Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Even if we gave it our all to try and be perfect in God's eyes, they'd never even come close. Thank goodness Jesus does it for us. Today on Telling the Truth, Stewart Briscoe offers practical advice on how to allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your life and impact your family. We have a very special offer for you as our thanks for your support of Telling the Truth. It's Jill Briscoe's book Fight for the Family. Drawing from Nehemiah's example, Jill shares biblical encouragement and practical wisdom to help you stand strong, rebuild what's been broken, and build spiritual walls of protection and prayer around your home.

We'd love to send you this powerful resource as our thanks for your gift to not only keep this program coming to you each day, but to help Telling the Truth reach even more people so they can experience the abundant life found in Jesus. So thank you for giving today and make sure to request your copy when you give. Call 262 -788 -4648. That's 262 -788 -4648 or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Let's head to Stewart now for more of the message Living in the Spirit's Fullness.

Stuart Briscoe: One of the worst things a pastor can do is talk to somebody who's been in a service and say, you probably remember I was talking about such and such a thing and it's just plain embarrassing for everybody. The only reason the pastor remembers is that he just checked his notes. Now I'm not going to make that mistake. I'm not going to make the mistake of saying, now you remember I did a series of messages relating to dealing with relationships based on Ephesians chapter 5 and chapter 6. I'm not going to make the mistake of assuming you remember that, so I'm just going to tell you.

What we did was look at some of the very, very practical teachings that the Apostle Paul gave the people in Ephesus and accordingly to to us as well concerning marriage and family. And we noticed some very, very powerful things. For instance, one of one of the things we we noticed was that it said that in the context mutual submission which Christians do as unto the Lord, then wives in that particular culture need to be very, very careful because they were given a lot of new liberties. They needed to make absolutely certain that they were submitting to the husbands as unto the Lord.

Well, I just wondered how that was working, wives. And then to balance it out and Paul is so incredibly balanced on this, he said, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. How's it going, man? What what what difference does it make? And then kids, it was all about kids. We we need to respect and honor our parents, remember, and obey our parents and all that sort of thing. And the balancing thing of course was parents, don't drive your kids nuts, but make sure that you're bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Well, how how's it going? And if we honestly look at the way we've tried to obey these instructions in scripture, we found it was more difficult than we imagined. And I want to accept some responsibility for that because whilst I didn't touch on it briefly because of the shortage of time, I didn't adequately deal with the key to how all this works out in practice. That's what we're going to try and do, deal with the practical issue of how these instructions that Paul has given are realistically possible in our lives. Now the key verse is Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18.

This is what the verse says. Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Debauchery means all kinds of inappropriate and unacceptable behavior. We know that happens when people get drunk. Don't get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Now that is the key verse and I'll show you why is the key verse in just a moment. But the first question I want to ask and try to answer for you is this, what does the Bible actually say in this particular passage as far as the practical means of living in obedience to what the Bible instructs us to do?

Well, the operative word in this particular verse is the verb to be filled. The Apostle Paul doesn't suddenly right out the blue said, okay, you should be speaking this way, singing this way, thanking this way, submitting this way. He doesn't do that. He says as a result of being filled with the Spirit, this is the natural repercussion. It will affect your singing, your speaking, your thanking, and your submitting. Then he focuses then on the fourth of those participles and he said, now let me talk to you about submitting and show you how submission is something that doesn't come naturally anymore than the kind of thanksgiving or the speaking or the singing that I'm talking about doesn't come naturally.

And then he says, this submitting which is a result of being filled with the Spirit will work its way out into the relationship of wives to husbands, husbands to wives, children to parents, parents to children. What he's saying in effect is this and here's the key that healthy relationships in scripture are dependent upon us living in the fullness of the Spirit. That's the key. Healthy relationships as taught in scripture are dependent upon us living in the fullness of the Spirit. Therefore, if realistically we are to see these injunctions, these instructions worked out in our lives, we are going to have to have a working knowledge of what it means to be living in the fullness of the Spirit.

This is a fundamental principle, a fundamental instruction that is normative for all believers. If we want to live healthy relationships according to biblical standards, it is done in the fullness of the Spirit. All right, so much then for the question, what does the Bible actually say? Now the question we have to ask is, well, what does this thing mean? This idea of being filled with the Spirit. Well, I've already pointed out to you the rather unusual juxtaposition in this verse. Do not be drunk with wine which leads to debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.

Why would Paul put these two very, very different ideas together? And it would seem to me the only reason would be by way of contrast and by way of analogy. Analogies are similes, are examples that we use when there's something we don't understand and we put it alongside something that has similarities that we do understand. So he Paul assumes that the Ephesians know what it's like to be drunk and what happens when you're drunk? They would be captivated by alcohol. It would get into their minds and it would alter their thinking. Once it had captivated their minds and then they would become motivated by it.

Not only would their thinking, but their desiring would change. Once they they had been captivated and motivated by it, then their actions would change. Why? Because now they had been captivated, motivated, and activated by alcohol. Now we all understand that. We all understand that. The Apostle Paul says, why would you put yourself in a position like that? Why would you do that? What you need to do is make sure that you are being continually captivated, motivated, and activated by the Holy Spirit. Doesn't that make sense? And Paul says that is the key to being able to live out these relationships in the way that we're called to do it.

All right? If that is how it works, then how does it apply as far as I'm concerned? How do I make sure that I am being continually captivated and motivated and activated by the Spirit? Well, Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 has to be understood in its context because I think you've heard me say before that if you take a text out of its context, you're left with a you've heard it before. He is talking to people who have now been accepted in Christ. When he talks about being in Christ, that is a code term that he uses for a Christian.

That that's it one way of expressing it. There are lots of ways of expressing what it means to be a Christian, a believer, a follower of Jesus, a disciple, etc., etc. Paul talks about being in Christ. Now he says that these people are in Christ and he explains how he got there. He says, you also are accepted in Christ, include in Christ, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Now to all these people, the Apostle Paul has come with what he calls the gospel of salvation. Gospel simply means good news.

Salvation is all about God doing for us what we can't do for ourselves. We cannot make ourselves fit for heaven. We cannot make ourselves right with God. We cannot live life on earth as we ought to live it. We can't do it. We are not wired up adequately to do it. We are fallen creatures, but God has taken the initiative to move into our lives and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He has moved to bring salvation which means to save us from a situation from which we cannot save ourselves and he does it through Jesus.

That's the gospel of salvation. Now when you hear the gospel of salvation, there are two responses. One is to say, that's a lot of nonsense. And the other is to say, that is true. That is true. And immediately there's a huge division. You hear the gospel of salvation. Some people will say it is a word of truth. Now notice what Paul says. You were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. But then he says, having believed, some people say that's nonsense and walk away. Other people say that's true and sit down and watch it and don't move an inch.

And then they'll say to you, now you need to get on the plane, sit down, fasten your seat belt. You believe into it. You commit yourself to that which you are convinced is true. Step number one, hear the gospel. Step number two, become to the conviction is the word of truth. Step number three, commit yourself to what you're committed is convinced is true. Step number four, God, then do something. God does something. What does he do? He puts a seal on you, a stamp of ownership upon you. And at the same time as he puts that seal or stamp of ownership on you, he also gives you a guarantee that what he has begun, he will continue and complete in eternity.

What is this seal? What is this guarantee? Then the answer is the promised Holy Spirit. All right, now move on quickly if you will to chapter two of Ephesians. The end of chapter two, the final verse says, in him you two have been built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ever noticed that? You are a building in which God lives by his Spirit. We've asked the question, who is the Holy Spirit? And we've answered it. He is God's gift to us who becomes the seal and the guarantee. He is what God promised.

The prophets promised it. Jesus promised it. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, he says you'll be a Jude with power from on high and you'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. And it happened and the Holy Spirit came. Now we ask the question, well, where is the Holy Spirit? If you like the next question, where is God? Where's God? Well, God the Father is seated on the throne, but he's omnipresent too. Where's Jesus? Jesus is the ascended Lord seated at the Father's right hand. Where's the Holy Spirit?

Anybody seen the Holy Spirit? Where'd the Holy Spirit go? Where is he? I'll tell you where he is. He's dwelling in the hearts of the redeemed like you and me. So now we know who he is. Now we know where he is. Now the question is, well, why is he who he is? Where he is? Glad you asked that. Let us turn to chapter three. Chapter 3 verse 16. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in in your inner being. Why is the Holy Spirit who he is, where he is?

Answer, in order to strengthen you with might by his Spirit in your innermost being. What kind of strength? Look at the end of the chapter. Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory. What's this saying? It is saying that when I hear the gospel, believe it to be true, commit myself to what I'm convinced is true. God sends his Spirit into my life. When God sends his Spirit into my life, God by his Spirit takes up residence in me.

When God by his Spirit takes up residence in me in order to empower me to be what I cannot be in my self. In fact, the Bible basically says that when the Holy Spirit came into your life, you became a battlefield. You became a battlefield for the Spirit fights against something that resists it. And that something that resists it is that old fallen self. And that old fallen self will show itself in rage and bitterness and malice and sexual impurity and greed, in other words, the flesh, the flesh. What it means to be captivated by the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis is this, to be aware of who the Holy Spirit is and where he is and why he is who he is, where he is, and equally aware of the fact that there is militating in you something that will grieve the Holy Spirit and you have the privilege and the responsibility of tipping the scales.

Which way at a given moment you're going to go? So in your marriage when there's an opportunity for you to lose your temper, there's an opportunity for you to misbehave, when there's an opportunity to do all manner of things that would wreck the marriage, ruin the relationship, but more importantly grieve the Holy Spirit. At that moment in the power of the Holy Spirit, you yield yourself to him and you say no in the power of the Spirit to that which is contrary to him. And you don't do it once and then you're okay. You do it continually for we are commanded on an ongoing basis to continually ensure that we are being captivated and motivated and activated by the Holy Spirit.

That's the key to healthy relationships.

Guest (Male): Stewart, how does one strive to be being filled with the Holy Spirit continually?

Stuart Briscoe: Paul gave instructions about being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians chapter 5 and it's very significant that he coupled there this a command to be filled with the Spirit with another command which was don't get drunk. Now I I believe the juxtaposition of those two straightforward instructions is intentional. In other words, they they are intentional because being filled with the Spirit has similarities to being drunk with wine. Now to be drunk with wine means that you allow yourself to be controlled by alcohol. To be filled with the Spirit means that you allow yourself to be controlled by the Spirit.

Now I would I would put it to you this way. When a person is drunk, they are captivated, activated, and motivated by the alcohol. When a person is living in the in the fullness of the Spirit, what it means is that they are captivated and motivated and activated by the Holy Spirit. And I would say the way that we continually seek to live in the fullness of the Spirit is a situation develops after situation, we say, well, how am I responding to this? Am I responding to this captivated and activated and motivated by the Spirit or by selfish dynamics or in down outright disobedience or in lack of faith.

Guest (Male): Stewart, how have you seen God do immeasurably more in your own life?

Stuart Briscoe: Yes, for many many years one of my favorite verses of scripture has been Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 where where it it it talks about God being able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or think according to his power at work within us. And the the reason the the reason that I think that is a very powerful verse in my own thinking is is this that when when I look at my life and realize that that that God in my very early days gave me some degree of understanding of the Christian gospel, opened my eyes to the Christian gospel.

That was a remarkable thing that he then in his in his wisdom gave me gifts where I could be involved in proclaiming this gospel. That that was way beyond my imagination. When he allowed me in the end to have a ministry where other people willingly supported me in it, that was way beyond anything I expected. When he called me to be a pastor of a church in America, that was way way beyond anything I expected. And now here I am 43 years later still can make connected to that church. But in addition to that he he then gave me the privilege of starting something called Telling the Truth and now we broadcast around the world every day exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ask or imagine and I could go on and on and on.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us on Telling the Truth today. We're so glad you've tuned in and we pray today's message has encouraged you to experience life in Jesus Christ. We have a very special offer for you as our thanks for your support of Telling the Truth. It's Jill Briscoe's book Fight for the Family. We'd love to send you this powerful resource as our thanks for your gift to not only keep this program coming to you each day, but to help Telling the Truth reach even more people so they can experience the abundant life found in Jesus.

So thank you for giving today and make sure to request your copy when you give. Call 262 788 -4648. That's 262 788 -4648 or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Thanks for listening today on Telling the Truth. Come back next time for more encouragement from God's word that will help you experience life.