Title: Full of It

Proposition: As Children of light we must fill our life with Godly things

Text: Eph 5:15-20

Intro:
	1.  Pickles and Peanut Butter
	2.  Driving car not looking where you’re going (because get careless) in ditch
	3.  Paul tells us how to get out of the ditch
	4.  Eph. 5:15-20   (Context:  Old Man/New Man   Light/Darkness)
	5.  As Children of light, we need to pay close attention to our walk:  3 ways -

I.  By filling our time with serving God

	A.  (v. 15-17) - Make the most of our time

	B.  Godly v.s Worldly use of time:  Godly uses of time recognizes three things
		1.  Opportunities
			a.  Word for time used here is Kairos, not Chronos
			b.  Kairos is a decisive event, fixed time or opportune time
			c.  Gal 6:10 - “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all men...”
			d.  NEB - “Make full use” of opportunities
		2.  The necessity of wisdom (15b)
			a.  Sometimes means being clever in making an opportunity
			b.  ILL:  Napoleon planned a whole campaign between acts in a Play
			c.  Need to utilize the time the rest of the world lets go to waste
		3.  The days are evil (16b) (contrary to God)
			a.  We are using our time, the world is spending their time
			b.  They are spending it on themselves, soon it will be used up
			c.  (v. 17) - we can be fooled into thinking of time the way the 
			     world does - 
				- thinking that God’s goal is for me to be happy
				- And we spend our time trying to be happy - that’s evil
			d.  Understand the WILL OF THE LORD - time is a gift to be used
			     to God’s glory

	C.  ILL:  My Dad went door knocking because he had run out of opportunities to 
		share the Gospel with his collegues.  so he went out and made opportunities

	D.  Light is no good if it is not used
		1.  Remember that light is to make all things visible to become light
		2.  What we have been given is time to do this, don’t bury it in the ground

II.  By filling our mind with the Spirit

	A.  (v. 18-19) Not the “gift of the Spirit”, it is a continual action, not a one time event

	B.  Explanation
		1.  Play on words, contrasting:  Drunk with wine/ and Filled with the Spirit
			a.  Both brings satisfaction
			b.  Both bring feelings of joy
			c.  Both will attract attention
			d.  Both bring out your character
			e.  ONE IS TEMPORARY AND LEAVES YOU FEELING EMPTY
		2.  Being filled with wine is dissipation
			a.  Reckless     or     Wasteful
			b.  Same word is used of the prodigal son who tried to find happiness
			      and squandered all his inheritance
			c.   It is obvious how being filled with wine is reckless or wasteful
			d.  ILL:  Scott at Carswell
		3.  Being filled with the Spirit is better
			a.  What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit
				1)  Ax 9:36 - Tabitha is full of good works (doesn’t mean if you 
				     did an x-ray you would find good works scattered in her)
				2)  Ax 5:3 - “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy 
				      Spirit?”  was said to Ananias
				3)  The idea of being filled with something means to be 
					controlled by whatever you are full of.
			b.  Will lead to to express it in Psalms, Hyns and Spiritual Songs	
			
	C.  ILL:  Evidence of spirit filled life is uncluttered with the world
		1.  How can you get the air out a glass (sucking it out will cause the glas to 
			colapse)
		2.  Fill it with water
		3.  BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT AND IT WILL REPLACE YOUR OLD LIFE

	D.  Pray to God to fill you with his spirit

III.  By filling our hearts with thanksgiving (v. 20)
	
	A.  We should always give thanks to God
		ILL:  Dead letter office  for the Postal service - thousands of letters to Santa
			before Christmas, but only one letter afterwards thanking him   

	B.  The text says We need to give thatks for ALL things
		1.  Song - Thank You Lord
		2.  Song - Strength Through Adversity  (27w)
		3.  It requires that we THINK OF GOD Romans 1:24, back up to v. 21
			
	C.  ILL:  A little girl in France 3 yrs old won the bronze medal for saving her
	    playmate from drowning.  She held his hair to keep his head oout of the water until
	    someone came to help.  She said that here frined didn’t like here naymore because it 	    hurt when she pulled his hair.

	D.  ILL:  The hippie couple and the “rotten establishment”
		1.  We need to give thanks for the church as well
		2.  BE SPECIFIC WITH OUR GIVING OF THANKS (more than just this day)
		3.  ILL:  The minister who gave thanks on a rainy daty because not every
day 
			is like this
		4.  (Eph 4:29) GRIPING OR GRATITUDE (griping and Israel in the Exodus)

Concl:	1.  Therefore we need to pay more close attention to our walk
	2. by filling our time with serving God, minds with the Spirit, and hearts with thanks
	3.  Are you ready to be filled today?
		Challenge:  Take or make a specific opportunity to serve in thankfulness
	4.  You can pray to God to fell you with his spirit today