Spirit-filled living is like riding a bicycle:

We either get our tires filled, or they are empty; and

We either keep our tires repaired and filled or they go empty, and

We either go through life riding as God designed us to do, on full tires, or we trudge through life pushing what God designed for us to ride and live with “flat-tired, spiritually-emptied” lives.

Each of those contrasts reflects a series of choices. If our spiritual life were compared to the tires of a bicycle we ride, then the three “states” of bicycle riding would closely parallel the three pillars of our spirit-filled lives described by Paul.

PILLAR-1: GOD DESIGNED US TO OPERATE FULL OF HIS SPIRIT
First, the “normal” state of a bicycle that is in use, that works, that is used to ride places is “full”. That means the tires are full. You can jump on at any time and just peddle off. “Full tires” means that the bike is functional, it is what it was designed to be as a transportation tool, the bicycle works, and the bike can be used at any moment.

That is the “full” condition Paul just described in Ephesians 5:18. Paul commands us all to stay what we were designed by God to be, which is full. Then, in v. 19, he mentions the evidence of the Spirit overflowing our lives.

Ordinary believers were designed by God to be over-flowingly “filled” by God’s Spirit.

PILLAR-2: NORMAL SPIRITUAL LIFE INVOLVES REPAIRING ANY LEAKS
Second, Paul alludes to another way our spiritual lives can become, illustrated by how our bicycles can become. Have you ever had a bike with a leaky tire? You always had to check that tire, grab the pump, and get it back to full inflation. You find that need when you jump on, and it can’t hold you up.

The tire is soft, and the bike isn’t working as it should. As described in Ephesians 4:30, we as believers can find ourselves in that state. Now turn there with me and see the warning about the ‘leaking’ spiritual life.

Ephesians 4:30 (NKJV) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption

In Ephesians 4:30, the word “grieve” is the Greek lupeol, which means to make ‘sad, heavy, sorrowful, distressed’. When we grieve the Spirit, our Spirit-filled lives leak.

Using our bicycle analogy, think about a soft tire. There are many reasons for tires to lose air pressure: it can have a puncture, a bent wheel rim, a valve cut, and so many other possibilities.
Since I am not a master bicyclist, I just roll that thought over to Ephesians 4:25-31. Paul lists the types of actions that puncture, damage, and hinder spiritual lives, staying full or useful for God.

DRIVING TIP ONE: BEWARE OF THESE ITEMS THAT LEAK OUT OUR SPIRIT-FULLNESS
Look at this amazing list of items that can injure us each day. I think of them as all sorts and sizes of road hazards, like potholes, nails, sharp objects.

With that picture in your mind, look with me at all the ways Paul says believers get deflated, un-filled, and unusable in their spiritual walk. Each of these dangers litters the road of life, we all drive over, around, and can get injured by these on a regular basis, because they grieve the Holy Spirit:
Ephesians 4:25 any falsehood
Ephesians 4:26 sinful anger
Ephesians 4:27 occultic exposure
Ephesians 4:28 any theft
Ephesians 4:29 rotten talk
Ephesians 4:31 bitter attitudes
(FTF-07; 141109AM)

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