Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15, see then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is, 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, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. So we are slowly moving through this section of understanding what the will of the Lord is, Paul tells us. in verse 17, that we are not to be unwise, but to understand certain things. We have seen in our past study that we're not to be drunk with wine, which is dissipation, but we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I've been trying to show you from these verses that to be filled with the Spirit involves a personal learning process. On your part, this personal learning process is governed and guided by the Holy Spirit himself in your mind and heart as a believer. So as you learn to respond in obedience to the commands of Scripture, the Lord is going to be helping you to know how you can share with other believers what you have learned. The instructions which we are given here may seem simple enough. But as we shall see, it is something which, first of all, involves your speaking to other believers in Psalms so that they will learn Christ. in a very basic way. And second, you will speak to other believers in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs so that they will learn Christ in a better way. So let's see if we can understand what Christ would have us to learn from this passage concerning speaking to one another. First of all, you should be speaking to other believers in Psalms so that they will learn Christ in a basic way. Verse 19a says, speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. So what I believe the Apostle Paul is instructing the church at Ephesus to do, first of all, is to personally cultivate their devotion to God. And they do this by study and meditation. It says here, upon the book of Psalms, the book of Psalms itself. And then, flowing out of that devotion, he instructs them to bring those thoughts of devotion and their interaction with Christ himself over the things that they've read in the scriptures through the worship service of the whole church and their fellowship with every believer there. So this leads me to ask whether you are cultivating private devotion and fellowship with Christ over the truth of the scriptures. Now, you'll notice that Paul is writing to the whole church, but he's also addressing them as individual believers in these verses, and he's telling them that their devotion and worship together as a church is up-building to them all, in proportion, that is, to their private devotion to Christ himself. The same kind of language is used over in Colossians 3, Verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. When Paul says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, he's referring to all the writings of the Old and New Testament scriptures, for they are writings which were given by inspiration of God and they are profitable to us. They're profitable also to all other believers so that we might in all wisdom teach and admonish one another. So in these two passages, Paul is saying the same thing. He is saying that for us as a church to speak effectively to each other, to build each other up and to glorify God as a church in our times together, we must begin by finding Christ speaking to our heart. And He speaks to our heart, Christ does, in our private devotion in relation to all the Scriptures. So we need to begin with this, that Christ can be found in all the Scriptures, and we should search for Him to find Him there, so that we might have holy fellowship and communion with Him over the truth. Once we have had this holy fellowship and communion, with Christ, we will be able then by the spirits working in power, in accordance with the truth of what we have read, to know how to build each other up in our most holy faith." Now that's the word of Christ, or the word concerning Christ, which is found in all the scriptures. And every believer, it says here, should have it dwelling richly in their heart. So I want you to turn over with me to Luke chapter 24. I want to read you this passage on the road to Emmaus, this wonderful passage here. I want to start reading in Luke 24 in verse 13. Now, behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so they did not know him. And he said to them, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which have happened there in these days? And he said to them, what things? So they said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And now the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. When they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. And he said to them, oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe. in all that the prophets have spoken, but not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter his glory and beginning at Moses and all the prophets. He expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself." So you see here that this is an amazing portion of scripture because Jesus did not reveal himself to them immediately. They're walking along and Jesus just comes up and starts walking with them. And I want you to understand that this was going to be very significant to them. And I think it's very significant to ourselves as well. So you notice that these men were very concerned with Christ's resurrection from the dead. They had believed in Jesus, and as they had even heard that He was going to rise from the dead on the third day, they expected that they would see Him, risen from the dead. But they had not seen Him yet. And yet, even before Jesus revealed Himself to them, when they got to Cleopas' house, they're sitting around the table, they're hearing Him expound to them, It says, from all the scriptures concerning himself, beginning at Moses and the prophets, and their hearts were burning within them. It says here in these verses that follow. Now this word burn is really an interesting word. It means burning in relation to their hearts burning within them. Kaio-mene, and it means to light or to ignite or to set on fire or to kindle and by implication to consume. That was the experience of their hearts at this particular point in time as Jesus opened up to them the things concerning himself from all the scriptures. Their hearts were able to experience something spiritually. That is this burning, this holy burning of desire to know Him more and to know Him better. And their desire was to go and tell other believers what they had seen, what they had heard, and how Christ had revealed Himself to them. in the breaking of bread. And this is exactly what they did, for it says in verses 33 to 35, So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. And they told them about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them. in the breaking of bread. Well, you might say that along with their hearts burning within them, that they had a song in their hearts. They wanted to go immediately to tell others about their experience of Christ on a much smaller level. But no less important, the same kind of experience is true of all believers. Christ came in order to baptize all believers with the Spirit and with fire, as it says in Matthew 3, verse 11. And what this means is that the Holy Spirit's ministry is such that when we're filled with the Spirit, that we have a burning desire to tell others about what Christ has done for us and what he has shown us. in relation to the scriptures that we are reading and abiding in. Now we need to take notice of this because this is especially true in relation to other believers in your local church here that you are a part of. When you are filled with the spirit, you will speak to other people in Psalms. Do you see this? That's what it says there. We are to speak to one another. Now, we speak in singing. That's no doubt true. But we also ought to be so full of the Psalms that we read that we speak to each other often of the things that we have read in them because they are so full of Christ in the first place. Because the book of Psalms was the book of the Bible given to the Old Testament people of God to sing. That's true. But you see, this scripture was also given to us that we might speak to each other of the truth that we find in the Psalms, because they have so much of the experience of Christ to the believer in them. Look at Luke 24, 44 to 49. Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." And then it says, he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them, thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things and behold, I am sending the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city till you are clothed with power from on high." So the apostles and disciples did have the Holy Spirit individually given to them, in relation to their salvation before the day of Pentecost. What was given to them on the day of Pentecost was the baptism of the Spirit, which placed them together in one spiritual body, the Church, and He filled them with the power to witness to all that Christ all that he had done for them and was doing for them in accordance with the scriptures. So when we are first saved, we are all baptized with the same baptism. And as a result, you and I have the ability to speak to one another. in Psalms, that is in relating what Christ is speaking to our hearts about in relation to his word, so that by your experience of having fellowship with him, you might then go on to edify others, other Christian people, especially around you. so that they might catch a glimpse of the glory of Christ. Now, second, you should speak to other believers in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs so that they will learn Christ in a better way. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, So I think that it will be good for us to understand the words, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are all referring to the same thing. That is the hymns and spiritual songs, which are mentioned here are referring also to the inspired psalms of David. They are words which further describe what the psalms are. What are the inspired psalms, which are songs full of? They are full of praise to God. And you can see this if you'll look over at Psalm 66 in verses one to four with me. It says here, make a joyful shout to God, all the earth. Sing out the honor of his name. Make his praise glorious. Say to God, how awesome are your works. Through the greatness of your power, your enemies shall submit themselves to you. All the earth shall worship you and sing praises to you. They shall sing praises to your name. So ask yourself now whether you are speaking to other believers in this way. Are you speaking about how awesome are God's works? Are you speaking to them about the greatness of His power? Are you speaking about how someday all the earth, as it says here, will worship God and sing praises to Him? What about these hymns is significant for our study? Well, I want you to look with me over at Matthew 26 and verse 30. It says here, But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out. to the Mount of Olives. So the context here is Jesus is getting ready to go to the Mount of Olives and enter the Garden of Gethsemane where he knew that he was going to be arrested. He and his disciples on that occasion sang a hymn. And Jesus in having them sing this hymn was teaching them the true spirituality of singing the inspired Psalter. And in doing this, he was really teaching them more about himself. He was teaching them about his mission in coming into the world and his suffering and dying on their behalf. And he was teaching them about his victory over sin and death in his resurrection, especially Psalm 118, verses 15 to 29. If you want to turn over, you can follow as I read that for you. Psalm 118. 15 to 29, the voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live. and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise you for you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O Lord, O Lord, I pray, Send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you. You are my God, and I will exalt you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures. forever. And I hope that you can see from these verses that the Lord, as he went into his sufferings, had a song in his heart. And that song was particularly sung forth in the particular words of Psalm 118 here. He would announce this hymn, and he would sing it with the disciples to show them how they, as his disciples, could build each other up in their faith later on. They could speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs making melody. in their hearts to him, their Lord. They could speak and sing about how if they would rest their faith upon him and learn from him spiritually that they would become his faithful followers. They would become faithful in life and faithful in death. And the basis of our own faithfulness is that the right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand of our Lord is our Lord Jesus Christ. He did valiantly in going to the cross. He said to his father that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, the words of Psalm 118 verses 27 to 29, bind the sacrifice with cords. to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you. You are my God, I will exalt you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. He said, the stone which the builders rejected, that is his fellow Jews in positions of authority rejected him, verse 22, and he would become the cornerstone of a whole new spiritual building, the church. So in verse 21, the Lord Jesus tells us, his disciples, how the Father answered his dying prayers and raised him from the dead. I will praise you, for you have answered me and have become my salvation. Save now, I pray, O Lord, O Lord, I pray, Send now prosperity. So the prosperity that Jesus prayed for that would be brought to all of his people would be our being able by his grace to speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and to make melody in our hearts to the Lord, even in the most difficult of circumstances, when we would be preaching the gospel and suffering because of it. Acts chapter 16, verse 25, when Paul and Silas were thrown in prison for Paul's having cast a demon out of a woman whose masters had lost the prophet of her divining for them. It says, but at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them and they were doing what? They were speaking to one another and to all those there. singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord. And verse 26 says, suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. So the keeper of the prison thought that the prisoners were going to escape, thought to take his own life. But Paul preached the gospel to him and he and his family were saved that night. So we need to learn, what I'm trying to say to you is we need to learn to speak to one another in this same way. In other words, to abide in the Psalms and to share with others what the Lord has shown us so that we might encourage one another, so that we might be good witnesses to people around us. Well, let's pray together. We thank you, Father, for this little short verse that has so much in it for us to practically learn and engage in. And we pray that you will help us to do this. May we be singing with all of our hearts unto you, our Lord, even in this worship service today. But may we realize that we're also and we can also sing to each other. And in this good way, teach each other and build each other up and then privately even share the fact that the Psalms have spoken to our heart in some profound way to show us You, something more of what You have done for us, and the great salvation that You've brought on our behalf. So come to our hearts and teach us these good things, we pray, in Your dear name, Lord Jesus. Amen.