Ephesians 5:15-16-etal.

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Ephesians 5:15-17 (Father’s Day 2020)

What is it about getting older that makes time seems to pass more quickly?
Growing up, I remember time seemed to drag.
I remember counting down the days till school got out for summer.
I remember counting down the days till Christmas, and it seemed like forever.
I remember being ready to get old enough to drive.
Counting the days till I turned 15 so I could get my permit.
Then that wasn’t enough, the I counted the days till I turned 15 and a half so I could get my “day license.” Then that wasn’t enough. Then I counted the days till I got my full license.
I remember counting down the days to get married.
We’ve all done this right?
I remember often, counting down the days.
And all of the days in between, was just killing time until I could get to the next big day.
When I was young, the current “normal” day didn’t matter so much because we are just looking forward and toward the next big day.
But now, in my life, time seems to have sped up.
I’ll be 30 next January. I don’t want to be thirty. I want to stay in my twenties.
But time is speeding up. Of course, I don’t mean that time is moving any faster than it did when I was younger, it just seems that way. You know what I mean parents. Right?
Its difficult to for me to even comprehend that Abi is 4 years old. That Evan Grace is 2 years old.
Where did that time go?
There’s never been a more true statement that with raising children, that the days are long but the years are short.
And when I put my children’s life in perspective with how long I can expect to keep them in my own hom eunder my care, time seems to move even faster.
For Abi, She’s 4 and a half which means she’s already spent about 25% of the time that she’s is going to spend with me at home.
Now, while that statistic may bring a tear to my eyes and I really don’t want to think about it that way, I have to.
But my goal and your goal this morning is not to sit and sulk about the lack of time that we have with our children.
My goal this morning is take stock of how using the time I have with them as their father.
My goal as your pastor this morning is to bring more attention to the time that you do have, and to explain to you a passage that I believe could be transformative to us as parents.
Before we get there, let me give you a littel context of the verse we will discuss this morning,
Paul is writing to the church of Ephesus here.
And traditionally this book has been divided into two parts.
The first part, in chapters 1-3, Paul lays out some very important theology for us.
He speaks of God’s work in salvation in chapter 1. How it was God who chose us and pursued us.
In chapter 2, he speaks of what happened in the transaction of salvation.
We were dead. Ephesians 2:1
He made us alive.
Then he goes further in chapter 2 and into chapter 3 to explain how God has made the church of Ephesus, a Gentile people by ethnicity, citizens of the kingdom, adopted children in the family of God. All of this on the foundation of Christ Jesus.
In chapters 1-3, Essentially, Paul deals with our identity in Christ.
What God has accomplished in us that he may bestow upon us every spiritual blessing.
And Paul is doing this because we have to understand who we are in Christ, before we can ever rightly understand what we are to do as Christ’s followers.
The second half of the book, which is where our passage is this morning, is devoted to what it means to live out this identity that we have been given in Christ.
Chapter 4 verses 1-3, then serves as a hinging point in this book.
And I want to read that before we go to this passage because it establishes where Paul is going.
Listen to what he says beginning in verse 1 of chapter 4
Ephesians 4:1–3 NASB95
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
he points back to what we are and who we are, in order to give us a better understand of what we are to do.
So essentially in chapters 4,5, and 6, Paul is dealing we the question:
How are we to walk as believers?
How are we to walk “worthy of the calling that we have in Christ?”
Listen to what he says here in chapter 5 verse 15.
Ephesians 5:15 NASB95
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

Firstly, we see today from this passage, we are to walk carefully.

Literally, he is saying here we are to watch our walk carefully.
In other words, pay close attention to the way we walk.
This was important for the believers in Ephesus during that day, and it is just as important for us today.
Because our tendency is toward carelessness, not carefulness.
We spoke of this last week in Hebrews 2.
No one sets out to drift away. Its something that happens as a result of carelessness.
He’s urging the same carefulness here in how we walk.
Walk carefully.
There is to be an intended purpose guiding our lives.
Which means, as believers, we can’t adopt the care free mindset of the world.
That’s foolish.
Which is precisely why he says here to walk.
“Not as unwise men, but as wise.”
Now what does he mean by wise? How does God see wisdom?
Wisdom defined by God in Scripture is the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 1:7 NASB95
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
So Walking carefully, means walking in and with the fear of the Lord.
It the fear of God and His Word that should be on our minds as we live this life.
And we are to be careful to guide our lives by that motivation.
The Fear of God.
Let me ask you: Is your life guided and directed by the fear of God or are you living in fear of something else.
Because fear controls our life.
If you fear men and what they say, you will spend your life wrongly trying to please men.
If you fear this world, you will spend your life wrongly trying to please the world.
If you fear God, you will spend your life rightly trying to please God. He is the only one worth fearing.
Jesus made this clear in Matthew 10:28
Matthew 10:28 NASB95
“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
We walk carefully with a fear of God.
We need Father’s who do that.
We need mothers who do that.
We need Pastors deacons, SS teachers who do that.
Ephesians 5:15 NASB95
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
How do we walk wisely?
Look at verse 16.
Ephesians 5:16 NASB95
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
Making the most of your time. Literally, redeeming the time, buying the time.
I think the wording here is important because it gives us the analogy of spending money.
Money is important to us. Normally, we are careful with how we spend our money. As adults, we realize what it takes to get money, so we don’t set out to waste it. Kids aren’t like that.
Illustration-
Option A- I’m gonna pick on Mr Teddy for a minute.Ice Cream at Daddy Joes.
Option B- Happy Nappers.
Why? Because for most of us, its limited. We don’t have a lot of it. Thats why we are careful with it.
So it is with time. We should be careful with how we spend our time. and One of the reasons why is that we do not have a lot of it.
One of the biggest ignored sins in the life of believers today, is that we have become professional time wasters.
We do things with our time that is absolutely meaningless.
We give our time and our lives and our hearts to meaningless activities and meaningless things when we really do not have enough of it to waste.
The second reason we need to make the most of our time is found in the second part of that verse.
Ephesians 5:16 NASB95
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
Now, I don’t think I need to prove this to you. I don’t think Paul felt the needed to prove this to the church of Ephesus, he doesn’t go on to explain this. He assumes they know that the days are evil.
Look around. Look at the world, and the constant state of rebellion and turmoil that exists in our society right now. The days are evil.
This is a common way to describe the last days in the New Testament.
Its an evil age that we live in as the church, as men and women.
Its dominated by demonic forces and false doctrine, and arrogant wickedness. People are proud of their sin.
And we want to waste time while thats going on?
Believers, we cant. We have to make the most of the time realizing that with every passing day, every passing hour, every passing second, every one in this world that we come in contact with on a daily basis is inching closer and closer to standing in judgment before that God they have chosen to defy.
Applying this verse today: We have to ask the hard question.
Father’s are we making the best use of our time with our children?
Do our children see us making the best use of our time?
What we spend our time doing, and on the other hand, what we spend our time NOT doing, speaks volumes to what we hold near and dear to our hearts.
Having said that, and I’m not going to mince words here. I am going to say this in the most loving way I can.
As fathers, we have to prioritize the things of God for our families. We have to lead in taking them to church, not in taking them away from it.
Are you making the best use of your time?
We only have them for a little while. What will they see you prioritize?
(Example- I am so thankful for this. My dad. He had and has his faults. No dad is perfect. But I will say this. I cannot remember a time ever in my life where my dad lead us as a family to miss gathering together with the body of Christ on a Sunday morning. Even when we were on vacation, we found a church on Sunday morning wherever we were. I remember that.)
And our children will remember what we prioritize as well.
The days are evil. Are you making the best use of your time? The question isn’t are you doing something good with your family? Are you making the best use of your time?
Lastly look with me here in verse 17.
Ephesians 5:17 NASB95
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
If we are going to define wisdom by Scripture, we have to define what a fool is by Scripture as well.
David says in Psalm 53:1
Psalm 53:1 NASB95
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,” They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good.
Solomon in Proverbs gives us a pretty good idea what he means by a fool.
Proverbs 1:7 NASB95
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 28:26 NASB95
He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.
Proverbs 10:23 NASB95
Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, And so is wisdom to a man of understanding.
Proverbs 13:20 NASB95
He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Proverbs 26:11 NASB95
Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.
So we come back to Ephesians
Ephesians 5:17 NASB95
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Don’t hate godly instruction. Don’t leave here this morning hating what God’s Word says.
Don’t trust in your own heart.
Don’t allow wickedness to become a sport to you. Something you practice at.
Be careful with who you allow to influence your life. Don’t be a companion of fools.
Don’t return to the same sin like a dog to vomit. Repent of it.
Do the will of God.
Understand what the will of the Lord is.
What is the will of the Lord?
In verse 15, its a carefulness in our walk.
In verse 16 its making the most of our time.
I want to read one more Proverb to you.
Proverbs 14:26 NASB95
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.
Now proverbs are general truths, they are not guarantees.
We have no guarantees that our children will turn out to fear God even if we fear him and show that to them in our lives.
You should know:
Your children, grandchildren, they are accountable to God for their sin not yours.
But the Bible makes clear this point that as parents, specifically Fathers, it is our responsibility to teach them to fear the Lord.
In fact, Paul will say a verse verse later.
Ephesians 6:4 NASB95
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
That is the will of the Lord for us dads.
Are you careful how you walk?
Are you walking wisely?
Are you making the best use of your time?
Ephesians 5:17 NASB95
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
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