A Different Kind of Drunkeness

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Taking a short break from our verse by verse trek through the book of Isaiah today because I was floored by something I read in Jeremiah 31 this morning and I want to share it with you.

 

The Lord was talking to Jeremiah about the NT church age which began after the ascension of Jesus and continues today. He says in Jer 31:14 I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD."

 

My first reaction to this passage was one of prayer. “Lord, I said,  “soak my soul with Your abundance! Satisfy me with Your goodness!”

 

Then I realized that the Lord was talking about the future outpouring of the Holy Spirit on every individual believer! First of all, understand that as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a priest. Peter puts it this way in 1Pe 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,” So, this promise in Jeremiah is for you!

 

The souls of believers in the church age will be satiated (the word literally means “be drunk”) with abundance! Such terminology should turn our thoughts to that first Pentecost after the Lord’s ascension!

 

What did Peter tell the people on that day? Ac 2:15 "For these are not drunk, (not satiated) as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;

 

Not drunk with wine, but intoxicated with the Holy Spirit! Just as we read in Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk (satiated) with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled (soaked) with the Spirit,

 

We received the Holy Spirit at our baptism, and He feeds on our God-given faith! Unfortunately, for the most part we ignore His presence in our life. In so doing we grieve Him and instead of being satiated, our souls are parched.

 

Eph 4:30 tells us: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

 

The Holy Spirit is grieved whenever we purposely ignore His presence in our lives. This “snubbing” of the Holy Spirit occurs with every act of disobedience to God’s commands, and every lack of trust in the promises found in God’s Word.

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The challenge for me, the challenge for you, is to listen to the Holy Spirit speak to us in God’s Word and then react with trust and obedience. This is the soul that is satiated with the abundance and goodness of God

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.