Are We Filled With A Spirit That Honors the Spirit Of God In Others?
Good Morning Friends,
The filling or controlling of the Holy Spirit is a profound reality in the believer’s life, and understanding it can change your life. I get a sense of it when I sail. Growing up as a boy in Florida, I loved to go to the beach and watch the sailboats sail across the water and then to sail them too. It has always fascinated me how smoothly the boats glided across the waters. But what intrigued me most, above all else, was that the boats can travel in just about every direction as long as the sail is filled. Then I discovered that directional movement was in the set of the sail as well as the tiller. The Ship, the Crew, the Cargo, and the Captain all play a part. And that thought got me to wondering. Are We Filled With A Spirit That Honors the Spirit Of God In Others?
Scripture: I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
Ephesians 4:1 (NRSV)
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15 -17 (NRSV)
Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:18-21 (NRSV)
for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8 (NRSV)
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
Psalm 33:6 (NIV)
Message: Most people are filled with something in life: some desires, some strong interests or hobbies. Nearly everyone loves something and with some, it may not be good. The healthy thing on the journey is submitting to the love, comfort and filling the Holy Spirit provides. So let’s look at what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Now I do not want to be judgmental but I would have to say that unless we are controlled by the Spirit of God, we can never walk in humility, love, unity, light, and wisdom. The life of God in the soul of man is the only way anyone can live a righteous life. To set sail on the journey without the Spirit is to set sail without Wisdom…without Power. Being filled with the Spirit means being pressured, permeated, and dominated in a way that is a lot like the filling of a sail on a sailboat. Now a practical consequence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is mutual submission to other believers. This aspect of the Spirit-filled life reflects and draws us together to power our lives and connects us to the importance of being subject to one another and ministering to one another. It is the setting of the sails. Here we find joy. Here we must face the importance the Holy Spirit in the action of believers supporting one another. Here filled with the Holy Spirit we learn to worship with gratitude. Here are thankful as we experience the single greatest act of personal worship we can render to God. Here we are unhinged from our moorings so that we might set sail to experience a life honoring relationships… not things….carrying an abundant cargo of caring, filled with love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness. The ship of our life’s journey is to be filled with Barrels of beautiful goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and compassion. It is to hold Pallets of purity, humility, modesty and faith. Our cargo is to include Crates of character, wisdom, enthusiasm, dignity, optimism, confidence and honesty. All of this is meant to be discovered on the journey, unpacked and used to further our growing relationships with God and with others. Perhaps some people are still tied up with your sins at the dock. Perhaps some people have a broken moral compass. What a shame if you never set sail for fear that things were not perfect. Give it over to the Captain. The nature of creation, the cycle of life, places limits on us but we are meant to set sail, to deliver the cargo as guided by the Captain.
Pray we understand that being filled with God’s Spirit energizes witnessing. Pray we experience a filling with God’s Spirit that produces joy. Pray that being filled with God’s Spirit will induce worship in our collective lives. Pray we realize that we are useless unless we are going somewhere. Pray we realize that we are dependent on the winds of the Spirit and a Captain to steer, and a crew to properly set the sails. Pray we realize that the Captain of the ship keeps a log. Pray we see the Spirit in the Sails, the Maker in the Ship and Christ in the Captain. Pray we see the Three as One and the One as Three.
Pray the winds of God blow in our lives. Pray that what was once empty is now filled. Pray that what was void in us is now given shape through the presence of God, alive with the divine grace, love and strength of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of life eternal. Pray we are born again of the Spirit. Pray that just as the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters in the creation of this world that the same Spirit move in us, creating in us a clean heart and new life. Pray we keep our sails filled. Pray we are filled with a Spirit that honors the Spirit in others as it worships God on the journey.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 