Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/holytrinitysyracuse/sermons/101706/untitled-22/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Amen. So last week, Father Ife preached on Ephesians chapter 5, with the verses leading up to 14 and 15.

[0:16] ! So there's this idea that Jesus is a light, and the allegory, the metaphor is that he shines his light in our lives.

[0:47] And as a result of his light shining on our lives, we cast aside the fruitless deeds of darkness, and then we have to learn what it is to walk as a child of the light.

[1:01] So, the concept is we are children of the light, and we should seek to learn what pleases God. In essence, we should strive to do what is good, right, and true in God's sight.

[1:18] So it's important that what we strive to do meets these three qualifications. Because sometimes you can have right and true but not good, or you can have good and right, but maybe it's not true.

[1:30] So it's important to do a three for three in this. So, having said that, this leads us into the next segment of Scripture, 5.15-20, which we read earlier in the service.

[1:43] And the idea is that this passage of Scripture, now that we've learned everything in Ephesians coming up to this, we're going to get into time management.

[1:53] And the time that we need to manage is a time left remaining in our lives. We don't know if we're going to be here tomorrow or 15 years from now.

[2:04] We just don't know those things. But what can be truly said about all of us, we have some time left. And the question is, how do we put that time to good use?

[2:16] How do we be wise with that time and learn what it is to walk as a child of the light and please our Heavenly Father? So, that being said, verse 15 encourages us to look carefully.

[2:36] Carefully at how you walk. Walk meaning, how do you live? What do you do? What do you think? What do you say? And bearing in mind, while we look at how we walk, we want to be mindful of the thought that the days are evil.

[2:54] Now, when we say the days are evil, that refers to the fact that, let's be honest, many people walk in sin. And you can turn on the TV set and go on the internet and you can see all kinds of sin.

[3:08] So, that's really not a debatable topic. So, we're surrounded by sin and we want to be children of the light. So, there is a way we can walk wisely in such a way that we can navigate the sinful darkness and shed the light of Christ onto the world and please our Heavenly Father.

[3:30] So, the idea is when the Word challenges us to walk wisely. The idea is we take advantage of every opportunity to do good.

[3:42] Because as we work, as we walk, we run, we go home, drive, every now and then we'll be presented with an opportunity to do good. Or another way to look at it is every time that you are given an opportunity to do good, don't waste it, but make the best possible use of it to do good.

[4:01] And, let's be honest, you know, we live in a day and age where there's a lot of confusion. A lot of things are not black and white, but they're gray. So, we say, well, we want to walk wisely, we want to make the best use of our time, we want to do the right thing.

[4:17] Well, we need some wisdom to do this. Well, fortunately for us, we've been given the Bible. God has revealed the Word to us.

[4:28] We believe that the Bible is the revealed Word of God given to us for our instruction, edification, teaching, and guide. So, when we study the Word and we minister to the Word to each other, and when we pray the Word for each other, we're helping ourselves to get the wisdom we need.

[4:48] So, when we do have the opportunity to do the right thing, we make the wise choice. We choose what pleases in the Father. So, the idea is, we no longer walk in those fruitless deeds of darkness that we talked about before.

[5:04] We want to walk in the light. And, not to make a plug for Sunday school or sermons, but the Word of God is the best possible tool we have to help us to walk as children of the light in this world.

[5:16] So, that's why when we have our little Bible groups and our Wednesday nights and Friday mornings, and we minister the Word to each other, it's so incredibly important.

[5:29] Because, cognitive, intellectual understanding of the Word, application in the heart, is going to give us the wisdom that Paul is talking about here in this passage of Ephesians.

[5:40] How do we be wise? So, having said that, in verse 17, he says, Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

[5:56] And then, he goes on to say, Don't be drunk. Don't be drunk. Or, paraphrased another way, Don't have something else other than the Lord controlling your thoughts.

[6:12] And, your mind. So, when the Bible uses the word foolish, it's not to disparage anyone's intellect or intelligence. That's not the idea. Foolish is not understanding the will of the Lord.

[6:26] We all can be very smart. But, we can be smart and simultaneously not understand the will of the Lord and be foolish. So, we can be foolish in our intelligence.

[6:37] So, we want to cognitively and intellectually comprehend what the Lord's will is. And, we want to be carrying that out in our life.

[6:48] And, that's showing that we're being wise in our use of time. Now, this is not a secret counsel. This is not a secret thought of God, this wisdom. Basically, this wisdom that we need is found in application in God's word.

[7:05] Deuteronomy 29.29 So, these Bibles, God gave them to us.

[7:25] The word in there was given for the benefit of every single person who ever believes. So, as you look at yourselves, or maybe you look at one another, and you see, wow, there might be something lacking in my faith or Bob's faith over there.

[7:42] The toolbox the Holy Spirit's going to use to fix that is the word. Learning the word, understanding the word, can complete what's lacking in someone's faith. And, the other thing you want to remember, too, the Bible teaches us that we are children of God.

[8:01] We're children of the light. So, just like any child would naturally want to please their father, as the children of the Father in heaven, with our Lord Jesus sitting at the right hand, we should strive to please our Father.

[8:18] And, sometimes we have to do trial and error, knock on a few doors, to learn what pleases the Father. But, fortunately, we've been given the word.

[8:30] So, as we study the word, we can discern what's pleasing. And, notice also, the admonition in verse 18. It says, Do not be filled with wine, and get drunk, which is debauchery, but instead be filled with the Spirit.

[8:47] So, the problem with wine or alcohol or other substances, these substances can control your mind. So, you can use too much of a substance, or drink too much of a substance, lose control of your mind.

[9:04] So, this tends to affect or ruin your judgment. It can ruin your sense of propriety. It can lead to debauchery. It can lead to accidents. Let's be honest, it can lead to all kinds of trouble, with all kinds of consequences.

[9:17] So, this, getting drunk, leads to a loss of self-control, which leads to wasteful living, or a wasteful use of your time, or, in context of today's passage, an unwise use of your time.

[9:35] So, the idea is that we'd be filled with the Spirit. So, some of the things that are the fruit of the Spirit, gentleness, self-control, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, godliness, goodness, faithfulness, these things are not meant to be a one-time thing.

[10:00] They're meant to be a way of life. So, the Holy Spirit is the agent of the filling, the agent that brings the Spirit to fill our lives, is the Holy Spirit.

[10:14] the content of the filling is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Every believer receives the gift of the Holy Spirit when they believe.

[10:29] So, the command here is let the Spirit have the believer. the Spirit. So, the idea is you submit to the Spirit that's in you and you'll be filled with the Spirit and you'll have the fruit of the Spirit.

[10:49] So, it's subtle. The command is not a do. The command is be. It's a mindset. It's a mindset.

[11:00] But, we all have the Holy Spirit. So, that's a potential result that can happen to each and every one of us. So, if we go on to verses 19 and 20, it starts to talk about some of the results of being filled with the Spirit.

[11:19] What does it look like? Well, it affects our communication with one another. We talk to each other about scriptural concepts, the Word, the Psalms.

[11:32] So, we talk about God. We talk about His Word. And when we talk about God and His Word to each other, we do it out of love, reverence, fear, respect.

[11:46] So, there's a way we talk to one another and there's the content of how we talk to each other. And then, there's also the idea of songs, melodies, and hymns.

[11:58] We've all had that experience where we have a song in our head, right? Can't get it out. Well, would it be so bad if there was a hymn stuck in our head? Or maybe some, like this gradual song we sang today, Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God, humming that in our mind or maybe humming that in our heart.

[12:17] So, we can be worshiping with our heart and worshiping with our minds as we dwell on songs. And another nice thing is if we come to church and we sing songs together, we're worshiping God together.

[12:32] So, you see how there's the inward song in here and then there's the outward song out here when we sing together. And notice, Paul says, it's in the heart, making melodies to the Lord in the heart.

[12:47] That's the seat of your emotions. emotions. So, if you're seated of the emotions, if you're filled with the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, getting the fruit of the Spirit, he helps put a song in your heart to love and sing to God.

[13:03] So, we can do this by ourselves and we can do this with each other. And, Paul also mentions the idea of thanksgiving. Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.

[13:17] So, a lot of psychologists will tell us the foundation of anyone being happy is to have a thankful attitude for something. And I'm sure you've all met people who are thankful for nothing.

[13:29] They're impossible to please. There's no gratitude in their heart whatsoever. And it's like, where do you go with someone like that? You can't please them. You can't satisfy them.

[13:41] But we have God. And we have Jesus. We have the Holy Spirit. And then we know and we recognize that everything we have, all our possessions, our families and friends, our jobs, this, it's all been given to us by God.

[13:56] So, we should be continuously thanking God the Father for His provision and blessing. Another thing that spirit believers do is they submit to one another.

[14:08] So, what does that mean when believers submit to each other? It means being willing to serve others, maybe sometimes being under them, as my brother, Ray, had me button this button today.

[14:29] I was submitting to my brother. as opposed to maybe dominating your brother and sister. You see the difference?

[14:42] Submission versus domination. So, when we're filled with the Spirit, we can revere our brothers and sisters as better than ourselves, esteem them as more than ourselves, and serve them and help them.

[14:56] Or maybe just listen to them and respect them. So, we're exalting the Lord in this. We're not exalting ourselves. And that's the real test.

[15:08] If our relationships with each other are going according to the wiring from the Holy Spirit, our relationships with each other exalt God and show reverence for Christ, we're not exalting ourselves.

[15:22] That's the litmus test. So, our Lord talked about this quite a bit. And one of my favorite passages is in Luke 22 verses 24 to 27.

[15:35] In the context of this passage, a dispute broke out among the disciples about who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. And we'll just let the word do the talking here.

[15:46] A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them and those in authority over them are called benefactors.

[16:02] But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater?

[16:13] One who reclines at a table or one who serves? Is not the one who reclines at the table? Now here's the kicker. But I am among you as the one who serves.

[16:29] So, if the mentality and mindset of our Lord Jesus was service, and he's also simultaneously the king of kings, where does that leave us?

[16:41] Yes. Jesus was willing to do anything and everything to serve us and save us. Do we even model half of that thinking in our relationships with each other and with people?

[16:59] So, at the conclusion of the sermon, we're going to be talking about the Apostles' Creed. And one of the points in the Apostles' Creed is it says, he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

[17:14] So, another very important idea that ties into this passage here is the idea that Christ is going to return. Because we know that our Lord ascended to heaven and we know our Lord is coming back.

[17:27] So, this is where this passage that Paul gave us about time management is critical. Because to be filled with the Spirit, to submit to each other with reverence, one of the greatest motivating teachers teachers to teach that is the teaching that Christ will return soon.

[17:49] Because if we're thinking about the Lord's returning, well, how do you want the Lord to find you when he comes back? Do you want him to find you doing what's right and good and true?

[18:01] Or do you want to be found drunk? How do you want to use your life? So, your life is kind of like a donut.

[18:12] You have a beginning point and an end point, which are beyond your control, but you get to choose the filling. So, are you going to fill it with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, or are you going to fill it with self-gratification?

[18:29] What's your will? Is your will God's will, or is your will your will? These are the questions you have to think about. So, I'm assuming everyone's on board with all five chapters of Ephesians.

[18:43] You're going to make the wise use of your time because if you do this, you're going to have a better life, a happier life, and if the Lord returns, you'll be like, hey, over here, I'm ready.

[18:55] You're not going to be like, ah, you know, try to hide behind something. So, just remember, Jesus was a servant of all of us.

[19:06] so when he asks us to serve each other, he's just asking us to do what he's already done and did and still does. Because also, remember, he's at the right hand of the Father interceding for us every day with every possible request.

[19:20]  just food for thought. Thank you. Thank you. you