1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:03,360 A name you won't hear in the church much is Henry David 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,080 Thoreau. He wrote an essay called 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:11,320 Walking, where the whole intention was to help the people 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,520 that read his essay to do just that, to put 1 foot in front of 5 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:17,800 the other, to get out in nature and to walk. 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,480 And he lived in the mid 19th century, and he feared the 7 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:25,000 encroachment of industry and commercialism as the cities were 8 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:28,240 rapidly expanding. And he was afraid that there 9 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,440 wouldn't be anywhere to go and walk anymore. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:36,560 Just shortly after him was Ulysses S Grant, who signed the 11 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,720 Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law and 12 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,560 established the first National Park, in part. 13 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,280 So we would always have a place to go and put 1 foot in front of 14 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,240 another and to be out in nature and to walk. 15 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,960 It would always be part of our experience. 16 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,800 And there's a lady named Cherie Harder, president of the Trinity 17 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,720 Forum. She said to throw a walk in 18 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,920 nature was something significant, sublime, even 19 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,720 sacred, a spurt of vitality, a revelation of beauty, and even 20 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,720 at times, an act of resistance against injustice. 21 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,160 And while Thoreau was critical of the Church and religious 22 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:14,600 institutions, he preached walking as a form of liturgy, an 23 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,000 embodied practice that formed the thinking, imagination and 24 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,840 values, and therefore the character of the practitioner. 25 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,240 It was a way to become more alive and more fully human, a 26 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:26,800 way he followed throughout his own life. 27 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,480 There's much to learn from walking to enhance our gratitude 28 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,800 for the natural world and our appreciation of our place in it 29 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,840 and our awe of the Creator. And so he was critical of 30 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,600 Christianity. But he still says of walking, it 31 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:46,480 requires a direct dispensation from heaven to become a Walker. 32 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,320 And so us as the church, we would say the same thing. 33 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,400 We would agree and say that this Christian life on this Christian 34 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,040 walk must be granted. It's a direct dispensation of 35 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,720 heaven that we get the gift of walking after God. 36 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,640 And so we, we want in our wisdom to understand that this is not 37 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:08,680 just an, an intellectual conception of walking with God, 38 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,840 but truly walking biblically with God. 39 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,240 That's why Christians are called adherents of Christianity, are 40 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:20,720 called being on the way. The way implies our religion. 41 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,840 We walk in it and Jesus Christ saying I am the way and the 42 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,680 truth and the life. And he invites every Christian 43 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,920 to follow after him, which implies some level of walking 44 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,480 and following in his footsteps. And as you follow Jesus, you'll 45 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,840 see in Scripture that he's never portrayed as being in a hurry. 46 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,520 You never see Jesus anxious, you never see him stressed. 47 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,600 You never see him run. You see him walk, He withdraws, 48 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,920 He stops, he waits, and he walks first. 49 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:56,360 Peter 221 Christ left you an example so that you might follow 50 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,600 in his footsteps, walking after him. 51 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,680 And those who walk after Jesus closely and follow his heart are 52 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:11,320 called those who walk with God. Genesis 524 Enoch walked with 53 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,320 God in Genesis 69. Noah was a righteous man, 54 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,440 blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 55 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:21,280 And in the summary of the Christian life in Micah 68, a 56 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,280 passage you all know they probably have memorized, he says 57 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,840 he has told you, Oh man, what is good and what does the Lord 58 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,360 require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and 59 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:37,920 to walk humbly with your God. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 60 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,520 515 and we're going to see the the 7th and final time that 61 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,240 Christians are called to walk in the book of Ephesians. 62 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,560 And you can listen so that you can become one who truly 63 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:54,000 understands what Scripture means when it tells you to walk after 64 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,280 God. Ephesians 5, we're going to look 65 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:02,640 at verses 15 to 21. Paul says, look carefully then, 66 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,360 how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of 67 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:09,160 the time, because the days are evil. 68 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,880 Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of 69 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,160 the Lord is and do not get drunk with wine for that is 70 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:20,279 debauchery, But be filled with the Spirit addressing one 71 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,120 another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and 72 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:27,000 making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always 73 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,960 and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord 74 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,920 Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for 75 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,320 Christ. To go back to Ephesians one to 76 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,360 three. This was theology. 77 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,720 This is giving our our new identity and it's all rooted and 78 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,000 found in theology proper in God the Father. 79 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,120 He says that you are to walk and the unity that God has created. 80 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,360 We were to preserve the unity of the Spirit and the bond of 81 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,240 peace. It's unity that we preserve, but 82 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,320 that is given by God. He goes in Ephesians 41 83 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,360 summarizing all of that theological content. 84 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,360 He says, therefore walk worthy of the calling to which you've 85 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,320 been called. Walk of the calling. 86 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,840 Skip to Ephesians 417 As we've moved through these these 87 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,680 metaphors of walking, he says walk not how the world walks, 88 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,560 but walk in holiness. And we move to Ephesians 5, one 89 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:19,040 to two. We were commanded to walk in 90 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:23,280 love, walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for 91 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:25,600 us. And then 57 to 9 commanded to 92 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,640 walk in the light, for at one time you were darkness, but now 93 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,160 you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light, 94 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:34,960 for the fruit of what is right and found is found in all that 95 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,760 is good and right and true. And then you come to our text 96 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,760 today, Ephesians 515. He says for the last time we are 97 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:48,320 to walk, but now in wisdom and in the fullness of God's Spirit. 98 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,360 And the command for you today is to look carefully how you're 99 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,520 walking, not as unwise but as wise. 100 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:57,960 And the beauty of the metaphor is in its simplicity. 101 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,760 We talk about walking over and over because it keeps coming up 102 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:02,280 again. And it's comprehensive of all of 103 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:06,440 life and as because it is comprehensive of all of life. 104 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,880 And it's so simple. Paul's going to take this 105 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:14,880 concept and apply Christianity to all of our life, all aspects 106 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:16,960 of our life. And so the command is look 107 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,680 carefully. And the word look means direct 108 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,440 your attention to this. Consider this, give thought to 109 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,320 this, and He's giving us an opportunity to pause for just a 110 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,560 moment and look how you're ordering your life. 111 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,760 Is it ordered spiritually? Is it Spirit ordered? 112 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:39,000 And He helps to us to examine our lives by looking at 3 113 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,160 particular areas. He does this by bringing up 3 114 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,600 contrasts that we're going to do together. 115 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:47,320 Look through together. The first one's in verses 15 to 116 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:53,040 16, He says don't walk as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time. 117 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,880 That's the first contrast. The second one comes in verse 118 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:58,960 17. He says don't walk foolishly, 119 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,080 but know what the will of the Lord is. 120 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,840 And then the third contrast is in verses 18 to 21, not drunk 121 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:08,760 with wine, but filled with the Spirit. 122 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,120 Not filled with wine, but when filled with the Spirit. 123 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:13,920 And these contrasts are our focus. 124 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:18,440 They represent idolatrous distortions to what our hearts 125 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,200 are prone toward. There's these good and gracious 126 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:25,280 gifts that God has given and in our in our flesh, we, we distort 127 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:30,520 them and they remind us of these, these gifts that our time 128 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:36,440 understanding and pleasure and we see that God has given the 129 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,720 gifts. We distort them and God redeems 130 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:40,760 them. We'll put it in a simple 131 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,000 outline. The first one will be we redeem 132 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,520 the time without worshipping efficiency. 133 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,560 We redeem understanding without worshipping autonomy and then 134 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,960 finally we redeem pleasure without worshipping the world's 135 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:55,520 goods. And we steal that word 136 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,760 redemption from verse 16. It's a very purposeful word that 137 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,000 Paul uses and it means to buy back. 138 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,920 Redemption is a salvation word. We were we were bought with a 139 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,800 price. And here he's saying you are 140 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:11,320 buying back that which otherwise might be wasted or corrupted 141 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,880 from the powers of this world. So Paul saying these our 142 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,440 understanding and time and pleasure, these are the gifts of 143 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,720 God. The world can't take them from 144 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,320 us, and neither will we corrupt them ourselves. 145 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:26,240 All right, These are the gifts of God. 146 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,400 And so Paul redeems them so that we can walk in a manner worthy 147 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,360 of the calling to which we've been called. 148 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,799 Look at the first one with me, verses 15 to 16. 149 00:08:34,799 --> 00:08:39,520 We will redeem the time without worshipping efficiency. 150 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,520 Sherry Harder, president of Trinity Forum, explains that the 151 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:50,080 pressure on Christians to live as machines or as avatars grows 152 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,040 every year. The pressure to be endlessly 153 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,520 productive, ever available, always online. 154 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:58,440 If you feel that way, can you nod at me? 155 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,320 You feel the pressure to be productive like a machine. 156 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,800 And some of that desire to be efficient and to be productive 157 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,120 is a good thing. We preach all the time. 158 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:11,720 Protestant work ethic is is to be celebrated. 159 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,760 We look out in the world and we see the the heaviness and the 160 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,520 weight of all the ministry that needs to happen. 161 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,000 And thinking of an old hymn called Rise Up, O Men of God, it 162 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,240 says that the power of the church is unequal to the task 163 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,240 that we've been given there. We don't have enough power for 164 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:29,960 this calling that God has given us to. 165 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,040 And so there has to be some level of of measured effort. 166 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:39,280 And so we look at at the pressure that 7.772 billion 167 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:43,200 people in this world, as counted by the IMB, need fellowship and 168 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,560 discipleship and salvation. And by their estimates, 59% of 169 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:49,400 the world has no access to the gospel. 170 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:56,760 That's a weighty statistic. There's 328,947 children in the 171 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,680 foster care system. A point in Time count revealed 172 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:05,920 last year that there were 771,480 people experiencing 173 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,000 homelessness on a single night last year. 174 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:15,760 And there are 117,300,000 refugees displaced in the world 175 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,840 right now because of persecution, war or violence. 176 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:23,040 So you hear that and you say, who has time for a weekend away 177 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,240 to rest with that going on in our world? 178 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:30,000 Who has time to go to the bathroom when 59% of the world 179 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:33,000 has no access to the gospel? And so here's where you feel the 180 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:38,040 pressure toward efficiency and optimization and scale. 181 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,720 And God's given us time as a gift. 182 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:44,640 That's what he's saying in this passage. 183 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,320 And it's meant to be stewarded according to God's Word more 184 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,560 than it's meant to be optimized. Scripture brings balance. 185 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,600 And he's going to remind you in a moment, you can't change the 186 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,480 world. I'll just relieve that pressure 187 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:57,720 from you. Your, your call is to be 188 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:01,640 faithful, to shepherd your time and to steward your time, not to 189 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:04,840 optimize it. So these, these statistics can 190 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:06,400 burden you and they can crush you. 191 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:10,480 And here's the temptation to worship efficiency and 192 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:12,640 optimization and scale. We could say, what if we could 193 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,760 disciple Christians faster? What if we could make disciples 194 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,800 of Jesus Christ five times as efficiently as we do now? 195 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,240 What if we could scale righteousness and holiness and 196 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,400 plant more churches more quickly? 197 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,160 What if Chris and I and John and Hudson could optimize our sermon 198 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,600 prep time down to two or three hours a week so that we could do 199 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:34,520 more and more and more? What would be the result of 200 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,360 that? Would it be good? 201 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:40,520 One modern missionary organization says that their 202 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,080 goal is to reach the maximum number of people for Christ in 203 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:45,640 the least amount of time in the most efficient way. 204 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,760 And when the Scriptures are saying here redeem the time for 205 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:52,760 the days are evil, it doesn't mean redeem the time because the 206 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:54,840 days are passing away and there's only so little time you 207 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:56,720 have to have. And so we need to do as much as 208 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:58,120 we can. That's that's not what it's 209 00:11:58,120 --> 00:11:59,960 saying. It's saying redeem the time 210 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:02,760 because the days are evil, meaning we're part of this evil 211 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,760 wicked world system and there's evil people all around us. 212 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,440 So use the God-given opportunities as they present 213 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:10,560 themselves. The days are evil. 214 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:13,160 That's Ephesians 2. Two, you're living among a 215 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:18,960 horrible wicked system. And so your call is to seize the 216 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,760 opportunities in front of you as God leads. 217 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,560 Your call is not to distort the gift of time. 218 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:28,880 One other way of distorting it on the on the the edge of 219 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,360 efficiency and doing everything you can and as much as you can 220 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,360 would be to do nothing. That's the opposite of redeeming 221 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:36,680 your time. And so there are some that are 222 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:40,080 lethargic and lazy. You're not pushing back darkness 223 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:45,560 with light. So Scripture teaches on wisdom 224 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,440 using wisdom, how much time to rest versus how much time to be 225 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:50,760 active. I love Ecclesiastes. 226 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,040 We're going to go back there someday. 227 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:58,000 Ecclesiastes 46 says better as one handful with quietness than 228 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,080 two handfuls of toil and a striving after the wind. 229 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,320 This is your balance, right? Better. 230 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,520 No handfuls. You're lazy, you're doing 231 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,840 nothing, you have nothing, you're doing nothing. 2 handfuls 232 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,600 is your, it says it's toil and striving after the wind. 233 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,800 And so it doesn't say this is how you order your day. 234 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,680 God's will for you is, you know, you do this at 9:00 AM and this 235 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:19,880 at 10 AM. It says 1 handful with quietness 236 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,240 is better than none or two with striving after the wind. 237 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,600 There's your balance and you go to the book of Ecclesiastes. 238 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,840 It's going to tell you as a whole what that whole book is 239 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,440 doing is reminding you, you cannot change the world. 240 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,040 There's one person that can do it and it's Jesus Christ and he 241 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,280 takes the pressure off of you. What you are called to do is to 242 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,520 be faithful in the sphere that God has given you. 243 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:49,480 And so we bring balance. Scripture balances this idea of 244 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,800 redeeming the time with another virtue and it's long-suffering. 245 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,440 James in the last book of his chapter of his book says be 246 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:58,880 patient. Therefore, brothers, he slows 247 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,200 you down. He says be patient until the 248 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,800 coming of the Lord and see how the farmer waits for the 249 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,000 precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it 250 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:08,720 receives the early and the late rains. 251 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,960 So also you be patient. So he says you are to be like a 252 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,480 farmer and he slows you down and he says be patient, be patient, 253 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:20,840 be patient, be patient. And sometimes things in the 254 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,320 church, if you've been here for any amount of time, you know, 255 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,560 sometimes we move very quickly and praise God for that. 256 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,320 It seems like the Spirit will sometimes open up a doorway and 257 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,560 we move and everything falls in place and we seem to just move 258 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,840 effortlessly. And then there's other times 259 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,960 where progress seems very, very slow. 260 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,000 And that's in the eye of the beholder, I think even of the 261 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,960 replant. When God opened the door for 262 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,440 that, it was 8 months, it seemed like we were blazing. 263 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,040 He opened the door. We moved over 200 people to this 264 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:49,720 building and to merge with this congregation. 265 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,480 We lost no members as we did it. It was the supernatural work of 266 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,600 God. And then other times it feels 267 00:14:55,600 --> 00:15:00,040 like we're standing still. And so this is the balance of 268 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,080 Scripture. I think it comes with wisdom 269 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,880 that we move as the Lord moves and as a general role. 270 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,520 When you move and establish things hastily, they fall away 271 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,160 hastily. And when things come with a 272 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,480 certain slowness, I've, I've learned to, to actually love 273 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,520 this about our elder board here. Elder board is that things come 274 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,240 deliberately and they come slowly. 275 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,760 And I think that attends wisdom. It's, it's a good thing. 276 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,760 It's well said that individuals tend to underestimate what they 277 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,480 can do in five years and overestimate what they can do in 278 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,480 one. And so we need to be wise. 279 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,080 We need to be patient. We blend these two virtues, 280 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:42,280 urgency and patience, and they fit together in God's Kingdom. 281 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,280 You are called to be urgent and you are called to be patient. 282 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:47,320 So it is in Scripture. Proverbs 19 Two. 283 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:49,920 Desire without knowledge is not good. 284 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,160 Whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. 285 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,360 Proverbs 21 five. The plans of the diligent surely 286 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,920 lead to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to 287 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,960 poverty. So when you feel that pressure 288 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:08,960 of the world to to be a machine or to be an avatar, consider the 289 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:13,240 optimization of the prophet Jeremiah, who after a lifetime 290 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:18,720 of ministry had no converts. And consider the scale of Jesus 291 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:23,280 Christ, who spent his entire life ministering in a small 292 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,080 region of the eastern Mediterranean and after pouring 293 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,640 himself out had a Church of only 120 people. 294 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,000 And you can consider the efficiency of parents like Lois 295 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,840 and Eunice as they taught Timothy. 296 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,680 You can consider you as a parent as you try and teach your 297 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,520 children it. They resist efficiency and 298 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,240 optimization. We spent all last week teaching 299 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,960 Lily the letter L. That's what she learned last 300 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:48,960 week. They resist progress. 301 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,120 It it's there's only so far efficiency can take spiritual 302 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,160 growth and discipleship. And so I'll take the pressure 303 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,440 off you again with the wisdom of Ecclesiastes. 304 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,280 You will not change the world. Your call is to be urgent. 305 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,960 Your call is to be patient and to stay in the sphere that God 306 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:04,640 has given you. George Mueller wrote 307 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,800 beautifully, every child of God is first to get into the sphere 308 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,800 appointed of God and there exercise full trust and live by 309 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:13,880 faith upon God's sure word of promise. 310 00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:16,480 You get in the lane that God has given you and you serve 311 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,960 faithfully in your context. And so our culture, when we 312 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,920 think of redeeming the time, we think along the lines of speed 313 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,599 and efficiency. But when God and the Scriptures 314 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,480 talk about redeeming the time, it's along the categories of 315 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,280 wisdom, morality, and relationship. 316 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,800 And so it leaves room for efficiency, but it brings this 317 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,960 balance. Scripture is so balanced and 318 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,040 this verse on redeeming the the gift of time is in the context 319 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,720 of being wise. You can look down and see it in 320 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:46,720 verse 15. He says look carefully then how 321 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,400 you walk not as unwise, but as wise. 322 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,840 So your manner of life has to be characterized by wisdom and not 323 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,720 the absence of it. And you see that there's the 324 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:58,840 translations of this make a stark contrast. 325 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:01,680 That's there in the original. You don't walk with without 326 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,520 wisdom. Ah, Sophia, but you walk with 327 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:06,880 wisdom, not ah Sophia, but Sophia. 328 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,960 And so we actually saw these, these passages, we were to walk 329 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,200 in wisdom and we were to walk in light. 330 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,640 So we named our daughter Sophia. And her name is Sophia Elaine, 331 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,200 which is literally wisdom and light. 332 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,160 But like, if we name our child this, maybe she will embody 333 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:21,520 this. But it says you don't walk. 334 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,760 Ah, Sophia. But Sophia and wisdom goes 335 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,600 beyond intellectual understanding and cognitive 336 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,120 awareness. There's no biblical category for 337 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:32,640 for wisdom. That is just merely the 338 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,520 accumulation of knowledge. It's living it out, which is why 339 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:37,920 it says here you are to walk in wisdom. 340 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,240 Lu Anita, define it in their lexicon. 341 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,760 It's one's capacity for understanding and thus to arrive 342 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,640 at insight. Wisdom is insight into known 343 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,200 facts. So it's one thing to to know the 344 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,480 verses on walking and that you can you can categorize it. 345 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:53,960 I'm to walk in love. I'm to walk in light. 346 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:55,880 I'm to walk in in wisdom. And it's another thing to 347 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,200 actually do it. And so that's what Paul is 348 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,000 saying. He's saying, examine your walk, 349 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,440 examine your heart and walk in holiness. 350 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:05,880 Knowledge is knowing that you were to walk in these things and 351 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,760 it's to memorize the verses. Wisdom is living it out 352 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,760 faithfully. And so the first gift that God 353 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,960 gives you that Paul highlights in this section is the gift of 354 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,000 time. And we tend to disorder it by 355 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:22,040 worshipping ourselves and not making any use of time. 356 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,600 We worship it on one end of squandering our days and 357 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,200 laziness and lethargy. And I think more of us, 358 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:32,360 especially in a church like this where we we work so hard is we 359 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:35,400 tend to overwork and we prioritize efficiency and 360 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,840 optimization and output. And we worship the God of 361 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,680 efficiency. And so God orders our time 362 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:46,920 toward faithfulness and stewardship, not maximal output. 363 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,080 So you're called a steward your time and to redeem it, not to 364 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,960 optimize it. And you look now to the second 365 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:58,200 gift as we continue to verse 17, redeeming discernment without 366 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,120 worshipping control. So God gives also the gift of 367 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:03,880 understanding. Look at verse 17. 368 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:08,320 Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of 369 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,360 the Lord is. So I think we take this gift of 370 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:15,520 understanding and we warp it in a couple of key ways. 371 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,960 I think #1 again, we worship ourselves as gods and we say, I 372 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,000 want to be. I want to do my will. 373 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:26,200 I want to go the direction that I see and deem is best for me. 374 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,000 I will determine the pathway that I will go. 375 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,840 We could call this autonomy. The word autonomy literally 376 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:32,880 means self rule. I am my own law. 377 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,560 I determine where I go. Now, this is captured in the 378 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,440 famous poem, I know you've heard it, William Henley's poem 379 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,080 Invictus. I am the master of my fate. 380 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,960 I am the captain of my soul. And so while we might not say, 381 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,640 you know outright that this is the way that I live. 382 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,800 We, we default to it on accident when we say I'm going to submit 383 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,120 to, to everything God says so long as it doesn't interfere, 384 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,080 interfere with my will. So long as this doesn't 385 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,560 interfere with my will and my plans and my design for my life, 386 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,920 I'll submit to God's word. Or I'll take the Scriptures so 387 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,680 long as they don't cost me something, so long as it's 388 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:10,960 convenient. I'll submit to the Word of God 389 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,200 so long as I don't have to reshape myself from my 390 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,240 lifestyle. Forgetting the words of First 391 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,880 Corinthians 619 to 20, he says. Or do you not know that your 392 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:21,360 body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God, 393 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:25,160 and you are not your own? You were bought with a price. 394 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,120 Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which 395 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:31,600 are gods. You're bought, you're redeemed, 396 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:33,800 you've been purchased. You are a slave of sin. 397 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,360 Now you've been bought and you are a slave of righteousness, 398 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,120 but a slave you remain, and we submit to the will of God. 399 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,680 You can't confess. Jesus is Lord while using the 400 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:45,800 understanding and the discernment that He has given 401 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:47,880 you to determine the way that you will go. 402 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,880 You submit your understanding to His control. 403 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:55,760 And if you want to see how it works out in Scripture, you see 404 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,360 it in Isaiah 68. Who will go for us? 405 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,000 Whom shall I send? And Isaiah submits himself to 406 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,200 the Lord and he says, here I am Lord, send me. 407 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,200 And it makes you understand that there's the, the metaphor of of 408 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,560 a throne. There's a throne in your heart. 409 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,160 And only one person can be seated on at an at a time. 410 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,640 Either you are seated on the throne determining where you 411 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,160 will go, or the Lord is seated on that throne. 412 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,920 You give your understanding, you give control to him. 413 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:25,440 First Samuel 310 When he says, Samuel, Samuel, he says, speak 414 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:30,800 Lord, your servant is listening. Luke 138 Mary, submitting 415 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,280 herself to the Lord, says, Behold, I am a servant of the 416 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:38,040 Lord, let it be to me, according to your word, Jesus to his own 417 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:41,640 Father in heaven. Luke 2242 Nevertheless not my 418 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:46,640 will, but yours be done. And Jesus says to Paul from 419 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:52,360 heaven, I am Jesus of Nazareth. And Paul says, What shall I do? 420 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,280 Lord, You can practice and rehearse saying that what shall 421 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,680 I do, Lord? What way do I go? 422 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,440 That's your reminder that Jesus says not everyone who says to 423 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,120 me, Lord, Lord, will inherit the Kingdom of heaven. 424 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:06,920 But who inherits the Kingdom of heaven? 425 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,920 The one who does the will of the Father. 426 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,840 Look at verse 17. Don't be foolish. 427 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,600 Understand what the will of the Lord is and the implication is, 428 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,640 and then do it. Submit to it, remembering that 429 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,000 you were bought. And there's a second way that we 430 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,520 distort this gift of understanding that the Lord has 431 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,240 given us, and it's by submitting to the gods of the age, the 432 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,160 revelation of the gods of the age, rather than the revelation 433 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,480 that God has given us in the Bible. 434 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,840 And so we we speak of scientists like we would speak of priests 435 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,960 saying, would you please look into your microscope and give 436 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,480 some revelation about what I am and who I am? 437 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:50,120 Where we say to the cosmologists, we look to them 438 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:52,360 and speak to them and say, look into your telescopes that we 439 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:54,720 might have some new revelation about where we came from. 440 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:58,600 And we go to the soft sciences, we talk to psychologists and 441 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,400 sociologists and anthropologists that we might be granted 442 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,960 revelation about how we are to live. 443 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,960 And it reminds us that there's the wisdom of the world and 444 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,760 there's the wisdom of God. And the wisdom of the world says 445 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:15,160 you can be wise in this world if you would study gender theory 446 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,280 and if you would study performativity and de 447 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:23,560 naturalization and intersectionality and queer 448 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,720 theory, and the world will look at you and they will say you are 449 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:31,280 wise. The Bible says don't be foolish, 450 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,960 but understand what the will of the Lord is. 74 times in 451 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,120 Proverbs he contrasts wisdom with foolishness. 452 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,080 These same words, the one who walks in the ways of the Lord 453 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:47,800 and the one who follows the path of wisdom versus the fool and 454 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:50,000 the fool is the one. It's the same word used in Luke 455 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,400 about the guy, remember, the one who who has such a big harvest 456 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,280 that he says, I don't have anywhere to store all my crops. 457 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:55,720 So he says, what am I going to do? 458 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,560 I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. 459 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:00,920 And I'll say to my own soul, this is the wisdom of the world, 460 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,120 soul, relax, eat, drink and be merry. 461 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:08,720 And the Lord looks at him and he says, you fool, it's the same 462 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:13,480 word. So in contrast to being foolish, 463 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,160 Scripture says, use the understanding that God has given 464 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,480 you to discern what the will of the Lord is. 465 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,320 Reason it out with the help of the Holy Spirit. 466 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,640 Read the Scriptures, submit to God's revelation, and see for 467 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:26,560 yourself what it is you should do. 468 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:31,840 As a theologian named Michael Allen, Rafael Bello introduced 469 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,480 me to he. He has a a quote talking about 470 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,360 this text that has become one of my favorite quotes ever. 471 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,720 And he says this text reminds us of a mature church who knows the 472 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,760 will of the Lord. Not because a minister has told 473 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,520 them what particular choices to make, but because a minister has 474 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,680 instead equipped them with the word of the Lord and has LED 475 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,120 them in a community marked by these formative rhythms. 476 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:57,800 Do you love that as much as I do? 477 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:00,280 It's not that you need to be told what to do is that we are 478 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:04,520 part of a church body that is continually getting into 479 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:06,280 fellowship. It's going to put these rhythms 480 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,240 and wash these rhythms over you in just a minute. 481 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,640 The rhythms of fellowship and of worship and of gratitude and of 482 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,520 submitting to one another. And he says because we are being 483 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:18,160 washed by this each and every week and indeed every day, we 484 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:19,520 know what the will of the Lord is. 485 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:22,080 We've made it a habit of submitting to the Word and 486 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,360 understanding the Word and engaging in fellowship. 487 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,840 And he's saying this is the great gift of God. 488 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,120 And so understanding doesn't come from, you know, what seems 489 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:35,640 best to our wandering hearts. And it doesn't come from 490 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:38,280 submitting to the revelation of the present evil age. 491 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:41,800 It's it's also the will of the Lord's not whispered to us in in 492 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,480 private moments. And it's not mystically found on 493 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,480 some Ouija board. It's understood by exercising 494 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,280 our understanding in reading God's Word. 495 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:55,720 It takes intellectual effort. It takes the gift of the Holy 496 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:00,840 Spirit who illuminates our mind. If you study the Scriptures, if 497 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,440 you submit to them, then the will of the Lord is clear. 498 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:10,640 Third gift that the Lord gives. The third contrast, redeeming 499 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,120 pleasure without worshipping the world's goods. 500 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:17,320 Read with me verses 18 to 21, Paul says. 501 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:21,000 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be 502 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,960 filled with the Spirit addressing one another and 503 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,400 psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody 504 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,800 to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for 505 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:32,800 everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus 506 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,480 Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for 507 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,960 Christ. So the final contrast, he says 508 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,320 don't get drunk with wine, but instead be filled with the 509 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,160 Spirit that the issue is control. 510 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:50,280 Are you yielding control of your faculties to wine, which is no 511 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:54,000 control at all, or are you yielding control to the Holy 512 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,920 Spirit and being fully in control by the Holy Spirit? 513 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:01,840 And so it's helpful here to see to the prohibition is not to 514 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,080 refrain from wine. He's redeeming the pleasures of 515 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:06,600 the world. The prohibition is to refrain 516 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,720 from intoxication. He says intoxication is 517 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,720 debauchery, which literally means incorrigibility. 518 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,440 It's a word that means lacking understanding or lacking 519 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,000 control. And this is coming back to 520 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,080 redeeming the time. We can't be drunk because 521 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,840 there's work to do, right? We can't, we can't waste our 522 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,640 time and be lethargic because there's there's work to do. 523 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:29,880 And so oppositely, he says you have to be filled with the 524 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:31,400 Spirit. Colossians 316. 525 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,880 If you put this passage in alignment with that, you'll see 526 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,720 that being filled with the Spirit is letting the word of 527 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,480 Christ dwell in you richly. Being filled with the Spirit is 528 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,120 being fully submitted to Jesus Christ, being fully submitted to 529 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,960 his word. And there's a kind of a, a 530 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,280 decision that you have to make, I'm going to put before you and 531 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,360 let you make it. It's very interesting that 532 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:55,040 downstream of this main verb, which we're going to see in 533 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,040 multiple weeks, even getting into husbands, loving your 534 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:01,040 wives, these are all participles hinging on the main verb of be 535 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,320 filled with the spirit. That's the main verb that's 536 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,080 going to all this is going to come from it. 537 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,240 And so we have to understand how do all of these participles, 538 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,160 what's their relationship with this main verb? 539 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,880 There's kind of two ideas here. The first option is to say that 540 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:17,760 they are simply a result, that if you are filled with the 541 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,800 spirit, the result is that you worship and you fellowship and 542 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:23,960 you sing and address one another in psalms and hymns and 543 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,240 spiritual songs and you submit to one another and you're 544 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,160 there's so much gratitude overflowing from your heart. 545 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,400 It's it's the first option, the result. 546 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,800 And the second one is much more interesting. 547 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:42,800 It indicates means meaning if you are doing these things, if 548 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,320 you are coming to church to fellowship and to worship and to 549 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:49,680 mutually submit to one another and to express gratitude, then 550 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:51,920 you will then you will be filled by His spirit. 551 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,680 Meaning that when you do these things, then the Spirit will 552 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,040 come and fill you. And there's some precedence in 553 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,280 this second chronicles. The people are singing and 554 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,120 playing instruments and raising their voices. 555 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,640 And then the temple of the Lord is filled with the glory cloud 556 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,560 or you come to Acts in Antioch. It says that the church is 557 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:10,080 worshipping the Lord and fasting. 558 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,160 And then the Holy Spirit says, set apart for me Barnabas and 559 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,960 Saul. So you choose which one you 560 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,120 think is the most faithful. But I want you to see wherever 561 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,640 you land. Paul's telling you this is what 562 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,680 ought to come out of a Christian household naturally. 563 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,640 This is what is to identify your fellowship. 564 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,920 This is what is to be part of your church. 565 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,920 These are like the gifts that came before. 566 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:37,480 Paul says that God has given the gift of pleasure. 567 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:41,520 Like the other contrasts, we take these good gifts and we 568 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,560 distort them. How do we distort the pleasures 569 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:48,120 that God has given us? He says it here that we use them 570 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,920 in excess. We take the gift of wine and we 571 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:55,640 become drunk rather than enjoying wine. 572 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:59,920 We get drunk with it, or we seek our joy in the gift rather than 573 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:02,600 the giver of the gift. Have you ever been guilty of 574 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,160 that replacing the joy of a relationship with God and his 575 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:10,960 church with the temporary highs of alcohol or substances, or we 576 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:15,040 use those substances to cope and define coping as dealing with 577 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,040 and attempting to overcome problems and difficulties. 578 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,360 And so you think this goes back to Paul saying we're redeeming 579 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:22,640 the time because the days are evil. 580 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:26,160 We live in terrible times. Remember those statistics. 581 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:28,640 There's, there's wickedness all around. 582 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:33,320 And so you can cope with that through substances or you can 583 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:37,280 cope with that through these measures that God has given. 584 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,720 So God redeems these things. We have to ask as he left us 585 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,240 with nothing to draw pleasure from, as he left you no ways to 586 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:49,560 cope with the difficulties of the evil days, Is there nothing 587 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,360 that will help you overcome the negative emotions like drugs and 588 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:57,160 alcohol can? And this is where he says he's 589 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:01,320 left you fellowship, He's left you worship, he's left you 590 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:03,960 gratitude, and he's left you submission. 591 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,960 These are gifts of God. These are pleasures. 592 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:10,320 These are how you cope in the last days with all of the the 593 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:12,880 hardships that come on you. He begins with fellowship. 594 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,960 Being around other believers is balm for your soul. 595 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,160 Being around other believers is literally healing for your soul. 596 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:21,640 Have you ever experienced this before? 597 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,400 It's incredible what happens. And so when you're in a bad 598 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,400 mood, when you're in a funk and you can't shake it, what you 599 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,760 don't need is alcohol. What you need is to be around 600 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,160 your church. And so for me, when I'm in a 601 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,560 funk, what I don't need is alcohol. 602 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:40,640 I need Jeff and Debbie Goss to come to my back porch. 603 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:45,360 I need them to come with vanilla bean ice cream and strawberries 604 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:48,120 and aged balsamic vinegar. And I need to light my chiminea. 605 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:50,800 And I need to be there with my wife, and we need to fellowship. 606 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,440 And you know what? By the end of the evening, I'm 607 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:55,760 feeling pretty good. It's it's healing. 608 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,040 It's literal healing for your soul. 609 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,480 Not just fellowship, but worship is part of the pleasure of the 610 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,200 world. Verse 19 addressing one another 611 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,200 in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 612 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,080 Jeff was very careful in selecting the songs this 613 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,400 morning. So we sang psalms and hymns and 614 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,600 spiritual songs together, making melody to the Lord with our 615 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:18,560 heart. It's amazing how you can enter 616 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,840 church on a Wednesday night or a Sunday morning completely 617 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:25,520 defeated and completely exhausted and walk out 618 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,520 rejuvenated. It happens to me. 619 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,840 We've resolved that on the days we at least want to go to Life 620 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:33,240 Group or at least want to go to church, we will especially go 621 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:35,800 because we know when we leave, we will leave healed. 622 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,800 So we sing. It says here psalms and hymns 623 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:41,400 and spiritual songs. I wanted to go through that. 624 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,680 It's hard to even make any distinction between them. 625 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,600 They're synonyms. Psalms is the word psalmos, 626 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:50,040 which means literally plucking, which is why we've taken that. 627 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:52,800 We we see that word and we deduce from it that the psalms 628 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,720 were all set to the Old Testament Psalms were set to 629 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:58,880 stringed instruments because of that word. 630 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:02,640 And so most likely the word psalms means the Old Testament 631 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,760 psalms. We tried to prioritise, 632 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:08,560 prioritise this as a church recent sermon series was, was 633 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,440 surrounding this exact thing. We built the whole sermon series 634 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:15,639 around singing Psalms. And the second word is, is 635 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:18,080 hymns. The, the literal word is hymnos. 636 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:20,280 It's where we get our words for hymns. 637 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:22,719 And it doesn't even necessarily mean singing. 638 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:26,520 It's, it's reciting or singing poetic material. 639 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:31,920 And it's, it was used in the Gospels to singing the Psalms at 640 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:33,960 Passover. Some of you know, at Passover, 641 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,920 they would always sing songs before they would go out. 642 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,679 Jesus sang hymns before he went out to the Mount of Olives. 643 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:43,639 This is the word that it used or when Paul and Silas sang hymns 644 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:46,400 while they were in prison, This is the word that was used. 645 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,360 It's it's songs of praise to God. 646 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,719 And finally, he says spiritual songs Odice where we get our 647 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,880 word ode. And most often it refers to 648 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:00,560 songs of joy or praise or just simply singing. 649 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:03,360 So again, you it's hard to make distinctions between these 650 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:05,120 words, but the the point is clear. 651 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,840 We hear his message. The people of God are meant to 652 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:10,440 sing. We are meant to sing and to 653 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:15,480 worship through song. The third one is gratitude. 654 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,160 Read verse 20, giving thanks always and for everything to God 655 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,520 the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 656 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,480 This is corporate Thanksgiving. There's entire Psalms in the Old 657 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:28,240 Testament that are under the category of corporate 658 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:30,200 Thanksgiving. Look, when are you to be 659 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:35,520 thankful? It says always, and it says what 660 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,240 are you to be thankful for? And you continue reading. 661 00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:41,600 It says always and for everything, all prayer being 662 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:44,560 directed toward God the Father. Remembering what James says, 663 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:46,640 that every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the 664 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,800 Father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow due to 665 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:51,880 change. We give thanks toward God the 666 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,120 Father. We give thanks for time, 667 00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:55,840 especially here. We give thanks for the 668 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:57,960 understanding that he's given us, and we give thanks for the 669 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,000 pleasures that he's given us in this world. 670 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,120 And if you lack something to give thanks for, turn here and 671 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:06,400 give thanks for those. And finally, verse 21, 672 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:10,480 submission, submitting to one another out of reverence for 673 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:14,200 Christ. And so mutual submission is a 674 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,760 requirement for membership. Every single time somebody 675 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,240 stands up here, we say, are you willing to submit to this person 676 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,800 as they even submit to you? And that's why we say yes and 677 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:24,800 Amen, because that's part of, it's not just part of 678 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:26,720 membership, it's part of being filled with the Spirit. 679 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:29,720 This is characteristic of what it means to be full of the 680 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,080 Spirit. We submit to one another, and 681 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:34,360 I've gotten to the point where I trust my church more than my own 682 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,280 wandering soul. And so I come to you all more 683 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:38,600 often than I even come to myself. 684 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,320 And I say, should I adopt more kids? 685 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:42,560 Just tell me. You tell me. 686 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:45,240 Should I go back to school? Please, elders of my church, 687 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:46,760 just tell me. Should I go back to school? 688 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:50,040 I don't know. I'm clouded by all my interests 689 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,080 and all my sinful heart. And so you can do. 690 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:56,120 That's why we come here. And it's not it's, it's, it's 691 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,960 humility. It's not a weakness to come and 692 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:02,000 submit to your church. It's humility of saying there is 693 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,800 somebody else in the world who has the Spirit of God and 694 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,680 there's somebody else in this world who can discern what's 695 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:11,760 best for me outside of myself. And so we come and we submit to 696 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:15,800 one another because this body can see things that send clouds 697 00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:18,880 in ourselves. We listen to the body because 698 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:24,240 Paul says we are one body. Ephesians 425 Extremely famous 699 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,280 saying from John Calvin. A quote from him. 700 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:29,880 It was in every commentary I read this week. 701 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:34,360 He says God has so bound us to each other that no man ought to 702 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,240 avoid subjection. Where love reigns, there is 703 00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:40,200 mutual servitude. He says, I do not even accept 704 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,400 kings and governors, for they rule in order that they might 705 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,400 serve. Therefore, it is very right that 706 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:49,920 he should exhort all and to be subject to each other. 707 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:56,080 So we submit to one another. So faith church is experienced. 708 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:58,160 If you didn't get this impression, I'll make it clear. 709 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:00,920 Faith is expressed and lived in community. 710 00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:06,960 It's in all of this solitude is important for a time, but you 711 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,560 can't read this passage and escape without the understanding 712 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,520 that church, corporate church life is essential for life and 713 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,360 godliness an essential for spiritual formation and worship. 714 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,920 Walking in wisdom is walking in community since it's being 715 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:23,280 together, fellowship, being together, worshiping together 716 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:27,360 and singing and being grateful and submitting and the command 717 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:32,480 for you today is in verse 15. Look carefully how you walk 718 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:34,280 saying direct your attention to this. 719 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,520 Consider this God has given you good and perfect gifts. 720 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:39,120 He first gave you the gift of time. 721 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:42,560 Are you redeeming the time that he's given you or are you 722 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:47,080 squandering it in lethargy and laziness, or are you 723 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,560 overworking? He's given you the gift of 724 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:52,440 understanding. He says pay attention to this 725 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:56,480 and consider this. Are you submitting to no one or 726 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,400 are you submitting to the revelation of the wrong 727 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:00,840 authorities? He says you need to make sure 728 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:04,920 that there is not one word, not one letter, not one iota of the 729 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:08,200 Bible, that you are not submitting your will to submit 730 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:10,120 to it. Make much of the Scriptures. 731 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:12,800 And then finally, the third gift is the gift of pleasure. 732 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:15,840 Are you seeking pleasure in the gifts of the world, or are you 733 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:20,120 seeking pleasure in the giver of those gifts, even God himself? 734 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:24,240 Are you seeking joy and pleasure from the appropriate places, 735 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:27,080 fellowship and worship and gratitude and submission? 736 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:31,720 Paul says make much of your church, make much of this local 737 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:34,640 congregation. Do these things. 738 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:38,720 Walk in wisdom, walk in love, walk in the light, and you will 739 00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:43,080 be like Enoch in Genesis 524, whom God said he walked with 740 00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:45,440 God. Or you do these things and you 741 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:49,240 will be like Noah in Genesis 69, righteous and blameless in your 742 00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:53,360 generation. Noah walked with God, we say. 743 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:55,160 May it be said of Heritage Church. 744 00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:57,880 This is a church full of people who walk with God. 745 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:02,640 Deacons, please come forward as we look toward the Lord's 746 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:03,840 Supper. I'm going to pray for us. 747 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:06,560 And then we will pass out the elements and everybody who 748 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,160 confesses Jesus is Lord. All those who walk with God, 749 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:12,680 however imperfectly, we will take this meal and celebrate 750 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:20,280 together. Church, pray with me, Lord, we 751 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:23,920 are so grateful. God, we express our gratitude 752 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:26,080 corporately as a church for all the perfect gifts that you've 753 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:28,640 given us. You've given us a body, you've 754 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:33,200 given us like Elijah, there are 7000 men who have not bowed the 755 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,400 knee to bail. There will always be fellowship 756 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:39,880 because God is in control of all things and he has brought us a 757 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:43,400 church, a local body, and a fellowship that we can submit 758 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:44,840 to. So Lord, even when it's hard, 759 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:48,200 when we're prideful and we don't want to or help us to come to 760 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:50,120 church, help us to submit to one another. 761 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:53,120 Give us the courage to submit ourselves to your word even when 762 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:58,000 we're afraid, when our when our trust weakens, Lord, and we know 763 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,520 that you will prove yourself to be the great gift giver and that 764 00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:04,400 your gifts are good and righteous and true and just. 765 00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,600 Lord, give us strength, Give us wisdom that we may walk in it. 766 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:10,360 After you and your and your Son's name we pray. 767 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:13,120 Amen. Thanks for listening. 768 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:15,840 To learn more about Heritage Church or if you'd like to 769 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,280 respond to this sermon, visit our website at 770 00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:21,840 www.heritageshawnee.org.