9th December 2023
Continuing on Imageries of the Holy Spirit
1.Wine : Ephesians 5:18
**The works of the Holy Spirit is compared with what wine does!
●Wine represents being influenced
•A person who drinks wine will be influenced by the wine !
•He would say and do things which he would not otherwise ordinarily do
●We are called to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit
In Jermaiah 23:29 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness.
•The context is that Jeremiah was explaining his struggles as he was faced with certain troubles in his life .
●Notice Jeremiah says that he is like a drunken man
■In Acts Chap 2 :13
Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
●●Notice here that the Apostles had the same experience that Jermaiah mentions in Jermaiah 23.
■In Acts 2 :13 it says
Others mocking said, “These men are full of new wine.
■On the day of Pentecost, the spiritual ecstacy ,
elation and joy the desiples experienced was mistaken for the aftereffects of them being drunken with wine
■■The Spirit possessed desiples became God intoxicated men !
●●Even Jesus Christ was not exempt from being similarly mistaken
●Mathew 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber
**They spoke negatively about Christ Himself !
**So others may make negative comments about you
■Difference of drinking God’s wine
●You can remain thirsty, lifelong
●You can drink from the source, lifelong
●We can never drink God’s wine to a point of excess
■Also, remember, just like when we drink ( when a person drinks changes happen, smell, actions, speech change )
•Similarly,when a person drinks the wine of the Spirit of God ,changes begin to occur in him
●Ephesians Chap 5:18
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
●1st change-in the area of speaking
change occurs in one’s speech
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
●● So there was a change in the area of speaking
●●Secondly, changes occur in the area of thinking
●● Thirdly in the area of relationships
SPEAKING
●They started talking about the Word of God, about Jesus Christ
●They started speaking according to the Word of God.
So our prayer and decision should be :
Let me speak according to the speech of the Holy Spirit
●Importance of the words we speak
•Psams 141: 3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
- Proverbs 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue
●So as we trust in the Holy Spirit to direct us, we will experience change is in the area of our speech
●we will start talking according to His speech
••Mathew 12:36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak,
●Here the Bible warns to not indulge in idle talk
..Not to speak against men of God unnecessarily
●verse 37 says 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
●●Importance of words
••How is it that you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
•• Romans 10:9,10
That if thou shalt confess(here you speak) with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe(here you are Thinking) in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
•• Confession and your Faith
••Every victory in your life is infact related to your speech ( confession )
**If you want victory you have to speak
**changes are needed in the area of speaking!
THINKING
●● Changes in the area of thinking
**Sometimes we do have many negative thoughts and really have very little control over our thoughts - Our tounge can be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit, but it’s much more difficult when it comes to the area of thoughts!
●We have our natural mind and the mind of Christ
●●We have to bring our natural mind under the subjection of the ” mind of Christ “
●●Also speaking can abort unwanted thoughts
**Start memorizing the Word of God
**You can meditate on the Word of God in your thoughts!!
●●Thoughts or a group of thoughts —lead to —– meditation— leads to — Revelation— leads to — Manifestation
●●Start thinking according to the Word of God —–
When the Word is reavled, Manifestations occur
RELATIONSHIPS
■Area of relationships
Ephesians 5 : 22 -33
Family ( husband wife relationship)
Children parent relationship
Master servant relationship ( social relationships )
●Ephesians 6:2 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right
●●Speaks about children parent relationships
**There will be change in your relationship with your parents.
●Often parents misunderstand us ,especially in spiritual matters, don’t try to educate them ,or advice them , it’s humanly usually not possible to change them
●You need to accept your parents, don’t try to convince them about your experiences , try not to get offended
●●Understand that it’s not possible for them to change after a certain age
●●It’s you who needs to change !! Pray for them and perceiver to be not easily offended
■In John Chapter 2:1-11
We see that Jesus turns water to wine
●What a great transformation it is !
●As we know water is both colourless and tasteless
●When the water is transformed into wine both its colour and taste are drastically changed!!
■God can transform your life from water to wine
●God can make your life colorful and others can experience the taste
●God can turn your life to a place where you will be fruitful and others will be satisfied with your ministry
● Then the Glory of God will be manifested in your life
●●When others see great things happening in your life , God will be glorified through you !!
●●Others should call you as ” intoxicated with the Holy Spirit “