PRIMING FOR THE WORK OF CHRIST

05/08/2023

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18-19).

When the Bible talks about not being drunk with wine, the objective is to avoid dissipation. Dissipation is the squandering of energy on things that are unprofitable to you as a Christian. Why we are so different from the rest of the world bothers us a lot on our identity, inheritance, and responsibility. So, it matters how you expend your energy. The key aspects of your role as a Christian bother on four pivotal activities, prayer, Bible study, confessing God's word, and evangelism, but to conduct these activities effectively, you need to always be primed. 

Just as an athlete warms up before performing a routine, the man or woman of God, you, needs to be primed. The King James version of today's theme scripture puts it more aptly: " And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord..." The idea of "speaking to yourselves" is not as is translated in the New King James version, with you speaking to others. Paul was addressing a church, and the import of his admonition, "Speaking to yourselves," meant, you speaking to you and I talking to me. 

And so by talking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, you warm yourself up to perform one or more of your pivotal activities. Do you want to pray? Be filled with the spirit. Do you want to study the Bible, evangelize or make confessions? Be filled in the Spirit. 

There can be no effective work in Christ without first being filled with the Spirit. Romanis 12:10-11 says, "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." How to stay fervent in spirit is by maintaining a continued and deliberate priming of your spirit so that your outcomes are sterling to God. 

Have a blessed day!

Faith-Filled Confession

I am always filled with the Spirit. And for this reason, I have astounding results via my prayer life, evangelism, confessions, and study of the Bible. I am a wonder because the Lord has made me so. Hallelujah!

One-Year Reading Plan:  1 Kings 14-15; John 1:1-28