Open your Bibles to Eph 5:15

Mute your microphones and turn off your cameras

title for tonights sermon

Redeem the Time

Time is an elusive mystery. In one sense, time is common as each day adds a new 24 hours to our life But even though time is common, it cannot be stored up and saved for later. Time cannot be slowed down, and it cannot be replaced once it is passed. Time is ever ticking and always moving. For this reason time is invaluable, for it cannot be purchased.

Sure you might work have a job and work for so much an hour…

But consider this:

Regardless of where a person lives, or how much money a person makes a year… regardless of who their family is, and regardless of their position in society, from the highest in authority, to those without any authority… Each and every one of us will die. Our life, thus our time, is ticking and being used up.

And to add to the mystery of time, none of us knows how much time we have left to live. Any one of us can die at any moment. And while it might seem like we can put death off to a later date if we maintain our health with proper exercise and diet, this idea is foreign to the Bible.

The Bible teaches us that

life is short

death is certain

in the end, we will all face the righteous judgment of God

It’s with these things in mind that Paul writes these words

Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

I want us to consider three things during our time together tonight:

We are to look carefully at the way we spend our time.

We are to make the best use of our time.

We are to adjust the way we use our time in such a way that pleases God.

1. The Christian life is to be carefully examined.

Ephesians 5:15 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

When Paul tells us to look carefully how you walk, he is not suggesting that we ensure that we don’t drag our feet or to make sure that carry ourself with proper posture.

The biblical expression ‘how you walk’ means ‘how you live’ or ‘what you do’

So when Paul says, ‘look carefully how you walk,’ we can understand that he is telling us to look at our life.

Survey the pursuits that fill your day

Analyze the activities that consume your attention

Look carefully how you walk.

Before we move past this too quickly, it’s fitting to ask yourself this:

Do I examine my life?

Or do I just take each day as it comes without too much consideration?

Paul, as he is carried along by the Holy Spirit, is instructing us to take a careful look at how we are living our life:

During our small groups we will discuss some diagnostic questions to try to assess how we are living our life, but let me ask you them to you now for your consideration:

How do you spend your time?

What are your personal goals that you are striving towards?

What are you are living for?

What are you obsessed with?

What is the first/last thing that you think about in your day?

Now this is far from an exhaustive list of questions, but hopefully they will help us begin to look at how we are living our life.

The Christian life must be carefully examined

Leads us to our next point:

2. The Christian life is not to be wasted.

Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Upon examining our life, we are told to spend our time in the way that is of the greatest value.

Recall with me the elusive nature of time:

Time always ticking

Time is ever stopping

And we don’t know how much time we have left

Whether you realize it or not, your time is always being spent.

right now at this very moment, your time is being spent

When you sleep, your time is being spent

When you watch a movie or play a game, your time is being spent

when you scroll through TicToc until 1:00AM (and I am speaking from experience) your time is being spent

Whatever you do, whether you are doing something productive, or you are doing nothing, your time is being spent.

So Paul tells us, make the best use of the time

You can spend time being productive for the kingdom of God and for eternity (this is the best use of your time), or you can waste your time on meaningless activities.

This is so obvious, yet it’s important to be stated. You are living your life every single second. The time that you have in your life doesn’t start

when you enter your twenties and move out of your parents’ house

or when you begin your dream job

or when you get married and have a family

or even when social distancing measures are removed

Here and now your life is being used, and spent.

So we must consider whether or not we making the best use of our time.

Consider this: Your life is like an hour glass that has been turned over. And constantly sand is running through that hour glass called life. And as each second passes, there is less sand in the hour glass than there was a second ago. Seconds turn into minutes, and minutes into hours. Hours pass, as do the days and months and in what feels like a moment we are another decade thorough our short life. And while we can calculate the amount of time that is left in the day, we are completely clueless as to how much time remains in our life.

So, the Christian has no time to burn… Jesus did not die to give you life only for you to waste your life on meaningless tasks. For to fill your life with these things a waste time, but it is of the life that Jesus died to redeem.

And this leads us to the final point. How does the Christian know what is the best use of the time that the Lord has Given them. Paul tells us in v 17

Ephesians 5:17 ESV

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

While the Christian life is to be examined, it is done in order to ensure that the life that is being lived is being lived in conformity with the with the will of God. And in order to conform one’s life to the will of God. we must first understand what his will is.

Notice Paul doesn’t just say conform your life to the will of God, but Understand what the will of the Lord is.

So in order for the Christian life to be well spent:

it must be lived with diligence and careful examination:

Ephesians 5:15 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

It must be lived efficiently where every hour is filled to the max with activities that are most beneficial

Ephesians 5:16 ESV

16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

(this includes Sabath rest as the Lord has instructed) - but there is the hint… the Lord instructs us to rest (as this is the will of the Lord)

So in order for the Christian life to be used diligently and efficiently, they must first know what the will of God is.

Ephesians 5:17 ESV

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

And where is the will of God revealed expect in the very word of God.

3. The Christian life can only be lived out with a knowledge of the will of God.

The Christin life is to live their life with diligence and efficiency, much like a car that burns fuel in order to get the most miles out of each gallon.

If you were going to go on a long drive, lets say to Disneyland, you would do well to pick a car that would be most efficient to get you to where you are going. You could have the most efficient car that gets 40 miles per gallon (and if you didn’t know this is very efficient), but if you don’t know where you are going, what is the purpose of such an efficient car? Sure you might get 40 MPG, but if instead of going South you end up going north, and you drive for 10 hours going north crossing the Canadian border, not only will you have wasted the fuel only to not get to where you intended to go, but you will have wasted the 10 hours going the wrong direction and you will waste at least 10 more hours trying to get to where you started.

The point is this, diligence and efficiency in the Christian life are not enough for one to not waste their life.

There are a lot of self help books that will tell you how to reflect on your life and how make the best of your time. But this is not what Paul has in mind.

What he has in mind is the shortness of life, the certainty of death, and the righteous judgment of God that we will face.

So Paul tells us to use our time in light of what we know God’s will is for us in life

He says it in Eph 5:10 as well

Ephesians 5:10 ESV

10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

The Christian life isn’t just a matter of irrational impulse, But it is a life of intelligent reflection upon the word of God and action that is followed according to that word.

Paul told us to look carefully how we walk, and the way that we do this is by illuminating our feet with God’s word.

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

It is by the word of God, that our steps are led to the source of life that is Jesus Christ. This light that is God’s word, by his Spirit, illuminates our feet so that we do not stumble over the source of life, but instead build our life upon the finished work of Jesus.

So, do not waste your time, instead make the best of it according to the will of the Lord.

Let’s pray.

Ephesians 5:15-17

Redeem the Time

Main Idea: The Christian must use their time in an effort to please God.

Small Group Questions: 1. Examine your walk: What do you do with your free time?

What are your goals that you are striving towards?

What are you are living for?

What are you obsessed with?

What motivates you?

What is the first/last thing that you think about in your day?

2. Upon examining your life, are you making the best of the time that the Lord has given you? Please explain.

3. Do you know what the will of God is for your life? And if so, in what ways do you need bring your life into conformity with the will of God?