Living Under the Influence - Introduction (Ephesians 5:18)

Kootenai Church

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Well, welcome back to our series on Parenting and family or marriage and family.

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What do we call it marriage and family? Sorry marriage and family What am I calling this thing on a marriage and family?

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But this morning what I'm calling it is living under the influence that I do know So I'm calling this morning living under the influence and it is the introduction to that series so we will be in in the fifth chapter of Ephesians this morning

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Ephesians 5 18, so Let's pray and we'll begin father. Thank you for time together this morning grateful

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For all that have come out you look forward to hearing from you through your word this morning give us attentive ears and and Faith -filled hearts to receive what you have for us in Jesus name.

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Amen All right. Well on the night in which he was betrayed Jesus taught his disciples about the coming of the

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Spirit Specifically he promised that his departure would bring the long -awaited age of the

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Spirit He said in John 14 Verses 16 and 17 that I will ask the father and he will give you another helper

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And he may be with you for that. He may be with you forever. That is the spirit of truth

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Whom the world cannot receive Because it does not see him or know him

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But you know him because he abides with you and will be in you

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You and I as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ Live now in what the

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Bible would call the age of the Spirit We live in the age of the Spirit He that is the third person of the triune

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God is both the sign and seal of the new covenant Both the sign and the seal of the new covenant and it is his presence in us

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Beside us and with us. It is the key to the

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Christian life Is the key to the Christian life in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18

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Which is our text for this morning and for the next few weeks after that What we learn and actually letting our eyes go back to verse 15 and you'll remember from last week

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We talked about the Paul provided five commands We looked at this last week five commands five imperatives and he had arranged them in a series of three

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Not this but that statements. You remember that verse 15 therefore be wise

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Be careful how you walk not as unwise but as wise so not this not unwise but wise

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So three of those not this but that Statements which pack in the five commands in this section verses 15

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Through 18 and we're looking at verse 18 the third

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Not this but that statement is found here in verse 18 You'll see do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation but be filled with the

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Spirit So not this but that Do not get drunk with wine. That's the not this but this be filled with the

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Spirit that contrast and and furthermore in verse 18

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We find the fifth of those five commands that we looked at last week The fifth of those five commands and it is to be filled with the

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Spirit Be filled with the Spirit This command is what governs grammatically the text that follows we talked about this that verses 18 through 21 is really all one long sentence in the

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Greek and That the command found in verse 18 to be filled with the Spirit is what controls grammatically all that follows in verses 19 to 21

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Where he talks about speaking and giving thanks and and then being subject to one another

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Beyond that it Controls and provides the foundation for what follows in verse 22 of chapter 5 all the way through chapter 6 and verse 9

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That is the grammatical linkage and I'm and I'm laboring this Point for you and we'll continue to labor at it is because it's really key to understanding how this text

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Is put together and what how we're to understand it The be filled with the

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Spirit is the key command that unlocks all that follows in 5 19 and following but specifically for our great interest in verses 22 of chapter 5 where wives to be subject to your husband's and following all the way through chapter 6 and verse 9

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Where it deals with slaves and masters So what is called the household code the household code and the relationships of husbands and wives fathers and children masters and slaves all

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Controlled by the leading command to be filled with the Spirit. Okay, so that's grammatically how it's put together for us

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So what I want to do with you beginning this morning here as under this Title of living under the influence is

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I want to begin to unpack verse 18 of chapter 5 So do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation but be filled with the spirit

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I want to begin to unpack that for you and I think the way to do it is to ask and answer a series of questions

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So I've arranged the study over these next few weeks. I can't remember how many it is. It might be six or seven

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As we unpack this one verse to do so in a series of questions so I have ten questions that we're going to ask the text and Answer as we seek to understand this very very important command.

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Okay, so that's what we're we're beginning with the introduction this morning And that's where we're going over these next weeks so ten questions that will help us understand and Live under the influence of the

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Spirit because why well because living under the influence of the Spirit is key To fulfilling the requirements for husbands and wives and parents and children and masters and slaves.

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Okay So first question Why is this study so important?

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Let's just begin generally. Why is this study so important? Why would we take six or seven weeks to look at this study?

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Why is it so important? well in Romans chapter 8 verses 28

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Through 30 Paul says we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ We have been predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ He says and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love

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God To those who are called according to his purpose For those whom he foreknew he also predestined and here it is to be come conformed

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To the image of his son So that he would be the firstborn among many brethren and these whom he predestined

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He also called and these whom he called he also justified and these whom he justified.

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He also glorified Romans 8 28 to 30 But how

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How does it happen? How does this glorious chain of redemption work itself out?

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Practically in the here and the now Is it that the conformity to the image of Christ?

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Is it the result of effort on our part? Or is it just sort of a let go and let

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God do it this

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This question about Growth in the image of Christ whenever this comes up and basically what we're talking about is

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Christian growth whenever the topic of Christian growth comes up Inevitably Ephesians 5 18 is brought to bear on the discussion be filled with the

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Spirit. You'll you'll hear it if you've spent any time at all around Christianity and the majority, you know, the vast majority of us have and we've talked about how do we grow as a

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Christian? That's what we'll hear We need to be filled with the Spirit and and people say that and it's true

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But there's usually not a lot much elaboration beyond that And so as an early Christian you walk away scratching your head.

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Okay be filled with spirit That sounds profound, but it doesn't really get me down to the shoe leather

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What do I need? How do I do that? so this this

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Discussion of Christian growth and being filled with the Spirit is is huge In fact

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John MacArthur in his Ephesians commentary. He writes the following and I'm quoting him here Outside of the command for unbelievers to trust in Christ for salvation

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There is no more Practical and necessary command in Scripture than the one for believers to be filled with the

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Spirit Now that's a pretty bold statement To say that outside of the call for an unbeliever to come to salvation in Christ.

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There's nothing else that's more important for the Christian Then this command of Paul to be filled with the

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Spirit And so it seems to me that Understanding what it's all about Is a good idea and will really yield great benefit for us

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So this study is important Precisely because it takes us into the heart of the doctrine of self of sanctification.

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It plunges us right squarely into the heart of the doctrine of Sanctification and our relationship as believers to the third person of the

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Trinity to the Holy Spirit himself and How we understand

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Paul's teaching here in Ephesians 5 18 will affect how we approach the commands that are contained in verses 22 and following of the household code

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Husbands love your wives that we will get there. Believe me. We will get there. We will spend a long time there

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And that is a command for husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church but to get to the heart of that command and to be able to To begin to make progress and in putting it in action in our lives requires us to understand

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What it means to be filled with the Spirit Husband loving their wives is an outgrowth of spirit filled living an outgrowth of spiritual living

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So man, we cannot love our wives like Christ loves the church without the Spirit's enablement, it's impossible wives children employees employers and so forth

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They also have much to learn We also have much to learn in a very practical way in order to understand

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What it means to do these things in the power of the Spirit. Okay, so this is why it's important very important So let's dig in together.

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Okay, you ready? second question Why warn about wine?

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Why warn about wine Do not get drunk with wine

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But as dissipation but be filled with the Spirit do not get drunk with wine. Why wine?

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Why does Paul bring wine up in this? It Seems at first glance to be a little bit out of the out of the flow

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It seems Perhaps to to kind of come out of left field. And so you go. Oh, that's interesting.

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What's going on with all of that? and So commentators and there's lots of them and they wrestle with an answer to that question.

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Why one about wine? Why does Paul warn about wine? in a discussion of being filled with the

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Spirit There are some commentators Who believe that Paul is referencing the ancient pagan cult of Dionysius?

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which was practiced in Ephesus a thoroughly pagan, you know

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Gentile pagan city and Warning about this this pagan cult of Dionysius also with the known by the

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Roman name Bacchus Which was a the god of wine so Dionysius Bacchus was the pagan god of wine and the adherence to Dionysius or Bacchus Believed and taught that that one rose to the to the level of divine consciousness through the use of intoxicating drink and wild music and Sexual immorality, so the combination of those three toxic blends according to the adherence of Dionysius produced a divine consciousness by which

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Dionysius would enter into the the Worshipper into their bodies their bodies would be taken over by the spirit of Dionysius Okay, so some commentators think that that's what

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Paul is specifically in reference referencing here in Ephesus the warning against for these former pagans about participating in the cult of Dionysius maybe maybe others

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Believe that Paul is is aware of wine being misused in the communion

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So first Corinthians that is clearly happening in first Corinthians 1121 Paul specifically warns about that The Corinthian assembly is misusing wine in the communion service

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And so some say that But Paul is writing here to the Ephesians to the Ephesian believers who in order to correct and warn them against the misuse of wine in the communion service

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The problem with that is that there's no Evidence really directly to support that thing.

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So that's just a hype, you know sort of a Hypothetical and so for me that's not particularly persuasive a third explanation about why warn about wine is

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That Paul is Continuing his teaching that he has begun back in chapter 4 and verse 17.

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So you can let your eyes go back there Where he is contrasting the believers former pagan darkness with their new life as children of light

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So you see there in verse 17 verse of chapter 4 for this So this I say together and affirm together with the

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Lord that you walk no longer Just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind

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And then he goes on and talks about the darkened mind and that that is who you were. That's not now who you are chapter 5 verse 8

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For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of light now interestingly notice in Verse 18 that it begins with the conjunction and which it kind of Indicates it's a carry -forward of an idea and it actually would work pretty well if if if 9 through 17 we're in a big bracket as It's kind of a

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Detour and if you said for you were formerly darkness But now you are light in the Lord walk as children of light and do not get drunk with wine

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See if you stitch them together. It seems to flow pretty good in terms of the logic of what Paul might be saying

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So perhaps there's some strength to this furthermore, we note that the the the three commands contained in verses 15 to 17 are

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Rather general in nature, but but this one is very specific This one's specific, right?

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So be careful how you walk. That's a that's a general command not as unwise, but wise That's that's just kind of a general command.

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This is a very specific command. Don't get drunk with wine very specific command so as the temple of the

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Spirit of God It seems to me that what Paul is saying to them is that they are allowed they are to give the spirit unhindered access to every room in the house

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Every room in the house so live as children of light and don't get drunk with wine So I'm inclined towards that explanation for it that it is that that being drunk and and Historically, it's a reality that the

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Roman world had a terrible problem with drunkenness at this stage in the

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Empire and That what what Paul is is saying here is that drunkenness?

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characterizes the former life It's a it's a specific sin is a widespread sin and it characterizes in a very in a very neat package the former life of darkness and In fact what he'll say is do not get drunk with wine for it is

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Dissipation you see that for it is dissipation now the command to do not to get drunk here again a little grammatical

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Flavor is a present middle imperative which so I well what that means is That it's the idea of don't make it your habit to get drunk with wine if it was a if it was a

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Present active imperative it would say stop getting drunk with wine Alright, so he's not saying that the

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Ephesians have a drinking problem Okay, so he's not commanding them to stop something that they're doing what he's saying is don't start this

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Don't make this your habit Why? because drunkenness leads to Assortia in the

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Greek it leads to assortia translated dissipation or debauchery drunkenness leads to debauchery and It is debauchery that is probably singularly characteristic of the spiritual darkness

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It characterizes spiritual darkness it is the antithesis of the work of the

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Spirit of God So don't get drunk with wine. Why? Because it is doesn't say that it leads to it's interesting.

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It says it is Assortia it is debauchery Now the the word

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Assortia only occurs two other times in the New Testament, but they're kind of a rare word only two other times

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Besides this and then once in an adverbial form as a toast and just once there

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So there's only four occurrences in the entire New Testament to this particular word

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And in each case it is associated with excessive indulgence in sensual pleasure excessive indulgence in sensual pleasure

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Which is typically in the realm of darkness Drunkenness and sexual immorality.

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Okay, they all seem to go together For example

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Titus chapter 1 Titus 1 verses 5 and 6

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For this reason I left you in Crete that you would set in order what remains and Appoint elders in every city as I directed you

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Namely if any man is above reproach the husband of one wife having children who believe not accused of Assortia or rebellion not accused of dissipation or debauchery and rebellion

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Requirement for an elder first Peter chapter 4 verses 3 and 4

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I'll read this from the English Standard Version For the time that is past suffices for doing what the

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Gentiles want to do living in sensuality passions drunkenness orgies drinking parties and lawless idolatry with respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and They malign you so those are you the two other noun uses of Assortia or debauchery or Dissipation and you can see they're both used as a way to summarize a life of darkness

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Luke chapter 15 and Verse 13 is the adverbial use of it

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And not many days later the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country and there he squandered his estate with loose living

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As a toast debauchery, right the prodigal son Not only disrespected his father and demanded his inheritance early and it took it off and and squandered it

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But it's what he squandered it doing He squandered it in assets in debauchery

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Loose living in the Old Testament and in particular in the

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Septuagint Which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament Proverbs 28 and verse 7 uses

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Assortia Or it says in 28 7 he who keeps the law is a discerning son

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But he who is a companion of gluttons Humiliates his father now there it's translated gluttonous

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Okay, but it's the same word. That's what the okay. So gluttony is related to debauchery

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Gluttony is related to debauchery now gluttony is not just simply eating more than we should right it involves a lifestyle of Sensuality given over to the taste buds.

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So why? Why does Paul? Contrast drunkenness with being filled with the spirit

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We now understand what it is what it does But why does he contrast it with being filled with the spirit?

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I? Answer is he's presenting two contrasting lifestyles two contrasting lifestyles a

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Lifestyle of dissipation, which is a great old word, by the way that we don't hear very often. We don't use that much anymore, do we?

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Don't look and say you know what that's dissipation. I Guess because we'd have to use it all the time when we look around us

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But it's contrasting two lifestyles a lifestyle of dissipation a lifestyle of debauchery versus a lifestyle of moral excellence and power

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One belongs to the old man in Adam. The other belongs to the new creation in Christ The life of the old man is the life of dissipation that United with Adam that united with Christ is the life of moral excellence

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Power now some conclude from this verse and others

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That alcoholic consumption is therefore therefore forbidden by Scripture Okay, there are those who that teach and believe that but I would suggest to you that the use of alcohol is more nuanced than that more nuanced than that the

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Scripture clearly prohibits drunkenness why It's debauchery

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It's dissipation It's a satir and they clearly prohibit it by both command and example

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There are numbers of examples in the Old Testament where drunkenness exhibits itself in debauchery

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So both by command here and others and by example drunkenness is

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Off limits to the new life in Christ. It's the antithesis of the new life in Christ, but the overall treatment of the topic of alcohol is more nuanced and I would suggest to you that it's actually one of cautious enjoyment

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Cautious enjoyment under the Lordship of Jesus Christ or cautious enjoyment under the

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Lordship of Jesus Christ It is also a place to carefully respect and honor the scruples of brothers and sisters whose convictions differ right

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So those who have differing convictions on this matter From our own we need to be careful and tread lightly in these areas.

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That's Romans 14 and verse 21 There are different scruples. I would imagine in a room this size that we have differing scruples among us here

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Right, but let me share with you Some biblical facts about alcohol.

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Okay. These are some things that perhaps you're not aware of in the

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Old Testament An abundant harvest was a blessing from God and provided much wine and provided much wine

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Proverbs chapter 3 will be skipping around the Old Testament here now Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 10

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So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

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You see that An abundant harvest a blessing from God Results in much wine the use of wine was associated with celebrations in the

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Old Testament in Job chapter 1 and verse 13

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Job 1 13 now on the day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house

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So the consumption of wine was part of Celebration We see for example in the

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New Testament. We'll go there to John chapter 2 and verse 10, right? John 2 verse 10.

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This is the wedding feast at Cana Where Jesus turns water into wine and he doesn't turn it into cheap wine

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In fact the the steward of the feast Says in verse 10

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To the to the bridegroom who he thinks the bridegroom has really done an amazing thing here

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He says to him every man serves the good wine first and when people have drunk freely then he serves the poorer wine

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But you have kept the good wine until now the idea being that after you've consumed some of it

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There's a dulling of the taste buds and you can't tell the cheap from the good So you serve the good first the cheap later

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Okay now I don't get all lost in all of that other than just to Observe that the use of wine is very much part of a cultural celebration for them very much

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Deuteronomy 16 Deuteronomy 16 we find the seven -day feast of tabernacles or feast of in gathering

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And it was celebrated in the autumn every year. It is still celebrated in the autumn

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I've been in Israel for the feast of tabernacles. It is a it is a time of celebration and It comes at the end of both the grain and grape harvest

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Okay, it's an autumn feast that comes at the end of the grain and the grape harvest chapter 16 verse 13

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You shall celebrate the feast of booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat

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Okay, so you're gathering in the grain You're gathering in the grapes that you have placed into the wine vat.

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You're gathering that all in and it is a seven day Party, by the way, it's um, it's a great study of the feasts of Israel God really this is like completely side note here.

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So anyway, I'm just gonna say it God is really interested in periods of rest and and recreation

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Salted into hard work. And so if you study the feast of God what you say is, you know what, he provided a lot of vacations for people a lot of vacations and times for rejoicing in his goodness wine was offered to God as part of the

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Mosaic sacrificial system Leviticus 23 13 its grain offering shall then be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil and offering by fire to the

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Lord for Soothing aroma with its drink offering a fourth of a hint of wine Okay, so wine was offered prescribed by God and offered as part of the sacrificial system but the priests were

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Prohibited from drinking wine or strong drink while ministering in the tent of meeting

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So we see that in Leviticus chapter 10 verse 9 Do not drink wine or strong drink by the way strong drink would be probably beer since distilled product wasn't wasn't

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Or or distilling was not invented till 800 BC Alright, so this is 600 years before that Before the invention of distilled products, so it's probably beer

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But here it says in verse 9 Do not drink wine or strong drink neither you nor your sons with you when you come into the tent of meeting so that you

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Will not die. It is a perpetual statute throughout your generation some think and perhaps with good reason that that may have been the origin of the sin of Nadab and Abihu is that they went to offer sacrifices the strange fire well under the influence of alcohol

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That's certainly Contextually a good possibility It could have been but life yeah indeed, but it wasn't but God so Interesting, huh?

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It's part of the sacrificial system, but the priests are not to take part of it while they minister

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Okay, meaning when they're in the tent of meeting in service of the Lord. Oh number six

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And by the way, we're not exhausting this we're sort of just jumping around and looking at some stuff here but a person under a

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Nazarite vow Nazarite vow distinguished himself or herself by abstaining from the normal practices of cutting their hair and drinking wine and other fermented beverages

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So number six versus one to eight and I'm short on time So I'm not gonna read them all to you

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You can read it on your own, but the point of the matter is number six went one to eight. I'm sorry numbers open numbers

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Numbers chapter 6 verses 1 to 8 where the Nazarite vow is laid out that the important thing for me this morning for us

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Is that to undertake a Nazarite vow was to abstain from normal activities of life?

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Okay, it was to abstain from normal activities of life, which meant that when you were abstaining people would notice

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Hey, dude, like look at your hair You can't afford a barber.

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Oh You're under a Nazarite vow. I get it Okay, the normal activity of life like get a haircut

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Okay. Also, by the way The hippie idea that Jesus wore long hair and get rid of that.

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Okay, they cut their hair They cut their hair. So I'm 104

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So I'm 104 Why is used as an image of joy and blessing so I'm a hundred and four

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This versus 14 and 15 Psalm 104 14 and 15 he that is

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God causes the grass to grow for the cattle and vegetation for the labor of man So that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine which makes man's heart glad So that he may make his face glisten with oil and food which sustains man's heart

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So you see there the idea that the wine brings joy it brings blessing, right?

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Few more Wine is also used in the Old Testament as an image of the great blessing of the coming millennial kingdom

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When Messiah's kingdom comes it will be a time of great blessing and wine is used in the in the prophets to speak of the coming kingdom and and to illustrate the

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Tremendous joy that will be associated with it. So Isaiah chapter 25 is a good one so Isaiah 25 and verse 6

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Isaiah 25 and verse 6 The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain

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So this is not just for the Jews. This is for all the redeemed of the Lord a banquet of aged wine choice pieces with marrow and refined aged wine so in the coming

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Messiah's kingdom the he it's illustrated the joy of it the abundance of it by I would say ribeye, but some might say filet mignon now, you know

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You can have your filet mignon. I'll eat my ribeye. So for me, it's it would be ribeye but anyway, it's the idea of choice cuts of meat and wine

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Okay, we can talk after John chapter 2 verse 11

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We looked at John 2 10 but there in the in the wedding feast when he changes the the water to wine

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It's called his first sign It's his first sign. Why is it a sign? It's a sign of the coming kingdom because the king is among them

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And so that's why he creates the wine It's not just that. Hey, you know what the party was running low

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That's not the point of it Amos chapter 9 verse 13 behold days are coming declares the

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Lord when the plowman will overtake the reaper and The treader of grapes him who sows seed

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When the mountains will drip with sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved Okay, he's talking about just the abundance of productivity of the earth during Messiah's kingdom will be such that you'll be planting

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Next crop before we can even get the last one all gathered in that kind of abundance one more from the

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New Testament Matthew 26 verses 28 and 29

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Wine was drunk by the participants at the

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Passover and It's deep red color symbolizes

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Jesus shed blood 26 28 and 29 for this is my blood of the covenant

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Which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins But I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day

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When I break it drink it new with you in my father's kingdom Okay, that deep red liquid

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Perfectly symbolizes his blood that he will soon shed Now beyond that Okay, so we've been talking about the the way wine is portrayed in the scriptures as a place of cautious enjoyment

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Beyond that the scriptures repeatedly worn All right. This is where the cautious side So we've looked at the enjoyment side another cautious side the scriptures repeatedly warned about the capacity for alcohol to cloud our judgment and lead us to foolish behavior it

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Has a capacity to cloud the judgment and lead to foolish behavior Proverbs 20 in verse 1

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Wine is a mocker Strong drink a brawler and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise

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Okay, Proverbs 20 in verse 1 Proverbs 23 verses 19 to 21

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Listen my son and be wise and direct your heart in the way Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine or with gluttonous eaters of meat

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For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty and drowsiness will clothe one with rags

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There are there are that's just a few there are many more Cautions associated with the use of wine alcohol

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Now Some Bible teachers will argue that the wine of antiquity was of a lower alcoholic content than today's wine and thus we should completely abstain from These modern beverages, okay,

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I Would just tell you I've never seen any evidence of such a thing I've looked

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I can't find any evidence. So if someone has the evidence, I would love to see it Okay, but as far as I can tell there's no evidence of that beyond that Beyond that now listen carefully here for me.

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I Think the alcoholic content of the wine in antiquity versus today is basically irrelevant to the fundamental issues

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In other words whether it was whatever it is, was it 14 % or something today? I'm not a big wine guy, but I Probably I don't know what it is something like that.

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Okay versus antiquity. So say it's like double what it was I still think that's really kind of irrelevant

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It's really kind of irrelevant and what I mean by that is that Whether today's wines have a higher alcoholic content than biblical wine does not affect the basic purposes cautions and prohibitions

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Related to its human consumption. Now, what about the tragedies associated with drunkenness?

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What about them? Isn't that reason enough to abstain from alcohol?

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Isn't that reason enough and for some people the answer is yes For some the answer is clearly definitely.

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Yes okay, either because of their own past or Home circumstances they grew up in or maybe they have ministry to those who are

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Drunks, and so they see all of that and their conclusion is total abstinence is the right response

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And if that is your perspective Then you should abstain for conscience sake

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That's Paul's teaching in Romans 14 22 and 23. If that's your conviction then you should keep your conviction and don't

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Let anything you've heard here and change it Okay, other than your own independent study of the scriptures and let that inform your conviction

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But beloved listen to me now The antidote to sin is not law, but gospel

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The antidote to sin is not law but gospel

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If law could restrain sin there would have been no need for the new covenant Understand that just as the solution to gluttony is not a prohibition against supersized fast foods

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So also the solution to drunkenness is not prohibition of alcohol by the way

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I believe it was Philadelphia, and I think it's like five or six years ago passed a statute where they outlawed supersized fast foods

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In an attempt to deal with gluttony Okay law Never restrains sin

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As we draw this so close. Let me just observe this with you. I Want you to notice back here again visions 518.

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So let's go back there. Here's what

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I want you to notice. I Want you to notice that Paul prohibits drunkenness do not get drunk with wine

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But then commands being filled with the spirit rather than abstinence as The Christ honoring alternative you see that do not get drunk with wine, but that is dissipation

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He doesn't say and therefore never touch it But he contrast being filled with the spirit

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Being filled with the spirit may we think on these things?

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May we think on these things That's right. Our father.

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Thank you for your word Thank you that it is comprehensive and it gives us everything we need for life and godliness and so father as we begin our study of Ephesians 518 with just this brief introductory look at the prohibition of drunkenness and the place where alcohol is

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Occupies in the Word of God. I pray that you would your spirit would make it instructive in our lives father

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Give us whatever corrective we need in our thinking Help us to have hearts of compassion and large heartedness toward one another particularly those whose convictions differ from our own that we might live together as believers and Be filled with the spirit