Ephesians 5:15-21: Living the Good Life in a Not-So-Good World

Introduction

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/07/1091403634/woman-wins-10-million-lottery-wrong-button

That’s story made headlines because that’s not how life USUALLY works. Good things don’t come out of bad situations, if anything, bad things happen to good people.

It seems like this world is not for us but against us… And it is…

Paul to Ephesus: you live in a dark world. Encouraging, right? But, you know it’s true.

Eph. 2 - you used to actively walk in the ways of this dark world that is ruled by the power of the air (Satan).

Eph. 5 - Sexual immorality pervades in this dark world. It destroys lives, marriage, families, etc. Yet, sexual immorality is celebrated in our world.

Eph. 5:16 - the days are so evil. We celebrate what destroys.

Eph. 6:12 - We are in a spiritual battle against the forces of darkness.

How do you live a good life in a not-so-good world? How do you live a life where you are fulfilled and content in this world when the evil of this world is taking swings at you?

How do you find fulfilment in the things of God when this world is constantly telling you that real fulfilment is going after your desires?

Two ways to live a good life in a not-so-good world:

Use the wisdom God has given you.

Walk not as unwise people but as wise… Wisdom = allowing what you know about God to inform the decisions you make on a daily basis.

You know what is right and wrong. Wisdom is consistently choosing what’s right. Foolishness is consistently choosing what’s wrong.

Foolishness is being deceived by empty arguments… (5:6)

Foolishness is partnering with what you have been saved from (5:7) The world is good at telling you what to think and what to believe, and your sinful nature wants to Don’t go back to a way of life that takes life. Rather, expose the darkness.

Foolishness is knowing that God knows best for you, yet choosing what you know is ultimately destructive for the sake of momentary pleasure and satisfaction.

Foolishness has no regard for God’s will for your life - to know Him and live for His glory.

It’s wise to be careful.

Israel - land mines - signs - “Beware of the land mines.” Land mines are all around us, but we haven’t marked them. You haven’t determined in your own mind that what God calls evil is actually evil. You’re not convinced.

Like Adam and Eve in the garden, “How can something that looks and tastes so good be so bad for me?”

Why am I not careful?

You don’t think. (Col. 3:1) - Don’t think about the things of God. Only time you’re focused on God is when you’re in a worship service, but even then, you drift in and out. Don’t think about the consequences for foolishness. You think about the temporary satisfaction but not the lasting damage. Willing to throw your future away for one moment of pleasure.

You surround yourself with fools. In carelessness, you surround yourself with fools not realizing that the people you surround yourself with have a tremendous influence on your life.

Heard a pastor say once, “Show me your friends, and I will show you who you will be in five years.” (Foolishness of joining a fraternity.)

Be honest, who speaks most into your life: the fool or the wise?

Prov. 13:20: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.”

God has given you access to wisdom - His Word, wise people - but you’re not careful to use the wisdom He’s given.

It’s wise to not waste time.

All foolishness is a time waster.

Time waster of sexual sin - the scheming, the deceiving, etc. Time that could have been spent growing in your relationship with God, or time that could have been spent strengthening your marriage.

Time waster of overly busy - you fill yourself with so much stuff but you never ask God to help you think about how to use your time. You’re going everywhere and at the same time you’re going nowhere.

Time waster of leisure - see as time as a gift for you to enjoy (me time) rather than a resource to steward for God’s Kingdom.

You will never regret any time you have spent investing in your relationship with God or doing His will, you will always regret wasted time.

Time is a precious commodity. Once time is gone, you can’t get more.

You have good intentions - you want to walk in wisdom - but you have no plan. Good intentions will never get you where you want to go. BUT, determined disciplined directed by the Holy Spirit will.

A wise person carefully pays attention to how the enemy is trying to deceive, and a wise person doesn’t waste time but invests time in what’s eternal.

Jesus is the essence of wisdom.

Staci asking me for wisdom… Asking the wrong person… You have a God gives you the gift of wisdom to navigate a dark world.

Determine to let the Spirit of God control your life.

The wisest decision you can make is to let the Spirit of God control your life. Spirit lives in you as Christian, but are you allowing Him to control your life? OR, are you resisting the Spirit? (Eph. 4:30) or quenching the Spirit? (1 Thess. 5:19)

“Don’t get drunk with wine...” Why? Surprising that Paul talks about wine when he just spent the first part of Eph. 5 talking about sexual immorality. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for Paul to say, “Don’t participate in sexual immorality, but be filled with the Spirit?”

Commentators debate why Paul says “don’t get drunk with wine.” Was Paul aware of a drinking problem in Ephesus? Was intoxication a part of their worship Artemis? Probably…

Maybe, Paul drawing an analogy. When you drink too much, the alcohol takes control. You do things you wouldn’t normally do because you aren’t thinking clearly. On the other hand, when you are filled with the Spirit, when He controls you, you do things you normally wouldn’t do because your’e finally thinking clearly. You become bold in your faith. You have a real sense of joy - your anxieties and worries fade, etc.

Reality… Paul could have said anything… Point: you’re either going to let sin control you or the Spirit control you. When the Spirit controls, you will more and more see life from God’s perspective and you will be emboldened to live for Him.

Filled with the Spirit: We think of churches where people fall out in the Spirit, speak in tongues, etc. Some of those kinds of churches say not filled with the Spirit unless you do those things.

But… Paul likes to talk about fullness in Ephesians. Eph. 1:23 - Jesus Christ the fullness of God who fills all things. 3:19: You know love of Christ so you can be filled with all the fulness of God. 4:10 Jesus ascended far above all things to fill all things. 4:13: grow in maturity measured by Christ’s fulness.

There’s fulness in Christ! Fulness of God! The ONE who is the fulness of God wants to fill you! To have control of your life so you can have a full life!

A good life in a not-so-good world is a life that is full of the Spirit of God at work in you.

What happens when you are full of the Spirit? Your life becomes a stark contrast to a not-so-good world: darkness, shameful, fruitless...

Instead, when you are filled with the Spirit, joy explodes in every area of your life.

You joyfully sing because Jesus is worth singing about. (songs!) Strange that Paul says singing is a response to being filled with the Spirit, but in corporate worship, we encourage each other through singing. Something powerful when I hear you sing… You’re singing because you’re convinced that God has done something in your life worth singing about. Singing is an EMOTIONAL response to things that are dear to us. (So concerned about WHAT we sing that we often lose sight of WHY we sing.) Singing is the way we corporately remind each other of the Truth. Preaching - I speak to you. Singing - we speak to each other.

You joyfully give thanks for everything. BECAUSE you know that God can take even our worst days and worst circumstances and use them for His glory. You know you are letting the Spirit control your life when you are able to say thank you to God even when life is at its worst.

You joyfully submit to others. When controlled by the Spirit, you realize that life isn’t about you. Philippians 2 - you count others as more significant than yourselves.

NOT filled with the Spirit: “Bless me.” Filled with the Spirit: “I live to bless.”

CONTRAST: Real joy NOT in what Paul talks about in 5:1-14. Sexual immorality, impurity, etc. will rob your joy. Real joy in when you let the Spirit control your life. Why? Your eyes are taken off of you and put on Him. Some of us stay discouraged because we’re far too self-focused on our kingdoms rather than His.

How do I experience the filling of the Spirit in my life? How do I let the Spirit control me?

Know where to go to have your desires fulfilled. (Matthew 5:6: Bless are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.) Decide now where you will seek satisfaction and avoid much heartache.

Empty yourself of anything that you are filling your life with besides the Holy Spirit. NOT careful to think about what’s really controlling you. What is really controlling you? What drives the way you think? The way you live? Fear? Worry? Pride? Lust? Materialism? Whatever you’re filling yourself with will control you.

Quit dropping by. Treat church like a 95 year old grandmother - drop by for a visit because it’s the right thing to do but don’t want to spend time. Mentality of most: “How little can I invest in God and His church and still be considered part of His family?” Surround yourself with the wise. (Prov. 13:20)

Daily embrace the Gospel. Jesus the essence of being full of the Spirit - for you. Fruit of the Spirit for you. Gave up His life so you could be full of His life. Died the death that you deserve so you could have the life you don’t deserve. Rose again so that you could have eternal life. Makes a better way of life available to you.