Living Wisely: The Power of the Spirit

Devotional

Day 1: Living Wisely and Intentionally

Ephesians 5 urges us to live wisely, making the most of every opportunity. This means being intentional in our actions and decisions, not allowing life to just happen to us. We are called to be proactive in our faith, reflecting God's will in our daily lives. Living wisely involves discerning what is truly important and aligning our lives with those values. It means saying no to distractions and yes to the things that bring us closer to God and His purposes for us.

Living intentionally also means being aware of the impact of our actions on others. We are called to be a light in the world, reflecting God's love and grace in all we do. This requires a conscious effort to live in a way that honors God and serves others. By living wisely and intentionally, we can make a meaningful difference in our lives and the lives of those around us. [11:27]

Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV): "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you feel you are not living intentionally? How can you make a deliberate change today to align that area with God's will?

Day 2: Continuous Filling of the Spirit

Just as a bicycle tire needs regular inflating, our spiritual lives require continuous filling with the Holy Spirit. This ongoing process ensures that we are not left empty or broken but are constantly renewed and empowered to live as God calls us to live. The filling of the Spirit is not a one-time event but a daily necessity. It involves seeking God's presence and allowing His Spirit to work in and through us.

Being filled with the Spirit means being open to God's guidance and allowing Him to shape our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. It requires a willingness to surrender our own desires and submit to God's will. By continuously seeking the filling of the Spirit, we can experience true transformation and live a life that reflects God's love and purpose. [41:19]

Ephesians 5:18 (ESV): "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit."

Reflection: How can you make space in your daily routine to seek the continuous filling of the Holy Spirit? What specific practices can you incorporate to invite His presence into your life?

Day 3: Power to Effect Change

The story of "Kinky Boots" illustrates that we have the power to effect change in our lives and communities. By taking intentional actions and not succumbing to a sense of helplessness, we can make a significant impact, much like Charlie Price did in saving his family's business. Often, we may feel powerless to make a difference, but God has given us the ability and resources to bring about change.

Taking intentional actions means stepping out in faith and trusting that God will guide and empower us. It involves recognizing the opportunities around us and being willing to take risks for the sake of God's kingdom. By believing in the power God has given us, we can overcome obstacles and make a positive impact in our world. [34:05]

Philippians 2:13 (ESV): "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

Reflection: What is one area in your life or community where you feel called to make a change? What intentional steps can you take today to begin effecting that change?

Day 4: Filling with the Spirit vs. Emptying Sin

Success in the Christian life doesn't come from trying to suck out sin but from being filled with the Spirit. When we are filled with God's Spirit, there is no room for sin, selfishness, or worldly distractions. This filling transforms our actions, words, and thoughts to reflect God's love and purpose. Instead of focusing on removing sin, we should focus on inviting the Holy Spirit to fill us.

Being filled with the Spirit means allowing God's presence to permeate every aspect of our lives. It involves a shift in focus from our own efforts to God's power working within us. By seeking the filling of the Spirit, we can experience true freedom and transformation, living a life that honors God and reflects His love to others. [40:18]

Galatians 5:16 (ESV): "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you are trying to remove sin on your own? How can you shift your focus to seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit instead?

Day 5: Invitation to the Holy Spirit

We are invited to offer our own invitation to the Holy Spirit to fill us anew. This daily surrender to God's presence and power enables us to live carefully, wisely, and on purpose, reflecting God's love and light in all we do. Inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives is a conscious decision that requires humility and openness to God's work.

By inviting the Holy Spirit, we acknowledge our need for God's guidance and strength. It involves a daily commitment to seek His presence and allow Him to lead us. This invitation is not a one-time event but a continuous process of surrender and renewal. By making this invitation a regular part of our lives, we can experience the fullness of God's presence and live a life that glorifies Him. [43:30]

John 14:26 (ESV): "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

Reflection: How can you make a daily habit of inviting the Holy Spirit into your life? What specific steps can you take to ensure that you are open to His guidance and presence each day?

Sermon Summary

### Summary

Today, we explored the profound message from Ephesians 5, urging us to live wisely and intentionally. The scripture emphasizes the importance of not wasting our lives on meaningless pursuits but instead filling ourselves with the Spirit of God. This filling is not a one-time event but a continuous process, much like regularly inflating a bicycle tire to keep it functional. We are reminded that true transformation and the ability to live as God calls us to live come from being filled with the Spirit, which leaves no room for sin, selfishness, or worldly distractions.

We also discussed the movie "Kinky Boots" as an illustration of how we often feel powerless to effect change, asking, "What can I do?" The protagonist, Charlie Price, learns that he has the power to save his family's business by taking intentional actions. Similarly, we are encouraged to take control of our lives and make deliberate choices that reflect God's will.

In our prayer time, we lifted up various concerns and joys, from the start of the school year to personal struggles and celebrations. We prayed for God's guidance and presence in our lives, asking for the Spirit to fill us and help us reflect God's love and light in all we do.

We concluded with a call to examine what fills our hearts and lives. Are we filled with God's Spirit, or are we trying to remove sin and worldly influences on our own, only to find ourselves empty and frustrated? The invitation is to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us anew, enabling us to live carefully, wisely, and on purpose for God.

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Key Takeaways

1. Living Wisely and Intentionally: Ephesians 5 urges us to live wisely, making the most of every opportunity. This means being intentional in our actions and decisions, not allowing life to just happen to us. We are called to be proactive in our faith, reflecting God's will in our daily lives. [11:27]
2. Continuous Filling of the Spirit: Just as a bicycle tire needs regular inflating, our spiritual lives require continuous filling with the Holy Spirit. This ongoing process ensures that we are not left empty or broken but are constantly renewed and empowered to live as God calls us to live. [41:19]
3. Power to Effect Change: The story of "Kinky Boots" illustrates that we have the power to effect change in our lives and communities. By taking intentional actions and not succumbing to a sense of helplessness, we can make a significant impact, much like Charlie Price did in saving his family's business. [34:05]
4. **Filling with the Spirit vs. Emptying Sin**: Success in the Christian life doesn't come from trying to suck out sin but from being filled with the Spirit. When we are filled with God's Spirit, there is no room for sin, selfishness, or worldly distractions. This filling transforms our actions, words, and thoughts to reflect God's love and purpose. [40:18]
5. Invitation to the Holy Spirit: We are invited to offer our own invitation to the Holy Spirit to fill us anew. This daily surrender to God's presence and power enables us to live carefully, wisely, and on purpose, reflecting God's love and light in all we do. [43:30]
### [43:30]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:55] - Announcements and Book Club
[05:10] - Upcoming Bible Study
[06:26] - Community Outreach and Bike Ride
[10:40] - Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5
[14:14] - Prayer Requests and Praises
[23:59] - Opening Prayer
[26:57] - Offering and Giving
[28:08] - Introduction to Ephesians 5
[31:15] - Living Wisely and Intentionally
[34:05] - Power to Effect Change: "Kinky Boots"
[38:13] - Filling with the Spirit
[41:19] - Continuous Filling of the Spirit
[43:30] - Invitation to the Holy Spirit
[47:16] - Communion Invitation
[50:04] - Great Thanksgiving
[56:36] - Lord's Prayer
[57:54] - Communion
[59:29] - Closing Song: Draw the Circle Wide

Bible Study Guide

Observation Questions

What does Ephesians 5:11-20 say about how we should live our lives? ([10:40])
How does the analogy of inflating a bicycle tire relate to our spiritual lives according to the sermon? ([41:19])
What lesson does the movie "Kinky Boots" illustrate about our ability to effect change? ([34:05])
What does the sermon suggest is the key to true transformation in our Christian lives? ([40:18])

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul emphasize the importance of living wisely and making the most of every opportunity in Ephesians 5:15-16? How does this relate to the sermon’s message about intentional living? ([11:27])
How does the continuous filling of the Holy Spirit help us avoid sin and worldly distractions, as discussed in the sermon? ([41:19])
In what ways does the story of Charlie Price from "Kinky Boots" parallel our own spiritual journey and the choices we make? ([34:05])
How does the concept of being filled with the Spirit rather than trying to empty ourselves of sin change our approach to spiritual growth? ([40:18])

Application Questions

Reflect on your daily routine. Are there areas where you are living carelessly or unthinkingly? How can you make more intentional choices that reflect God's will? ([11:27])
What are some practical steps you can take to ensure you are continuously filled with the Holy Spirit? Consider daily practices or habits that can help. ([41:19])
Think of a situation in your life where you feel powerless to effect change. How can you take intentional actions, like Charlie Price did, to make a positive impact? ([34:05])
Are you trying to remove sin and worldly influences on your own, only to find yourself empty and frustrated? How can you invite the Holy Spirit to fill you anew each day? ([43:30])
Identify one specific area in your life where you need to be more proactive in your faith. What deliberate choices can you make this week to reflect God's love and light in that area? ([11:27])
How can you incorporate singing hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs into your daily life as a way to stay filled with the Spirit? ([41:19])
Examine what currently fills your heart and life. Are there distractions or sins that you need to let go of to make more room for the Holy Spirit? What steps will you take to address this? ([42:57])

Sermon Clips

1. "When I was a young adult in my early 20's I would go to my dad for advice all the things that you don't know when you're 20 right? how much money should I take out of my paycheck? and put in savings each time? should I just blow it all? should I buy this car? can I afford this car payment? and not just about money about just life all the things that you're trying to figure out in your early 20's because you've lived in this bubble of your parents taking care of you making the decisions for you and all of a sudden you are the adult I'm going to air quote that y'all you are the adult and you're trying to figure it all out and I would go to my dad and I would ask him all kinds of questions and he would give me advice but he always ended his advice by saying but you're in charge and the thing was he wanted me to learn to take control of my own life and not just rely on his opinion and not just rely on his ideas and not just live in the shadow of someone else and someone else's opinion of who I should be or how I should act but to make my own decisions in other words he wanted me to control my own destiny rather than allowing life to just happen to me" [35:19] (101 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2. "A.W. Trouser Trouser T-O-Z-E-R once wrote human nature is not fixed and for this we should thank God day and night we are still capable of change we can become something other than what we are we can become something other than what we are and I will add to that other than what we are right now change doesn't happen overnight change doesn't happen in a hurry if we want to change things in our lives sometimes this requires a lot of effort on our part but this is a powerful reminder that no matter where we are in life no matter how we are entrenched in how we feel how our habits are in our ways of thinking we're capable of change don't have to remain stuck we don't have to remain stuck in our struggles we don't have to remain stuck in our sins we don't have to remain stuck in the patterns of the world we get to grow up and we get to affect the world around us I'm going to go back to what Natalie said it's a privilege it's a privilege to get to grow up and affect the world around you it's not a hardship it's a joy it is a privilege" [36:26] (89 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3. "When we are filled with the spirit when we fill ourselves with God when we are who God would have us to be we don't have the time or the space for all the other stuff we can't be filled with an empty void and be full of the spirit we can't be full of our sin and we can't be full of worldly ideas and still be filled with the spirit you see that's the point of the scripture that the scripture is emphasizing success in living a Christian life doesn't come by trying to suck it out not by sucking out the sin approach leaves us shattered, it leaves us empty it leaves us broken instead success comes by being filled with God's spirit the spirit of God in us is success when we are filled with the spirit there is no room for anything else no room for sin, no room for selfishness no room for distractions of the world the way to real transformation to real change is to be filled with the spirit" [39:48] (77 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4. "And here's the thing this isn't a one time event it isn't a get filled and you're good forever it's not a one and done anybody ever filled a bicycle tire we talked about riding bicycles earlier right so if you like to ride bicycles you probably know as I do that every time you get on that thing you need to check the tire make sure it's pumped up and chances are somewhere along the way it's gonna lose some air and you gotta put a little bit more back in and then it's gonna lose some more air and you gotta put a little bit more back in and we're just like that we link out the spirit of God if we're not filling ourselves back up if we're not doing what we need to do to keep the spirit continually in process daily filling us daily surrendering to God to God's presence to God's power to God in our lives as we are filled with the spirit we find that our actions change our words change and even our thoughts change and we begin to reflect more of who God is than who we are or who the world is we begin to reflect who God has called us to be and not what the world has called us to be and we begin to speak to one another in kinder words we start to think of one another in kinder ways start to think in the songs of our spirit in songs of our spirit we are called into a different place our hearts begin to overflow with thanksgiving and our lives become the melody of God's praise" [40:50] (118 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5. "So today I ask you to examine inside what are you filled with what's in you you filled with God's spirit do you feel God living in you are you allowing the spirit to fill you are you pushing out everything that doesn't belong are you trying to suck out sin creating a vacuum in your own life you trying to get there on your own strength only to find yourself empty and frustrated so today I invite you to offer your own invitation to the Holy Spirit to fill you anew to fill you to overflowing so that your hearts and your lives are full of God's life and love and joy and peace because it is only when we are filled with the spirit that we can truly live as God calls us to live is only when we are making sure that we are daily checking the temperature checking the air checking our own spirit making sure that we are filling up that we are not trying to ride on a flat tire but that we are full and able do what God is calling us to do that we are able to live carefully and wisely and on purpose because we are called to live on purpose for God Amen" [42:57] (118 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6. "I invite you to join me in the great thanksgiving the Lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the Lord our God it is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you almighty God you who are true to who you are and reveal to us the glories of your presence you are a God of love who speaks against oppression and injustice you are a God of grace who seeks to give forgiveness to the blind to those blind to their privilege to those of us blind to our privilege even as you invite us into a world to learn from you you are the creator God who weaves the beauty of diversity into something of fresh and new the garment of understanding and of wonder you call us to follow you out of the familiar and out of the comfortable and to live by faith calling upon your holy name trusting the power of your grace you invite us to be like Jonah and to preach your word in Nineveh to bring salvation to historic oppressors you move our hearts to say with Ruth wherever you live that is where I will live your family your God will be my God because you show your mercy to every nation and every people upon the earth because you speak every language and you delight in every culture and we join in the praise of all on earth because you have embraced people from every continent have walked with all of our ancestors and continue to hear the praise even of forgotten languages that are sung continuously around your throne unending hymn of praise holy holy holy Lord God of power and might heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest" [50:04] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7. "You are holy and Jesus is Emmanuel God with us leaving all that was familiar in heaven Jesus was born into a people and a culture of Israel and Jesus was taught the language and the traditions of his family Jesus worshipped in the temple in Israel and Jesus came first to the lost sheep of Israel the people of his race the people of his culture and Jesus also shared your grace with the Roman oppressors and with the lynched people and Jesus entered into a deep theological discussions with a Samaritan woman breaking all the cultural taboos and stereotypes and Jesus responded to the need of the Syrophoenician woman going against the deeply ingrained prejudices of his sin in the society that had been taught to him and Jesus realized that you oh God loved the world so much that you wanted everyone to believe even if it meant personal sacrifice and when culture dictated that the least important was to wash feet Jesus broke with social convention and left the seat of honor and took off his robe and with a towel and a basin in his hands he knelt and washed the feet of the one who would betray him he washed the feet of the one who would deny him three times and the feet of those who would desert him to save their own lives and Jesus invites us to do the same as the expression of love Jesus took bread took bread that was left on the table and he remembered the struggles of his people and he shared with everyone saying take and eat this is my body given for you and as an expression of love Jesus took a cup and remembered the historical struggles of his people and he shared it with everyone saying drink with me all of you out of witness to the divine covenant of forgiveness with you and with the whole world out of this culture Jesus worked cross culturally to bring salvation to the whole world Jesus came not to save his own people but to save all people Jesus came not to save his own economic class but those of all classes Jesus came not to save his own gender identity but people of all gender identities we have testified that this mystery of salvation found in Jesus is for all and we testify to that when we say Christ has died Christ has risen Christ will come again" [52:36] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8. "God who is the wind of change used these simple gifts of bread and wine to become for us the body and blood of Christ the source of transforming power God who is the wind of change used these simple gifts of our lives of our culture of our faithfulness and of our dreams to become for the world the church the authentic body and devoted source of your transforming power wind of change be with all of those called to the cross who are called to cross social boundaries of race and culture to boldly go to the cross give us the courage to accept your challenge to pick up our cross and follow you use our faithfulness to set the captives free to restore sight to the blind to liberate the oppressed and to share the good news of the availability of your grace to all be blessed by the presence of Christ be blessed by the power of the Holy Spirit and be blessed by the creativity of the divine inspiration to continually receive all our glory thanks and praise amen" [55:05] (78 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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