Coasting Christians
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Introduction
Introduction
Read Ephesians 5:15-18
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. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Pray/Dedicate moment to God
Prayer - Holy moment, not an original thought, let me not add or take away, let your Holy Spirit enlighten us and bring wisdom in this moment.
Good morning everyone…I want you to ponder on a question with me…be honest with yourself and really think about this: (Are you a coasting Christian or a Cruise control Christian?)
Heres what i mean by that? Listen to the definition of coasting:
Coasting - “to move easily without using power” “make progress without much effort”
We tend to think of a car when we think of coasting.
Going downhill and save on gas (story)
But the reality of driving is that there is no such thing as a perpetual downhill.
Eventually we are going to hit a hill.
Depending on how big that hill is it will determine what the affect is on a car.
Small hill will slow us down, big hill may even cause us to roll backwards
If we think of this in the context of the Christina life, a hill represents those hard time’s in our lives, those uphill battles, crisis moments
And we all have them....noone is immune to struggles
And if we aren’t connected to the power source, we can be slowed way down, or even begin to backslide, as doubts creep in, as we question God’s love and goodness during those times.
But here’s the thing...its not even the hills that are the most dangerous for Christians....times of crisis can cause us to cry out to God in great need and dependence.
Even an atheist learns how to pray in times of crisis
The long, monotonous flat roads…can be just as dangerous for Christians
When you coast on flat roads the slowing is gradual. Go long enough, and eventually you’ll slow down to a crawl or maybe even stop completely.
This tends to happen over time
Our christian life can so easily become secondary to other things
As we pursue our career our Christianity is coasting behind
As we pursue our American dream our Christianity is coasting behind
As we pursue our own comfort our Christianity is coasting behind
As we simply get caught up in the monotony of life, we can tend to coast
Cruise-control Christians are different though
The thing about cruise control is it doesn’t matter whether you are going downhill, uphill, or driving on the long flat roads, we are always connected to the power source.
Obviously, every analogy breaks down at some point, because with cruise control, you can set it and forget it.
It doesn’t usually work that way with God though. There is an intentionality in connecting with God and going forward in His power.
The main point I’m trying to get across is there are those who are intentional about staying connected to God and walking in His Spirit and His will, and there are those who allow their Christianity to take a back seat to other things…there’s not a priority or sensitivity to the things of God.
So where am I going with this? I want to hone in on something very specific. And here it is:
When we are coasting Christians, we miss God opportunities
Let me show you what I mean by that…we are going to read that verse in Ephesians 5 again, but I want to start at the beginning of the chapter to give us a fuller context, and the we’ll break it down.
So if you aren’t there yet, turn to Ephesians 5 and read along with me.
Opportunities
Opportunities
Read Ephesians 5: 1-18
There is a call for righteousness, to walk in the same love that God demonstrated to us through Jesus Christ, be filled with Spirit, walk carefully, discern the will of the Lord
Paul, is exposing ungodliness (sexual immorality, lust, greed, covetousness, idolatry, gossip)
He’s saying don’t walk in those things…we are children of light walk in things that are good, and true, and right! Be filled with the Spirit!
But we get to verse 16, and here’s where I want to break things down a bit, because it is so powerful! Read vs 16
There are three things to this:
Making the best use of
The New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek and
This phrase comes from a Greek word (I’m not even going to try to say it because I can’t pronounce it) literally means to “redeem, buy back, or purchase”
So redeem the time because the days are evil
Time
When we hear the word time, we tend to think of linear time (in the context of minutes and seconds, days and years)
It’s this progression on a timeline
The word in Greek for this kind of “time” is “kronos”
Our word “chronological” comes from this root
But that’s not the word that is used here!
The word used in this passage is kairos - which carries with it the sense of an opportune time, or in other words an opportunity
People are always looking for more kronos (clock time)
But we should be looking for more Kairos within the kronos
Redeem the opportunities because the days are evil
The days are evil
What does it mean the days are evil?
The Faithlife Study Bible says it this way: “The current time is characterized by disobedience and the corrupting influence of satan.
Concerning Christians:
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Concerning Jesus:
4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Concerning unbelievers:
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
In a sense here is what Paul is saying!!! We need to take advantage of every opportunity we can for righteousness, because this sinful world takes every opportunity it can to produce death!
I’ve heard it said that “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
Sin is intentional in destroying us....it doesn’t coast, and we likewise can’t coast as Christians.
The enemy will take advantage of every situation in your life to create fear, anxiety, doubt, bitterness, unforgiveness, lust, apathy.
Health Crisis - “A good God wouldn’t have let this happen”
Buried a family member - “If God really loved you, this person would still be alive.”
Chaos of our world - “Everything is spinning out of control, let me introduce you to anxiety, your new best friend.”
Burned and Betrayed - The enemy is there justifying unforgiveness and feeding bitterness into our souls
Unsolicited suggestive image - Sin is right their crouching at the door enticing you with one click that leads to another, that leads to another.
Angry and insensitive word - Pride, anger, and insecurity want to rise up.
Deep emotional wounds - “Healing ‘s not possible for you!”
Relationship that promises everything - “A little compromise won’t hurt.”
Entertainment - Suck us into a life of inaction, laziness, and apathy. Where for every chapter of our Bible we read, we watch an entire season of the latest show on Netflix.
Careers - That become all consuming at the expense of our family, friends, and personal convictions.
Emotions - That are constantly up and down and will challenge the promises of God in our lives.
The enemy will take every opportunity he can to stunt your growth in Christ, to cause you to be ineffective as a child of God, and ultimately lead you down a path of destruction and death.
My Bible says in John 10:10 that “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full!”
My Bible says in Romans 5:20 says, “Where sin has abounded, grace has much more abounded!”
What Paul is saying in this passage in Ephesians is to take those opportunities that the enemy want to use for his purposes, and redeem them for the purposes of God!
Joesph in the OT understood this
In Genesis 50 as Joesph stood before his brothers who had sold him into slavery in Egypt, now as second in command and with every opportunity in the world to pay them back…he said this:
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Joseph took an opportunity birthed for the purpose of evil, and redeemed it for righteousness and the purposes of God! And an entire nation was saved from famine.
Paul and Silas understood this in the book of Acts
When for the crime of preaching freedom and deliverance, found themselves beaten with rods, and thrown in the inner prison with shackles on their feet.
They could have cursed God out for allowing them to go through this when all they were trying to do was live for Him!
They could have decided in that moment, that the Gospel wasn’t worth the torture.
But no!!! The Bible says that at midnight they began to pray and sing hymns to God.
And the prisoners were listening to them.
And as they worshipped God, the Bible says their shackles fell off, and the prison doors opened!
But even this wasn’t for them or their freedom! It was for a prison guard that came trembling before them and asked how he could be saved.
Paul and Silas took an opportunity birthed from evil, and redeemed it for righteousness and the purposes of God! And a jailor and his entire family got saved and baptized!
God’s will for your life
God’s will for your life
What are the opportunities in your life right now?
Ephesians 5:16 says redeem the opportunities because the days are evil
And it goes on to say don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of God is
Why is it that we always think of God’s will for our lives as a future event?
It’s almost as if we don’t believe God has a plan for us now!
God’s will for your life does not unfold by God revealing a big master plan to you, with detailed step by step instructions for the next 50 years.......God’s will is revealed in your life from one opportunity to the next!
I love what Warren Wiersbe said: he said
How foolish to stumble along through life and never seek to know the will of the Lord! Instead of walking “accurately” (which is equivalent to “circumspectly”), they miss the mark, miss the road, and end up suffering on some detour. God wants us to be wise and understand His will for our lives. As we obey His will, we “buy up the opportunities” (redeem the time, v. 16) and do not waste time, energy, money, and talent in that which is apart from His will. Lost opportunities may never be regained; they are gone forever.
Application
Application
So get this: God’s will for your life is not a future event, it is your current opportunity!
And those opportunities become clear as we walk in wisdom as verse 15 tells us, and as we are continually filled with the Spirit.
And if you coast in your Christina life, you are going to miss it.
Summit students - God has you here at Summit during this season. What are the opportunities He has given you?
Chance grow in your knowledge of the Bible
The space to develop a permanent strong devotional life with God
The opportunity to create lasting friendships and accountability.
A season to seek rest and healing.
Are you seizing those opportunities, or are you coasting through this season until God reveals His “future will” for you?
For all of us - Whatever season of life we are in, what are the opportunities before us?
vs. 19-20 goes on to say Ephesians 5:19-20
19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
It could be finding your voice of praise, like Paul and Silas, in the midst of hardship and suffering
Possibly its choosing the testimony of a thankful spirit, rather than finding every reason in the world to complain
Maybe its the chance to share the gospel with someone, or to be an encouragement to someone who needs it.
It could be choosing forgiveness rather than bitterness, and love over hate
It could mean being more intentional about spending time filling our minds with the Word of God, and praying for others
So we are going to redeem an opportunity right now!
Will you stand with me
We are going to sing WayMaker as we prepare to close
The only reason we can take hold of these opportunities is because God has already made a way!
You mights say, but you don’t understand the depth of what I’m facing
The pain is too deep
The unforgiveness has gone too far
The shame is too real
the temptation is too much
I can’t do this....and you are right you can’t…but He can!
Because we are not disconnected from the power source, we are filled with the Spirit of God and God has already made a way!!!
Battling in you mind
Take this opportunity to take your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ
I have the mind of Christ now....not of this world
Struggling with crippling fear
You need to set you heart and mind on God
Holding on to unforgiveness
Today, I’m taking one step in the direction of forgiveness....even if all you are saying is “God, I’m willing to forgive. Help me!”
Wrestling with Hurt
I’m going let my voice of praise be heard. And you need to make the declaration that God is good!
Complaining to much - You just need to begin to find reasons to Thank God
Coasting - I want to get serious again!
As we sing this song, lets step into this opportunity fully!
And after this song I’m going to come back to and say a prayer for those who have never surrendered their life to Jesus Christ
Salvation
Salvation
ABC’s of salvation
What does it mean to be born again?
Its as easy as A, B, C
ADMIT you are a sinner in need of a savior
This should be the easy part
Have you ever messed up?
BELIEVE that Jesus died for you sins and rose again
I believe that God came to earth as a man and paid the penalty for my sin….a penalty I couldn’t pay.
CONFESS Jesus as Lord of your life
I don’t just recognize you as my savior, my life belongs to you…you are my Lord.
If you made the decision today to follow Christ we would love to hear from you and provide some next steps and support for you
So if you made that decision, Text DECIDEDTSC to 94090
And one of our pastors will be sure to connect with you!
Ending
Ending
Amen, hey thank you everyone here and online for joining us this morning
I pray that God spoke to you in a special way
As we close, lets go keeping our hearts and minds open to be sensitive to the opportunities that God opens to us today.
God bless you!
End