"Holy and Unholy Molecules (Pt. 2)"
TEXTS: 1 Pet. 4:7; Deut. 11; Psalm 104:14-15; 1 Cor. 10:23
TRUTHS:
1. The Lord desires that we are filled with His Spirit. When we walk in the fullness of the Spirit the burdens and loads we often carry (and focus on) become "lighter" and seem to become more manageable in our day-to-day lives.
2. Everything that God created, He created good. It is our misuse and misguided consumption of God's good created world that transforms it into something that causes harm and destruction.
3. Receiving salvation and living it out with a repentant heart brings forgiveness to your past, present, and future sins. But it does not wipe away all the difficulty and hardness that we may encounter in our lives.
4. We live in a day and culture where many use various molecules to aid them in their management of life. And it feels somewhat natural to think that God is on His throne condemning people for doing such things. But the Lord understands our human frailty and what some of our lives have been filled with that would create such a need in the first place. The Bible definitely leaves space for the use of created molecules in this manner.
5. The Bible uses the image of someone filled with alcohol to mirror or reveal the impact of being filled with the Spirit. When someone is intoxicated they often lose control and speak more freely (and haphazardly). Although we are never out of control when filled with the Spirit, being filled has a direct impact on our speech. It causes us to speak, witness, and pray more freely (somewhat similar to how alcohol impacts the physicality of humans).
6. We should be focused on seeking Jesus as the Baptizer rather than seeking Spirit fullness simply so we can have a heightened spiritual experience.
7. It is difficult to manage molecules (the material and created world). When we like something and find that it brings us some degree of joy, we have trouble regulating our consumption of it and will struggle to exercise self-control.
TALK TO EACH OTHER:
1. Why/how does being filled with the Spirit reduce the weight of the burdens we may be carrying?
2. How can one discern when they have turned something that God created good into something that is causing harm? We can often slip into consumption habits and routines that are harmful in subtle ways.
3. In what ways should we be practicing self-control as we interact with the material world? What questions should we be asking ourselves and what habits should we be paying attention to so that we don't find ourselves lacking in self-control?
TALK TO GOD:
Pray as you feel led concerning the following areas:
- Wisdom and self-control
- To know Jesus as the Baptizer