If you would turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5, we've been making our way through Ephesians, if you're not aware, as a church.
We've been in it for some time now.
And the end is in sight.
So if you would look to Ephesians chapter 5, we're going to be in three verses this morning, verses 15, 16, and 17.
Let me begin by saying this.
I don't know if you know this.
But there are 168 hours in a week.
All of us have been given 168 hours in a week.
So the question that I have for you this morning, how do you decide to use your 168 hours?
What informs your decisions of how to spend the 168 hours God gives you this week?
This past week, I came across some interesting facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
They gathered information from Americans who are employed between the ages of 25 through 54 with children.
So a little cross-section of Americans.
Americans and they processed the information and they came up with the following daily averages of time use.
On average, Americans sleep 7.7 hours a day.
I'd like half of that.
Anybody else?
I'm kidding.
On average, we work 8.7 hours a day.
On average, we spend 2.5 hours a day on leisure.
Or as the Brits say, leisure.
On average, we spend 1.1 hours a day on household tasks.
Again, this is a cross-section of all Americans.
On average, we spend an hour a day eating and drinking.
On average, we spend 1.3 hours a day caring for others.
And on average, we spend 1.7 hours a day on everything else, whatever that may be.
Here's the point.
Each one of us is given 24 hours a day.
168 hours a week.
And how are you making use of the time that God has given you?
Christian, does the way you spend your time look any different than those who are still walking in darkness?
If you would turn now to Ephesians chapter 5, I'm going to read this passage.
Ephesians chapter 5, 15, 16, and 17.
It's a command.
It's an exhortation.
Look carefully, then, how you walk.
Not as unwise, but as wise.
Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
God, in this passage, is calling each of us to take stock of how we're using our time.
Why?
Because being a follower of Jesus changes the way we spend our time.
Why is that?
Because God, by His grace, has radically changed us.
And He has brought us into a knowledge of His eternal plan for all.
So we no longer live for ourselves.
We are seeking to do the will, the eternal will, of our Lord.
And believe it or not, it shows up in our weekly schedules.
This morning, God is calling us to a wise use of our 168 hours that He will give us, Lord willing, this week.
He wants us to leverage our time for His eternal will.
We must walk in light of eternity.
When you prioritize your life according to God's will, you will make the best use of your time.
You will walk wisely.
This morning, I want you to see three points that come from this passage that will help prioritize your life.
The first point is this.
Examine your life.
The second point is you've got limited time.
The third point is this.
God's eternal will prioritizes our daily lives.
So, let's look at this first command here to examine our lives in verse 15.
Look carefully then how you walk.
Examine your life.
What God is commanding us to do here is to pay careful attention to our lives.
Remember that word walk?
Examine your life.
It's Paul's favorite word to describe how you live your life.
We're all on a journey.
We're all traveling.
We're all going somewhere.
And God is commanding us to take focus, to focus in on how we are walking, how we are living,
how we are spending our days.
The sense of that word careful can also be rendered accurately.
And so, this isn't just a general paying attention to your life.
This is carefully paying attention to your life.
This is paying attention to the specifics.
The sense of this little word, look carefully to how you walk,
is taking a careful, detailed etch your life.
And not just one careful look,
but the verb is actually, means kind of an ongoing looking to.
So, ongoingly, keep looking carefully at your life.
God is calling us to regularly examine our life.
Who likes that word examine?
Seriously.
It's not a warm, cuddly word, is it?
Think about it.
A medical checkup?
Also known as an examination?
Who likes having their body measured, poked, and prodded?
Seriously.
A job review?
Also known as an examination.
I mean, who can't just wait to walk into your boss's office
for the annual review?
Seeing the good you've done
and the not so good that you have done.
It's a holding to account.
I mean, think about a tax audit.
I mean, it is tax season, isn't it?
It's a tax examination.
You don't want to get audited, do you?
You don't want to be brought through that.
It's a holding to account.
It's kind of like this.
You know when you look at your check register,
your checking account online,
and you're kind of going through all your purchases,
and you're going through carefully,
you're like, yeah, yeah, that was a good purchase.
No, that wasn't a good purchase.
Yeah, that was a good purchase.
No, that wasn't a good purchase.
You're examining your checking account.
You're paying careful attention
to make sure you're spending your money wisely.
So when Paul is telling us here
to look carefully at our life,
he's saying to examine the way
that you are living your life.
Hold yourself to account,
is what he's saying.
This is a call to self-examination.
This is a call to self-reflection.
Which means you may see something
you don't want to see.
Why is God commanding us to do this?
Why does God want us to pay careful attention
to the way we're living?
Does he just want us to become self-absorbed?
Nah, that's not it.
God knows our tendency,
even as Christians.
Our tendency is to lose focus and drift,
isn't it?
To lose focus and stray,
to lose focus and wander.
God loves us.
And he wants us to stay focused on living
for what matters most.
That's wisdom.
And so when we examine our lives,
we examine our lives
through the lens of wisdom.
So what God is saying to us here
is son, daughter,
look carefully how you live in your life.
Be wise.
Now,
taking stock of your life
is not just a Christian thing.
Socrates
said this,
the unexamined life is not worth living.
Even non-Christians know
that if you don't examine your life regularly,
you'll lose focus
on what's most important
and live for things that are less important.
I mean,
there's a whole industry
seeking to help people
maximize their life
according to what they think
is most important.
Now,
the big difference between Christians
and non-Christians
is what
is
most
important.
What matters most?
And that's why Paul
is introducing the word
wise here
at the end of verse 15.
Look carefully
at how you live in your life.
Not as unwise,
but as wise.
God is saying,
examine your life
to make sure
you're living wisely.
You're walking wisely.
So let me give you
a quick crash course
in the biblical concept
of wisdom.
Our Bibles are packed full of it.
Proverbs jumps out.
As the book
that talks about wisdom.
I mean,
Proverbs 1-7 says,
the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge.
And then 9-10 says,
the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom.
Wisdom starts with God.
A wise life
is a life lived with God
at the center of all things.
God governing all that we do.
A wise life
is a life lived dependent upon
and unto God.
Foolishness
is
a life that denies
or disregards God
in everyday decisions.
A life of folly
is a life lived unto me.
The me-centered life.
I am at the center of all things.
All things exist for me.
Now,
if we are honest with ourselves,
brothers and sisters,
that's how we used to live.
We used to live
a life of folly.
We used to be living in darkness,
living ignorant of God
and denying His ways.
That's how we used to live.
And then,
in an amazing display
of God's grace,
Christ shined
into our lives.
Awake,
O sleeper!
And we saw.
We were awakened
to a world
far bigger than our own.
We were awakened
to a life with God
at the center of all things,
not ourselves.
When God saved us,
He delivered us
by the gospel
from a me-centered life
of folly
to a God-centered life
of wisdom.
You know,
the God-centered life
is the good life.
It's the life
of wisdom.
So think of wisdom
as a skill
that's acquired
over the course
of one's life.
And it shapes
one's life.
And here's why.
A wise life
is formed
one godly decision
at a time.
It's living
one decision
at a time
as though
God is at the center
of all things
because He is.
And over the course
of a life,
one acquires
the skill
of godly living.
Living unto God
in all areas.
wisdom.
That's wisdom.
Wisdom is the fruit
of a life fully devoted
to God.
Young people in the room,
whether you're in middle school
or whether you're in high school,
whether you're in college,
Ecclesiastes 12
says this,
remember your Creator
in the days of your youth.
Don't buy the lie
that you can just put it on hold
and come back to it later.
Be wise now.
Wisdom starts now.
Wisdom starts today.
Live unto God today.
what the Proverbs
Solomon sways.
Get it.
Get wisdom.
Get it at all costs.
Make it your love.
Pursue her.
Make her your own.
Be wise.
Live for God
in all things.
What God is urging us
to do here
in verse 15
is to look carefully
and look often
at our lives
to make sure
we're aimed at God.
Living lives unto the Lord.
Walking wisely.
God at the center
of all things.
Now here's what
I want you to feel
this morning.
It's very clear.
You are responsible
to look carefully
at your own life.
You must take stock
of your life.
You must examine your life.
I can't do that for you.
Pay attention to your marriage.
Is your marriage
lived unto the Lord?
Your parenting.
Is it lived unto the Lord?
Your finances.
Is it unto God?
Your entertainment choices.
Is it unto the Lord?
Your personal pursuit of God.
Reading His Word.
Are you praying?
Are they unto the Lord?
Examine your life.
Look carefully
at how you're walking.
Which brings us
to the second point.
You've got limited
time.
You've got limited time.
So what Paul would say is
so make the most of it.
wisdom.
In verse 15,
Paul's writing about wisdom
and then in verse 16
he gets,
oh, so practical
because wisdom
shows up
in the use
of your time.
Making the best use
of the time
because the days
are evil.
Can I just share with you
five things that we all
have in common
regarding time?
All of us in this room.
We all have this in common.
You ready?
We're all Americans,
I believe.
First thing we have
in common is this.
Did you know that
the average American
lifespan is now
79 years?
It's a little bit
better news for women,
ladies.
You'll live 81 years
on average.
Brothers,
you've got 76 years
on average.
So typically,
Americans live long lives.
The average lifespan
of someone living
internationally around
the world is 61 years old.
So as Americans,
on average,
we live longer.
But,
we read our Bibles,
what Moses writes
in Psalm 90 is this,
the years of our life
are 70 by reason
of strength,
80.
So it's really
nothing new.
On average,
all of us
have 70 to 80 years
of life to live.
So that's the first thing
we have in common.
The second thing
we have in common
is this.
Though all of us
have 70 to 80 years
on average to live,
none of us
know how many days
we actually have.
None of us
can be sure
of the day
that we will die.
but there is a day
on which you
and I
will die.
In Psalm 139, 16,
David is
crying out to God
and recognizing
that God has set
the number
of His days.
The day of your death
is known by your God.
You know how you have
a birthday?
You have a death day.
And as Americans,
we don't like
to think about
our deaths,
do we?
But unless Jesus
returns in our lifetime,
each of us
will surely die.
The day of our death
is set.
God knows it.
All of us
are going to die.
And yet we don't know
when.
We all have that
in common.
The third thing
that we have
in common.
We tend to think
of our lives
as expanding.
But in reality,
what God says,
from His perspective,
we are one day
closer to our death.
Or unless Jesus returns.
So we're either
one day closer
to our death
or we're one day
closer to Jesus' return.
But
what God says is
the window of your life
on earth
is closing.
How does that sit with you?
Dude, will you stop
bumming me out?
I came to be
with God's people
to get encouraged, brother.
You're bringing me down, man.
You pull up, Salvati?
Come on.
Did you know
that both David,
King David and Moses,
each wrote a psalm
in which they asked
God to make them
know the measure
of their days?
Psalm 39,
4 through 6.
Read it.
But I'd like to direct you
to Psalm 90,
verse 12.
The real question is,
why did they ask God
to remind them
of the measure
of their days?
And 90, 12 says this,
so teach us
to number our days
that we may get
a heart of wisdom.
Knowing that your days
are numbered
and that your death
is drawing closer
should focus you
to live
for what matters most.
God.
His plan.
I don't want to bum you out
this morning.
I want to wake you up
this morning.
There's this guy.
He preached
a very famous sermon.
Sinners in the hands
of an angry God.
Anybody name that guy?
Jay Edwards.
Jonathan Edwards.
And before he was
20 years old,
he wrote these things
called the resolutions.
And so before he was
20 years old,
he wrote 70 resolutions.
And what they were
were things that he would
review every week.
And they were designed
to help him live
a life of godliness.
They're all kind of
springing out
of God's word.
So can I just read you
a few of them?
Resolution number five.
Remember,
this kid's like,
he's like 19 years old.
Resolved,
never to lose
one moment of my time
but to improve it
in the most profitable way
I possibly can.
Resolution number nine.
To think much
on all occasions
of my dying
in the common circumstances
which attend death.
Ladies,
how about Jonathan Edwards
calling you up
to go on a date?
Hey, let's go to Starbucks.
What do you want
to talk about?
Let's talk about dying.
Alright.
Resolution 17.
Resolve,
that I will live so
as I shall wish I had
when I come to die.
Resolution 43.
Resolve,
never hence forward
till I die
to act as if
I were any way
my own
but entirely
in altogether God's.
Man.
Resolution 50.
Resolved.
That I will act
so as I think
I shall judge
would have been best
when I come
into the future world.
You see how
he's living his life?
He's not afraid
of his death.
His death
was compelling him
to live a life
for what matters most.
The things of God.
The fourth thing
that we have in common.
So the first is
on average
we'll live 70,
80 years.
The second is
we're not really sure
about that.
The third is
the window of our lives
is closing.
The fourth is
each of us
has between now
and our death
we all live
within the constraints
of a 24 hour day.
All of us.
Each of us
works with the same amount
of allotted time.
Each of us
in this room
and then the 7 billion
other people
on the face
of the earth
all live within
a 24 hour period.
Do you know
what that means?
Everybody's deciding
what to do
with their time.
All of us
live within
24 hour days.
The fifth thing.
The fifth thing
we all have in common.
Each of us
will stand
before Christ
to give an account
for the way
we lived our lives.
how we made
the most
of our time.
Listen to this.
Writing to Christians
in Romans
chapter 14
verse 10
Paul writes
for we
Christians
for we will
stand before
the judgment seat
of God.
Verse 12
So then
each of us
will give an account
of himself
to God.
Again
writing to Christians
in 2 Corinthians 5
9 and 10
we read this.
So whether we are
at home or away
we make it our aim
to please him
for
we must
all stand
before the judgment
seat of Christ
so that each one
may receive
what is due
for what he's done
in the body.
Brothers
and sisters
the promise
of this final judgment
should not make us
fear for our salvation.
That's not why
these passages
are here.
Our salvation
has been secured
by Christ
by his death.
In fact
our Savior
will also
be our judge.
But what
should be
sobering us up
is that
we will
have to
give an account.
We will
stand before him
for how we
lived our lives.
And we must
take that to heart.
we must
live in light
of that day.
It's what we all
have in common.
Seventy to eight years
we really don't know
the number of them.
The windows closing
each of us
has to deal
living within
twenty four hours
each of us
will have to stand
before Christ.
So what?
What difference
does this make?
each of us
must decide
how we will
spend the time
God has given
to us.
What God
through Paul
is exhorting us
to hear is
make the best
use of the time
however long
you got.
Make the most
of it.
Now when you
hear the little
phrase make the
best use of the
time don't
immediately think
in terms of
efficiency.
Don't think
Stephen Covey
seven habits
of highly
effective people.
Don't think
David Allen
getting things
done it's a
matter of how
much you can
pack into your
life.
That's very
American.
Think in terms
of the aim
of our life.
The goal
of our time.
Did you notice
the contrast
in verse 16
make the best
use of the time
because the days
are evil.
You know what
we're surrounded
by people
living in
darkness
who are using
time foolishly
for evil
purposes.
We don't want
that.
We want them
to come to
Christ and
live their
lives or
something else
but that's
the way it
is.
We are to
make the best
use of the
time for the
glory of
Christ.
Don't think
how much can I
get done in a
24 hour period.
Think how can I
use this day for
the glory of
Christ.
That's starting to
move in the right
direction of
making the best
use of the
time.
That's wise
living.
It's up to you
to decide how
you're going to
spend your time.
Don't waste
your time.
Live for the
glory of Christ.
Now the question
you may be asking
yourself is,
hey, can you
give me a little
more help than
that?
How do I aim
my life?
Is there something
that can help me
decide what is the
best use of the
time God gives
me?
And the answer
is yes.
Look at verse
17.
God's will
prioritizes our
time.
Verse 17 says
this.
Therefore, do not
be foolish, but
understand what the
will of the Lord
is.
God's eternal
will prioritizes
our daily lives.
Here's the
connection between
16 and 17.
Walking wisely
means making the
best use of the
time.
Verse 16.
Verse 17, Paul
tells us how to
make the best use
of the time.
By understanding
what is the will
of the Lord.
He's saying don't
be a fool and
ignore God's will.
You need to
understand what
the will of the
Lord is in order
to make the best
use of the time.
Now that word
understand is a
very interesting
word.
It means more
than just knowing
the facts.
An intellectual
grasp on things.
The word carries
with it this sense
of bringing
things together.
The idea is
an understanding
that knows how
to practically
live out the
will of the
Lord.
How to put it
into practice.
How to live in
light of the will
of the Lord.
So don't you
want to know
what the will
of the Lord
is?
Well it may
not be what
you think.
God's word
reveals God's
will for God's
people.
John, stop.
God's word
reveals God's
will for God's
people.
But what's
interesting about
Ephesians is
how Paul talks
about God's
will.
He talks about
it.
Not in Ephesians
5.
In Ephesians
1.
In Ephesians
1, Paul
references the
will of God
three times.
In verse 1,
in verse 9,
in verse 11.
And what he's
writing about
is different
aspects of
God's plan
of salvation
for the
fullness
of time.
In other
words,
God's plan
for eternity.
God's
eternal plan
to save
sinners
and to
eventually
make all
wrongs right
and reverse
the curse
all through
Jesus.
So here's
what Paul is
writing in
verse 17.
Don't be a
fool and
think that
this life
is all
that there
is.
live your
70-80
years
in light
of God's
glorious
eternal
plan
to unite
all things
in Jesus
Christ.
That's what
he's saying.
Christ
lit you up
to be
holy.
Now
live
holy
wise
lives
in light
of His
eternal
purposes.
that is
the will
of the
Lord.
In other
words,
God's
plan for
eternity
informs how
we daily
live our
lives.
We
walk
with an
eye
to
eternity.
We live
our lives
in light
of this
greater
reality,
God's
eternal
plan.
This is
an eternal
perspective.
life.
We don't
get that
much.
God's
word
gives
it in
abundance.
God's
plan for
eternity
informs our
decisions.
So I
want to
take a
shot and
try to
help you
out in
how this
makes a
difference in
our lives.
Maybe
some of you
in the room
are asking
the question,
should I
get married?
Well,
here's how
an eye to
God's
eternal
plan makes
a difference
with that
question.
First,
you've got to
realize,
marriage isn't
the end
all.
There's
something
greater than
marriage.
The glory
of Christ.
Second,
you need to
marry someone
who understands
the will of
the Lord.
Brother,
sister in
Christ,
if you're
thinking about
being married,
do you
share the
same aim
in life?
Living
for
Jesus.
For those
who are
married,
how does
an eternal
perspective
change your
marriage?
Are you
at an
impasse
in your
marriage?
Are your
heels dug
in?
Are there
too many
wounds that
are too
deep?
Consider
your
marriage
in light
of
eternity.
Wrongs
done look
a lot
smaller and
less
significant in
light of
God's plan
for the
fullness of
time.
So when
you look at
your marriage
in light of
God's
eternal
will,
step back,
get
perspective,
forgive,
forgive wrongs
done.
don't hold
a grudge,
don't become
bitter.
Live for
Christ.
Moms and
dads,
what is the
ultimate goal
for each of
your children?
children.
I want my
child to get
straight A's.
I want my
child to be a
D1 athlete.
I want my
child to be
first chair
cello.
Or maybe,
hey, I really
just want my
child to
potty, be
potty trained.
Really, that's
it.
That's it.
Seriously,
my ultimate
goal right now
is that my
child actually
sleeps five
consecutive hours
so that I
actually can
sleep.
Or maybe
you're thinking,
I just want my
kid to be able
to move out
and live on
their own.
Let God's
plan for
eternity
inform your
parenting.
Parent with
eternity in
mind.
You know what
is going to
happen?
You know
what it's
going to
do?
He will
help you
pick your
battles.
It will
help you
persevere
through trials
because your
child's greatest
need is
Christ.
Eternity
informs how
we see
other people.
I'm sure
you all have
neighbors,
you all have
workmates,
family,
many of whom
are not
Christians.
How do
you think
about them?
Do you
think about
them in
light of
eternity?
Do you
think about
them of
where they
will be
spending
eternity?
It's
compelling.
As we
become more
aware of
eternity and
where people
will spend
eternity,
it's going
to have an
effect.
It's going
to incline
us to
raise a
certain kind
of conversation
that can
be uncomfortable.
A conversation
about spiritually
significant things
because we're
concerned about
where people
will live
for eternity.
let eternity
inform what
you buy.
Eternity puts
things in
perspective real
quick.
Puts things in
the proper
place with the
right perspective.
It'll keep your
stuff from owning
you.
It's going to
rust.
It's going to
break.
It's going to
run its course
of usefulness.
It helps us
to be in
this world
but not of
this world.
So how do
we make the
best use of
the time?
We live in
light of
eternity.
It's real.
We live
understanding
what the
will of the
Lord is to
unite all
things in
Christ.
It's all
about Christ.
We live
for what
matters most.
God's will
has always
been for us
to be holy
and blameless
before Him.
So living
for eternity
and making
the best use
of our time,
do you know
what that is?
That's holiness.
That's living
a life set
apart from
everybody else.
It's making
the best use
of our time
for the glory
of Christ.
Each of us
has been given
168 hours
this week.
Lord willing
as far as we
know.
And what
will set us
apart is that
we leverage
each day
for eternity
is making
the best use
of the time.
I want to
close with
one of my
favorite poems.
It's written
by a guy
named C.T.
Studd.
He was a
stud.
As you will
soon find out,
the name of
this poem is
Only One
Life.
Eight stanzas
will be about
two minutes.
Two little
lines I heard
one day
traveling along
life's busy
way,
bringing conviction
to my heart
and from my
mind would not
depart.
Here they are.
Only one life
which will soon
be passed.
Only what's
done for Christ
will last.
Only one life,
yes, only one,
soon will its
fleeting hours
be done.
Then in that
day my Lord
to meet and
stand before
his judgment
seat,
only one life
which will soon
be passed.
Only what's
done for Christ
will last.
Only one life,
the still small
voice gently
pleads for a
better choice,
bidding me
selfish aims
to leave
and to God's
holy will
to cleave.
Only one life
which will soon
be passed.
Only what's
done for Christ
will last.
Only one life,
a few brief
years, each
with its
burdens,
hopes,
and fears,
each with
its clays
I must fulfill,
living for self
or in his will.
Only one life,
which will soon
be passed.
Only what's
done for Christ
will last.
When this
bright world
would tempt
me sore,
when Satan
would a victory
score,
when self
would seek
to have its
ways,
then help me
Lord with
joy to say,
only one life
which will soon
be passed.
Only what's
done for Christ
will last.
Give me
Father a
purpose deep
in joy or
sorrow,
thy word to
keep faithful
and true
whate'er the
strife
pleasing thee
in my daily
life.
Only one life
will soon be
passed,
only what's
done for
Christ will
last.
Oh, let
my love
with fervor
burn,
and from the
world now
let me turn,
living for thee
and thee alone,
bringing thee
pleasure on thy
throne.
Only one life
will soon be
passed,
only what's
done for
Christ will
last.
Only one life,
yes, only
one.
Now let me
say, thy
will be
done.
And when at
last I'll
hear the
call, I
know I'll
say,
twas worth
it all.
Only one
life,
twas soon
be passed,
only what's
done for
Christ will
last.
Let's pray
together.