Ephesians 5:15-21

Good evening, church.

Let's turn to Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

We're going to read verses 15 to 21.

It is found on page 978 in your pew Bible.

Page 978, Ephesians chapter 5, verses 15.

Ephesians 5:15

To 21.

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

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

Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is

and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery,

but be filled with the Spirit,

addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father,

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for your blessing upon us,

and Lord, thank you for gathering us here this evening

to worship you, to worship you,

to praise you,

and to bring ourselves as we are.

And Lord, as we read your words and study it tonight,

Lord, open our hearts,

prepare our hearts like the good soil,

and Lord, let your words come into our hearts

and transform us to be more and more like you,

Lord Jesus.

In your holy name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

The world has a lot to say about how to live wisely.

I found some interesting books on Amazon.com

under the subject of living wisely.

And most of these books, you know,

they focus on finance, health, and relationships.

But I couldn't resist sharing some of the funny ones

with you tonight.

The first one, it said,

Grapes in my shower,

living wisely, simply, and happily.

I'm not making this up.

Go to Amazon.com and punch in

Living Wisely under the book section,

and there is this book called Grapes in my shower.

So I hope my family doesn't think that I'm crazy

when they see me carrying a bundle of grapes

with me into the shower.

Interesting title, Grapes in my shower,

living wisely, simply, and happily.

The next one is shoes wisely,

as in your shoes.

Shoes wisely, choosing the right shoe

for every occasion.

I know some of the ladies sitting here

and thinking, hey, I love that book.

Or maybe they're writing down the name of that book.

The next one,

how to choose the right mate,

a guy to choose wisely.

Now this book,

on the cover of this book,

there is a picture of

an eight-year-old Asian girl

dreaming of a future husband in her sleep.

So there's a picture of this girl sleeping,

and there's like a picture of her future husband.

And I'm sure my wife, Jane,

started to read this book

when she was about eight years old.

Now, what does the scripture say

about living wisely

or walking in wisdom?

I would like us to see the contrast

between the life of wise

versus unwise or foolish.

What does it mean for us to live wisely,

walking in wisdom?

And lastly,

how do we apply this

in our daily living?

First, let's look at the wise.

Verse 16 says,

making the best use of the time

because the days are evil.

Is Apostle Paul talking about

time management skill here

like the old saying,

time is money?

I mean, what does he mean

by the days are evil?

Are we in danger of being invaded

by the walking dead?

So what is he talking about?

The time and the days are evil.

The answer is found

in Colossians chapter four,

verse five,

here it says,

live wisely among those

who are not believers

and make the most of every opportunity.

And I don't think he's talking

about financial gain

among the non-believers.

I'm sure this verse is telling us

to seize every opportunity

in our daily living

to share Christ

with non-believers.

To share the love of Christ

and the good news of salvation

which comes through

our Lord Jesus Christ

with our friends,

with our coworkers,

relatives, and so on.

The wise also knows

how to number

his or her days.

We do not know

what tomorrow may bring.

And yet we live

like we own

our future.

But the days are evil

because

we may not have

another day

or another chance

to share the good news

with that someone.

Neither our future

nor that person's future

whom we are trying

to share the good news with

is guaranteed.

In James chapter four,

it says,

yet you do not know

what tomorrow will bring.

what is your life?

For you are a mist

that appears

for a little time

and then vanishes.

With this in mind,

we need to be wise,

making best of our time,

sharing the good news

with non-believers.

Verse 17.

Therefore,

do not be foolish

but understand

what the will

of the Lord is.

But understand

what the will

of the Lord is.

This topic alone

can be another sermon

in itself.

So I will briefly

point out

just a couple of things.

The Lord's will

is revealed to us

through his holy word

which are contained

in this book.

the Bible.

By reading it,

meditating upon it,

and studying

the scripture

earnestly,

we can start

to understand

what the will

of the Lord is.

One example

is from

Matthew chapter 22

Matthew 22:37–40

verses 37 to 40.

the great commandment.

Here it says,

you shall love

the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind.

And you shall love

your neighbor

as yourself.

It is God's will

for us to love him

with everything we got

and also to love

our neighbor

as ourselves.

And there are

many more

we can find

in the Bible

what his will

for us

is.

So we need

to constantly

read

and study

his word

seeking

his will.

King David

said in

Psalm 143

Psalms 143:8

verse 8,

let me hear

in the morning

of your steadfast love

for in you

I trust.

Make me know

the way

I should go

for to you

I lift up

my soul.

Make me know

the way

I should go

for to you

I lift up

my soul.

How wise

was King David

seeking the will

of God

each morning.

crying out

to him

make me know

the way

I should go.

Verse 18

says

the wise

is also

filled

with Holy Spirit.

Let's look at

verse 18

to 21

again.

And do not

get drunk

with wine

for that is

debauchery

but

be filled

with the

Spirit

addressing

one another

in psalms

and hymns

and spiritual

songs

singing

and making

melody

to the Lord

with your

heart

giving thanks

always

and for

everything

to God

the Father

in the name

of our Lord

Jesus Christ

submitting

to one

another

out of

reverence

for Christ.

Christ.

When we say

being filled

with the

Holy Spirit

people may

have different

images

or ideas

but in

this

passage

when you

are filled

with Holy

Spirit

there are

four things

that you

can see.

The first

one is

you are

full of

encouragement

and love

towards

one another.

You have

a loving

heart.

You are

addressing

one another

in psalms

and hymns

and spiritual

songs

so you are

encouraging

one another.

You have

this

loving

heart

and second

it is

full of

joy

singing

and making

melody

to the

Lord

with your

heart

so when

you are

filled

with the

Holy Spirit

you have

this

joyful

heart

and third

you are

full

of

thanksgiving

giving

thanks

always

and for

everything

to God

the Father

in the

name

of our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

because

what

Jesus

has

done

for us

on the

cross

and lastly

you are

full

of

humility

submitting

to one

another

out of

reverence

for Christ

a humble

heart

and this

submitting

to one

another

will be

addressed

in the

upcoming

sermons

submitting

to

one another

between

husbands

and wives

between

parents

and children

and so

on

so

the life

of wise

uses

time wisely

seizes

every

opportunity

to share

the love

of Christ

and the

good news

with non

believers

believers

and also

the wise

is constantly

seeking

what the

will of

the Lord

is

and the

wise

is filled

with Holy

Spirit

full of joy

full of

thanksgiving

full of love

and compassion

and humility

now let's

look at the

life of

unwise

foolish

and here

is the

big

contrast

now

when we

talk about

the unwise

or the

foolish

we expect

to hear

how the

unwise

just waste

away time

doing nothing

but

there's also

another side

of

time

that the

foolish

does

in Luke

Luke 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

Jesus tells

us a

parable

of the

rich

fool

so there

was this

man

and one

year I

guess the

harvest was

so great

he didn't

know what

to do

with himself

so in

his bed

he thought

to himself

wow

I have

such a

great

harvest

this season

I have

so plenty

I have

to tear

down my

my old

barn

and build

a much

much bigger

storage

and I

am pretty

much all

set

I guess

now I'm

going to

tell my

soul

to eat

drink

and be

married

for many

years

and this

is when

God tells

him

fool

this

night

your soul

is

required

of you

and the

things

you have

prepared

whose

will

they

be

remember

apostle Paul's

warning

in verse

16

because the

days are

evil

the rich

fool

thinks his

life is

guaranteed

to enjoy

his gain

for many

years

and on

top of

this

he is

just

greedy

and just

self-centered

again in

James chapter

James 4 · chapter mention

4 it says

as it is

you boast

in your

arrogance

all such

boasting

is evil

the unwise

foolish

boast about

tomorrow

in his

arrogance

verse 17

it says

therefore

do not

be foolish

but understand

what the

will of

the Lord

is

fools

do not

seek to

understand

what the

will of

the Lord

is

Psalm

14

1 says

the fool

says in

his heart

there is

no God

never mind

seeking the

will of

God

the fool

rejects

God

altogether

there are

numerous

descriptions

of

what

fool

does

or is

like

in

book of

Proverbs

by the

mouth

of a

fool

comes

a rod

for his

back

a fool

takes

no

pleasure

in

understanding

but only

in

expressing

his

opinion

doing

wrong

is like

a joke

to a

fool

like

a dog

that

returns

to his

vomit

is a

fool

who

repeats

his

folly

so

fools

not only

reject

God

in

their

hearts

but

they

do

not

heed

any

practical

wisdom

either

they

repeat

their

follies

thinking

they

are

wise

in

their

own

eyes

they

are

too

busy

uttering

their

own

ignorance

fools

in

Romans

Romans 1:21–22

chapter

1

verses

21

to

22

apostle

Paul

tells

us

how

they

became

spiritual

fools

for

although

they

knew

God

they

did

not

honor

him

as

God

or

give

thanks

to

him

but

they

became

futile

in

their

thinking

and

their

foolish

hearts

were

darkened

claiming

to be

wise

they

became

fools

instead

of

worshiping

and

honoring

the

creator

oh my

god

they

created

images

and

idols

made

out

of

stones

metals

and

woods

they

clearly

see

God's

creations

but

instead

of

worshiping

the

creator

they

became

foolish

and

started

to

worship

the

creation

verse

18

it

says

do

not

get

drunk

with

wine

for

this

is

debauchery

now

when

you

are

drunk

you

lose

your

ability

to

think

clearly

therefore

your

actions

are

controlled

by

a

substance

called

alcohol

like

the

old

saying

don't

let

someone

else

do

the

thinking

for

you

you

are

letting

the

alcohol

control

your

mind

and

your

action

unlike

the

wise

whose

mind

is

renewed

by

Holy

Spirit

the

fool

lets

something

control

his

mind

and

action

hear

what the

proverb

says

about

the

condition

of

a

drunkard

in

Proverbs

Proverbs 23:29–35

chapter

23

verses

29

to

35

who

has

woe

who

has

sorrow

who

has

strife

who

has

complaining

who

has

wounds

without

cause

who

has

redness

of

eyes

those

who

tarry

long

over

wine

those

who

go

try

mixed

wine

do

not

look

at

wine

when

it

is

red

when

it

sparkles

in

the

cup

and

goes

down

smoothly

in

the

end

it

bites

like

a

serpent

and

stings

like

an

adder

your

eyes

will

see

strange

things

and

your

heart

utter

perverse

things

you

will

be

like

one

who

lies

down

in

the

midst

of

the

sea

like

one

who

lies

on

the

top

of

a

mast

they

struck

me

you

will

say

but

I

was

not

hurt

they

beat

me

but

I

did

not

feel

it

when

shall

I

awake

I

must

have

another

drink

doesn't

this

describes

accurately

the

condition

of a

drunkard

alcohol

is just

one

example

of which

can

control

your

mind

and

action

greed

lust

gambling

drugs

and

other

things

can

control

our

minds

and

actions

if

we

are

not

careful

so

now

we

saw

the

contrast

between

the

unwise

and

the

wise

by

examining

the

way

they

walk

so

how

do

we

walk

in

wisdom

in

our

daily

living

walking

in

wisdom

is to

use

our

time

wisely

seizing

every

opportunity

to share

the love

of Christ

and the

good news

of salvation

through

Jesus

with the

people in

our

community

and

people to

all

nations

so in

other words

do not

push this

off till

tomorrow

when you

have that

chance

when you

know

somebody

at your

work

at your

school

your

family

when there

is that

voice

I want

to share

Jesus

with this

person

I want

to pray

for this

person

don't push

it till

tomorrow

don't say

oh

maybe I'll

maybe I'll

talk to him

tomorrow

or maybe I'll

pray with her

tomorrow

seize the

moment

walking in

wisdom is to

seek God's

will through

reading

meditating

and studying

his word

we have

Sunday

Bible

studies

at nine

in the

morning

and we

also have

many

small group

meetings

throughout the

week

you can

choose

and join

and get

together

to read

and learn

from the

scripture

there is also

wonderful

devotional book

called

morning and

evening

by Spurgeon

we have

that in

our

bookstall

downstairs

remember

remember how

King David

was seeking

God's

will each

morning

morning and

evening

it's a

wonderful

devotional

book

walking in

wisdom is

also a

life filled

with Holy

Spirit

as we read

verses 18

to 21

now what

would this

look like

for us

it says

address one

another in

psalms and

hymns and

spiritual songs

now normally

we would

greet someone

you know

like this

hi Pastor

Greg

how you

doing

how are

the kids

but instead

now we

say

hi Pastor

Greg

the Lord

is my

shepherd

I shall

not want

what a

friend we

have in

Jesus

all our

sins and

griefs to

bear

imagine

that if

we do

it if

we start

do this

and our

Presbyterian

friends will

think that

hey that's

why they're

Baptist

and our

fellow Baptist

friends may

think that

we are

Pentecostals

the Pentecostals

may think

well Pentecostals

don't really

care about

what others

think

so

but

all jokes

aside

what Apostle

Paul is

telling us

here is

that we

need to

encourage

one another

using God's

words

there are

so many

verses of

God's

unchanging

love and

his faithfulness

towards us

the Lord is

our ever

present help

pray for

one another

we ought to

spread the

joy of our

salvation

amongst us

by doing

this

we constantly

remind one

another

of God's

love for

us

in 1st

Thessalonians

chapter 4

verses 16

to 18

it says

for the

Lord himself

will descend

from heaven

with a cry

of command

with the

voice of

an archangel

and with the

sound of the

trumpet of

God

and the

dead in

Christ

will rise

first

then we

who are

alive

who are

left

will be

caught up

together

with them

in the

clouds

to meet

the Lord

in the

air

and so

will

always be

with the

Lord

therefore

encourage

one another

with these

words

we are to

encourage

one another

rejoice

together

comfort

and strengthen

one another

by constantly

reminding each

other of our

Lord's

goodness

faithfulness

and his

everlasting

love

towards us

and we

also need

to keep

point each

other

to our

final

destination

which is

our

father's

kingdom

in heaven

singing

and making

melody

to the

Lord

with your

heart

rejoice

in the

Lord

for what

Jesus

did for

us

it is

all about

what he

did for

us

I came

across a

song

last week

and I've

been listening

to it over

and over

again

the song

is called

you are

more

it's by

10th

avenue

north

so

just like

the verse

19

said

now I'm

going to

address you

all of you

in this

beautiful song

and he says

you are more

than the

choices you've

made

you are more

than the sum

of your past

mistakes

you are more

than the problems

you create

you've been

remade

because this

is not about

what you've

done

but what's

been done

for you

this is not

about where

you've been

but where

your brokenness

brings you

to

this is not

about what

you feel

but what

he felt

to forgive

you

and what

he felt

to make

you loved

isn't this

true

when we

think about

what Jesus

did on the

cross for

us

don't we

want to

give thanks

always

and for

everything

to God

in the name

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

we are

living in

an age

where

information

knowledge

is so

readily

available

without

touching

our

fingertips

information

knowledge

knowledge

is just

out

there

but

where

can we

find

the true

wisdom

in 1st

Corinthians

chapter 1

apostle Paul

tells us

Jesus Christ

is the power

of God

and the

wisdom

of God

once

apostle Paul

discovered

this wisdom

for himself

he regarded

all

his other

earthly

accomplishments

as nothing

but rubbish

he said

I count

everything

as loss

because of

the surpassing

worth

of knowing

Christ

Jesus

my Lord

so what

are you

chasing

after

what are

you struggling

with

are you

seeking

wisdom

all

what you've

gained

thinking

it was

wisdom

would that

give you

forgiveness

of all

your sins

would it

give you

everlasting

life

do you

say to

your soul

like the

rich fool

let's

eat

drink

and be

merry

for many

years

are you

running

from your

past

mistakes

or do

you think

you'll never

be good

enough

for Jesus

to love

you

listen

to these

words

again

and know

that Jesus

the wisdom

of God

did everything

for you

already

you are

more than

the choices

you've

made

you are

more than

the sum

of your

past

mistakes

you are

more than

the problems

you create

you've been

remade

because this

is not

about what

you've done

but what's

been done

for you

this is not

about where

you've been

but where

your brokenness

brings you

to

this is not

about what

you feel

but what

Jesus felt

to forgive

you

and what

Jesus felt

to make

you loved

receive Jesus

in your

heart

he will

love and

bless you

with his

infinite

wisdom

he will

give you

a new

heart

joyful

grateful

loving

and a

humble

heart

let Jesus

remake you

let him

renew your

mind

so you

can leave

the dark

path of

the fools

and start

walk

in wisdom

let us

pray

Lord

Jesus

we rejoice

in you

in you

because

what you

have done

for us

Lord

we are

grateful

to you

because

of what

you have

done

for us

Lord

now

we can

encourage

one another

comfort

one another

strengthen

one another

point

each other

to our

final destination

our father's

kingdom

because

of what you

have done

for us

on the

cross

so

Lord

we praise

you

and we

thank you

and Lord

help us

to

receive you

in our

heart

as our

Lord and

savior

the power

of God

and the

wisdom

of God

so we

can

begin

and continue

to walk

in wisdom

in Jesus

name we

pray

amen