This week, we are looking at a section of a letter that
is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Ephesians. Yesterday, we
looked on as Paul revealed that we are to carefully consider our lives when it
comes to what controls and influences their lives. Instead of being controlled
by something that results in a life marked by reckless abandon and that wastes
opportunities to live wisely in relationship with God and others, we are to
live a life that is controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit.
Paul revealed for us the timeless and true principle that
living on mission requires that we live lives that are controlled and
influenced by the Holy Spirit. The timeless reality is that we are influenced
by what influences us. Whether you are here this morning and you are a follower
of Jesus; or whether you are here this morning and you are only here because
someone agreed to buy you lunch after church, you are influenced by what
influences you.
Your life does not occur in a vacuum; in your life there
are external and internal forces at work in your life that influence your life.
And here we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us the reality that in order to
embrace and engage in the kingdom mission that God has given us to be the
vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus to others, we must live lives that
are controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit.
Now a second question that arises here is “what does a
life that is influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit look like? And how do
I know if my life is controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit?” That is a
great question. And regardless of whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, a
person can look at their relationships and the relationships of those around
them and begin to recognize what controls and influences our relationships. And
in the verses that follow, we see Paul begin to unpack four specific evidences
that appear in relationships that are controlled and influenced by the Holy
Spirit. So let’s begin to look at them together, beginning in Ephesians 5:19:
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
In verse 19, we see Paul identify the first two evidences
of a life that is influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit. First, we see
that the relationships of a person who is controlled and influenced by the Holy
Spirit will be marked by conversations that encourage others and bring glory to
God. The phrase “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” here reveals for us the
reality that during the days of the early church, followers of Jesus would not
only sing songs, but would also recite creeds that informed and reinforced basic
truths about God. In addition, early church services would have included the
reading of a letter, like this letter that would have been written by an early
church leader to encourage and teach the church.
And in the same way today, lives that are controlled and
influenced by the Holy Spirit will be marked with conversations that encourage
others and shine a light on God. So, what influences the conversations that
occur in your lives? Because our lives are influenced by what influences our
conversations.
Second, we see that the life of a person who is
controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit will be marked by a life that is
lived with an attitude of worship of God. The phrase “singing songs and making
melody with your heart to the Lord” can refer to singing or playing a musical
instrument. The word heart is used to describe the center and source of a
person’s being. Paul’s point here is that a person who is controlled and
influenced by the Holy Spirit will, from the core of their being, live a life
that is a response of worship to God. Their life will be a response of worship
that controls and influences how they approach their lives and their
relationships.
When a person is influenced by the Holy Spirit in this
way, do you think it would be possible to live lives that use others or that
are hypocritical if we leaned into loving God with our total being and loving
our neighbor as ourselves? So, what do you worship? Because our lives are
influenced by what influences our worship. Paul then reveals a third evidence that
reveals the influence and control of the Holy Spirit in verse 20:
always giving thanks for all things in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Here we see that relationships that are controlled and
influenced by the Holy Spirit are marked by an attitude of gratitude. When Paul
uses the phrase always giving thanks in all things, this phrase conveys the
sense of expressing our appreciation for the benefits and blessings that we
have received from God.
When Paul states that we are to express our appreciation
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, he is reminding followers of Jesus
throughout history that the blessings of receiving the forgiveness of our
selfishness and rebellion and the relationship with God that we were created
for are the result of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. As a result of Jesus
willingness to enter into humanity and allow Himself to be treated as though He
lived our selfish and sinful life so God the Father could treat us as though we
lived Jesus perfect life, we are to respond with an attitude of gratitude that
influences our lives. So, is your life marked by an attitude of gratitude?
Because the level of our attitude of gratitude reveals the level of the Holy
Spirit's influence in our lives. Paul then reveals a fourth evidence that
reveals the influence and control of the Holy Spirit in our lives in verse 21:
and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
And right about now, every person in this room has a
mental picture of what the first three words of this verse means. In your minds
the words “and be subject” have conjured up an image: an image painted by a red
faced pastor beating on a pulpit; an image painted by an abusive husband or
father; an image painted by our culture that is based on what these three words
mean today.
However, what these words mean today is irrelevant and
the image in your mind may not be accurate. So what I am going to ask you to do
is to clear your mind of that image and let’s look at what Paul meant when he
wrote these three words. Can we do that this morning? Great.
The phrase “be subject”, in the language that this letter
was originally written in, literally means to place oneself in a submissive
role in a relationship where appropriate respect is shown to someone based on
the role that they have within an ordered structure. In other words, we are to
willingly place ourselves under others by placing others first based on one’s
role in the relationship.
For example, the catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks
places himself under the manager of the Diamondbacks. Because the manager has
been give the role of leading the team, for the team to be successful, the
catcher is demonstrate the appropriate respect for the manager and place
himself under his leadership. The manager has a role and responsibility and the
catcher has a role and responsibility as part of the team. Conflict within the
team can occur when either the player or the manager do not function within
their roles on the team.
Now notice who Paul says we are to be subject to: we are
to be subject to one another. In other words, we are to place ourselves under
others by placing others first in a way that demonstrates respect toward one
another based on the nature of our relationship. Paul then explains that the
reason why we are to place ourselves under others by placing others first that
demonstrates respect toward one another is out of the fear of Christ.
Now when Paul uses the word fear here, he is not
referring to the fear that we experience while watching a horror movie. This
fear refers to having a reverent respect that results in submission and
obedience to someone. You see, when we willingly place ourselves under others
by placing others first when it comes to our relationships, we are
demonstrating a reverent respect for God’s desire and design for our
relationships.
And when we willingly place ourselves under others by
placing others first when it comes to our relationships, we reveal and reflect
Jesus to those that we are in relationship with. Just as Jesus willing placed
Himself under God the Father and came to earth on a mission to provide an
opportunity to be rescued from their selfishness and rebellion, when we
willingly place ourselves under others by placing others first when it comes to
our relationships, we reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us.
And this is why this timeless and true principle that we
are looking at is so important. Because we are influenced by what influences
us, for us to live on mission as a missionary that reveals and reflects Jesus
to others we must be controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit. To live
lives that influence others toward Jesus, we must be controlled and influenced
by the Holy Spirit. So here is a question to consider: what controls and
influences your life? Because the timeless reality is that we are influenced by
what influences us. In order to embrace and engage in the kingdom mission that
God has given us to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus to
others, we must live lives that are controlled and influenced by the Holy
Spirit.
It is the Holy Spirit that empowers us to humbly and the
passionately to go to those who are far from God. It is the Holy Spirit that empowers
us to lovingly engage those who are far from God and far from us. It is the
Holy Spirit that empowers us to share God’s
message of rescue to those around us who are far from God. It is the Holy Spirit that empowers us to remove
our excuses. It is the Holy Spirit that empowers us to invite those who are watching us to experience Jesus with
us. It is the Holy Spirit that empowers us to live lives of integrity.
And when we live lives that are controlled and influenced
by the Holy Spirit, we will be empowered to embrace and engage in the kingdom
mission that God has given us. Because that is what it means to live on
mission. Living on mission requires that we live lives that are controlled and
influenced by the Holy Spirit.
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