An Artesian well provides a continuous steady stream of cool, refreshing, clear water. It never stops because it flows to the surface because of the pressure in the rocks underground that forces it to the surface.

Eph 5:18-21 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

We have touched on this before but it is worth repeating as it is a key ingredient in a successful walk. As Paul tells us, we need to “be being” filled (pleerousthe; continually being filled) This is a process of always requiring more because of our emptying out to others. God designed us as leaky vessels and we need to seek Him daily for the wisdom to understand what His will is for us. This, Paul contrasts with being drunk with wine wherein there is excess; loss of control. Being filled with the Spirit brings about exactly the opposite in our lives.

Paul used drunkenness because it related to the common Gentile practice of pursuing their gods, which usually led to other sins. He made an interesting comparison to the festivals/orgies to their pagan god Bacchus, during which the people would get drunk and run through the streets singing loud songs. Instead of being drunk with wine Paul told them to be filled with the Spirit. Instead of raucous singing for themselves he told them to worship God in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Not much has changed today, has it? Man still associates drunkenness with his idols: television, sports, parties, self, etc. And those who are full of wine are certainly not going to be full of the Spirit … those who are full of the Spirit have no room for wine.

When we read these verses, we shouldn’t limit them to drunkenness, rather to “all excesses.” It’s the excesses in our lives that draw us away from our Lord and fill up the places that should be overflowing with His Spirit. It is the excesses that everyone notices about us. What are they seeing in us now? Are we so full of the Spirit that He is overflowing in our daily life? Are we constantly in need of “refilling” because we are sharing His presence as He directs us?

Just like the The Wells Of Artois, we have a flow of “Living Water” from the Holy Spirit that never stops because it flows to the surface from “The Rock” we have in our heart. We need to take of that Living Water and “Be Being” filled” daily as a result of our sharing with a lost world. It is our responsibility … It is a Continual Process.