Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

-According to research from RescueTime, one of several apps for iOS and Android created to monitor phone use, people generally spend an average of three hours and 15 minutes on their phones every day, with the top 20% of smartphone users spending upwards of four and a half hours per/day.

-In 2017 alone, an average U.S. consumer spent 238 minutes (3h 58min) daily watching TV.

According to a Nielsen report, United States adults are watching five hours and four minutes of television per day on average (35.5 h/week, slightly more than 77 days per year).

psalm 39:

Psalm

-This topic of the brevity of our life seems to be a topic from Genesis to Revelations

-This topic of the brevity of our life seems to be a topic from Genesis to Revelations.....

-This topic of the brevity of our life seems to be a topic from Genesis to Revelations

2 Corinthians 6:2

-From Genesis to Revelations the writers are always calling for a serious commitment to use our time to glory of God.

-This topic of the brevity of our life seems to be a topic from Genesis to Revelations

Review

-We learned in the past several weeks that God given the church responsibilities to filter its own self from sin.

Biblical confrontation is the immune system of the church.

When a person has a strong immune system as soon as a foreign invader gets in the body the immune system attacks.

-We learned that there are three reason to confront: Immorality, Division, and False Teaching

-We learned Three Criteria for Individual Judgement: You must have the right motive, you must use the right standard, you must be the right person

-We learned there are three types of Sinners: The Blind, The Broken and the Belligerent....The Scripture have given us the blueprint about how each of these need to be dealt with.

-Now Paul in (v.15-16) takes us to the seriousness of the work that we are engage in.

He seems to be rebuking a carefree attitude towards life.

Always-In order for us to properly order our lives in the world we must keep eternity in our view recognizing that this world is preparation for the next world.

I.

The Time is now

(v.15) “Therefore”it is a clear that Paul new subject matter is based on his previous contention about Saints being separate from the world.

(v.15) “Therefore be careful” Paul starts off by telling us to “Be Careful” This is a verb.

It is a present verb(meaning this is to be an everyday)warning.

We could translate this phrase “Always be careful” it is also an Imperative which is a command and it is active meaning it is something you do not something that is done to you.

A verb is either something you do, or something you allow.

a. Careful-Circumspectly(I will walk circumspectly)—accurately, precisely with care.

The Christian walk is not like a creative writing class, it is more like Math Class.

In creative writing you can just write about anything you can imagine and there is no wrong answer, but in Math you have to be precise.

Listen to how other translation deal with this phrase.

“Pay careful attention” CSB

“Be very careful” NIV

“See then that you walk” NKJV

“Look carefully then how you walk” ESV

Summary “Be accurate/precise in how you walk” MBC Translation.

This final translation conveys the idea of intentionality and focus in your Christian journey.

(v.15) “Therefore be careful how you walk” Now lets translate this phrase based on our verbal work.

“Therefore always be accurate in how you live your life”

Transition statement-Then Paul tells us about two hearers of the word

a.

The unwise-asophos-philosophy-mindless, stupid, takes no account into the consequences of a thought or action.

The unwise may know a lot but their follow through is lacking.

the Unwise is not a doer

b.

The wise—sophos—one who can put things together who has insight and comprehension.

One who is able to weigh out the future consequences (positive/negative) of his/her present decision.

The wise is both a doer and a hearer.

-The Hebrews describe this is “Skill at Living” These are people who have this simply formula of applying everyday what they know to be true intellectually

Illustration

help

1 kings 3:

(v.5-6) Solomon recounts all the good things that God had done for Solomon’s father David.

(v.7-8)

Then Solomon admits his absolute inability to govern the people that God had given him.

(v.9-10) Solomon’s understanding the magnitude of his role lead him to ask for Wisdom above all things.

HE asked for an ability to discern situation and be fair and just with God’s people.

(v.11-15) God then because of Solomon’s prayer said because you have not asked for; Long Life, Riches, or the head of your enemies I am going to give you a wise and discerning like King before you, nor after you and I am going to give you all the things you didn’t ask for and a long life.

Paul then tells us what true wisdom looks like applied.

(v.16) “making the most of your life”

a. Redeeming-to buy up or buy back; to buy for one’s self or one’s advantage.

Metaphorically, it means to make a wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing, good.

God has given each of us 1440 min per/day.

-This whole phrase carries the idea of using time to your advantage.

This does not mean you don’t rest or take vacation, it means that you guard your time religiously and don’t allow elongated times of inactivity, or focus on things that don’t have an eternal payoff.

(v.16) “making the most of your time” There are two words for time in Greek:

a. Chronos-Chronological-Kronus is the King of the Titans he is call the God of Time.

This refers to minute by minute sequential time.

b.

Kairos—Season or ages; a moment of determined or undetermined period of time in which to act or to perform something.

Examples of the usage of Chronos:

-What time is the Lions Game on?

It is time for you get up for work today.

Examples of the usage of Kairos:

-Tell people you love them while you still have time.

-It is time to strike now!

-Time to get the winter coats out.

Do you see the difference “kairos” refers to season of time when something is best to do, because when the season changes it will be to late to act.

Tony Evans analogy on aging: Let’s say someone is 20 years old now but has a genetic heart deficiency that they don’t know about and they are going to die at 29 while playing basketball leaving them 9 years to live, but then there is me who is 47 years old, but the Lord is going to give me 77 years on this Earth which is 30 more years.

Tell me who is older?

Right the 20 year younger in Chronos Time, but he is older in Kairos Time because his age/season on the earth is going to be only 9 years and mine is going to be 30 years.

The Key to this analogy is that I made up a fictitious death date.

In life we don’t know when our curtain is going to close, so we are to even more live with a sense of urgency.

-This is what Paul is talking about.

Paul died fairly early he was in his early 50 when he died.

He got saved in his 30s so he had 20 years of Sold out ministry for God.

Paul live in light of eternity.

He finished more in 20 years than most of us who have been saved for decades.

(v.16) “making the most of your time, because the days are evil” Paul uses interesting Phraseology in this text.

How can days be evil?

-Satan can be evil, People can be evil, but days are not Evil.

Unless we interpret days as not literal days on a calendar but as indefinite periods or ages.

-Paul is writing in the early 50s ad.

And when he describes the culture in which he lives he says “The Days are Evil” he takes a look over the culture and determines that this culture is saturated, marinated, and soaked in Evil.

Paul has already told us the source in

(v.2) Paul tells us that this world system is absolutely under the control of Satan.

He has been made by God the steward of this world.

Let me show you this: