their new home.

As a believer in Jesus Christ if I have to choose between the world offering a so called “Happy Hour” or the Heavenly Father who offers “Oh Happy Day” I will choose Oh Happy Day every time.  In the end, Christians have the best song to sing!

As the hymn says: Oh Happy Day, When Jesus Washed, My Sins Away!  Amen!

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Nick’s authentic love of Christ shines through him so penetratingly that people are literally captivated and disarmed by the fact he can genuinely rejoice in his circumstances. Almost without realizing it, they discover that they want desperately that same factor that they see so clearly displayed in Nick’s life and messages, in their own lives. That factor that they desire for themselves is, of course, Christ…living in him, and working through him.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F14AFjqoQw

Visit Nick Vujicic’s Ministry website at Life Without Limbs

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I wanted to share this quote that I read from an online book recently from a 17th century puritan named Thomas Brooks in his book “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices”.

“That Christ should come from the eternal bosom of his Father to a region of sorrow and death; that God should be manifested in the flesh, the Creator made a creature; that he that was clothed with glory should be wrapped with rags of flesh; he that filled heaven and earth with his glory should be cradled in a manger; that the power of God should fly from weak man, the God of Israel into Egypt; that the God of the law should be subject to the law, the God of the circumcision circumcised, the God that made the heavens working at Joseph’s homely trade; that he that binds the devils in chains should be tempted; that he, whose is the world, and the fullness thereof, should hunger and thirst; that the God of strength should be weary, the Judge of all flesh condemned, the God of life put to death; that he that is one with his Father should cry out of misery, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt. 27.46); that he that had the keys of hell and death at his girdle should lie imprisoned in the sepulchre of another, having in his lifetime nowhere to lay his head, nor after death to lay his body; that that head, before which the angels do cast down their crowns, should be crowned with thorns, and those eyes, purer than the sun, put out by the darkness of death; those ears, which hear nothing but hallelujahs of saints and angels, to hear the blasphemies of the multitude; that face, that was fairer than the sons of men, to be spit on by those beastly wretched Jews; that mouth and tongue, that spake as never man spake, accused for blasphemy; those hands, that freely swayed the sceptre of heaven, nailed to the cross for man’s sins; each sense annoyed: his feeling or touching, with a spear and nails; his smell, with stinking flavour, being crucified about Golgotha, the place of skulls; his taste, with vinegar and gall; his hearing, with reproaches, and sight of his mother and disciples bemoaning him; his soul, comfortless and forsaken; and all this for those very sins that Satan paints and puts fine colours upon.

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As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” So he went and washed and came back seeing.

There are certain sides of Jesus that I gravitate more easily towards at times. There are sayings of Jesus throughout the Gospels that are easier for more to follow than others. It is so easy to go through the Gospels and pick out the things I like best about Jesus and say this is the Jesus that I follow. To take that one-step further it is easy as a preacher and a teacher to only preach and teach the things that I like, things that seem politically correct, and make everyone feel great.

But since my orthodox faith believes that Jesus is both All-Powerful, Creator, and Sustainer of all things I cannot only focus on my favorite version of Jesus. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and cannot pick and choose.

This means I follow and submit to all the teachings of Christ even when Jesus makes me uncomfortable.

John Chapter 9 is one of these occasions. The disciples ask a simple question. The question is simply as they walk by a man born blind, who sinned this man or his parents to cause him to be born blind? It is an honest question. All of us need an answer for things that seem unnatural or confusing to us. Most of us want the simpliest answer when it comes to explaining suffering.

But the answer Jesus gives not only is not a simple answer but it makes me very uncomfortable and contend with an Almighty God. While the disciples are trying to comprehend all that Christ is saying Jesus begins to heal this man born blind. In fact, he makes it obvious to everyone who He really is in this moment. John 9 deals with Jesus angering the Pharisees about working and healing on the Sabbath. Jesus spits on the ground and makes mud to place on the blind man’s eyes. Jesus is trying to ruffle some Pharisee’s feathers at this point.

But He heals this blind man and all the while the disciples are left wrestling with the divine words of Jesus. Here is the answer Jesus gives, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (v.3).

That is a shocking statement and leaves me wrestling with a difficult understanding of God to wrap myself around.

According to John 9, it is Jesus (who is the Creator) who caused this man to be born blind in order that He could display His powerful works in Him, which is to heal him from blindness. The disciples are left with an answer that makes them wrestle with an Almighty God who does whatever He pleases, whenever He pleases, and however He pleases.

Just as the disciples wrestled with that answer so do I and as the disciples I accept and embrace this All-Powerful and Sovereign God. That teaching that Jesus was wanting His disciples to learn as well as us is that God causes and uses our infirmity to display His incredible power. Also, God does not ask for my opinion on the subject or seek my approval. He does not apologize as well. But a day will come when He will say to me, “Go Wash!”

Contending with an Almighty God and coming to a place of both worship and devotion towards Christ often takes just as big of a miracle as the one that took place for the man born blind.

Lord Jesus, Thank You for all that you are!

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Listen as Paul Washer reminds us that God is Mighty To Save for those hearing the call to find faith in Jesus Christ.  Praise God!

Habakkuk 1:17

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.

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Some of you might be wondering why I’m writing about churches having snow days when it’s mid-May. Well, to be perfectly blunt, I spent half of April in the hospital and the other half recuperating. So, I never got to finish this blog. I’m finishing it now because the ideas are still timely. As summer vacation time comes upon us, people will of course be missing church. There’s always going to be reasons some have to miss services some times but that doesn’t mean A) they are less of a Christian or B) that they can’t find other ways to worship God and learn outside their normal church service.

But back to the weird, late-March snow storm! We were all told that this would happen, but I’m not sure we believed it. After all, the snow was coming in on the first day of spring and the snow followed several days of 70-degree weather. That, and I live in the mid-south. Arkansas, to be exact. Not exactly one of the states known for being a frozen tundra six months out of every year.

But fall it did…on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. Many churches that morning canceled services and I know many people who chose to not attend services even though their church was in session. What upset me was I also heard people criticizing those churches and people who chose safety over showing up at a church service. It wasn’t the first time I heard it, either. Every time it snowed on a weekend here this winter, it was open season to judge. Comments about the lack of faithfulness from the churches because they didn’t open their doors. Or how those who chose to stay home were somehow less committed to God and the church because they stayed home one weekend.

It made me furious. I even called some people on it and called their attitudes what it is, spiritual abuse. Yes, I understand that many people use silly excuses to not attend church and are therefore not being fed as well spiritually and are not experiencing fellowship with other believers. This phenomenon of apathy is something with which churches really struggle. But safety and health are not silly excuses.

(I should step in and explain one minor detail here. Some of you may be looking at that photo and saying “they canceled church/school for THAT?” Remember, I said I live in the south. We don’t get much snow here, therefore we’re ill equipped to clear it as well as the northern states. We got about four inches that weekend, but even two inches of frozen precipitation has been enough to paralyze us here!)

I hate to break it to any denomination that preaches this using subtle means, but church attendance is not a salvational issue. You are not less of a Christian and you are not less committed to God if you happen to miss a service. Attending church may score you points with your pastor, but not with God. He doesn’t work on a point system! Yes, it’s a good way to be fed and to fellowship. I believe, that considering God is everywhere, there is no magic found in church attendance. It makes no logical sense (and I have yet to find it in the Bible) for us to put our safety second to the idea that we must show up every single Sunday. To openly chastise or criticize people using the faulty logic is bullying and abusive, in my opinion.

All that said, there’s a whole other, secondary point I wanted to make that ties in with these thoughts. Just because you can’t make it to your house of worship (church) doesn’t mean you can’t make your house, your home, a place of worship. After all, isn’t that how it was done in the early church?

This idea of having family church at home is another thought that seemed to pervade during the weekends this past winter when the NE Oklahoma/NW Arkansas area had more snow than normal. I absolutely adore this idea and encourage it. For one, it’s providing the necessary time to worship God and it’s providing spiritual nourishment for your family.

But it also teaches your children (and yourself) possible new ways to worship God and learn about him. So why not do it? I suggest something that may seem obvious…make the lessons something the kids would understand but the adults could still learn from. In fact, this isn’t as hard as it seems. You know the phrase “faith like a child?” I’m guessing that we adults could learn a lot about faith and God if we give kids the chance to learn about the Bible with us then let them share their thoughts on what they’re learning.

Society doesn’t use the phrase “out of the mouth of babes” for nothin’!

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This powerful video of a young girl singing amazing grace will easily move you to tears and to prayer.  Listen to Autumn share her amazing gift with us.

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