What’s up? This is Joe again with the National School Project. Today, I want to talk to you about the importance of being filled with the Spirit and not being controlled by anything else. To get into that, let me share a quick story with you.

I love fire.  Jokingly, I suppose you could even call me a bit of a pyromaniac! This has gotten me in trouble in the past. Back in the day, my brother took over an old barn and we decided to make it into our clubhouse.   Of course, with our obsession with fire, we decided that it would be a good idea to put a fireplace in our clubhouse.  So, we got this old metal box in it and started a fire.  

There was just one problem… the barn was made of wood!

Before we knew it, the barn had caught on fire!  Thankfully, we got the fire put out, but I learned an important lesson from the experience: it’s hard to contain a fire once it gets going!

While it can be dangerous for a fire to get out of control, it’s a great illustration of the power a Christian life that is controlled by the Spirit. In Ephesians 5, we read about what it looks like to be on fire for Jesus and to be filled with the Spirit:

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evils day. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:15-20, NLT).

A key verse in this passage is verse 18:  “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.  Instead be filled with the Holy Spirit.” This verse shows us that there are two pathways to life… a good one and a bad one.  The first pathway (the wrong one) is a life that is consumed with self and doing what you want to do.   This is represented in the warning: “don’t be drunk with wine.” 

What does it look like when a person gets drunk? It’s letting life get out of control. It’s a lot like trying to build a fireplace in a wooden barn, which seems like a fun idea at first, but leads to destruction. This reminds me of John 10:10, where it says “the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.”  The Devil uses things like drunkenness and drugs to tempt people and get them off the path of living for Jesus and experiencing a powerful relationship with Him. I believe this is why the Devil tries to tempt us and introduce these things to us when we are young to keep us from what God really wants for us. 

When I was a freshman in high school, a bunch of my friends got hold of some beer.  We decided to get together in a field to drink the beer where nobody would see us.  I knew that I was underage and that it was wrong, but because one of my friends had gone to church with me, I decided to go along with it.  I took one drink of that beer and it tasted terrible. I actually ended up pouring out a bunch of it because I did not want to drink anymore, but my friends kept handing me more beer and kept pressuring me to drink it. Before I knew it, I had gotten very sick. I even threw up all over myself on my brand new sweater.  

Later that night, I ran into another one of my friends, who saw that I wasn’t feeling very well. I told him what happened. This friend wasn’t a Christian, but he confronted me about my poor decision. He said that I was stupid for drinking! Right then, God brought conviction to my heart. I was so ashamed! I realized that I had not only let him down, but I had let God down! 

Thankfully, there is always hope and forgiveness available in Jesus. There is also a better way of life to turn to once we’ve realized how badly we’ve messed our lives up.  Going back to our passage from Ephesians, we’re commanded to be “filled with the Spirit.”  This is the second pathway in life, the path where we follow the leading of the Spirit.  When we give our lives to Jesus and ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us, God actually lives inside of us! He gives us a brand new life, and instead of our lives being controlled by destructive desires, he helps us surrender control of our lives to Him!  

Jesus says, “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10b, ESV).  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be a blessing to others and we will have power to live a Godly life. This week, I want to encourage you to repent of sin and ask the Holy Spirit to fully fill every part of your life! 

-Joe Greenwald