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Zion Bread of Life Christian Church

Ephesians 5:15-21 Live in Joy 以弗所書 5:15-21 活在喜樂裡

Thursday, 29th February 2024

Rev Daniel Xi An Poon

V15-17 Walk Circumspectly, Understand Lord’s Will 謹慎行事明白主意

“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.”

「你們要謹慎行事，不要像愚昧人，當像智慧人。 要愛惜光陰，因為現今的世代邪惡。不要做糊塗人，要明白主的旨意如何。」

When we believe in Jesus, He becomes our King and our Lord, and everything is renewed in Him. When we want to live out a joyful life from within, we know that it’s no longer ‘I’ live, but Christ lives within us. We must put down our old self, and let the new self created by God take over. But this is not an easy thing to do, we live in a real world, and we face challenges everyday. People, things, and environment all try to take over our lives, and when we let the world lead our lives, that is, let the world decides how we show reach and how we should feel, then our joy will not sustain. Sometimes we can feel the joy but sometimes we cannot.

A joyful life is a life relying on the Holy Spirit, Paul has already taught this to the church of Ephesians. If we want to follow God and live a life with influence, then we must let the Holy Spirit lead us. If we lead our own lives then we will go back to the old way, the life that trip us over, the life that belongs to the flesh. Only when we live with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, then we can really live out this joyful life.

Who are the unwise Paul mentioned here? Those who don’t see God, instead, they look at the world, and influenced by the people of the world. They live in hurt, they live in people’s opinions of them, they look at the circumstances around them, and they look at their own feelings. These are the unwise, and we must not become the unwise, our flesh desires will always draw us to the world, and make us feel how the world wants us to feel. On the other hand, we should be the wise, those who fear the Lord, because He is the Life, the Truth, and the Way.

Who can open the way? We all want to walk out our own way, we all try to do things according to our will, but the time will tell, everything glamorous in this world will one day fade away. What is it that we choose? When we see the truth about our lives, we must repent and return, we must redeem back what we have lost, and Jesus can help us to redeem. All the times we have lost in the world, and all the choices we have made that lead us to the wrong path, Jesus will redeem back for us.

V18-19 Holy Spirit Filled, Praise Worship God 聖靈充滿敬拜讚美主

“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.”

「不要醉酒，酒能使人放蕩；乃要被聖靈充滿。當用詩章、頌詞、靈歌彼此對說，口唱心和地讚美主。」

Wine will make our feelings numb, we will live in a life that is unreal, and when we wake up, we will want to be numb again. We think that lives are hard, and it’s better to live in drunkenness. So often we are not drunk by the wine, but by our feelings and our flesh desires. There are so many desires of this world that we have within us, we want to follow these desires that can never be filled, and these desires are waiting for us to give up on God, so they can devour us. The world wants to drive us around, to let us follow its lead, but as followers of God, we choose to follow God, and this is true freedom, because we can say no to the desires of the world.

We must seek to be Spirit-filled, then we can praise and worship God. Only when we praise and worship God, then we can receive the strength to overcome this world. We will not be influenced by the traps of the world, the Heaven will open for us, and we can freely choose our path.

V20-21 Thank the Father Submit to One Another 感謝父神彼此順服

“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.”

「凡事要奉我們主耶穌基督的名常常感謝父神。又當存敬畏基督的心，彼此順服。」