Consider as you walk

Eph 5:15

Ephesians 5:15 ESV

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

If you are a deep thinker, you will love this sermon today!

we are going to look at the words in this text closely. first, notice the word then.

Then

every word matters. and every word has a purpose. digging into the word, we find so much understanding when we take the time to read.

when the word then is used, it is telling us that it is pointing back to what has been said prior, like the word so, or therefore. so what does it say prior to this?

let me summarize… we could go all the way back to chapt 4 verse 17. it tells us to not walk as the Gentiles do.

He tells us that there is a fleshly walk and a Godly walk.

they were living apart from God

hard hearted

greedy

fleshly

and then Paul explains how to walk.

loving, forgiving, honest, as children of light.

walk...

So our walk? Paul is talking about our walk being our life, our action, our behavior. it is about what we are doing.

Paul is having us look at ourselves, to be self aware.

And how about the word carefully?

lets look at the word careful, or carefully.

I love when a word has “full” in it, like graceful, peaceful, wonderful.

what are we full of? what ever comes before the word full. this word is speaking of care.

And then the text also has us thinking about this careful walk in light of wisdom. we are encouraged to walk wise, not unwise.

what does all this mean?

First, Paul is obviously talking about our walk as our behavior, our actions. but it is actually much more than that. what is the root of our behavior? if we look within, what do we find that causes action? lets use this for a picture of it.

think about it like planting a seed.

there are events happening under the soil that we don’t see, and when it rises above, that is all we see. but there is still plenty happening underground. and there is for the life of the plant.

so, for you and I, what is happening inside of us prior to our actions?

Belief - identity - purpose - motivation

all this is going on within us. sometimes so fast or so deep that we don’t even see it happening.

why do we do what we do?

If we are going to be careful about our walk, lets really break it down.

we have a will and desire to do, to act.

Belief, identity, purpose, motivation, action

all that others see is your actions.

you acted because you had enough motivation to do it. the motivation stemmed from purpose. purpose came from your identity. and the root cause of your identity is belief, or faith.

faith ultimately produces action.

lets work back down.

because you had faith, it gave you identity. (Child of God) that gave you purpose (Live by His word). the purpose gave you motivation (energy to do it), and the motivation produced action.

at the end of verse 15, we are encouraged to live wise, not unwise. is there another side to all this?

So, can we do action that is not wise?

where is the root of it?

we can ask ourselves these questions as we consider our walk.

and do we need to repent of an action that wasn’t good? is there anything further to repent of?

did we have wise/unwise motivations?

were they good or bad?

could we also repent of our motivations if they are not good?

what is our purpose?

can a purpose be wise or unwise? can it be good or bad? we need to challenge internal self. Repenting of our purposes?

taking this time of thinking about our purpose leads us right into understanding what we really believe.

So, what is it that you believe?

this is the root. Just like the plant, it is where we are fed and will affect how the plant grows.

this will have a direct impact on what you do, or how you walk. Could we repent of things we believe that aren’t of God?

Remember what repentance is, it is a change of mind/heart.

it is not saying sorry, it is a full change where you don’t believe that thing anymore.

Do we really believe we are Children of God? Do we really believe we are loved by God? Do we really believe we are completely forgiven by God?

What happens when we really believe we are His? That He is real? that He is here right now, in this very moment, in every moment. When we live in His light.

this all produces something really amazing in our life, when we truly believe it! I will come back to this.....

We must remember this too,

our walk on this earth, each and every one of us, has a limited number of steps. Let this quicken your heart and cause you to take every day with the utmost importance.

verse 16 says

Ephesians 5:16 ESV

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

our time. we only have so much, it is precious isn’t it?

this helps us think carefully about our walk, when we recognize that it will finish one day.

Our walk is so important… every step is extremely valuable.

it leads us to what is called a legacy.

this is our walk put together to create a larger picture. it is also what others got from our walk. what they learned from us. What our life gave them. Did it affect their walk? What are they seeing in you? because they are seeing something!

What do people see from you?

Do people see your Faith? do they see your identity? do they see your motivation? these aren’t tangible items.

they only see your action. then they judge by your action, and they decide or guess at all the other stuff.

only we (and God) know our inside stuff. Lets believe, therefore live our faith.....because,

there are a couple of problems with us knowing people just see our actions.

So, we could try to trick people into thinking we have it all together by acting a certain way in front of them.

Some people will believe peoples actions and think of them as being a Christian. But what about the verse talking about the wheat and tares? God allows them to both grow up together, and in the harvest we find out who the real ones were. Or the verse that people call out Lord, Lord.... and He says I never knew you?

Scary verses, yes?

Paul tells us to test ourselves to know we are in the faith.

How? how would a person test themselves to know if they are in the faith?

Look at your walk when you are around others, and when you are not seen by others. it is the same? does it line up consistently with what you believe?

this can point directly to the heart, to a persons faith, if it is genuine or if a person is trying to create an image to look like a Christian.

And a person might be able to fool everyone on earth, but they can’t think they could fool God? or do they?

also, we have another type of struggle when people create more of an image of another person when they are only seen in their strength. Look at people who are in the limelight, in front of others, even parents are idolized by their kids when the kids are young.

also pastors or celebrities, and anyone we only see a glimpse of their life. We can think they are more perfect than they are. What about friends instagrams? their lives look perfect!

this is dangerous because it can turn into Idolatry.

I used to know a Pastor that would stand in the pulpit and exclaim that he was not the holy man.

so these are a few things that if we find them in our lives, we need to wrestle them out with God.

what about the things we could find in our lives as we look?

Let’s look at a list of things we could see in our lives

If we say we believe that God exists and Jesus died for our sins.....has our identity changed so much that we see ourselves walking in love? forgiveness, mercy and grace?

is our purpose to be kind? pure? Living in Gods light?

are we motivated to walk this way no matter what?

Lets turn the heat up some more.....

Do we see ourselves at peace? What about blameless? are we seeing ourselves sanctified?

this is what scripture says....

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

and then there is this level! this is over the top!

English Standard Version Chapter 11

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—

Do we live at this level? have we even been persecuted for our faith? or been hurt for it? been through tribulations due to it?

Scripture tells us this.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

this walk of faith, that creates our action, is not for the faint of heart. it is for the bold, the convicted, for the ones who know who they believe and stand it even in the face of pain.

listen to this last verse in revelation.

Revelation 12:11 ESV

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

this is the power of our faith. this faith which is inside of us, which is producing action and fruit. which causes us to overcome this world!

have we considered our walk? have we looked carefully? this is what Paul is calling us to do?

So, let’s do it.