Walk in Wisdom

in the woods

I hope I hope some of you at least try to walking in the woods which which sometimes leads to being lost in the woods at one of the things I like as a kid loved about Creek walking. You know, what's great about creepy little creek walking is right, but with the great thing about

you just turn around and follow the creek back up, right? I remember one time. I went walking with a friend of mine when I was a kid, and they had a new property with quite extensive acreage.

Away from the creek.

That we found a creek. It was a different Creek and after walking for a while we said This looks familiar. It's like that moment right when you say it's quiet too quiet. There's like a Siri voice in your head and it's like it's like

I recognize that sandbar because we're walking in circles. This looks familiar. You realize this looks familiar.

You have to be paying attention to your surrounding. You have to be looking carefully looking at where you're walking.

live circumspectly Where is he? I told the kids think about you are life. I'd like you to stand for the reading of God's word. I think will become abundantly clear what this example is pointing towards as we read Ephesians 5 verses 15 and following 15 through 21 the Apostle Paul writing to the Ephesian Church. And he says it look carefully then.

Not as unwise but as wise. Making the best use of the time because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

And you not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is God's word invite you to take your seats.

Sometimes we find ourselves.

Saying haven't I been here before?

I find myself saying that every day when I wake up and I'm tired.

Deja Vu and you think I think I've been here before?

Sometimes you have a midlife crisis. Midlife crisis you come to the the middle of your life. I remember when Bob Schaffer the pastor that I grew up with you. He said he remembers saying when he hit age 50. He said I think I'm middle-aged now and then you realize it. Maybe I'm beyond my middle-aged years. I'm still hoping he'll live to be a hundred. So that'll be fine.

Maybe you are at that point where you're thinking about your life. That's a good thing. It is a great thing to be at the place where you need to want to think about your life because that means the Lord has an opportunity to have a say in it. first 15th is look carefully then how you walk not as unwise but is why this is this is the beginning of a new section that we're looking at today versus 15 all the way down 321 and it

remember we have the there for walk setting off new sections the first half of Ephesians going all the way back the first three chapters talking about

that had not yet specific examples of how we were to do it or the what then chapters 45 and six are all about the workings of the theological realities in the first three chapters. Call continues to build a building on him. So.

And inverse one of chapter 5 he says therefore. imitators of God

therefore Walk In Love first Seventh-Day are for Jumping down 2 verse 8 walk as children of Life Walk In Love walking light is our first of the day reminded us that Jesus is that light that we once lived in darkness and factory work once were Darkness ourselves, but now we can live as children of light if you are in Christ Jesus.

That we have a new section and it's we're learning to the new section by these words there for walk. But but the therefore is translated differently here. It's translated as the word then look carefully then were there for how you walk. Not as unwise but as wise do we have a we have a couple of examples here of a don't do this?

Sometimes it is to get into that this don't do that mode of religiosity, right? We're going to practice our religion and we're going to not do this, but we're going to do this. It's so that you can appease an Angry God or or maybe so that God can love you. But that's that's the upside down way of looking at it but God demonstrates that while we were still sinners.

the just for the unjust to bring us to God in Christ. So we come here then to this one.

jet

we have this free-will discussion night that they would like to like to talk about. His is God Sovereign in the answer is yes, and then we have the question of his man free to make their own decisions and you in the answers, like well within the realities that are in front of you do right. I do not have the choice to become the president of the United States. Just as Ron DeSantis, you know what I mean? He tried to make that decision in the realities did not back it up. It was not his choice before you were in Christ. You do not have the choice to live righteously you can try to do the right things and not

Reality set in that you are a slave of sin.

We are in bondage and slavery to sin, but then Christ comes along he frees us from that bondage break those chains.

We are free to live righteously. We're free to walk in love that primary Christian ethic of walking in love showing people the kind of love that God has for at agape love We no longer have to stop.

No idea what's really around us.

reality in Christ Then we come to verse 15 and and we have this wonderful Freedom that now we get to walk in with them. Some of you seen those old martial arts movies, right? There's the there's

And the young whippersnapper comes along and in the martial arts guy base, it just does it. With a cane and the young whippersnapper falls down and you just get this idea facts. I knows what he's talking about that person knows how to live life.

That's wisdom knowing how to live life not according to a martial arts this tumor who puts him on the ground. But according to God's law on standard for human flourishing. How do we live the emperor is in wisdom? Look carefully.

Look carefully then how you walk? Remember the previous verse first 14 is a conversion called away for a ride from the dead in Christ will shine on.

converted regenerator Reality Steve for a new reality course in for Christ's righteousness and peace.

What happened at the moment of our submitting ourselves?

At that moment encourage us to say now look carefully.

How you're living the normative experiences that you do everyday? Not running not sprinting. Just looking. Look carefully then.

Not as unwise, what is why that that weird Sofia we get in the English from what unwise Endeavor as wise as Sophia is basically unknown Sophia in the Greek.

Where to walk by looking carefully at our life. Have you thought about your life recently?

Have you thought about?

the time

and then you made some course corrections. I trusted your in Christ. He was the major course correction.

a lot of major course corrections, but if you're in Christ, and he's your walking and wisdom then

Many I trust you had to think about that in and it sometimes it's really hard to come to the point of confession right 1st. John 1:9 talked about that a little bit last week. I know that I'm a sinner. You know, I know that I'm a sinner. I took time to listen. Spirit to listen to the text of scripture and a think about my life.

That was rough. You get to the point where somebody else has to tell you you're a sinner.

Warning red flashing lights. Do you need to stop and look carefully then at how you walk not as unwise but as wise Does that look like it looks like making the best use of time because the days? Are evil.

the days if you if you flipped back to Ephesians 2 to we might see that in which you once walked following the course of this world. So they

because of that because of them because of the simple reality in our world because Christ has not yet come to

Who's rain Because it has not yet happened. The days are evil. You don't have to look far or think deeply to think that the days are evil. All you have to do is wake up in the morning.

the evil days But we are to take advantage.

We are to use our time in the best way possible because the days are evil. So what does that look like? It means think about how you live and then real?

a conversation this morning already I had

Time is quickly as quickly as we're watching TV, and I'm not taking that as quickly as we go to our jobs.

from Tiny to huge

in time isn't flowing in a sense in the direction that we would want it to right you. Don't just plant. Let's just say the seat of your child, for example, if they don't worry, they will grow in stature. But that doesn't mean they will grow in wisdom and Sophia and in favor with God and man like Jesus did that take that takes intentionality and even then there's no guarantee.

Let us think about carefully our lives and let's use the time in the best way that we can let's show people through our love for one another who Jesus is let's show people and invite them into that making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.

Therefore because of these things do not be so foolish. But understand what the will of the Lord is.

How do we understand what the world?

We're walking in wisdom. Will Walking circumspectly we're thinking about our life. We're praying we're reading the scripture but specifically here in this passage. We're going to see how to live everyday life even in our household next week. the household code that Paul Barros and then christianize has from the

understand what the will of the Lord is and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery or another way of Translating that is it lead to debauchery.

there's a verse that I remember thinking about an in memorizing when I was young and thinking about a lot since then and in that's a a little bit of a Clarion call to abstinence Right. We're not going to drink alcohol. the scripture says it says don't get drunk with wine.

Like let's get some Scotch, right? Again, that's not what it says. The implication is watch this carefully.

not buy anything else control by the spirit not by anybody else. So if you have a problem with with Libations and consuming

if you don't have that problem. Think carefully how you walk.

This has been a contentious issue in our church a little bit in the last decade. So we're just going to be real clear here. Okay?

I want to walk circumspectly kind of watch him behind me than walking forward so I don't walk in a circle.

And what I know is that people are watching me. My children are watching me.

Other people's children are watching me.

And you're watching me.

I would hate to cause you to stumble because of my youth.

So I will abstain. I have my whole life except for NyQuil going to be honest, right? I need it say I'm being honest. I need to take some Nyquil when I've got a cold and and I take a little bit of Kombucha for my gut which is like .00, whatever 1% alcohol. Just being against being a friend. I'm not trying to be all holier-than-thou. I'm just telling you this is me. This is how

would it cause someone to stumble or no? by my consumption of alcohol

might I just won't worry about that. I drink enough calories as it is.

For those in my myths that have family struggles we have this reality. We know about the brain chemistry little bit now if it's in your family history and it is on one side of my nuclear family. It's unwise to even go there anyway.

But we would be remiss if we didn't realize that Paul also says take a little bit of wine for your stomach and to say that it is against us will ever for anyone is a Christian to drink alcohol because it's not in there. It's not in there and we bashed against Shine the Light. Not use the flashlight as a bludgeon for each other up. I saw you you were at the bar we talked about this yesterday my wife and I went to the new Kirksville coffee shop Kirksville Brewery and you don't they said we're going to we're going to start making small batch. Beer here, whatever you call it.

And then the question came up when I come here to drink a cup of coffee if somebody might also see who under my drinking beer. They don't have to worry about it. I'm thinking about it. I'm wondering about it. So as we as we do that, let's be as we'll see her later. Be others oriented. Realize it's not just about me and my freedoms in my choices, but what those coming behind me rails and used to say what one generation does in moderation. The Next Generation doesn't access it wasn't original with him either. So I want my children to do an access would I do in moderation now with my consumption of alcohol, but with my if I can raise the consumption of the spirit. Do not get drunk with wine for that leaves two or is debauchery at least and if we look at the root word here basically just means bad stuff. It's bad. Don't do those bad things because you're being controlled by something else. So if you are being controlled by something besides the spirit like your hunger.

Your desire for love your desire for physical affirmation like sex or touch if your desire for others approve. If any of that is controlling you instead of the spirit. I think it's a good application to put that there and say don't do that. instead Replacement theology replace Christ's righteousness for my evil. But then guess what we get to leave that out that spiritual reality out with our body. We get to replace this evil or this thing that is controlling me with the spirit.

We have a couple of imperative here. We are to walk as wise. And we are to be filled with the spirit vs 18. The whole Crux of this passage is about being filled with the spirit. That's the the point that we're going towards that we're moving in that direction.

Get my court to the Border here.

Put it back first quote.

I really

in other words

I am describing in executing this passage. Paul's readers are to be transformed by the spirit. into the likeness of God in Christ ideas, which are entirely consistent with the earlier exhortation of 4:32 through 5 to be filled with the spirit.

Sorry to let the spirit change them more and more into the image of God and Christ. The reason he said God in Christ there instead of just got or Christ is we're not entirely sure. Who is being referred to as we look carefully at the pad?

But what we know is if that's what the spirit is to be doing. We know as Christians that Christ is God the son the second person of the unit Trinity God incarnate God becoming a man taking on the sinful. realities of the entire human race anyone who will come to God in Christ with repentance and save not my will but thine will you take my sin instead of me taking

and so we say that into the image of God and Christ. It's what that other cord up their spirit. With the indwelling each Christian has all of the spirit you already have the spirit of God in you. At the moment of conversion you are united to the person of Jesus Christ. You were in 12 with the Holy Spirit. and you have the spirit of God in you

we have all of the spirit with a command has to be filled by the spirit and Abel's the spirit to have all of the believer. So sometimes it's like this week.

What that is is emotionalism. Okay, we can throw ourselves up. We could come over here and pick up any of these instruments and if we strong faster and louder than we kind of get excited and I do too. There's nothing wrong with being emotional take all of me here. I am take all of me. That means my emotion as well as my mind as well as my will right.

But what we think of as being filled with the spirit, sometimes it's just kind of getting a spiritual High an emotional high from getting excited. That's not what this is. We already have all of the spirit is here we go.

You can feel the spirit. That's fine. The question is whether the spirit has all of you. Whether the spirit has control of your left hand as well.

has control of each moment of your day and each

It's not about whether you have the spirit if you were in Christ, you do it's whether the spirit has you the wise walk therefore. He is the one that is character.

Not about speaking certain ways not about moving our body in certain ways, but about his entire domination if I can use that word of all of us.

So we want to be filled with the spirit and as the spirit has us and it has we act and entire control under the spirit leading and guidance then what are we?

Sometimes this is translated as five additional imperatives that is to say commands demands Things Are. Or actually participles of result. Hope I'm not losing a participles of result. So the first thing is but demands the command.

How are you going to be filled? How are you going to walk? How are you going to act? Well, you're going to address one another and

One of the things he says to do is address one another in Psalms.

We could get really technical about this and if we get really technical about it, it basically looks like this that might mean words spoken or sung with us Trump or other string instrument or it might not

it's definitely using your voice. Addressing is a talking word right f****** addressing one another with your voice. So another words talking or singing right you're making noise with their vocal cords with one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making Melody to the Lord. the key is not What are worship sounds like? The key is who our worship is for. Our worship is to God. For the encouragement of the Believers to worship God, it's Crystal Centric. It's about Jesus Christ. It's about glorifying Christ. You know, what a man is to glorify the father.

and it seems to be throughout scriptures incidentally that the sphere by Christ and to be himself kind of a behind-the-scenes actor if you will. And so for us to think that a service should be Spirit visible I can use that word ask me later. If you know what I mean by that is probably too to be out of line with what the scripture teaches us about the Holy Spirit. So we're to address one another with songs hymns spiritual song singing and making melody in the Lord with your heart. And so if you're sitting here and you're saying okay, I guess this is about corporate. Am I supposed to do while you're supposed to? And you're supposed to engage.

with your heart think about the work.

Agree, if it's like if somebody else is praying right to be corporately pray. I hope you're not just don't.

You're praying corporately together. If you're listening to your favorite personality, maybe it's on YouTube or something in there.

But this is that idea of working with the materials not just with our mouths. It's not about singing you're saying the word. There's this is not an incantation. We're trying to get something to happen.

Why we pray? Giving him praise giving this is about us not just speaking it with our mouths, but speaking it with our Mouse in affirming it in reality.

Addressing one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in the Lord with your to the Lord in your heart giving thanks always. in for everything

That's all spent too much time there. That's going to be uncomfortable. Giving thanks always.

What that mean is giving thanks always.

and for everything

I don't want to give thanks for that. I'm not thankful for that.

Is it part of everything?

here, all of me. That part

Nope.

that internal dialogue if you you can avoid it if you don't think carefully about your walk. You can avoid that because I got them. I'm not really engaging with the music. I'm not really thinking about what I'm saying or least not the parts that I like are not really thinking about how my life.

Draculaura cancer right now if I'm just being honest, I'm sick of it. And I'm not sick with it to the best of my knowledge.

many of you are Ben and I think you know what I'm talking about. I don't want to give thanks for that.

Giving thanks always and forever ething to God the Father. We are recognizing that he is The Sovereign one in control.

Meeting last Monday night and Neil Chamberlain. I don't think you mind if I share this he said

what is paraphrasing?

when I don't understand when I want to tell God that he's wrong. I just need to shut up.

Now that wasn't meant for public consumption. So I'm sure that wouldn't be the general word right to like sometimes you just need to know.

But that's that. Submission, that's what we need to sing it and say it to each other because it's not easy, but I thank God for the cancer because it shows me that this world is not my home. I think God for the death because it reminds me that there is New Life in Christ Jesus.

It encourages me that one day. I'll have a full head of it when I am. in a glorified body

I'm going to sink. Give thanks always a everything to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. We are also to give thanks in the name of Jesus Christ.

It's where are standing is if you go before the Throne of God.

remember Aster going Before the Throne of her husband the king Hadassah. She goes up to the king and her life is forfeit. She wasn't invited.

And so the law would be that she gets killed. You can't go into the presence of the king without an invitation.

Jesus is our invitation to the throne of God. We go before God the father and was saying not because of me. Because of Christ who is in me. And so I'm not just representing me when I come and plead before the father to the father on behalf of something. I am going in the Name of Christ. He's my invitation and and she's the one that's interceding for me. Anyway, that's praying on my behalf at the right hand of the father. And so I go to him and I pray to him and I give thanks to him and I worship the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and look at look at that word in remember the first few chapters of Ephesians. We looked at in Christ as a believer One of the most darkest most darkest one of the most starkest that doesn't make sense things.

That happens when we come to Christ, right? We are Justified declared not guilty before God the judge. We are then you did with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ

heirs into the family of God like in like Christ himself, but it's not like Christ himself. You see this is where every other metaphor fall short. It's in Christ himself as we are adopted into God's family as firstborn Derek how many first born?

1st right first because we are at Job fit into the family of Christ as first-born dares.

It's a mystical Union that we have all this other language to explain but nothing quite gets at it like saying we are gods.

That's where the freedom is at. That's where we know that we are loved. That's how we know that what happened to Jesus when he was resurrected and he was given a new body will. That's how we know.

Falling asleep for a little while. We know that they will wake up. They will spiritually wake up right now. One day they will have new bodies.

in Christ

giving thanks always and forever thing to God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The full name and full title, right? He is Christ. That is Messiah. He was a human that is Jesus and he is our curiosity is our Lord. He's the one we submit to there is no such thing as walking in Christ without submitting to Christ as the Lord. That Should Be Me each step of our being filled with the spirit

Submitting to one another out of reverence. For Christ hears that final participle of result. If you are filled with the spirit. May be filled with the spirit. Since you're filled with the spirit.

Sing and make Melody to the Lord address one another in Psalms and him give thanks always. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. This is a a militaristic term. A private is submitting to the sergeant. The sergeant is submitting to the lieutenant to Lieutenant is submitting somebody's like well depends on how many years did Sergeant serve.

You always are submitting to the one in authority over you. So there is this recognition of authority. There is this awareness of if the king says that the general doesn't if the general says that the captain carries it out of the captain declares within the private will do it. And it's not this disassociation with authority. I we hate Authority I'm going to do whatever I want to do, but you know what it also says. even as it's high it says each other

I've had a little bit of angst about this. This is this is not easy to trace out. What does it say the English makes it really easy and when somebody tells you this what it says, it sounds really but what I'm telling you is submitting to one another or is it submitting to the authorities?

And let me tell you that I might have this wrong. What I am saying is I'm going to court a dear friend of mine.

Follow me as I follow Christ.

But follow Christ I might have gotten this wrong. But to the best of my understanding of this complex passage and next week will be the upshot of this right because the hard part of this this passage.

Is that we are?

Submitting to the authorities are not bugging them. But as we are doing so. We're also mutually submitting to one another. It's the same languages kissing one another right greet one another with a holy kiss. That was my grandma Jordans fake name favorite verse choose a pastor's wife. The one Valentine's Day if it was near Sunday.

I still never knew she was joking about that. I don't think she was.

The ideas I kiss. That cheek is that lips kisses my cheek kissing each other right? I'm submitting to one another you might say. Yeah, but you don't kill each other and descriptive definitive explanation. Yes.

They thrust a sword into each other nipple. Yeah. Yeah fighting each other and killing each other not just but individually as well. So we're going to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Here's the hard part of that. What if the person who I'm submitting to is a sinful human being

that is a gerund.

It is a guarantee that is you submit to me and I submit to you that we are submitting mutually to a sinful Fallen human being.

little precursor Why did you submit to your husband? it is guaranteed that you are submitting to a

question is

you have enough space.

That he will be.

Thanksgiving that short-handed said

filled with the spirit

What does it mean it means to open up a we're going to trust radar key word of the year is Faith. Do we have enough faith? I have enough faith in God for something right? I have enough faith in the to get in my buckle my seatbelt buckle my seatbelt drive down the street from have enough faith in God, but he's not going to just like I'm not going to die in the way if I do a paralyzed on the way. I don't care if I'm in glory. I would be very very distraught from my wife and children, but I'm in glory I can't do nothing about it then. I mean Rankin intentional right? I'm looking terribly that it how I'm living but aware that Tebow not going to do it. Like text right?

What do I have enough faith?

in Jesus Christ

to say well, this is what my Boss told me to do.

I don't see anything here about doing what your boss says to do. What will next week's Leighton Masters will get there.

Do I have enough faith?

At the end of the day, we've had a good discussion and the Elder say this is what we're doing. Do I have enough Faith to say absolute. I'm going to submit to that. If there's if there's any disagreement.

Do you have enough faith? in Jesus Christ to do what he has called you to do in your life. What's it called you to do well here in verse 21. He's calling us to submit to one another. to be others oriented instead of me Focus to love someone else No matter what. They look like. No matter what. They smell like. Who is in the body of Christ with me that would I call my church? Do I trust Jesus enough to submit to them?

And the call is for them to be others oriented and them to be thinking about me and this is why it's a corporate togetherness. We must Crow.

Because when I'm looking out for you when you're looking out for me and Jesus is facilitating the whole thing. It provides of corporate umbrella a spiritual protection for all of us.

Dear Jesus help us in our unbelief. We do believe we do. We believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. That he is God the son who died for us and rose again. But when it comes to those personal nitty-gritty hard things God help our unbelief.

Albertson the parts of our life that we have a hard time finding them and letting go pick our life and let it be help us to walk circumspectly recognizing where we've been where you want to go. and in wisdom two corporately worship together in wisdom just admit to each other. As we look to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ looked to the father and submitted himself to God. in the name of Jesus we ask