My Greatest Influence
Ephesians 5 : 15 – 17
15 “BE VERY CAREFUL, then, HOW YOU LIVE — NOT as UNWISE but as WISE,
16 MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE the days are evil.”
17 “THEREFORE DO NOT BE FOOLISH, BUT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LORD’S WILL IS.”
•“UNDERSTAND” in this context means stop deceiving yourself! Stop trying to see how close you can get to sin without sinning. Paul is talking to believers who already know the words of God, His commands, principles, promises, and plans for their lives.
Then – Paul gives us this illustration:
18 “DO NOT GET DRUNK on wine,…”
“I’m always amazed at how much ‘Christians’ are always trying to see how clsoe they can get to the fire without getting burned." That is one way to try and live your life, but how about try and see how you can live a righteous life in front of a holy God instead.
Proverbs 23:
30 “Those who LINGER OVER wine…”
31 “DO NOT GAZE at wine…”
32 “In the end it BITES like a snake and POISONS like a viper.”
That is Drinking without self control...remember, be careful how you represent God and His Holy Word.
“I have the RIGHT to do anything,” you say — BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS BENEFICIAL. “I have the RIGHT to do anything” — BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS CONSTRUCTIVE.
1 Corinthians 10 : 23
The Point is… I’ve NEVER had someone say to me – ‘You know Mark – We were having SO MUCH TROUBLE in our Marriage – BUT THEN WE STARTED ‘DRINKING’'
I’ve never heard… ‘AND ONCE WE INTRODUCED ALCOHOL EVERYTHING GOT ‘BETTER’
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is one of the reasons that Ephesians 4 teaches us that unity is not just about not fighting, it's also about all of us growing together.
“UNTIL WE ALL REACH UNITY IN FAITH and IN the KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God AND ‘BECOME’ ‘MATURE’,…”
Ephesians 4 : 13
#1 – WE DON’T ‘COMPARE OURSELVES’ WITH EACH OTHER’S SPIRITUAL MATURITY
#2 – AS WE GROW ‘TOGETHER’ WE DON’T ‘GIVE UP ON EACH OTHER’
‘We ROW Together – To GROW Together’
WE ‘ARE’ GOING TO ‘BANG HEADS’ TOGETHER WHILE GROWING UP TOGETHER
This is why you being filled with the Spirit of God is so crucial for the body of Christ so that you can give as much mercy and grace as God gives you on a daily basis to others as they grow up in Christ.
‘KNOW’ YOUR ‘BIBLE’ FIRST....‘KNOW’ THE ‘CONTEXT’ before you use it as a reason for you to drink. Wine was different back then. Water and milk were not sanitary or as safe. Wine was concidered the basic drink and it was healthier at the time. It was also 3 times as diluted as it is today. So all we are saying is be careful. You are bumping up against one of God's guardrails.
Back to Ephesians 5… Paul says …(“Do not get drunk on wine,…”… )…
…which leads to DEBAUCHERY: ‘extreme indulgence that results in a loss of control’
‘excessive self-gratification that leads to corruption, immorality, wickedness, sinning, impurity, lust, promiscuity, abandonment, pleasure-seeking, etc.’
In Galatians 5 – Paul includes “DEBAUCHERY” & “DRUNKENNESS” TOGETHER – in his LIST OF THE ‘ACTS OF THE FLESH’ & ‘SIN’
Listen to how serious it really is – “…that anyone living that sort of life WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”
All of Scripture says that anything in our lives that leads us to a lack of self control, your heavenly Father is against. Paul is saying, any area of your life where you have a tendency to hand control over to somebody or something, you need to a guardrail. Be careful how you walk because the days in which we live are evil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to Verse 18… he says… “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to DEBAUCHERY.”
…INSTEAD, BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT,”
The Point that Paul is making is this…
Your Heavenly FATHER WANTS TO BE THE GREATEST INFLUENCE IN YOUR LIFE
When you put your faith in Christ, the Spirit of God comes to live in you. The Holy Spirit inside of you will prompt you, guide you, and direct you on the path of life. The Holy Spirit is like the megaphone - the still small voice - of our consciousness. When you sense that warning on the inside, Paul is saying, your life is too valuable for that. Time is too short. Your loved ones are too important for that sin and your calling is to keep others from stumbling too, so be careful.
Because your Heavenly Father loves you, He says, "I want you to be careful how you walk not as unwise, but as wise. I want you to take advantage of every opportunity. Redeem and leverage time. Face up to what God has for your life, and establish boundaries.
You need personal standards that become a matter of consciousness that guard you from whatever is on the other side of that personal struggle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the Last 3 Messages, something very specific has come to your mind and heart. An area of life where you have been dancing on the edge of the yellow line. You need to back up and set a standard that keeps you away from that line. Maybe its something Financially, relationally, lustfully, or professionally that you are doing.
Remember…
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go. Keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay."
15 “BE VERY CAREFUL, then, HOW YOU LIVE — NOT as UNWISE but as WISE,
16 MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE the days are evil.”
17 “THEREFORE DO NOT BE FOOLISH, BUT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LORD’S WILL IS.”
•“UNDERSTAND” in this context means stop deceiving yourself! Stop trying to see how close you can get to sin without sinning. Paul is talking to believers who already know the words of God, His commands, principles, promises, and plans for their lives.
Then – Paul gives us this illustration:
18 “DO NOT GET DRUNK on wine,…”
“I’m always amazed at how much ‘Christians’ are always trying to see how clsoe they can get to the fire without getting burned." That is one way to try and live your life, but how about try and see how you can live a righteous life in front of a holy God instead.
Proverbs 23:
30 “Those who LINGER OVER wine…”
31 “DO NOT GAZE at wine…”
32 “In the end it BITES like a snake and POISONS like a viper.”
That is Drinking without self control...remember, be careful how you represent God and His Holy Word.
“I have the RIGHT to do anything,” you say — BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS BENEFICIAL. “I have the RIGHT to do anything” — BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS CONSTRUCTIVE.
1 Corinthians 10 : 23
The Point is… I’ve NEVER had someone say to me – ‘You know Mark – We were having SO MUCH TROUBLE in our Marriage – BUT THEN WE STARTED ‘DRINKING’'
I’ve never heard… ‘AND ONCE WE INTRODUCED ALCOHOL EVERYTHING GOT ‘BETTER’
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is one of the reasons that Ephesians 4 teaches us that unity is not just about not fighting, it's also about all of us growing together.
“UNTIL WE ALL REACH UNITY IN FAITH and IN the KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God AND ‘BECOME’ ‘MATURE’,…”
Ephesians 4 : 13
#1 – WE DON’T ‘COMPARE OURSELVES’ WITH EACH OTHER’S SPIRITUAL MATURITY
#2 – AS WE GROW ‘TOGETHER’ WE DON’T ‘GIVE UP ON EACH OTHER’
‘We ROW Together – To GROW Together’
WE ‘ARE’ GOING TO ‘BANG HEADS’ TOGETHER WHILE GROWING UP TOGETHER
This is why you being filled with the Spirit of God is so crucial for the body of Christ so that you can give as much mercy and grace as God gives you on a daily basis to others as they grow up in Christ.
‘KNOW’ YOUR ‘BIBLE’ FIRST....‘KNOW’ THE ‘CONTEXT’ before you use it as a reason for you to drink. Wine was different back then. Water and milk were not sanitary or as safe. Wine was concidered the basic drink and it was healthier at the time. It was also 3 times as diluted as it is today. So all we are saying is be careful. You are bumping up against one of God's guardrails.
Back to Ephesians 5… Paul says …(“Do not get drunk on wine,…”… )…
…which leads to DEBAUCHERY: ‘extreme indulgence that results in a loss of control’
‘excessive self-gratification that leads to corruption, immorality, wickedness, sinning, impurity, lust, promiscuity, abandonment, pleasure-seeking, etc.’
In Galatians 5 – Paul includes “DEBAUCHERY” & “DRUNKENNESS” TOGETHER – in his LIST OF THE ‘ACTS OF THE FLESH’ & ‘SIN’
Listen to how serious it really is – “…that anyone living that sort of life WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”
All of Scripture says that anything in our lives that leads us to a lack of self control, your heavenly Father is against. Paul is saying, any area of your life where you have a tendency to hand control over to somebody or something, you need to a guardrail. Be careful how you walk because the days in which we live are evil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to Verse 18… he says… “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to DEBAUCHERY.”
…INSTEAD, BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT,”
The Point that Paul is making is this…
Your Heavenly FATHER WANTS TO BE THE GREATEST INFLUENCE IN YOUR LIFE
When you put your faith in Christ, the Spirit of God comes to live in you. The Holy Spirit inside of you will prompt you, guide you, and direct you on the path of life. The Holy Spirit is like the megaphone - the still small voice - of our consciousness. When you sense that warning on the inside, Paul is saying, your life is too valuable for that. Time is too short. Your loved ones are too important for that sin and your calling is to keep others from stumbling too, so be careful.
Because your Heavenly Father loves you, He says, "I want you to be careful how you walk not as unwise, but as wise. I want you to take advantage of every opportunity. Redeem and leverage time. Face up to what God has for your life, and establish boundaries.
You need personal standards that become a matter of consciousness that guard you from whatever is on the other side of that personal struggle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the Last 3 Messages, something very specific has come to your mind and heart. An area of life where you have been dancing on the edge of the yellow line. You need to back up and set a standard that keeps you away from that line. Maybe its something Financially, relationally, lustfully, or professionally that you are doing.
Remember…
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go. Keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay."
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