Redeeming Our Numbered Days

Introduction

A. It’s not your time illustration

B. Main Idea

Main Idea: We must walk as wise men by redeeming the time given to us by God

Transition

Let’s start tonight in Ephesians 5 where Paul exhorts us to redeem the time we have been granted.

1. Redeem the Time - Eph 5:15-16

A. How You Walk — vs 15a

Ephesians 5:15 LSB

15 Therefore look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

Therefore walk…

In the good works prepared beforehand — Ephesians 2:10 “10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

worthy of your calling - Ephesians 4:1 “1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called,”

In love — Ephesians 5:1–2 “1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

In the Light — Ephesians 5:8–10 “8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of that light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”

B. Walk as Wise Men — 15b

MacArthur — “only the wise walk befits the children of God”

Psalm 14:1 “1 The wicked fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” With their words and their actions they live as if God is dead — they do not fear Him

In the first psalm, David speaks of the blessed man, the wise man, as the one, Psalm 1:1–2 “…who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the way of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

Go back to the beginning of the verse — look carefully — observe with care how we live our lives

The word for careful has the meaning of being accurate, exact, examining every detail with great care

It can also carry the idea of being alert

We must look closely at every aspect and every detail of our lives… specifically of the time we have been given, verse 16,

C. By Redeeming the Time — vs 16a

Ephesians 5:16 LSB

16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Redeeming carries the idea of buying back.

It was traditionally used when a slave’s freedom was purchased

We are to redeem, to buy up, to set free the time given to us from wordly and fleshly pursuits for service to the Lord

The word for time is not the traditional chronos which is the term for time measured on a clock. This word is kairos which denotes a measured and fixed amount of time

We are only given so much time. God has fixed the boundaries of our lives

Opportunity to serve Him and steward the time — His time — only exists within these boundaries

The fool says there will always be a tomorrow

Think of Jesus Parable in Luke 25 of the 10 virgins.

5 foolish virgins let their oil run out while the bridegroom was away

We must redeem our time in light of Christ’s return

And as James warned in James 4:13–14 “13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

We must not make foolish plans as if we are in control of our tomorrows

Instead we must make every plan in submission to Christ’s Lordship over our lives, as James concluded James 4:15 “15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.””

D. In these Evil Days — vs 16b

Not only our our days numbered, the days are evil — we live in a world that continually opposes us —

things break down, they go wrong, temptation to sin is everywhere, sin itself is a snare that traps us and saps us of our desire to do the things we are called

We have little time and much opposition.

Because the days are evil, our opportunities for freely doing righteousness to the fullest are limited

Transition

Again I want to quote MacArthur here,

“outside of purposeful disobedience of God’s Word, the most spiritually foolish thing a Christian can do is to waste time and opportunity, to fritter away his life in trivia and in half-hearted service of the Lord.”

How then do we redeem the time that is given to us?

Turn to Psalm 90 where Moses answers this question by first telling us to look to the Author of time.

2. Teach us to Number our Days - Psalm 90

A. There is One who is truly outside of time — vs 1-2

Psalm 90:1–2 LSB

1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place from generation to generation. 2 Before the mountains were born Or You brought forth the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Generations pass away — God remains our dwelling place

He is the everlasting God

Oh God our help in ages past — “Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home:

B. There is One who is truly in control of time — vs 3-6

Psalm 90:3–6 LSB

3 You turn man back into dust And say, “Return, O sons of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night. 5 You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. 6 In the morning it blossoms and sprouts anew; Toward evening it withers away and dries up.

He looks at all the empires of history and calls them yesterday

Our life is like a dream, like a vapor as James taught us, like grass

Spurgeon comments: “Here is the history of grass: sown, grown, mown, blown, gone.”

C. There is One who justly assigns time - vs 7-11

Psalm 90:7–11 LSB

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed. 8 You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence. 9 For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished our years like a sigh. 10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to might, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and wickedness; For soon it is gone and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?

the passing of our life is like a sigh, why?

Because of our sin before His holiness

Because of our pride in light of His transcendence

No one is humble enough to fear God enough

D. So then We Must Learn from Him to Number Our Days — vs 12

Psalm 90:12 LSB

12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

We must ask Him who is outside of time, who is in control of time, who justly assigns us our time, to number our days

Are you living your days in light of the Lord who gives wakes you each morning

This is the heart of wisdom

The fear of God should lead us to reckon with the reality that we will all die and He alone is in control of how much time He gives us.

The minutes exponentially grow in value only when you realize how few you have left.

Spurgeon: A short life should be wisely spent. We have not enough time at our disposal to justify us in misspending a single quarter of an hour. Neither art we sure of enough of life to justify us in procrastinating for a moment.

Conclusion

Synthesis

We must walk as wise men by redeeming the time given to us by the eternal, sovereign and just God

Transition

Practically, how do we redeem this time?

again Moses calls us to look to the Author of Our Days

A. Walk in light of God’s grace — vs 13-14

Psalm 90:13–14 LSB

13 Return, O Yahweh; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your slaves. 14 O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Moses longed for God’s forgiveness and grace for their sin and pride

Calls on God to return — to turn from His wrath and just judgement to blessing them with His lovingkindness

Prays for satisfaction in the grace of God — living in light of God’s lovingkindness — His steadfast love brings gladness to every morning

B. Walk in Light of God’s Work — vs 15-16

Psalm 90:15–16 LSB

15 Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, And the years we have seen evil. 16 Let Your work appear to Your slaves And Your majesty to their sons.

God’s lovingkindness brings mercy and blessing that is lavished on those whom He has forgiven

redeems the days that are evil and affliction with gladness

vs 16 — Understands how fleeting life is — wants to live in light of God’s work of redeeming the World

Moses wants to be involved in the good works God has prepared — in God’s redemptive plan

Wants to commend the majesty of God’s work of redemption to the next generation

C. Walk in Light of Our Need for God’s Favor

Life is so brief, time is so short — we need God’s favor to establish our work

Unless God blesses our work, we will never accomplish something of eternal value

We are dependent on Him to help us steward the time He has given us

D. Final Charge

I want to finish tonight with this final quote from Spurgeon:

Good men are anxious not to work in vain. They know that without the Lord they can do nothing, and therefore they cry to him for help in the work, for acceptance of their efforts, and for the establishment of their designs…we come and go, but the Lord’s work abides. When we have withered like grass, our holy service, like gold…will survive the fire.

Prayer