A New Song
Ephesians 5:18-19
And do not get drunk with wine, or that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.
I posted a devotional yesterday by Derek Prince that discussed these verses and Psalm 96:1-2, the Lord just kept talking to me about that all day and into the evening yesterday and today. I don’t want to make this a long post but I want to share some of my thoughts with you.
In Ephesians Paul says getting drunk with wine is dissipation, he is saying when this happens it is a waste of resources that should be submitted to Jesus. Alcohol is a depressant, it loosens people up, I’m reminded of Raj on Big Bang Theory that couldn’t talk to women without taking a drink. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who feel they can’t operate without alcohol.
The Holy Spirit has the opposite effect, He is a stimulant, He moves every aspect of our being to better and more perfect performance. When times get tough, and we think we need that drink or whatever drug is your choice to settle down, and relax, the Holy Spirit is saying “choose me, I will strengthen you, I will lift you up and, make you mount up with wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not faint.”
I’ve heard people say, “you received the Holy Spirit when you came to Christ, why do you feel you need a fresh new filling all the time?”
Well, why does a tree get pruned? Tree pruning encourages tree growth and structure. Maintaining the tree’s structure helps to mitigate the risk of broken limbs and falling branches. A properly pruned tree will not have compromising branch structures and improper weight distribution that could lead to disaster later on in the tree’s life.
Does this sound familiar to us as Christians? It should, Jesus spoke about it in John Chapter 15:
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
Jesus told the disciples, look, your already clean cause of the Word I spoke to you earlier. Take that and compare that to our salvation, we were sanctified/cleaned at salvation. However, we live in this world and we must stay attached to the vine, to get nourishment. When we are out in this world, we can get dirty, tired etc. and we need the Holy Spirit to come and refresh us, lift us up,prune us so we are not hanging down into the dirt, break off from the vine and get trampled on. Sanctification will continue our whole lives on this earth.
If we aren’t connected to the vine, we can not produce fruit, if we are connected and stay in his presence, he will continue to nourish and feed us and keep us strengthened. His blessings are new every morning. When we stay connected to Him, worship Him and read His word, He begins to show us new things about Himself and that is the “New Song” that it speaks of in Psalms and Ephesians.
Ephesians 5:19 says speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.
You don’t have to be the best singer, you just have to praise and worship God.
If we thirst and drink of His water, we shall never thirst again, rivers of living water shall flow from our innermost being.
That is why praise and worship and spending time in God’s presence is so important. When we take the focus off of the problems around us and place it on Him, he takes all the negativity and replaces it with a new song, we go and share that new song with others, let the rivers of living water flow through us, let the Holy Spirit minister through us to others, and God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we can think or ask.
If you think this isn’t true, why do you think King Saul would always call for David to play the harp when the evil spirit would come upon him, and that spirit would immediately leave. Are you going through a rough time? Have you spent time in God’s presence lately? He doesn’t care how far you’ve gone, come back to Him and let Him give you a new song today.
God wants to continually fill us every morning with a new song, to refresh us, strengthen us, and show us that He loves us. When He does this, we need to go out and share it, shout His praises from the rooftops so everyone can taste and see that He is good.
We are made overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony. When God gives you this new song, share it with everyone you can, shout it from the rooftops and tell the whole world, that God has given you victory.