Today's Passage - Ephesians 5:18-21

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 5:18-21 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."    How can we receive the spiritual wisdom? Paul gave us a tip, which is to be filled with the Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit doesn't necessarily mean you have to have some kind of unique experience. Some people will link it to people rolling on the ground while speaking in tongues when being filled with the Spirit is mentioned to them. So most Christians would rather prefer to be common rather than to be filled with the Spirit. Paul didn't tell us that to believers, being filled with the Spirit is just an option that doesn't matter. What he said was a directive "Be filled with the Spirit". If we want to testify for the truth in this wicked generation, our skill or experience is not enough to rely on. We have to rely on the Spirit.     The true meaning of "being filled with the Spirit" is to acknowledge and honor the Spirit's absolute authority on us. In our daily life, we have to absolutely follow the Spirit's guidance and honor Him as the Lord in our hearts. Whether or not to speak in tongues is not the most important thing. We don't have to stop others from speaking in tongues if we don't do so. The most important thing is that we have to bear fruits in our lives from being filled with the Spirit. The four signs of being filled with the Spirit actually can happen in our daily life. First, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit is to show that we are in one body in church to enjoy the joy together as believers. Second, singing and making music from our heart to the Lord is to show that we enjoy the joy of God's presence during our worship. Third, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord is to show that we enjoy God's presence at any time and place in our personal lives. Fourth, submitting to one another is to show that we enjoy the joy of willingly serving the Lord in our families and careers. Only when we are willing to sacrifice ourselves and completely submit to the Spirit's guidance, will we be able to know God's will for everything, and be strong enough to live a victorious life.                                                                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we know it is your command to "be filled with the Spirit". Help us open our hearts to you and welcome the work of the Spirit. May the Spirit rule in everyone's heart, and fill us greatly and fully. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!