"RE-IMAGINED MINISTRY: The Wisdom to get the Job Done in 2021 and Beyond"

TEXT: EPHESIANS 5:15-17

INTRODUCTION

Ephesians 5:15-17 (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. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

When we pause to consider all that has transpired last year, and even the first part of this year, we must admit that we have had some:

· Good times and bad times

· Mountain highs and some valley lows

· Triumphs and some tragedies

· Thrilling victories and some tough defeats

· Cheers and some fears

· Successes and some setbacks

We lost some great people last year. Through it all we must declare God has been good to us. Yes He has, God has been good to us. He has truly brought us from a mighty long way.

I declare this pandemic has been a burden and a blessing. It has challenged us and in some cases forced us to rethink how we do ministry. We have had to step up our game in making use of technology to reach this dying world with the living word. Our task as the people of God right here at North G is to walk in wisdom as we meet the challenges we will face seeking to do the King’s business.

In the text before us Paul is talking about the walk of a Christian. He informs us that the Christians walk is characterized by love, by light and by wisdom.

The road on which we travel is narrow and is one on which we must walk cautiously. One mistake, one misstep can be fatal. This is not some broad avenue, we cannot walk this way and that way on this road.

Matt 7:14

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

(KJV)

Because of the uncertainty that lies before us, the Christian must be cautious in his walk. Our walk must be characterized by wisdom.

If we are to get the job done in 2021 for the Lord of life, we cannot be foolish. We must be wise in our every effort to accomplish God’s great purpose for us.

It would be foolish for us to go forward into the year acting as if God did not exist. The bible declares a man a fool when he says there is no God.

Ps 14:1

1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (KJV)

Notice that the idea of there being no God is not necessarily spoken aloud. It is merely said “in his heart”. You can live as if God does not exist without ever saying it. The bible calls that person a fool. Whenever the bible calls you a fool, honey you are a fool of the first order. You can deny the existence of God by your beliefs, and also by your behavior.

Rom 1:21-22

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, KJV)

As we unpack the passage to uncover the principles there are three truths threaded into the tapestry of the text. They form the substance of the sermons and offer the homiletical hinges on which the message swings. Appreciating and applying the principles will help us get the job done in 2021. Notice, TOTALLY REARANGE YOUR LIFE’S PRINCIPLES, TRULY RECOGNIZE YOUR LIMITED PRIVILEDGES, and THOUGHTFULLY REMEMBER THE LORD’S PURPOSES

I. TOTALLY REARRANGE YOUR LIFE’S PRINCIPLES (V.15)

Everyone will have someone or something for a god. The fool has substituted the God of glory with gods of his own imaginations. In effect he becomes his own god. Whoever tries to dictate the dimensions of his own life has made himself a god. When you make yourself a god, you are a fool.

The way to wisdom, love and life is the way to God. This wisdom is not the wisdom of the world. It is not the wisdom that was prized by the Greeks. They loved:

· To stand in areopagus

· In the Pantheon

· With all of its architectural splendor

· With its marbled majesty

· To discuss and debate sophistry and philosophy

The Greeks could go from one philosophy to another without their lives ever being impacted. Truth is not like that, truth demands recognition, acceptance and change. In scripture wisdom is:

· Centered in conviction

· Demonstrated by devotion

· Secured by submission

We are told by Paul to rearrange our life’s principles. He says our walk must be characterized by wisdom. The verse begins with “see then”, or “therefore”, which reaches back to what he has just said regarding the Christian walk.

He tells us that when we realize that we are the children of God and as such share His life and love, then we are moved to be wise in our walk. Only the wise walk is befitting the child of God.

When we become Christians, God makes His wisdom available to us. Paul tells Timothy regarding wisdom.

2 Tim 3:15

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (KJV)

Paul states to those carnal Corinthians in his first correspondence;

1 Cor 1:30

30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (KJV)

In Christ we are given:

· Redemption and righteousness

· Salvation and sanctification

At that time we are also given wisdom. This wisdom makes us responsible for our behavior. We receive the wisdom of God, but we must also grow and mature in that wisdom. As we rearrange the principles and priorities of our lives we become conformed into the image of Christ. We grow in:

· Love

· Joy

· Peace

· Long-suffering

· Temperance

· Patience

We grow as well in wisdom. In biblical theology wisdom is the practical application of knowledge. It is possible to have knowledge and not have wisdom.

Paul says the way we demonstrate our wisdom is in how we walk. He uses “walk” as a metaphor for our Christian conduct. He tells us to “walk circumspectly”. The Greek word is AKRIBOS. It carries the idea of being exact or accurate. It has the thought of;

· Looking closely

· Examining carefully

· Investigating cautiously

If we are to get the job done this year for God we cannot be flippant or foolish in the way we conduct ourselves. We must be cautious and careful. We must be awake and alert, vigilant and diligent.

1 Pet 5:8-9

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (KJV)

We must be careful because we have an enemy, an enemy;

· Who is real and ruthless

· Who is liar and wants to deceive us

· An adversary who wants to oppose us

· A vulture who wants to consume you

· Deceive the saints of God

· Discourage the work of God

· Defeat the plan of God

· Destroy the purpose of God

· Disrupt the plan of God

· Desecrate the people of God

With the kind of enemy that is out there it would be foolish for us to not to be on guard. It would not be wise for us to not be on alert.

Our change in relationship ought to lead to a corresponding change in behavior. It is foolish when we:

· Deliberately disobey

· We fail to strive for growth and maturity

· Set our hearts on the wrong things

· Listen to the devils lies

· Let the devil’s secret agents discourage us

· Disappointments defeat us

· Let hardships hinder us

· Disunity disrupt us

· Are casual in our commitments

· Are negligent in our responsibilities

· Fail in our stewardship

· Let the devil win and allowing him to thwart the purpose of God for our lives

II. TRULY RECOGNIZE YOUR LIMITED PRIVILIGES (V.16)

One of the things that mark this world is the tendency to leave unfinished what we have begun.

· A composer dies leaving his symphony unfinished

· Artist dies leaving his painting unfinished

· Poet dies leaving his poem unfinished

· Writer dies leaving his book unfinished

Sometimes death catches us before we are ready. Often without warning and without notice death comes. Without apology and with not so much as an excuse me, death comes. Death catches many people before they are ready.

Sometimes it is the death of commitment that causes many things to be left unfinished.

· Dreams never become reality

· Hopes never materialize

· Aspirations never come to fruition

So many Christian lives are unfinished symphonies. My brothers and sisters we cannot allow that to be true about us. We must not allow the devil to:

· To kill our commitment

· Rob us of our joy

· Steal our enthusiasm

· Cripple our dedication

So Paul warns us to be wise about our time. He tells us we all have limited privileges when it comes to time. There are 2 words in the Greek language that are translated “time”. CHRONOS, from which we get the word chronology. It refers to time as measured by a clock. This is not the word used by Paul.

Paul uses the word KAIROS, this word denotes a measured, allocated, fixed season, period or epoch. In the Greek text Paul makes use of the definite article, he says “the time”.

This is an important concept in biblical theology. God has set the boundaries of our lives. He has fixed limitations to our existence. We must live and deal in this life within the confines of these boundaries. They are set and will not be moved.

Some people, even some, Christians live as if they are going to be here forever. I have come to remind us we won’t be here always. You may be:

· Rich, resourceful, remarkable, responsible

· Wealthy, wise, wonderful, winsome

· Big, bad, bold, brazen

· Healthy, happy, handsome, or even holy

· Powerful, popular, prestigious, personable

· Daring, desirous, dutiful, diligent

· In who’s who or who’s not who

· On millionaires row or skid row

· Living on plenty or living in poverty

There will come a time when we must quit this walk of life. God has sovereignly bounded our lives with eternity. So Paul says to us we must “redeem the time”.

The word “redeem” is the Greek word EXAGORAZO. It means, “to buy up”. It was used for a slave who was purchased and then set free. The idea Paul has by using this word is the notion of making the most of your time.

An ancient Greek statute depicted a man with wings on his feet, a large lock of hair on the front of his head, and no hair on the back. Beneath the statute was the inscription; “who made thee? Lysippus made me. What is thy name? My name is Opportunity. Why hast thou wings on thy feet? That I might fly away swiftly. Why hast thou a great forelock? That men may seize me when I come. Why art thou bald in back? That when I am gone by, none can lay hold of me.”

That is how opportunity is; when it comes you had better grab it because after it is gone you can’t get it back. God continues to set before His people at North G. a tremendous opportunity to accomplish something great for God. We must not let this opportunity pass us by. Let’s join hands, heads, and hearts together and let’s get the job done in 2021.

The phrase “redeeming the time” is in the middle voice in Greek. This indicates that it is something we must do for ourselves. No one can make the most of your time for you but you. We must buy up all of our time and invest it in the service of King Jesus because only what we do for Christ will last.

I do not know how long we have; I do know that it has its limitations. One day our:

· Steps will be slowed

· Eyes will become dim

· Backs will stoop with the weight of the years

· Opportunities will disappear like the mist of the morning

Oh how tragically sad it is going to be for some who as they reach the end of life’s journey and look back only to see a life marked by blown chances and missed opportunities. They will look back with teary eyed, heart broken, hope stealing regret. All because they failed to make the most of the opportunities given them by God.

What is your priority? What has precedence, what is your preference? Hear me when I tell you there are only two things in the entire world that has deathless durability. Only two things will still be standing when time falls exhausted at the feet of eternity. People and the word of God are the only things that will last when this low land of sin and sorrow is no more. We ought to make priorities based on that fact.

A walk in wisdom demands hat we make the most of our time. James the brother of the Lord speaks to this point:

James 4:13-14

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.(KJV)

There is no question that the brevity of life is something that we have to face. James says life is like steam from a boiling pot. It is here and then it soon vanishes away. Life is brief, even if you lived 70 or 80 years that is still brief in the greater scheme of things. What that means is as God’s people in this place we have to be absolutely intentional about preparing the next generation for leadership. I was hit in the gut with the fierce urgency of the moment when so many of us contacted the virus about the same time. Listen we don’t have time to mess around. We can’t just talk about it, we have to be about it.

Job 14:1

1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. (KJV)

Paul that globe trotting Rabbi from Tarsus knew what it was to make the most of his time.

Acts 20:24-27

24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. 26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.

27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. (KJV)

If we are going to be wise enough to get the job done, we must walk in wisdom. This wise walk requires that we make the most of our allotted and allocated time.

III. THOUGHTFULLY REMEMBER THE LORD’S PURPOSES (17)

Paul repeats his call for Christians not to be unwise in their conduct. Considering the urgency of the moment we must not become anxious or panicked. We must not get frustrated or confused.

The reason given for our walk in wisdom and for making the most of our time is the fact that the “days are evil”. The pervasiveness and persuasiveness of evil around sometimes makes us want to give in, to give up or to give out.

We must focus our attention not so much on the problems of this world, but on the purposes of God for our lives in this world. We must come to understand what God’s will is for us in this place.

You can only know God’s will by knowing God’s word. The word of God is the revelation of God’s will for us. The word:

· Is the guideline to guide us

· Light to lead us

· Strength to sustain us

· Power to propel us

· Truth to transform us

We are going to have to get in the word and allow the word to get in us. If we are going to get the job done bible school and other study opportunities must become the priority for us that God would have them be.

Well, what is God’s will? God wants us to be saved.

John 3:16-17

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (KJV)

The reason Jesus left His rich home in glory to come to this low land of sin and sorrow is so that you and I can be saved. Our redemption is the purpose behind His incarnation, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. God desires that we be saved.

God also want us to be sanctified. He wants us to live set apart from sin and set apart for service. 1Thes 4:3-4

3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; (KJV)

God also wants us to be spiritual. He wants us to be:

· Spiritual and not carnal

· Holy and not hellish

· Heaven minded and not earth centered

The great need of the Church is for more men and women who are spiritual in their walk and talk. People who are spiritual in their attitude and ambitions. Those who are spiritual in their priorities and purposes. This is the will of God for our lives.

My prayer is the prayer the prophet prayed for his servant, “Lord open up our eyes so that we can see:

· Those who are with us are more than those against us

· Greater is He within us than he that is in the world

· God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly…

· God will supply all of our needs

· If God be for us who can be against us

· We can attempt great things for God because we can expect great things from God

· We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength

· God is able to make all grace abound…

· We can be steadfast unmovable always abounding…

Conclusion

Will you commit with me, come on lets get the job done in 2021. COME ON LET’S GET THE JOB DONE;

· THERE IS A WORK TO BE DONE

· MESSAGE TO BE TOLD

· A DEVIL TO BE DEFEATED

· A CROSS TO BE CARRIED

· A BIBLE TO BE STUDIED

· BURDENS TO BE LIFTED

· A COMMAND TO BE OBEYED

· DUTY TO BE PERFORMED

· A COMMITMENT TO BE KEPT

· SERVICE TO BE GIVEN

· JOB TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

· A CLASS TO BE TAUGHT

· A SOUL TO BE SAVED

· HURTS TO BE HEALED

· THE DOWNCAST TO BE ENCOURAGED

· THE LOST TO BE FOUND

· THE DELIQUENT TO BE RESTORED

· A GOD TO BE GLORIFIED

· A SAVIOR TO BE MAGNIFIED

· A CONGREGATION TO BE EDIFIED

· A MISSION TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

· A REWARD TO GAINED

Lets get the job done and then we can say with Issac Watts; “When I can read my title clear to mansions in the sky, I bid farewell to every fear and wipe my weeping eyes”.

You may not be able to sing like angels, you may not be able to preach like Paul, but you can tell of the love of Jesus and how He died for all.