What Christians should Have

Eph. 5:18-20

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing
and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father
for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[context] Paul is telling the church - live like Christ, love like Christ. Live as the light,
and please the Lord. Live wisely and make the most of every opportunity.

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18: Spirit Filled Lives

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with
the Spirit,

Do not be drunk with wine: The carnal contrast to being filled with the Holy Spirit is
being drunk. The Bible condemns drunkenness without reservation.

Paul contrasts the effect of the Holy Spirit with the state of drunkenness. Alcohol is a
depressant; it “loosens” people because it depresses their self-control, their wisdom,
their balance and judgment. The Holy Spirit has an exactly opposite effect. He is a
stimulant; He moves every aspect of our being to better and more perfect performance.

Turn to Alcohol [searching for?]

*Removes sadness > Joy
*fill the empty feelings
*Satisfaction
*peace / relaxation
That man is looking at a place where he will never discover the right solutions.
The spirit offers the same
-The correct answer - permanent

Complete:
The word "filled" means "to be full to the top; lacking nothing; nothing short of
complete." If there is room for any other thing in our hearts, then we are not filled with
the Spirit. His will should be our will. His thoughts should be our thoughts. His desires
should be our desires. The Holy Spirit is to be in absolute domination of our lives.

Active tense: be filled

This means that it is to be a constant state of being. Very literally, we are to "go on
being filled with the Spirit." Sadly, this kind of consistent living in missing from many
Christians walk with God.

Passive voice:
This means that this filling is something that is done to us. It is not something we can
work up on our own, but we are to be vessels that God can fill and use for His glory.
That means that we are to be clean, ready and open to the filling of the Spirit of God.
imperative:
This makes it a command. Paul is not offering us an option for living, but is laying down
the command of God for our lives. When all these things are taken together, it seems
clear to me that it is the Lord's will for every believer to be filled with the Spirit at all
times.

The Holy Spirit resides in my life as a child of God, now I must choose to allow Him to
preside over my life so I can live like a child of God.

The committed Christian understands this and obeys the command of God by choosing
to live his life by consciously yielding to the influence of the Holy Spirit.

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let
anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has
said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom
those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been
given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” - John 7:37-39 (NIV)

If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit resides within you; and the nature of the Holy
Spirit is to seek to flow through you, like “rivers of living water.” Now, every day and in
every area of our lives, we need to seek to “keep on being filled with the Spirit.” In other
words, we need to choose to surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to flow into
every aspect and area of our lives.

“There is no place in Scripture that indicates we can receive more of the Holy Spirit…
The real issue is the release of the already present Spirit to have free reign in our
hearts. It isn't about us getting more of Him, but of Him getting more of us.” - Eddie
Rasnake

“To be Spirit-filled means to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. While we are yet in this life
we may do things that grieve the Spirit. We may assert our own authority. At such times
we are not Spirit-filled; we are self-propelled.” - Tom Wells

So, daily, and as necessary through-out the day, I need to consciously turn from sin and
reliance on self to rely on the Holy Spirit.

19: Spirit Filled Speech

19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.
Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord

When we are filled with the Spirit, we will have a desire to worship God and to
encourage others in their worship of God. i. The connection with being filled with the
Spirit and praise is significant. Those who are filled with the Spirit will naturally praise,
and praise is a way that we are filled with the Spirit.

Psalms – songs of scripture. Biblical in content, accurate and in context. Reinforce the
truths of the bible.

We are told that the Spirit of God will cause us to sing psalms to one another. This is
referring to the Psalms of the Old Testament and to other Psalms that we popular in the
early church. The point is, that when we are walking in the Spirit, our objective will be to
help brother in his walk with God. We will be an encouragement to those who are
around us. This was the spirit that filled a man named Barnabas. We are told that he
went to a place called Antioch and was an encouragement to the believers there, Acts
11:22 - 24 22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to
Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and
encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good
man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the
Lord.

The name Barnabas means "Son of Consolation, or Son of Encouragement." The

Spirit of God so worked in this man that he was a blessing in the lives of other believers
all around him.

Hymns – songs uttered to celebrate/praise God, glory – describe His beauty and
wonders.

Spiritual songs – soulful music, tugs the hearts – lifts our hearts in joy and adoration to
God.

We know that when Paul and Silas were in prison in Philippi after being beaten about the
midnight hour they were singing there in their prison cell.

Jesus sang a psalm with His disciples before going to the Garden of Gethsemane the
night He was betrayed. Matt. 26:30 - 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went
out to the Mount of Olives.

JAM 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

It is amazing how that by singing we can change our whole attitude or outlet.
1. It redirects our focus.
a. We are so prone to focus on ourselves.
b. We focus on our problems,

It puts things in their right perspective.

*I begin to see things in the light of God's love and His power.

20: always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who is filled with the Spirit will also be filled with thanksgiving. A complaining
heart and the Holy Spirit just don’t go together.

for all things--even for adversities; also for blessings, unknown as well as known

End.
Toward God - Strengthened, filled with praise and adoration. You will have a true spirit
of worship. His work will not be a struggle.
Toward Others - Love them, forgive them, submit to them, serve them.

there’s an old saying, “Let go and let God.” That is what the committed Christian daily
chooses to do. Are you letting God’s Spirit flow through you? How do you need to “let
go” today?