Did you like my title? I'm sorry if it's uncomfortable. :D The Bible encourages us to observe the nature and learn from it. We all know that even the flowers and birds can teach us about God's faithfulness! We do also learn a lot through observing the lives of the wise and... the unwise, just like Solomon did in the book of Proverbs. This awesome man of God, Mika Yrjölä (miehen koskettava elämäntarina Youtubesta), shared the lessons he'd learned in spending time with drunk people in one of his latest sermons. Mika brought up 12 good points in his message and my post today is a summary of them. (The original video was hilarious and still available here in Finnish) I do not support drunkenness and I encourage every Christian to pursue holiness in their personal life relating to alcohol. Ask God what it means to you! Alcoholism is a painful, tormenting obsession and it can destroy one's life. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. —— And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”Acts 2 Isn't it supposed to mean something that people mistook the Holy Spirit for new wine? "OH, THE GOOD OLD DAYS! THE GOOD OLD WINE!" I bet you too have heard people longing for "those days" when the Spirit was poured out and it was all well. Are some Christians suffering from hangover? And more importantly, why? And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ Luke 5:37—39. Did we forget what it feels like to taste fresh anointing? How fulfilling it is! How GOOD it is! What alcoholics say about the hangover is that the best way to avoid it is to stay drunk. Will Jesus find us burning, not lukewarm, when He comes back? We must find out how to sustain the fire. It was the priests in the Old Testament who kept the fire burning on the altar. What is our responsibility? Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out. Leviticus 6:6 Here are Mika's 12 points: 1) Drunkenness will change your speech Even the Finnish people (who are well-known from their quietness) will suddenly find it incredibly easy to share their deepest feelings when they get drunk. Drunk people don't have any shame on any subject and they love to talk a LOT. Remember also the "new tounges". ➝ The Spirit of God invates us into vulnerability! He also breaks the fear of men when He comes. 2) Ugly becomes beautiful Drunk people complement one another and they really mean what they say! "You'rrrre beautifulll..." When will our vision change and when will we start to see the Kingdom of God, the church and our lives as beautiful? 3) They are willing to give away anything at any time Drunk people don't count their odds. If their friend needs a coat and they have what to give, they will help. 4) They don't want to drink alone Drunk people want everyone to join them. They will try to make you "taste even one" and refuse to understand why you would restrain yourself from drinking. ➝ When we taste the GOODNESS of our God, we will start to feel the necessity to share what we've experienced. 5) There's always a reason to have one The reason for drinking can be anything: a deep mourning, loss or celebration. There's always a good reason to drink. If not, they'll make up one. 6) They always know where to go to get it And where not. Alcoholics know by heart the opening times of Alko (liquid store) and they know where to get alcohol after the stores close. — Enough said. We should go for it all in, not counting the cost. 7) They aren't proud And that's why it's impossible to offend them. 8) They never have problems Except the one (=drinking, auch!). All the worries disappear when people fill their minds with that miracle substance. ➝ Jesus taught us not to worry. We will get things into the right perspective when the Spirit of God gets to fill us and begin to reveal the true nature of our amazing God. 9) They love e v e r y o n e And they loooove the world! THEY LOVE THE WORLD! C'mon, so did God when He gave us His one and only Son. 10) They love to fight We also need fearless Christians! 11) They believe in impossibilities E v e r y t h i n g is possible for them! And so much so that it seems crazy. — Which is something we should learn too: all things are possible for God and nothing is too hard for Him. 12) They are willing to do anything to get more Are we satisfied? Are we willing to seek Him? How to be content and still always hunger for more? There is a great mystery right there. God wants us full and overflowing! I have experienced the Spirit of God come powerfully upon me a few times during my life and those encounters marked me forever. But... we can't survive with the yesterday's presence. We need His breath every day. Jesus longs to build a relationship with us and it is He's desire to give us power to do all that He asks us to do (heal the sick, cast our devils and raise the dead, anyone?). God wants to fill us up and we NEED HIM. So, let's wait upon Him with eager expectation of the fulfillment of Jesus' promise in our hearts, just like the apostles did in Acts — even though it contains a risk (I won't go there but you can perhaps easily think of all kinds of risks). I'll leave you with this question and bless you with massive God-encounters! Pic 1. Pic 2. Pic 3.
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