"Don't Waste Your Life"

Introduction: If you were in Sunday School this morning (which I encourage you to be a part of!), we learned of the story of Samson. Its one of those spectacular stories that we often hear about, particularly in Sunday School. One of the big focuses is on the strength of Samson and all the powerful mighty acts of strength he did. Yet, I think the lesson this morning rightly pointed out that Samson was not presented in Scripture as a person to emulate. As a matter of fact, he wasted most of his life on exactly what he wasn’t supposed to be doing. He broke God’s Law, he broke His Nazarite vow constantly, he desired Philistine women. It truly was a life wasted. Paul here in Ephesians is continuing his teaching on the Christian walk, and he desires that we would walk worthy by not wasting our lives by submitting to Jesus.

LET’S READ EPHESIANS 5:15-21 this morning.

CTS: Walk worthy by submitting your life to the Jesus in all things.

I. Walk Wisely (15-17)

Here, Paul semi-concludes his thought on walking worthy. It is here that then Paul will address the idea of submitting, which is then introduced at the end in verse 21. Paul has contrasted the old nature versus the new, and what walking in love looks like. Now he concludes with a final thought on how our walk is supposed to look with a look at how life is to be leveraged for the Christian.

The admonition begins with the idea of look carefully. In other words, give attention to. We all have things in our lives that we give special attention to, that we are very particular about. Some of us a very particular about our jobs, a hobby, or something at our home.

Illustration: I know myself that I can be particular whenever I am building something. I still build Lego sets from time to time. I don’t do them a lot because they can be quite expensive, at least the ones that I enjoy building, like Star Wars. But when I start building, I have everything set before me. I don’t open all of the bags. Its a patient and painstaking endeavor. I give attention to the details of the instructions so that I don’t mess up and have to redo a whole section again (which I have done before). When its finished, I am very particular and careful about where it sits so I don’t lose any pieces off of it.\

Here, God’s Word tells us that we are to pay careful attention to how we walk as Christians. It will be instrumental for the witness of God’s people, living out their identity in Christ. What does a careful walk look like, according to this text? Well, we should be looking carefully for...

A. Wisdom (15b)

The life of the believer is to be defined by living wisely. Wisdom is a major theme throughout Scripture. We even have a whole genre of the Bible that is called “Wisdom Literature” that includes Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Solomon. Wisdom is taking the knowledge that we know and living it out. Its where the rubber meets the road. Being smart does not indicate being wise. Someone wise is someone that has applied knowledge to their own lives, one that often has first-hand experience or has learned from someone that has first-hand experience.

But we also are to recognize from the Scriptures that these wisdom books point us to the wisest one, Jesus himself. He wisely lived, obeyed the Scriptures and commandments of God without fail. He is the wisest one to have ever walked the earth.

1 Corinthians 1:24 ESV

24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Matthew 7:24 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

We then therefore, to live wisely, is to live as Jesus lived. To live wisely is to emulate Christ, obeying the Scriptures and the commands of God. This is only made possible because Christ lived perfectly for us. Through faith in Him, His death, burial, resurrection for our salvation, we are then able to live wisely, living a life for His glory and honor.

B. Opportunity (16)

The second part of walking wisely is summed up in the idea of “not wasting your life.” I’ve titled the sermon this way, and John Piper made that phrase popular with a book he wrote. Here, God is reminding us that walking carefully is to leverage your life and using every opportunity available to use it for the glory of Jesus.

Matthew 7:24 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

We live in an evil world with many evil things that can take our time and energy away from. There are even good and helpful things that we can become enamored with ourselves. Good hobbies can become idols. But the idea here, and the question to ask is often “is this the best use of my time?” Am I taking advantage of every part of my life, every opportunity to live wisely and for the Lord? Am I working well, evangelizing the lost where I am, discipling my family, discipling others in my life? Am I serving the Lord in the church? Or am I too enamored with other things? Is my focus more on my success or my children’s success than their relationship with the Lord? Is my life defined by recreation rather than investment into the things of God?

Galatians 6:10 ESV

10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

We have plenty of opportunity around us! More than I think we realize. We must be prayerfully asking the Lord to help us not waste our lives on things that ultimately don’t matter. And I’m not saying sports and recreation things are bad. As a matter of fact, we should be leveraging those as opportunities to be a witness for Christ. But we should never let those things come before what we are called to do. Are you investing your life in God’s church, the people of God? Are you investing your children in the church more than their sports? Are you praying about how you can be a missionary where you are at, at work, community, state, nation, world?

Our lives are meant for the glory of the One who gave His life for us? How can we then live as though our lives belong to us? People are dying without Christ, and the world continual destroys itself. It needs a strong gospel witness, people who make every opportunity to spread the Gospel, make disciples, and affect the world for good.

C. Purpose (17)

This verse has two imperatives, of how we are walk in a manner worthy of the calling we are called to.

Don’t be a fool: Foolish actions go along with wasting your life. Fools invest in things that have no value. Foolish things bring destruction. Don’t be foolish with your life, living for things that don’t matter.

Understand the will of the Lord: Contrasting the life of the fool, which is focused on things that don’t matter (which by the way is rooted in the flesh.) When we are the focus, when we focus on what we want, we often tend to live our lives out of sync with our original intention. We were created for more. We were created to live under the good hand of the Lord, his good ways, to be transformed according to Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

To understand the will of the Lord requires that we understand that the Lord has made that will available to us. We have learned throughout Ephesians so far that the will of God is that all things would be united in Christ, including us. That is done through His making us alive in Christ, by grace through faith. Once dead, we have been made alive. This has been revealed in full in Jesus Christ himself. He is the fullness of what we are to be, and in Him we find true purpose. This has been revealed through the Scriptures. The general will of the Lord is clear and found in the revelation of Scripture that we hold in our hands this morning.

But there is also a specific will that God has for each of us. We understand the general will of God to be His, united in Christ, and to go and be His witnesses, making disciples, glorifying Him in all we do. But it is all we do that we must consider and bring before the Lord. We pray diligently that God would reveal to us our spiritual giftings and the guiding of the Spirit of how to carry out this general will. Each of us are gifted and have experiences that contribute to that will. The Holy Spirit can put a burden upon us to go to this place to minister the gospel. Some of you are to be called to missionaries across the world. Some of you may be called to be a Sunday School teacher here. Some of you may be called to be in full-time ministry. But we must seek the will of the Lord for each of us.

There is two more imperatives here, but with one idea in mind. From in these commands is the idea of a life of worship.

II. Worship Faithfully (18-21)

The command: Be filled with the Spirit

Verse 18 gives us a contrast, as the other commands did. Walk wisely instead of unwisely. Foolishness and wisdom. Don’t get drunk with wine. That first imperative is the negative contrast. A command, but one that is primarily given to point to the truth of the positive later on. Nevertheless, it is something that we need to consider. Drunkenness here is forbidden in Scripture. There is plenty of warnings about alcohol in Scripture because of the reality that drunkenness is a real possibility.

Proverbs 23:31 ESV

31 Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.

Proverbs 20:1 ESV

1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

Why? Because when we are drunk, we are no longer in control of our faculties as we should be. We in a sense are controlled by the substance of alcohol. This same principle applies to other substances that cause our faculties to not be in control. Drugs would be applicable. This behavior can lead to debauchery, uncontrolled behavior of sin. We know the devastating effects of alcohol abuse in our society. This is why we must be careful as Christians to abstain from this drunkenness ourselves and also to not be a stumbling block to others that struggle with alcohol.

So, with this as the picture, Paul tells us that instead to be filled with Spirit. Carefully, we don’t want this to seem like that we put the Holy Spirit into a jar and drink him and get controlled by him metaphorically. This is something that some think we do, that we tarry for the Spirit and have these wild expressions of faith of falling out on the ground, being slain in the Spirit, and improper use of tongues that are indiscernable and unfaithful to Scripture. Its not an emotional high.

Being filled with the Spirit is the demeanor of the daily Christian, not just special events of blessing. The CSB I think portrays this verse a little bit better.

Ephesians 5:18 CSB

18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:

The Greek seems to closely more indicate that we are filled by the Spirit. That means that the Christian already possesses the Spirit at salvation. We are indwelt by Him who seals, secures, and guides us in our Christian walk, sanctifying us to be more like Jesus. So, he indwells us, and being filled by the Spirit means to submit and yield to Him in our lives. The Christian is not controlled by anything else. Not alcohol. Not drugs. Not ourselves. But the Spirit is the one who controls and empower the believer and their witness.

Four ways we are being filled by the Spirit.

The rest of this text are five participles (though two are coupled together) that fulfill the command to be filled with the Spirit. This is is how we live out this filling of the Spirit. Though not exhaustive, but here important to Paul and the Ephesian believers. We are called throughout the Bible of transformation, which the Spirit does. Gal 5:22-23 reminds us of the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Sing to one another

1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV

26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

The importance of singing in the life of the Christian cannot be understated. It is something that is commanded and expected. So, we should be people that sing and sing with purpose. You better get used to singing and singing with joy, for it’s part of the regular Spirit-filled life. IF you don’t like singing, learn to! There are two purposes to singing: The first aspect of singing here that Paul relates to us is that we are to sing to one another. Our singing in worship is two-fold in that it is a teaching tool. What we sing is important. It declares what we believe about the Lord in our praises to Him. That also teaches one another as well.

We need to sing doctrinally rich songs that espouse the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. We should be singing about our salvation through Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension. We should be singing about His second coming. We should be singing about the attributes of God. We should be praising God for His good works, His grace, His love, His kindness, but also His justice, His holiness. We should sing what he tells us to sing about. We have Psalms of confession, praise, and lament over the evil in our world and in our own lives. These songs should be teaching us about the glorious triune God and His wonderful works and how we should respond to Him in worship!

Sing to the Lord

But we also are to sing not just for one another’s sake, for ultimately in praise to the Lord Jesus. Our singing is primarily directed to Jesus, for all our singing is to worship Him. In our hearts, from the very center of who we are, we should sing. When it comes from the heart, it can come in any circumstance!

Acts 16:25 ESV

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

Not just because we are supposed to. Not just to impress others (which is easy to do). But because we love our God and declare His praises in one of the most beautiful ways we can that God has given us ability to (some more than others!). The church gathered should be a singing people. A loudly singing people for His glory. It should be joyous. It should be passionate. It is because our God is worthy!

Give thanks to the Lord

Closely related to singing is the act of giving thanks to the Lord. In our singing yes, but also, in all things!

Psalm 33:2–3 ESV

2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

But also in all things we do in our lives, constantly giving thanks. We live for Him, we give thanks for what He does. If we were to truly stop and think about all the things we often take for granted, we would become more thankful by the minute. That house or apartment you step into everyday. The job you have. The vehicle you drive. The family you have.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Give thanks and then ask the Lord to help you glorify Him with those things!

Submit to one another

This last participle has a two-fold purpose. It ends the section on our walk, and then it is the beginning of a new section of submission in the Christian life.

First, this reminds us that we are to submit to one another in regards to having humility and looking to others first before ourselves. This is because of what Christ has done for us. Out of reverence to the one who gave Himself for us, to save us, for our benefit, we are to do the same.

Philippians 2:3 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

The church, God’s people, need to submit to one another as a body, not lording ourselves over each other, putting one another first before ourselves. That is the walk of the Spirit-filled life.

Second, this also speaks to the submission of those that God puts over us. This means that there are going to be authorities over us. We know that to be true, and we must learn how to respect that authority. There is also authority that is set in the home, which we will speak about next week. God puts that structure together not to diminish the value of those that are put under that authority. It is a picture of who He is. There is also authority that God bestows upon certain individuals in the church as well. Pastor/elders are called to lead God’s people under the leadership of Jesus.

We all submit to these things, for in this submission comes Spirit-filled living that glorifies Jesus and the way He has set forth for us to live!

Conclusion: You know how I used Samson as the introduction this morning? I said clearly that really his life was mostly wasted. And it was. But even in that wasting of life, God’s grace showed up. God kept His promise.

Maybe today, you are here and you have heard from this passage, and you may be convicted that you have wasted your life. Lived foolishly. Letting other things control your life rather than the Spirit. And yet, I want you to know, like with Samson, grace is here. It’s here today, and God’s kindness, mercy, and grace to us is abundant. Paul never rebukes us without grace. This is meant to realign us. Samson finally realigned himself to God’s purposes. It was a last minute endeavor. He was still used for God’s glory. Today is the day for you to submit yourself to the Spirit. Grace is available, and it is never exhausted. Will you surrender yourself to Him today? Will you surrender to the grace of Jesus? And will you submit to the Spirit in all things, including the church through worship, thanksgiving, and submission to Him?