“What Fills You, Controls You”

Most of us know what it feels like to want escape. Life gets heavy, responsibilities stack up, emotions get tangled, and we think, “If I could just tune out for a while… if I could just numb this… if I could just distract myself for a bit…” The world offers many options for that kind of relief — entertainment, substances, applause, work addiction, escapism, social media — but none of them truly satisfy. They soothe for a moment, but they never heal.

This is why Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:15–20 are not only timely — they’re urgent.

“Be careful how you live… don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise… don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants you to do… don’t get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.”

At first glance, this looks like a warning against alcohol. And yes, that’s part of it. But Paul is pointing at something much bigger. His concern is not about beverages; it’s about what controls you.

You don’t have to drink to be “under the influence.”
Anything that takes over your emotions, your thinking, your freedom, your peace — is filling you. And what fills you, controls you.

Paul is writing to believers in Ephesus, where people worshipped Dionysius, god of wine and emotional ecstasy. In that culture, drunkenness was seen as spiritual — a means of connecting with the divine. But Paul draws a stark contrast:

• Drunkenness brings chaos.

• The Spirit brings clarity.

• Drunkenness numbs reality.

• The Spirit empowers us to walk in reality.

• Drunkenness drains self-control.

• The Spirit gives self-control.

Paul isn’t simply saying, “Avoid that.”
He’s saying, “Choose something better.”

The Spirit-Filled Life Isn’t About Having More of the Spirit

Some Christians imagine being “filled with the Spirit” as something dramatic, emotional, or mystical — reserved for the spiritually elite. But Paul is not describing a rare spiritual experience. He is describing the normal posture of a believer.

Being filled with the Spirit doesn’t mean:

• You receive more of Him (you already have Him fully in salvation).
  It means:

• He receives more of you.
  More of your thoughts, more of your desires, more of your responses, more of your decisions, more of your fears, more of your pain.

It’s not about emotional hype.
It’s about holy surrender.

The Spirit-Filled Life Changes How We Worship

Paul says that when believers are filled with the Spirit, something happens to our mouths and hearts:

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord.”

Spirit-filled people become worshippers.

Worship is not reserved for Sunday morning or when the band plays your favourite song. Worship is the overflow of a grateful heart made alive by the Spirit.

In other words:

• Worship is not performance — it’s surrender.

• Worship is not entertainment — it’s gratitude.

• Worship is not noise — it’s overflow.

Spirit-filled worship isn’t measured by volume; it’s measured by sincerity.
It’s not a musical style; it’s a spiritual posture.

The Spirit-Filled Life Changes How We View Circumstances

Spirit-filled believers are not blind to difficulty, pain, stress, or grief — but they view them differently. The Spirit produces gratitude:

“Give thanks to God for everything, always…”

This is radical. We don’t thank God because everything is good.
We thank God because He is good in everything.

Gratitude doesn’t deny pain.
Gratitude acknowledges God’s presence in the pain.

Gratitude doesn’t pretend everything is easy.
Gratitude remembers we are not alone.

Gratitude doesn’t ignore the battle.
Gratitude turns our attention to the God who fights for us.

Being Filled Is Not a One-Time Event — It Is Ongoing

In the original Greek, “be filled” is a continuous verb.
It literally means:

• “Be being filled.”

• “Keep on being filled.”

• “Stay filled.”

It’s not:

• “Be filled once.”
  It’s:

• “Live a life of daily, ongoing surrender.”

Why? Because we leak.
We give our attention away, our emotions away, our time away, our focus away.
We get filled with stress, pressure, opinions, influences, fear, distraction.

So the Spirit invites us every day:
“Let Me fill you again.”

A Simple but Life-Changing Question

Paul’s teaching comes down to one piercing question:
“What fills you?”

Is it:

• Stress?

• Fear?

• Social media?

• Entertainment?

• Approval?

• Escape?

• Work?

Or is it:

• The Spirit of God?

Whatever fills you…
controls you…
shapes you…
directs you…
flows out of you.

So the invitation today isn’t complicated:
Ask Him to fill you again — and then yield.

Not because you’re strong,
but because He is.

Not because you’re emotionally steady,
but because He is faithful.

Not because you’re overflowing with gratitude,
but because He can teach you to be.

Not because you deserve His presence,
but because He delights to inhabit His people.

May this be true of us:
A Spirit-filled church.
A singing church.
A grateful church.
A church that doesn’t escape from reality — but faces reality
with the presence of God.

Because in the end:
What fills you, controls you.
May it be the Spirit of God.