What we really have today is a very long introduction that we will not conclude until next week. Ephesians chapter 5, beginning in verse number 17, Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 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, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. So this morning, as we have been talking about the Holy Spirit, we're gonna begin to turn our attention to what is perhaps one of the most misunderstood ministries with reference to the Holy Spirit, and that is his filling. Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled. But be filled. And so again, really a very, very long introduction to bring us back to this verse next week. Within the history of church writers, Ephesians 518 has, I don't want to say been neglected, but it has not been emphasized. The church fathers, and by church fathers we're generally talking about the men who lived and wrote and ministered in the 1st through 8th century AD, Those men rarely mentioned it in any of their writings of the things that resign. John Calvin rarely mentioned it. Jacob Arminius, his counterpart theologically, rarely mentioned it. Martin Luther rarely mentioned it, and he mentioned it usually on the rare times that he did simply in the context of avoiding drunkenness. John Owen, who, if you're not familiar, is one of America's, of the world's, not America's, but one of England's great Baptist pastors. A man who, to this day, is very difficult to read because the consensus is, although he wrote in English, he thought in Latin. He is a towering Baptist theologian. And even Jonathan Edwards, who is considered to be America's greatest theologian, not that they ignored the verse, but they never magnified it in any way. They never viewed it as some of us have come to view it, as kind of an, if not the, essential component of Christian sanctification. You can't be like Christ unless you've been filled with the Spirit. And then it's a kind of a Pandora's box of what being filled with the spirit actually means. John Wesley, who lived between 1703 and 1791, so an 18th century believer, kind of turned the corner on this when he began to teach that through a single act of faith, a single act of surrender and faith, you could achieve complete or entire sanctification. One of his followers, a man that John Wesley hoped would succeed him as the head of the Methodist Church, John Fletcher, 1729 to 1785, called this the baptism or the filling with the Holy Spirit. So Wesley taught a solitary act of submissive faith and you will achieve complete sanctification, Fletcher said, that's baptism. And that event is called the filling. And we have no record in any of Wesley's writings that he contradicted Fletcher's teaching on that. Charles G. Finney, 1792 to 1875, generally considered to be the most famous, maybe infamous would be the better word, of second great awakening evangelists, added a twist to Arminian, or Wesley's Arminian theology. And Wesley was, folks, devotedly, distinctly Arminian in his theology. He embraced the full five points that were outlined, by the way to go off in a little bit of history, Jacob Arminius outlined his five points of understanding human salvation before John Calvin responded with what are now the more famous five points. Finney and his colleague Asa Mahan concluded on the basis of what Wesley had taught that you could in a solitary act of devotion achieve complete and total sanctification, that there were then in essence two categories of Christianity. That there were carnal Christians, these are the lower form, and Paul is talking to them. Their argument is, I would not teach you that, but their argument is that Paul is recognizing them and talking to them in 1 Corinthians 1-3. And then there are a higher form of Christians, those who have been sanctified. And so you have kind of this two-tiered identification of Christianity. I would argue that it is patently, absurdly, completely unbiblical, but it is nevertheless, folks, very prevalent in conservative fundamental Baptist circles and has been championed by many people that we would know. Those views that Finney and Mahan taught were then popularized by, interestingly enough, not a husband and wife preaching team, but a husband and wife social activist team. They were Methodists, Charles or Walter and Phoebe Palmer, and they were great social crusaders, crusading against some of the abuses of industrialization. But as they traveled and as they did their social work, they were devoted Methodists, they espoused and advocated the views that had been championed first by Wesley and then by Finney. And so they popularized this idea that in the world of Christ, there are saved people and some of them are just carnal. And then there are saved people and some of them are sanctified. And you have two classes of Christian people. Among the Baptists, the vast majority of whom would reject all five points of Arminianism, not all, but the vast majority of whom would, embrace this idea of full surrender and sanctification with some modifications. Full-blown Arminianism believes that you can lose your salvation almost as easily as you can receive it. And again, the vast majority of Baptists did not adhere to that. And we talked about this, folks, when we worked through it in Sunday school a while back. There is a distinct appeal, is there not, to the idea that in one moment of crisis that brings about surrender, effectively your fight against sin would be over and you would emerge triumphant into victory. And this is how it became known among those who were more Baptistic, by which I would include Baptists and non-denominational people like Moody. The victorious life, the higher life, it was championed and espoused through a series of meetings held in Keswick, England, and some people know it as the Keswick Movement, this higher life movement. If you went to Hiles Anderson like I did, although nobody ever walked you through, at least nobody ever walked me through that history, Hiles Anderson College, First Baptist Church of Hammond, was thoroughly committed to Keswick theology, crisis of surrender filled with the spirit, on in victory. What differed was a little bit the outcome. Wesley more than Finney, there are nuances, over whether the old nature is completely eradicated or just completely defeated. Whereas in the Baptist world, we never tended to go that far, but we just argued that you could have complete victory over the remaining sin nature. So it's not that sin would be absent, but it would never be dominant or triumphant. And so within that kind of ongoing between the late 1700s into where we are today, Ephesians 5, 17 through 21 took on an increasingly important role as to what is required. If you're going to have victory, whether it be a complete victory or a partial victory, If you're going to have a victory that is enduring and lasting, it is going to come only through the work of the Spirit. Nobody argued that this was the work of the flesh. It is the work of the Spirit. Now, folks, 2 Corinthians chapter 3, which we will eventually get to in another lesson, is abundantly clear that God's Holy Spirit is the agent of our sanctification. We are not really changing ourselves. We are being changed. And God himself is the one who is changing us. That is, I hope, beyond any question or dispute. My question for our purposes is, what does Ephesians 5.18 mean in light of that? And what does it have to do with that? So what I just want to do is kind of start way up high and take a broad overview of how the Bible itself would look at something like filling, or the filling with the Holy Ghost, or the filling with the Holy Spirit. And then we will just kind of narrow that down, right? I mean, just if you care, right? Today we're just gonna pretty much circle way up high and look broadly at the Bible. and next week we'll turn our attention, and then we'll conclude in Ephesians, and next week we'll start in Ephesians, and come down to Ephesians 5, 17 through 21. All right, so here's our passage. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, which, to give you a sneak preview, right, if you have a King James Bible, it's excess. I think if you have a New American Standard Bible or an ESV, it's gonna read debauchery. If you want a literal translation of the word, it is not saved. It is the Greek prefix ah, without, salvation. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is the absence of salvation in one's conduct. Drunk people don't act like safe people, that's what Paul was saying. Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. So now let's take our Bibles and I want to begin by doing this. Let's just talk about the word full. Be filled with the Spirit. Go back to Exodus chapter 40. Exodus chapter 40, the last chapter in Exodus. And of course the Exodus is about the Exodus and it is about the law of Moses and it is about the construction of the tabernacle. And so Exodus chapter 40 and verse number 33. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar. and set up the hanging of the court gate so Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of congregation because the cloud abode thereon and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Now, admittedly, the text does not say the Spirit filled it. It says the glory of the Lord filled it. And I just want to throw this question to you right now. This is a question that I'm going to ask us about a number of passages today. I'm not looking for an audible answer, but I want you to be thinking of it in your mind. Is that normal? Is that the normal experience with the temple, or is it an extraordinary experience with the temple? And then turn to 1 Kings chapter 10, or 1 Kings chapter number eight. And by the way, the answer to the question, folks, I'm not trying to insult you for being, you know, in some way kind of stupid. I'm assuming you know the answer, but the answer is that is an extraordinary event. In other words, the whole tabernacle is constructed with the intention that there would be a place for men to go in and worship in the presence of the Lord and to make sacrifices that were acceptable to him so that there might be an ongoing harmonious relationship with him. And if men cannot get into the tabernacle, men cannot do that for which the tabernacle was designed. And yet, at its inauguration in Exodus 40, 34, and 35, men cannot get into the temple. They're literally driven out by the presence of God's glory. So there's no specific follow-up explanation as to what the glory of the Lord did after that. But we know that the tabernacle then takes on its normal usage. And when you get into the book of Leviticus, which really takes up right where Exodus 40 leaves off, and you have all of these offerings, and where are they being offered? They're being offered in the tabernacle. What did we deal with last Wednesday night? We dealt with the great day of atonement where the priest is in the holy place, the most holy place, once a year. That he could not have gone if the normal situation was for the glory of God to manifest itself in such a way. 1 Kings chapter 8 and verse number 10. Now we have transitioned from the tabernacle, which is portable, to the temple, which is not. Verse number 10, it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. So at the inauguration of this temple, right, and remember folks, what is the critical factor of the tabernacle. That's where God is. And what is the critical factor of the temple? That's where God is. Now, I mean, we understand, and they understood. Solomon understood. If you read his prayer, 1 Kings chapter 8, Solomon understands that God cannot be confined to a house. You can't put God in a box, seal up the lid, and have God in a box. But God had chosen to identify that place as the place where his presence would be. that is where you went for your offerings and your sacrifices and much of your service, that is where the Lord was. That was the orientation there. And again, if we were to ask, well, is this normative or is this extraordinary? The answer would be it's extraordinary because the temple becomes occupied by people. And in fact, folks, and we're not terribly far from looking at a little bit of this when we look at one of the upcoming Jewish kings, it is not, I don't want to say common, but it happens occasionally in Jewish history that the temple is so ignored that it becomes basically treated like a storage facility or a warehouse, not a place of worship. And one of the things that reforming kings will have to do is clean up the temple, all the trash out, and get everybody's personal items out of there. Now let me ask you to go backwards, if you would, to Numbers chapter 14. All right, so we have, right, do not be drunk with wine, but be filled, but be filled. The tabernacle was filled with God. The temple was filled with God. Numbers chapter 14 and verse number 21. And without going back and revisit it, at this point in time, we are dealing right with the aftermath to the 12 spies being sent into the promised land, 10 of them bringing back a report of not us, and God pronouncing his judgment. God being dishonored by 10 of the 12 spies that he sends into the land, And of course, only Joshua and Caleb bring back a glowing report. And only Joshua and Caleb survive the next 38 and a half years. Everybody else of the generation of the spies dies in the wilderness. The judgment of the Lord. And here's part of God's explanation to Moses. Numbers chapter 14, verse number, let's start in verse number 20. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word." Because God was ready to just, right? Everybody goes. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Because all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have tempted me now these 10 times, and have not hearkened to my voice, surely they shall not see the land, which I swear unto their fathers. But here is the promise, the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. Habakkuk 2.14, you do not need to turn to it, says, for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. So be filled with the Spirit, right, is the shadow of a far larger fullness, the fullness of God in the tabernacle, the fullness of God in the temple, and someday the fullness of the glory of God over the whole earth. Not only did God fill these assembly places, and we will come to this because there is a conjunction to it, Acts chapter 2, which we will get to, but God filled certain individuals even in the Old Testament. Micah says in Micah 3.8, but truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord. and of judgment and of might to declare unto Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. All of which, folks, right? I'm just kind of circling above here. When Paul writes, be filled with the spirit, he is not inventing a new and novel idea, right? The idea of being filled by God and his glory is very old. It is very old. And in fact, folks, if you want to turn to the book of Ephesians, being filled with the Spirit is not even a novel concept in the book of Ephesians, this idea of fullness. Right in Ephesians chapter one, after Paul introduces himself in the context of the letter, he enters into what is generally regarded as this song, this celebration of praise. And it is a celebration of the role of the Trinity in salvation. And each of the three stanzas concludes with something along the lines of, to the praise of his glory, to the praise of his glory. And then in verse number 15, Paul begins to talk about how he prayed for these people. Wherefore, verse number 15, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him. the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us word who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he brought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. And by the way, if I may just throw this out, and I realize that I am not the greatest theologian and I can be a little bit of a crackpot, But one of the problems that the American church faces is that it has virtually no concept of and no respect for what the church really is. American Christianity functions like American business. It is an enterprise. That is my snarky assessment. And we tend to love churches the most that, at least in my background, that operate the most like major businesses where the pastor is a visionary leader and not a servant of the scripture. But again, that's just my, right? But what is the church to Paul? It is the body of Christ, the fullness of the one who fills all things. That's pretty heady stuff. Or Ephesians chapter two, beginning in verse number 18. Ephesians 2.18, for through him, and the him of course is Christ and his sacrificial death, we both, and the both are Jews and Gentiles, have access by one spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom also ye are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. So what is the church? It is the body of Christ. What is the church? It is growing into a holy temple, and you are being built together, folks, for a habitation, for a habitation of God through the Spirit, through the Spirit. Or Ephesians chapter three, verse number 14. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. So when Paul tells us through Ephesians 5.18 to be filled with the Spirit, this is not just some random thought that has come from his mind. It's not even a random thought brought by the Spirit of God, but it is actually something in conjunction with the greater picture of what God is doing. God is going to fill not just individuals, but God is going to fill the entire planet with the knowledge of his glory. Now again, if I may just go off on a very brief eschatological tangent, this is why, folks, it is essential that there be a visible, identifiable kingdom under the physical supremacy of Jesus Christ. This is where it's going to happen. This is how it is going to happen. So again, let's go back for the sake of time. Paul said be full. Okay, full is not, and I'm not saying that you would think it's random, but I want you to understand that when Paul writes full, it is connected to something else. It is not just you being filled. It is not even just you being filled so that you can be a better Christian. It is a part of something far larger. Being filled is something that God is going to do. at one level through his church, the Old Testament correlation being through the nation of Israel, and ultimately in the earth. Secondly, I wanna talk about with the spirit in the context of the Bible, be filled with the spirit. there are, folks, extraordinary or special works of the filling with the Spirit. In Exodus 31, one through six, Bezalel was extraordinarily filled with the Spirit so that he was the kind of craftsman that could build the temple or the tabernacle for the Lord. So that all the embroidery and all of the fabric work and all of the assembly work and all of the pieces and all of the fabrication of the tent was done through this man and others like him that God had filled in an extraordinary way for that extraordinary task. And again, folks, I would just point out that it is not normative. Every believer is commanded, Ephesians 5.18, to be filled with the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit does not make you a better carpenter, a better manager. Within your particular discipline, a better school teacher. That is not how filled with the Spirit is viewed in the New Testament, right? Why is this guy successful in business and this guy not? Is it the blessing of God? Yes. Is part of the blessing of God understanding certain essential business principles? Yes. Is it a direct consequence of one is more filled with the Spirit? It is never taught that way in the Scripture. But it was for Bezalel. He was uniquely gifted for the work that God needed to get done. Look at Luke chapter 1. And I had mentioned to you that I was just gonna kind of walk us through this, right? When it comes to the filling, when God's glory fills the tabernacle, is that normative? It can't be because it drove men out and men are not driven out from the tabernacle from that day forward. And when God's glory fills the temple, is it normative? It can't be. Men are driven out and they are not driven out from normal daily activity in the temple. So there are extraordinary works. Luke chapter one and verse number 15. Let's start in verse number 13. But the angel said unto him, fear not Zacharias for thy prayers heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear a son, bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name John and thou shalt have joy and gladness and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb." Now, I don't know if you've ever thought about that, but if somebody tried to argue to you that that was a normal experience with the Spirit, how would you respond? You do realize what the text is telling you, right? John the Baptist was born saved. He was born saved, unless we're prepared to undo everything the New Testament says about the new birth and the indwelling presence of the Spirit. John the Baptist is born saved. He's saved in his mother's womb. If somebody came forward for baptism this morning, And I said, we're gonna baptize this person and here's their testimony. They were saved while their mother was pregnant. I would just go on a limb here and guess that I would have a couple of conversations this morning. It is an extraordinary work of God's spirit. Now I remember when I was very new as a believer and we were over at our pastor's house one night and there were some other folks there in the pastors. Mom and Dad were there and Dad had one of those moments, you know, especially when you get older, you kind of jerk, you know, your body just kind of involuntarily. And our pastor just looked at him and said, what do you matter, Dad, you just get filled with the Holy Spirit? And everybody laughed. But I'm just gonna guess, ladies, when you were pregnant and that child moved in your womb, You did not attribute that to jumping in the womb with joy filled by the Holy Spirit. It is extraordinary. And I'm just trying to make a point, folks, that God does extraordinary things through his Holy Spirit. That is not really the question. The question is, are there things that God does that are truly extraordinary that I should never expect for myself? Should a young couple expecting a child pray that that child gets saved before it gets delivered? Is that how we should approach Luke chapter one and verse number 15? And we don't think that way. I've never heard anybody argue that way. We just come to that and realize that is unusual, perfect. That is not ordinary. Acts chapter 2, the day of Pentecost. And again, and I am really not trying to just beat up and trash my alma mater. I love my alma mater. But we were taught that Day of Pentecost was a specimen day, and we were taught that this was something that could be duplicated, and we were, you know, these were the kind of things that we pursued, these kind of activities. I no longer think that. I don't think that the Day of Pentecost was normative. I think it was extraordinary. I think that it is in the pattern of the extraordinary work of God on the tabernacle, and the extraordinary work of God on the temple. It was an inauguration of something new, and it was very real, but it was never something that was intended to be duplicated. Paul never critiqued any church. Peter never critiqued any church. John never critiqued any church for failing to have Pentecost revisited. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them clove and tongues like as a fire, and it sat upon them, each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And you know probably, right, that the symbol of the United Methodist Church, folks, is the clove and tongue of fire. Pentecost revisited. And here would be my question. If the day of Pentecost is normative, should it not all be normative? I mean, if the day of Pentecost is the pattern for us, then simply speaking in tongues is not enough because more than speaking with tongues happened. There has to be something that we hear and there has to be something that we see before there is something that we say. It is an extraordinary work. Or Acts chapter 4 and verse number 31. Acts chapter four, verse number 31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness. And again, folks, just like there is something very appealing to a moment of crisis that brings you to submission and complete victory over sin, There is something appealing about having something that you can latch onto and argue for your proof that there has been a spirit filling. The fire fell, the wind blew, I had some unusual physical manifestation, the place trembled. But we have to ask, are these normative? Are they extraordinary? Now let me ask you if you would to go back to Luke chapter number one, and I've got just a little bit of time. Right, here's what I, right? Fullness is a large concept, and the day is coming, folks, when the entire earth is gonna be filled with the glory of the Lord and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, And anybody who is in resistance to that is going to experience the effects of that. It is not like today. It is not like today, where people disdain God, disrespect God, completely disregard God, and get away with it as if there is no God. It is not gonna be like that in those days. He will rule with a rod of iron. And the previews of that have been his work of filling his people We're kind of like the premonition of the day that is coming, whether it be in the Old Testament manifestation or the New Testament manifestation. And there is a real and normal working of God's Spirit. There are extraordinary events, and when you look at your Bible you need to ask yourself, is this an extraordinary event with the Spirit? or is this normal and normative? Now, right, so let's just do this, and I'm just gonna read these verses, and I'm gonna leave it to you to see if you can make the connection. Luke chapter one, verse number 41. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and she spake out with a loud voice, and said, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Jump down to Luke chapter one and verse number 67. You're looking for the common denominator besides the filling of the spirit. Luke 167, his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied saying, blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people. Luke chapter four and verse number 14. Luke chapter 4 verse number 14, And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went out a fame of him throughout all the region round about, and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. Acts chapter 2 and verse number 4 once again. Acts chapter 2 and verse number 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts chapter 4 and verse number 8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel. Or Acts chapter 4 again and verse number 31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken, where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. Acts chapter seven. This is of Stephen's martyrdom. But he, verse 55, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. and said, Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Acts chapter nine, verse 17. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight forthwith and arose and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was all certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus, and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. Acts chapter 13. And verse number nine. Acts 13, nine. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him and said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Acts chapter 13 and verse number 50. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them and came unto Iconium, and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass in Iconium that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews and so spake that a great multitude, both the Jews and also of Greeks, believed. And then finally back to our passage this morning, Ephesians chapter five. Verse number 18. 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. into your heart. Do you see the pattern, folks? The pattern is this. The normative pattern is not that the ground trembles. And the normative pattern is not that fire shows up. The normative pattern is that people are filled with the spirit and it impacts what they say. They spoke the word of God with boldness. which doesn't mean they were mean, nasty, loud, and difficult. It means that they just told the whole truth, right? They didn't pull any punches. The way that we are inclined to do, right, to hold back on some things so that we're not unnecessarily offensive, they just told the whole truth. And in Ephesians 5, and again, we will look at this, I don't wanna beat you up by being overly repetitive, but you have a command to be filled with the spirit and the command will result in participles, consequences that flow out of it. And they are that we will speak, and that we will sing, and that we will submit. These are the things that the ministry of the Spirit produces. So that folks, there is, right? Acts chapter six, verses three through five, right? We have our first church crisis. We have more people that need ministry than we are adequately able to minister to through the apostles. What are we going to do? We're going to choose seven men of honest report who are filled with the Holy Spirit. How do you know that? Please come up and give us your testimony of an earth-shaking experience. That's not the demand that is levied because it is not the scriptural expectation. We will get to this, folks, but the evidence of being controlled by the Spirit is simply a life of godliness, of Bible-ordered obedience. That's the evidence. So that you can look at somebody like this, right? I mean, how do you, I mean, if I said to you, all right, we're gonna add a deacon. Pick a guy that's filled with the Holy Spirit. what criteria would you establish? In Acts chapter 11 verses 22 through 24, the pattern is inverted. Here are the characteristics of these men and the evidence is then that they are filled with the Spirit. So fullness is a concept that is tied to something God has talked about for a long time. He wants the world to be filled with Him And so he is going to accomplish that in part by filling individuals with himself. And that fullness is going to look like something that is very dear to him, his own behavior, his own attitude, his own words. Okay, I gotta stop there. I've exceeded my time. We'll be back in just a couple of minutes. Ooh, I'm really... Eight minutes.