Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
Transcript
Good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. And today's going to be a little bit different than normal. So if you want to grab your Bibles and go to Ephesians, we are jumping right into studying the Scriptures together.
If this is your first time hanging out with us, this is not what we usually do. But we have a reason why we are going about it this way. And if you're part of our church family and this is the first time you ever showed up on time, this is not what we usually do. But we're going about it different for a reason today. We do want to take a second just to welcome you and to tell you that if this is your first time that we gather on Sundays here, we study the Scriptures together, we sing songs, which is a good bit of what we'll talk about today. And we scatter throughout the week into community groups where we try to walk in everyday life as Christians in relationship with one another.
Seeing what it looks like to follow Jesus with all of our normal everyday life. What it looks like to be a Christian at work. What it looks like to be a Christian in your neighborhood association. What it looks like to be a Christian who coaches t-ball. That we walk in life together. And so we do that because we believe that Jesus is better than everything else.
And that he's commissioned his church, sent his church into the world to display that to the world. And so we try to walk actively in repentance and in openness and in sharing the gospel with others so that they might see that Jesus is better than everything else. With our hope being that your neighbor that is not a Christian right now will one day be a Christian. That you'll be a part in baptizing them. That we'll get to lay hands on them and commission them as group leaders. That our hope being that your husband or wife that currently wants nothing to do with Jesus will one day co-lead a group with you.
Or will one day be baptized by you as they place faith in Jesus. And so that's why we go out of our way to do all the things that we're doing. A couple of bonuses for today that are just going to be fun is that since it's daylight saving time, we're just really throwing everybody off. Because people are going to be showing up late anyway and really confused about what time it is. And so we'll be in the middle of a sermon early. And that'll be fun.
Luckily for y'all, I will see them come in and I'm not easily distracted. So here's what we're going to do. If you've got your Bibles, be in Ephesians 5. Today's going to look different. This is why. We're going to study the passage first.
We're going to study the text first. And then we're going to sing second. So usually we sing first. And then we study the Word. And the reason why we do that is it's practical and it's theological. That there's history behind why we, when we gather, we're going to sing first.
We're going to pray first. We're going to kind of prepare our hearts for studying God's Word. That we believe that He speaks to us and that we respond to what He says. And that's why if you go to any church, 95, 98% of the time, they're going to follow a similar approach. There's going to be some songs. There's going to be some liturgy.
Some Bible reading. Some churches will light candles. But there's this kind of a buildup to the proclamation of the Word. And then there's a response through song or through communion. And today we flip that because what we're studying is some of the reason behind and some of the power behind singing. Some of the reason behind and some of the power behind us reading the Scriptures together.
And so we want to begin here and then go into actively practicing singing together, reading together, and doing some of the things that we normally do. So what will happen is we'll study through this a little bit. The band will come back up. I will walk down. We'll sing a little bit. Then I'll walk back up and explain something else.
Then we'll sing some more. Then I'll go and it'll be back and forth for a little while for the rest of the day. So if you've got your Bibles, Ephesians 5, starting in verse 15. Picking up where we left off last week. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. But be filled with the Spirit. Addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Let's pray. God, we ask that as we study your word today and as we respond to your word in singing, in reading scripture aloud together, that your spirit would fill us. And that we would know what it feels like to walk in the spirit and that we would grow collectively together as a church to do that. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So, verse 15.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. So Paul says, look carefully how you walk. And multiple times throughout Ephesians he said, walk this way. Walk in unity, walk in holiness, walk in a life that displays the gospel. He's called us to walk and he just said, walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.
And now he says, look carefully how you walk. And I like that he uses the term walk because it's helpful in thinking about how life works. Because when you're walking, you don't really feel like you're getting anywhere. There's a children's book I read with my son who's three and it talks about these little animals. It's a Dr. Seuss book and I don't remember what they're called because they're all called made up things.
And it's like these things go from left to right. Day and night they go from left to right. And then it says something like, they walk from near to far. I would never walk. I would take a car. And like I resonate with that part of the children's book.
Because it's like, yes, why would you walk anywhere when you have access to a car? But that's kind of our attitude which is like I have places to be, stuff to do. I want to get there quickly. And the truth is walking is a good example of life. That's even why we'll talk about people from all walks of life. But there's this idea that you don't really seem like you're moving.
But over time you absolutely get somewhere. There was a documentary filmmaker named Arthur Hitchcock who in 2011 walked from Long Beach, California to Augusta, Maine. And it took him 175 days. Now you can fly that distance in a handful of hours. But he walked it in 175 days.
And the truth is that's how life works. You won't look that much different tomorrow than you do today. You won't look that much different in a week. Your attitudes, your relationships. But a year from now, you will.
Two years from now, you will. Three years from now, four years from now. That we're always moving in some form, some direction. We're always changing in some way. And some of you even think like, no, there were times where I didn't change at all. It's like, okay, sure.
You in middle school didn't grow from sixth grade to eighth grade. But by eighth grade you were shorter. Because everyone else grew. That's kind of how it works. That we have this idea that I can stay the same. But the truth is we can't.
That we actually, there's no way to, we're always moving in some direction or other. And that's why he says, look carefully how you walk. Pay attention to your life, is what he's saying. Pay attention to what you're doing with your time. He says, look carefully then how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise.
Making the best use of the time. Because the days are evil. I read an article a while back. And I couldn't find it this morning to actually tell you what the name of the article is. But it talked about if you knew the real cost of a click.
So when someone sends you a link to like a YouTube video. And they're like, check this out. If you knew right before you press the button to watch a two minute video. That you would then watch YouTube videos for 45 minutes. Like if there was a thing that popped up and said. Because you're like, oh yeah, I got two minutes.
And if it popped up and said, are you willing to donate 45 minutes to YouTube? You'd be like, no. But we do this all the time. That if you and you went to check just one thing on Facebook. If right before you clicked it just popped up and said, are you willing to spend the next hour and a half on Facebook? He'd be like, I'm not going to know.
Why would I do that? And he said, if you just knew when you clicked on an article. When you clicked into something. How long it would take. And the truth is life's like that. It's not just our time on the internet.
Although that's a good example. But that for so much of our time. So much of our energy is spent in unwise endeavors. Where we've just wasted time. And the older we get. The more we pay attention to that.
And the more you begin to ask questions like. What am I going to do with the rest of my time? What's the rest of my life going to look like? As people go into retirement. A lot of times they start asking this question of like. What have I done?
Who am I? And then as they get older and older. They start asking. What kind of legacy have I left? What's going to be remembered of how I spent my time? The only time you think about time like that.
Is when you're young. And it's the end of summer. And you're like. Where did it go? I wasted my whole summer. But the older you get.
The more you start looking at your whole life that way. And sometimes it feels like we've just clicked. And clicked. And clicked. Until we've wasted our time. And poured our time into things that don't matter.
And Paul says. Look carefully. Pay attention. To how you're walking. Making the best use of the time. Because the days are evil.
And I like that he says. Because the days are evil. And I think we're helped today. Because we started daylight saving time. And y'all all agree. Today felt evil.
Like it fought you this morning. You woke up. And the day was like. Back in bed son. Like you. It was just a hard.
Like it felt like that. And it's a good example of what life is like. Because the truth is. You don't accidentally do healthy things. Very. Very.
Rarely. Have you ever just been eating. And been like. Wait. This is kale. I like kale.
That's never happened. You've accidentally eaten four quesadillas from Taco Bell. But you've never accidentally had kale chips. Like you. There's no. We don't accidentally exercise.
We don't accidentally set our schedule well. We don't. We can only really accidentally fall into unhealthiness. We can only really accidentally fall into wasting our time. You never are like. You know what.
I wasn't paying attention. But this year. I read four theology books. It's like. No. You watched through all the seasons of Parks and Rec twice.
That's what you accidentally did. Like. So. Our schedules fight us. The days are evil. And we have to work hard to walk in wisdom.
We have to actually pay attention to what we're doing. And so Paul's going to give us two direct ways to do this. He's going to give us two ways to think about this. To be helpful in this command. In walking wisely. And paying attention to your schedule.
Seventeen. Therefore. Do not be foolish. So he's just said. Don't be unwise. Be wise.
And so the opposite of wisdom is. Is foolishness. And so he says. Don't be foolish. But. Understand.
What the will of the Lord. Is. So the first step. To walking in wisdom. Is walking with. The Lord.
First step. To walking in wisdom. To paying careful attention to our time. To making the best use of our time. Is knowing the Lord. And knowing his will.
That's the only way you know his will. Is you know him. He's revealed himself in his scriptures. And in his son. Christ. And Christ is revealed to us.
Through the scriptures. And so we. Learn his will. Through his word. And it takes time. And it takes effort.
And it takes energy. But that's the first step. To walking in wisdom. To ceasing to be a fool. Is to knowing. And learning.
God's will. It's not what we would think his will would be. That makes us God. But it's actually what his will is. We allow it. To come in.
As an outside force. And change our lives. I've. Been married. For going on. We've been nine years.
This May. We dated for a while. We met in high school. Started dating. Dated through college. And got married.
And I know. My wife. Took me a while. But I know things about her. I know her will. I know the things she likes.
And doesn't like. It takes a lot of time though. There are some times. Where like. We'll be in a situation. And someone will say something.
And I know my wife will think it's funny. So I don't even pay. I just look at my wife. To watch her react. Even more fun. Is when they say something.
That I know she'll think is absolutely crazy. And I just kind of cut my eyes at her. Like. You going to make a face? You going to keep it together? Like I just.
But it takes a while. It takes. That's what walking with the Lord is like. Like. It took. Up until last year.
Last year. I stopped asking my wife. If she wants ketchup. The answer is no. She does not want ketchup. I like ketchup.
She does not like ketchup. Now to throw her off. I started doing it more blatantly. Loudly and sarcastically. To make it seem like. Maybe that's what I've been doing the whole time.
That it didn't actually take me nine years. To figure out she didn't like ketchup. So I would start getting up from the table. And I'd go. Ketchup. Just to try to throw off on.
I had just now learned this. But now. I don't. I don't need to ask. I know. Her will.
When it comes to ketchup. I know her will. When it comes to other things. I know that sometimes. When I start talking to my son. I have to cut my eyes to her real quick.
Which just means. Let me do this. Don't charge in. Like a mother bear protecting her cub. He needs to be disciplined. Like I know what's happening in her heart.
That we've walked together. And we understand. Each other. And that's what we're supposed to do with the Lord. That we're supposed to understand him. In order to live a life.
Making wise decisions. And using our time. Well. I had a. A man I knew. We were.
We were friendly. I wouldn't necessarily say we were friends. We. We got along well. His. His name was Steve Von Fang.
He was a. Very well. Organized. Man. He was in his late. Sixties.
He passed away last year. Um. And he was very intentional. He spent his time. Wisely. Now I know some people think.
Oh I know people who spend their time wisely. Because they're always busy. And the. The truth is. Most people who spend their time wisely. Aren't.
Always that busy. People who spend their time wisely. Life seems like it moves. Kind of smoothly for them. They have seasons of busyness. But they're not always chaotic.
He. Um. He loves spreadsheets. He's a very organized person. He's very intentional with his time. And he.
He was very intentional with his time. So that he could be very intentional with people. Um. My wife and I were in a community group with him. When we were. Or a life group over at Midtown.
When we were. Over there doing some training. And kind of being an apprentice. As a church planter. And. Uh.
Every time you got in a conversation with him. You just felt like he was working it towards a goal. He was just so intentional. And so every once in a while. You get in this conversation. And it was like.
He was just walking you through a maze of conversation. To get to this conclusion. We'd get in the car. And one of us would look at the other one. And go. I got Von Fanged again.
But he was so gracious. And he made so much time for people. That I remember being. In an auditorium that held. 750 to a thousand people. And it just being packed.
Out. At his funeral last year. With people lined around the walls. And people getting up. Person after person. Getting up and just saying.
Here's how much time he took. To talk to me. To speak to me. To spend time with me. To answer my questions. And the truth is.
When we know the will of the Lord. Two of the things that we learn first. That Jesus says. Are primary in God's will. Is to love God. And to love others.
We talk in the office. Our leadership team. Often talk about our best spent time. And what we usually mean by that. Is there's certain things. That Matt Freeman can do.
That I can't do. There's certain things. That Spencer Carey can do. That I can't do. That Raz can do. That Spencer can't do.
And so we just sometimes. Will talk about like. Where's your best spent time? What's the thing you need to be working on? That if any of the other of us. Tried to do that.
It would just be bad. And we usually mean that. And when you read like. Leadership books. Or business books. They usually mean that in like.
What's your core competency? What's the thing you're best at? What's your. What's your skill level here? What's your skill level here? And I think actually.
If we look at Jesus. Some of our best spent time. Is relational time. That if we're not wasting time. We have a lot of time for people. That's why when I sit at home.
And I'm a couch away from my wife. And I'm reading things on my phone. I'm wasting time. Rather than engaging her. As only I can. Because I'm her husband.
Doing the same with my kids. And my community group. The same for you. And your roommate. Your co-worker. That we've been designed.
To use our time wisely. And that begins. By knowing the will of the Lord. Which begins. By understanding Christ. And understanding his word.
Secondly. So. First thing he says. Is to know the will of the Lord. Don't be foolish. But understand what the will of the Lord is.
Which means study. And read. And soak in it. And make time for it. So that you know what he's like.
And what he appreciates. And calls us to. Verse 18. And. This is going to feel a little bit like. It's out.
From out of nowhere. And I think it's. Helpfully jarring. So he says. Therefore do not be foolish. But understand what the will of the Lord is.
And do not get drunk with wine. For that is debauchery. But be filled with the spirit. It doesn't really fit in the rest of this. The next thing he starts talking about. Is singing.
And it just feels like. You just really don't like wine. Like you're just taking a shot here. What are we doing? Is that like the major issue. That you would just stick it in the middle of.
Walking wisely. And I think. What's helpful to see. Is that he's contrasting it. With walking in the spirit. That being drunk with wine.
Is somehow in contrast to. Being filled with the spirit. That we. Are. When we drink. We give ourselves over.
To. We allow alcohol to have more control. Than it ought to. So. For the record. Just because we're here.
And this is helpful for us to discuss. The Bible does not say. It is wrong to drink wine. Or to drink alcoholic beverages. It does say. Here and other places.
Not to get drunk. For them to not have control. And it's not just wine. Some of y'all are like. Oh I don't get drunk on wine. I'm a Bud Light man.
That's not. That's not how that works. Wine was the primary one. The Bible does also mention. Beer and strong drink. And mixed drinks.
So. All of it. And this would also include. Like narcotics. And anything that we're giving control over. Anything that we're submitting ourselves to.
That it. It has control over. That's. That's what he's. What's in mind here. So he says.
Don't give yourself over to that. And the truth is. When we drink. When someone's drink. We give a lot of credit. To the alcohol.
We give a lot of credit. When it comes to actions. Like we lose. And this is why. Subfilled sobriety tests work. You lose the ability to control your body.
You lose the ability to control. Like we. So suddenly. We lose. Self. Control.
And self. Awareness. It's one of the things that alcohol does. That's why. Karaoke. Is done in bars.
Because you lose. This. Self. Inhibition. Like you lose this. Concern.
For yourself. And you lose this control. Of yourself. And the alcohol gets a lot of credit. For what happens. Some of you have had to go around.
The day after things. Some of you maybe got in a program. And had to go around. Years after things. And apologize. For your actions.
While under the influence. Of something else. To apologize for your actions. Your words. While out of control. And see.
He distinctly. Lines that up. In contrast. To the spirit. Because I think in some ways. The spirit.
Does the same thing. It's just the good version. That the spirit. Gets credit. For things that we would not have done. On our own.
That the spirit. Helps us with a self. Forgetfulness. That is unparalleled. Outside of. Being inhibited.
By something. That we're not to get. Drunk here. We're not to be filled up here. We're to be filled up. Here.
In the spirit. That we're to be. Cut loose. And set free. In the spirit. That as we walk in the spirit.
You should. You know. People go to a bar. And they need a few drinks. Before they become friendly. We ought to rock up friendly.
On Sundays. Walking in the spirit. Going out of our way. To meet people. Now. Maybe you shouldn't say.
Hey. Come here often. But there should be like. A way to greet each other. That's like. Helpful and good.
Like. That we should. Be freed. By the spirit. And that the spirit. Should get control.
This is actually why. The first time. That we see the holy spirit. Fall on. And fill people. In the book.
Of Acts. What's the first thing. Peter has to start. His sermon with. His opening line is. These men are not drunk.
As you suppose. We're filled with the spirit. Because people hadn't seen. People act that way. Have that freedom. Have that tone.
Carry themselves that way. Outside of. Of something coming in. And messing them up. And the only thing they had. Was the whole.
Was wine. Was alcohol. They were actually. Also. It was Pentecost. So it was like.
A wheat and barley festival. So that made sense. That people would be drinking. That early in the morning. But. He says no.
And Peter even says. We're not drunk. It's nine in the morning. We don't wake up that early. This is the holy spirit. And honestly.
Y'all need. We need to be listening. To this as a church. Because we need to grow here. Because nobody's ever. Showing up on a Sunday.
And left and thought. I think some of those people. Were drunk. Hadn't happened. Y'all. I stand right here.
And sing. And this is my. Super into worship singing. I might close my eyes. If I know the words. I stick my hands.
In my pockets a lot. You won't see this. For a couple of reasons. First one is. That this makes me. Insanely uncomfortable.
Now. If I drink a little bit. Before I show up. Maybe. But actually.
The holy spirit. Should set me free. From thinking about that. From feeling this. I can't. I can't.
I got. A group in a church. Where they. I was told recently. That somebody went in. Raised their hands.
And someone after. Went over to them. And said. Hey. We don't do that here. Yeah.
And the truth is. We wouldn't say that. But hey. We don't do that here. We're not correcting you. But you'll figure it out.
We're not going to call you on it. But you'll learn. Show up 15 minutes late. Like we just. That's our thing. Like we got some stuff.
That we do. And so. It's like. No. That we would be filled. With the spirit.
That we would be set free. That we would walk in a way. That has an unparalleled freedom. And then. It makes sense. Where he goes next.
Oh. I do want to point this out. Because I think it's helpful for us. This is a command. Be filled. With the spirit.
There are other things. That the Holy Spirit does. That you have no control over. That when he. Regenerates you. When you place faith.
That he seals you. That he did earlier. In Ephesians. Where he talks about. That we were sealed. That we're sealed.
For our inheritance. There are things. That the Holy Spirit does. That you have no control over. This one. You do.
It's a command. Meaning that we can disregard it. That you can fight it. That you cannot walk in the spirit. The Holy Spirit can call you to do something. And you can say not today.
And so we need to. In the same way. That you would actively go out of your way. To give yourself over to alcohol. We need to actively go out of our way. To give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit.
To pray that he would fill us. To pray that we would have the courage. And boldness to do what he asked us to. And to get into some situations. That we never would have gotten into. And to do and say some things.
That we never would have done or said. Outside of the Holy Spirit being at work in us. And that way the Holy Spirit gets a whole lot of credit. That's what makes so much sense. About where he goes next. So he says.
Addressing one another. In Psalms and hymns. And spiritual songs. Singing. And making melody to the Lord. With your heart.
Alcohol and singing have gone together. They're friends. They've been going steady for a while. That there's something about alcohol. That makes a merry heart. That makes people sing.
That causes. Like if you've ever been in a situation. Where you just sang with strangers. You were either at a concert. Or you had been drinking. Or both.
But usually this isn't a thing that we do. We don't just sing. This doesn't just bubble out of us. To the point that even if someone came in singing. And you saw them singing. If they just walked in singing.
Like you would have questions. Like if you just came walking into the office. And you were like. I believe in miracles. People would be like. I don't know.
My first thing would be like. What? Like what happened? Like what? What's the cool thing that's going on? And if you were just like.
I'm a happy person. I'd be like. We're not going to be friends. Like. Like you're making me uncomfortable. Like I don't.
Like that's. Like that's how this works. Like you don't just do this. You don't just sing. You don't just like. It's stuck in a certain category.
And what he says is. Be so filled with the spirit. Be so free. That this is how we respond. This is what we do together. That there's freedom.
Self forgetfulness. And joy. That's found. As we come together. So I want to point a few things out.
And then. We're going to actively practice. Some of this. You see. What happens. When we drink.
And that's why he holds this up. What happens when we drink. As we reach a level of joy and freedom. That sometimes people say. Well I can't find it elsewhere. That's one of the things.
That you'll talk to people. Like I need this to feel good. I need this to feel normal. And people will put anything here. Narcotics. Marijuana.
Whatever. Just like I need this to feel okay. And he's saying. No the Holy Spirit should be. Pouring that joy into our hearts. That's why he says.
Singing. Making melody to the Lord. With your heart. That there'd be a song. In you. So what do you use.
To set you free. And what do you use. To bring you joy. What do you use. To make you feel good. And if you're a Christian.
Do you realize. The Holy Spirit. Does a much better Job. Than that. So. I want to point a few things out.
That he says here. He says. We're addressing one another. In Psalms. And hymns. And spiritual songs.
And when the Holy Spirit. Fills us. And we do spirit filled. That's kind of what it says. When it says. Be filled with the spirit.
Comma. And then he says. Addressing. Singing. Making melody. Like all of that's in the spirit.
They follow being in the spirit. And being filled by the spirit. So we address one another. So that when the Holy Spirit. Is filling us. We're communal.
We're relational. That when we gather on Sundays. And we sing together. Or we read Psalms together. Or we do some of these things together. That it's not.
Just you. Singing with voices to God. But it's you. Singing to everybody else in the room. You're addressing them. You're reminding them.
You're telling them. You're agreeing with them. You're pointing them back. To the truth. And then he says. At the end.
He says. Making melody to the Lord with your heart. Meaning that it's not only relational. But it's also real. It's not only communal. But it's personal.
That in your singing. You are. Your heart. Is singing to God. While your voice. Sings to everybody else.
And it also gives us. A better content. For how we address one another. That when we're walking in the spirit. The way we address one another. Is filled with depth.
And richness. That it doesn't have otherwise. Okay. I want us to take just a second. Where we are. I think for many of us.
I know this is true for me. I think I've spent a lot of time. Actively. Fighting against the Holy Spirit's. Leading in my life. There's some things.
Where I yield. And there are other places. Where I just kind of say. Makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not going to do that. So I want to.
Just take a second. If you're a believer. And just ask. Holy Spirit. Fill me. Help me know what that feels like.
Help me walk in that. Because we're about to practice. Some of the things that he says. Addressing one another. In Psalms. And hymns.
And spiritual songs. And we want. The Holy Spirit's help. So that's beautiful. And glorious. And it's what it's meant.
To be. So just take a second. Where you are. And just ask for the Holy Spirit's. Help. For the Holy Spirit's.
Filling. Amen. Matt and Bianca are going to come up here. Here's what we're going to do first. In just a second. We're going to stand.
And we're going to read. A Psalm together. We started doing this more on Sundays. It was really weird for me. But it's helpful.
And it's biblical. That we would read. Collectively together. That's one of the things. When it says. Addressing one another in Psalms.
That's what we're doing. So that when we read collectively. When we do a responsive reading. Where we have it up here. And there's a part. That someone up here reads.
And there's a part. That we all read. That's underlined. That some of what we're doing. Is we're collectively. Joining voices.
And we're collectively. Speaking to each other. And saying. We all believe this. This is real. One of the favorite things.
That we do. Is for me. Is when we've started doing this. And we stand. And we all just say. I'm a terrible sinner.
That's my favorite thing. Because I'm just like. I know. I know you're the worst. So am I.
Jesus is good. Like when we collectively. Stand up and say. I hate. I hate the light. I love the darkness.
I need Jesus. It's like. Yes. That's right. That's right and good. For us to remind ourselves.
That without him. We're in trouble. And so we. We stand. And we repeat these things. Because we're called to.
So just a second. We're going to do a responsive reading. And then. We're going to sing. And this is our first step. In this morning.
Practicing. Being spirit filled. Addressing one another. With Psalms. We're just going to take Psalms. From the Old Testament.
And we're going to. Address one another. And hopefully. As the day goes on. Our hearts will start making melody. To the Lord.
They'll start singing along. With our voices. So in verse 19. Paul says. Addressing one another. In Psalms.
And hymns. And spiritual songs. Now. Those are all connected. The ideas are all connected. That we would be singing.
And that's one of the things. That we do collectively. As the Holy Spirit. Fills us. But Psalms.
Are specific to the Old Testament. They are. The book of Psalms. Is something that we have. Handed to us. From.
David. And from other Psalm writers. And then. Hymns. Become a thing. Mostly.
In the New Testament. Where they began. To take truths about Jesus. And they would make. Theological poems. That were easily memorized.
And they would. Say them together. They would recite them together. They would say them out loud. They would sing them to a tune. They would repeat them.
Over and. And over. We have a few examples. Of kind of where those show up. In the text. There's other places.
That we think are hymns. Or at least have their root in hymns. Where Paul's kind of drawing from them. To say. Like you know this. And.
Repeating it. But there are a few. That it seems. Very clearly are. First Timothy 3 16. He says.
Great indeed. We confess. Is the mystery of godliness. And then he kind of quotes this. He was manifested in the flesh. Vindicated by the spirit.
Seen by angels. Proclaimed among the nations. Believed on in the world. Taken up in glory. So it's this short bit.
Of theological truth. That they would get together. And repeat. And say to one another. Second Timothy. Eleven through thirteen.
He does a similar thing. Where he says. If we have died with him. We will also live with him. If we endure. We will also reign with him.
If we deny him. He will also deny us. If we are faithless. He remains faithful. For he cannot deny himself. And so there's these.
Phrases and verses. That they would kind of repeat together. They would say together. There's actually. We have. A letter.
That was written from. Pliny the younger. To the emperor Trajan. At about 112 AD. So. Sixty.
Seventy years. Removed from the death of Jesus. And the beginnings of the church. And this is an area. In modern day Turkey. Up above Galatia.
And he's writing. Saying. Hey we've got all these Christians. And I don't really know what to do with them. His letter starts off by saying. Most of the ones I found and talked to.
I went ahead and killed. But I just wanted to know. Like. Is that what I should be doing? Should I be actively trying to round them up? He said.
All the ones that just kind of rejected Jesus. When I brought it up. I let them go. But if they kept saying. They were going to worship Jesus. And not the emperor.
That seemed bad. So I killed those. But I thought I'd write to you. Emperor. And find out. He said.
I did talk to one. And found out. That really all they were doing. Was on a certain day of the week. They would get together. Right around sunrise.
And they would say a hymn together. To Christ. And then they would take a pledge. Not to do anything bad. But to not steal.
And to not cheat. And to pay people back. That they owed. And to love one another. And then they would go to work. And he was like.
So I just kind of wanted to see. What you've been doing with them. But he says. Even at that point. That this was a normal thing. That Christians would gather together.
And say hymns. And sing hymns. Together. And so. Some of the ones that we do on Sundays. That fit kind of in this category.
Songs like. Come thou fount. It is well. How deep the father's love. Where it's like a. A more dense.
Kind of theological thing. That we say. Sing together. Repeat. I also think that you see this a lot. In gospel music.
Black gospel music. Not white gospel music. But black gospel music. Where they repeat. The same phrases over and over again. It's this.
This kind of a theological point. That they're just going to say. Over and over again. Until you soak. In it. White gospel music.
With like the four quartet thing. They sing all kinds of stuff. About like. A man was walking. And he met a dude in Tennessee. And they do all kinds of stuff.
And it's not this bad. But that's not what I'm talking about. And so. We. We collectively. Right now.
Are going to do that. We're going to sing. A hymn together. Where we're going to. Stand again. And remind one another.
And speak to one another. Hopefully. As the Holy Spirit leads us. Speaking in our hearts. To God. Making melody to him.
As we sing together. So he says. Psalms. Hymns. And spiritual songs. And spiritual songs.
Just kind of is a. Is a. Catch all at the end. That just. Grabs it all together. And says.
Really. Kind of. Brings in the idea of. If you're singing. In the spirit. To the Lord.
And even about. Those types of things. That subject matter. Then. Then go for it.
Then this is something. That we would do. That we would sing together. That we would make melody. In our hearts. To God.
And that we would sing. Spiritual songs. So this includes. And it kind of gives us. A lot of freedom on. What type of music.
Do you like? What kind of things. Help you. Trust Jesus. What type of things. Help you.
Grow in him. So this is. So for some of you. That may be Striper. Or Lecrae. Or Toby Mac.
Or everything on K-Love. Like it's this. It's spiritual. It's singing about God. We're not quoting scripture. It's not super deep.
Theologically. But it helps me remember. That he loves me. That it helps me remember. That this is true. And we sing these type of songs.
On Sundays as well. And it opens a lot of room. The Bible doesn't give us. Direct. Here's the type of music. Here's the tempo.
Or here are the instruments to use. We've come along. A lot. And said. These things are okay. These things aren't okay.
I remember my brother started going to Bob Jones University. And I think they're. They have a lot of things. That they do really well. But one of the rules they had.
Was you weren't allowed to up strum a guitar. That's a real rule. At least it was. And that had. That controlled tempo. Because if you can only down strum.
You can only go like this so fast. But up strumming. Chika chika chika chika. Like that's. That's not real. And it's like.
No. That's not. We have a lot of freedom. So like when I went to Liberty University. And the first time I went to a chapel service. And it was two.
Really thin. Gelled haired. Super tight pants guys. With acoustic guitars. And I sat down. I was like.
Okay. And then in a little bit. I was singing. I was like. Oh. I had to repent.
I was like. Lord. This is good. I shouldn't have paid attention to their pants. I should have just cared about the fact that. Like.
I'm sorry. This is when I went. While I was also at Liberty. Went with a friend to his church. It was a predominantly African American church. And they actually.
A guy led. From a drum set. Now. It was great. We wouldn't know what to do with that. Yeah.
You see your response right now. You don't. We don't even respond to things. We couldn't handle a drum set. You guys. They just started playing a drum set.
And singing. And it was. It was really good. And then we had brought. A little. Jared.
Gelled haired white guy. Who played an acoustic guitar. And he was playing by himself. And they all started. Keeping a beat for him. And it was.
Great. But it also is like. You get the. The room. To say. What helps my spirit.
Follow Jesus. What helps me. Sing to him. And make melody to him. And we have a lot of space. In Christianity.
For. If it helps. And if it's godly. And if it's God fearing. If the holy spirit's at work in it. Let's do that.
Let's make room for that. One of the things we want to grow. Collectively in as a church. Is having more room. For that. More room.
And openness for. Not all the music that's played. Is something you agree with. That actually helps us grow. And being. Culturally sensitive.
And culturally inclusive. So that. There are some songs. That you're like. Man I was. I was in that one.
And then the next one. I just had to think about the words. And I had to think about Jesus. Because that's not my. My normal tempo. And the normal type.
Of volume. Or music. That I like. But we have a lot of room. To gather together. And to make.
To sing. In the spirit. Songs to the Lord. And so we're going to sing. A few. Together now.
That kind of fit. In that category. Verse 20. And 21. Last ones. We'll look at today.
As he talks about. The Holy Spirit. And how he. Fills us. And the appropriate response. And what it looks like.
As we walk. In the spirit. He goes into. That we would sing. That we would address. One another.
That we would have a song. In our heart. Could you imagine. If that's how people. Described you. This melody.
In her heart. There's melody. In his heart. That there's. There's a deep. Resounding.
Uncontrollable. Unreachable joy. That's given. By the spirit. Then he says this.
Giving thanks. Always. And for everything. To God the father. In the name. Of our Lord.
Jesus Christ. Submitting. To one another. Out of reverence. For Christ. I want to talk.
A second about. The thankfulness. That we get. I want to talk. A second about. What submitting.
To one another. Looks like. And then I want to look at. Why he says. It's in the name. Of our Lord.
Jesus Christ. And it's out of reverence. To Christ. He says. Giving thanks. Always.
And for everything. We. Are bad at this. We live in a very. Cynical time. In the 50s.
If you go back. And actually look at. Some of the advertisements. They used to have. There was just so much. Hope.
About the future. How beautiful. It was going to be. Like all the future things. When they would talk about. Any movies.
From a while back. When they would. Show the future. It was bright. And clean. And people were happy.
They would have these advertisements. About like in the future. When your house gets dirty. There will be a drain in the bottom. And you will just. Spray your whole house.
And it will just be clean. And they had all this crazy stuff. That makes zero sense. But they thought. Somehow in the future. This will be beautiful.
And good. And we don't have that anymore. You don't go to a movie. And watch. A beautiful future. It's grungy.
It's dark. Everyone hates everyone. The government comes out. And says. That's the future we get. Zombies.
And like a world. Where the rich people. Made their own little planet. Above people. And the only way to get up there. Is if you wear a robot.
And attack them. I didn't see that movie. But that's what I got. From the preview. Like there's this. This idea.
That everything's going to be worse. And we're good at cynicism. We're good at sarcasm. We're good at bitterness. And what he says. Is no.
When the Holy Spirit comes in. There's always thanks. And there's thanks. For everything. Do you know. How much joy.
And peace. Are found. If that's true for us. As the Holy Spirit's at work in us. That we're just grateful. Genuinely.
Grateful. Not. I'm an adult. And I know I should be thankful. Not. I can think about the fact.
That I live in the United States. And that makes me better off than other people. And I should be thankful. But genuine. Gratefulness. I have a.
A son who's about to turn three. And currently. He still has genuine thankfulness. On a really regular basis. For super simple things. Every once in a while.
He'll just go. Dad. Who painted my truck? And I'll say. I think the people at the. The.
You know. The store did. And he'll go. That was so nice of them. I'm like. It was nice.
Wait. His birthday party. When he turned two. Somebody gave him a card. It was just a birthday card. And he opened it up.
And I thought for a second. Like. Oh. It's just a card. Like. I'm.
You know. You're always worried. Your kids are just going to do super embarrassing things. And I'm like. Let's see how he reacts.
And he goes. You got me a book. And he just opened it. And then he hugged it. And I was just like. That's awesome.
I'm going to enjoy that right now. Because I don't think. A five year old getting the card. Is going to respond the same way. Like. I just.
I'm glad that he has this genuine. Gratefulness. And that's actually what the Holy Spirit. Authors in us. Is a genuine thankfulness. And I.
I'm not like that. I don't reach that. That often. Recently. I did. And it gave me a peek.
Into what it looks like. If the Holy Spirit. If you're walking with the Holy Spirit. How you actually get some. Deep. Genuine.
Thankfulness. And if this could be my pattern of life. That I was always thankful. And I was thankful for everything. But. Recently.
My wife. About a month ago. Gave birth to our. Our second son. And. It took.
You know. Twenty something hours. It was a long time. And we finally. We were getting to sleep. That next morning.
At like six in the morning. And I just remember that next day. Holding this baby. And being. You know. He's healthy.
She's healthy. That doesn't. That doesn't always happen. That's not how it always works out. And. Far too often.
That's not how it works out. And I just was sitting there. And I just. Was looking at him. And just thinking. Like.
I don't deserve this. And this doesn't make any sense. And the Lord's just good. And like. I'm sitting there thinking that. And I just start crying.
And my wife. Looks at me. She's like. You alright? And I'm like. I'm fine.
Like. I'm just. I'm too tired to be thinking. The things I'm thinking. Like. I had to quit.
Like. Every time at the hospital. I just would get thankful. I just was. And I was just like. I'm too.
This is too tired. Too tired to be grateful. Because I'm gonna cry. And that makes me really uncomfortable. But there's this.
Gen. Like. I had this genuine sense. And it was so. Freeing. And the truth is.
As the spirit is at work in us. That's us. Thankful always. For everything. You see. The world can make you thankful.
For cheap tricks. For. We could. The world can make you thankful. For chocolate and roller coasters. But the Holy Spirit can make you thankful.
For bread. And a conversation. Like. The Holy Spirit goes to work in us. To. To create a deep well.
Of gratefulness. I think that's actually one of the best indicators. For are we walking in the spirit. Is. How thankful are you? How critical are you?
How cynical are you? How grateful are you? See. The Holy Spirit offers thankfulness. Always. For everything.
And then it says. Submitting to one another. Out of reverence. For Christ. That this is the ambiance. This is the flavor.
Of God's people. Is that they're thankful. And they're submissive. Submissive. Submissive. Just.
Sounds like a bad word. We've just been taught. That that's a bad idea. You don't want to submit. You don't want to back down. You don't want to like.
I don't care if you. Like if you talk about. Submission. Submission in marriage. Or take it all the way over to like. The octagon.
We don't use it in a good context. The idea of submission. Submission. Comes across as bad. Or weakness. Or outdated.
Or evil. And what he says is no. The Christians submit to one another. Through the Spirit. Now he's specifically talking about.
Some of the stuff. He's going to go in. And say some of the relationships. Where that's how that works. He's about to talk about marriage. And children.
Parents to children. He's going to talk about. Bond servants. And masters. So he talks about that.
But it's also just the. The tone of God's people. And here's why. And here's why that's spirit filled. And spirit led. As I walk.
In this church family. In the Spirit. I begin to trust. The Holy Spirit. In you. And so that it makes sense.
That when you correct. I submit. When you call me out on something. I submit. That I would submit things. To my community group.
For their evaluation. For their looking at it. And trying to help me think through it. That that's. How we would work together. That we actually get a group of people in life.
Let me. Let me explain. Just so you know. Outside looking in. You're in a community group. And you bring to them.
I've been offered a job somewhere else. And I want y'all to weigh in on this. And they actually have some say. Outside looking in. That's one of two things. That's a cult.
It's what we're told to think. Or. That is extremely beautiful. And unparalleled. In what other people have in real relationships. Because you would actually trust.
That the Holy Spirit is at work. And a group of people. That know you. And know your family. And know your walk with Jesus. And know your sin.
Well enough. To actually be able to have some say. One of the. The greatest things that happens. In our elder meetings. Is when one of us disagrees.
Everything just shuts down. And we spend way too much time. Arguing. And talking through. And it's like. No.
But this is actually how this is supposed to work. Because we trust. If you don't feel right with this. Then the Spirit's not. We're not in unity yet. We can't move forward.
That's a terrible way to run a business. But it's how the church is supposed to look. That we're supposed to at times. You're supposed to bring to your group. And say. Hey.
I want to take this job. And they're supposed to say. Well what we know about your idolatry. What we know about your sin history. We got a lot of questions. That's beautiful and gracious.
As the Holy Spirit works in us. And it only happens. As the Holy Spirit empowers it. But that that becomes. What we look like. That we're going out of our way.
To see other people get their way. That we're going out of our way. To serve and love one another. And here's how this happens. And here's how all of this happens. And we just sing about it.
A bunch. He says. Giving thanks always and for everything. To God the Father. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And submitting to one another.
Out of reverence for Christ. That all of this is based in Christ. And what he has done for us. That we don't have any of it without Christ. That you don't have a song in your heart. You don't have melody.
You don't have Psalms to sing. You don't have joy. You don't have the ability to submit. And the freedom to walk in that. You don't have thankfulness at all times. If there is no Christ.
That what Jesus did. Was that he sacrificed himself for us. That we might be free. And then he fills us with his spirit. That we might live like we're free. Someone who can submit freely.
Someone who can walk in thankfulness and joy. And have a song in their heart. They're free. And they're in a place of trust and comfort. That's unparalleled. And he says for everything.
There are places in the Bible that says. Count it all joy when you suffer. That's what he's talking about. It includes when everything's terrible. He's not saying everything's going to work out perfectly. He's not saying everything's going to be beautiful.
He's saying that Christians sing in jail. And we see that in the book of Acts. Now either they're tapping into something. That we haven't seen before. That we don't know about. That the world can't copy.
Or they've been drinking before they got arrested. Those are the people who sing in jail. And what he's saying is that we walk in the spirit. As empowered and gifted to us. By a Christ who died for us. And so that all of this empowerment by the spirit.
And all of this freedom given to us by the spirit. Is through the sacrifice of Christ. And it's in his name. That it is something that we have to. It is a command that we fall into. But it's not something we can earn.
And it's not something we can accomplish. It's something that we can surrender to. Asking Jesus to lead us. And to fill us. And to give us all that he offers to the cross. That we'd be free from our sin.
And therefore free from ourselves. That our self-consciousness would fall away. As our Christ consciousness is exalted. And that it would be about him. And it would be about our fellow brothers and sisters. Getting more of him.
So I pray that we'd be a church. That wouldn't waste our time. And that we'd be a people. Who'd pay attention to what our day looks like. So that we can pay attention to what our week looks like.
So that we can pay attention to what our month looks like. So that we can pay attention to what our years look like. So that one day when we close our eyes. And take our last breath. And our eyes open. And we see the glory of Christ.
We spend a whole lot of time pouring it out. In love for him. In love for others. We've walked in wisdom. We've known what he's want. And the spirit's filled us.
And led us the whole time. So I ask that we'd cease to be foolish. And that we'd learn God's. Understand his will. And the spirit would fill us. And that we'd walk with him.
So that he might be glorified. And that we might be free. We might be a thankful, joyous people. With a song in our hearts. And some joy and some freedom. That's unmatched.
Unparalleled. Unfound in the world. The band's going to come back up. We're going to sing some songs. And just be thankful. That we're collectively as Christians today.
We're just going to be thankful to God. For what he's done. And how he's saved. And who he is. And his gloriousness. And his redemption.
And his love. And I want you to know. If you're not a Christian. If this is new to you. Or if it's not new to you. But you know you don't have this.
You can. In the name of Jesus. That you can say. I want him to cover me. I want his death to pay for my sin. I want the freedom and the life.
That's given by the spirit. And you can ask right now. God save me. Save me from myself. Save me from my self-consciousness. Save me from my self-awareness.
And give me Christ. And if you have questions on that. I'd love to speak with you about it. But collectively as a church. Let's sing.
Let's sing.